Back at it

Saturday- taught two classes. All attending had been screened and have their corrective strategies woven into practice. Will re-screen in several weeks. Each student has homework, with one exception and she will run "maintenance" via yoga. No one batted an eye in early August when I indicated the coming shift in practices. They said I was "stuck with them."
It is a great bunch to be "stuck" with. Each student screened differently. That will keep me busy.
Sunday-AOS Newport. I had forgotten how much fun that practice is,when it is over! Afterwards I did ultra slow asana for 15 minutes and then 5 press handstand holds. Goal is to have feet and hands on the same line for the press up. I've done it, just not for a few months.

Remove a negative

Tired and happy. Fit in a little lifting this week. I keep a log on paper, which may be more interesting to readers than what I post and for sure has more details and accurate info about what I do in my own training/practice. I've shuffled around some responsibilities for this Fall with the goal to bring consistency to my own practices.
Couple snatch ladders this week. Tuesday 16 kg 10/9/8/7/6/5/4/3/2/1/,teach yoga-classes are 75 mins.
Thursday snatch ladder 16kg 14/13/12/11/10/9/8/7/6/5/4/3/2/1
Throughout the week chop and lift from tall kneeling. BW pull ups,Rrows off 16 kgs 3(5/5). Today 1leg dl w/12kg contra lateral to instep.
Worked with women's soccer team in weight room. They do a 45 sec. circuit-weeha. Some machines and bw. Hmm. Several of them enjoy lifting which is cool. Worst machine they "do" is the seated leg extension. Their fav is the incline squat.
Did light dl work w/ straight bar and pinch grip,wrist/forearm stuff w/ various small plates.

A teacher extends the hand of possibility

I can't take credit for the phrase,but no matter. Take a moment to consider all the factors that make it possible for you to share your knowledge with others as well as the factors that come together to make your practice happen. What amazing opportunities exist to make healthy connections among people and with yourself. In visiting blogs of new kb friends, I love to see the care people take in teaching their clients and providing them with the best at every class. The best feedback for how you are doing is your students!

Today I woke up at 6:30 am, which is quite early for me. I accomplished chores and headed out to prepare for the day's kb classes and got in a snatch ladder with the 16kg. 10/9/8/7/6/5/4/3/2/1 (L/R) My warm up was Surya Namaskar A (x2) and B(x2).

At the Level II Heidi Rothenberg of Firebellz indicated a back swing-swing issue in that I was hitting myself in the butt. ADC and Brett encouraged me to send more power out to the bell and take slack out of the elbows. At the CK-FMS when I completed my snatch test for Senior RKC Jeff O'Conner, he noticed that on my right side I was sluggish with the hip snap until I picked up the pace to cook through the last 10 reps. Yep- got lazy butt/gut on that side. Ken Froese saw an opportunity to point out hand placement on a 24kg snatch. Jury is still out on that though it gets the thumb headed back efficiently on the backswing. With gratitude to my teachers past and future!

Back to school practices!

8/18/08
Stride work
2Hsw 1x12kg 50
Dead Cln/fsq/press 2x12 2(5)
2Hsw 1x12 25
cln/fsq/press 2x12 2(5)
Alt ren rows 2x12 2(5/5)
gusu 1x12 5/5, 2x12 3
seated (pike ) press 2x12 5
tgu screen 1x12 5/5, 1x16 3/3
Then kb class

8/20 teach yoga

8/21 First day of school:)
external hip rotation work+rotation in stride
2hsw 8kg 50, 12kg 25,25 1hsw 8kg 25/25
snatch 1x16 5/5 10/10

8/22
jm
2Hsw 1x24kg 5(20) Halos 12kg 10/10 btwn sets
hinge and hold 1x24 kg per rkc II ADC's "special populations" 2(30 secs)
dead clean 1x12 5/5, 2x12kg 4(5),2x16kg 2(5)
farmer's carry 2x16 2mins per boss timer
flexibility work
Alt ren rows 2x16 3(5/5)
Pull-ups 1/2/3/4/5

I dream of screening

Tomorrow is the first day of school. The new Strength and Conditioning position began Monday and that is fantastic. I love it! Quick snatches 12kg 2(25/25),screening and off to teach yoga. If you are Cali, be sure to attend Brett Jones, Master RKC at
ironcorekettlebells.com

Practices 8/12-14/08

8/12
arm bar hold 12 kg 30 secs 2(l/r)
1Hsw 12kg 20/20
2Hsw 16kg 20
2Hsw20kg 20
2Hsw 24kg 20
8/13
Sauna
Taught yoga; snuck some movement screen in. Followed up with rotational stability correctives and presented asanas which brought awareness to the core. Students tend to see the placement arms and legs in the final expressions of an asana. What needs to happen is to feel where the anchor is in the body so that they can enjoy both the lightness and the strength of the postures. Often I will find "other jobs" for the hands, such as holding a block or curling the thumb inside the fist in an effort to integrate the core and get students feeling how the posture feels from the center rather than having them make it look like what they think they see as the final expression as illustrated on the cover of a yoga magazine.
Deadlift 40kg 2(20)
Suitcase DL 40 kg 2(3/3)
8/14
Warm up "Romanian complex" a collection of stepping,striding and extension that I used to do on the balance beam. Involves arms and head as well. Then it was about pressing:
arm bar hold 12kg 30 secs 2(l/r)
slingshot 8kg 10/10, 12 kg 10/10
primitive pattern rollings-point was to recall the various rolls from last weekend as well to instruct out loud.
2Hsw 1x12kg 50
Sw 2x12kg 5(10)
OH squat w/dowel 2(3)
1sldl w/ dowel 2(3/3) remembering Rolando's suggestion about the eyes, which actually applies to the rolls, but I needed to call it up for this today, for whatever reason.
Swing clean 12kg 5/5
Sw+cln pause in rack 2x12kg 5
MilPress 12kg 3/3
Clean and hold in rack 16kg 30secs r/l to study where breath goes/stays/pauses
arm bar 12kg
Clean & Press 16kg 3/3 jump rope 30 hops 2 feet, 10/10 1 foot
Milpress 1x16kg 5/5
MP 1x20kg 3/3 overhead hold 15 secs last rep
MP 12kg+20kg 2(2/2) meaning I had a 12 in one hand and a 20 in the other
grip work in the form of hauling,folding and stacking gym mats in closet, re-racked weights in weight room
MP 1x20kg 2(2/2)
BU c&p 12kg 2/2
Walking 2hsw the 12 kg back to storage closet.

Fridays: Everyone's favorites

At the BBQ with Vicki and Jodie hosted by Fawn & Aaron.
BBQ at the Fridays! Best fun ever and I did not want to leave. I am sure there are some entertaining pictures in the blogosphere!
Friday's schedule included background and philosophy of The Functional Movement Screen,tests,scoring and labs. Man, this is good stuff. Except for the Rotary Stability. Os and Heidi head up to the front for screening. Danielle Cook and Doc Cheng are there to help. With the screen to "protect us from our opinions" we observe the process and the experts at work. We see the value of being consistent and methodical on the front end. We move to the auditorium for more learning. No disco ball, it is Brett and we are proud to see him before us as we build the bridge between the RKC system and the Functional Movement Screen. Frequent reminders not to assume anything keeps us alert and engaged.

A Tremendous Weekend at CK-FMS

This gathering of RKCs at the first ever CK-FMS put on by Dragon Door was out of this world! This morning I boarded my plane, took my seat and waited to get sealed in for take-off. I closed my eyes and visions of the events of the past weekend filled my mind. I was full to overflowing with passion for the work I will be doing with my clients as a result of the top notch presentations by Master RKC, Brett Jones-MS,CSCS and Gray Cook-MS,PT,OCS,CSCS,RKC. My heart was feeling full too as I reflected on the time spent with comrades and comrade ladies. We focused on the day's tasks at the workshop; screenings, labs,lectures, case studies, Q&A, and discussions. At the day's end we found ourselves together again, pinching ourselves to see if this was really happening. Faces came together with names and we began to understand the significance of the weekend.

Surely the plane should have taken off by now, I thought. It seemed like maybe 20 minutes had passed. A glance out the window revealed that we were well into cruising altitude and very obviously had achieved lift off! How did I miss that?!
It is one thing to walk through the airport after these convergences in Minnesota and be processing the event, but to be so deep in flow to not notice take off was sweet.

Thursday
Early arrival allowed me to spend time with wonderful Fawn Friday, yogini, kettlebell,strength athlete and friend. While Fawn met with a client, I enjoyed breakfast at Little Scandanavia. A Lefse (potato tortilla) wrapped omlette provided a much needed boost. Fawn coached me through squats and deadlifts over at The Press Gym, where she trains for powerlifting. Fawn is a record setter and her favorite lift is the squat. Get over to her blog or hit YouTube to see for yourself the feats she has achieved!
On to the hotel for check in. Gabi is there but not in the room. Quick chill time and then a forced march up Grand Ave and Summit to check out the lovely homes, the Cathedral and lofty views of the area. Perfect weather. Dry,clear and a cleansing breeze. I sit on the steps of the cathedral to people watch,reflect and also anticipate the workshop. I get back to hotel and meet up with Gabi! We go walking and purchase chocolate for the AM/PM/PMS Boost protocol. This is healthy!

Then Franklin finds us! This is getting better and better! RKCs pour into The Liffey. Phil, "eat all day,"Scarito suggests the steak spinach salad. Franz joins us, more RKCs continue to bounce, broad shouldered, around the wooden tall tables like we are jumbled in a living pinball machine! RKC,Is,IIs,TL,Masters,Seniors,Chief it is happy mayhem at the meet and greet! Mike Z Health Nelson and Jodie swing by.

Cool fun in St. Louis

Morris and I made an impromptu trip to St. Louis to see the Botanical Gardens and thought we might surprise Fawn and friends-which we did but we did not actually see them. We met John and Angela from The Press and checked out the PL scene. The last time I was in St.Louis was when I drove my lemon yellow '75 VW Westy to Moab,Utah from PA. That was in 1993. On that trip I kept the hazard lights on through flat Kansas as there was a 'Vette meet and they greased by the fuel injected Lemon Pop as if we were standing still. Safety first and a spare 10 gallons of gas!

Practices for last week of July

7/28/08
Earlier start today. Nice easy jm starting with feet and ankles to work out the kinks from road trip to St. Louis. Squats, Cossack, halos (8kg), slingshot (12kg). Spinal rotation w/dowel.
2Hsw 16kg 20
walkover push-ups 5/5
matrix
L-sit leg raise (sit in a pike, press fingertips into floor in front of knees and lift legs together10 times).
Hinge and hold for pain (similar to Ardha Uttkatasana, but my version)
Arm bars 5/5 8kg
Gusu 5/5 8kg
Windmill+ OH Squat 3(5/5) 12 kg
Sing.legdl 2x12 2(5)
OH hold and walk 2(45secs) 2x12kg
End of warm up phase
Snatch 30/30 12kg
Rows off 20 w/16kg 2(5/5)
Flexibility stuff
Kneeling leg curl (machine) 10lbs slow negs 2(5/5) ,hammie stretch

7/29/08
Walk 2 hrs. Hills
Inchworm across studio. Superman plank 3(15 sec hold)
Addhomukhsvan. w/one foot hooked over other foot as foot/ankle/calf and on up stretch
Drop and pry, addhomukh, lunge l/r, catarunga dand, jump to stand
Cossack, additional mobility work for ankles
Halos 8kg
Armbar 8kg
Tgu 16kg 3/3
Armbar 12kg 3/3
Rock and roll pistol to stand alt l/r across studio
End of warm up on to quality control
2Hsw 16kg 5(10), 2(20)
Snatches 10/10 8kg, 10/10 12kg, 10/10 16kg and repeat all again
30/30 8kg, 30/30 8kg
Shrugs/Tilt 2x12 kg 2(10/10)
“Ab” stuff
Taught kbs

7/30/08
ABIB: Deep squat, hurdle, in line lunge, ASLR, Seated rotation.
Made comment in other log for all.
Explored hurdle work and tabletop stride, quad then glute w/hip extension then flexion.
Elevated dip cycle did it and did NOT like it.
½ kneeling dowel twist really did not like it.
In line lunge-most excellent.
Leg lower progression w/pylo.box.some fatigue
Taught yoga

7/31/08
Walked 1hr.

8/1/08
Sauna