Training 3/25-3/31

3/25 in the a.m.
Dbl snatch 2x10kg 3x15 connecting w/ feet but gut feeling too loose
hi-pull 2x10kg 3x5
OH hold 2x10kg 1:15 secs
3/26 off
3/27 Teach kbs for your yoga demo and so forth
3/28 in the a. m.
1 HSW 3 (20/20) 12 kg
Windmill 5/5
in the p.m. Ashtanga up to Maricyasana B + finishing series
3/29 Before class 5 minutes snatch 12kg switch every 20 reps=160 reps
Teach 2 kb classes
3/30 Went to training facility to clean the weight room and experiment with video...coming soon!
3/31 3x3 Pull ups Hanging L Hanging leg raises to "L" then straddle, close and lower.
Teach yoga Hip openers, trikon, virabhadrasana A,B, pavritti trikonasa, ardha badha parsvokonasa, virabhadrasana variation to ardha chandrasana. So much "easier" to take root in the wooden floor studio. I actually enjoyed the lightness of 1/2 moon this evening.

Gracias,Antonio

3/25/08
Today's class
AOS Providence
All rounds 12kg minus rnd 10 8kg
Great job everyone. They wanted to do it again...
Then Steve and I did some weighted pull-ups to see what's up with it. I used 8kg. No prob but I'm taking my time on this.
Sudamos la gota gorda!

Sunny Monday

3/25/08
Build work capacity
Utthita Trikonasana (Triangle) b/twn swing sets
Double swings
2x10kg 3(25)
One HSwings
12kg 2(25+25) no rest
rest 90 secs
12 kg 1(25+25)
2Hswing
24kg 1(25)
Explorations into why a windmill is not Utthita Trikonasana(triangle). More on this later.
one snatch to windmill 12 kg 5L/5R check alignment. Upper arm may be drifiting from vertical.
15 pushups
hipull+snatch+windmill 12 kg 2/2
windmill 2x10 kg 5/5
Hipull 5/5 12 kg
Fake chi-gung to rest
Double snatches 2x10kg 2(15) Leakages esp in torso abs check in w/feet and breath
OH hold+walk 2x10kg 90 secs.
Back to class!!

Push me,Pull you or 68/48

Thursday- farmer's walked 88lbs at once of bells out of training facility,down long hall and upstairs to parking lot. Checked watch on the way back- 1min 20 secs. Repeated w/62lbs of bells,then 53 lbs. Taught the Kettlebells for your Yoga class. After SJ,on to wall squats. Students tending to either 1) frog or 2) scoop. Did drills to bring awareness to pull into squat w/ hip flexors & taking weight into heels. In several cases it was a matter of "just because you can does not mean you should" squat way low in ballet 2nd! Encouraged them to find their own strength within the movements. Continued to fine tune the swing from the tips of the toes to the crown of the head. Again, culturally, we tend to think front body and neglect back body. Students see lifts as demonstrated and may again focus on the front. Bring their awareness to the links in back of body. I tell them to zip up their "strong suits." Worked on breathing behind the shield,pullovers, cheat curls,sumo dls. Now that they are familiar with grip (hook & crush) practiced loading the bell properly for chest press. Little do they know that get-up sit ups await. Two studios in use for the class: 1 for kbs and 2 so students can take some asana throughout the class.
It is a fantastic group of yogis! Lots of laughter and support for one another's efforts with this thing called kettlebells. Attendance a consistent 10+ men and women.

Friday- Dogs and I spent a couple hours at the park roaming. It was 68 degrees and we new it would not last...and Saturday's high topped out at 48.

Saturday's practice included tribute to temps
48 sec 2hsw,68 sec rest. Repeat 3 times.
Among lifts/exercises was the flip squat,to which people react with gleeful horror:) Close your mouth and guard your grill.
After second class I slipped in a Smashing Pumkins CD and did Ashtanga Primary series up to Maricyasana C and then finishing poses. So-Ashtanga on a Saturday,right after a moon day to SP...yikes.

Bam bam

Some doubles work during a short break.
Dbl sw 2x12 20
Dbl snatch 2x12 10
Dbl Farmer's walk 60 sec
active rest walking leg raises front and side
Repeat three times.bambambam. This was fun and contributed to a great frame of mind for the afternoon.

Several hours later: warm up w/class.Jm,agility and so forth.
3(10) dbl sw
shrug/tillt/farmer's walk
dbl snatch 1(10)
anchored clean 5/5 to alt clean 1(5/5) to demo
alt press 2 (10/10)
snatch 16 kg 5/4/3/2/1 just once but bell felt crazy light. Students completed 3 sets and were cooking!
1leg balancing
pistol 1l/1r unloaded,rack 12kg 1r. Easy. Do both sides next time.
rack 2x12 pistol down...but not back up. I've got it in me, needs grooved.

Time to get serious and some background

3/16/08
Worked on hammies, quads and standing balancing. Hip openers and pull aparts for shoulders. Mindful walking leg lifts front,side and walking backwards. Standing balancing. Goal to assess stability and confidence. Pistol specific.
Halos 8kg 2x10/10
Shrugs+tilt 10kg 2 10/10
Farmer's walk 2x12 kg 2 minutes no break
Windmill 12kg 3x 5/5
SSST 12kg switch every 10. I have an ineffective system for counting. I did at least 200 snatches. Grip excellent, form needs tightening. Speed snatch last 2 mins always feels freer than rest/breathe on OH lockout.

3/17 "in the office"
MP 12 kg 5/5
C&P 16 kg 2x (1/2/3)
Background
June '07 I arrived to RKC very prepared and super psyched for three days of kbs and kb comrades. I mean I was PSYCHED. Like peel me off the ceiling. I had been practicing with kbs for about 3 years,participated in several workshops and knew I was ready to throw down with the big boys. Was keeping a decent balance with gentler stuff like Tai Chi and Ashtanga yoga. Training,nutrition,sleep were in good balance.
Had a blast at the RKC- learned a ton and was inspired by each instructor,assistant and teammate, improved techniques, put victims through a practice, ate what I could of a massive steak and had the leftovers for breakfast. At dinner I noted that Kenneth Jay's forearm is about the size of my thigh, and as Rif said, "you're rear quad dominant" so I said yeah kinda like Mary Lou Retton. That made sense to him.
I was so worried I'd be hungry or bonked out that I sent myself a package of food to the hotel ahead of time from KY...shared it and ate it.

Upon return I began teaching kbs, added classes and changed locations. I ruck some smaller kbs from new location to yoga studio for class I teach there. Teacher by day (4th,6th,7th grade), teacher by night. When to practice??
Whenever I can! I'm going to RKC II in June so it is high time to dig in. Inspired by many of your blogs out there. Always go to the "older possts" to see each person's journey. Really need to keep focus now plus meet other responsibilities.

3/12/08

2mile walk. At park: work on quad,ham,ankle and foot flexibility. Pull up on swing chains,4 pull ups on swing cross bar,dead hang/knee raises.Negative down swing chains till feet reach seat (I'm short). Work on shoulder mobility on swing uprights. At flagpole: standing balancing turning head,assisted pistol 1/1,pistols holding big toe 3L/3R. Front and back walkovers and handstands. Spring ahead caught up with me today.

Oddball

A normal weekly schedule for me is: M-F teach school all day. Mon teach yoga, Tues teach kbs,Thurs teach kb/yoga,Sat teach 2kb classes. Making time for my own practice is an intentional thing...and needs attention.

Saturday March 8, 2008
Louisville received 10"-12" snow

Saturday's practice
2Hsw 16kg 5 (20)
Halos 10kg 10/10
cossacks unloaded then 1:30 secs. 10kg
Cross snatch 10kg 1:30
c/p ladder 16kg 2 (1/2/3)
rows off knee 16kg 3(5/5)
MP 20kg 3(1/1)
handstands

Tues 3/11
Pistol-unloaded 1/1,Farmer's walk,dbl swings,hang clean/fsq/mp,burpees,tgu,sldl: basically all to keep moving & stay warm while I taught.5 pull-ups,handstands at end of practice.
One of my students brought an odd bell-simply labeled "50" no visible brand. Anyway, I pressed it 1L/1R. Spot just to help steer it a bit out of the rack. Left side was "weaker" and that was odd too. I identified where/when and will work those sticky spots.

Now they know...

Before I left for class this morning, I read a post on DD about the lady Beast Tamer Challenge.It prompted me to consider my current goals & the possibility of this feat for me. I sealed the deal when I told my class about the challenge. A brief discussion about formulating,refining,measuring progress and goals followed. Everyone bring your logs to the next class!

Today was about getting the groove of things at the new location.Solid attendance of 7 for Level 1.We kept to basics. JM, wall squats,swings, cheat curls,front squats,sumo dls, and mps. Finisher was intro to TGU or TGU depending. A couple of us jumped over to the weight room for pull ups. The space allows established students to get cranking while I work with new students.
Second class was small due to yoga workshop across town. I did snatches. Switching every 10 reps for 5 min,rest 2 minutes and go for another 5 minutes. Had to be about 200 snatches. 12 kg. Pull-ups earlier were 3 sets of 4. Great new space for practice. I am grateful.
Kentucky Derby is on the horizon. Boy Scouts were on campus for pine box derby. The running of 1st leg of the "Triple Crown" (road race) was this morning. And the sun was out today!