Decided not to pursue the RKC

Well, folks, I ultimately decided not to go for my RKC last weekend. I trained really hard, but I felt like I was focusing on the wrong things. I kept focusing on the snatch test and getting my numbers up, but I kept questioning what this was really teaching me? Does it make me a better instructor because I can snatch a 16kg kettlebell 19 times on each side? I personally don't think so. That is more a statement of my physical endurance. However, it does not teach me or reinforce skills to help me become a great instructor. The snatch is a wonderful exercise, and throughout this process, I certainly learned how to snatch (finally!). However, other aspects of my training suffered because I was focusing so much on a single exercise. I feel that my kettlebell training was at its best last summer. I was training 5-6 times per week, specifically with kettlebells using an arsenal of different exercises, and my conditioning, endurance, and physique all changed as a result. So, I want to take some time to get back to basics...not stress so much...focus on my true love of kettlebell lifting and rediscover the joy of teaching others.

My philosophy and training dynamic have certainly changed over the course of this year. While I think the RKC would be useful, it is not the route that I have elected to take to pursue my true passion. I don't even find the DD forums as useful as I once did. I am growing, learning, and contributing much more at the AoS forums. My passion is teaching others healthy lifestyles through physical fitness, specifically through activities such as spinning, boxing, kettlebell training, and sports-specific conditioning drills. I am an awesome spinning coach. I've taught other forms of group exercise, but for me, spinning definitely brought out my passion for coaching. I feel the same way with kettlebells. I believe firmly in the power of kettlebell training, and I want to spread that message to as many people as I can. Although I am still going through my own personal journey with kettlebells, my goal is to train to no only become an outstanding kettlebell athlete, but also to become an outstanding kettlebell coach and instructor like Anthony DiLugio, Mike Mahler, and Lisa Shaffer. Instead of the RKC, I'm planning to take Anthony's well rounded series of AoS courses to help me in this venture. I'd also like to do some work with Jason C. Brown/Kettlebell Athletics and Zach Evan-Esh. I love those underground, non-traditional, kick-your-arse-every-time training techniques!! No disrespect to the RKC method at all. It served a purpose for me and really introduced me to the sport. However, it is not the right avenue for me to achieve my personal goals of instructing at this time.

Thanks to all of the wonderful friends & trainers who have supported me through this experience - Anthony DiLugio, Rob O'Brien, Lisa Shaffer, Jen B, & Mike Mahler.

With Anthony's help, I'm working on something even bigger & better for 2008......Get Ready Austin, TX!

OWWWEEEEE -- AoS FIYAHPower

Goodness gracious. Tonight I tried AoS Firepower for the 2nd or 3rd time after having owned it for a year, and I still can't make it through. To me, Firepower ranks up there with Newport in terms of the conditioning that it requires (though Newport is IMO the hands down winner of taxing). Gosh, I tried the 2-alarm workout today...why?? who knows :-) What I do know is that I GOT SMOKED!! I'll have to keep working my way up to this baby.

Great workout to end the day, though!

Peace.....& good night....now I'm really craving some P.F. Chang's shrimp fried rice LOL

Top O' the morning

Man, I had a great workout this morning! I got my new Cathe 4-Day Split DVDs this week, so I decided to give it a try. I did 30 mins of kickbox + 30 mins of heavy shoulders, calves and core. It was a great way to jump start my day.

Cathe rocks!!

I must admit, I've been ignoring an injury, which is very bad (was in denial). I somehow overextended my elbow during some of my pullups, which is the real reason that I took a break from my beloved kettlebells. I noticed a slight pain when I was doing my snatches last night, so I know that it isn't completely healed. I also notice some pain in the back of my right knee, which has been occuring for a few months. I've been trying to do more stretching. I think I will try some of Anthony's methods for kettlebell rehabilitation of an injury. I'm slowly working my way back. I pulled a ligament and had a slight hairline fracture in my right elbow about 2 years ago; the pain that I'm feeling now is in my left elbow, but of similar intensity. Must be the cracks and aches as we age...I will be 30 years old in 2 months and 1 day :-) Anyway, I won't let it set me back..gotta keep rockin'....just in a smart way.

As Anthony says, "Be extraordinary" today!!!

Inspired to HOC

Thursday, 10/25/2007 7:10-7:30PM Workout
It's been about 4 weeks since I even picked up my beloved kettlebells. I've actually been training with P90X for the past 4 weeks. To my surprise, it is a great strength training program, and it's helping me focus on improving my pull-ups. Anyway, I was inspired by my friend Rob over at the Art of Strength forums, so I did a short HOC workout this evening before it got too dark. The days are getting shorter and the weather a tad bit chillier (I had to wear long pants, gloves, and a jacket for my workout). Due to my procrastination, I only got a solid 15 mins in and 3 rounds of work.

Here's what it looked like:
1/4 mile walk/jog
10 snatches per arm @ 12kg
Repeated 3x (goal was 5x in 25 mins, but darkness fell upon me....safety first....)

The beauty of kettlebells is that even when time is short, you can still get a quality workout in. Thanks for the inspiration, Rob!!!

The making of a pull-up bar

Well, I've been getting some requests to see our homemade pull-up bar. We basically designed it after looking at a variety of different designs on the crossfit.com forums. Our final design was a really simple. It was easy to put it together. The most challenging part was the installation, but only because our stud finder was crap. It took us Saturday evening & Sunday morning to finish it up; had our stud finder been better, we could've finished this puppy in 2 hours. We've since purchased a Zircon 60371 i65 OneStep Wood, Metal, and Live Wire Stud Sensor from amazon.com, which is great! We've had our bar installed for a little over a month, and I use it frequently (am currently going through a P90X rotation, which is very pull-up intensive). The best part about the bar is that we designed it to meet our exact specifications. We can also add to it later on if we want to make it versatile for use with more clients. We also installed a 100lb heavy bag that day that I purchased from Craiglist (gotta love it!).

Here's our Home Depot shopping list for the bar:

Qty Descr Total Price
---- --------------------------------------- ------------
1 2x6 Piece of wood $3.98
1 8-pc drill bit set $4.97
2 3/4" galvanized 90-degree elbows $2.00
2 3/4" galvanized flages $6.54
1 3/8" drill bit adaptor $2.48
4 Wood Lag Screws $3.92
2 3/4 x 18 Black Pipe $6.86
1 3/4 x 48 Black Pipe $5.98
8 3/8 x 31 Lag Screws $2.70
----------
$39.43 + tax




My make-shift block diagram:






Pictures of the work in progress:

The final product!

Beautiful Day, Beautiful Workout

This morning was absolutely gorgeous in Austin! I decided to take advantage and workout at the track (one of my favorite things!). I did 2.25 miles along with the first 4 rounds of AoS Providence, with some swings in between. I structured my workout as follows:

2 laps (walk/jog)
35 swings @ 16kg: 10 2H, 5 R, 5 L, 5 H2H, 10 2H
2 laps (walk/jog)
Good Stretch Sequence
AoS Providence Rounds 1-4 @ 16kg
6 laps (walk/jog)

I came home, took a much needed shower, then went to have a nice leisurely lunch at Whole Foods Market downtown. I read a magazine, enjoyed the view of the lovely dowtown skyline, and felt pretty darn good! I think I'll take a nap and then plan for another workout later this evening; I'm feeling a little Cathe coming on and snatch practice!

Make it a great one, people!!!

A burst of energy

I worked out pretty late tonight, but got a huge energy burst and was working hard for about an hour and a half. I did 1:05 of Cathe's Low Impact Circuit (~10 min step cardio w/ 4 min strength endurance sections). I followed that up with some heavy swing work on the 20kg (just 3 short rounds of 8-10) and snatch work with the 16kg (no gloves or wrist guards!). I did low rep snatches: round 1: 3 R/L, round 2: 5 R/L, round 3: 8R/4L; round 4: 11R/4L.

Will try to get solid cardio in the morning (30-40 mins elliptical)...less than 8 hours away :-)