My First Kipping Bar Muscle Up

stoked, lol.

A few weeks ago I got my first kipping bar muscle up!  While ring muscle ups may be one of my strengths, a kipping bar muscle up couldn't be harder for me to grasp.  In fact, I think it was the hardest CrossFit movement for me to learn, to date.  This was a year-long working progress and I'm glad I took the time to learn the safe, and efficient way to do these.  Also, as an added bonus, I no longer chicken wing my strict bar muscle ups.

Warning: this is a long post, but hopefully the videos make up for it =P

Arena Ready CrossFit!

CrossFit Games Open WOD13.2 at Arena Ready!

Last weekend we decided to head up to the city to do 13.2 with Liz and Hillary at Arena Ready CrossFit.  We miss these two and a visit was long overdue!

Chicken Zucchini Salad w/ Almond Basil Pesto

Chicken Zucchini Salad with Basil-Almond Pesto

Mmmm pesto.  A versatile sauce, pretty much delicious on anything.  Instead of using the typical pine nuts or walnuts base, I decided to use toasted almonds instead.. just for kicks.

Asian Steak Tacos

Marinated hanger steak w/ carrots, cabbage, and ginger-scallion sauce

I really like the steak tacos at Calafia Cafe in Palo Alto.  It's a great option for eating out, Paleo style.  Since they didn't look hard to make, I decided to try to make them at home.

Reebok CrossFit 5th Ave

Reebok CrossFit 5th Ave.

So while in the city, I really wanted to stop by the flag ship and super popular: Reebok CrossFit 5th Ave.  If we ignored the Reebok label for a second, there were still many other reasons to visit this box:  prime location, largest box in Manhattan (not to mention, on the ground floor), and from the photos online.. it looks super sweet (the pull up bars looked glow-in-the-dark, lol).  And if you weren't sold on all that, they even have the concept of an "express WOD": same workout but in half the time.  This is especially great for travelers or those who live the busy city lifestyle.

That being said, I was extremely disappointed.