long hot summer training.

June,28th.




sometimes you have to dress up for the occasion.







" In every walk in nature one receives more than he seeks. "
John Muir

WO du jour:

20 mile bike ride out into a peaceful, rural, road in the warm summer morning. It was 80 deg. when I started but after spending a week in Alabama, in Level A protection equipment, I almost required a coat. A little far out, but it was comfortable except for the steady pushing of the legs to maintain a good pace. Great ride, solo.


Fun's over and time for some real work capacity in the afternoon: "starting with six."for time; 6,7,8,9,10,11,reps.

6- 2-16kg kettlebell push press

6-2-16kg kettlebell swings

6- ring pushups

6-pullups

14:49

Have a great day suffering and remember the mission is sacred.

Back in the saddle again.

June 27th

"It is the rich who wage war, but it is the poor who die"

Jean-Paul Sartre

WO du jour:

warm up: 5 sets.

5 pullup

10 dips

15 Kettlebell swings

20 situps

50 Burpies

80 barbell back squats

50 Burpies

16:58 time.

Took a few days off to attend some advanced responder COBRA training at the FEMA training center. It was intense mentally and physically but with kettlebells and crossfit exercise it was a pleasure vacation!

Have a great day suffering and remember the mission is sacred

Kettlebells for serious training.

June 22.

Picture of crossfit Baghdad basic, but it works.

WO du jour:

For time "fifty something else. "

50 reps each

Abmat sit ups

burpies

renegade rowing; 24kg KB

ring push ups

snatch 20kg KB

BB deadlift 175#

floor press 2-24kg KB

BB thrusters

pull ups

time 25:04

June 21,

" All wars is a deception"

Sun Tzu

WO Du jour:

A very nice bike ride early in the morning. Sun was out, roads were vacant from motorists who can ill afford the price of gas.(maybe they need to look into what I do most of the time) 22 miles in less than 1.5 hrs.

time was not the issue as I can bring it to any level I want if needed. It was for mental cleansing of all the garbage we are being fed by the media and so called political experts. The day was warm and and clear, and my area is rural until they put more " mic- mansions" who continue to desecrate our landscape to get their piece of the country. The whole process is sick. I have lived in the same house for 40 years and it is small because that is how I started out. I can effort a much larger domicile but I find it a reminder of how I started out in life and when we leave we can take none of what you have acquired with you, So why go to something you don't really need.

I have a place to train in the rear of my house, so I am blessed for the ability to have such a place to go and maintain my fitness regardless of what the rest of the world is doing. In case you have not look the rest of the world it is not looking that good in my estimation, its totally FUBAR. too much failure mode.

Have a great day suffering and remember the mission is sacred

Kettlebell, sand bags, barbells...hell add anything

June 19th

"He that will not apply new remedies, must expect new evils;for time time is the greatest innovator."

Francis Bacon

" WO du jour:

warm up with client.

set clock for 25,20,15,10,5, reps

SDLHP: 115#

Sand bag squat clean: 90# (that hurt)

jump rope DU 150,100,75,25,15 getting better

2 kettlebell long cycle cleans: next time 24 kg to add to the puck factor

pull ups: used light band but did straight pull ups to chest

abmats with legs hooked on DB

time was 21:29

Pumping the sand bag was a bitch I forgot when I added into the mixed session. At 90lbs it is not heavy its just the functional movement of cleaning and squatting the item that gets your attention. Don't get me wrong, I like the suffering and being surprised. I was even going to do it all again and restart the clock but I had to run an out for a mission.

Honestly I have not used sand bags that much, but considering how this felt, I will make more., Hell they don't cost much and they seem to get my attention.

I observed a personal training session for a young lady recently. Now the trainer was not doing anything counter indicated by standards, and gave the client full attention. However, she got what I call a pitifully workout which will yield almost nothing to advance her fitness or appearance. It just reminded me what is out there and why I and not there. the whole fitness industry need a wake up call and I think its coming. More latter.

Anyway, You all have a nice day suffering and remember, the mission is sacred.

maybe small box gym is the answer.

June 18th.



"There is no secret to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure. "
Colin Powell.


WO du jour:


18 mile bike ride. Temps were a cool 58. must be that global warming again rearing its ugly head. Well I can't complain. the poor people in the mid west that got rained on like never before, we will never know their pain.

15 min of continuous kettlebell lifts without setting down the kettlebell.


There is a change forth coming as a result of the oil situation and its global impact on our life style. We all tend to look at it from a cost, which is high but that does not take into account the resulting change in the way we live in general.

We will never see cheap energy again, that's a fact of life now. Therefore we have to make changes if we want to live our lives in some semblance of comfort and effectiveness, we must adopt a new life plan.


In regard to being fit, normally we go to a gym or spa to get a workout. The spa or fitness center will have to increase his fees as its cost will increase. And to get to the facility you use to train in, It will cost you much more to travel, therefore the distance you live from the gym will eventually have to be considered as with all travel.
If you have to travel more than 20 miles to and from the gym, it going to cost you 5 dollars a trip. So if your gym fee is 30 dollars a month or a dollar a day, and you go 5 times a week to travel to the place where you train, then it going to cost you 30+25 per week travel, therefore its a 130 dollars a month or 1500 dollars a year to train.


In the future, its going to be a prime consideration as well as the facility, as to where you will train based on how far away you must travel and the total cost of that activity.


I have a solution for some and that is set up a home training area, because you are not getting 1500 dollars worth of effective training in most cases anyway at your local "big box".

Go small box! If you have limited disposal income, then start slowly and obtain what you need based on the following plan. You don't to get everything your gyms has, it is not all necessary for building strength and fitness.


1. clean up an area in you cellar, pouch, garage, or room in house. If you live in a southern climate then you can set up an outside covered area.


2. Depending on your fitness goals, you can acquire needed equipment slowly by going to the papers, want ads, Craig list for used equipment, especially weights as they don't wear.



3. slowly start with installing pull up bars, dip bars, and make some wooden boxes. So now you can do some pull ups and plyo and box jumping at home. Get a good jump rope. If you like to box then get a heavy bag. Learn all the body weight exercises you can.


4. Get a set of Olympic weights with rubber plates. It will cost less than a 6 months gym fee and will last a life time. I have had mine for over 30 years. Lean the basic compound weight exercises to add with your body weight exercises.


5. learn how to run or walk. Just get out the door and do it. It cost nothing except a pair of good shoes. If you like to bike, then get of good mountain bike you can go any were with regardless of roads or conditions.


6. Get some Kettlebells of a few sizes and lean to do the basic compound lifts the Russians. To add to that you can make up some sand bags, for some odd lifting.


7. get a copy of the Crossfit journal and lean all the basic fitness techniques that you will not lean in a big box gym running on a treadmill.


8. Make it a habit to set aside time each day or several times a day with short session of various session. keep a log of your session and list your accomplishments in regards to weight, times and body changes.

9. form a some workout group in you neighborhood.


10. the ideas are endless to keep fit without leaving your home. However, every so often find a place like a park, trail or event to go to show off what you have accomplished.

Think outside the "box"

Have a nice day suffering and remember the mission is sacred.

bought kettlebell, now what?

June 17th

"The purpose of life is a life of purpose."

WO du jour:

Warm up: griptasitc routine with light KB, joint mobility.

8x3 2-Kettlebell press

8x3 2-kettlebell box squat on 12" box

8x3 2-Kettlebell heavy Bent rowing

8x3 kettlebell heavy swing one hand.

A gentleman came to me recently that had purchased a kettlebell from Dicks sports after he saw some of the action on U-Tube. Well he did the responsible thing and sought out instruction on how to use this "new-old" fitness tool. Most people will not be doing this so you will have scores of kettlebells eventually becoming doorstops and something to hold down the trash can lids so the aminals don't get into it.

June 16th

" He who devotes himself sixteen hours a day to hard study may become at sixty, as wise as you thought you were at twenty."

Mary Wilson little

WO du jour:

body weight session.

jump rope warm, bands.

50 situps

50 overhead KB box squats

50 situps

50 burpies/pullups

50 situps

50 pushups

50 situps

Kettlebell session:

4x2 min of 20 kg kettlebell H2H swings

4x2 min. of 20 kg snatches.

that was enough for the morning.

later in the day:

Power snatchs with 28 kg kettlebell.

Kettlebells can be a Bear

June 14th.

"A lifetime of training for just 10 seconds or work"

Jesse Owens

WO du jour:

20 mile bike ride in the morning. Easy pace on a flat coarse as one knee is a little tweeky

afternoon: joint mobility and rowing warmup

"Kettlebell its a bear"

set timer for 20 mins. perform each set, then more to next set with no rest. Do all reps with good form.

2 kettlebells heavy for 5 deadlifts with a shugg at the end of each rep.

2 kettlebells heavy dead hang GS clean for 5 reps

2 kettlebells medium wt. thrusters for 5 reps

its like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer, when you stop it feels great.

Fit TV not for the fit.

June 12th.

"Success demands a singleness of purpose"

Vince Lombardi

WO du jour:

warm up: joint mobility, heavy bag, Kettlebell snatch tabata with 14kg

5 min hand to hand swings: 20kg

5 min. snatch20kg

5min. LCC&P16kg

5 min. box step up squat16kg

5 min. wall ball with 12kg.

The other day I saw a short part of the TV program called "Fit TV". It rarely has interesting programs, plus for the most part it is for the non fitness oriented public or the same group that fill the seats of baseball, football and basketball games. Some times call fans. What makes me grin is the fat guy they have cooking low carb meals. Anyway the shit that he is serving up is not working for him so why would it work for you. Then there is the female personal trainer, who when not pregnant, is carrying non-fit body fat composition. She looks more like the Avon lady.

Getting to my rant, they featured some poor sucker mr. average, pencil neck geek who wants to add a little bulk and tone up.(what?I did not know he wanted to play music also) So what does this poor sap do? why go to a "big box gym", and enlist the services of a personal trainer. The trainer who is programed to do ask what his goals are and what he wants to accomplish so he can be all he can be. The client insisted that he wants a workout program that is not boring and will keep his intrest so he will continue to be fit.

So what does the personal trainer suggest? give the poor dick the "Globo gym" party line of resistance training, and cardio program.( well they have to do something with all that high priced machines they purchased) So to keep this guy interested in maintaining a fitness program, the client was put on a treadmill, do some bench presses, and lat pull downs. I'm sure this poor sap who spends a few high priced sessions with the trainer and does all these exciting exercises, will be training for the better part of 1 month of that non-sense and will spend more time at Starbucks then the gym.

This is one example that keeps the country in continous fitness decline by an industry that has little to do with fitness, and required to achieve few results. With the thousands of gyms, spas and health clubs in the USA, we should have one of the fittest societies in the world. Look around and see our kids and adults fat as ever and growing in side and numbers. Marvelous, simply marvelous!

Can there be too much Kettlebells or crossfit?

June 10th.

"Most people don't run far enough in their first wind to find out if they have a second wind. "

Wm. James.

WO du jour:

warm up especially shoulders for hard session, bands, rollers.

Battling ropes: What a killer with a 2" rope. Your arms turn to rubber in seconds. So to add to the discomfort, we did "Tabata Battling Ropes" AS A WARM UP? Its hot enough jerk.

for time: 50-30-20 reps

Abmats with weight

ring pushups

box jump: 18 inch

Kettlebell snatch:

Kettlebell push press: last set of 20 straight press.

Time 15:15 only rest between chalking hands. first time for this routine so I have to bench mark the weights next time.

I was reading another blog a month ago and remember the negative comments that in the authors opinion, Crossfit was too prone to injury. I believe that person had made up his mind that he was not going to be doing crossfit anyway. If he did find that to be true, then It was not for him, or the people coordinating the program, was not coaching the members to see if they can handle the sessions or performing the with sound technique. You pay big bucks for that service.

This is mostly my concern. Crossfit does not require a certification, formal training in sports science or exercise, so you have sufficient knowledge to keep members from doing stupid technique, or can modify exercise based on the clients ability. This same concern is also for those who have formal training and still do stupid or unsound exercise modalities. If you stay with crossfit long enough you will acquire a considerable education, but a person just getting out to cert training needs to practice for a time or be under a seasoned trainer of crossfit or kettlebells before you are on your own.

Both males and females have egos especially in group environment and in that regard, there is a tend to push beyond ones ability to perform the so called standard weight or rep combination for the WOD. That human nature. Everyone has to push him or herself based on what you have that day and not what everyone else is doing for that session. We all have weak and strong days, so we have to take personal responsibility(what, make myself responsible?) prior to the start of the session, to warm up and test the weight and technique to see how much work load I will be able to handle that session. If your last session was good, you may be in for a advancement in work capacity, however, training adoption is not liner.

So it up to us, the person practicing crossfit or kettlebells, to remember that they both can be very stressful, and effective, to keep within you abilities to train in a crossfit or Kettlebell environment. Do let your ego nor some rah rah trainer push you into something that is not building you as a person.

June 9th.

WO du jour:

20 mile bike ride. rest day pace.

Have a great day suffering and remember the mission is sacred.

Battered woman;I doubt it!

June 8th.

" Women are like tea bags. You don't know their strength until they are in hot water.

Eleanor Roosevelt.

WO du jour:

On the track today: the weather was hot and humid even at 07:00 79 deg.

warm up: joint mobility and hand roller on legs and calfs.

5- 400 meter running on track. ( pace was close to race pace.)

50 one arm swings with 20kg kettlebell after each 400 without stopping.

Session was a potential puker if I just pushed a little bit harder or had someone with me. I left the track covered with sweat to my shoes.

Hillary Clinton gave her "bartered woman speech" yesterday to terminate her quest to become the first woman president of the US. I gave her a A+ for her effort but politics has nothing to do with effort, ability or gender. Its what it is at the time. Hillary was blinded sided by a media that wanted someone else and had nothing to do with her as a female candidate nor her abilities.

As a student of history, female heads of state were just as macho as males when the time comes. Ask any male in the Russian army during the WWII who was the most vicious when it came to "taking care of business". it was the Russian female solders.

GTG: 10 pull ups, 10 ring dips, 50 sit ups. three time in the day.

Have a great day suffering and remember the mission is sacred.

Kettlebells and crossfit for removing body fat.

June 7th.

"Believe you can, and you are haft way there."

Theodore Roosevelt

WO du jour:

Yesterday at a body wt. of 186 lbs ,a measured body fat level of 8%, and a resting pulse rate of 41 BPM,probably puts me high on the food chain of fit seniors. However, when I worked in a "big box gym" they never offered to have me work with other seniors as a trainer, opting for younger trainers. I don't really give a rats ass as I feel good and if you don't want my experience, then do what every you do and I continue to do what I do. Live is great!

GTG Pullups; 10-10-10 today

28 mile bike ride early in the morning as it was going to be hot today. As it was it was just very humid but had little effect on the ride, and did not even drink all my water. Yes, I only use water for fluid replacement, and not some sugar shit in a plastic bottles they sell as elemental fitness replacement. Its great to ride in warm weather to feel loose and flexible. Since I have low body fat from my Zone diet this year, I don't even feel the heat anymore. If this keeps up I will be a walking anatomy chart by the end of the year. I will of pay when winter comes although.

I have been an athlete since I was 5 years old when my father bought me my first set of ice skates so I can train for the Olympics. My father, god bless him, always want to be an Olympic champion, but the war got in the way so although he was world class, he never fulfilled his dream. Hence, he wanted me to give it a shot, if I had the will to be all you can be. Fast forward to my teens and I never really liked to speed skate, especially in the long track outside in below zero weather. I did alright because I was surrounded by world class skaters, but never wanted the Olympic status that much. All that being said, I never made my father proud. He gave up on me and found others to train, while I pursued my own ventures.

So after 50 years of exercise and sports, I still have not found one single sport that keeps my focus long enough to make use of my genetic potential my father said I should have except maybe, Kettlebells and Crossfit.

Have a nice day suffering and remember the mission is sacred.

Kettlebell haft hour session.

June 5th.


"The best way to make dreams come true, is to wake up"


Paul Valery.


WO du jour:

warump and skills improvement. Bands for shoulders, joint mobility, Kettlebell joint mobility. Windmill with 16kg. not great but better.

5 rounds of: 5 pullups, 10 ring pushups, 15 overhead stick squats, 20 abmats.


Set gymboss for 45 sec. 10 sec rest. (maybe you get a rest)


20 kg. Kettlebell LCC&J for 10 min.


20 kg. Kettlebell Power snatch for 10 min.


20kg. Kettelbell front squat.

30 min. total. What you got a good workout in 30 mins? you must be a wimp. not!

Have a great suffering and remember the mission is sacred.

Getting ripped the hard way.

June 4th.

The limp dicks who frequent the dance clubs, but don't want to workout to look fit for the chicks, now have a unique way to look ripped without stepping in to the likes of Planet fitness ET El. Preparation H! It shrinks the skin and makes your body look more muscular by rubbing the shit all over you. However be careful as some body parts you may not want to shrink. I did not make this shit up!


"The world needs anger. The world often allows evil because it is not angry enough"


Bede Jarrett


WO du jour:

warm up skills improvement: Bands for shoulders, jump rope, and boot strapper. joint mobility.



Kettlebell Sots press: 8kg to 16kg. (shoulders need more work to get position correct) Mr. Sots(love those Russians for good hard training) remember this exercise incorporates the press into Olympic lifting practice as it once was and at the same time develops quad and ham strength for the snatch clean. I started with back against the wall as I pressed so the shoulders were in a better position. It a real start at getting my snatch in order and shoulders mobility.

C2 intervals: 10x250 meters row, 30 sec. rest. upper lats take a beating for some reason.

2 sets one leg squat.

Kettlebell clean and press: 2x5 16kg, 3x5 24kg, 3x3 32kg

Second session: 5 pullups, 10 ring pushups, 15 Overhead bar squats, 20 landmine ab rotations. 5 sets AFAP


Kettlebell snatch min by min. for 10 min.


Have an nice day suffering and remember the mission is sacred.

what is the hardest exercise.

June 3rd.

"success is where preparation and opportunity meet"

Bobby Unser

WO du jour:

22 mile bike ride with MT bike, Very hilly ride but a good workout. I would not want in any other way.

When I want an mini training session, I usually do some of the following due to their effect on the body quickly and intense.

Burpies: one of the best body weight exercises you can do.

Man makers: burpies on drugs. by adding the DB or KB you really impact the body.

Wall balls: with 20 slam ball or 16kg kettlebell. It really beats the crap out of you.

Kettlebell snatches for time. Just keep the KB moving without hitting the floor.

Have a great day suffering and remember the mission is sacred

No Kettlebells, but still evil.

June,2nd

"I shall not die of a cold. I shall die from having lived"

Willa Cather

WO du jour:

Skills inprovement/ warmup: Jump rope double unders and running; pullups, ab roller is all both arms and legs, box jumping.

"3 bars of Death": DL at 1.5x BW, Bench at BW, power clean at .75 BW.

Reps of 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1

Deadlift:85% of standard

Bench 85% of standard.

Power clean: 90% of standard.

Time: 21:4

Great session, an improvement from last month when I did 75% of standard. I think the next time I should be at or close to standard.

Heavy bag session in afternoon.

Have a great day suffering and remember the mission is sacred.

She cleans up nice

June,1st

Taking the paint off the horns of the kettlebells is a work in progress.

" If it keep up, man will atrophy all his limbs but his push button finger"

Frank Lloyd Wright

WO du Jour:

22 mile bike ride and a good pace. Great ride at 07:00.

Spent some time taking the paint off the handles of the kettlebells. Why? I just think it feels better and besides the paint is chipping off anyway from slamming them together when doing doubles.

Have a nice day suffering and remember the mission is sacred

soft landing

May,31st.

Picture of OL dumbbell used for power snatching. Its nice to drop it on the wood chips instead of trying to decelerate and worrying about hitting the floor too hard.

"Experience is one thing you can't get for nothing"

Oscar wilde

WO du jour:

warm up with "Griptasic" (added some more exercises) so it will last 15 min.

barbell clean and press for singles: 15 sets no record

DB power snatch: for singles: 30# to 90# ( missed the 90# but got the 85#)

KB get up sit up: 5 sets of 10 with 2 kettlebells.

Good strength session for speed and power. I love those Power snatches with the dumbell for a change out from the Kettlebells. Is there a cross over? only when its overhead for the most part. My goal is a 100 lbs this year, since I have done 90 in the past. I plan to work in more heavy power cleans and rack presses just like the old days at the York Gym in PA. I old enough to remember watching the Olympic team practice pressing at the York gym.....when the press was one of the three lifts.

I have a area now outside my gym to drop heavy weights and Kettlebells without fear of dropping them on the hard floor. All you have to do is put down a heavy layer of wood chips and when you are done, rake smooth again. Now juggling kettlebells are a lot more fun and productive.

Have a nice suffering and remember the mission is sacred.

a russian good morning

May: 30

"you miss 100% of the shots you don't take

Wayne Gretzky

WO du jour: "a Russian good morning".

No need for warm up comrade, you can do it on the run.

1 mile run.. (that sucked first thing in the morning.)

200 air squats

200 pushups

200 16kg swings

300 16kg snatches

200 tire slams with 16# hammer.

1 mile run ( to cool off)

43:20 time.

I have a steep hill I live on the 1st haft mile of the run, then back down hill. But the second mile felt like some on put breaks on my hip flexors and more like I had been running for 10 miles.

spent the rest of the day taking the paint off my Kettlebell handles.

Have a nice day suffering and remember the mission is sacred

Time to rehab every so often.....but not too often

May 29Th.

"In three words I can sum up what I have leaned about life; it goes on."

Robert Frost

WO du jour:

20 mile bike ride. easy pace

Good day to ride on the back roads for recovery. Not a hilly area but the roads are in poor condition so I took the MT bike and keep from racing and therefore no rehab. Weather is outstanding for a change!!

Rest and rehabilitation from training is something I never did get a good handle on all these years. Lately the nutritional part of my activities has been much better since I started with the Zone, so my rehab short and long term is much better even with some of the volume I have been trying as of late. As soon as I finish I get some food in the 40-40-20 range but mostly its 60-20-20.

Getting the right rest and necessary recovery time is something I may never perfect, but I don't feel as sore as in the past, and can perform what I need to do, so its getting better. sleep is still and issue for me because I am not accustomed to sleeping more than 6 hours as long as I can recall.

Have a nice day suffering and remember the mission is sacred.

Kettlebell Grace on juice.

May: 28

"I will never be an old man. To me,old age is 15 years older than I am."

Francis Bacon

Warmup: 5 rounds of 5 pullups. 10 ring dips, 15 frog squats, 20 situps. 10 min on heavy bag.

5X 2-16 kg clean an jerk

5x 2-20 kg clean and jerk

" KB Grace on juice"

30 reps 2-24kg kettlebell clean and jerk from floor on each one. followed by a burpie and pullup.

15:05 for Grace.

The KB clean and jerk was something I have not done in a while, when most of the time it is as just plan push jerk. By adding the burpie and pull up makes it higher on the puke scale than just banging out the long cycle, but its provides more recovery time on the C&J, so they are sharp.

Have a nice day suffering and remember the mission is sacred.

get back to work

May 27th.
"In modern war.....you will die like a dog for no go reason"
E.Hemingway

WO du jour:

Warm up: joint mobility and jump rope.

5 rounds AFAP

10 pullups
20 2-14kg Kettlebell squat cleans
30 1-24 kg. kettlebell swings
40 2-32kg. kettlebell deadlifts.
total time 26:48(done outside temp 78)

I don't know if that session was a good time, but it was not a cake walk. For the pussies that think cardio dance will give you "buns of steel" has not experienced that workout.

back from vacation

May 26th.

Memorial Day in DC at the "Wall" with my club the "Nam Knights of America MC" We will never forget.

"Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes."

Goethe

WO du jour:

I was going to do "Trevor", but as with most of the time work must be done alone. Since I don't have a team to help and want to get some volume without overdoing it(which is rare) then I will use "greasing the grove" by doing a serious of exercises, in small volumes all day, as I get some work done around the house after returning from vacation. work some-play some.

Pull ups: total: 260

push ups: Total: 455

abmats: total: 525

air squats: total: 525

swings with 24Kg. : 550

That's it for the day! You think?

Have a nice day suffering and remember the mission is sacred

put some tape on it.

May 22.









"There is nothing so easy to lean as experience, and nothing so hard to apply"


Josh Billings


Warmup: bands, joint mobility, foam roller, and Heavy bag for 10 min.


Ladder clean and press superseted with chin ups.


24 kg Kettlebell 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,reps


Chin ups: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,


32kg kettlebell for 100 reps.


abmat situps for 100 reps.


5000 meter rowing.


One of the ladies I train with is making great progress in her fitness strength, but where it really shows the most is in the abs. Her waistline is very noticeably thinner and based on increases in kilos lifted, the core of things has gotten much stronger as well.


It has always been my understanding that the abdominal or subcutaneous fat deposits is usually the last area of the body that goes away, its really the skin fat that is last eliminated by exercise and or diet changes. Yes, you have all kinds of tools to measure body fat by calipers, impedance, and hydrostatic, but in the real world of fitness evaluation, just measuring the girth of the stomach with a tape measure often will be the most practical than any other measure including the scales.



A lean looking or "ripped" body for a male is around 8 percent, and 16 percent for female. Any thing lower that can not usually be maintained and might even be not in your best interest to holding hormonal balances. However, the actual body fat level by quantitative numbers is more voodoo science and can only be determined in a laboratory. Therefore a simple caliper sample around the abs and a girth measurement around the abs is about the easiest way to evaluate fat weight loss, assuming proper hydrated. Lastly there is lot of variation in body fat weekly, by age, hormone balance, hydration, diet and work capacity.


Have a great day suffering and remember the mission is sacred.

green fitness

May 20th.

" Knowing trees I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass I appreciate persistence"

Hal Broland

Warm up with Kettlebell "griptasic"

WO du jour: "Gindy" 3 rotations of 5 sets of 5 pull ups, 10 ring push ups, 15 squats, 20 abmats. then KB snatches with 24kg after each 5 sets rotations.

5 sets: Cindy

20 24kg KB snatches

5 sets of Cindy

30 24kg KB snatches.

5 sets of Cindy

40 24 kg KB snatches

24:28 min. Great WO.

The new buzz word is "Green". Everyone is trying to get on the band wagon and cash in on some way to show that they are champions of the environment. However, this is just "smoking mirrors" for if you are environmentally conscience, you don't need to put a label on it. You just live it!

Most environmentalists I despise when they promote a political agenda instead of pragmatic use of our resources and management of or real environmental needs. Most don't offer realistic solutions to managing our resources, which has to be considered world wide. If you want to go back to the stone age, like the terrorists want us, then listen to the mouthy environmentalists. "globel warming" try that for a concept. If you want to live your life, and save some for future generations, then conserve where you can and don't waste anything that comes from the environment.

When It comes to fitness, the Mega fitness or or "big box gyms" are the most "unGreen" as you can get.

• They Use large floor space gyms and facilities with high overhead costs, space requirements, and energy usage.



• They use high electrical for tanning and AC to keep clients in comfort they don't need when they should be outside to appreciate nature.



• They require expencive advanced equipment, that has to be continuously upgraded and trashed as scrap to make room for the latest models of "gerbil" fitness machines.



• Make you travel by car to some shopping center, with large parking area provided ,to be maintained year round, so you can use more gas to get to a place and receive low level fitness you can get home or outside.
  

The "green"(I hate that term) fitness solution is one that should not require a lot of non renewable energy, small space requirements or performed outside, with equipment can be purchased, made, or acquired at a low cost. A few "green" fitness solutions:

• Purchase a set of Kettlebells for less than 300 dollars that you can perform all the fitness exercises you will ever need. The kettlebells are forged from scrap iron(maybe obsolete gym machines) will last longer then you will. They don't require any energy except what you give it. You can use them anywhere inside or outside with little space requirements.



• go to the park and use the swings and equipment. The little fat kids don't use them you mind as well. Do your chin ups, fresh air boot camp routines and will cost you nothing.



• set up a small gym in your garage, cellar or under a canopy. All you need is an OL bar, some weights, dumbell bar, rope for climbing, jump rope, some wooden boxes, pullup bar, and discarded tires. You can outfit a complete gym for less that $500 or a deluxe set for about $1000 dollars, you don't need to travel across town and waste gas.

• Gas is now 4 dollars a gallon and rising. Lets say you travel to the gym and back using just one gallon at the 4 dollars per. You use the gym often, lets say 4 times a week, and that is 16 dollars a week and take a vacation and illness, so you attend for 4 times a week for 50 weeks. The total annual travel cost to your gym in gas at 4 dollars per gallon, is a whopping 2600 dollars per year. That some pretty expensive gym fee for little or no results.

Have a great day sufferning and remember the mission is sacred.

Ladies sometime need space.

May 19th. Monday:





" Wisdom does not always come with age. It some times come by its self"


Tom Wilson (brother)

Warm up:

5 push ups, 10 ring push ups, 15 goblet squats, 20 abmats, AFAP, jump rope, bands.
WO Du Jour:

CNS: 8sets at 3 reps speed strength with less than 30 sec. rest.

2-24kg KB presses:

BB box squat: 12" box

KB swing two arm: 40KG ( That's trickie shit overhead with the 40 KG.)

KB renegade row: 40KG


second session:

Sled Pulls: 10 x 100 meters. 100 lbs.


Curves, the fitness organization, is having some problems in my area, but is one of the most successful fitness organizations, as it have a good following that specializes in female exclusive clientele. Ladies do need their own gym, if they so desire. However, it does not mean they should not have the same equipment nor techniques a male has when training. To put a female into a less that challenging mode of fitness, just because she is perceived as not as strong, nor have strength potential of a male, is totally wrong and discriminatory.

Have a nice day suffering and remember the mission is sacred.


May 18th. Sunday:

"Slump? I ain't in no slump, I just ain't him them"
Yogi Berra


WO du jour:

22 mile bike ride on my MT bike: had the bike overhauled after a year, so to try it out and adjust seat and gears I went for a ride on roads. It was back to normal but it is not a road bike. Hills are many time more stressful but MT was not made for roads so don't compare. Good ride thought all the same. Spent there rest of the day on my motorcycle in the rain. Why did I do that? don't ask!

Time is short

May 16th.

"the art of living is more like wrestling than dancing."

Marcus Aurelius

WO du jour: it was to be a rest day but time is short at my age and you can rest as long as you want when they put you in the "box" .

Screw the rest; 5 sets of warm up 5 pull ups, 10 push ups on rings, 15-12kg goblet squats, and 20 abmats. (7:29)

10 min. 20 kg SSST: 220 reps!

I got a new lifting belt which I have shunned for several years, but I need some assistance in the old back to get the reps I want on long cycle and high snatch numbers. This is now an acceptable piece of equipment in kettlebell training along with wrist wraps.

Keep your training short and intense as a "quickie" I think everyone can manage that! If it last longer than 30 minutes, its not a "quickie"

Have a nice day suffering and remember the mission is sacred.

Back up you

May 15th.

"rudeness is a weak mans imitation of strength"

Eric Hoffer

WO du jour:

warm up: joint mobility, one leg squats 5 sets of 5,

Kettlebell squatting swings to an overhead squat. 3 sets of 20.

Deadlifts: 20 singles form 155 to 375 lbs.

19 mile bike ride on rail trail: 17.5 MPH pace. Raining and cold

I have a bad back and if you don't believe me I can show you my x-rays which has 4 fused disks, and the remaining bulged disks. My doctor did not advise no lifting or have corrective operations, as he knows I will not comply anyway. Do I have pain? you bet! Does this restrict me from participating in any physical activity I want to pursue no matter how stressful or risky? Hell no!

What I have to do every day is perform some physical maintenance such as joint mobility work, foam roller, PCF and and of coarse, kettlebells. I have to warm up well, something I neglected do during my years of heavy power lifting, or martial arts training. Today I spend more time making sure that my lifting form is is effective for that exercise, something I should had done years ago, and I would not have the issues I have today.

Have a nice day suffering and remember the mission is sacred.

don't have to be bored

May 14Th.

the picture is of Ron Morris, a kettlebell instructor- gym owner and one of his students who is a lady, doing chin ups on a crane. "out of the big box"

"they must often change who would be constant in happiness or wisdom."

Confucius

WO du Jour:

warm up: joint mobility, 5 sets of 5 pull ups, 10 ring push ups, 15 squats, 20 abmats.

5x 250 meter rowing all under 1:50 pace. Wow this is a big change

10 sets of five one arm speed press: 24kg kettlebell (100 presses)

10 sets of sumo High pull with 36kg. kettlebell.

Did not time,but did not rest.

As a spinning instructor(which I rarely asked to do) I receive a newsletter the other day explaining how not to get bored teaching or practicing the fine art of Spinning. Well, that's no surprise! How long is it going to take for someone who does spinning several times a week( I don't mean to pick on spinning, as same can be said for running, biking, swimming, boxing etc) you begin to get stale physically and mentally. Oh you can change the music in your I-pod or, change the speed, but its the same stall your horse is in. You need to get off that same horse and get out and do something physically different. There is also an injury potential that is overlooked when doing repetitive, long duration, aerobic exercise.

My solution to that is try kettlebells and some good old CrossFit and I will bet the farm that you will never get bored or run out of exercise options.

Wilson's rule #5: "you can't get different results doing the same thing"

Have a nice day suffering and remember the mission is sacred

Beat the high cost of gasoline

May 13th.

"Today the world changes so quickly that growing up we take leave not just of youth but the world we were young in."

peter medawar.

WO du jour: 20 mile bike ride on hilly route. (water was the fuel of the day)

The gasoline price in our area just hit 4 dollars a gallon at the pump. What a big surprise to everyone, that we have an energy issue, and supply issue, a production issue, a distribution issue, and finally a gaggle of middle eastern thugs who can set any price they want and we bend over and pay it. We as a country did nothing to insulate ourselves from these thugs so we deserve what we get. So until we change our live style and manage our resources, you pay up!

We spend all to much time in our cars any way so it time we sat to look at the auto just like a lawn mower, snow blower, or weed whacker......a tool to get to work, go on vacations, and shop once a week.

Have a nice day suffering and remember the mission is sacred.

Everyday is a race to the finish

May 12th.


"show me a good looser, and I will show you a real looser."

Vince Lombardi







kettlebell/SWAT workout interrupted to change flat tire.






WO: du jour:

Warm up: bands, jump rope, joint mobility.

Double Kettlebell swings:

8kg x20
10 kg x20
12kg x20
16kgx20
24kg x20x5sets

one arm kettlebell high pulls:

24kgx20x5 sets

Kettlebell snatch:


16kg 200 reps in 5:14

Later in the day: 5000 meter on the C2 rower



The other day when I was out with the bike club, I developed a slow leak in the rear tire, so my coefficient of friction was not good and needed to have tube changed. Well, I did not want to stop and change a tire and break up a good ride, when all I had left is about three miles. I decided to see if I could get back to the starting point before the tire became unridable. So for three miles I pushed by pace as hard as possible, as time was the limiting factor. It worked and I was able to get back just before I was riding on the rims. I probably got more out of that then the previous 25 plus miles.

Remember have a nice day suffering and the mission is sacred.

Mother's Day

May 11th.

"God could not be everywhere, so he created mothers"
Porverb.

WO du Jour:

warmup with SHOT 16#, bands for shoulders, jump rope.

5 rounds of 5 chin ups, 10 pushups, 15 situps, 20 squats.

5 sets,10reps of Kettlebell thursters 20kg,

5 sets,10 reps of chinups.

Its Mother's day so stop training and be nice to that special person.

I been stupid before,and will again in the future

May 10th.





"There is nothing worse then aggressive stupidity"
Goethe

WO du jour:

warm up: Joint mobility and foam roller
30mile+ bike ride with the club. Average pace of 16.8, roads really suck, fat tire to add to the excitement, still cold. Legs responded well and no real stiffness after.

Latter in the day: battleing ropes for a few minutes and kettlebell "griptastic."

Years ago in the 80' s when I was running ultras, my diet consisted of 80-90% carbohydrates. Basically I subscribed to the Pritikin Diet which is just the complete opposite of Atkins diet, with all most no fat or protein in your diet. We know today that a diet of such high carbs if not selected properly, can lead to over weigh and sugar issues. Looking back at some of my pictures when training using such a diet, I looked thin but drawn in appearance. Sometimes people would ask me if I was sick, but although I look bad, I physically felt OK and was able to maintain a running routine of 10 to 15 miles a day. To add to the stupidness of my diet, which consisted of pizza, bagels, pasta, and lots of beer for hydration, which is far from a performance diet of a world class competitor.

However, at that time the diet trends of the day was heading to low fat, low protein diets to control weight, blood pressure and diabetes, which we now suspect as one of the main factors for the huge increase in obesity in that last 20 years. Fat makes you fat;right? Looking back at my diet when I was running, I tended not eat a lot to maintain a low body weight, so although my eating habits were piss poor, by not eating the volume of the carp food kept me from gaining any weight and no health issues.

Today, I follow a very balanced diet of high protein, carbs of fruit and veggies, some fats and absolutely no sugar. It more of a Zone Diet, as this is targeted more for performance training diet as a regiment then most, but I don't follow it to the letter like most diets. I still working on a volume formula to balance work output to required calorie need. This is the hardest part of performance eating, which is food intake volume, once you establish the right foods to ingest. I found that the higher the quality of the food, the less of it you need to eat. But the bench mark for effectiveness of you diet, is body fat to muscle percentage, not just the scale or appearance, plus how well you perform without illness. Yes, most people don't feel good all the time and may be borderline sick. You may hit on the ideal formula right away, or you may take years of experimentation to come to what is an optimum diet that will allow you to perform at the level you require, without illness.

If you want to learn about all the diets ever used, go to www.chasefreedom.com/ they have reviews on them all. You will find there is not one great diet, what you have to do is eat good food, just enough to supply energy, and repair. If you are training or training someone else, then you will have to plan more carefully the food you eat and how much to consume to maintain performance. Your diet becomes part of your training planning at the same level as you fitness planning.

Have a nice day suffering and remember the mission is sacred.

That life you know

May 8th.





" You bluff me! I dislike people who bluff me. It makes me question my prescription of reality.




Diane Schneider.

WO du jour: warm up; bands, joint mobility, rope circles, push up on rings, 50 evil wheels.

Crossfit "Diane"

Barbell Deadlift: 240#
Handstand push ups:
for time: 21reps,15reps, 9reps.

time 7:04 best time ever. however, I blew threw the deadlifts using overhand grip. However, all the time was for the handstand push ups, they are not easy after 10 reps as I think the blood all goes into the arms slowing down the pace. You really have to suck it up to do large numbers of handstand push ups regardless of the number you can do for prone push ups.

Second session: Good shoulder warmup with bands ,
SSST with 20kg kettlebell. 168 reps

A female trainer I know, was a little disappointed about most of her clients who did not train or maintain their fitness when she when on vacation. I sensed that she was not happy that her clients were not imprinted with the level of physical enthusiasm that she has acquired. However this is the norm. Most people want a simple solution to their fitness, so they hire personal trainers to push or encourage them to exercise for short term results. What they really need to do is to utilize the personal trainers talents, so they can lean how to train and be fit, on their own! You would hope.

Myself, I have no illusions that the people I train will never have my level of fitness acumen, nor will continue when I am not around. That is real life. Only a very few special motivated individuals will continue when I am not training them. I have just leaned to deal with the fact and not take it personal that most of your clients will not persist in their mission they have told you they wanted, and don't.

"Have a nice day suffering and remember the mission is sacred"

Breaking bad.

May 7th.



"All things will corrupt when minds are prone to evil."
Ovid

WO du jour:

20 mile bike ride in the moring on the rail trail. good steady pace. Pushed the last 10 mile in the big chain ring.

second session: Kettlebell presses, jerks, push jerks. 1,3,5, reps

warm up with battleing ropes.

2-10,12,14,16,18,20,24 Kgs. 5 reps for the 28 and 32Kg.

I was thinking of a catchy name for my "small box" gym, so the other day I was watching the program "breaking Bad" which is a dark comedy about a chemistry teacher who has terminal cancer. So to finance is family after his demise, he decided to go into the business of making Meth, which is very profitable. Now a nerdy chem teacher is the last guy you would think would be making drugs. The term 'breaking bad' come from the southern vernacular for "break bad" or go out of normal convention or reject normal forms of social or legal standards. Sounds good to me.

The training and equipment I us is all executed out of non traditional fitness methods and or modified to what I view as functional to use for training based on experience and past success of people who exercised in years past without the benefit of drugs or high tech equipment.

• some of the training my personal "break bad" training methods.
  running on thread mills is out; running on grass and hiking trails is in.


• bicep curls with BB or DBs. is out; pull ups with weight is in.


• 3sets of 10 to 12 reps is out; sets of 1-300 reps is in.


• Hammer strength press is out; 40 kg kettlebell clean and press is in.


• leg press machine is out; box jumps or barbell front squats,box squats are in.


• crunches is out; abmats and "evil wheel" is in.


• cardio on elliptical is out; 10 min. snatch test is in.


• leg curl machine is out; dragging a sled or heavy tire is in.


• Pec deck machine is out; muscle up on rings is in.


• incline situp bench is out; Kettlebell Turkish getup is in.


• tai bo is out; hitting the heavy tai sand bag is in.


• step aerobics are out; burpies, thrusters and man makers are in.


• barbell wrist curls is out; farmers walk and tire slam with hammer is in.


• Planet fitness is out; Crossfit is in.


• rice rocket motorcycles are out; Harley's are in.


• Wine is out; vodka is in.

Have a nice day suffering and remember the "mission is sacred".

quick and dirty pratice

May 6th

"Efficiency is intelligent laziness"

Anon

WO du jour:

"Elizabeth"

For time: 21-15-9 REPS AFAP

135# Barbell cleans

ring dips

time: 6:35 (reduction from the last time and the ring dips are much better .)

15 mile bike ride on hilly route later in the morning. attacked the hills in the saddle.

The training today was short in duration, but very intense. When you do those sessions, I feel sorry for the poor devils who spend hours in the gym when you can have more time to do the the things that are important. It not how long you train that makes that gets results, its how efficient you use of your time and human resources. Always evaluate continuously to get the best results in the shortest time frame.

Kaizen and kettlebells

May 5th. Monday




"They say that time changes things, but you have to actually have to change things yourself".

Andy Warhol

WO du jour:

18 mile bike ride in morning. Cool and had a flat tire to fix.

During the 1980's large corporations in the US realized that foreign companies, namely Japan, were out selling us by having a better competitive product. So at least the larger companies sent some of their employees to Japan to see what we could do to improve our systems over here and start to get our market share back.
At the time Japan used a system called Kaizen, which is a simple philosophy of looking at ways of doing things by focusing on the process, and not the end results. Essentially the opposite to the way we view production here. Kaizen can be simple as making small improvements or changes or as involved as analyzing a process using advanced math. Simply put make small changes, look what happen when the changes are made in regards to process, and continue this analyzing the process to it completion. But you never stop there, you continue to look and make small changes as there is never a perfect product.
When you have the human factor in a process, there are so many variables that you can spend a life time trying to make a perfect product, but although you never really get there, at least you have the best you can provide. So when training, you look at the process of how you get the condition you want. You mantain a continous log of your training. Most of the time its just making small changes and not a whole new program or system. All systems will work, they just need to be integrated into the process.


May4th. sunday

"Happness is the joy of acheivement, and the thrill of creative effort"


FDR

WO du jour:

Warmup: foam roller, joint mobility, jump rope.

4x5 min on heavy bag.
100 punching situps
100 ring pushups
100 10 kg KB gunslingers

Just a basic hard day at the office.

May: 3rd.

" Man is the cruelest animal"

F. Nietzsche

WO du jour: "Murph" with 20# X-Vest. in honer of Lt. Mike Murphy USN, was killed in Afghanistan in 2005. Any discomfort I get out of the routine is insignificant compared to the sacrifice that Lt. Murphy made for his country and freedom.

Warm up: join mobility and that's enough.

Mile run in the rain with vest: 12 min.( had to get accustomed to the extra weight).

Squats,push ups and pulls: 19:14 good time for the first time wearing the vest.

2nd mile in the rain: 9: 02 felt a lot better so I must be getting to like the vest( ya right)

Total time: 40:16

I have done this routine prior in the 30 min range without the vest, but with, puts a lot more stress on the my old joints. I kept the heart rate at least 80% all the time. That routine is the longest I have every used the vest before. The last time I used the vest I only ran 100 meter intervals so having the vest on for over a haft an hour is new.

If anyone out there is inclined to gain weight at lets say 20-25 lbs, just put on the X-Vest for any training session, and you will never gain weight ever again! When I took the vest off my heart rate dropped 15 BPM.

I was running outside in the rain today and I can recall the many days I have run outside in cold, wet or snowing weather over the years, to get my workouts in. If you let the weather inhibit your training in any way, you may as well sit home and read a book. I feel sorry for those who go to a gym or health club to run on a treadmill to get their training in so they don't get wet or cold. Little wonder people's immune systems are weak, you have to challenge your immune system just like your muscles, heart and CNC.

Some of my best training sessions have been in the rain especially in the hot summer days. To breath fresh air with max O2 content unlike a building, is the greatest benefit of training in the elements.

speaking of the elements. It good to use different environments or locations to train, so you always stay stimulated and above reduce stress. Yes, training outside reduces stress when com paired to training inside. Today it was a mix of inside and outside training at my gym. The last time I did this it was at the park where they have a place for pull ups. The next time I do "Murph" routine, I have a new location and another park and a good place to run.

If you look at it from a gym owners perspective, he or she wants you to utilize the facilities they have year round. However, on a warm sunny day, why spend your training time on a machine or cardio class, in an stuffy AC induced environment, when you can get some sun, max O2 and natural tanning if you desire. People have to get out of the mind set that you need to have a gym membership to be fit. In reality, outside trained persons are much fitter then those who train exclusively inside year round. There is also a technique called " ecotherapy" or a "green" agenda, for mental health treatment, for those who are in various forms of depression, can be treated by exercising outside.

I am not saying you need to get rid of you gym membership, you just can't get hung up with training all the time inside. Use the gym for really bad weather and when you need people to motivate you. When the weather is favorable, and you need a change, then by all means train outside.

Thrown a curve

May,1st.

" All progress occurs because people dare to be different."

Harry Millner

WO du jour:

Warm up: 10 min. SSST 14kg. kettlebell. very good warm up for a bike ride.

Lost count at 150 reps but it was just to warm up as it was 30 deg. outside for my bike ride.

Bike ride: 23 miles, cold morning, good pace, Don't know what my heart rate was as you have to sweat for the monitor to work,but at 30 deg and 15MPH wind speed, no overheat today regardless of speed.

I was reading in the local paper that a number of Curves fitness businesses are shutting down. Their reasoning was they over expended the number of gyms in the area(16), the economy sucks, and Planet Fitness took all their business way with cheap dues. All those are valid reasons, however, I think that much of the reason for the demise is that the type of training they use, yields a high turn over, and new member pool is drying up due to the number of fitness business out there competing for the new members. Hello! You would not need to capture new members each year, if you were getting results and keeping your members excited about training and being at your gym. The key word for today is RETENTION!

Arthur Jones of Nautilus fame, had a large number of very successful express workout gyms years ago, like Curves, used a machine circuit HIIT, However, none or the Nautilus gyms are in business today. Why? the system will only work for a short period then you plateau, no more progress,then you leave to look for a new system.