Thurs training

3/31

2x24 jerks 6 min 12 rpms... lead legs...
32 OAJ 12/12
36 OAJ 12/12
1/2 hour jog... holy crap Im sore...

Is this guy Kidding me?

I rememeber the first time I noticed a great lifter warm up.... Now this guy is a legit world record holder... He is a Real
Pro... So this guy goes over to the bench, lays down, he goes through his set up, he places his hands very methodically, he kinda works his feet to where he needs them... He breathes and then he picks up the bar... This bar had no weight on it!! He treats the empty bar as if it is loaded with serious weight... I was remember thinking..." this guy is a little dramatic"!! What I didn't know then that I know now is that this guy never misses his lifts... He never misses! He treats the bar the same way no matter what...
What is the point you might be thinking? The point is that when you lift light weights, you are training your Central Nervous System as well as your muscular system... Perfecting the right technique takes place with sub maximal loads... This is how you can spot a professional, they treat light weights with the same seriousness as heavy loads... Don't take light weights lightly.

Wens training

I jogged in the woods for 1 hour..
stretched...

Kettlebell Hangover Today...

I woke up sore and grumpy today... My legs, back, shoulders, hands, feet, elbows, arms, and traps are achy... The only thing that isn't barking is my nose... and eyebrows seem ok, so far.... Little things seem very difficult, like those few short steps to the bathroom... Tying my sneakers... WOW... ANyway I'm up and now Im wondering why nobody ever talks the Morning after...

Tues training

3/29/11

16kg snatch 4 min 16 rpms
20kg snatch 4 min 16 rpms
24kg snatch 6 min 17,17,20-17,17,20
16kg snatch 4 min 22rpms

swings
48kh 10/10
44kg 15/15
40kg 20/20
36kg 20/20 hands roasted...

1.5 mile SLOG...(slow-Jog)

Who Makes it?

I am thinking about what type of person makes it in this sport. Just for the record, I am defining "Makes it" as:
A person that is healthier and more vital as a result of training and competing with Kettlebells as the chief tool used in training... Also mentally they look forward to training and improving their own results and the results of the people they teach. They are goal orientated, but also understand that results come from becoming a smarter lifter, continuously focussing on improving mechanics and movement quality, by studying, practicing and applying better and better Technique. To them the weight and numbers come after movement quality.... They appreciate the daily struggle, the ups and downs, and are in this for the long haul.. They are grateful for small improvements and remain positive during setbacks... These people are the real heros of this sport, they have jobs and kids and work stress, but they find time to train no matter what. If you are sensitive, do not ask them what they think, because they will tell you and it won't be sugar coated.. they do not have time for the "tickle tickle" approach... These are the people I love seeing at these events...

Thanks for reading This Blog

Just wanted to say thank you for following my blog.. I cannot believe how many people read this craziness... Stay tuned as I never run out of stuff to Talk about... Never....

Andy Fitting and Chris Duffy

Melissa Metcalf busting em out...

Back to Work

Monday.. 3/28/11

2x16 jerks 3 min 15,15,15
2x24 jerks 3 min 15,15,12
2x28 jerks 3 min 9,9,10
2x28 jerks 3 min 8,9,9
2x24 3 min 15,14,12
32OAJ 10/10
36 OAJ 10/10 My knees started complaining a little, so I bagged it...

Heres my 44kg Strongsport set..

Scott Tighe 32kg Strongsport 25/25 in 4 minutes

Re Evaluate

Competing is really the only true way to see if you are progressing. You see and hear all sort of projections and numbers beforehand, But, I can assure you it is all different once you step up for real. Every fighter has a plan in his head when he steps into the right, then he gets hit..... and things change... Nobody has punched me in the face at a Kettlebell meet, but I have had more than a few problems happen that I never saw coming... things that never happened to me in training... In my house I am undefeated... Not the same record on the platform..
I like to use Competitions as a measuring stick for my progress, It is the purest and simplest form of real feedback available. Now it is time to get back to training and make the weak links the top priority....

Meet report

Ok so I went to the WKC Long cycle championship. I am not a long cycle guy but I did do strongsport with the 44kg kettlebell.. I have been training for this for about 2 weeks... I made rank with the 36kg, then the 40kg, so I figured I would try the 44kg... It is Definetly a real difference 88 lbs to 97 lbs... Anyway I did 10/10 and felt good. I am sure with some practice I could make it shortly...
Anyway, I saw alot of new talent at this meet... Henry Marshal from Texas had a great young team of hard chargers... Keep your eye on these lifters... Especially his fiancé Maritza very tough competitor... Micheal Cricks and Jenna Brian did what they usually do... Lifted like professional... Jenna hit CMS! Great Job Complete Kettlebells! Valerie Pavlowski came and hit her rank 1 numbers without much specific training... Jen Cord made CMS numbers from the Ice chamber. Also Surya did 52/52 very classy reps with the 24kg!! She switched over to long cycle 2 weeks ago! Jennifer Hintenburg hit MS with 44/44 reps... She is the first Canadien MS! She came with a bunch of lifters that all did great work! Cyrus Peterson stepped up and competed with the 24kg and did really great for his first competition... Cyrus also had a terrific team of first time competitors... Very impressive technique! My guy Scott Tighe needed 54 reps with 24kg to make rank 1.. He did 61 beautiful reps! Then on the strongsport he did and amazing 25/25 reps with the 32kg!!
Andy Fitting made his rank with the 60kg bell.. I didn't see him lift, I was lifting next to him... Mike Sanders came and represented the North New Jersey kb club... He hit his rank 2 numbers easily, Alicia Keller hit her CMS numbers of 59/59.. Heidi Toy first time on the platform made rank 1 60/60 reps... Marty Farrel did 42 reps with the 32kgs... I'm sure
I'm leaving alot of people out... Mike and Kim Stefano ran a very well organized meet... They also had a team competing... Incredible job! These meets are a lot of work and aggrevation...
Oh boy I almost forgot Marcus Taylor and his Chocolate City kettlebell club!! This was a great time...
I'm sorry if I forgot you!

Little Preview...

Good Luck Lifters!!

I would just like to Say Good Luck to all the lifters going to New York this weekend. You have done the work, sent in the videos made the corrections and gone through the hassle of making rank... Now is it time for the fun part!! Stay Loose and make every rep count! See you there...

VF Workout 127 - Beast Snatch 100 reps

Mental Tricks

Some days I really don't feel like training. I wake up in the morning and I am thinking about the session I have looming over my head...I know it is not going to be fun, I tell myself that it is not here yet... worry about it later... That usually works until about Lunch time... It is funny, I seem to get crazy around feeding time... Sometimes I tell myself that I will skip lunch and that way i will be able to get my sets behind me earlier... If I am not careful, this could be a tragic mistake. If I do not make myself eat at midday.. I will have to eat later.. close to training time and I find it best to train with a pretty empty stomach.. Like 3 hours after I eat seems perfect... So another trick is to make sure I eat a good lunch, nothing crazy or unusual... Simple is best, and eating a little less than I normally do is also a good Idea...
After lunch I feel better about training and I can relax a little bit...I like to have a cup of coffee in the afternoon to give me a little boost before training, this helps... But again I need to pay attention to the time, after 3 O'clock and it will effect my sleep...
My sets are getting closer, and closer, When I get in the house.. (I train at home) I get right into my lifting clothes... Despite the feelings of... "this is going to suck" thoughts that are swarming around my cerebral cortex.... I tell myself that I am just putting my shoes on... it is all part of it, This is not hard yet... Relax... We're all friends here... I then go into my room with my ipod.. I put on some kind of music and start moving around... I am in my training room, I have my stuff on, and maybe my head is still not right.. I do some stretching, this feels good, I do some jogging in place, this heats me up a little... I pick up a light Kettlebell... This feels good... My head is now relaxed, I am doing what I like to do... I warm up and start to think about my main sets... Now I am less afraid and more excited... My shirt now has some sweat on it... I have gotten the creaks out of my shoulders and Elbows... I am chalking my hands and setting my clock... I still have some fear, but what the hell.. I'm in my costume and I stink....might as well jump all the way in now...

The Big Picture

When talking with people I have Coached, often times they will come to me complaining about Lack of progress... I then have to start asking questions about what else is going on in the persons life. Invariably, we find that there are other "stressors" in the picture... What is amazing to me is not the unavoidable things like working more, hectic life, sickness etc... it is the other self imposed stressors that the people don't think I need to know about... After all, I'm just the Kettlebell guy... Why should you tell me about the 6 runs you go for, or the 4 spin classes you do after Kettlebells... Why would I need to know that you are training for a powerlifting meet and kettlebell sport at the same time?
If you are going to bother hiring a coach, make sure they know about what you got on your plate... It matters, it is important because it effects your ability to recover and train again... nothing is more fustrating than watching somebody spin Thier wheels and get nowhere... You can still make progress but the time frame needs to be adjusted when you have multiple goals....

Recognizing Progress...

For me progress doesn't come the way I expect it to... I have found that most often, things that I'm NOT focussed on improving somehow get better when Im not directly obsessed with them....I will give and example... I really want to get my snatch numbers up, I called my Coach and he tells me that I need to do a lot of swings.. I say what does that mean exactly.. he goes 25 sets a week.. I say 25 sets a week? Thats crazy!! But I started working up to it.. I started doing 1 set after my snatch set every day.. 5 days in a row... the next week 2 sets of 30/30 swings and so on until week 5, I was doing 5 sets of 30/30 swings...(this was no joke btw) I kept waiting for my snatch numbers to explode... It didn't happen... actually what happened was my jerk numbers started to really take off ? The swings strengthened my wind and my back... the first place this showed up was on jerks.. I have no idea why, but after I was done with this cycle of swings, my snatch did improve... it took some time for the training to "sink in"..

Progress comes in many different ways, quality of movement, and ache or pain that used to drive you nuts disappears , you are more composed during your set... Better conditioning, stronger... Just feeling and moving better...SO just because you aren't getting the progress where you think it should be... look around, I bet is isn't too far...

Tues training

3/22/11

24kg OALC 4 min 9 rpms

28kg OALC 4 min 8 rpms

32kg OALC 4 min 8 rpms

36kg OALC 2 min 8 rpms

Felt good...

Don't Submarine yourself

It is very easy to screw yourself up the week before a competition... The fact is you are not going to gain any strength or fitness in that few days, so Relax.... You gotta go with the training and fitness you have... Last minute heroics have flattened more than few of us...
The week leading up to a competition a few things that will help... Drop all assistance work and other things that drain your energy... This includes avoiding difficult people (if possible). You should have your goal in your head by now, so mental Imaging is helpful... Lock on your pace and prepare for when the " what the hell are you thinking" demons start knocking on your grill about 3 minutes into your set... If the event is on Saturday, I do not train Friday and Thursday... But I do stretch and do some sort of stress free exercise or moment... A walk in the woods is good... Wens I do a short set with my competition bells at my competiion pace... Major focus on breathing, technique and enjoying my session... It should leave me Wanting more.. Restraint will pay off... Tuesday I do light technique work again at my competiion pace, and again the focus is on breathing technique and relaxing... Monday I will do a long 8 minute set at my comp pace... During this week I do no assistance work at all... If you can, take a few naps, drink plenty of water especially if your flying... And getting a massage is a
Great way to stay loose...
Hope this helps! See you guys in NY!

40kg Strong Sport LC 16/16

Tickle-tickle

My coach Valery Fedorenko asked me once right after I hit one of my goals which was to do 100 jerks in competition with 2x24 kg kettlebell... What my next goal was... I was still trying to catch my breath from my set when he asked me... I told him I want to do 100 jerks with 2x32kg bells... He goes, "ok I think you don't really know what you are talking about actually..." I was not sure if he was kidding me or not... But he went on to explain that there is a big difference between what I had done, and what I was talking about.... He said,"I know it is like really easy to talk about doing this, but I am yelling you, I know how hard it is because I have done this job".
Now you might be thinking what a Buzz-kill this guy is, but afterwards I was thankful that I didn't have one of these "tickle-tickle" type coaches that says everything is great and fine when it isn't... He was just letting me know the real situation, and it wasn't what I was dreaming about...
I am very grateful that he did not allow me to delude myself and keep me focussed on doing the work in front of me, instead of chasing rainbows and pipe deams...
If you cannot handle the "not so cute" truth from your Coach, how do you expect to handle the abuse you take during a 10 minute set?M

What's for Lunch?

Relax, I'm not going to add to the confusion on the internet about diet. I do however want to pass along something that happened to me. I was training at this great GYM back in the 90's... Lot of serious lifters there. I got friendly with the owner of this place, he had been around since Jesus was in third grade..
.Anyway, I was leaving the gym one day and he was at the front desk eating his lunch... he had gotten it at the sandwich place next store. Anyone that went to this gym had eaten at the place next store, it was pretty good food... Well, I Iooked at what he was eating, it was a salad...( I had no idea they sold salads there btw) but it didn't look like what I would have put together at a salad bar... He had some lettuce, onions, hot peppers,hard boiled eggs, cottage cheese, and on top of the cottage cheese was some pickled beets!! I had never seen this kind of food combining...
This naturally sparked a conversation on food.. I will never forget what he said to me... He said,"if you want to be like everyone else, eat like everyone else...If you want to perform, you gotta eat performance foods"
I try to think about this when I'm making food...

Getting ready to get ready

I have a friend that used to be a ferocious bike racer... I was amazed at his ability to win races and make very difficult things looks effortless... I remember in the beginning of the season I would ask him if he was training yet... He always said the same thing..."well, I'm just getting ready to get ready"... When I asked him what the heck that meant was he would say, "well I pumped up my tires today"... "Or I rode on my rollers for 6 minutes today"... I was surprised by these
Answrers and I thought he was just acting foolish. But what this guy was doing was just what he said he was doing... He was getting back into the rhythm of training by taking small, seemingly non threatening steps to develop the daily ritual of training again... This guy is a great example that getting back into training should not be a drastic shift... But rather a
Small painless step into the right direction... Once he started getting on his bike he would ride it everyday for 6 minutes... and build from there... Good guy... Great example that small actions are much more effective than huge thoughts.

Breaking 100 jerks

A really good friend of mine called me thursday to tell me he set a new PR in jerks.. His previous Pr was 2x16kg bells in 10 minutes was 87 reps.. He did 116 in ten minutes. The first thing I said to him was.. Oh boy, let me know how your triceps feel tomorrow...
We started taking about the importance of breathing and how that was the ticket to such a big jump... So lets do the math here.. this guy weighs about 150 lbs... in 10 minutes 2x16kg bells (70lbs) x 87 reps = 6090lbs of work... basically 609lbs per minute..
the new PR is 116x70=8120lbs of work in 10 minutes... that 812lbs of work in one minute... So breathing added to his work capacity 203 lbs per minute and 2030 in overall work capacity... Yes BREATHING... Incredible!!
I got an email from him late last night telling me his Triceps are toast... It doesnt matter what bels you use.. over 100 reps is serious workload...

No exceptions to the rules

So I have been fooling around with the strong sport stuff... It really is a different animal for me.. I never really do long cycle... I have a few Lifters competing in New York new week, so instead of sitting on the sidelines, I will be competing... I have been coached personally by Valery Fedorenko, he knows what I can and can't do better than me. I told him today that I wanted to compete in Long Island next week with the 40kg... I have not ranked in this event and I was asking him if he wanted me to send in a rank video... Ya I figured I was somebody special and could get around it because I know the Head Honcho.... NOPE!!

Keeping Things Honest

The original function for a kettlbell was to act as a weight for a counter balance scale. This was a very efficient low tech way to keep Merchants and trade fair and honest. This simple idea of weighing your merchandise is still in place... The next time you go to the supermarket, take a look around at how many scales they have.. They all have to have a stamp from the City's department of weights and measure... Just like the seal you see on your Gas pumps... Simply put, it ensures that you are not getting ripped off by the Vendor.. Technology has changed with the invention of digital scales, but the principles are still the same...

Although we don't use them to weigh our goods anymore, they are still valuable for measuring what kind of Work Capacity people have... What good is it to bench 500 pounds if you can't mow your lawn, or go for walk to the park with your kids? So the kettlebells has moved from the marketplace to the Gym. It is still doing the same thing... Keeping people from being hoodwinked.
When you have a person selling their system of training or wellness, ask for videos and proof of there Results... If the goods are what they are supposed to be, it will be easy to make a decision... On the other hand if you get an attitude and answers to questions you never asked... caveat emptor

Thurs training

3/17/11
St Pattys day...

warmup...
40kg OALC 8 rpms 3 minutes
44kg OAJ 7/7

32kg OALC 4 min 8 rpms
4 min rest
32KG OALC 4 min 8 rpms
4 min rest
32kg OALC 4 min 8 rpms

Earned the corned beef & Cabbage... I skipped Lunch... Oh Yeah...

Just the facts please...

When I first speak to someone about coaching them for kettlebell sport training, it never ceases to amaze me how hard it is to get the actual information that I need. I base Thier program on actual numbers that are as recent as possible... It doesn't really matter what you did 3 years ago before your divorce and subsequent oxy problem, or Your 1994 vertical leap, your karate background, high school dating average, or your wifes eating disorder, or you family history of alcoholism, or your bar fight records, or your incredible knowledge of eastern
Block programming, or the book you read about the Helsinki strength institute, or the time you downed 47 beers in one sitting, or the other million and one things I get for responses when I ask the simple question of what do you think is your best numbers on jerk and snatch for 10 minutes? I get answers like I can do 45 reps in 6 minutes but that was right after I had swine flu... So if I was as healthy as I am now, I could have gone 8 minutes at that pace, but recently I have been working on my tactical lunge program so my GS numbers are off from the good days I had back when I was just doing all the dynamic effort westside, 5/3/1 supermodified 3 up 2 down program I made up on my iPhone, get Uckin Uge app....
I always start out with a test... I need an actual baseline to go from... It works much much better when it is based on fact...

Wens training

3/16/11
Feeling beatdown after yesterday...
24kg snatch 6 min 16/18 rpms
32 swings 30/30..
Short and sweet..,

Same but different...

Ok so you may or may not know that my real Job is in the seafood business.. I go to a Fish Auction early in the morning and I buy and sell fish... Mostly it is local fish from local boats.. My Job is to inform my customers about Quality, freshness, quanity, prices, future landings... So I am basically the eyes and ears for a my customers... This is a relatively new way.. (about 15 years) of buying fish in this country... This method is called a Display auction... You get to see the fish before you buy it, so you know what kind of quality you can expect... Previously, the only way to buy fish was Blind.. In other words you wouldn't see the fish until after you bought it and basically had very little recourse if it wasn't what the guy told you it was...( and just for the record, nobody ever tells you their product is bad) You had a major problem on your hands.. This is the reason for the display auction... Now if you buy fish that isn't good enough for your customers... it is on you..
Now this morning I went to the auction and there was 2 different boats landing today.. One had been out to sea for 10 days, the other one was out for about 12 hours...they both had Haddock.. but the quality was very very different... The reason (beside the time factor) there was such a big swing in quality is because the smaller boat was fishing much closer to land and that fish had not started to spawn yet.. the other boat that had been out longer was fishing in an area where the fish had just got done spawning... When fish spawn, they don't eat anything at all, too busy!! So the difference in quality if huge.. You have a very fresh full figured sexy fish only hours old.. or a slinked out imitation of a Haddock that looks like a starved wet cat... Sure they are the same species... but that is about all they have in common...
Now we have all kinds of Kettlebell experts online. They all talk about snatches, Jerks, long cycle and advanced programing...but with the invention of you tube, there is no excuse for these experts to not let us get a peak at what they are trying to sell us... If the product is for real, let us take a whif...

Tues Training

3/15/11 tues

24kh OALC 6 min 8 rpms
2 min rest
28kg OALC 6 min 8 rpms
5 min rest
32kg OALC 4 min 8 rpms
2 min rest
28kg OALC 4 min 8 rpms
2 min rest
24kg OALC 4 min 8 rpms

feeling much better with this now.. I was dropping it perfect o the left side into the clean, right side I need to focus on getting the bell to the middle before I drop it.. set up the catch nice... Breathing is feeling better... Good session overall...

Just so you know... You don't need to know...

I was talking to my brother today and I asked him a question that he didn't want to answer, so he told me "just so you know, you don't need to know".... I thought it was pretty funny...
I remember along time ago, I was into mountain bike racing... Anyway I just loved to ride in the woods with my friends and jump over stuff and what not.. I knew exactly zero about how to train for this sport, I had never heard of peaking, periodization, intervals, lactic threshold, anaerobic, aerobic engery systems..."A" races "B" races, Nothing.. I just jumped on my bike and rode... Alot.. If I saw people on the trail I would try to catch them and pass them.. No hard days no easy days.. I didn't know and I didn't care... I got very fit and pretty fast, (for me)
So after a pretty good season of racing , I talked to an experienced bike racer that started talking to me about all the things I mentioned above... He recommended a book called the cyclists training bible by Joel Friel... ( great book, tons of info)I was excited to improve with my newfound Information... I started reading about how to train, different energy systems, lactic threshold intervals, muscle endurance intervals, VO2 max intervals, fartlek intervals....CNS, All the different HR zones... How to peak for the big races...Oh boy, I feel myself getting faster..
That didnt Happen., What did happen was I got seriously confused.. When I would go on group rides I would lay back if it was supposed to be an easy day or o wouldn't go if I had a hard day with a lot of structured work to do... Bottomline... I screwed myself up reading and figuring when I should have been riding my ass off...and having fun..
I see people doing the same thing with kettlebell training, they study this system, they read this article, they read training logs and then from the sidelines, try to connect the dots... It won't work! It is like trying to learn how to shoot a gun by reading it in a book.... Gotta feel it...

Im Glad that Nobody listens to me

I have an 8 year old Nephew. He is very athletically gifted and a fierce competitor. Until last year, he played t ball and then coach pitched baseball and soccer... Somehow he got interested in Hockey... He couldn't skate that good, (meaning, he could barely skate and couldn't stop unless he crashed into something) I went to a see him skate last summer and it was painful... I told my Brother that Hockey is a terrible sport to get your kid in... a stick costs 250 bucks, skates 500 bucks... The strange practice times..
I kept telling him to get out now before he gets in too deep...
Well, I have been hearing about how this Kid is really doing well and all that, but you cannot believe a parent of little star, so I went to see this for myself last saturday...
I had forgotten how cold rinks get.. anyway I watched my nephew skate and he is totally different cat out there.. Not only can he skate he has an awareness of the game that is above his peers.. he scored 2 goals and had at least 5 solid (well placed) shots on goal, he hustled back to play defense and basically was a big part of handing an undefeated team their first Loss... I was seriously proven Incorrect..
I have seen plenty of talented Kb lifters with tons of talent and ability that just didnt have the burning desire to play the game and do what it takes to improve... I am always amazed at who makes it in sports and who doesn't.. You cannot spot desire, or character... a lesson I learned from an 8 year old last weekend...
I am really happy my Brother didn't listen to me again!!

Monday training

3/14/11

40kg OALC 4 min 8 rpms.. this was tougher than it looks on paper.. My right side is tough..
I decided I need to practice this Move.. I am going to take a crack at Strong sport in NY...

24kg OALC 4 min 8 rpms
2 min rest
28 kg OALC 4 min 8 rpms
4 min rest
32 kg OALC 4 min 8 rpms
3 min rest
36 kg OALC 2 min 8 rpms

Fedor Fuglev Girevoy Sport Highlights

F##K Your Equipment

So I was talking to my Man Andy Fitting this morning.. He was telling me that he has to go find a new gym to train at... In case you have been in a coma for a couple years.. Andy Fitting is one seriously freaky strong dude from Buffalo, NY. He lifts really Heavy Kettlebells for training...
It seems that the place he has been training at is not happy about having heavy bells lying around and the new manager is thinking that if regular people see Andy training, they might start thinking about picking up a 54kg bell to see what happens and... well you know how that would end up... Bottomline, he has to find a new place to train... So naturally I wanted to help and I started telling him how to go about doing this, at which point he abruptly cut me off and said, "Listen, I'm going in there and I'm saying, I don't need your equipment.. F***K Your equipment.. I only use my equipment.. I don't need your stupid machines either.. I need an area to lift MY bells... Is that so hard to understand?"!!! Good Luck Andy!!

Bigger Ain't Better..

On my way home last night around 6 O'clock, I realized 2 things.. I was hungry and I didn't have too many choices at my house... Then after I started thinking about food.. My hunger came to the front of the equation.. I was driving through Boston with my Girlfriend and we started talking about how we need to go shopping and all that.. When out of the blue came this thought about one of our favorite restaurants close by... Now this is the type of place that you are always glad you went to.. The Food is as good as anything you can get downtown.. but it is in a kinda shaky.. lets call it an "Improving" neighborhood.. One of the many things I like about this place is that there is always parking.. No valet, no parking garage, no train ride... Pull up and park.. So as I am getting closer to this place 2 things start to happen, I start thinking about past meals I have had there and I really get hungry, and I think why didnt I think of this before... Also, My driving skills go out the window!! That actually is 3 things that happened.. Haha.

Anyway, We get inside and I am reminded of just how small this place is.. It is the bottom floor of a 3 decker in a residential/ industrial area... They seat about 60 people and the Kitchen is TINY.. I mean tiny... If I had to guess, I would say it is 8 feet deep by 20 feet wide.. In that area they have the grill guy, the main chef, the salad, appetizer, dessert guys and the dishwasher... Only one person can move in the kitchen at a time... and the place fills up and and is packed in like 10 minutes of us sitting down.. It was crazy.. like a tourbus pulled up outside.

We were seated right next to the kitchen so we saw the whole thing up close at fullspeed.. The most incredible thing was that all the people working there were very calm and collected under this pressure and they seemed to "Get it".. there is 6 people at there stations working in the kitchen, plus the waitstaff and owner coming in and working... The first thing I noticed was that there was no computer screens and digital printouts.. there was paper and pencils... no yelling and loudness... it was really impressive...

But all that aside, I saw every plate getting put together and leaving the kitchen as it was like 2 feet from my head. Every single thing looked perfect... I saw the same dishes getting put together and they all looked exactly the same.. The way a Great Kettlebell can do the same thing under pressure...

I have been going to this place for about 12 years... they have not moved to a larger location, they have not franchised their obviously successful formula, they havent even changed the layout of the place to increase the size of the kitchen...
They have done the most important thing.. they have gotten BETTER.. not BIGGER...
With all the Big talk and empty promises we have in our world today.. it is absolutely extraordinary to see such efficiency in action... It doesn't matter what kind of job they are doing...

New Performance Drink

Not only will this miracle drink help you to play your game better, it will also help you with all other bodily functions, like metabolism, elimination, concentration, joInt function, back pain, headaches. Dry skin, bad breathe, mood stabilization... and all others...
It is not made at Starbucks, or twinlab, you can't get it at GNC... It called... WATER...
I can pretty much guarantee that you will feel better by making it a priority in your life... Simple, cheap... And it works.
If you want to read the best book I have ever read on the subject... It's called " Your Bodies Many Cries for Water"...

Andrew Durniat Sports the Lockout Kettlebells shirt!!

3/11/11 training

Friday

I did a few sets of 2 bell long cycle.. very different.. I will most likely stick to Biathalon training until after Worlds... but I do need to practice the cleans...

24kg snatch 8 minutes 15/16 rpms working on changing my technique.. feeling better, but long way to go...

20kg snatch 4 minutes like 18/20 rpms not sure..

WGB... Workout gone bad

Am I the only one that has bad training sessions... You know the ones where everything is hard, you cannot breathe....you feel slow, weak, stiff, sore or just plain OLD! Apparently it is just me. I read quite a few training logs and status updates from people on facebook, and other places... It seems like alot of people are "killing it" all the time.. Is this really true?
I remember reading one guys log and he posted sporadically... That probably means he was too busy training to post about it... So he would put up crazy numbers that absolutely stupefied me... I feared that he would destroy me
In competition... In fact I was certain of this... Based on his regular training an my best effort... The math was not in my favor... The funny thing is... He never showed up on a platform... Never posted a video... And then he fell off the internet...
My point is dont get freaked out about having a bad session.. It happens to the best athletes... Put it behind you ASAP... Refocus and get ready for the next session... People posting numbers on the Internet and lifters delivering the goods on the platform are 2 very very different things... So watch out if you are always hearing about the Weddings and never any funerals....

Broken Kettlebell

I have a very funny friend named Dave. He comes over my house and makes fun of my Kettlebells. Well he is always threatening to start exercising to get in shape... This has gone on for years. I am not one of those guys that tries to get everyone involved in what I'm doing. So, out of the blue my pal Dave tells me he wants to take a crack at kettlebell training... I say great, come on over. We go over over the basics... Grip, swing, clean, press.. You get the Idea.. I explain how to train, and I give him a 12kg bell to get going... After like 3 months, he calls me and informs Me that the kettlebell isn't working... Apparently it just sits there...

3/10/11 training

thurs..

16kg OAj 15/15
24kg OAJ 15/15

2x20 jerk 2 min 12,12
2x24 jerks 2 min 12,12
2x28 jerks 4 min 9,9,9,9
2x28 jerks 3 min 8,8,8
2x24 jerks 3 min 12,12,12 legs started shaking on this one..

I rest between 2 and 4 minutes between sets... felt pretty good tonight...It helps if I don't eat too close to jerk time...

Where I am, now...

Probably one if the biggest things that holds me back is thinking I should be in a different spot than I am
In. When you see these freaks YouTube doing crazy sets with serious bells, it makes me think 2 things. Either I want to be able to do what I see, or I realize how far from it I actually am. Comparing myself to some beast in YouTube is the quickest way to either depression, or injury.
What I find works better than beating the crap out of myself trying to do things I have no business doing. I need to keep my head on my own progress. My own technique, my own little victories. This works much better than wishing to be better... Steady work and diligence is the things you do not see on you tube... I am not saying this for your benefit... I need to hear this more than you!!

3/9 training

Wens 3/9
24kg snatch 6 minutes 18rpms felt good

32kg OALC 2 minutes 8/8
36kg OALC 2 minutes 8/8
40kg OALC 2 minutes 8/8

40kg swings 20/20 x2

Hold The Cheese Please

I cannot stand watching people lifting kettlebells with no shoes on... First thing is, Gyms are public places, just like restaurants.. You wanna come in? Put your shoes on... I really do not want to be where your feet have sweated.. thanks for bringing me into your little biofeedback experiment with you.. I am sure the Indians in Mexico would be impressed that you are doing snatch ladders at Planet fitness and getting your pathogens all over the place... Good work!!

The main reason for having shoes.. besides good common sense, hygiene and consideration is Safety. Lifting kettlebells is hard work, When I do it I sweat, this sweat falls on the ground... You see where Im going with this? I really do not want to find myself Hydroplaning anywhere with a couple of bells over my head... Good quality weightlifting shoes have wooden soles which help you transfer power much more effectively than regular jogging shoes... If you need to make do without weightlifting shoes or are just starting out... but a pair of sneaker with very little elevation or cushion in the heel.. like chucks taylor, or adidas sambas...

The best Kettlebell lifters on the planet wear lifting shoes, they do this for a reason... If you want to train barefoot at home in your own place, great... But when in a public place... Hold your toe cheese please...

Tues Training

No training Monday... I had some family stuff going on

Tues..
16kg one arm jerk 15/15
24 kg one arm jerk 12/12
2x24 jerk 1 min 13 reps
2x28 jerk 6 min 10 rpms
2x24 jerk 3 min 12 rpms
Thats all tonight... I ate lunch late and lifting did not feel nice.. Pretty happy considering..

Conscious Breathing

How to breathe while lifting Kettlebells is critical to success. I went to the Ivan Denisov/ Valery Fedorenko training camp at the Ice Chamber last month... Here is what I learned about breathing... The most important thing first... Breathing is the foundation of kettlebell lifting.. getting it right takes a lot of practice and diligence.... It is counter to how we are all taught to breath while lifting weights for shorter sets of 3 to 15 reps. What happens when you hold your breath is that your heart rate SPIKES looking for oxygen giving you a shot of adrenaline.. this is helpful for short efforts...But this type of "help" is too short lived.. When training for time and maximum efficiency, we need to keep the body as smooth relaxed as possible... the first and best way to do this is to keep the breath deep and rhythmic... You wouldn't think of restricting your air when running a race... same thing applies here... Deep abdominal breathing, not chest breathing. Chest breathing is shallow and it requires that you speed up when under stress, rapid breathing starts to insight panic, which... (you guessed it) spikes your heart rate, which sends you into anaerobic land where Lactic acid is produced so that WILL stop...
The point of Kettlebellsport is to continue for 10 minutes, so getting the breathing part correct is not only smart, it is imperative to improving your results..
Lets take the jerk for instance, it is pretty common knowledge that in order to minimize power leakages and mechanical disconnects, as you slide into your first dip, you exhale... this does a few things.. it empties your lungs and allows your elbows and upper arms to be closer to your torso during the launch phase, it also signals your arms and upper body to relax and effectively releasing tension, or taking the brakes off, which maximizes the power generated by your legs... The part that I was missing and have been practicing now is taking an immediate breath in when the bells leave by body... effectively replacing the air I expelled leading into the first dip... this sets me up to exhale on the lockout, inhale and drop the bells back down into the rack position... This immediate deliberate breath is a small thing that is making a big difference in staying relaxed during this exercise... Check it out...

Why Compete?

The Funny thing about kettlebells is that they have a pretty sharp learning curve.. In other words a guy that is not that strong or fit that has some basic understanding of the bells can make a much stronger fitter guy look like a weakling... It is this buffer zone that keeps some rather unimpressive characters in there jobs as Instructors... But what usually happens is the stronger guys gets embarrassed or frustrated, dismisses the weaker man as jerk, kettlebells as foolish device and moves back to his comfort zone...
Now that Kettlebell competitions are starting to pop up all over the US.... You wuld think that we would see these instructors jump at the chance to test themselves against other people that would be considered more equal to there skills with the kettlebell... Yet we are not seeing this stampede to the platforms??
Competitions are the real measuring stick for your training... Things happens in competition that you just cannot prepare for in your safe little training place... The bell handles are different, the air is different, it is too hot or too stuffy, you had to eat inferior food... you are lifting at the time they tell you and it is not the normal time you lift... it is too loud, you forgot your shoes, you cannot hear your counter, your practice pace was fine at home but now it feels like you might Poop in your pants... you warmup was too short or too long... you are dehydrated from the plane ride...you didnt sleep at the hotel... You had to make weight and now your ready for a nap and you lift on the next flight... The bells you are warming up with fell heavy.. holy crap! If the ligth ones are heavy what are my competition bells going to feel like? I think I need to go to the bathroom again.... WHere is the bathroom? Did I drink too much coffee or not enough? Good thing I brought my lucky socks... Should I call my girlfriend? What if my Lockouts stink? Will this be on youtube? What if I tank? I should have trained more/ less.. why did I eat mexican last night... I am gassy... Whew... I am on deck....
These are the type of things that only Occur if you step out of your comfort zone and expose who you are... not to the World, but to yourself...

How to fail in Everything

This is from "Around the Year" by Emmet Fox
Today is March 8,2011

How to fail in everything

Knock everything systematically, No matter what you hear of, depreciate it and predict the worst.

Mind everyone else's business. This will ensure your neglecting your own.

Never perform today what you can possibly postpone until tomorrow.

Leave the important things to someone else instead of seeing to them personally.

Have no organized arrangements. Trust to luck for everything.

Be a sanctimonious humbug, and when you bungle things say it "is the Lord's will" or that the trouble s that you are too good for your surroundings.

Sit down and wait for something to turn up.

Finally, conduct your life in all respects as if there were no God...

Welcome to my Blog

Thanks for checking out my Blog.. I will be posting what it is really like to train for this sport and the struggles that come with it...