My New Kettlebell Valentine

At first I thought Mike would be a little jealous that I chose my kettlebell to be my Valentine...but then I saw him buying a card for HIS kettlebell and hugging it, and that's when I knew that all was forgiven. Hee hee. Only kidding about the card.

It's time to tell the story of how our love affair began, just in time for  Valentine's Day. ...I'm still talking about my kettlebell and the workout it gives. When I was teaching for Total Woman for the last 8 years, I was always on the cutting edge of fitness, giving my students what killer sessions they could bear. They were getting the best workout out there, every time they came to my classes, because that's how much work I put into my sessions. I was so pumped and so prepared, other instructors would often mention how much they liked the way I did things. I was also the first instructor in that building to not only teach for 3 hours a week straight, but to offer my students a kettle-style workout. Of course I found out later, that I was doing it all terribly, terribly wrong.

...Okay so I'm exaggerating...a little bit... because when you feel the explosive power of a kettlebell swing, and then you feel the incredible rush of feeling the power course through your veins when you actually get a rep correct for the first time, you finally understand, after years of solid diligence, what it means to throw 50+ pounds of iron through the air. Thing is, you probably didn't even get THAT rep right. All you know, is that you loved trying. I daresay that is a might bit different than any staid, standardized weightlifting workout routine. I almost want to cry, thinking of all the time wasted, not building my body into healthy kettlebell submission. The bell has truly transformed the way my body looks and thinks.

I have to give Mike some credit for my inspiration. We had many talks about the bells, and how we wanted to incorporate them into our lives. Then after a series of discussions, World Gym, our teaching and training home, agreed to buy a set. Once this began, they asked Mike to teach an exclusive kettle class, and proceeded to buy more kettles! We were absolutely stoked!! (Mike more than I, at the time. I didn't know any better!) Once the kettles landed, it was a choice: me or the bell. It was so incredibly difficult that it turned me off, after training hard for several months. I gave up!! But lucky for me, there's nothing like failing to assist you in your greatest achievements, and I think I am, two years later, finding that to be true for me.

Our New Little Kettlebell Bundle of Joy!!

Mike told me I needed to find a name for our new baby.

Yes, my shiny new kettlebell is here! It's like a new car, or a shiny new penny; unblemished, smooth and polished, ready for action. What a swinger my kettle is! I'd be surprised if I didn't carry my portable gym with me. It really is a moving monster. It may not be the lightest piece of exercise equipment ever, but it certainly is a greater workout than using exercise bands. Imagine the 10 minute blasts I can do with this gift from the Russian workout gods! http://www.dragondoor.com/shop-by-department/kettlebells/

The thing is, once you begin swinging with this baby, not only will you feel muscles you've never felt, you will experience pain you've never had...then a glory for lifting you've never possessed, not until this moment. Rocking the bells is a completely different athletic experience than what is accomplished with traditional weight training. My lifts at least doubled in every way, including how much I could lift, how long, and how many times per week. I stopped wasting too much time on muscle wasting cardio workouts and began focusing on what was most important: bringing all components of strength, endurance and power together in one powerful workout that may last you from 10 minutes to 45 if you train hard enough. The more you pack into a short amount of time, the better results you get.

It's so worth it, I have to let this post sync in before I tell you more. Just go look at the site and find their blog. If it doesn't resonate with you, hang in there. I'll hook you.

Declining progress means need for Change.

So you're working out for 6 weeks. You've eaten well, exercised with intense regularity, and suddenly, you begin feeling tired. You're not getting as much out of your workouts, and this can sometimes spell a decline in your fitness results. You get fatigued and you begin to feel discouraged, so you sit a few sessions out. Essentially, this is not the right thing to do.
Instead, it's time to reassess your program. Before you change anything about your healthy eating or fitness plan, you need to assess your physical state of being. Keep in mind that you have fascia wrapping your muscle bundles together. These layers of superficial fascia have memory and pliability. If you are physically testing your limits, at a certain point your body will protest. The fascia will tighten and restrict the muscle fibers from properly responding to the load..in other words, the muscle misfires and you lose a rep, or even an entire set of exercises, because the muscle has done everything it can. Since weight training is about time under tension, the more tension you can apply to the muscle, the better it can build. When something happens to decrease the muscle's ability to grow, such as need for stretching, increase in proteins or more rest time, the workouts begin to suffer.
Self myofascial release is a technique applied to the soft tissues to relax contracted muscles, increase circulation and encourage lymphatic drainage. It improves flexibility, function, performance, and reduces the incidence of injury. The kinetic chain is a kinesiological system of movement in which a variety of elements are involved: when one of these elements is off, the kinetic chain decreases in optimization. This can throw the body into a cycle called the cumulative injury cycle.

So next time your body's ability to perform is reduced, pay attention to it!!! ....That is all. For now.

The little bits that change your workout.

We focus quite a bit on the practice of getting to the gym and fighting for results. Though weight lifting, interval training and cardio exercise can be each rather important, it is paramount to understand that exercise and nutrition are based on one's own personal bio-individuality. I believe that this principle applies in exercise as well as nutrition, for the different types of benefits each diet and each workout genre espouse. Now the question is usually, "which one is right for me?" You'd want the answer from a professional standpoint, and a professional will surely give thorough, educated, profound guidance. Thing is though, the truest answer will come from within your being.

Getting the right balance of these pieces in are going to be a top priority. For the strength gains I've made, and the variety of challenging exercises I use, I've built a lot of muscle that I'm very proud of. I just have one problem: when people lift for strength, they get strong. Now I need to lift to get lean, and that's not always as fun, and sometimes feels like it's cutting into my strength training. Sure, they could all be done on different days, and actually, that would probably help a lot. Or one could train in phases: an endurance phase, strength phase, power, and integration, then start over. I do all of this with a kettlebell or two. For now, long and slow cardio, 45 min to an hour, 2 hours minimum per week. This will definitely change.

Now I haven't even gotten to the meat of why I referred to the little bits in the title. This is because the little bits are the parts that get lost in a workout schedule, the bits that ultimately provide far more benefit at times than the actual fitness routine itself. They are: foam rolling, rubber ball rolling, proprioceptive training, glute activation, holistic chiropractic care, and inversion. I think I'll start a new page and begin with the ice cream of the dessert world: foam rolling. Stay tuned.

To Cardio or not to Cardio?

At present, I must admit that I am fully vested in a life of swinging kettles. But even though this burns a ton of fat, I am at present, in a bit of a quandary. Am I doing enough cardio? I come from cardio queendom, and so as a woman who now fully enjoying her deep strength and ability to push for incredible strength gains I had never seen in myself before, I am officially nervous about going back to a life of too much cardio. Also, since I have changed my intake, working out has taken on a new meaning. To blow my opportunities for building muscle on cardio, is at present, where my head is, though I'm not sure I'm thinking about this the right way.

I've always encouraged my clients to take a balanced perspective when it came to getting everything in, both exercise and nutrient wise. Both have really increased my enjoyment of the discipline. I also taught a million classes and was told by my acupuncturist to lay off the cardio, told by my running coach to not run more than 6 miles, and then by my cardiologist, that I had brachycardia, and drinking coffee to keep my heart rate up, none of which sounded too healthy.

With all of these physical cues, I decided to completely cut back and dedicate myself to kettlebell training. However, I need to cut weight. I know that I'll figure it out, but what is in me to do? I feel I have about 15 pounds of fat to lose. Everything is getting an adjustment, but firstly, my mindset, attitude and intentions, need to deeply shift. Thank goodness for me, I am very flexible and compassionate with myself, and will give myself some space and time to figure this puzzle piece out. It's becoming more and more important, considering my success directly impacts my clients, though they love me just the way I am, for which I am so grateful.

Rest day whether I like it or not...

Oh my gosh, I had planned to work out tonight with one of my two fav workout partners and I just...couldn't..do it. I mean, I thought I was ready...but I think I ate too lightly today. Here's my intake.

Kale salad with olive oil, walnuts, cranberries (almost two heads of kale!)
Small tea latte (8 oz.)
1 cup large curd cottage cheese
2 cucumbers
16 oz. Mango Protein Zone drink

....I came barreling in the door to make a bowl of veggie "turkey" soup and mashed cauliflower. Oh, and just ate a banana with peanut butter and a little bit of mocha cappucino hazelnut butter. (dessert!) So I became more satisfied...but I still couldn't seem to find the energy to work out, probably because I gave so much energy today, maybe even more than usual...and I choreographed this afternoon as well. Plus my muscles are soooooo sore from Monday and Tuesday's workout. I thought I'd want to at least do a light workout...but it sounds like a bodywork night, with foam rolling and inversion, and maybe a bit of yoga.

Interval training, Endurance building, and Rest.

Mike pummeled my legs to the ground in an interval training session this week, finishing this crazy week of legwork. I had to do it. I've been not quite satisfied in my fat burning outcomes so I decided to kick it up a notch. Of course I'm changing everything and trying new things, from adding exercises, writing new programs, and altering my nutrition, but I'm also adjusting my attitude on how I feel about all of it. Truth is, like most weightlifters, we know that leg training is some of the most important work we can do for total fat burn, but we don't often honor this because it hurts...but legs are soooo strong and burn so many calories, that it is certainly worth it to not leave it out.

I am currently doing about three interval sessions per week, 3-4 kettle training sessions, one floor circuit session, about two hours of cardio, two yoga sessions and one rest day per week, on average. When exercise is steady and consistent, and you're feeling stronger but want more physical results, the best thing is variety, so that the muscles don't adapt to the work, and look at nutritional efforts. Sometimes a nutritional tweak here or there really helps.

I'm wanting to eliminate wheat from my diet, and I am currently wondering, and maybe worrying, about how this will be successfully done. I'm already vegetarian. What will this mean for my daily schedule? The next step is gluten. Gluten may be tougher...but I feel that with these changes, I may actually see a few changes I will come to really appreciate.

The next thing I've done, is ginseng. Ginseng is an adaptogenic herb, which basically means that the herb is a metabolic regulator, and that it creates homeostasis, or balance, in the internal workings of the body. I've cycled on and off of ginseng for years, and it always works for me quite successfully, especially when I want to push my limits a bit.

Sunday is my only sacred rest day. I vow to usually get homework and chores done on this day, cooking and cleaning, and maybe some bodywork, but I have to keep my focus in order to see this through.