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  • Importance of Warm Ups (and Why Traditional Warm Ups are Wrong) (with Sample)

    Ensuring you have an appropriate warm up is essential to any successful program. Warm ups prior to exercise are important to prepare your circulatory system and muscles for exertion and reduce the chance of injury. Unfortunately, traditional stretching routines are ineffective. The most potent way to warm up for an athletic activity is by performing…

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  • Work Out Hard and Smart

    “It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience. “ -Julius Caesar When you begin your 5 x 5 workout program, or any new training routine for that matter, please leave your ego at the door and practice patience. My brother…

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  • Smith Machines

    We mused on squats yesterday. Inevitably when we broach the subject, Smith machines weasel their way into the conversation. They’re not without their virtues, but be mindful; they’re slippery suckers. As a moppet of 13, I attended a fitness center in the San Fernando Valley called “Nautilus.” The place was jam packed with state of the art…

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  • Showering Without Soap

    There isn’t much I won’t do for my readers. I’ll be putting my body (and reputation!) on the line to experiment with showering without traditional soap. It turns out that that Johnson and Johnson, among other soap producing companies, have been selling us a form of perfume masquerading as detergent for our skin. As a…

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  • Mother’s Day

    In order for a boy to grow into a confident man, he needs the love of his mother. I attended an elementary school in North Hollywood, California. Less than a mile away, my mother was the director of an early childhood center. Every once in a while, she’d surprise me by taking me out of…

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  • Makeup

    Scouting is hard. We, as an industry, simply haven’t figured out how to appropriately measure and value intangibles. We’re still learning, and I have no doubts that a clever individual will create a method to do so. Right now, quantifying those intangibles remains elusive. In 2007, the year before Clayton Kershaw would make 21 starts…

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  • Core Strength Moves

    You don’t need fancy exercises to build core strength. If your desire is to inspire the muscles around your spine and midsection to fire, squat. A Kaplifestyle reader reached out to me to ask about a good core routine for beginners. Waltz into any fitness center and you’ll find folks twisting with cables, doing various…

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  • Open Thread: Week 35

    Aaron G: Kap what is your opinion on STIM machines in terms of arm recovery for high school/college pitchers? Aaron, Thanks for bringing this up. Every time I had even a minor injury related to baseball, I was treated with “stim and ice.” This was both before and during my professional player career, so my…

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  • Yoga

    I’m never fully explored yoga, but I’m devoted to the pursuit of supreme health and well-being. I’m convinced of the applicability of power posing after reading the studies and I’m ready to take it a step further by incorporating an ancient practice. As a twenty something in the midst of my playing career, I flirted…

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  • Vertical Gardens

    This post isn’t about coyote stew, but I found you a recipe anyhow. It’s about vertical gardens. Many of us have walls and fences that could use a facelift. Additionally, many of us care to grow our own food. We can kill two birds with a single stone. From countryliving.com: As long as you’ve got a…

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I aim to plan and consciously choose all of my indulgences. I have the knowledge and willpower to do so, but occasionally, I will have a substantial misfire.

I was in Boston, my home away from home, for the 2004 World Series reunion. I splurged nutritionally as I had intended, but I didn’t map out my large nutritional stumble while watching the game.

I had it all pre-navigated. My two men (12 and 14) and I love to experience travel through food. We think it’s the most efficient and interesting way to explore the culture of a city. We discussed the trip ahead of time and decided on three restaurants where we would fully indulge and eat like kings. We’d start with the team dinner at a fine steak and seafood house, follow it up with breakfast the next morning at a bakery, and finish it out with lunch at a tapas joint in the South End.

The first night the three of us shared bone in filets, swordfish steaks, oysters, giant shrimp, crab cakes, lamb chops, chocolate cake, apple crisps and cold vanilla ice cream. I enjoyed a few glasses of whiskey, neat, and my boys drank Sprite. We left the restaurant 1 for 1. Remember, this indulgence was planned.

The next morning, we went to a bakery suggested by a Boston-based chef friend. The boys picked up scones and French toast; I scored big with a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich on a crusty roll with spinach and tomato. The bite came complete with a Dijon mustard finish that struck a chord with me, managing to last all day. 2 at bats, 2 knocks.

After mobbing around on the T train all morning, making our way to Harvard and back to Downtown Crossing, we landed at our destination for lunch, Toro. Theo Epstein made the recommendation after I mentioned that my boys and I were on a food adventure. This is the guy who went out to get the “washed up” 2002 version of David Ortiz, so he’s proven his scouting mettle. If he thinks it’s a worthwhile trip, I’ll take his advice.

Back to food.

Rather than turn this post into a restaurant review, I’ll keep it simple. I had an out of body experience. Every small plate that arrived was visually captivating and stunning on the palate. We sprinted the gamut. From spicy curry beef empanadas to cauliflower with golden raisins and pine nuts to the pièce de résistance, roasted bone marrow with radish citrus salad and oxtail marmalade. This dish, holy fuck. Our waiter described it exquisitely as “like rich, hot, beef flavored butter.” I was now 3 for 3 and ready for my final at bat.

A theme throughout this entire trip was advance planning. My first mistake was not preparing for this final meal. I figured my boys and I would just eat at the ballpark and didn’t put much thought into it. I knew that the options would be plentiful and come in large quantities. I wasn’t necessarily wrong, but I quickly got off course.

I was running around at Fenway from this place to that, answering questions and meeting folks. My boys were on their own and already up in the suite by the time I arrived around the start of the first inning. They had eaten pizza, snacks and fruit, totally what I expected for them. I walked in starving, my second mistake.  I reached for a plate and piled on decent looking veggies, a huge mound of guacamole, and the only available protein, stale fried chicken strips. I could have reached into my bag and opened a can of wild caught salmon. I didn’t. My defenses were down. I hadn’t snacked. I ingested that garbage and suffered strike one.

You know my stance on processed foods. Those frozen chunks of flour covered meat product provide little nutritional value. I had already experienced a whirlwind day filled with emotion and exertion, and the pizza under the heat lamp began to look lovely.

I advocate indulgence, but I advocate planned, quality indulgence. This was neither. I scarfed down a piece and the drugs hit my bloodstream. I couldn’t chew fast enough. Strike two.

The final pitch of the at bat came in and I chased it. I scarfed down a few more slices, knowing even as I did so that it wasn’t my finest hour.

3 for 4. In baseball that’s a hell of a day. Nutritionally, I expect 4 for 4s from myself almost always. I’m in control, so the high bar is appropriately set. Rather than dwell on it, I’ll do what Manny tells us to do after a rough at bat. “Turn the page, papi.”

I write this from the plane the following morning. I’ve turned the page. Today, I’ve ingested steel cut oats, fresh organic blueberries, a pile of kale, a chunk of a ham steak, a few fresh scrambled eggs and organic black coffee.

In my bag, I have a large salad with tons of fresh veggies, almonds, chicken, organic Hannah yams. I also still have that wild salmon I passed over for pizza in a box.

I’m back on track. I remember last night’s at bat and will make the adjustment without carrying the emotion of yesterday over into today’s game.

I hope you’ll share your stories of strikeouts or home runs in the comments section below.

Kap