Kettlebell man makers

Nov. 13.



" Energy and persistence conquer all things."

Ben Franklin.



WOD

Kb. Man makers 14Kg sets of 5.

L-pull ups

for 20 minutes.

The "man makers"are real killers even in sets of 5. That's thrust, push up, prone rowing, deadlift, clean and press and back. This is not to say ladies can't do this exercise, but it just sounds more impressive when there is a male touch to it...I guess. Anyway is a great cardio workout a long as you don't loose your lunch.

New Kettlebells

Nov. 12th

"Its simplicity that makes the uneducated more effective than the educated when addressing popular audiences."

Aristotle

Yesterday I received 4 kettlebells from a company call Muscle Driver USA. I needed a mate for my smaller size metric kettlebells. I was also able to get a rare size of 10Kg. and a mate for my 12 and 14Kg which is also a difficult size to acquire. However the other important aspect, and that is a person preference, is to have the handle sizes of 1.5 " all the same from 4kg to 40Kg. The quality is the best of all the kettlebells I have or seen. I hate to paint them as the finish is like glass, but I like mine with color. I think it is better for eye recognition but I have no scientific proof of this, it just works for me. Muscle driver has Kettlebell sizes from 4Kg to 60Kg.

WOD

Powerclean 125

Dips

21,15,12,9,6 reps for time.

9:20 time.

session was good except for the dips as my shoulders are stiffer than normal so I took it slow at 7 in the morning. As for the power cleans, the racking of the shoulders was not in ideal position except for the last couple of sets.

Shifting gears for winter.

Nov.8th

" no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning ones self"
F. Nietzsche

WOD

Dead lifts 3,3,3,3,3,3,3 with 300# Barbell.

15- 50 yard sprints.

Got a new pair of running racing flats to break in for the fall and winter running season. Its always been my favorite to run in the fall as it keeps the body weight in check for the reduction of outside activities that tend to decline in the winter. The air always smells sharp and fresh and makes training a pleasure regardless of the terrain.

Nov. 9th

"Hope is a walking dream"
Aristotle

WOD

150 wall balls- 75 with 12Kg kettkebell, 75 with medicine ball.

Now that the leaves are falling, its time to change to winter time training until spring. What does that mean? Well it mean that there is less out side activities such as biking and shorter daylight. So its time to displace some of the biking with running and have to spend more time in the gym instead of my outside play yard. No big deal, as its good to make big changes in routines so you don't plateaus.

Nov. 10th

"Take calculated risks,is different from being rash.
George s Patton

WOD Cindy with a swing.
5 Pull ups

10 floor push ups

15 squats

20 swings with 24Kg. KB American style

20 minutes in as many rounds.

12 rounds completed.

Nov. 11 Veteran's day

"sometime they will give a war and no one will come"

Carl Sandburg

Today is the day to remember or veteran serving and who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. It seems as long as I can remember there has been some war or major military action around the world. There seems to be no end to it. In some of the hearts and minds of the American public this is the extent of the parade.
WOD
1000 meter rowing

25 double unders

750 meters rowing

50 double unders

500 meter rowing

100 double under

23 mins. time.


This is the first rowing I have done in 2 years and feels good to be back. I lost my concept 2 rower in a fire some time ago so its been close to 2 years without rowing. I did compete in the Ergs years back and how can you forget the pain that inflicts!

anyway erg rowing is a great indoor training, but its not for everyone.

Kettlebells to the rescue

Nov.6


"Let me tell you of my secret that has lead me to my goal, my strength lies solely in my tenacity"

Louis Pasteur


WOD
20 single rep squats 205
20 pullup with 18lbs to waist.

I hear a lot fr0m gym club members lamenting about how they are not getting the results they think they should be getting from their training. Well the first thing that you have to ask your self is, did you establish a fitness goals in regards to body composition, weight and performance?You would also have to consult a fitness professional to help your in this process so you have realistic goal parameters that fit your lifestyle and current condition. What happen most often They try to go it alone, work with a minimal knowledge of fitness or not have a experience base to know what can be accomplished.


90% of most people who train in a gym just want to have a general level of fitness and appearance, Although they might fantasize to a much higher level, most are not willing to put in the time and effort it requires. It just take some good old fashion relentless effort to make progress, which may be slow coming but it will happen.


Now If you use a kettlebell program, you have a simple fitness method, that does not take hours of training. You will get your strength, cardio, balance, and flexibility training in 30-45 min. 3-4 days a week. Therefore with a minimalist effort you can have your modest fitness goal and get measurable results..........that's no dream.

the bells are ringing.

Nov.5th

"Ask advice of only of your equals"
Danish Proverb.

WOD

3 rounds for time.

10 pullups
20 box jumps
20 KB wall balls
20 double unders
20 thrusters DB
20 landmine twists.
28 min. and one hell of a session. (I must have made this up for someone else)

Sometimes I am often asked to were to purchase Kettlebells for ones self. Well I have samples of most of all the brands out there so I can provide some guidance on the acquisition process. When you first decide to get your own Kettlebells, you should evaluate your strength and usage so you can determine what size to purchase. Size does matter you know. Its best to start a little heavy as you grow into the resistance quickly if you practice often. consider a next size up as well depending on your discretionary income. Next Kettlebells come in units of measure of pounds and Kilos. The traditional sizing is kilos but we Americans never did adopt to the change to the metric system so they also come in pounds. However some companies only carry one type of units usually.
Cost will give you "sticker shock" as they are two to three time more expensive then a dumbbell. The to top that off is the absorbent shipping cost. The shipping cost is usually one third of the base price of the kettlebell. After knowing all that you may wonder it its worth it and just buy dumbbells. I not going to compare the difference or similarities of kettlebell VS dumbbells, all I know I never took a dumbell on vacation, to the park or to the gym, but I always carry a kettlebell to practice.
I have my personal preferences in regards to kettlebells and that is no so much manufacturer but quality of the handle and sizing which has to have a constant size diameter from the smallest to the largest. I could care less of the paint color as I paint my own as they get scratched fast when you use them aggressively.

turn back time.

Nov 4th

"there is never enough time unless you are serving it."

Malcolm Forbes.

WOD

Nasty girls.( I don't know who they were but I will decline to meet them)

three rounds for time:

50 air squats on ball.

7 muscle ups( did them in two stages with extra dips)

125# dead hang Power clean.

7min 18 sec, and I could do no more.

50 ab rollers and stretching.

Well it that time of year when we turn the clocks back and gain an hour. They say this is the last year for this change with has lost its purpose of when we as a nation were an agrarian society. What comes to mind is that my training has turned the clocks back to a simpler time, when you just ran outside, lifted simple weights like Kettlebells, and Performed basic exercises without all the complication of the machines and computers. Men and woman even as far back as the early 1900's were still able to have solid physical development without the equipment we use today and the supplements we ingest. It was not about the club or facilities, truth is, you need very little in equipment to become fit and strong. As time goes on I will show you lots of options used in the past successfully.

KB and Barbell mix.

Nov2.

"Americans will put up with anything as long as it does not block traffic.

Dan Rather.

WOD

Barbell snatches or KB snatches.

Isabel

32Kg for 30 reps with each arm.

6min.22sec.

125# barbell 30 reps.

8min.12sec.

I could never just work with one kind of fitness tool. I love my toys......all of them. But then again Johnny never gets boarded with his practice sessions.

outside training.

Nov.1

" Freedom is just chaos with better lighting."
Allen dean foster.




WOD


Snatch grip dead lift. 10 sets of 3


weighted pull ups 10 set of 3


KB floor press 10 sets of 3




I believe that you will never reach your fitness potential by training in the confines of a gym all the time. I know most gym owners don't really want to hear that, but they need not fear as we are just talking about occasional venture in the wide open spaces for variety. Now there are sports that really require the majority of activities to be participated in outside, like rowing, running track, bike road racing, skiing, and they in reverse having to spend more time in the gym to get stronger. So get outside a smell the fresh crisp fall air before the snow flies.

BOOOOOOOO

Oct 31





"Call on god, but row quickly away from the rocks."


Indian proverb.

Happy Halloween

WOD


Front Squats; 5 sets of 5 -155#


Chin up: 5 sets of 5


H2H Drills


Front squats are always the best for enhancing form and quad strength.

Fast and Furious

Oct 30th

" The first duty of a revolutionary is to get away with it."

Abby Hoffman.

WOD

15,12,9,6,3, reps for time.

Dead lift-185#

Handstand push up: not quite vertical yet.

Vertical jump;

9: 20 sec.

Did come heavy bag kicking. Had to use the shin guards as I was doing lots of reps. This bag is hard for a heavy bag so your shins take a beating on hard round kicks.

Bike ride afternoon; warmer then morning. 15 miles to loosen up the legs.

Started a 300 class last night. I had to remind everyone the training sessions will be timed. Timeing of training is critical to maintain continuous stress and keep cardio effect intense.

NYS Powerlifting chanpionships

Oct. 29th.

"Power corrupts, absolute power is kind of neat."

John Lehman.

On Saturday and Sunday Pinebush was the host of the NYS-USA Powerlifting championships. Frank Panaro put on a flawless meet for 45 lifters at the Pine bush fire house. It has been a long time since I attended a meet since I stopped competing a few years ago. Also You get see old friends and help out in a sport I always enjoyed. 500lb bench press

Powerlifting is really a family sport for many reasons ,foremost everyone works as a team to get ready as you lift, encouragement from your competitors, and your family to cheer you on. Rarely does the outside public attend the meets and this is the down side of powerlifting as it gets no press or encouragement from the rest of the sports community. However, everyone who has done any serious strength training has done squats, dead lifts, and bench press......go figure.

Frank set up the meet so any weight trained athletic could compete by having and open class that uses special gear and competes in all three lifts, a "raw meet" for thoes who don't use but the minimal lifting gear, and specialists who either bench press or deadlift as a single lift. What is interesting is that thoes who lift in the Raw division and use little supportive gear, still can lift very heavy weights. There was a lot of 600 lbs deadlifts.

As for the woman, there was some impressive lifting. The woman showed real skill and shows that they are as serious as the men when it comes to competing as the men.

Any way thanks to Albany strength club who were a class act and was a great contribution to the meet. I do like their chose of music.

In a closing note, I think I will compete again in 2008 as I really miss the brotherhood of lifters who are always fun to be around:

WOD

30 double unders

30 ring push ups

30 swings 24kg.

30 pull up and burpies

30 sit ups.

The pull ups and burpies were the worst.

the war on fire

Oct. 26


"adopt or perish, now as ever, is natures inexorable imperative."


H.G. Wells.








There is a major war being waged on our soil call the wild fires of California. We are about successful with that war on wild fires as we are on the wars on drugs or terrorism. We are not doing well on all fronts. Why, the rules, magnitude or paradigm has changed. We have to change to meet a new enemy.


As a fireman myself , I can speak with some authority on what it takes to fight fires in wild land setting. Its a special job if you do it as a profession. You need to have skills and physical attributes to operate in woodland setting as opposed to the city or even suburban you see on the nightly news or in your neighborhood. When you decide to be a wild land fireman, you must take what is known as a "pack test".That is where you don a 45lb pack and walk-hike for three miles at a 4min mile pace. If you are a smoke jumper(and crazy to be one) you have to don a 100lb pack for 3 miles. It has been criticized as being too difficult but it saves lives, as few wild land fire fighters ever die of heart problems like there city brothers. I can count on one hand the number of wild land fire I have been in, but they are in no way the level they have experienced in California as of this week. You are looking a mega fires with minor past experience base to combat such a disaster. It like the Katrina floods. A new book has to be written. Before this is over, thousands of citizens will be homeless and the earth will be scorched at close to a million acres.








What you physically experience when working the fire line is just hot hard labor. Cutting trees, working a hoe or carrying a water pak(water weighs 8lbs per gal.) to put out small areas. While you are working your ass off, you have to content with smoke, heat and the potential of the fire shifting quickly and entrapping you so you can not escape. Unlike the local firemen who will be back in the station, in an hour or so after a fire, in wild land they last for days and you carry on until relieve. I have the utmost respect for those who do it as a profession or even to volunteer their time to save lives and property. One thing I liked about the testing for wild land fireman, it is done under real environmental conditions, outside and not on some treadmill.




Training for today: rest day

RPE Rate of perceived exertion

Oct 25th

" To perceive is to suffer"

Aristotle

Most people who train and want to obtain solid results for their fitness efforts, know that some measure of intensity is required. Here is where the rubber meet the road..........intensity. How does one measure or quantify the work effort as you train. The simplest method is the RPE scales which is a subjective scale of effort you believe you are putting into the exercises by verbal expression. RPE is also used for cardiac rehabilitation and exercise perceptions. There are two scales,6-20 and 1-10. The low number is low applied effort, the mid and higher numbers will result in significant discomfort or even physical failure if not conditioned.

Most people can gage how they feel, however everyone has their own personal subjective perception as to how hard the exercise is effecting your body. The tolerance to pain is different by sex, age and perceptive experience.

There is a measure comparisons for cardio exercise when using a heart rate monitor. So if your max heart rate is 150bpm then a RPE of 15 would be at 140 bpm heart rate and at the same time where would be physical discomfort and increased respiratory rate. When measuring resistance exercise, the weight, number of reps and rest time will determine RPE If your bench 150 lbs for 10 rep is max at the level for a single set, then 5 reps at 150lb will have a RPE of about 9 or about mid point of the scale. (If I had a spotter like that I would lift light weights also)

There is still some subjective elements when backed with measurable factors, but what happens when you mix very intense cardio and resistance exercises at the same time as with all range metabolic pathways as with a lot of the crossfit routines? I have not have time to look at this but sometime this winter I am going to look at how you can gage the RPE if is possible when performing exercises like high rep power cleans. I know how it feels to do one rep with 24kg kettlebells. I don't have a clue of how to gage doing 20-30 reps in a set. or better yet, matching this exercise with several more for a workout circuit.

My recommendation would be anyone starting a fitness program, say away from the higher RPE number for the first 6 months. Usually the higher number places high stress on muscle and skeleton mass of the body, therefore risking injury and possibility of uncovering cardiac abnormalities.

I don't recommend what I do which is "suck it up" Hit RPE of 100 as long as you don't fall apart. I can recall years ago when running ultra marathons, that pain and discomfort was the same at 20 miles as it was a 50 or 75 miles. I guess there is a steady state level or RPE at some point in the physical effort.

Also puking up has noting to do with RPE!

Training for today:

I call it " heavy hands" as it seems to be hard on the hands do to the exercises H2H.

50 16kg Kettlebell American swings.

50 box jumps at 18" (legs spent from squats yesterday)

50 KTE. These are not nice at all.

50 Hot potato's with 8 kg. Kettlebell with squat on each rep.

50 12Kg. Wall Balls with kettlebells. ( fun but rather taxing)

19:43 time.

Wheel of fortune

Oct. 24th

"I tend to live in the past, because most of my life is there."

G. Santayana

I always had a "ab roller" handy when my abs feel a little loose. For those who don't know what this is, the ab wheel as been around for a long time. It has been reintoduced may times as the end-all to the "six pak" by those info commercials. They are out of favor now, as you have myriad of other devices on the market to give you those chiseled abs like the models, who are on drugs, have exceptional genetics, and spend all day in the gym. I have had a ab wheel devise for as long as I have been working out. why? because it has worth! Its not the end all to abs and upper body, its just works at the level it was intended.....low tech training.

The ab wheel is very inexpensive and can even be home made with an old wagon wheel and a piece of stock. Or you can go out in purchase one like me and get a professional model for 45 dollars. Or you can go to a yard sale and you can usually find one there from an adult that found after the first few times of use, the pain was not worth it.

Using the ab wheel can be very stressful if you are out of shape. I don't recommend the wheel for beginners as the" core" is not strong and the back is going to rebel the first time out. Its really for those who have solid back and ab training as a basic background before using this piece of equipment. Also keep this at the end of the workout so you are not doing the primary training with a fatigued back muscles.

When you start out, you begin on your knees so you have some back support. Then you can extend out little at a time as your comfort levels allows you. You maintain maximum tightness in you abs all the times as you extend and retract on this exercise. As you become more acquainted with the exercise, you can start in the standing position to full extension. This is not easy and should only be attended by those who have the background of full fitness and flexibility of there bodies.

Training for Today:

Double Kettlebell front squats: 16kg, 20kg, 24kg, 28kg. 5 reps each, 32kg 3x3 reps
Renegade Rowing: same weight and reps as the squats

Ab roller: 3 sets of 10.

Note: the two -32Kg kettlebells were easy to clean, but holding them in low squat made me almost cry.

No! I am not a hanging bat.

Oct. 23

"Ability and results reveals its self increasingly with every assignment"

Baltazar

I read recently about how the pull up exercise has been used for fitness for over a hundred years has increasing been eliminated from training programs especially in schools. It was in the fifties that the average grade schooler could do 8-10 pull ups. Now in the year 2000 we are down to less that two. Maybe little Johnny gained some weight making it more difficult to perform a pull up, but it more of not being a prescribed exercise in school programs. Military, fire and police dept. still use in in their training.......thank god.

Fitness centers have the same problem. Places to do pull up are an after thought on most equipment or none at all. Everyone uses a lat pull down machine. Maybe pull ups just too low tech therefore can't be peddled as the latest fitness tool. Or maybe you will find out you don't need to spend 400 dollars a year in gym dues to obtain a first class upper body when all you need really is a door way chin bar for 15 dollars.

For myself I never did like pull ups because I use the excuse that I have longer resistance arm third class lever, but really I was just too heavy most of the time. I found that body mass ( fat or muscle) was the biggest obstacle to doing lots of pull up or"chins" as they were called years back. I got reacquainted with pull ups after watching a video featuring some street kids some weighting as much as two bucks (200lbs in street language) performs all kinds of pull ups in large numbers using various structures in the park and streets. Now these lads were ripped to shreds and did not lift weights, nor afford a 400 dollar gym fee and they looked like they were have a ball challenging each other. Some time I would like to discuss my views on the difference in internal and external exercise. Anyway I was impressed with the ease and the various types that can be performed as a complete upper body exercise.

When I started back doing pull ups, I would do lots of good singles with shoulder wide grip. A wide grip puts real loading on the posterior delts and therefore the rotocuff takes a beating. Then I switched to ladders method to build up the numbers. This was not moving fast enough so I when to used heavy rubber bands to assist in doing high reps for endurance. This really is good tool when you can get a good assist on the lower part of the pull and as the band retracts, the load in all yours.

Another assistance method to get more reps can also be done on a Gravitron machine for chins, pull ups and dips, which uses a counterweight stack to provide assistance in an ever increasinsg reduction of the counter weight. However, this only works if you constantly challenge yourself as it is easy to just take a ride. But it does work, however when you graduate to a real pull up bar by its self, its a less of a change but you can see a big difference in difficulty.

Women never can do a pull ups...they are too weak in the upper body. BULL FEATHERS! Women or females can perform pull ups at the same level as they would in any other upper body exercise. I can't tell you how many times female clients tell me they can NEVER do a pull up because they think or some jerk told they could not, so they don't have the confidence to try to perform this extremely effective exercise for the upper body. You can do it!

today's training:

Kettlebell warm up

Heavy bag warm up: You need extra warm up when the shoulders are going to be impacted.

Blitz kettlebell pressing: 20 singles............24Kg 5 singles, 28 kg 5 singles, 32kgs. 5 singles, 24 kg 5 singles. pressing as fast as possible without getting sloppy. This is not an easy session and you will sweat!

Kettlebell wall ball for cool down 20 reps. of 14kgs.

second session: Man does not live on one session if you want to be the best....or at least try.

X-vest pull ups and burpies: 30 reps of 1 burpie and i pull up wearing an X-vest.

Getting it up

Oct.22

"Nothing great in this world has never been accomplished without passion"
George Wilhelm.

How do you get up(emotional) for a hard training session? Here is a crossfit type session:

Pain storm;
Kettlebell 2-24Kg dead lift, push ups, and 2-12Kg Kettlebell cleans
20,19,18,17,16,15,14,13,12,11,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 (630 reps)

Well I never did this session prior so I did not know how long it would take so my plan of attack was to start a 20 reps and work down. I also knew I would not push the time too hard as I was not too sure the legs were going to hold up for 200 reps on the dead lift, however I was determined to get as far a possible without injury. Unlike people who go to a gym and look at TV to disassociate their pain and boredom, I focus on ever detail of the session so I know when I am falling apart or getting to sloppy to continue. The time when by so fast that 29 minutes seem like 5. However, I don't recommend this session for a beginner.

Drink to your health

Oct. 21th.

"Be careful of reading health books, as you may die of a misprint. "

Mark Twain

Sports drinks such a Powerade or Gatorade are some of the more popular sports or fluid replacement drinks. I think I have some good experience in this area as I have participate in sports that required performance for hours at a time. Now the government safety Nazi have started to look at banning the drinks in schools to keep little John and Mary from getting too fat. Well it better than soda, but it still has 50 sugar calories in 8 oz serving. I think there is some confusion that they have some health benefit by having a sports use connotation. Or at least you may look sporty drinking this product. Or even wearing it.

Most of my career I have been working or playing in very uncomfortable situations. As a hazmat responder I would sweat and have had body temperature that would kill most people when working in rubber suits. I never used or had to consume sports replacement drinks on a planned or regulator basis. If I did use them it was always deluted 50 percent with water due to the taste. Also I found the it you need calorie replacement it was not enough and as a mineral replacement it did not have all the body required. Basically water was my fluid replacement.

As a long distance runner, I found that when running marathons of 50 mile and over, continuously ingestion of complex carbohydrates and protein was a better replacement then a sugar drinks as it did not give the up and down glycemic effect.

Today Practice:

First thing in the morning when to the track and did 10-100 yds sprints(in bare feet). after each interval did 10-14Kg kettlebell Wall-ball shots. That is a real killer session with no rest between the sprints and the kettlebells. That over 100 reps of wall balls which is normally sufficient session. Who made up this sick session?

Oldies but goodies

Oct. 20th

"Age is not lost youth,but a new stage of opportunity and strength"

Betty Friedan

I attended a networking session yesterday at a retirement complex, to discuss the Silver Sneaker program. They now call nursing homes"managed care facilities" so it does not sound like a old folks home and the stigma of a aging warehouse. I was surprised to hear that the average age of the residents was 86 years old and most having physical limitations.

The Silver Sneaker fitness program is for the 65 and older adults who want to start or continue with some physical exercise to improve their well being. The program is supported by health care providers at no cost to the participant at a network fitness facility. The clients have a number of fitness options, from group activities to personal training geared to any level of physical capability. Not a bad thing to improve the quality of life of our must senior citizens.

When I think of seniors exercising Jack LaLanne comes to mind. He never did reach his WWII generation when it came to exercising. Jack is 94 years old and it still going, making money, and a TV actor. I don't think there is anyone out there today that has maintained such momentum in fitness, then Jack. Can everyone be like Jack and be as healthy as him? Probably not, as fitness was his business and avocation for a lifetime, and maybe, just maybe he has some genetics going for him and not just his healthily life style. Anyway regardless of what you think of this old huckster of exercise, he has done it,cheated the grim riper.

In thinking about the trends in our population, I just leaned last week that the first of the "baby boomers" have started to applied for SS benefits. This is a huge group who are now entering the retirement lifestyle and only time will tell what the long term effects will have on a number of factors in our society. One thing can be assured, the "baby Boomers" are not like my father generation who never spent too much time in physical exercise except work. Our new retired have a more active lifestyle that previous generations so I believe the need for managed care facilities should be less. Then again it could be more as they may have burned themselves out.

Today practice: 35 mile bike ride to Deerpark and back. Great fall day. Temperature was just right. what a great fall this year. The ride took me over two hours as I met up with 3 people I knew and stopped to visit.

Give them enought rope and they will hang themselves

Oct. 19th

" don't think of the past. The only thing that matters is the everlasting present."

Somerset Maugham

The most underused fitness tool today is the jump rope. Why I don't know as it will burn off about 1000 kcal per hour when done at good intensity. Now I know no one jumps for one hour, but if you use one min. or 2, 5 or 10 minute interval you can knock off a bunch of calories in less time then it takes during a aerobic class.

Now lets look at what kind of jump roping we are doing here. I use be Buddy Lee system as it is the best in the world of jumping rope. If you ever have the opportunity to go to one of his demonstrations, you will see what I mean. Buddy Lee can jump rope so you it appear as though there is no rope or string involved.

If you want to get involved or want to use jumping rope as a adjunct to you fitness tool box the following is suggested:

1. purchase one of Buddy Lee's jump ropes( they are plastic not rope)

2. have it sized for your body. ( length is very critical)

3. learn the correct way to jump for speed and ability to change direction.

4. start slowly and don't get discouraged when you trip all the time on the rope.

5. us jumping rope as a warm up and interval training so you do it often.

6. keep a jump rope with you when you train. It takes up little room and can be put into action anywere.

7. don't go cheap, buy a good rope as it will perform better and last for years.

Easy day training:

Kettlebell warmup

jump rope 5 one min intervals.

heavy bag training for 15 min.

Alpha Female

Oct 18th





"Courage is being scared to death.....but saddling up anyway."


John Wayne





I just read an article in the doctor's office about the " alpha female" emerging in our society. Where has everyone been? The Alpha female has been taking care of business for a long time and now just starting to recognize that the female can and is taking on a larger burden in our society. With the number of single mothers now the head of the family, or whats left after the male has moved on to spread his seed,it stands to reason that the female has come up on the radar scope as more that a house servant.


Alpha behavior denotes leadership in the animal world weather it is a male or female. Most of the time its the female that become the head of the family unit necessary for survival of the species. This basically what is occuring in the human world in greater numbers, therefore the female is now fast becoming the key element of the family unit.


Most of my clients have been females and many are single parents or unmarried. So I have had to learn how to deal with challenges they have of making a living, children, careers, trying to stay healthy and strong, as they are the sole provider of the family. They are really are the alpha females. Alpha females rock!


Today training consisted of 100 meter sprints on grass with 20 KB snatches after each interval.

The right stuff

Oct. 17Th



" Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation,for ti's better to be alone than in bad company".



G. Washington



I have always tried to keep my personal relationships of quality especially when it comes to fitness. To me its all about doing it all for all the right reasons with the right people. When training for the various activities I have always sought out people who were serious and passionate about what we were trying to accomplish. It has made me successful at least in my mind, and at the same time picked up some good friends.



Morning:



chin ups

clean and press barbell. 65#

Renegade row. 24kg Kettlebell

box jumps 18"

ring push ups

get up sit up 12kg. Kettlebell.

The rowing was the hardest due to the weight. The presses were getting easier each set.

Three sets of 20 reps in 20:12

Supersizing and the beat goes on

Oct 16



"Do something. If it don't work, do something else. No idea is every that crazy."

Jim Hightower.



The problem with today's fitness business, is that on one hand you have a lot of new-old ideas as just about everything has been tried or investigated, more of the same with a new spin. What is not addressed, is the efficiently or effectiveness of what is being promoted. Take aerobics classes. Ask any person who frequently attends the classes how much weight they have lost or what improvements it has made in their physical appearance. Some have gone to those classes for years and made little improvement. Now I am not blaming the instructors as most look and keep fit, what is lacking is accountability and measurement of effectiveness instead of some pictures to promote what you will look like if you attend this new and improved class. This is also why the fitness business or gyms are having problems with getting and above all, retaining memberships........there are very few real people success stories to validate the business.



Morning:

Kettlebells squats: 16kg,20kg,24,kg,28kg double sets of 5reps.

32kg double sets of 3 reps



Renegade rowing: 32kg 5 sets of 5.

afternoon: 15 mile bike ride. Fall is a great time to ride.





Oct 15th.



" Now in America overweight people out number the average weight people. It now means that overweight people are now the average, so you have met your new years resolutions".

Jay Leno



I just read an article on the new Hardies Burrito now being offered for your breakfast fast food enjoyment. 960 cals, and 60 gm. of fat. What a way to kick off your day at the office and a one hour commute. Then you can have lunch of the "Thickburger" which is a 1400 cal. delight. what is the fast food industry thinking? they just don't get or care how fat our asses get.



Morning: 225# dead lift

pull ups

ring dips 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 reps for time.

12min.30sec



afternoon: Kettlebell wall balls. 16Kg 50 reps.

You are what you eat

Oct 9 2007


All you hear today is, " I got to diet and loose some weight". What they really mean is that the person has amassed a lot of body fat, much more than they think, and all they have to do is cut out a few donuts and they will look like a fashion model. Not! Remembering that to loose one pound of body fat means metabolizing 3500 kcal. Not and easy task(unless you use Kettlebells and Crossfit) especially if you use normal exercise as a main method of this reduction process. Well you can bicycle for 4 hours, 4 aerobics sessions, run 16 miles, bowl for 10 hours and you will loose 1 lb of body by metabolism. Yes you can loose 5 lbs or gain in one day by water weight change as water weighs 8.3 gals and the human body is 70% water. So to loose fat content it going to take a serious adjustment in your lifestyle, especially what and above all, how much you eat.

As I get older I seem to require less food intake to maintain my activities. Therefore I adjust my eating habitsto activities each day. Lots of exercise I eat well, lay around I nibble. Simple.

We need not get involved in all the latest diets if we would only eat when we are truly hungry, and eat a volume of calories that is constant with our lifestyle.

A former friend had Lap-Band installed in his gut to loose weight. This is a drastic method of weight loss and can have profond side affects. After one year he lost 150 lbs, however, he began to regain his weight after going on second year. Why? because his eating style and habits were never adopted for the long haul of life. Diets as a process are mostly short term unless the lifestyle to accommodate the real diet needs is established and coupled with a compatible exercise program.



Today's training:

2-Kettlebell sessions with training clients.



later a single rep training:

power clean 135#

push press 75#

hammer curl 60#

performed in singles continuously for 30 min. time. or 28 sets. lots of speed on each rep. Not a cardio just ATP all the way.



As I said Monday, this week will have more OL lifts.

Crossfit kettlebell training

Oct.4 2007

Last weekend I attended the Crossfit instructors training for Kettlebells at the Cherokee Athletic center in Maryville, Tn. Our instructor was Jeff Martone of H2H fame. Two days of Kettlebell lifting, what more could you want. It was great! I have seen two of Jeff''s tapes prior so I knew going in it was going to be targeted to what I am accustomed to in regards to kettlebells. As far as the H2H is concerned, I never did much juggling as I have the manual dexterity of a statue. However, after attending the training and some practice I was able to do the drills we were shown. I even set up separate H2H bells for juggling.

I never realized that there is a small increase in energy or stress change when you juggle the kettlebells. It not much be you can notice the difference. If anything Its a diversion or just plan looks cool to empress your Friends.

Jeff took us through all the basic exercises that the Crossfit use in their program. However, Jeff spent very valuable time on injury prevention, and joint mobility. this is not always the fun part of any fitness program, but if you don't apply some of this training, you will end up like many other athletics that have rotocuff, back and flexibility issues that prevent you from continuing you fitness efforts at the level you desire. I already knew most of the kettlebell techniques from previous training however the flexibility and joint mobility was the most valuable to me, as I have many of the issues that can be prevented by taking the time to prepare each training session and maybe I will be able to continue for many more years.

Jeff's presentation is very casual and easy to learn from. I have been to a few seminars that give you that Hard style attitude, but I know Jeff is more than capable of "taking care of business" but does not have nothing to prove by playing it like a boot camp for SEAL probies.

You see by the picture that the facility that we trained in was new, well equipped and very large. It appears that there is a change going on even with this new facility to include crossfit section as this seems to be happening all over. You see the Crossfit is gaining in popularity because it gets results and has more to offer as a fitness method than just attending one of the big chain fitness clubs and jump on a treadmill, sweat a little an think you have done the job. The more the big fitness chains get members, the more crossfit will become more popular

Lastly, the seminar is well worth the money,time and effort to myself and my profession as a trainer. I hope to promote the fitness model of kettlebells as applied to Crossfit in the future....as this IS the future.

Today's training: 16 mile bike ride at 18mph pace. Hot for this time of year, but that's no problem. Like to keep my tan for at least a month or two more.

2-54 Kg Kettlebell long cycle 30 reps ~4 min.

Oct.5 2007

As a trainer, I hear it all the time, from gym members. "I go to the gym, workout and I don't loose weight or my physical appearance changes little. " Well you don't waste your time by going to any gym and workout, its what your expectations and your knowledge of fitness that is mostly the problem. Most people get their knowledge of sports and fitness from magazines, TV and the local "gym muscle head", who also got his training knowledge from the same source. Real fitness information is hard to find as you must sort through all the commercial hype and just plain deception, to find out what really works. Or you can do what is really successful is to hire a trainer, go to school, or a good seminar on the fitness method you would like to persue. Otherwise, you spend a lot of valuable time experimenting on you body that for the most part is not in your best interest.

My friend in the picture, is Frank who is a national class powerlifter and has trained for the last 30 years with little interruption. His formula is simple, you train with heavy basic exercises(No frank does not do triceps kickbacks), plan your practice sessions, and keep the exercises targeted to get results. Not all of us want to squat with 600 lbs, but it just demonstrates that you can achieve high levels of performance, it you train consistently for your goals.

Frank inspired me so my training sessions was as follows:

Kettlebell warm up with some of my new H2H techniques.

50 dead lifts with 2-32kg kettlebells

50 ring dips

50 wall balls using 12kg kettlebell flip,catch,squat and push press.

three sets for time. 9 min 20 sec.

Oct 6th, 2007

Saturday bike ride and coffee stop. 20 miles good easy pace stopped in Otisville for coffee as it was a nice fall day. You have to de stress yourself sometimes by just sitting back and watching the world go by. there is not too many more days like this remaining this years so I will enjoy them and not push so hard or cycle too long for the remainder of the riding year. Don't really need the over distance as it is not consistent with my training, so my recovery for KB sessions is more of a priority.

later in the day did the following.

KB warm up.

1rep pullup strict and slow followed by 1 strict military press with 32kg kettlebell for 15 mins.

Oct 7 sunday

Rest day for a change

Oct 8th Monday

Columbus day so its a modifed Fran workout

21,16,12,9,6 Reps for time

12kg KB thrusters

18" box jumps

pullup

12 Kg KB wall balls

situps

time for the day was 18:20 sec.

I really like the Kettlebell "wall balls" which is a flip,catch,squat, push press, swing. I think it is two times more effort than using the leather ball to the wall. The rest of the week I have to spend more time on the OL lifts for a change.

what, no soda

Aug 15, 2007 Wed.



I was on the HS track early this morning doing my interval sprinting when I could not help notice 5 young student hanging around waiting for summer school. Well if they are going to summer school they most lightly have some learning issues, but what I did take note of ,was there selection of refreshments. 3 of the 5 had quart bottles of regular soda which they were already working on a 7:00 in the morning. Just think of the empty calories they will be ingesting as they polish off their beverage of chose. And yes they exhibited the results of drinking such high carbohydrate dense liquids ,as all were over weight for the age. Big part of the youth obesity problem.



12 times 100 meter sprints with 20 16kg. KB snatches between each set.

and no soda

I know how to go slow, been there, done that

Aug 4Th sat.

For many years I subscribed to the training mentality that you have to put in a lot of slow, continuous, aerobic type exercise to perfect your sport such as running, biking and rowing which I competed in. If you really look at pragmatically, I already knew how to run, bike, and row, slow, so I should have been practicing how to run, bike and row fast. So that what we do from now on, besides it has less impact on overuse issues.

18 miles on the bike as interval tempo. not easy but feels good when you stop.

later:
10 reps pull up
10 135# deadlift
10 push ups
10 box jumps on 18" box
10 flag sit ups with 135# barbell
10 cleans with 2-2kg KB
10 push presses.
5 set with 1min rest between cycle.
31 minutes.

Marquis de Sade training

Aug. 2 2007

Its going to be hot so the bike ride was very early in the morning to avoid the 90+ temperatures later in the day. 20 miles at 19.1 mph pace. That's good because I have not been doing long mileage.

Afternoon practice:
24Kg. kettlebell two hand swing for 10 reps
2-12Kg kettlebell overhead squats for 10 reps
Ab roller for 10 reps
Barbell snatch 95# for 10reps
ring push ups 10 reps
barbell Power clean 125# for 10 reps
kept doing the above for 31 minutes without stopping.

Kb cleans: 36Kg, 40kg. 3 sets of 5.

all though the weights are on the low side, doing them as a circuit is not that easy. but its around 300 reps so it like a 300 training......maybe a great six pak in my future.
Sir can I have another!

legs don't fail me know

July 31th Tuesday



Yesterday I was asked by one of the ladies attending my fitness class, how to "work the legs". I was not sure how to answer that question, as it is such a lengthy complex answer. So I demonstrated her and for the benefit of the rest of the class, an example of training the legs from warm up, stretching to power and ballistic movements. She will most lightly to cussing me this morning when she try to walk around today. I did not tell them I trained as a speed skater in my early years, and If any one with speed skating knowledge, the training is all legs and boarders on inhuman.

Today we are going to training the legs like the old days, and take back some the the pain I inflicted last night.

• Warm up on heavy bag, with light kicks and punches


• 50 KB swings with 16Kg.


• 50 figure 8 and catch.


• KB box squat 12" box 8kg, 12kg, 16kg. 20kg, 24kg, 28kg, ....10 reps each with 2 bells.


• 50 chin up in sets of 10


• 50 DB power cleans with 50#


• 50 tire jumps

Later in the day we did some bike intervals. I have not ventured in to that world for some time and had forgotten why I don't kick the watts up instead of steady state riding I normally do. after about 5 one haft mile intervals, I was inclined to keep this as an experiment. anyway it can't be a bad thing, as the ride back home allowed me to stay in the saddle all uphill.

Don't be a doper

July 29Th.

the Tour DE Farce is ending today providing us with 2 weeks of coverage of pro cyclists who would like you to believe that you can push yourself 100+ miles a day without some help from the chemical industry. Fallen hero's, like pins in a bowling alley. Some of the worlds best could not even make the starting line, being disqualified long before its start for not passing their piss test. Now there is talk of not having he Tour any more for lack of finding a "clean winner". If all sports took that action what would all the couch potato's do on weekends?
But I was aware of all the substance abuse taking place in that sport , it just Fry's my ass to hear our mass media selectively chastise the sport of bicycling, then provide a pass, to football, baseball, and basketball stars, all having track records of using drugs. The media has a respectable name for dope........Performance enhancing drugs.
Well, I drank 3 cups of coffee which is sufficient to be called performance enhancing drug of chose, caffeine.
25 miles at 18 MPH pace on a overcast humid morning.

20 clean and press
20 ring pull ups
2o snatch grip dead lifts
20 get up sit ups
all times three.

If you are fast you my last.

Sat. July 28



Track training. It is the purest form of running and the best environment for hard intervals. I am lucky to have a modern rubber surface track near me so I no excuse not to do my sprints at least once a week. Today its 100 meters x 15 sets with 10 push ups on each set. Times were not taken until I feel my legs are back to pushing them to the limit. Pulse rate never got above 120BPM but its still good cardio.
Every time I go on the track to do sprints I think of Ben Johnson, the star who was kicked out of the Olympics for doping. Lets just say he as the only one caught at the time, but the image that people saw as a highly muscles track star who was jacked up on drugs. He did appear to be large but in reality, he only weighed a buck -seven but looked like two bucks. That is what low body fat can do it you train fast and hard.

sir can I have another ?

July 26Th.

I just completed my third now world famous 300 workout. No I am not trying out for the sequel, I just like the circuit type of training that they used. It down to 22 minutes which is not bad for a for a ageing fitness junkie, but I use my own standards to judge my progress. Anyway it not a bad Work out of the day, using Crossfit's terminology of rep, set combos and I am for the first time seeing progress in my external obliques. There is a small down side, your shoulders take a real beating from the pull ups or the KB presses. Our maybe the volume. My shoulders are like stone and sticking out like never before, and that's from someone who trains with Kettlebells five days a week in high reps.

As I finished today I could not begin to wonder what the rest of the fitness world is doing. Maybe I should be in a mega gym, walking on a gerblemill, staring at a plasma screen TV, looking at CNN latest Iraqi bombing. Or maybe I should had joined one the the classes, that sits on the plastic balls and curls 5 lbs lime green dumbbells. NO F#@K ing way! Besides, unless I have my Ipod, with Slayer music, I would have to hang myself from the power rack hearing all that dance music. No I am home in my Garage Gym, with all the tools necessay to become fit, strong and above all; effective.
25 assisted pullups
50 reps of barbell deadlift
50 pushups
50 flags with 95# barbell
50 clean and press with 16Kg kettlebell
50 box jumps on 20" box
25 pullups.
22 minutes time. or 2 minutes less than last week.

sir can I have another.

can you count to 300

June 21st.

I have been doing the now famous "300" workout that got the actors of the movie of the same name(or number) in condition. After doing it for the third week I can see improvement in endurance when pressing, but I still don't have the defined rectus abdominus you see in the movies. Well I did not expect that anyway but I just have to see if that type of crossfit type exercise will have that much effect. At least my pullups will improve as that has been stagnet for a long time. I did make one modification, on the routine as I found it more sholder friendly useing kettlebells for the flag movement in place of the barbell.
25 pullups: 12,8,5 ( I never could do a lot of pullups but its coming.)
50 deadlifts( 135# using rubber bumper plates so you don't make as much noise)
50 pushups ( I was aways good at pushups so this is not big deal)
50 box jumps( 20" approx concrete step- this is the most taxing you just have to suck this up)
50 Flags ( done with 20kg kettlebells in place of barbell. not easy no matter, to keep rotation)
50 16kg clean and press( since I can do a few with 40kg this is not that hard except on the sholders. I did lower the speed to keep technique in check.
25 pullups ( 10,10,5) It seems to get easier with a good walrmup.

Not bad for a quick 25 min. session.

21mile bike. 17.5 mph pace. weather is excellet. for riding.

No, it not a flack jacket

June 18th; Monday



I have to do my running when wearing an X-vest when no one is around. You get some very strange looks, or they ask why you are wearing a bullet proof vest. X-vest training is for some extra stress or resistance which I am still evaluating if its all that effective. I must say it will raise your heart rate a little more but one has to be careful that you don't overdo the addition of the little weights until your structure(old bones) gets use to the extra weight on your butt.
8-75yard sprints not for any time, just for some RPE.

Kettlebell snatches:
16kg 2x10
24Kg 10x5
28kg 10x5
light barbell snatches with the 95#

Back to the grind

June 16th Sat.
30 mile bike ride on back roads alone. 17.6mph not bad pace.


June 17th sunday Fathers day:
25 mile bike ride 16.2 mph pace.

Later a quick blitz session 10 rounds of
32kg kettlebell sumo deadlift 5 reps
ring pullups 5 reps
Pushups off box 10 reps
Situps 15 reps with 16kg kettlebell.

Rack it

1/5/07

They say a good lifter has to spend some quality time in the power rack. Its great tool especially in regards to safety if you are training alone, or even if you don't want to be a monster. I usually do Romanian Dead lifts in the rack to get the bar position just below the knees but you can do it off boxes, but you don't have the variability of positions. Now a days I superset my dead lifts with Kettlebell Goodmorinings, both in the low rep range.

One thing about power racks in most gyms or fitness centers, there is never a long waiting line.

Sometimes I will finish with some dead hang cleans with the bar and then the kettlebells, once again since they are lifts so the reps are low.

The Kettlebell "rack position" which has the KB handle in the center of the chest and unlike the barbell rack position, has the hips in an hyper extended position for support. It takes sometime to get accustomed to this position, but it is the only way you can do extended rep routines like the Long Cycle Clean and Jerk.
So in Kettlebell practice, it is proper to tell some one they have a great rack.

Today Practice
Romanian DL: 135-315# Sets of 2 reps for 15 sets with 1 min rest.
Kettlebell goodmorining. 20Kg 3 reps for sets of 15
Kettlebell High swings 20Kg, x10, 24kgx8
Kettlebell Russian twist with 12kg.
DB rowing. 55,65,75

20 mile bike ride. Weather is great for winter...... lots of riding this season.

A pressing issue

1/3/07

This year I will include some bench pressing but I will not get crazy as in the past and just keep the weight a moderate level. Have not done any benching in over a year except for heavy floor pressing which is not really the same in regards to muscle grouping of the chest. Bench pressing is not that shoulder friendly so I will keep the reps and weight in mind. Last year I made some progress in Kettlebell pressing so at the same time I want to maintain that level without overloading my aging shoulder's.

pully warm up, joint mobility exercises.
Bench press: 95x20,135x20x

Kettlebell press: 16kgx20, 20kgx10x10
face extension: 75x20x2
bent lateral raise: 25x20x3
Russian twist with 16# ball

A leg up

1/2/07

One of my favorite leg exercises is the step up squat which in the past have used either a barbell or dumbbells as ballast. It somewhat like a Farmers walk exercise without going any place. The height of the box is key to the basic performance and the range of motion. 18-24 in box is best to get quad and glutis activation. As a bicyclist I prefer that exercise of off season leg work.
Box step ups. six sets of 10 with 70# super seted with free box squat at 20 reps.
Dumbbell curls: Six sets of 10 with 40# super seted with neutral grip pull ups.

12 mile bike ride with 6 hill repeats to start the season training off. That hurt and they were not long hills. Have to work up to 3-4 min repeats. two times per week for interval training.

New years resolutions-Kettlebell style

1/1/07 Monday
Well its the first day of a new year so it traditional to have some resolutions for the upcoming year as part of a personal improvement program. In the past I have been successful in accomplishing the resolutions I proposed as I would only attack a few issues at a time. Too many people try one of those "complete makeovers" and fail in the confusion of trying to correct every evil function in their lives
So this year I will be working on my Kettlebell training program for those who would like a little pain and discomfort in their lives. The main objective is to get the word out about the best exercise system ever devised. No, man (woman) does not live by kettlebells exclusively for training, it just should be your gateway to your fitness program. Hopefully, during the coming year I can maintain this blog to see if I can keep my resolution and provide some insight as to how I manage my fitness world. Let the evil begin!

Session

Stretch bands warm up. Joint mobility warm up with Kettlebells ( this has been taking more time as I lean more techniques and the need for flexability maintenance)
Tai Bag warm up. 10 minute. AHHH its fun to hit things! some BFT(blunt force truama

KB snatches: 12Kgx10, 20kgx10, 24kgx10x10, 28kgx10
Super set with push up on rings for sets of 20

Power wheel for abs 4 sets. and stretch.

snatch session.

Nov. 28th mostly devoted to dumbbell and Kettlebell snatch in morning.

Warm up on tai bag for 10 minutes. Light stretching and some foam roller to loosen up

snatches with Olympic dumbbell: 30#, 40# 50# 60# 70# 2-3 reps for speed.

Kettlebell snatches: 16kgx10,20Kgx10,24Kgx10,28kgx10, 32kgx7, 2-16Kgx10, 2-20kgx10x3

Stretching after.

My Kettlebell snatch technique is getting much better especially with doubles. Doubles do bring the heart rate up a little, but I don't see how I can get such girth between my thighs doing d0ubles with 32Kg and above. However I don't seem to be decelerate the bell when recovering from the top to take so stress off the arms effectively deceleration at this time.
On the other hand the Dumbbell Snatches are my one of my favorites but I have to build a small platform so I don't have to decelerate the dumbbell by guiding it to the floor to prevent the dumbell from lunching back into my shins.
For good information on the snatch or any of the basic lifts go to The Weightlifting Encyclopedia.by A. Drechsler. Its takes a year to read if you want to cover all the subjects covered.

non burning logs..

Nov. 7th. Vote today for your favorite leader.....what ever!

for the last three decades I have used a training log as my guide in life when it comes to training. I never lied in my log as I am the only one who is going to view it so therefore there is no reason to impress someone else with inflated numbers. Only once did I loan a person my log to give some guidance on how to run a difficult 50 mile trail run. It was the JKF 50 and I have done it several times and always did well so this runner looked at my training leading up to the race. A week later I got the log back with a thank you and a comment that I was totally insane and they would not be running this for now(training mileage in the 80's was excessive). I finally convinced them that my training was somewhat over the top for the event, but I wanted to ensure that I would successful without killing myself on race day and would rather die on my own time.
Anyway I have recorded religiously all my training sessions most of the time without thought until I looked back each week or so to see if I was making progress or just spinning my wheels. Also if I was not making gains or did make a successful change in body or strength, it was an excellent way to see what the formula was that made it happen. Feed back from you training log always seem to kick start or maintain momentum. Also if there was a injury, you can go back to what the series of events that lead up to your down fall. We all known injuries take place in micro increments and not just one fall.
I always look at the gyms I have trained in an the ones most successful are the one where the members have books with them jotting down their sessions like some over sized Secretary.

Leg and back day for the most part:

Warm up on heavy bag for 10 minutes; Punches were fast today for some reason....that scary!
combo of incline dips, ab roller and KB front squat 24Kg sets of 20 for 5 sessions.
24Kg figure 8 and catch for 2x25
4 sets of low pully hip extentions
Good morning with 5x135x5 slow and tight for core work.
hammer curls: 70#