Vintage Providence is HERE!!!

I posted about 2 weeks ago raving about having the opportunity to try the Vintage Providence workout when I attended the AoS certification training weekend. Well, the wait is over...it's finally here! Head on over to the AoS store to get a copy! The Vintage Providence workout was nothing short of amazing! The Vintage twist really put a new spin on an old favorite (i.e. Providence). It was absolutely incredible.

If you love the original Providence, the Vintage version will continue to challenge you and make you fall in love with the workout all over again. It's an entirely new workout with a few familiar elements. The workout uses kettlebells, vintage dumbbells, and vintage barbells. You must experience it for yourself! Even if you don't have the vintage dumbbells & barbells, I am going to give it a shot with regular dumbbells, bodybars, and possibly a lighter women's oly bar. Vintage Providence is being released as a downloadable 60-minute work-along workout. It will come with downloads for your computer, iPhone, iPod, and Blackberry.

Keep training hard! Head on over to the AoS store to get a copy! I will definitely be adding this to my own personal workout library.

Here is the trailer:

AoS Providence: Rounds 1-7

I got in a short workout this evening at the track. It was still rather warm (about 97-degrees), but I wanted to feel the warmth of the sun on my skin. however, the heat made me tired quickly ;-) At any rate, my plan was to complete the first 7 rounds of Providence with the 16kg bell; tomorrow I will do rounds 8-14. I was able to use the 16kg for everything except the chest presses. i also fatigued during the clean & press ladders, and had to scale back around the 3rd rung. All-in-all, I had an efficient, quick workout.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow!

Deck of Cards + Tabata

Tonight we took some of our clients through the infamous deck of cards workout. One class is in their final week of a 6-week conditioning program, and we wanted to bump up the intensity for the final 2 workouts. Tonight was deck of cards + tabata; let's see what Friday will bring :-).

Here was today's workout in case anybody wants to give it a shot. If you've never done a deck of cards session, it's a dynamic, fun workout. Here's how to get the job done:

Exercise Assignment: Assign 1 exercise per suit OR 2 exercises per color. We like choosing 1 exercise per suit (for 4 exercises total).
Getting it Done: Deal the deck one card at a time, doing the number on the card for reps of the given exercise.
o Face cards (Jack, Queen, King): 10 reps
o Aces: 11 reps
o Jokers: 1:00 Rest (more advanced exercisers can take shorter rest)
Try to get thru the entire deck ASAP,with good quality & form.

HEARTS TRX SQUAT JUMPS

CLUBS KB SWINGS

DIAMONDS KB PRESSES

SPADES SWISS BALL CRUNCHES

Our client tonight finished the entire deck in 30:06 - an excellent time!
We finished it off with 1 tabata round (20s work:10s active recovery) intervals.

• Four Rounds of Plank
• Four Rounds H2H Swings

Did the AoS Test!

Today was my first real workout day since I returned from the AoS course in Providence this past weekend. I've had a few clients throughout the week, but mostly coached and didn't exert myself too much. At any rate, tonight I felt incredibly strong!!! I ate well today, carb loaded, and I think that's where all of my extra energy came from. I taught an extended interval-based spinning class (a little over an hour), and then I came home and was still full of energy. So, I decided to try the AoS Essentials Test. I didn't test at the seminar b/c when we tested on Sunday as I group, I was pretty tired & sore so I decided to sit it out. This was the first time I've ever done the test, and tonight I just thought, what the heck, I'm going to go for it.

I did the test with the 12kg, and it wasn't bad at all! I made it through every round pretty smoothly (with the exception of my first high pull/snatch). I wish that I would've video taped it. I realized that for me the test so far has been a mental challenge. I knew that I was so familiar with all of the moves and have done them time and time again over the past 3 years. I kept psyching myself out with having to do the entire test with the 16kg. I was smiling and talking, not really breathing that hard or panting with the 12kg. Don't get me wrong, it was physically taxing since it was all done on one side, but it wasn't any harder than the other kettlebell stuff I've done. When I felt like I was getting to the point where I needed to put the bell down, there were only about 5 seconds in each round. For me, it was easier (and shorter) than Newport...but Newport kicks my a** every single time without fail :-) I am not saying that the test was easy by any means, but it was not impossible. I'll probably be singing a different tune when I test to pass. Anyway, I think I'll try again soon with the 16kg and see how I do. The 16kg bell is my required test kettlebell size. I'm confident that with practice, I'll be able to pass the test with the 20kg.

I feel like I've accomplished two major milestones in the past 2 weeks - attending the AoS course and finally trying the test (even if it wasn't with my required weight). As I've shared with some of you, the past 2 years have been really tough for my body physically, even though I've avidly trained with kettlebells since late 2005. In 2008 my system completely crashed, and I wasn't able to do much at all. I'm still healing in many ways, so just completing the course this weekend was a major accomplishment. Kettlebell training is my passion, and I wasn't sure if my body would ever rebound and allow me to experience that training intensity again. Well, today is a new day, and I feel like I am back with a vengence.

Anyway, sorry for being long winded. It won't be long now before I pass the test with the required weight!

Highly Recommend AoS Vintage Providence..when it's released

For all of you Art of Strength fans, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND the upcoming AoS Vintage Providence release. As I previously posted, I had the esteemed pleasure & honor of attending the AoS Essentials weekend course at Punch Rumford this past weekend. We had an opportunity to do the Vintage Providence workout on our last day, and it was nothing short of amazing! (you can see a few pictures of me doing the workout from yesterday's post). The Vintage twist really put a new spin on an old favorite. It was absolutely incredible. If you love the original Providence, the Vintage version will continue to challenge you and make you fall in love with the workout all over again.

Vintage Providence will be released as a downloadable work-along DVD in the next few weeks. Personally, I am dying to get a copy :-). Look out for this DVD, y'all! You must experience it for yourself! Even if you don't have the vintage dumbbells & barbells, I am going to give it a shot with regular dumbbells and bodybars (maybe a lighter women's oly bar). I'll post a notice when it becomes available for sale.

Keep training hard!

Art of Strength (AoS) Continuing Education Weekend

We just returned from a trip to Providence, RI for the long awaited AoS training & certification weekend. I still have to complete my test for official certification with the required 16kg kettlebell weight, but the weekend was incredible! Despite my injured elbow, I was still able to work hard. I also derived a great deal of coaching techniques to bring back home for our ATXU clients! It was an excellent compliment to the kettlebell workshop that we hosted at our facility last week. I learned some exciting new ideas that I will use to incrementally progress our clients through the challenging circuit training sessions that we design. I have alot of goodies up my sleeve :-)

We received education in the following areas: ropes gone wild, bandit loops (similar to TRX), kettlebells (of course), vintage strength training, & tabata implementations.

Here are a few photos of the weekend (and of me getting the job done - don't let the pink fool ya! those shot-loaded suckers were heavy!):