BACK ON TRACK

I would like to say that I have taken a 4 month sabbatical from my blog, but that would be a lie. Because that would mean, I would have stepped away from it on purpose, but this is not true. I apologize for not keeping up with my writing.

This is me getting back on track. Better later than never, right?

The past six months I have been working full time at MBSC. I learned pretty fast that it is easy to get burnt out in this profession; or any profession. Recently, I have been putting my energy towards new and refreshing things.  I learned the importance of balance and I find myself being a better coach for it. I have taken up rock climbing, reading ( I “did” this before, but now I actually do it), making time to celebrate friends and family, and adopting the idea of “self-love.”

“Devoting a little of yourself to everything means committing a great deal of yourself to nothing.” -Michael LeBoef

I have been waiting for the perfect post to bring my blog back to life, but I realized the best post would be me just writing. So here I am—writing.

TIP OF THE DAY: Do something every day that makes you happy.

We are always willing to bend our backs for everyone else but ourselves. We cancel our workout, we post-pone a lunch with a close friend, we wait to plan a weekend get away because “there are other things to do.”  There is always something else we could be doing, but we must make the decision to do what makes us happy. Don’t let life get in the way.

WELCOME BACK!

EXCUSES 101: WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

As the seasons are changing, so are people’s reasons for skipping training sessions.  It’s one thing for something to pop up—that’s understandable, life happens. However when it becomes habit that CANNOT be tolerated.

“I have work.”                        “I have to take my kid’s to school.”     “I have to take my kid’s to soccer, hockey, football.”            “ That’s the only time of the day I can go do my errands.”                        “I have a meeting.”            “I got food poisoning.. Can we reschedule?”            “ I’m not feeling like I can workout today.”        “It’s hard to get up when it’s still dark out.”            “Oh.. that’s too early.”            “I have to go to the bank.”    “It’s so nice out, I’d rather be outside.”  “I need to catch up on sleep.”  “It’s been a long day at work.”            “I feel guility leaving during the day to workout.”            “ I don’t have enough time in the morning to workout and get ready.”      ”The classes I like, aren’t at the time I am available.”            “I am so tired when I wake up.”              “I am so tired at the end of the day.”            “It’s so cold in the morning, it’s hard to get out of bed.”                         “I am travelling all next week.”            “I should really get back into it…”                        “I forgot my sneakers/ shorts/ sportsbra.”            “ I have really bad cramps.”        “My boyfriend dumped me last night.”              “I have so much homework.”              “I can’t mess up my hair for work.”           “I don’t like getting sweaty in the middle of the day.”            “If I workout at night then I can’t fall asleep.”             “I’m stuck at work… again.”

DID I GET THEM ALL?

It is hard to hold yourself accountable sometimes, especially when the only time of the day you can workout is in the early morning or late night. If you don’t have the power within yourself (which we are all guilty of slipping once and a while)—make someone else hold you accountable. Make a gym buddy, carpool in the am, or have your significant other hold you accountable.

DON’T HAVE FRIENDS?

In your weekly planner, give yourself a gold star every time you make a workout! Sounds silly, right?  Remember when you were younger and you got a star for having good behavior, like making your bed or drinking your milk at dinner—it worked, didn’t it? Why not have the same positive reinforcement with workouts!!! It will be the best $1.29 that you spent on yourself! See how many stars you can tally month to month!

MAKE TIME

You make your own schedule. Pencil in a workout—whether you are in the office or on the road—you are more likely to get in a workout if you pre-planned it. You make time to do laundry every week, brush your teeth every day, make time for your workout! It’s just as important as brushing your teeth!

BE EFFICIENT WITH TIME

If you have an hour, plan a workout for 30 minutes so there is a sense of accomplishment and you keep moving. Set a timer and rest the least amount as possible until time is up.

BE REALISTIC

I hate when people set unrealistic goals. “I want to lose 10 lbs this month.” That’s great to have that goal, but it’s unrealistic.” Start with something that you can be consistent with, “Make it to the gym twice this week in the morning.” Losing 10 lbs will be a result from making the healthy habit of going to the gym twice a week. We should be more concerned with positive habits, then results. You will see more results if you focus on the habits.

GO AHEAD AND COMMIT!

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? 

5 THINGS THAT STUCK AT THE RKC

This past weekend I attended the RKC Workshop in Philly and became RKC certified It was an amazing weekend of coaching, learning, and working out. I met some great people and learned A LOT! Such a great experience, I would recommend everyone checking it out! 

Here are five tips/ techniques I learned over the weekend that I wanted to share!

Corrective Strategy: Towel Swing

If you have a client use the towel swing, it will raise any issues your client is having with the swing. Depending on where the disconnect is (hips not coming through all the way or trying to raise kettle bell with arms), this drill will find it. If you find that the towel presents an unbearable about of problems, set the bell down, and go back and assess the dead lift. When you feel confident with their dead lift, resume to the swing.

Don’t confuse the drill with the skill.

When coaching kettlebells, just like anything else, there are drills to enhance the skill. For example, you would perform towel swings with a client until it looks smooth, then perform the skill: the swing. If they are getting their hips through or finally making all of the correct connections within the swing, you do not need to use the towel swing any longer.

Some get the drill confused with the skill. If they have the ability to perform the movement (the skill) there is no need to harp on the drill. Make sense?

Fix the cause of the movement, not the problem.

When coaching, we tend to see what the athlete is doing improperly. However, even if we see knees forward in a deadlift, we aren’t going to coach, “don’t bring your knees forward.” We would simply say, “butt back,” and the athlete or client tends to understand.

This way they are focusing on a movement rather than focusing on what NOT to do.

This  also allows the athlete or client do the movement naturally rather than thinking, “don’t let the knees go forward” or “don’t lean back”.

I think this was the coolest thing out of the whole weekend to bring back—because as coaches we do it naturally—but realizing why we do it was a different aspect I had not thought about.

“Press is like a rocket shuttle, swing is like a bullet.”

As the rocket shuttle takes off, it accelerates as it gets higher. In the press,  as you get closer to the lock out, the tension increases. The press is not a wind up —your whole body works to get that weight above your head.  Brace and then press up rather than brace, hold, and then press up. You can muscle the lighter weight, but when you are trying to put up something that matters, the brace and hold will not work.

When you fire a bullet, once you pull the trigger, the bullet sets off. There is no acceleration as it progresses. Same in the swing! Set the lats, hike the bell and pop the hips! Once you pop the hips, the bell already has a projected finish and the floats. Just a cool way to think of it!

3 P’s of the Snatch: Pop, Pull, Punch

This is a simple way of breaking down the snatch. Pop of the hips, high pull with a locked out wrist, and a punch at the top of the movement.

Here is a video for a progression for the snatch:

THANKS FOR READING! !

Keep It Simple

SIDE NOTE: I am now three weeks away from the RKC Workshop in Philadelphia, PA. In order to pass the RKC certification, I must complete the pull-up test (15 second Arm Hang for females) and the Snatch Test (100 repetitions of snatches in 5 minutes with a 16kg kettlebell). Along with those physical tests, I also am graded on professionalism, coaching technique, double kettlebell technique, and the Turkish Get Up. It is going to be a fun filled 3-day seminar of kettlebells and more kettlebells.

Therefore, a lot of my training is kettlebell based. I believe that kettlebells are a great “tool in the toolbox” for strength and conditioning. However, the majority of my training at this point is with the kettlebell.

When I started training for my RKC, I wrote a program. It consisted of high volume, high reps of kettlebell work. I had double kettlebell days, single kettlebell workdays, lighter days and heavy days.  My goal was to get to three consecutive days of kettlebell work to prepare for the three day RKC Workshop.

TOO MANY COLORS!

I stayed with that training for three weeks until I read Enter The Kettlebell. When I finished Enter the Kettlebell, I restructured my program to increase my double bell work and condition my shoulders to be able to press, press, press. I was performing clean and press, clean and squat complexes, pull-ups, get-ups, overhead carries, straight leg dead lifts. Training consisted mostly of ladders. It was like using every crayon in the box for one picture, and then feeling like the picture never took shape. To say the least, I think I programmed too much into my workout. You should have seen my training sheet. I got lost just reading it! Coaching and personal training 50+ hours a week, I didn’t know how I was going to get in these workouts. This didn’t last too long.

 

I began reading Dan John, Never Let Go, and I restructured my program again. I understand that you should not keep changing your training because you won’t see any results. I kept with the ladders, because I found that I could get multiple quality repetitions in before fatigue set in.

Two weeks ago, five weeks until RKC, I changed my training. I decided I would keep it simple. Keyword: SIMPLE, not easy. With Dan John’s saying in mind, “If it is important to you, do it everyday.” My warmup consists of plyos, medballs, the arm bar, turkish get ups, and goblet squats. I have found a large improvement on my shoulder stability (and core) doing these every day.

Then when it comes to my training, I picked two exercises and end with snatches or swings. The workouts are simple, but I am working in every movement!

Here are some examples of my training sessions:

Training 1: Swings and Chin-Ups Conditioning: Sled Pushes

Training 2: Double KB Goblet Squat and Pushups Conditioning: Snatches

Training 3: Double Bell Work: Free Training Day Conditioning: Swings and Sled Push

Keeping it simple this way, I can focus on the two-three movements I am working on, and I crush the workout. Try it out: Pick two – three exercises and go through them for 30 minutes! You will be amazed how much it kicks your butt! Here is today’s simple workout:

Double Kettlebell Front Squats, Pushups, and Snatches

THANKS FOR READING!!!

FOOD, INC.

Food, Inc. is a documentary that reveals how the nation’s food supply is influenced by a handful of corporations that are more focused on the profit before the consumer’s health.

I would recommend watching the film, not to scare you from eating meat, but simply to be more aware of where you are buying your food.

Here are three points that left an impression on me:

CHICKEN

To keep up with the “need” from consumers, the industry is not producing chickens; they are producing food.

Birds are being raised and slaughtered at half the time they were 50 years ago, and growing twice as big. To advance the chicken’s growth, a combination of factory breeding, hormones and antibiotics are being used. These birds are growing too big too fast that their bodies cannot keep up. Some can barely stand on their own two legs because their joints cannot keep up with the changes. In the book Eating Animals, and example of imagining “human children growing to be three hundred pounds in ten years while eating only granola bars and Flintstone vitamins.” Crazy right?

The industry has redesigned the birds to be “big breasted” since the majority of the population prefer white meat. (That’s probably how they get guys to eat chicken instead of ground beef)

RANDOM FUN FACT: After the decline in tobacco use, farmers in the south turned to chicken farming.

CORN-UCOPIA

There are over 40,000 products in supermarkets today, but about 90% have corn in them.

Here are a list of items that contain “clever rearragements” of corn that may surprise you:

Ketchup

Sweet and Low

Cheese

Salad dressing

Peanut Butter

Coke

Meat

Grape Jelly

Fast Food

RANDOM FUN FACT:  The average American is eating 200 lbs of meat per person/ per year.

VEGETABLES

We all know that we need to eat our broccoli and brussell sprouts, but vegetables seem more expensive these days.

Why is that?

The government supports the production of corn, bringing the market price down significantly. As a result, the corn that is made is being broken down and put into processed foods such as Coke or cookies, making these foods cheaper than a head of broccoli.   High fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin, xanthan gum are all products of corn.

This makes it more tempting to buy something off the shelf than something from the produce aisle.

Isn't that tempting?

TAKE HOME MESSAGE

Read labels.

Shop on the outside aisles of grocery stores. 

Buy food from companies that treat the animals and workers with respect.

Buy foods that are grown locally and in season.

Shop at farmer’s markets.

 

THANKS FOR READING!

Sources:

Food, Inc.. Dir. Robert Kenner. Perf. Eric Schlosser. Magnolia Home Entertainment, 2009. DVD.

Foer, Jonathan Safran. Eating Animals . New York: Little, Brown and Co., 2009. Print.

Life Lesson: The Turkey and The Bull

Here is an excerpt from John Maxwell’s Self Improvement 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know

 

A turkey was chatting with a bull. “I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree,” sighed the turkey, ” but I haven’t got the energy.”

“Well,” replied the bull, “why don’t you nibble on some of my droppings? They are packed with nutrients.”

The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it actually gave him the strength to get to the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch.  Finally, after the fourth night, he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. But he was promptly spotted by a hunter, who shot him down out of the tree.

The moral of the story: BS might get you to the top, but it won’t keep you there!

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

TOUGH MUDDER: TOUGH ENOUGH?

…It was definitely tough enough! For those who have no clue what I am talking about, the Tough Mudder is 10-12 mile obstacle courses designed by the British Special Forces to test all around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie. Finishing the fastest is not the objective, but completing the Tough Mudder with your team is. Tough Mudder is 3-4 times longer and tougher than Warrior Dash or Ruckus. On average 78% of the participants that enter the Tough Mudder finish. The New England event took place at Mount Snow, VT.  You can check out the obstacles and information here.

Experience:

TEAM TOUGH MUDDER FUGGERS

I had a blast! We went up on Friday night and stayed over so we wouldn’t have to drive up on race day (sitting in a car for 3 hours…. Not a good idea).  On Saturday, we were supposed to go off at 1:30 pm. We were bummed because the course would have been run down, we would probably end by 4, which it would be cold by then, the party would have been over, then driving back late night… it just wasn’t ideal. We got to the course early to register where we saw so many interesting characters! There were people in costumes, there were people wearing chains; one guy did the entire course with a 12KG KETTLEBELL! Luckily, we got onto the course earlier and took off at 10:40am.

At the starting line, the TM Team was revving up all the Tough Mudders, chanting, yelling, cheering; we were fired up! The beginning of the race was running up the mountain. There was mud, there were rocks, there was mud, there was snow, and did I say there was mud? We found ourselves throughout the entire course, in between obstacles, running up and down the mountain. By the end of the course, let’s just say I felt comfortable running down the mountains at a fast pace.

The motivating factor was the unknown that lied ahead. We were always looking forward to the next obstacle. There was never a part of the race where I was thinking, “I want to stop,” it was more like, “I don’t want to do this!” But I did. Having a team definitely helped!  There was never time to slow down. You pushed yourself to keep up, and you pushed yourself to stay ahead.  And when you finished, there was a sense of accomplishment between everyone, a bond.

TRAINING

For my training, I mostly worked with kettlebells, and weights. I may have ran three times from February to May, if that many. I did kettlebell interval training and complex circuits 2x/ week. I included one day a week of circuit training for my “cardio,” and kept up with my heavy lifts 2x/ week.  I felt great throughout the entire race! Goes to show you that you do not need to run to stay in shape!

Here are my superlatives for the racecourse:

Most Challenging Obstacle: The Ball Shrinker

The Ball Shrinker was by far the most difficult obstacle overall; physically and mentally. Two tight ropes, one on top and one on the bottom; so you are standing in between these two ropes. Other people are on the rope at the same time as you, so the ropes are swaying back and forth, while people try to balance on them. The objective is to get cross the pond. The water is about 8 feet deep, and 35- degrees F. As you got farther along the rope, you got deeper into the freezing water. However, Ryan and I had a 350-pound guy in front of us that just stopped in the dead middle of the rope. I could barely hold on to the bottom rope, (it was pretty low down in the water). I was holding onto the top rope for dear life, meanwhile we were stuck, moving nowhere. After about a minute of sitting on the rope trying to figure out the next step, I sternly told Ryan to “MOVE AROUND THE MAN.”  Later he told me he had never seen that fearful and terrified look in my eyes before. It made him move fast. The freezing water started to affect my body, and my heart was beating out of my chest, I was losing my breath, and started to feel like I was losing control of my body. I pulled myself to shore, moving along the rope, and had never been so alleviated to be over with such a gruesome experience. After that obstacle, which was only 3 miles in, I kept on saying, “If I could do the Ball Shrinker, I can do anything!”

Ball Shrinker

Most Fun Obstacle: The Killa Gorilla

The Killa Gorilla was running up and down the same muddy and messy hill 10 times. We had to climb up the muddy and wet hill and then run/ slide down the muddy way. We had such a blast going at full speed up and down the hills we were laughing and smiling the entire time!

Most Demanding Physically: Funky Monkey

The Monkey Bars were greased with oil and butter and placed over a pool of freezing water that when (it was only a matter of when) you fell, you would fall into the icy water. I made it through 4 monkey bars before falling in. I remember thinking “ This stinks… but you know what? Hanging up here and going slow and steady is better than being in the water.” Then I fell in.

Funky Monkey

Most Demanding Mentally: Tree Hugger

Climbing up the steep, steep mountain about 6 miles into the course. This was probably the 10^th hill we had climbed and when you got to this, you were over the whole climbing up the mountain ordeal. Actually, a lot of people had to climb to the side of this one because people were starting to cramp up.

Most Memorable: Electric Shock Therapy

The end of the race, and the only thing that is separating you from the finish line is the electric shock “field” of wires. Here’s the catch: There is no sprinting through the wires because there is mud underneath, that if you don’t choose your path wisely, your foot could get stuck or you could slip and fall. I got zapped three times. The first one was an “ouch,” the second one was an “OWWW!” and the third one was a “OWWW! AHHH!” Tough Mudder Photographers got a good glimpse of that last one!

... it hurt!!

Most Team Oriented: Berlin Walls

The 20-foot wooden wall was impossible to get over without the help of fellow Tough Mudders. They would help you up, while you had to jump and grab onto the top of the wooden ledge, swing your leg over, hang on, and then jump down. Repeat 6 TIMES !!!!

Most Exciting Moment: Getting the Tough Mudder Headband when you finished the course!

Would I do it again? ABSOLUTELY!

We finished is just over 3 hours, with no injuries!

Here are descriptions of some of the other obstacles that we needed to complete to become Tough Mudders:

Braveheart Charge- Uphill run for the first mile

Kiss of Mud- crawling underneath barbwire in a muddy field up hill

Tire Run- 50 yards running through different size tires with mud underneath. Try not to get your feet stuck!

Fish ‘n Chips- A pond filled with mulch and vinegar that you must climb in and out of, then walk under a tight cargo net.

Boa Constrictor- Climb through a narrow tunnel on your hands and knees, that as you get deeper into the tunnel starts to get deeper into the freezing cold water. On the bottom of the tunnel there are rocks and pebbles to scratch up those innocent knees.

Boa Constricter

Hold Your Wood- Carry a log up and down the mountain.

Ice Glacier Climb- 20 ft wall of snow that you needed to climb over. Once at the top, you needed to slide down the other side of snow.

Chairlift Hurdles- Hurdle over the chairlifts. However, you could not just roll over the hurdles because there were handles on the top of each one. Underneath the hurdles the ground was either uneven, wet, muddy, or all of the above! You had to watch where you stepped! The hurdles were up to my hip!

Walk the Plank- Climb up a 20 ft wall with a rope. At the top, there is a ledge where you jump 20 feet into freezing cold water, swim to the side and climb up a slanted wooden wall.

Walk The Plank

Blood Bath- Freezing cold red water in a big tub divided by a large wooden wall that you must go under the water to get to the other side

Greased Lightning- Slide down a slippery slope into a freezing pond of mud

Overall, a great experience! I would totally recommend it to anyone that is looking for something to compete in and, of course, is tough enough.

Check out more photos of Mount Snow, VT Tough Mudders