NO Hammies

Wow, today's VWC session was not very pleasant. But I'm progressing perfectly.

My hammies weren't firing. As a result, I'm pulling the kettlebell up using lats and the WRONG leg muscles. The body compensates and will complete the mission. This isn't always the best thing. I reckon if it's a competition or a battle, the cost or ROI is worth it.

Training requires strict adherence to perfect form and how your body feels. Both should be taken into consideration. I probably could have stopped at any time but I didn't. I had a mission today and I'm training for an event in about 6 weeks. The truth is I should have chosen a different program today. I could have done a complex or some active recovery giving me the opprotunity to recuperate from Monday's festivities. I didn't, I sucked it up and completed the workout, then ran all without hammies. I'll recover and be fine in a couple days by doing plenty of mobility work.

Sara wrote a good post about kettlebell brands. I have used many different brands and prefer DD. I have used the Lifeline and they work. Here's my opinion. I don't like the smoothness of the handles. I have/had some DD Russian Red kettlebells and I don't use them (I keep them for clients). While I'm not a huge fan of ripping my hands up on coarse kettlebell handles, I appreciate the grip they seem to give.

Perhaps it is the added surface area; think nerve endings. Truthfully, when I'm sweating and it is humid, I feel more secure with the coarse handle; especially when a large mass is overhead. Bear in mind, the course handles wear down and become smoother with use! The hundreds of thousands of reps I've done with my first couple kettlebells have a custom feel. I still prefer to use them more than others. You can tell I don't use my 40k very often, it bites!

NOTE:
I worked with a gentleman for a few weeks that was preparing for his first MMA fight. He is a great athlete and wanted to kick things up a notch. So that's what we did. I probably didn't contribute too much to his fitness but maybe I did. Regardless, it was fun to work with a true professional! He wrote this update:

Just wanted to give you a quick update and a THANK YOU. I won my fight last night with the ref stopping the bout in the second round due to strikes (I took full mount and was punishing him pretty good; by my count, I threw 8-10 punches, with 4-5 getting through clean) before ref pulled me off him.

This is motivating! Great Job Scott -- Semper Fi!

Practice:
ZNWU
VWC x 46 sets
croc. breathing (must relax back)
Run @ track - 4 x 100, 4 x 200, 2 x 100, 1 x 400, 1 x 200, 1 x 400, walked the same distance between sets. It is all about form and cadence.

Tonight -- ASLR, Bretzel, Ankle mobility, croc. breathing

Good Scoop from Great Minds

Here's today's blogroll scoop:

Senior RKC, Sara Cheatham has a great post about kettlebells for combat readiness. This is pretty much what I've been telling people for a few years. Of course, Sara backs it up with case studies. There you have it.

Here's something interesting from Mike T Nelson. It is a study of neural science and fat loss.

Sandy Sommer writes about cycling your workouts. This is important, you can't go hard all the time. Delaine Ross wrote an article for Dragon Door about a similar subject.

Last, I thought I would share a new blog I ran across last week. I think I've read nearly every post. George has finished my favorite bike race, the Furnace Creek 508, 4 times and has done it on a fixie. Oh, and he was a HAT. George you da man!


Today I had a co-worker asked me about kettlebells. He started attending a class at the rec center and the instructor is clueless. I asked him to show me his swing and holy cow; it's no wonder he is having serious lower back pain. If your lower back hurts from doing something, you are doing it wrong. Get help from someone that is certified in that activity. I am aware of this person in the Virginia Beach area, she has no idea what she is doing but she insists on teaching kettlebells. She even had the audacity to attend a free class at Karen's studio and tell Karen she was doing it wrong.

Now, let me tell you what really pisses me off about this. I don't try to make much cash by teaching kettlebell stuff. My MO is simply to break even so I can attend more training and become a better, more educated trainer. The fact is I refer most everyone to Karen Smith, RKCII. I do offer FREE instruction often for a few reasons. 1) if you are going to do this stuff, you need to do it correct. 2) Maybe you refer someone to me. No worries. So when I offer free training and someone says no, they can learn it on their own than my kindness ends. Figure it out on your own, I have better things to do anyway!

Practice:
ZNWU, movement drills
Ride: 30 miles - Zone 1,2
Clean and press: 5x5

(planned a complex but ended up correcting the above person and ran out of time for my own workout) C'est la vie.

Until Next time!

Time to train for 2010

This is the first week of training for next year's events and goals. The future is now. Over the past few weeks I've been working out goals, key events, and a loose training plan that will help make it all a reality.

Like I said, it's a loose plan. I don't think a super-rigid plan is the way to go because I won't follow it for more than a week. I think flexibility and consistency are both key to a plan. So, what I've come up with is more of a framework. Within the frame work, there are key workouts that need to be completed.

****Dang the Bronco's socks are ummm, sexy. lol****

There are some components to the plan that need to be completed every day even when I don't plan to train. This includes Z Health, joint mobility and/or the FMS drills. These create better movement and take away pain. Each week I have certain workouts that are absolutely necessary for progression and some optional workouts that are important but a lower priority.

Let's face it, training/practice isn't a job, it's just a lifestyle. There are a couple things that are more important. If I feel like playing with my kiddo, I'll do that. (I'm still distracted by those socks.) I'm also hitting the school thing so several hours are designated for this.

I'm in the base period on the bike and will build to some stupid long rides in late December/early January. The weather could make things a little miserable. I plan to keep doing a couple runs weekly to keep improving my form/efficiency.

Kettlebell - next few weeks - a combo of Viking Warrior conditioning, some double kb complexes and some pressing ladders. The main goal is to shed some fat and get the strength ready for the spring.

Today's practice:
I set out today to take it easy or ease into the VWC protocol. That went out the window when I was setting the timer up. I did double what my plan called for now I have to adjust the entire next 3-4 weeks. Remember flexibility?

On the way home from work, we had to stop at the grocery store for some supplies. I went ahead and ran home from the store. It is about a mile. The goal was to keep good form and tempo. I actually beat my wife home. Not a long distance but the goal is to PRACTICE the form to improve efficiency. I'm still having to think about the form too much.