Muscling up with Kettlebell Muscle?

Last post I was debating on what size bells to use for the program. I used the guideline of a pair of bells "you can comfortably press 10 times." Trick statement?! I can comfortably press a pair of 12s 10 times. I can press 16s many times. I can press the 20 easily for multiple singles. So I went with the 12s. Last Saturday's heavy volume day was a little rough. That day I felt fine. Sunday was fair, but on Monday I did not want to pick up the bells at all. My heart pounded at night and I did not sleep well. But I picked up a pair of 12s to tackle medium volume day. No muscle soreness whatsoever but my CNS was fried. I suffered. Rest,rest,rest. Tuesday I did nothing, Wednesday I chilled, and felt back to normal. Thursday I practiced with a pair of 8s for light volume day. It was easy to complete and my recovery was been typical. Eat,rest,hydrate.
Clients enjoy the program and stick to it easily. Actually, they don't stick to it.They want more...let's see how that plays out as work to rest ratio changes.
We all see grip attacked and beefy forearms. Doubles work and force generated with hip drive gives folks something to ponder.
Just wanted to ping a post out before tomorrow's practice.

Kettlebell Muscle

I am back to practicing multiple times per week. It has taken a full year to feel like all parts are working harmoniously again. Maybe I looked like I was moving fine, but take into account attitude towards practice (did I really want to lift a weight?), recovery time my body demanded, sleep,nutrition and the variable life throws at you. I know you can't always have things line up perfectly for each practice session, but SAFETY is the most important theme as I train myself and clients. Fatigue on the front or back side of a session indicates a lack of balance somewhere.I'd had enough risk and excitement. Anyway, many clients and I are working through Kettlebell Muscle. My experience doing a prescribed routine is slim and I look forward to having someone else do the thinking so I can just lift. I made a novice mistake and thought light,medium,heavy referred to kb size but before my heavy day I re-read the program and know that isn't so. On day one I used 12's, then 8's on light day then after I figured out the deal I went with 10's for my heavy day. So, I need to decide what to use; 10's or 12's?

Hey, it's August already!!

Looking back at a May's blog post I see that Sunday was my only dedicated training day during the late winter and early spring. That meant that the other days I was teaching and demo-ing lifts rather than practicing. If you teach a fitness physical skill,you know the deal. If you practiced with every class you taught, you'd be exhausted. Sunday practices consisted of all the pieces of the Turkish Get-Up without a kb. Visualization was a big part of this strategy before I entered the gym or even put a kb in my hand. I took this very,very slowly. I added 1/2 kneeling presses, worked Lunge and Hurdle Step correctives. Single Leg Deads and other grinds like Military presses were tackled in all their varieties. I held off on ballistics. When I added them, I went light, as in 8kgs, just like my TGU progressions. I did use a 14 pounder as I progressed through all phases of the TGU-VERY light for me! I chose my least favorite yoga asana, Ardha Chandrasana (1/2 moon) to work on single leg stance,balance,timing,confidence, and lack of it, and the awful hip rotation in the standing and extended leg. Moving from Trikonasana (Triangle) to 1/2 Moon was not pretty. I could see my foot collapsing and my knee spinning in as I moved my body weight onto the standing leg. My hips,glutes and hammies were not in good condition in terms of mobility and endurance. My toes and ankles always felt sore. I wondered if I would regain my former condition or at least get to a point where I felt good? I used the wall as a prop and Hugger Mugger's Big Blue Blocks.

I received an invitation to assistant instruct at July's Level 2 RKC and I began to work in earnest. A goal!! I walked more,added hills and started to swing a little heavier. Just 12ks. The 100 rep snatch test....overhead holds for shoulder stability. Eventually snatching the 8kg and then snatching the 12 kg. Rep scheme 5/4/3/2/1 and repeat. I wanted to hold onto the bell for 5 minutes. My reps felt sloppy. I plugged away. I noted improvement. I prepared the Level 1 and 2 skills. I started to like the Bent Press. I never thought that would happen! I did a pull-up here and there. I never remember NOT being able to do one, it's just a matter of GTG on it.No prob on that one. Pistol prep was pretty straight-forward as I had prepped ankles and hips previously and core was sewn up tight from tgus.

Level 2 skills involve a lot of timing for correct execution. As you would expect,time spent practicing those skills at the Cert was HUGE. I was a little bummed not to participate and get the motor upload of all the juicy teaching presented. On the other hand I was able to watch highly skilled KB athletes hone their skills under the guidance of other dedicated instructors. Everyone there was SO STRONG!! The pull ups that the ladies performed were solid. They floated up to the bar. Up to the sternum. Inspiring. The women in my team used 2 16 kg bells despite the fact that they are small ladies. They used 20's also.

The structure for the L2 was a little different than when I attended. There were formal teams each with instructors and assistants instead of one mass of people. This was good for participants. The candidates were also better prepared with their fundamental skills. Most difficult moments were for the men who had to press 1/2 body weight and complete a pull-up with a 24kg (or 16kg if weight over 220 lbs) hanging off one foot. Level 2 also involves shoulder mobility overhead as well as T-spine and hamstrings, so the challenge was lined up from the get go.

Lookin at Lucky...Lucky 5/13,that is!

Thank you to Darla and Pam from Louisville's daily newspaper,The Courier-Journal, who came last Thursday morning to observe one of my Kettlebell classes taught in the Highlands at Louisville Collegiate School. It was a proud moment for everyone and I was very pleased with how the article turned out. The response has been overwhelming,but I'm not complaining! Kettlebells have been rumbling around Louisville for several years, and now more people will know where to seek qualified instruction.

Just in case you didn't catch the connection, The Preakness was this weekend and Bob Baffert's horse "Lookin' At Lucky" won the race. The number has nothing to do with his horse,rather the day the article was published, a lucky day for me,my current students and incoming students. When you go to my website,you'll land on the schedule for my classes. Click Class Descriptions tab to check out the offerings.

Talk Derby to me...

Today is Oaks Day. That's the horse race the day before the Kentucky Derby. Liberal leave for employees, lots of crazy partiers in town for this year's predicted Muddiest Derby Ever. People are happy and lots of yard parties to see during an active recovery bike ride this morning after I tutored. I took a huge walk yesterday, about 7 miles, and basked in the sun during a Brettzel break. I was reflecting on the gorgeous weather and how everyone really deserved it after enduring such a rough fall and winter with two major power outages during a windstorm and icestorm...then I realized that that had happened the year BEFORE last...so, I guess I will call 2009 my "lost year."Lost at sea and what have you. I ate ice cream in 2009, so am a bit like a jelly donut, squishy in the middle. Nevertheless, I was surprised to easily move through 4 pull ups when I went by the swim club to pay my yearly dues. Hmmm, I have not been training them at all, so WTH?!

Sunday is the day I identify as my own training. I am working through the RKC classics and needed correctives. Ellen Stein will be in town this weekend and the opportunity to have an RKC check my technique could not come at a better time. Do I only train once a week? No, but I teach 8 classes a week and insert light practice here and there.

Biggest disappointment is not attending yoga as consistently as I could and should. Either I "did not sleep well" or "slept so well I must need more sleep." Super lame. I own up to the fact that my mind is my worst enemy when it comes to this topic. I'll get up to train other people at 6 am but not pursue my practice? That's a WTH effect struggle.

Hoping to see many of you in July at the L2.

Butter me and take a bite, I'm toast.

4/19/2010!!
Warm up: Rode my bike to practice,foam rollered,ankle mobility at the wall.
Snatch day. Gym Boss set for 5 minutes of work and 3 minutes of rest.
8 kg:20/20,15/15,5/5+5
10 kg: 6 (10/10)
12 kg: 15/15,15/15,10/10,10/10,5/5,5/5
16 kg: 5/5 OH hold
Brettzel
12 kg: 2 (10/10)
Total: 325
Cool down: Surya Namaskar A and B,Supta Padangusthasana A, Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana A,B & C. Virasana.
I pretty much went from zero to hero on the snatches. Let's not talk about the 16 kg. This time last year I could not even lift a kb.
Hi everyone out there in Bloglandia.

No time for fools

Training has been going great. Lots of activity; cycling,walking,kbs,yoga-sometimes twice a day. Car shopping yesterday. Gotta get to class!

Change the weather, change your luck

There are 4 seasons in Kentucky, and February always is a challenge in the Bluegrass as people become restless for Spring. Gray skies and penetrating cold. We got a bonus this year with 6 inches or so of powdery snow. Just as people made improvements in their snow driving skills, the snow melted and temps rose to the upper 50s. That brought out everyone and their uncle's dog. Sunshine?! People showed their appreciation with erratic, fast driving and thumping stereos. We would not last long in a harsher climate.

I've re-grouped so many times I can't keep count. Food logs,activity logs,walks,yoga,kbs,foam roller,dogs,nutrition,realizations,sleep,books and more books and people. Focus and distraction.

Last week AOS Providence and Newport w/8kg. Finally muscles soreness and recovery are normal and don't feel like a cancer hangover. I declare that a corner has been turned-again.

Best kb practices have been Sundays. Pistols last week w/door assist and then to center floor with two sets of 3R/3L.

I have patiently been working with fear. Not working through it, but with it. When it first showed up, I did not know what it was, Then I gave it a name and made friends with it. I had to. Then I greeted it with some tough love.

Warm up with a blog post

Wow, everyone, well, not Everyone,has fallen off the blog wagon. Maybe we can get it rolling again as winter sets in. I really enjoy reading what everyone is up to training wise and otherwise. Facebook is what it is but there is too much pollution. I'm not into the games or gangs and what have yous. Call me a grinch, but I miss my blog pals. I think actually everyone is kicking ass in their kb business pursuits and focusing on that and I am basically semi-retired. Haha.

Yoga this a.m. Ashtanga has moved locations, except for 6:30 am Mysore, so I attend other Hatha classes when transportation permits. Soon I may use the bus. I don't like driving much these days. Ashtanga has a ton of forward bends and I feel constricted There is either scar tissue, inflammation, and hopefully good healing and while I don't mind working on it, forward bending is not comfortable and I feel a greater sense of play and freedom as I explore other asanas. This also gives me more insight into imbalances because the teacher presents unique sequences which keep me from riding the poses as if in a rut.

My blog gears are rusty dusty but turning again.

One swing at a time.

12/13/09
Open practice today means I get to practice too, not instruct. What's really on my mind is will I be ready to recert when the time comes?
Foam roller work
Halos kg 10/10
Slingshot 12 kg 10/10, 16 kg 10/10
100 2HSw 16 kg breakdown as follows: 25,25,huff n' puff,15+10,15+10. Felt it in the grip in a good and challenging way.
Chest press 16 kg 5/5,4/4,3/3,2/2,1/1
Goblet squat 16kg 5/4/3,2,1
Dead clean 16 kg 1/1,2/2,3/3 wanted to repeat this but it felt unhealthyl to do so.
A pull up here and there
Contra lateral SLDL 12 kg catch and release,ie placing bell on deck and retrieving for full rep 5/5. Felt like more than 5 reps,especially with the left leg planted.
Dig it.

A nudge,a poke and a post

Magical thinking & magical blogging: Those great ideas for Blog titles that wash out when you finally find a peaceful moment to say what you've been up to. Looks like my blog friends are up to some pretty cool and strong stuff training wise and biz wise. Imbalances galore here. Starting with the feet,always the left foot and ankle. That would have been the landing foot in gymnastics that took the abuse,so stack on top of that knee,hip,spine and the brain and we have things to address. Riding my bike instantly ground up some scar tissue,or whatever the pain in my butt was. Plenty of walking. Sufficient kb and yoga. "Too much" means I am depleted. The right balance is tricky. I am not exactly weak, just not hard core. Not where I thought I would be. I'd be a fool not to appreciate and learn from this journey. I guess it's what I was training for,after all, if you believe we get the body we are training for. Got plenty to work on here.

Much improved

PET Scans and biopsies all look fine. Still healing though. I started back into yoga,gently, in mid August and eventually attended Ashtanga classes with some modifications and props. A little yoga goes a long,long way. This past week's practices were particularly powerful,leaving me feeling elated and energetic. On Wednesday I got snookered into doing Full Primary...I had assumed that we'd wrap things up at Navasana and finishing poses. Not so. Tom said, "jump the feet around." I replied "really?!" "Yes, it's Wednesday,"he said. Hmm. I had gauged my energy fairly well,forgoing a vinyasa now and then,my breathing was steady and my heart in the right place, so I went for it. The funny thing is, it did not feel like it took too much more time or effort on this day. In the spirit of playful investigation I continued on in the series.

The first thing I needed to tackle in order to heal, I realized, was sleeping. Doc upped my hormone dosage and got me set up on a much,much more convenient patch. Better compliance on my part and better sleep. I still wake up enough to drink a quart of water a night.
Next on the program is better eating. Food wise I changed the following: I keep a food log and immediately saw that what I ate, written in black and white is not near as good as eating it. So,more water,more protein,more calories! I slurp an Ensure or Boost once a day and even though they are very sweet, I felt a tremendous,positive difference in my energy throughout the entire day. I had been extremely resistant to going that route. Added canned veggies,still cannot tolerate fresh steamed anything. So I've gone to eating like a 5 year old to eating like a 75 year old...

Classes are going well and new clients continue to heed the peal of the bell:)
I added yoga classes for my students this month too. I have wanted to do this for my students for a long,long time. We are grateful to Louisville Aikikai for allowing us to use their beautiful space for this class.

My personal kb practice includes grinds,detail work from Kettlebells from the Ground Up,bottoms up pressing,overhead carries,single leg dead lifts. My goal is to enjoy honest strength arising from healthy mobility and rooted stability.

I'm happily working on this goal!

Shoulders

Added paint prep to shoulder conditioning. Chipping away on exterior household projects. Paint thinner and razor blading gooey, old paint today. Mostly overhead. Ashtanga practice. Then home to more prep work. Woefully behind on reading blogs but enjoying each one. The codes that some require to post comment is another reason blogging would have not been possible this summer. Letters and numbers coming from fingers on keyboard would not compute. Makes you realize how amazing the human body is,especially when all parts in decent working order. I think I have let Fawn down by eating too many carbs this summer. She warned me not to eat too much sugar. It was like telling my sister not to put the bobby pin in her ear-of course she did it. I start with a breakfast cinnamon bun with icing. Lunch today was dessert. A small carrot cake and coffee. Dinner was chick peas,veggies,chicken and indian type sauce. Then I had a hunk of chocolate almond bar. I may be forced to begin a written food confessional until I get the sweets beast back in his cage.

Another one

Thursday I was tired and muscle sore. I attended a yoga class in hopes of working out some kinks. No dice. It was too light of a class to generate much heat,but I enjoyed it and reconnected with some acquaintances. The teacher offered lavender and peppermint oil if we wanted to use it. That was different and cool. I chose the peppermint. Cheap thrills.
Today I completed Providence again. All 8kg. Did not want to feel as wiped as I did yesterday and need to burn some bad eating habits. The practice felt very easy this time and I hammered out a bunch of snatches. Did not do OH squats, just windmill. No tactical lunge,did lunge with no bell instead. Not truly crushing on the triple crush.
Food habits need to be re-established.Water intake is excellent. Due to now living on borrowed estrogen, I don't sleep well and sweat a great deal at night. Drinking a liter of water throughout the night. Learning ways to manage from those who have gone before me. Too many carbs or lymphedema? In some areas it is obvious that the lymph fluid has built up a pudgy barrier where the nodes were removed. Unsure if legs look weird to me or if it lymph. Pretty soon I hope not to care, as long as I am practicing regularly and eating better.

Do I have the patience for this?

Not to beat a dead horse, but this whole thing is a process. When the chips fell in April I immediately decided to leave no stone unturned and to make use of the resources available to support myself and my family. When I was in treatment, that was pretty much as I could muster, and I did so with a sunny disposition with two exceptions. On those times, I threw tantrums. Once, because I wanted the tumor to be smaller after all the zapping, and the second time when my parents visited me in the hospital. I was behind a wall of lead. I was throwing up nothing, I was not allowed to move, or to use my natural bodily functions. I was trapped and I hated it. I made sure everyone knew it and felt as helpless as I did. Of course, in hindsight who knows what they were thinking? My nurses explained to my parents that I was angry. That made sense to me too. The super nice nurse brought me a chillingly cold cup of iced cranberry juice and I drank that and felt so grateful and quenched. She understood what I was feeling, even though I was unable to put a name on it. Well, Louisville is fortunate to have a Gilda's Club. It is like walking into a house full of just nicely decorated living rooms. There are no dogs, no dog hair, piles of clutter and so forth that I feel obligated to deal with in my own life. An oasis! But, that does not mean I won't be working on my stuff. My husband and I are attending a dinner and discussion soon.
As far as working on that anger,lost training time,etc,etc,etc and rehabbing everything, I popped Providence in the DVD player and followed along with Anthony. I used the 12 kg except when I used the 8kg. I kicked butt!! I guess the sulking need to cease. No snatches for time with 12kg yet- I want to be sure my shoulders where know where home is.
Wow, it's still Wednesday? My second post of the day!

Practices and taking my bod. to yoga class

9/6/09
KBs:30 minute circuit of cleans, pressing, push ups,front squats and snatches. 8kg
9/7/09
Ashtanga led up to Navasana with finishing sequence. Wow! I actually broke out in a sweat during the day time...instead of at night while trying to sleep. I used props the whole time. The Maricyasanas are well beyond my grasp at the moment, haha, yoga humor. The final expression of the binding poses is more than I want. With props and tips from the teacher, these were a great release for the fascia in my legs,down into shins,ankles and feet. I still love doing Urdvha padamasana. Garba pindasana was a big question mark. Bit by bit I went for it.
9/8/09
Feel great after yesterday's yoga class.
KBs:warm up 3x: wall squat 16 kg re-set each time,halos 10/10 8kg,pump
3x: 30 2Hsw,C&P 5/5,FSq all 12 kg
3x: OH carry,rack carry, sumos. All 12 kg. Static push ups 3/2/1 . Btwn each set 30 secs. various rope undulations
Windmill Low 5/5 8kg
Pull up w/band assist.4/3/2/1

PET Scan-Good news!

PET scan results are negative which indicates success of treatments. Yea!! Does this mean I have to stop my weekly chocolate malt habit? The answer is yes.
As far as my "recovery exercise program" goes, I added yoga several times a week in August. I started with some gentle classes just to see where my heart was. In a silent room of strangers... emotions happen. You hope they do! Ustrasana,yes, some spillover-all good. Hips are crazy tight and glutes sleepy. Feet and ankles likewise feel beat up after a certain amount of walking and activity. Foam roller work, tennis balls,The Stick,enough but not too much yoga and single leg and split body work at kbs.

I am very psyched that the next 2 month's schedule at Yoga East includes beginning Ashtanga and Ashtanga inspired classes. It once would have been unheard of to utilize props, but these classes will permit it. Full Primary incorporates much forward folding asanas but my left side just won't tolerate this. The option to use blocks and a strap will be a great support. The practice, always accessible, will in fact draw folks who may have shied away from Mysore class.

Getting stronger each week!

I will feel this tomorrow.

8/8/09
Warm-up: 3x (7 push ups+10 bw squats)
Straight bar w/bumper plates 20 lbs:
10 Floor to OH
Run 650 m
10 FSQ
Run 650m
10 DL
Run 650
WOD called for 10 reps,then 20,then 30, but brought in all my reps at 10. The first 650 m run sucked b/c I was winded and slightly angry , the next time was better b/c it helped me to cool down physically and mentally as well as to stay loose. The next round's laps around the block were fine except the smell of the exhaust of the grill and burgers.
The WOD was a "team" effort though I did not feel the love too much with my group. I tried to share it with high 5s and positive comments. Maybe that has gone out of style. Maybe my voice not be heard above the heavy AC/DC.

It was an accomplishment for me to 1) follow instructions (even though I did not due to doing just 10 reps of each exercise), 2) recognize the team aspect of the WOD 3) it was 1:30 pm and I had not EATEN (coffee/sticky bun) 4) we had all listened to a two hour lecture on how to eat if you want to be a bodybuilder, fitness model or kick ass on the WOD~none which are goals for me. This gave me (MORE) time to consider short term goals. I booked on home for a recovery drink of choice. For me, today was a hell of a lot of exercise on top of getting up early to teach at 8:30 am today and hiking in Kentucky's Red River Gorge.

Practices 7/28,7/31 & 8/1

Tuesday
Bell work w/8kgs unless otherwise noted. Rest just to "shake it off" and stay loose.
bw oh sq w/dowel x10
frnt lunge 2(5/5) alt legs hands at waist
calf raises,wrist circles
30 secs 2Hsw,30 secs R/L,30 secs H2H
DBL dead cleans 5/4/3/2/1,5/4
DBL flr press 5/4/3/2/1 push ups 5/4/3/2/1
DBL Fsq+ DBL sumo 2(10/10)
2x12 kg length of longer hall: 3x(farmer's carry, OH carry,rack carry)
Thursday
Taught kb class. Only participation was 3(5/4/3/2/1) push ups
Friday
Firepower
w/8kgs except final snatch 10kg
Hurray!!
5 DL off two benches w/24kg
Saturday
Taught class & participated.Firepower again. Instead of snatches I did double snatches with weenie bells (6kgs) and OH carry until the 5
mins was up.
Comments: Pool 4 100. Shoulders were the first to go just as I noticed with kbs-that's why I am doing so much OH carry work. Well, maybe it is not quite "so much" but it is "MORE."

How I spent my summer.

The energy drain I experienced last fall and winter culminated with a diagnosis of cancer in late April. This was followed by surgery,daily radiation,weekly chemotherapy and two 3 day hospital stays for radiation implants that were removed on the third day. Plus, all the stuff in the off hours. I lost 14 pounds. I did not lose my hair. I kept up with Saturday KB classes for established students only. I slept and read a lot. Friends brought food and I ate what I could. I could not tolerate uncooked or cooked fruit or vegetables. No nuts,seeds,or fiber. I ate ice cream until it wasn't fun anymore. Eating quickly became a matter of not what is good for you but more what you could tolerate. Calories were calories. Swedish fish,grilled cheese,pro-biotics,pop tarts.
Treatments are over and that is a thrill! I practiced with my KB class last Saturday. I was sore for two days but walked it off taking any of our three dogs for a walk.
The 12kg feels heavy no matter if it is carried,cleaned,racked,pressed or held overhead.