Muscle Ups at the Park!

Muscle Ups at the Park!

Bored?  Need a break?  Got 30 minutes to kill?  Instead of going on Facebook, grab a pair of rings and toss them over a tree branch!  Doesn't matter what time it is or what you are wearing.  Bust out some muscle ups, ring dips, ring rows, ring push ups, ring handstand push ups, and more!  My favorite pair of rings are the Rogue Wood Rings.  They are light, portable, easy to assemble/disassemble, and not slippery.  There is no need for chalk.

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Paleo Pad Thai

Paleo Pad Thai.

I love to cook, but it is hard for me to actually cook when I could eat free dinners at my boyfriend's workplace everyday.  Saturday is binge day.  Therefore, Sunday is when I cook for us, and for lunch for the week. 

Pad Thai is one of my favorite noodle dishes.  I heard that people on Primal/Paleo/Zone sub noodles for Kelp Noodles or some type of squash.  For this recipe I used zucchinis and yellow squash for the "noodles" and almond butter for peanuts and to my surprise, it tasted as great as the real deal!

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Fiesta Friday at KI Athletics!

KI Athletics, Twin Creek Softball Champs!

Yesterday was Fiesta Friday at KI Athletics, just one week before the CrossFit Games!  We had a lot to celebrate: uniting CFSC/CFMV, our softball team winning the Twin Creek Softball Championships, and Jason going to the games!  This is the second Fiesta Friday I got to attend since joining the gym.  I enjoyed meeting a lot of people, catching up with members I haven't seen in awhile, and eating some Paleo tacos!  Hope we have these more often!

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Marvelous Meatballs and New Favorite Snacks

Coworkers cannot keep their hands off of these meatballs!  If only they could save more than 1 meatball for me...

I love to make a huge bowl of meatballs every Sunday so my boyfriend and I can snack on it all week.  Our favorite meatball recipe is Everyday Paleo's Marvelous Meatballs.  These meatballs were so good that even my coworkers steal them every time I bring them in (and apparently regardless of whether or not I label my food).  I have the recipe below, with my modifications since we like them spicy.

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Spotify and Sweet Snatches!

Spotify, music game changer.

Spotify, "all the music, all the time," is now available in the US, via invitation.  I just got my invitation this morning!  Their service is simple.  Literally just search and play, anywhere, anytime.  Their basic service is free, but for $5 a month, you can listen to songs without the ads, and for a well-worth $10 a month, you can listen to music on your mobile device, on or offline.  They essentially eliminates the need to copy music files and such!  This is a game changer.  Go sign up for an invite!


In other news, this week has been a week of PR's for me!  They are starting to mean a lot more since they happen less.  Today I got a 12# Full Snatch PR and a strict L-Pull-Up!

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Sweet Whole Foods Deal & a Great Day at the Gym!

Awesome Whole Foods deal via Amex and Facebook.

American Express and Facebook recently launched an awesome deals program called "Link, Like, Love" where cardholders can get deals based on what one "likes."  The process is very fast and simple: link your Amex card, "like" a deal, then go out and get the deal.  If you are an Amex cardholder, I highly recommend checking this out!

They have some awesome deals!  My favorite one is the  Whole Foods deal, which is a $5 credit with a purchase of $20 or more!  I wish I could use this deal more than once!

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Blister-Free Pull-Ups

Ripped palms after Murph on 05-07-2011.

When I first started CrossFit back in mid-January, my palms would tear every time I did pull-ups, or anything on the pull-up bar. I started off doing pull-ups with the thick band and worked my way to kipping pull-ups and strict pull-ups. However, regardless of where I was in the pull-up progression or the number of reps, my palms would ALWAYS get destroyed.

I spent a lot of time googling and asking around how to avoid tearing from pull-ups. There are all kinds of answers out there. I decided to try a bunch of the recommendations to see what works best for me. In this post I will talk about chalk, products I've tried when my palms have tears, the pull-up bar grip, what I do when my palms tear, and callus maintenance (and the best callus shaver ever).

06/22/2012:  I am in the process of updating this post with more products I tried.  I've updated my callus maintenance routine (though pics to come soon).. it's the best I swear!  I still stand strong behind the medi-rip self-adherent bandage though, even a year+ later.  I will add a section just for athletic tape... different ways to tape your hands depending on time and what you are doing.  To come soon I promise!

07/19/2012: Added taping for MU.
07/26/2012: Added review for Liquid Grip.
10/31/2012: Added quick tape for tears during WOD, or calluses/blisters ready to tear.  Sorry this took so long.  It's been awhile since I've torn or gotten a blister.  The example I give is for a blood blister I wanted to prevent from popping.  It's the closest I've come to a tear since probably the beginning of the year.

I realize this post is really long so here's the list:


Chalk: Chalk | Liquid Grip
Tape: Athletic Tape (CFLA tape-style, quick tape for immediate/"ready-to-tear" tears, taping for false-grip muscle ups) | Rock Tape | Medi-Rip Self-Adherent Bandage
Gloves & Grips: Generic Gloves | New Grip | Again Faster Grips | Gymnastic Grips | Rip Ease
Bandages: New (Liquid) Skin | Band-Aid Advanced Healing Blister 
Callus Maintenance: Tweezerman Soft Grip Foot File | Ript Skin Systems

SUMMARY - for the extra lazy.  No explanations, no pics.  Just my favorite products and techniques.  

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New URL and Philly Cheese Steaks

This blog can now be reached via: www.jesliao.com!

Miss this stuff "whiz wit" (on cheat days of course!)

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CrossFit South Brooklyn

1. Entrance to CrossFit South Brooklyn at about 6:40am.

While in New York City, the second box I wanted to check out was a toss up between CrossFit South Brooklyn and CrossFit Long Island City. I could not check out both because of time constraints. While at CrossFit Virtuosity, I took a poll and the most common feedback I got was 'You gotta check out CrossFit South Brooklyn and meet Shane! They've got a huge box and a tight community!' A lot of folks have not been to CFLIC yet. Alright, decision made; I will check out CFLIC next time!

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CrossFit Virtuosity / Brooklyn Barbell Club

1. The shirt they gave Jason!

I was in New York City for a couple days and one of the gyms I definitely wanted to check out was CrossFit Virtuosity. I heard a lot of great things about this box through some members at my home gym, CrossFit Santa Clara/Mountain View, Yelp, and the CrossFit Games website.

I came in for the noon class last Thursday. Every Thursday is "Ladies Night," which is when they do one of the CrossFit benchmark girls. We did Elizabeth which is 21-15-9: Clean 135#/95#, Ring Dips. I had the pleasure to meet a handful of their trainers: Keith (head coach and owner), Sam, and Elizabeth.

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CrossFit Delaware Valley

1. Me in one of the shirts I got.

I was in Drexel Hill, PA to visit my boyfriend's family for a few days. While here I decided to check out CrossFit Delaware Valley in Broomall, PA since it was the closest CrossFit box to where I was staying and because they did not have a drop-in fee for visiting CrossFitters (unlike some other CrossFit gyms in the area). This was my first time visiting a different box.

CrossFit Delaware Valley is a BIG box. I had the pleasure to meet a few of their trainers: Zach, Tom, Larry, and Rob!

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