This One's For You Em

Anyone who has ever seen me, in person or in pictures, knows that I stay carrying a little junk in my trunk (if you're stupid- that means I have a booty- even when I'm skinny). However, my room-mate... not so much. She has very low body fat, and very low booty-mass. It doesn't really make sense to me, because she has really defined legs, arms, and abs- just not so much butt. Enough about her anatomy. She doesn't like talking about it anyway. In my quest to lure her into kettlebell workouts, I promised her I would make a "booty builder" workout. I am basing this on the assumption that no one has already done this, and if they have, then this is Renee's booty-building workout. The problem with strengthening her glutes (getting her a butt) is not that she has too get rid of fat back there. Like I mentioned, she has very low body fat, so its all about building muscle and fighting her genetic predisposition the best we can. So, here's my workout for the evening, and the booty builder workout for effective derriere definition.

warm-up:
20 2-hand swings
1L/1R pistol squat
*5 sets*

workout:
10 deck squats (w/16k)
3-5L/3-5R TGU's (w/12 or 16k)
10L/10R reverse lunges (w/2 16k's racked)
20 double 16k swings
5L/5R front squats (wide stance)
10 squat/thrust/push-ups (w/24ks)
25 hindu squats
5L/5R ariel squats
10 straight-leg deadlifts
*3 sets*
(30 sec rest between exercises)

My workout included guard presses and clean/presses, because my upper body needed a little play, but did not include the deadlifts, because I prefer to do these with a bar (didn't have access to that at 11:30pm in my living room). I also finished off with 15 min of abs (weighted sit-ups, get-up sit-ups, jandas, stomach vacuuming, etc.) I wanted to hit the 36:36 tonight, but my shoulders were smoked from boxing before class. I love boxing and jiu jitsu. I have a great coaches who push me and are hard on me to make me better at their respective sports every single time I hit the mat or jump in the ring. I consider myself extremely lucky to be blessed with such awesome people in my life.

** Oh yeah, If anyone knows where I can find a video of the proper way (if there is one) of doing full-contact twists with kettlebells, I would be very grateful**

No Kettlbells Yesterday

Usually, every day, no matter what, I pick up the kettlebells to do a short little "heavy" workout, or just mess around doing windmills, weighted pistols, squats, and then some bodyweight stuff. But yesterday, I was at jiu jitsu for a little over an hour, taught a KB class, then rushed off to school and home for a run. Even though we ran for an hour- I still felt like something was missing. No shit huh, I hadn't touched a kettlbell all day except for during the class I taught. Not what I need to be doing the week before the TSC. But, yesterday was a really frustrating day for me and I needed to run to keep my sanity I suppose. But today, all I have is boxing this evening, so I am gonna get a good, long, hard KB workout in since it is gorgeous and sunny and I can tell my puppy wants to go to the park anyways (he swims and scares small children while I workout- yeah, he's a menace). We'll see how it goes.

Checking My Ego At The Door

Yesterday I decided to make my dead-lift day. I am very picky about who I take advice from. There is only one person I call when I need advice on something nutrition wise- Katy. She's also the one who "taught" me how to dead-lift. She is a fitness model and subject matter experton all things pertaining to nutrition and gym training. Well, a meat-head friend of mine showed up at my house yesterday, in from out of town, and dragged me to the gym (hence my decision to make it my deal-lift day). However, when I got there and asked for his tips/opinion about the whole belt thing, he went through and gave me some pointers on little ways to tweak my form and make the most out of using a belt. Two things came out of this- frustration and an apparent plateau.

sumo dead-lift
150 x3 (critiquing my form)
220 x3
150 x3 (re-correcting my form)
220 x2

Then, I tried to pull 270- like I did last week, hoping that I may be able to add some weight this week. This is when the irrational frustration set in. I couldn't do it. I got angry, took a break and tried again. Still- no dice. I tried it with and without the belt. Nothing worked. My buddy tried to tell me it was because I was "tired," but I am really stubborn and not the person who likes to walk out of somewhere not accomplishing what I came to do. Trying to be positive about the experience, I did work on my form a lot and felt what it feels like to pull with a belt on (not sure how I feel about that yet- the only difference is that my lower back doesn't ache today like it normally would).

It was a good thing that I had to leave to meet my boxing coach, because that's exactly what I needed- to pound out my frustrations (literally). Coach Michaels is really the greatest. He was the coach of the All-Marine boxing team before Coach Simmons took over last year. He's an awesome coach and a very generous person for taking me on- and extremely patient and positive. So my last workout of the day was boxing for an hour and 1/2. After that I was toast.

Renee-proof Things That I <3

<- This is my Sigg bottle and the one thing I do not leave the house without every morning. It is so convenient because it attaches to the spring-hook thing that I attach everything important to (cell phone, keys, etc.) and that hook goes onto my training bag that goes with me everywhere. I think everyone should have one of these, because they keep clean, fresh water cool and tasting good, and they're big enough that you don't have to refill them every 10 min ( like the .6L ones), oh yeah, and you really can't break them.
The other thing I can't really do without is my indestructible (so-far) phone ->
It was built to military specs to protect against damage from water, dust, and is shock resistant (I drop it a lot). And even though it's built tough- it still has all the things I need like GPS navigation, all the silly internet-on-your-phone stuff, a camera, and even a flashlight. It also hooks to my spring clip that I attach everything to.

And just for the record- I break things- lots of things. But so far, these things, my wonderful and indestructible Jeep, and kettlebells have been the only truly "Renee proof" things I have found. Now if I could find a man to live up to being "Renee-proof" I'd be set ;)

Training With My Room-mate

My room-mate and I were looking for something to do before we went to the beach today, so I decided to make her get out and give the 36:36 protocol a shot doing high pulls (since her snatches aren't quite perfected yet). We went back and forth timing each other through 2 sets (me doing 36:36 w/ the 16k and her 36:36 w/ 12k high-pulls). After that we did some body weight stuff like ariel lunges, UAPU's (which I have certainly not yet mastered), pistols (which is what she has not quite yet mastered), then swings, deck squats, and k.b. d.l. and other random things. She was getting really frustrated, but I was having fun, so we only stayed out for a little while. I'm sure that the neighbors thought we were nuts because it was a bazillion degrees outside, but it was worth it for a nice, short "day-off" work out.

~There's nothing like napping by the ocean in the sunshine.~

And hell-yeah Spongebob was part of our workout. That's Gabe's chair to his little table, and coincidentally, the perfect size for someone trying to learn how not to "fall" into a pistol squat. Plus it's short enough that she actually had to use some muscle and not momentum to stand back up. She's learning really quick, but gets frustrated easily, because she's my best friend and doesn't take kindly to my "help."

I can officially now do two pistols on e/leg with 16k (the pics are with a 12k I think though), which is funny because some of the top-heavy guys that I train can't do them without a 12k in front of them. My next attempt will be the pistol squat w/ the 16k in high-heels... lol, maybe not. And, no- I have not figured out how not to make goofy faces in pictures yet, but I wouldn't hold your breath on that one ;)

Saturday

Yesterday was wonderful and just what I needed to channel my aggression into some constructive form of, well, getting my ass handed to me by some awesome jiu jitsu guys. They have been so good to me since I started rolling up there. I can't tell you how much I really appreciate Jerry letting me train- and- teach kettlebells afterwards. YAY! It was such a blast. I didn't quite bring my "a" game to the class when I was teaching, but I think I got my point across. Up to this point we had been doing a lot of drills with some of the guys, and not really explaining why (body tightness, etc.). So it was a good class for the guys that I have already worked with and also for the guys that have never touched a kettlebell in their life. I didn't roll really hard, just a lot of drills (which is what I need right now)- also, my mind isn't exactly in the game 100% for the time being, which means really, that my body has no game as of present.

I really can't say enough about what great guys (and Steph) he has up there and what a class act his academy is. You can check it out at www.newbernbrazillianjiujitsu.com. Jerry is an awesome coach and a great guy. Nothing better than sweatin' your ass off for a few hours and then kicking back to watch Randy Coture wreck house! GSP too. Loved it! Good fights, great company.

Grateful

I just talked last night about how grateful I was for all the wonderful things in my life and how lucky I was. Today I was thrown a curve-ball. I am so grateful for everything I have and am. But, more than anything, you can never be too grateful for people in your life who have made you who you are and gotten you through when even you didn't believe in yourself. My inspiration, the one person I admire more than anyone, the person one person who has loved me unconditionally my whole life, is my mom. She is, by and far, the toughest woman I know. She has been my strength, my best friend, and the best mother (even when I was an ungrateful brat growing up). I could go on for pages and pages about everything we've been through and how much I love her, but I can only hope that she knows this already, and that now I can be 1/2 of the strength that she has always been for me. I wouldn't be here right now without her always believing in me, and now its my turn to believe in her and the power of the Lord to get through this. Floating through life counting your blessings is the easy part. You can never be too grateful...

Things I'm Not Too Proud To Do Today:

1. Shamelessly ask my friend to take a picture of me dead-lifting (making uber-goofy face).
2. Be "that girl" in class who was having an inappropriately long text conversation and not paying attention (attendance is 1/2 the battle for me).
3. Run... @ 10:30pm, when it got down to 80 degrees and 91% humidity. (WTF am I still living in this place for- oh yeah- that school thing- would they just give me my degree already?!)
4. Decide to be self-admittedly quasi-vegan (I know- they call it vegetarian) because I cannot do without whey protein in my diet (rice protein sucks).
4. Publicize my neurosis to the world via this blog, lol.

**YAY for me- new dead-lift PR of 270 lbs. today. But, on the flip side- didn't test my snatches or pull-ups. **

sumo dead-lift:
180 x3
220 x3
250 x1
270 x2*

36:36 snatches w/16k
10 sets

5L/5R pistols
3L/3R TGU's

a whole freakin' lotta abs

45 min jog (9 min.-ish mile pace)

* Don't ask, 'cause I don't have a reason why I had to do this twice, but I just did. And now I question could I have gone heavier if I just did it once. And now there's photographic evidence for any integrity questioners... err.

I feel like a different person today (a different person will a lot of penicilin pulsing through their veins, lol). I actually felt good when I finally woke up for real this morning. When I got home from class tonight I was feelin' froggy from being laid up for 2 days, so I ran for 45 minutes to clear my head (and maybe to also burn off some junk in my trunk, lol). Seriously, my class on Mon/Wed is mind-numbing. And, I think it was as humid as it possibly can be without raining, as I'm quite sure I was breathing a air/water mix- but, what can I say, I'm a masochist.

On a dietic note: I have been doing this vegan thing since the anti-estrogenic diet and I love it. No food with a face works for me... and I'm no freakin' hippie, and I don't buy easily into propaganda, and I have slipped up once or twice. I'm tired of defending it, so I just don't talk about it- its a personal choice, a personal choice that works for me- for now... but, I'm rewriting the rules a little bit; I can't do without whey protein in my diet and still maintain muscle, because I will starve myself before I subject my taste-buds to rice protein ever again. So, judge as you will...
~Its my life and I write the rules to it! I am so grateful for my family, friends, health, strength, and will. There is no luckier girl on earth than me!~

That's no chip on my shoulder mom- its striations in my muscles, ha! **Muah**

How could I forget...

So, I guess I forgot to mention in my ramblings about running, that I had an awesome time on Saturday rolling in New Bern. It was so good to be on the mats again. I really enjoyed myself! Thanks to Jerry for letting me come and Richie for making it happen. I'm going back up this Thurs and and Sat and I can't wait! If I didn't have class at night- I would for sure be up there more nights of the week.

On a side note- after spending a few years in the Marine Corps, I learned a lot of things. But, one of the first things I learned was how not to get cellulitis. For those of you who weren't scared into the use of moleskin other ridiculous measures in caring for blisters so that you wouldn't get it- cellulitis is simply an infection of your skin and underlying soft tissue caused by a break in the skin (that can get real gross if untreated). Well, apparently a spider bite constitutes the same "break in the skin" that a blister does, namely, that of a brown recluse. I noticed the bite after I got back from running Sunday night and woke up Monday with my knee swollen and weird red lines radiating from the swelling up my leg and the bite spot starting to look like a an infected blister. So, I went to the doctor and 6 hours later ended up at home in bed passed out from all the medicine (from antihistamines to antibiotics to steroids). Just completely woke up from that coma this evening. It has been super un-fun and I'm going stir crazy.

Trying to look on the bright side- I have now taken two days off (boo) and am ready to hit it super hard tomorrow! The doctor scared me in to actually taking it easy by feeding me a line of crap about the bacteria in my blood saturating my heart if my hr got elevated for any significant period of time. But, tomorrow I will dead-lift, test my snatches, and pull-ups and see where I stand for the TSC!

Rungirl?

For a long time I've been running- everywhere. I'm pretty sure I have ran 95% of the roads, streets, and paths aboard Camp Lejeune, and a good number of them (in the safe neighborhoods) around town, not to mention the track (hated track workouts). But, it had been a long time since I had run any "distance" at all. I had been sticking to 3-5 miles just to loosen up and stay in the 5K game. Running is important to me, and I was reminded tonight why. I took off with the intent to run for an hour. That's not a lot considering we used to run at least the 1/2 marathon course on base every Sunday. I didn't have my Ipod hook-up, which I was bummed about at first, but as I got going I realized that this is the time when I used to clear my head and prepare for the week. It meant that I would mildly carb-load on Saturdays (my day off), and hit it on Sundays. I love kettlebells- training myself, my fighters, and anyone who is interested (except whiny people- don't like them). But, I get really wrapped around the axle about planning my workout, getting to the studio, and then putting my heart into an awesome workout. That's all fantastic and for sure what I will continue to do. But, it was kind of refreshing tonight (on my "day off") to just toss on my running shoes and take off. I feel like my mind is clear, I'm good and tired, and I feel strong and loose. It was an excellent reminder that I shouldn't forget about my passions (present and former) and to keep them incorporated in my routine (even when its sporadic). Oh yeah, this is why I don't run marathons anymore (torn meniscus)- as fun as it is to push your limits that way- it doesn't clear your mind, it ruins your knees, lol:

I think this was the very first time that I hurt my knee (I did finish, and won my age class from what I remember, just not in the best of conditions). I ran three marathons and a bunch of 1/2's after that (not exercising my better judgment) with some 10, 8, and 5K's too. The great thing now is- my knee feels super and they don't have to pump it full of cortisone and threaten me with surgery anymore. Hopefully, the damage I did then won't come back to haunt me. The beauty of it is that I'm still knocking time off my 5K (36:36 w/16k rocks my world)- which is my new competitive running distance of choice.
P.S. I decided to put some more personal (not just training stuff) pictures on my little flikr thingy at the bottom of my page. So, a very small glimpse at my life and the wonderful people in it (some of them).

I'm a movie star!!

Actually, not really. Not at all in fact. They shot the commercial for the studio that I teach out of yesterday, and despite the lengthy footage they took- I am told they will select 30 seconds of it to actually be used in a commercial. I'll make sure to post it when it comes out.

I scheduled my workout around that and some guys that come here to train with one of our WEC fighters Brian Stann- who has a fight coming up Sept 5th-everyone should watch. He's a great guy, awesome fighter, Marine, and has a baby on the way (very soon). But, he's a badass fighter more than anything, so it will for sure be a good show.

I started off my training with the intent of working V02 Max 36:36 w/ the 16k for 15 sets. But they guys needed the timer back to train, so I only got one set in. But then I used the timer as they had it set and just did 2 min on, 1 min rest, 2 min on for about 3 sets. I love snatching the 16k. It wears me out, but I love it. For the rest of my workout, I decided to try and swing for a little while waiting for them to get done, so that I could train kb's with one of them. I got 1/2 way through what I wanted to do- and finished the other 1/2 after I trained with him. I used the same format as my 1700 swing workout, but only did 1000 this time like this:

20 2-hand swings
(30 sec rest)
5 sets = 100 swings

50 transfer swings
(30 sec rest)
50 2-hand swings
(30 sec rest)
5L/5R one-arm swings x5 each side
(30 sec rest)
25 transfer swings into 25 2-hand swings
(30 sec rest)
= 200/set
2 sets

fab-5 abs
10 get-up sit-ups
20L/20R weighted sit-ups

Then I trained with my guys for a little under and hour and repeated the whole thing for another 2 sets. If my calculations are right- I knocked out 500 per round for 1000 total.

I had fun with this, because it was hot as hell in there when I was working out, because the guys were bangin' around and there was also a jj class going on. Speaking of- I finally get to hit the mat again this afternoon at a place about an hour away. There's a black belt that runs a school in New Bern who has been nice enough to let me come roll today (can't really during the week because of class at night)! I'm UBER excited!

Yesterday

My day started off wonderful today due to getting a super sweet email from a friend who's a long way away from here. So I've had this silly cheesy grin on my face all day thinking about it. It's so funny how people 1/2 way across the globe can make you smile in so many ways. Anyway.

In trying to incorporate some structure into my routine- I have made Wed my deadlift days and Thurs my intense ab days (all supplemented by kb work of course). Yesterday I did:

deadlifts:
straight-leg~ touch & go (bar only)
feet together x10
feet should width x10
feet almost plie x10

sumo~
150 x3
180 x3
220x 3
240 x3

other post-d.l. random stuff:
5 sets of 36:36 V02 max w/16k
5 dbl fr. squats w/ 24k's (holy hell)
10 dbl fr. squats w/ 16k's
5L/5R 16k TGU's (alt sides)
10 deck suqats w/16k
3L/2R pistols w/12k
20L/20R airborne lunges

fab-5 abs
10 get-up sit-ups w/16k
5 janda sit-ups
10L/10R weighted sit-ups w/12k

My friend who is the head trainer at the gym I go to to d.l. says that I make some super funny faces, so next time I'll have him take pictures. I have no doubt that he's telling the truth. Some random guy did come up to me and compliment me on my "perfect" form (I doubt that highly), which was really nice to hear, because I have been pulling any weight at all for such a short time. But, I did have an advantage from my k.b. form I suppose. Also, I figured out the key to not having an insanely sore lower back the next day is this super stretch that Jim showed me and the recommendations from the Dragon Door forum. So, that's super- except I spent the whole day in Raleigh (a few hours away) today, lots of time in the car and then straight to school, so I am going to try and squeeze in some k.b.s and a run tonight.

Training With Jim

I forgot to post these earlier when they were taken. This was Jim's 1st lesson and a better idea of what our gym looks like. He did pretty well... for an old man ;)

Mondays= Boo

I shouldn't really say all that. It wasn't horrible, but I could do without sitting in my mind-numbing class till all hours of the evening. I don't know why I bitch about school so much. My life is pretty damn great right now. I am having a lot of fun with work- school is easy- and I am surrounded by wonderful friends and family. So, Monday, not so boo. I'm a very lucky girl.

I didn't have a lot of time, but I did get a little work done before I had to train last night:

warm-up:
20 2-hand swings w/16k
(short rest- I didn't have my timer)
5 sets


workout:
(all w/ 16k)
5 deck squats
5L/5R windmills
40 swings
5L/5R cl/sq/press
3L/3R TGU's
5L/5R single-leg DL
40 swings
5L/5R high pulls
10L/10R snatches
20 swings (w/24k)
3 sets

I took little rests in-between, but I didn't time it. I would have happily kept going, but I pushed it till the very last minute with my appointment. Everything felt good and strong.

What a weekend!!

I know that I've said it before, but I am taking very demanding classes this semester, so when I'm not training, I'm studying. I spent most of this weekend with three of my close friends that are leaving for Iraq. One of them is my kick-boxing coach :( Boo. He's a freakin' badass and I'm going to miss training with him. I took Fri off instead of Sun because of this. Besides them leaving, everything is wonderful right now. My god-son comes home from his daddy's this week (I miss him so much), but I think his stupid grandparents shaved his mohawk off. This is what a cool kid he is (climbing into my jeep):
















Fri I trained with my fighter who leaves for his fight this Thurs! He's improved so much with his coordination and power. I went in a little early and knocked out some sq/th/pushups, pistols, random stuff on the rings, and more abs, but nothing too demanding.

Sat I just did a little run.

Yesterday was the ass-kicker (literally, lol). A breakfast date to say goodbye to Kurt (my kickboxing coach for the last year or so) turned into training at the studio I work out of. They have great heavy bags and he happened to have his gear with him. So, we took off and did this:

warm-up:
tabata style pushups, squats, and leg raises
we threw in some sq/th/pushups (cause I <3 them)
10 min shadow boxing w/o gloves
10 min shadow boxing w/ gloves
20 min on heavy bags
20 min pad work (my favorite)
15 min random drills

then...

a ton of jandas with Jim (the owner of the studio) and Micah
Fab-5 ab workout
pistols
dragonflags

After I got done with Micah, I stayed around to:

36:36 version of V02 max with the 16k.
15 sets

That was what really did me in. I was pretty beat from kickboxing, and still made my way through it, but only 15 sets (I wanted to do 20) because my form was getting u-g-l-y.

Needless to say it was a long day, but I loved it. It was so much fun to do nothing but work myself and my clients out. And, I am seriously considering locking Kurt in the closet at the studio so he can't deploy and can stay here to train me :) Today I'm headed to the beach with one of my girlies. Yay! Thinking about taking the KBs out there for some fun in the sunshine!

Mmmm... Abs

Thursday is my new abs day (where I want that to be my main focus).

I love working abs, so I compiled a routine that was damn near an entire workout by itself. If done with proper form- its a freakin' ass-kicker. But, I love it when I wake up and my abs are screamin'. I threw in some other lower body stuff just for kicks at the end.

workout:
random push-ups (working on 1 arm) and pistols
1 min. hot potato x3

50 double-racked kettlebell standing twists (knee to opposite elbow)
10 get-up sit-ups
50 lying waist twist (25L/25R)
10L/10R rack-hold sit-ups
10L/10R gladiator press (I'm sure that's not the right name)
10 hanging knees to elbows
3 dragon flags (need lots of work on my form)
5 janda sit-ups
3 sets

10 deck squats
10L/10R fr. squats
20 rev. lunges
20 deep side lunges
5 sets

Awesome workout for my abs and booty. My lower back was a little sore from Wed's dead-lifting, so I wasn't feelin' like I could put much hip drive into anything. This was a super alternative.

Sleepy Girl...

These 7-10pm classes are killer. But, luckily I had some wonderful training today. I trained a new fighter at 1:00 in the gorgeous NC sunshine, gettin' all sweaty and dirty. It was a blast. Then I went into the studio to train my other guy who is making awesome progress. I myself did GTG dead-lifts this morning 200 x5, 220 x5, and 230 x5. It felt GREAT, but wore me out- especially with such a busy day. Before training my guy at the studio- I squeezed in a few sets of 24K sq,th,p/u's, 16k get-ups, single/double windmills, and some snatches. I am being careful because I ripped some super ick blisters open on my hands doing V02 Max snatches the other day. As soon as they get a little healed up- I'll get right back to it. Anyway. I am sleepy- class numbs my brain...

Catching Up

Our internet has been sporadic at best for the past few days, so I haven't been blogging anything. But, here's a quick overview of what I've been up to:

Friday-
20 double swings (w/12k) x2
10 d.l.
(30 sec)
20 double swings x2
1 min figure 8 (30 sec e/way)
(30 sec)
20 double swings x2
8L/8R mil. press
(30 sec)
20 double swings x2
10 dbl fr sq
(30 sec)
20 double swings x1
5/5/5/5 dbl cl/sq/press
3 sets

Sat/Sun: Mini vacation to Mytrle Beach. I love diving into the waves!!

Monday-
V02 Max w/o with 12k bell 15:15
x2
3 mile run
hellacious ab w/o

Tuesday- will post tonight.

That's the run down since the last time I posted. I've been running, dead-lifting, and V02 max snatching more than anything and I plan on that being my focus here for a while. (I'd really like to do the TSC coming up- but still undecided).

Had a blast this weekend. The beach calms my soul and the company I kept was fabulous. We stayed beach-side and spent all day Sat playing in the ocean. LOVED it!! Too bad my partner in crime is deploying for Iraq here pretty soon. I'll miss ya Ski- but we'll tear shit up just like we do when you get home.

P.S. On kind of a mushy gushy note- please don't forget to pray for the safe return of all of our brave men and women that are making the ultimate sacrifice right now by putting themselves in harms way to serve their country. Whether or not you agree with the war, I believe what my neighbors bumper sticker says, "If you don't stand behind our troops- please feel free to stand in front of them." I'll leave you with that.

How To Do 1700 Swings In About An Hour...

Yesterday, I decided that it was my turn to give this relentless "hour of swinging" thing a shot. Here's how it worked:

Starting at 5:20

All with 16k
Tracy's warm-up:
20 2-hand swings
(30 sec rest)
5 sets

workout:
50 transfer swings
(30 sec rest)
50 2-hand swings
(30 sec rest)
5L/5R x5
(30 sec rest)
25 transfer/ 25 2-hand swings
(30 sec rest)
8 sets

Ending at 6:32

I figure that I got 100 swings in my warm-up, and 200 out of each of 8 sets, so a total of 1700. As far as time is concerned- This madness went on for a total of 72 minutes. There was 2.5 min of rest in the warm-up and 2 min per set in 8 sets for a total amount of resting time being 18.5 min. That would mean that I spent 53.5 min total swinging. Yea for me!!

I really surprised myself with this one. I didn't really think that I would be up for going through all 8 sets without wanting to change something up in the last few sets... well, I did want to change (as in take a freakin' break), but I didn't. I powered through it. Tracy was right about losing your hip drive after about 10 min. It doesn't totally disappear, but it becomes increasingly harder to keep good form when you're getting through the hour. It seemed like the least dreadful set was the 5L/5R x5 (maybe because of the variety), and the rest of them had to be done by force of will alone (and the positive motivation and influence of other kickass kettlebell mamas).

The backs of my legs are screaaamin' so I'm taking off for a little run to loosen up and then off to train! I will say that following through with goals like this is the truest example of why the pain of discipline is far better than the pain of regret. It feels awesome to have accomplished something I set out to do - even if the only person it matters to is me.

Oh yeah, and THANK YOU Tracy for you hand-band idea. You should patent that :) Also, for the basic guidelines/structure for putting this workout together. You are awesome!!