The pain of DISCIPLINE is far better than the pain of regret!

P.S. Thanks for this Jordan.

2008-03-13T23:46:00.004-04:00

I don't really know who Jordan is, but he made this sweet picture and emailed it to me requesting permission to use it. Sweet, yo. Couldn't be more appropriate for my training philosophy either. Dunno if I'd call myself average or elite, but cool pic none the less.

This week I want to be a tough girl.

2008-03-13T23:24:00.002-04:00

Too tired to blog... or really even think *just ask my professors.* However, this week has brought some harsh realizations:

1. Working 8-5 doing actual "work" with your body + training = tired and sore like I've never felt- in a masochistic "good" way.
2. The flu has set me back about 2 weeks in training, both boxing and jiu jitsu.
3. Your body goes to shit way quicker than in comes into strength.

Fortunately, I have channeled these things into constructive outlets which will, in turn, remedy the way I feel right now.

Since I got back from IL and spending time w/ my mom- who's doing AWESOME by the way, I have done little training (of others). I got really focused on my own training, and just never picked back up. And, I was recently offered an awesome opportunity to do something that I love (working on Jeeps). All that being said, I just got over the flu, and I am bouncing back slowly. Still running, working KB's (lat strength does a lot for slinging tires from the bed of a p/u truck), and fighting. Not much can stop that. I am regaining my strength in areas I lost it being beaten up by the flu strain that was apparently not included in my flu shot and starting to work outside and with my body. It's a welcome change that I needed, and I absolutely love doing it.

I guess if its not one thing, its another when it comes to changes, gains, and set backs. Such is life, but all the cliche crap about standing in the face of adversity (in all forms big and small) is not so much cliche crap as it is really an important concept.

Looking fwd to posting more workouts, training, random thoughts :)

P.S. I've found sweet ways to incorporate my own silly fitness shit into my job. You can deadlift leaf springs and axles, do weird looking swings warming up to sling a tire into a tire pile, and you can sure as shit squat with anything (heavy tires, transmissions- lil too much for me, etc.) There is a way that it all comes together. Maybe you'd just have to see it. How lucky am I to work out in the sunshine on gorgeous days like the ones as of recent! Sunshine is good for you dammit.

The Gym and Passing Judgment.

2008-01-29T23:15:00.000-05:00

Sooo... tonight boxing was cancelled, no jiu jitsu, and I had already run with Emily and Gator (the fine canine running specimen that he is becoming), so I was planning on hitting a really good workout in the living-room a la kettlebells. But, one of my friends that I box with called me to ask if I wanted to got to the gym and "lift" since practice got canceled. So, I obliged. Now, I love relentless gym bashing (almost as much as Republican bashing... no, not as much) since the gym is only good for the Olympic lifting platform- that I would also install in my living-room if I could afford to do so- as far as I'm concerned. :) Maybe I'm a hypocrite or maybe it was just for nostalgia, being that it is the same gym I used to teach aerobics to whiny, dependent wives at. Either way, I went with and didn't have a bad time... till I left. Nothing was wrong with my workout: I can enjoy about 20 different modifications to the deadlift, and squats, and all the super-duper new "ab machines." But, some things are only entertaining for so long. The TT gym = one of them. As we were leaving I began to think (that's usually 1/2 the problem right there).

I am very lucky to have such wonderful people and facilities to train in. I am grateful for all of them everyday. But, I do jiu jitsu in a pole-barn style building that also serves as the county fairgrounds that's an hour from my house. I box in an old, run-down, 1/2 torn apart boxing gym. I run... um...on the sidewalk. I play with iron kettlebells in my living room trying to dodge the dog and three-year-old... and I love it- all of it! I wouldn't ask for better places to do any of those things. And I utilize them all, voluntarily, on a pretty-much daily basis. The reason I point all this stuff out is this: What possible reason could a Marine or dependent-spouse have for not being in shape. Of all of the excuses that exist, unless you are physically not-able to get yourself there (walking, running, driving, or riding a bike), none of them are acceptable. There is all of the super-duper equipment provided (to include a machine that assists in medicine ball sit-up tosses- WTF?!) for free, free personal training, free group fitness classes, free usage of the locker rooms, even free towels to wipe your sweaty self off- none of which seems to be enough to get some of these folks to want to go. Apparently, therein lies the problem- They don't want to go. Period. They would rather sit on their butts when they get home and eat Doritos and drink Mountain Dew than go use all the nice free shit that the government is trying to taunt them in to good (or better) shape with. I don't get it. I understand we don't all have the same schedule (its open almost always) or the same priorities (but I'll go ahead and call you screwed up if good health isn't in your top 5), but give me a break. Barring any legitimate medical issue, there's no reason any military family member should be out of shape- point blank.

This phenomenon needs to be explained to me, scientifically. So many military spouses are notoriously out of shape, overweight, or both. Nothing I've read thus far, even attempts to breach this topic. Does the means not justify the ends? Who doesn't want to look and feel better if you presently look and feel like shit? Like I said before, the DoD is practically doing a fitness strip-tease on base housing. I doesn't get any easier or more convenient. I suppose the point of failure is the point at which you actually have to sweat. Hmmpf. You can lead a horse to water...

Okay... off my soapbox and off to bed ;)

Funny Stuff

2008-01-28T11:36:00.001-05:00

Of course there's a funny story that goes along with this, and I have to thank KJ for the link to the site that I created it on. But, this was not one of the finer moments of the Emily and Renee Show :)

The Last Week-ish

2008-01-28T11:07:00.000-05:00

The last week has been super busy. My classes this semester = super tough. Actually, they're the toughest I've had since I started this whole college thing (which, BTW, I am so ready to be done with). But, good thing I have such positive outlets for my pent up aggression and frustration.

Boxing is 6 days a week (and running in the morning with my team-mates 5). We've worked a whole lot on movement and footwork, which is exactly what I need. We've had three new guys start training with us, and I don't have to drop weight right now, which is pretty nice (I'm not super fun when that's going on). So, things there are very well. My focus needs to be on footwork and technically sound punches, so I have tried to incorporate jumping rope, slipping/step-around drills, and lots of shadow boxing (in my own workouts, not just at practice).

Still doing jiu jitsu. I didn't go last week because of vehicle situations, but I'll be up there tonight- right after boxing to get back on the mats. Jiu jitsu is such a beautiful sport when its done well. Watching guys like BJ Penn (and of course Jerry, my coach)- they transition and maneuver so smoothly. I wish it was as easy as they make it look... No, I wish I could make it look as easy as they make it look :)

My kettlebell workouts have been lots of working the 15:15. I will do anything to get me out of having to do sprints, he he. But, I have done some sprint work (sprinting between light-poles) on one of our running routes in the mornings. We try to switch it up based on what we do at practice (if we do intervals, then we run longer and slower- if not, then we pick it up with sprints). It seems to be working well.

My favorite workout that I have done three times in the past week has been this one (which I will alternate with the 15:15 after some low-rep heavier stuff):

2 min each:
2 hand swings w/ 16 k
1 min each L/R TGU's
jump rope
1 min each L/R one-leg m.p.
1 min each L/R high pulls

I finish by wearing myself down with as many pistols as I do on each leg and sets of BW pull-ups.
I have laid off my abs (and its shows), only doing as much as we do at practice, but I'm kicking it back in this week. If I haven't mentioned it already- I love my ab wheel. My living room keeps getting more stuff put in the "kettlebell corner" like my ab wheel and stability ball- more to come for sure :) Wish I had a garage.

Lil Bit of This, Lil Bit of That

2008-01-17T23:24:00.000-05:00

Today started out super ick outside. It was rainy and cold so, being the cool kid that I am, called my running buddy (he'd really hate to know I just called him that, he he) to cancel. That was 5am. I slept in till lil man woke me up (7ish) and after he got off to school I planted myself at the computer for the next 5 hours. I'm so studious, I know ;) Good news- got lots of homework done. Bad news- I didn't really eat or drink anything till I left to pick up my room-mate at 3, nor did I bother to run once it stopped raining. Either way, I boxed tonight for a little more than an hour. I felt stupid drained, because I was running on empty, but that's good for me. I can't imagine I'm going to feel completely "nourished," so to speak, when I step in the ring at my fight weight. I don't think I'll make a habit of not eating though- not fun. At boxing, we did awesome intervals of footwork and heavybag, then worked the mitts, and did some ab stuff.

When I got home, I ate. I was f'n starving. Even though I was tired, I did a "lil bit of this, lil bit of that" with my 12k... just as the icing on the cake.

I did 30 sets of the 15:15- something I always go back to, because (1) I know it works, (2) I can time 15 second splits a lot easier than 36 second ones, and (3) Its something I can do with good form, even when my shoulders are smoked from hitting the heavy bag.

After that I went through:
2x 3L/3R pistols
2 x 10L/10R one-leg m.p.
3 x 5 bw pullups (did I mention my shoulders were smoked?)
3 x 20 swings w/ 16k
2 x 10L/10R clean&press
3 x 5 bw pullups (love the pain)

Oh yeah, then 20 mins of ab stuff
(I can finally touch my toes to the bar- YAY!)

Nothing too tough, just a little bit to wear me out before bed. And now I'm very stinky and very, very tired, so shower and sleep sound good.

Back For The New Year

2008-01-15T10:13:00.001-05:00

I decided when my mom got sick to re-evaluate my priorities and updating my blog didn't make the cut. I dropped everything having to do with training my clients/fighters and spent quite a bit of time back in IL with my family as my mom won the toughest fight there is, against a very aggressive cancer. For all of the fighting that I train for, I will never measure up to my mother who fought off breast cancer by the force of her own will and determination, with a smile on the face of the most beautiful bald woman ever :) She's by far the toughest woman I've ever met, and how lucky am I that she is not only my inspiration and role model, but also my mother. Even in her hardest days fighting with the side effects of chemotherapy, she was still out there walking, jogging, and (as of recent) using her new elliptical machine daily. She did a lot of body-weight only exercises within her range of motion limits, but kept reminding me (as she did going in to her first surgery which was on her birthday in Sept.) that "This time next year I'll be windsurfing in the Caribbean and back on the tennis court in full force!" She is so strong, determined, and never once complained about what she was going through. She is so positive and by the grace of God, has just had her last successful surgery which came shortly after her last chemo treatment around Christmas.

I have certainly not abandoned training. In fact, I have been training my butt off for some (hopefully) upcoming events that I am very much looking forward to. I have brought new focus to my training to make me a better athlete, boxer, and jiu jitsu fighter. My strength and conditioning has been primarily in an effort to better myself at these specifics.

A very general idea of what I have been doing includes lots of the VO2 Max protocol workouts to increase my anaerobic conditioning which is essential to my sports. I have been working a lot with swings and high pulls and also various interval workouts that have involved strength training (lifting, etc.) w/ kettlebells. I've been runnin' for fun, the fat burning benefits, and really to keep my sanity. The gym is only good for dead lifting and squats, which I have really come to appreciate the gains acquired in those two things. I have been wrecking my abs and core (not just for vanity), but because so much of my power comes from there. Other than that, lots of sports specific stuff: boxing 5 days a week and jiu jitsu 2-3 times a week. Took a break from these over the holidays, but kept in awesome shape and came back from Christmas at home in better anaerobic shape than when I left. I did have an unbeatable place to train in our basement, and nothing beats working your butt off, hitting the steam room, then out to the hot tub. I've got it so good back there. If I just could have brought my coaches with me, it would have been a sweet ass training camp. But, I did have my dad out there who was encouraging/coaching me. He is quite the badass himself and an accomplished boxer in his day (by accomplished I mean that his dad used to take him to the bars when he was a young man and bet on him to fight the grown men).

So, my intention from here on out is to keep a training log and updates on upcoming fights, jj tournaments (my prep for them- to include cutting weight- boo), and all of the other very sweet stuff going on in my life. I'm really looking forward to this upcoming year and all the awesome things that will be happening! Till tomorrow...

What I've Been Up To

2007-10-22T07:32:00.000-04:00

I think that if I run through what my typical days have been it will bring light to why I have been absent from my blog:

I wake up @ 7:00 to my god-son prying my eyes open (most days- some days its the dog licking my face). I get him (my god-son, not the dog) ready for school, make him breakfast, and get ready. Then, once I drop him off, I head to the gym for an hour of cardio or back to the house for a 7 mile run. Come home, shower. When done with that, I spend (on average) 4 hours on the computer doing homework as I have three online classes this semester. By the time I'm done with that its time to go pick Gabe up and we usually head to the park or fishing or go somewhere with the dog. I confess, I like sneaking in a nap before then, but it doesn't usually happen. Then, I do a 30-45 min kettlebell workout before his mom gets home: low, heavy reps of strength stuff and the 15:15 protocol. Shower again, then off to boxing (w/my super wonderful coach). I shower at the boxing gym and drive an hour straight up to jiu jitsu. Roll from 7-9 pm (with my other super wonderful coach). Then, drive an hour home. Shower and sleep. Wake up and do it all over again. Oh yeah, somewhere in there I eat 6 times a day.

More than anything, spending so much damn time on this computer for school has really ruined it for me for anything else. I'm gonna make an effort to get better, but no promises till the semester is over in early Dec :)

This is a really old picture that I found saved on my computer from when Gabe was so little. In fact, he's just over 2 mos. in this picture. I can't believe it. Its like I blinked my eyes and he's a 3 year old little terror now.

Easing Back Into Things Part II

2007-10-11T01:22:00.000-04:00

When I said that I was easing back into my routine, I didn't realize that I would need to check my ego at the door. I had a really awesome night at jiu jitsu. It was the first night since I've been back that I really had my head in the game. I have the world's greatest coach- for real. Not only is he an awesome teacher, but he really makes his students feel like he has faith in them. Oh yeah, and he tells me that a black eye looks hot on a girl (to make me feel better about mine, which I somehow got a few nights ago at class). It makes me smile and is a nice thing to hear (even as a joke) after walking around all day feeling the need to tell the world that you're not a domestic violence victim. I wish there was some bad-ass story to go with my getting-worse-by-the-day black eye, but the truth is that I just caught a knee to the face at practice... not very impressive :)

Anyway. I was exhausted after rolling tonight, and made a promise to myself that I will do my kb workout in the morning, and not after jiu jitsu anymore. It's self-defeating to come home worn out and then try to get a decent workout in with kb's. Either way. I still had some strength after tonight, so I did a simple little swing ladder and then destroyed my abs for a good 30 min. Now, I'm sleepy and feel well worked. Hopefully my commitment to myself will yield more productive workouts for me.

swing ladder:
10 swings
50 hindu squats
20 sw
40 sq
30 sw
30 sq
40 sw
20 sq
50 sw
10 sq

30 min of abs.

Easing Back Into Things

2007-10-09T23:56:00.000-04:00

Well, I am back in NC now. L-o-n-g drive that I swear (for real this time) that I will never make again. That's why there are airplanes. Things have been a little crazy since I got back, but I have been at jiu jitsu all week, running, and a little kettlebells. I feel really weak right now. I slowly let myself get that way not eating and not using kb's enough while I was home. The only thing to do is jump back on track, so here's my easy little workout that I did after jj tonight.

warm up:
3x20 swings
3x10L/10R snatches

workout:
3x10 dbl clean & press
3x10 sq/th/pushup
3x10 (cheating) crush curls
3x10L/10R windmills
3x5L/5R TGU's

I debated whether to even post this, because its borderline embarrassing, but I really am weak and kb's after jiu jitsu is almost like kb's after running- note to self.

On the positive side, I am looking forward to getting my schedule back, to include cooking for myself and training jiu jitsu and boxing on my old schedule (that I liked very much). I am very grateful that my jj coach let me come back like I had never left. He is the rockinest- and I am the sleepiest.

Fight Night Southern IL Style

2007-09-29T18:18:00.000-04:00

So, tonight is the first MMA style fight event that Southern Illinois has seen. It will be interesting. Most of the guys and one of the girls that I have been training with here will be fighting, so god luck to all of them. The fight was less than a week away when I got here, otherwise I would have thought about competing, but it would not have been the smart thing to do. As it turns out, our coach's wife is in my weight class and couldn't find anyone to fight. Oh well, others will come.

Also, on a North Carolina note- CONGRATULATIONS to all the badasses from New Bern Jiu Jitsu (my fight family back home). They whooped ass at Ruckus In The Cage (a fight in VA today). A special congrats to my girl Steph who got second in her division in her first tournament. I wish I could have been there!!

As far as my training is concerned- jiu jitsu is at least once a day Mon-Thurs here, so Thurs night after class I took my puppy for a short run in the rain. Yesterday- I had a really good kb workout with my dad in the driveway of our house (in the woods) and then came into town to my real dad and step mom's house for a run. I felt so strong- I knocked 6 miles out like it was nothing and I was keeping a pretty good pace. When I got back I did some abs on our decline bench and a few light deadlifts. It felt really good. Today, I just did a short run (with the dog again- he's l-a-z-y and we're definitely gonna have to fix that). And more abs and deadlifting in the basement. There's no kettlebells here at this house, but I think tonight might be perfect for a late night kb workout at my momma house!

I have pictures from the lake and other random stuff that I've done since I've been home which I'll post soon. I'm really looking forward to getting back to NC, to the places I love to train and all my own beloved kettlebells ;) I'm a dork.

I promise I'll get better...

2007-09-27T01:59:00.000-04:00

I know that I have really been neglecting my blog, but other things have been occupying all my time, and I have satellite internet where I live (in the sticks). FYI: Satellite internet isn't exactly broadband... it's as slow as dial up, but doesn't work in the rain. Anyway. I have been training really hard. I'll give a brief rundown of what the last week's been like:
I have been going 4 days a week to jiu jitsu, and two of those days there's a stand-up class immediately afterwards. Pretty good group of guys I've been training with. I've been working the 15:15 up to 35 sets (w/the 16k) and doing a bagillion swings, lunges, high pulls, clean/jerks, presses, pistols, and still working on the damn OAPU. I don't know what my battle with that is all about. I have been running myself into the ground since I also am making a concerted effort to get some miles in (running) to keep my sanity.

This weekend was super f'n fun. We stayed out at the lake all weekend on my family's boat and jet skied and jumped off stupid high cliffs into the water. I am such a lake bum. It was so fun. The sweet part was that some of the rocks we climbed from the water and then jumped back in (I don't know how high, but I'd guesstimate a good 4 stories). I couldn't get enough (well, until I did a spectacular 1 1/2 flip off of a not-high-enough spot and ended up belly flopping... holy ouch Batman).

I also forgot to mention that I've been flying as much as possible working on my private pilot's license. Really expensive hobby, buy I totally love it. I'm cool with the takeoffs and landing, but I taxi down the runway about as well as I drive (not well at all).

All of my time has been in kettlebells, jiu jitsu, and helping my mom out as much as possible. I'm looking forward to heading back to NC in a few weeks and being back with my jiu jitsu "family" back there, lol. I miss them- Jerry, Stevie, Steph, Richie, all of thems (even the handsome blond guy who's name I don't know that Jerry made me blush in front of, HA!).

That's all for now. I am going to start logging my training better, really I promise. And as for my lack of structure- I am gearing my kettlbell training towards making myself better at jj and fighting in general. I had a definite advantage when I got here- even training with dudes, as I had awesome endurance, speed, and core strength (hip power) that has given me a fighting chance on the mat (no pun intended... yeah, I'm still a dork).

Megadeath, Kettlebells, and Running with the Big Dogs

2007-09-21T22:45:00.000-04:00

Recap of the weeks events:

Tuesday
workout:
(all w/16k)
30 tactical lunges
1 min waiters walk
150 lb d.l. x5 (that's all the weights I had to use)
10L/10R high pulls
3 sets (w/ a little rest btwn)
~4 mile run (after my kb wo... smarter not harder)
(I stopped a 1/4 mile short of my house and did 500 walking lunges inspired by my fave girl Katie- she rocks, and my legs were on fire, whoo-hoo!)

Then, I got an unexpected phone call that a friend of mine had extra tickets to the Megadeath concert that night in St.Louis. I had to go up there the next morning to take my mom to a dr's apt anyways, so I was super stoked. The concert rocked. What didn't rock is that the concert was in East St.Louis (for those of you who don't know, I think it has the highest murder rate per capita in the country- every neighborhood is a bad neighborhood there). Well, being the genius that I am- as I pull up, so do about 5 cop cars (lights and sirens) to apparently escort some gentlemen who were getting a little rowdy to the station (they were well restrained and tazered I believe). Anywho, I made myself a protein shake on the way up there and had my protein powder in a large plastic bag. Coincidentally, as I sit there with the door open, ready to walk into the club, I realize that I better lock my pistol in the center console (where my bag of protein was). So... as one cop is pulling by on his way out of the parking lot, he notices me- wiping powder off my hands and arranging my .45 cal pistol and bag of white powder in my glove-box. Needless to say, I got the royal, "Step out of the car ma'am." treatment. I explained to the cop that I had a legal and registered pistol for protection and that the white powder was orange flavored protein (he preferred to taste it despite my suggestion for him to snort it and see how it felt). All was fine in the end- and it made for a funny story once I got inside. My friends walked outside after the cops pulled up to look for me and they thought all the cops were there for me- sprawled against my jeep being frisked and questioned. Right. Enough about that. The concert rocked. Megadeath = a supercool hairband and the rest of the night rocked. 'Bout the only thing I would skip jiu jitsu for- but I'm still feeling guilty about that since I only got to train jj one day this week.

Wed
Took my mom to the doctor. Awesome news: all of the surrounding tissue from the cancer they took out came back negative, so that means that they think they got it all. Chemo is the next battle, but my momma's tough as nails!

Thurs
I ran suicides at the track and drilled on the heavy bag at the gym. It was fun and an awesome workout. My new gloves rock (even though they're only 14 oz). Then Jiu jitsu for a few hours.. love it.

Friday (tonight)
workout:
180 lb. dl x 3
10L/10R Zorsky lunges w/2 16k's (ouch)
2 min jump-rope
150 lb. off-rack squats x 5
(1st time I've ever done these)
20 swings w/ 20k
3 sets
Then I murdered my abs... mmm... love the pain.
~4 mile run with my dogs (I felt super strong and fast- the dogs... not so much)

The coolest thing was that I was running with my (Renee-proof) phone in my sportsbra because we took off right before it got dark. Well, my driveway is a very hilly 1-mile gravel road with a heavy canopy which makes for very difficult visibility in the evening. So turned on the sweet ass flashlight feature, flipped it over my sportsbra so it faced forward and *ta-da* instant headlight. It was almost freakin' McGyverish, lol.

P.S. I know there's been a lack of structure in my workouts. There's been a general lack of structure in my enitre life as of recent. So... I'm doing my best to stay disciplined, strong, and becoming a better fighter. All I can do is try to make the time to make all that happen and I'm doing my best. My dad once told me that when you think you are doing your best, you've got at least 50% more in you- so turn it up... which is what I plan to do.

What Not To Do

2007-09-18T01:02:00.000-04:00

I think I read somewhere that its a bad idea to run before you do kb's. Either way, I wasn't using my better judgment tonight when I got inappropriately excited about the new little "map my run" program that I found. I ended up running farther than I mapped out, but that's not the point. The point is that I ran before I did my kettlebell workout. Bad idea for those of you who should ever be faced with the decision. I remembered this about three miles into the run, but overestimating my own abilities, decided I would be alright. When I got home, I went to the gym downstairs and only got about 15 min in, but realizing that I was pretty worn out, only did my favorite workout to put my fighters through- to benefit myself, but also because there was no jiu jitsu tonight.

workout (w/16k):

1 min TGU's L

1 min TGU's R

30 sec L/30 sec R snatches x 2

1 min low, med, high swings

~45 second rest

1 min lunges racked L

1 min lunges racked R

1 min deck squats

1 min windmills L

1 min windmills R

~45 seconds rest

1 min clean/press L

1 min clean/press R

1 min swings low, med, high

1 min clean/fr sq L

1 min clean/fr squat R

3 x 5 minute rounds with 45 second breaks between. Given that I was pretty beat from the run- I didn't feel super strong, but still felt like a pretty decent workout.

I know I haven't posted my training in a few days, but I have been working a lot on my anaerobic conditioning in an effort not to get gassed breathing through that (seemingly) tiny hole in my mouth-guard. I will say, that learning to breath with my diaphragm has helped this, but I often catch myself forgetting to do it in trying to focus on everything else. I've been running a lot of suicides, boxing, jiu jitsu, the 15:15 (which I have switched to for convenience purposes I won't get into), and OAPU's (which I will get damn it).

The moral of the story is: kettlebell workouts are to be done before you run- learning the hard way is not a very cool experience.

New Run Log

2007-09-17T17:45:00.001-04:00

Hour-ish Run From Dad's
Find more Runs in Carterville, Illinois

I'm Back :)

2007-09-14T19:06:00.000-04:00

It's good to finally be back. By back, I mean back to working out again. The past week has been unbelievably stressful. My mom came out of her 6 hour surgery very well, and got out of the hospital yesterday. She did wonderful, and is dealing with this whole cancer thing way better than my brother, dad, or I. She's incredibly strong. The funny thing is that, all she worries about now is her pets (which I have been assigned to take care of). She's more concerned with her cats than with her recovery, lol. But, anyway. Thank God for modern medicine and the power of prayer. I have no doubt that both were what carried our family through this. I know that chemo is the really tough part, but we'll tackle that in three weeks when she gets started with that. Thank you to everyone for all of your thoughts and prayers.

After the longest break that I've taken in a long time, with the exception of a few interval workouts and some strength workouts here and there, I eased back into things today. My heart and mind are a lot clearer now that I know my mom is going to be alright and we know that the worst part is over, for now. There was no cancer in her lymph nodes, so hopefully, after chemo- its the end of the line for this cancer b.s.

So, today I hopped back into things with the 16k with some swings and giving the 15:15 a shot.

warm-up:
40 2-hand swings
5 sets =200

workout:
50 transfer swings
(30 sec rest)
50 2-hand swings
(30 sec rest)
5L/5R x 5
(30 sec rest)
25 transfers/ 25 2-hand
(30 seconds)
4 sets =800

cool-down:
40 2-hand swings
5 sets = 200

1200 swings total

15:15 (w/16k)
20 sets

5L/4R pistols

10 min abs.

It felt really good to get back to a real workout. I would have liked to do swings for longer, but I didn't want to over-do it since this was my first "real" workout in like 4 days. About 10 sets into the 15:15- I felt ready to "toss one's cookies" lol. I was starting to feel really crappy. Between not working out, stress, nerves, and lots of driving to and waiting for doctors and surgeons, I felt like mush. Even though I didn't eat much- I still felt weak, because I hadn't even been doing any significant bodyweight work. Undisciplined I know, but it was a time that I needed to be where I was needed and not be a pain in the ass about taking time to myself for working out or anything else. No regrets. Family is always priority. Looking forward to some good strength work and suicide drills at the track tomorrow. The weather is beautiful here in IL and life is a lot better now that I know my mom is going to be alright.

FYI

2007-09-04T13:03:00.000-04:00

As anxious as I was to compete in the upcoming TSC- I won't be. I did train very hard for it and was very excited, but unfortunately family takes priority over everything, and I need to go back to IL to be with my family right now when they need me. So, good luck to all the competitors, and I look forward to competing when things are back to normal. I am leaving this evening for IL, so probably no more posts for a while. But, I have a wonderful training facility in my basement back home with all the kettlebells I could ever want (and a gymboss- YAY). So, I'll be back to posting my workouts (and neurosis, lol) as soon as possible. To everyone that I've talked to, thanks for your thoughts and prayers in this tough time. It means very much to me and my family.

~Stay disciplined!~

You Can't Just Take A Day "Off"

2007-09-04T01:32:00.000-04:00

So, I learned the hard way. The one thing that I had missed, like really, truly missed since becoming vegan was milk (not rice milk, or soy milk), cow milk. So, yesterday I finally dragged my three year old god-son to the grocery store to pick out his favorite foods... from the organic section. I figure if I have anything to do with it, at least he'll be eating organic pop tarts and frozen dinners (I had a list of things to get from his mom). One of the things she wanted me to get was milk. So, I picked up a gallon jug of organic milk with everything else and we went home. Later that evening, I decided that I would have just one glass of milk, since it sounded so good. Well, apparently you can't just take a day off from being vegan without paying some seriously disgusting consequences. My body was in such shock from the glass of milk that I was sicker than I ever remember having been this morning. I won't share details, but it was gross. So, no more deviating farther than whey protein for this vegan- and for others who wish to reintroduce dairy into their life after not having it for a significant amount of time- do it slowly.

I slept pretty much all day, as my body was dehydrated and drained completely, but I woke up in time to make it to jiu jitsu. Great session- never trained in a gi before. It was very different (and a lot hotter) than no gi, which is how I've always trained. Nevertheless, it is a big part of the sport and something else that I need to work on.

When I got home from jj, I was really exhausted, but managed to squeeze in a really short kb workout and a little 30 min jog.

warm up:
2 hand swings on/off for ~5 min
L/R weighted pistols
(0 then 12k then 16k on each leg)

workout:
20 tactical lunges
20 double swings
20 high pull then snatches (10L/10R)
20 double swings
10 windmills (5L/5R)
20 double swings
20 high pull then snatches (10L/10R)
20 double swings
5L/5R clean/press

~30 min jog

I was not very pleased with how I felt during the kb workout or run. I had barely dragged myself out of the house for jiu jitsu. My body was tired and I felt really weak, that's why I didn't do the three-five sets that I would have liked to of kbs or ran longer than I did. But, I have a long day tomorrow- boxing, jj, 2 clients and preparing for my l-o-n-g drive back home, so I hope my energy is back up to par when I wake up.

Dirty Girl

2007-09-03T02:11:00.000-04:00

I don't know why everyone gets such a kick out of the fact that I like to work on my jeep, but there's even these dorks on the flikr site with a group called "Girls N Jeeps." Needless to say, I'm not exactly the topless bikini model bent over the hood of her boyfriend's jeep with a bucket of water and suds everywhere that they look for. But, none the less, I do like to work on my jeep. Unfortunately, when I lifted it up, I didn't drop the transfer case (to keep clearance) and something funky happened that caused it to grind in reverse.

So today, I took it apart, fixed it, and changed the oil.

Damn fun thing to do in the Sunday sunshine. Damn funny thing to do if you ask my room-mate who thought it was worthy of a photo op. I needed to post a picture of my beloved Jeep up here anyway since it didn't get proper photo recognition in my "Renee Proof Things I <3"

P.S. If you ever find yourself in a position having already drained the oil, but unable to unscrew the filter because your ding-dong puppy ate your filter wrench- hammering a flathead srewdriver into it and cranking it off that way works just as well ;)

Now I cross my fingers for rain tonight, so we can go tear it up in the mud tomorrow :)*

Taking Good Advice

2007-09-01T20:58:00.000-04:00

So, today I felt kind of fresh. By fresh I mean that all I did yesterday was jiu jitsu, then I had refined sugar in the form of white bread, actually a bread bowl with some super yummy vegetarian chili in it... and a cookie. Post jiu jitsu indulgence I guess. Put me into a carb coma- boo.

Without putting my business all out there and in the mix- recently I have grown more appreciative of everyday. This doesn't mean that I want to go out and be self destructive or abandon my healthy lifestyle, but I'm not gonna be so hard on myself when it comes to things like the aforementioned indulgence (and a beer every now and then). Every day is another one that I am lucky to wake up to and have this wonderful life. There's this corny poster that I have walked by in the hallway of my college almost everyday for the past five years (I was in the Marine Corps- not just on the 6 year plan). It says, "Tough times never last, tough people do." I always just looked at it and kept walking, until today when a close friend said those exact words to me. So- enough mushy gushy shit. Here's to being a tough girl with a damn tough mom ;) She's my ass-kicking, name-taking inspiration and too tough to let anything get the best of her.

Today I took the advice of someone super good to be doling out advice and not charging me anything for it (which he could- and should, lol). I backed off my dead-lift weight 60% since I was scared by last weeks bamboozled (jeez I'm a dork) attempt at pulling my PR weight. I am getting used to the belt- and the feeling of lifting with my glutes (its been a bootylicious few days). Thank you Brett. You rock!

straight leg d.l.
touch n go (just the bar)
10 feet together
10 feet shoulder width
10 feet plie

sumo d.l.
170 lbs. x 2
5 sets

kettlebell workout:
36:36 w/ 16k
10 sets

swing ladder
(all dbl swings w/ 2 16k's & hindu squats)
50 swings
10 squats
40 swings
20 squats
30 swings
30 squats
20 swings
40 squats
10 swings
50 squats

This is my favorite little thing to do to work up a sweat when I'm kind of in a hurry, and I was trying to make it to the pistol range before it closed. Mostly in the red, all in the black :)

This One's For You Em

2007-08-31T00:13:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-30T15:05:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-29T07:47:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-28T03:08:00.000-04:00

<- 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

2007-08-26T23:00:00.001-04:00

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

2007-08-26T11:23:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-23T23:13:00.000-04:00

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:

2007-08-22T23:44:00.001-04:00

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...

2007-08-21T22:43:00.000-04:00

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?

2007-08-20T01:25:00.000-04:00

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!!

2007-08-18T08:43:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-16T21:50:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-14T23:45:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-14T10:05:00.000-04:00

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!!

2007-08-13T10:57:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-10T14:05:00.000-04:00

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...

2007-08-08T23:41:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-07T16:47:00.000-04:00

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...

2007-08-01T10:38:00.001-04:00

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!!

Late-Night Workouts ROCK!

2007-07-31T21:19:00.000-04:00

I seem to have gotten into the habit of posting my workouts a few days behind. Just a function of how busy things have been (and I'll never complain about staying busy). I have taken on a few new fighters as clients and I enjoy training them and seeing their progress so much. I have the pleasure of working with some guys that have a ton of heart and are making phenomenal progress from what I can see and what they report. I will be posting pictures soon of some training. If I haven't mentioned it before- I train at a Martial Arts studio owned by Jim Wright (Wright's Carolina Karate). Their website is a link on my MySpace page. Jim is a great teacher, great guy, and has been super supportive of my new business endeavor. Now for me-

I am lovin' the anti-estrogenic diet. I love eating clean and I really feel like my body is getting a boost from it (and its only been a few days). I hate to repeat myself (if I've already said this), but the diet is not really a diet- its more of a cleansing. Humans produce enough estrogen for their systems naturally (men and women, barring any hormonal deficiencies). The diet focuses on not taking in the synthetic estrogens that are everywhere. Read the book- its great, even better- try the diet, its wonderful.

So, yesterday I was kind of at a loss for what to do after a long day, so here was my late-night workout playing with all sizes of KBs:

work out:
25 2-hand swings (w/24k)
10L/10R renegade rows (w/12k)
(rest)
25 2-hand swings (w/24k)
10 squat,thrust, p/u (w/16k's)
(rest)
25 2-hand swings (w/24k)
10 dbl fr squats (w/16k's)
(rest)
25 2-hand swings (w/24k)
alt through sets 5L/5R TGU's & pistols
(rest)
3 sets

I really like swinging the 24k for several reasons: It forces you to focus on good form; It feels really powerful; It works you much harder. I did low reps of everything and not too many sets, but I felt really good the entire workout (didn't over/under do it). I planned on doing more sets, but called it quits when it felt right and moved on to abs (janda and get-up sit-ups mostly).

V02 Max. Whoo-Hoo!

2007-07-30T14:38:00.000-04:00

So, the V02 Max protocol seems to be catching everyone's attention. I, personally am loving it. I have a few questions that I have confided in my best known resources about, because I want to get maximum efficacy out of this. It has been fun, challenging, and above all- rewarding. I'm not quite as tough as Tracy, and have done very little V02 Max stuff with the 16k. I don't really know why, I have NO problem with the 12k and I do snatches with the 16k quite a bit. So, I guess there is no reason other than the fact that I am comfortable- definitely time to move up I see (yes, that was a blog epiphany, lol).

On another note, inspired by the book and Sara Cheatham's recent experiences with it- I have taken on the anti-estrogenic diet. Don't talk shit till you read the book. Just a modification of the warrior diet (in some ways) from what I can tell so far. I won't get into the details, but I feel super clean (weird I know). I have no intention of trying to lose weight with this, just reap the health benefits. Anyhow, I'll give more updates later once I am a little farther along. As of now, it rocks.

I haven't been keeping super good track of my workouts, and have been doing them at really random times (we do have my 3 y/o godson in the house, and his schedule + my room-mate's + my schedule = crazy). So, here's my best recollection of the past week's workouts:

Thurs: 4 mile run (didn't time it), grinds when I got home.

Fri:
warm-up:
100 transfer swings
snatches w/16k

workout:
V02 Max 15 sec on/15 off
(5 min rest)
40 sets x2

quickly (w/16k)-
5 sq,th,p/u
5L/5R cl, pr, sq
5L/5R windmills
5L/5R dl with 2 16k's
3 sets

finished off with 50 2-hand swings

Saturday:
Lots of random swing combos
all my favorite other things-
TGUs
body-passes
fr. squats

Sunday: Relaxation and yummy wild-catch ahi tuna...mmmm

This morning was rainy and icky out (kinda cool thunderstorms though), but it turned sunny so I'm heading out for a run in the sun and the lovely humidity.

GEORGE WRECKED HOUSE!!

2007-07-25T23:46:00.000-04:00

2nd round, stoppage due to throwing in towel. George WHOOPED this guys ass. It freakin rocked. Louisville was awesome. I don't have any good pics from the actual fight yet, because Katy and I got a little out of hand while it was going on and I hadn't the composure to take pics. Cage-side gets a little intense when you're so amped. But, here's a few of the fight and a few of the trip.

I would like to say congratulations to George, his heart and discipline carried him through (and I'd like to think his kettlebell training too). His shoulder stayed strong and he really pummeled this guy. He has yet to end a fight without sending the other guy to the hospital.

CONGRATULATIONS George- you are the hardest working, most disciplined, and best hearted person I know. It was a pleasure and honor to train you. Good luck in D.C. Vegas in Oct- WATCH OUT!!

For anyone that wants to watch the fight- it will air Aug 3rd on channel 999 (HDNet)!!

P.S.

2007-07-21T10:30:00.001-04:00

My finals went GREAT and I aced them all. Yea for me :)

Tonight's the Fight: YEA!

2007-07-21T10:02:00.000-04:00

So, I have been in Louisville, KY for the past few days to watch one of the guys that I train fight. It has been a blast so far. Last night was the weigh-ins, then we ate at this wonderful Mediterranean/Italian restaurant. The food was great, but the highlight of the meal was the fact that they had icewine. For those of you who don't know, icewine (or eisvin) is wine made from frozen grapes. It is a super sweet desert wine (with a super sweet price tag), but I would drink it with any meal just because I love sweet wine. It was a pleasant deviation from my usual pinot noir choice (love those bioflavinoids baby). Not only is it very rare to see icewine in a restaurant (we don't exactly have fine dining in Jacksonville, NC), but its also about my favorite thing to drink. So, enough about that. The weigh-ins were in this really cute club downtown where they had like 25 bars all in one little area with two levels. I took a ton of pictures, but forgot the cord to my camera, so can't post them yet.

I'm here with George "Loaded" Lockhart (the guy I train) and his wife Katy, who is also one of my best friends. They are really great, and extremely entertaining. Sitting back and watching a man who just cut 40lbs (when he was about 4% body fat prior), starved and grumpy- with his wife who takes no shit from anyone (which is why I love her). Needless to say it makes for some entertaining times. But, George's corner man and training partner got here late last night, so I think he (Brian- also fights WEC) is going to take him today while us girls do what we do best (no, not kick ass- SHOP). Neither of us are girlie-girls so to speak, but we can tear it up in the mall, so watch out, he he.

The bet of the evening is to see if I can do a pistol squat in heels- I'll let you know how that goes :) Anyways- I had Katy and George bring a kettlebell with them up here (they drove, I flew), so that I could work out in the hotel room. One 12k kettlebell is a little limiting with what you can do, but you can never do enough swings!!

Thurs
warm-up
40 2-hd swings
(30 sec rest)
5 sets

workout
100 swings
(1 min rest)
x10 sets

3L/3R TGUs
10L/10R fr.sq.
30 push-ups (15 reg/15 tricep)
3 sets

a few pistols for fun

Friday
workout:
100 2-hd swings
(1 min rest)
100 tr swings
(1 min rest)
50L/50R/50L/50R 1-hd swings
(1 min rest)
100 2-hd swings

3L/3R pistols
5L/5R windmills
50 tac lunges
3 sets

VO2 max workout
(15 on 15 off snatches)
20 sets

5 Janda sit-ups
10 get-up sit-ups
50 seated twists
3 sets

Everything felt awesome. Last night was kind of rough, because I had to wait a good while after we ate before I wanted to workout. But I was motivated by all of the caprice salad and salmon that I indulged in at dinner. This morning I woke up and got a great deep-tissue massage at the spa upstairs which really helped loosen my back up (it was t-i-g-h-t). So- tonight is the fight, and I fly out tomorrow. I am stupid excited to see George beat this guy. As far as fighters (and men in general) go, he is the most disciplined, hard-working guy and has more heart than any other person I've met. He's really awesome and I'm going to miss training him (They're moving to D.C. next week). Well, time for some coffee and good shopping!! Ciao.

Kettlebells as Form of Constructive Procrastination...

2007-07-16T22:32:00.001-04:00

There are about 100 things that I would rather do than study. And I usually make my way through a good 45-50 of them before I actually sit down and do it. One of those things is kettlebells. While my good sense tells me that I have finals this week (ick), my better sense told me that a good workout would be better for me this evening.

Saturday I woke up and got a good run in. It may sound crazy, but I can feel the VO2 Max work every time I clock myself on a 5K. For about 5 years of my adult life (technically there has only been 6, but who's counting-) I have been running myself around a track thinking that was the only way I was going to get faster. And I did, sometimes. Nothing has shown these kind of results so quickly. I wasn't even really paying close attention, but I thought I would start keeping track when I noticed it was easier for me to take off on intervals than it was for me to do a slow, even paced run. Anyway. Sat I had an awesome run and was really happy about how it felt.

Then, Sat night I climbed- no where near as physically challenging as it was mental. Its been too long since I have felt the blood rush out of my head and my hands shake so bad I lost feeling. I had a good time, but I can never seem to make real progress when facing my fears like that. Never the less, I still made it up all the courses that I tried. I had no good concept of what was easy, intermediate, and hard, because I could power through the initial part and the hardest thing was coming back down. I really didn't want to let go of the wall. No pictures- yet.

Sunday is my usual day off, and I like it like that. It always makes Mon workout interesting though. I have no good idea why I workout at night. I just seems to be the obvious time when the day is over and I have some time to myself... oh yeah, and I should be studying, ha ha. Not to mention I sleep better.

warm-up:
40 2-hand swings
5 sets

workout:
1 min around-body pass
1 min 2-hand swings
1 min figure-8
1 min 2-hand swings
1 min halos
(1 min rest)
3 sets x2

5L/5R TGUs
4L/3R pistols

I decided to forgo my ab workout. No good reason besides my conscience got the best of me. So, enough procrastinating... I'm so over school ;)

This Week

2007-07-14T13:15:00.000-04:00

This week has been so busy. Busy=good, so no complaints here. Lots of fun things are in the week to come. There aren't a whole lot of things that I know absolutely nothing about. But, apparently rock climbing is one of them. I have an extreme aversion to being high up in the air (unless I'm in an airplane)- so maybe I have purposely avoided it. Either way, I'm about to help myself over that aversion and give it a shot tonight. A friend of mine is big into climbing, so he's taking me to an indoor facility and gonna try to get me to climb a wall. We'll see.

I have been working running into my training. Not any significant distance (which is so weird), but lots of intervals and sprints. I've also been working snatch intervals and messing around with this really cool VO2 Max thing. It rocks.

Last night was the first time in a few days that I wrote down what I did before I did it. Sometimes grinds just don't sound appealing after doing intense intervals and recording what I do decide to do: even less appealing. Anyway. Last night I put a stop to that. I was rushing through my workout, because I had food on the grill and friends on the way over (yeah, I'm a super hostess). So...

warm-up: (w/16k)
20 2-hand swings
5 sets

work-out:
swing/hindu sq ladder-
50 swings
10 squats
(30 sec rest)
40 swings
20 squats
(30 sec rest)
30 swings
30 squats
(30 sec rest)
20 swings
40 squats
(30 sec rest)
10 swings
50 squats
(30 sec rest)
2 sets

5L/5R cl/pr
5L/5R windmills
5L/5R guard press
(30 sec rest)
50 tact lunges
5L/5R fr sq
(30 sec rest)
3 sets

I did one set of the swing ladder, then the second set after I was done with everything else. For the first set, I used the 24k for the first set and the 16k for the second. I alternated the 16k and 12k into the middle sets, because I found myself losing stability for some reason when I was all the way down on a windmill- not fun. I'm not usually that easily persuaded to go to lighter weights, but being extended up and bent at the waist is not the time you want to feel your shoulder being unstable. Other than that- everything felt great. P.S. I didn't even think about loosening up or stretching afterwards (may not sound like a big deal), but I felt it this morning. Nothing a little run can't solve. I love getting blood pumping to my muscles and we finally had a day where it didn't rain and the humidity dropped below 80% - woo-hoo!! Well, enough stalling this wall-climbing attempt (insert scared face here)... I'll make sure someone takes pictures-lol.

2007-07-11T01:24:00.000-04:00

So, I've neglected my blog for a few days now. After Sat night, I neglected a lot of things. We went to a local restaurant/bar to watch the fights and not only was Tito's fight called a draw, but I got food poisoning from some bad spinach-artichoke dip. About the only good thing about the night was the company I was fortunate enough to keep :) Sat morning, at 85% relative humidity, I went for a nice little 5-miler. I think I was getting 1/2 air and 1/2 water in my lungs with every breath. None the less, it felt good to get out and run a little. When I got home, I did I a little KB work- then pummeled my abs for a good 30 min. Sun, I don't think I got out of bed, because I felt like crap all day long. It was miserable, and I am glad its over. The week started out super busy, but very good. I still wasn't on top of my game Mon, but I did a little work- not really worth going back through. Tonight was my first workout for real since my run in with the bad dip. I had a stupid-busy day. But, I had the opportunity to give a seminar on my favorite subject to a local martial arts school where I am going to be teaching- YEA!! So, tonight when I got home I did a little workout, pieces of which, I stole from Mrs. Tracy Rif. Thank you ma'am.

warm-up:
(w/16k)
20 2-hand swings
(30 sec rest)
5 sets

workout:
(alt 16k and 12k)
5 cl/pr L, tx, cl/pr R, tx, cl/sq L, tx, cl/sq R
(45 sec rest)
5 dbl cl/pr, cl/sq
(45 sec rest)
5 sets

500 swings-
100 2-hand
(30 sec rest)
100 1-hand alt every 10
(30 sec rest)
100 2-hand
(30 sec rest)
100 1-hand alt every 20
(30 sec rest)
50 12k doubles
50 2-hand

It felt so good to get back in the groove of things. Even though I was using lighter weights tonight to get back with the flow- I still got a great workout and felt very strong for having just beat that nasty stomach thing. So, tomorrow's another busy day- looking forward to it :) I'm working on my own plan right now. I've been borrowing workouts and ideas from fellow KB chicas that I respect. But, its time to get focused. I need more structure in my routine- and I will soon be able to post my anticipated power plan.

I See Why Its Called "Dead" Lifting

2007-07-07T00:11:00.000-04:00

'Cause I'm freakin' dead tired. I dragged my girl Katie into the gym this evening to show me good "technique" on dead-lifting. It is part of the Tactical Strength Competition that I am wanting to do (either the one coming up or the one after that- we'll see how it goes). And, I've only really ever done stiff-leg lifts to work my booty- never to actually try and pull weight. That was fun...and quite funny to watch I'm sure. After that she showed me a rockin' ab workout called 21 something or other. I'll have to ask- but it whooped my ass (actually my abs)- and it felt awesome to toss something new into my ab routine. So, even though I was tired from all the fun we had at the gym- I came home and did a little KB workout ('cause I couldn't resist).

warm-up:
20 2-hand swings (w/16k)
(30 sec rest)
5 sets

workout:
(w/16k)
5L/5R windmills
(30 sec rest)
20 2-hand swings (w/24k)
(30 sec rest)
3L/3R TGU
(30 sec rest)
10 swing, swing/catch/squat
(30 sec rest)
5L/5R guard press
5 sets

Gotta thank Tracy for the swing, swing/catch/squat. I originally read about it in one of Rif's articles, and then I saw the video on her blog. Those are my new favorite thing... well, those and thrusters. Oh yeah- and I really gotta thank her for the wonderful hand wrapping idea. It works wonders and is so easy. My hands feel great and I can still keep a good grip (I tried it out on all types of moves). That is fabulous. I feel so much better tonight than I did last night. I'm dead tired right now, but in a good way. I only pulled off 5 sets of my lil workout, but I felt like after getting rocked at the gym- my good form only stuck around for that long.

Tomorrow is fight-night!! Woo-hoo! Love watchin' Tito (even though I seem to be the only one that still likes him). Can't wait.

Getting Irrationally Angry (hereinafter referred to as "The Workout We Do Not Speak Of")

2007-07-06T14:34:00.000-04:00

I'll be brief with this so as not to incite myself any further. I got irrationally angry with myself for being so weak when I was doing my weekly SSST (which will be repeated Sun). I don't know why I was so weak or got so mad, but I did.

200 snatches w/12k

10 thrusters
(30 sec rest)
10 seated presses
(30 sec rest)
20 double swings
(30 sec rest)
3 sets

quick abs

I was really pissed after doing snatches. My form, my strength, and my numbers all sucked- and I was irrationally mad. Normally, I would have gone and "ran it off." But, I wanted to finish up with a quick few sets of some thrusters and swings and threw the seated presses in there for GP- all in an effort to blow off some steam. So- tonight I will have something nice and positive and motivating to report. I do this because I love it, even when it pisses me off- it gives me something to focus on doing better, stronger, and more efficiently.

I WILL Someday Say It: Hold My Glass Of Pinot And Watch This :)

2007-07-04T22:48:00.000-04:00

So... I didn't run this morning, because of something that came up. But I had a rockin' workout this afternoon. I was being indecisive, so I was checking out my other favorite KB chicas blogs to see what they had been up to.

I really admire Tracy and her dedication. She amazes me and motivates me on a regular basis. All the other people that are linked to on my blog are super cool as well. Yoana is a little freakin powerhouse and schooled me on quite a few things while she was in her first trimester of pregnancy (talk about humbling). Sarah has given me some great tips and is a kick-ass girl herself. Kenneth and Brett, well, smart guys who know a lot of cool important stuff and are about the most entertaining people I've met.

I remember at my cert. we were leaving dinner one night and they were joking about going up to the hospitality suite to "tear up" some cards. Unaware that I am not educated in said named endeavors and under the false impression that I'm way cooler than I am- I took that to mean we were going to play cards and they were just using some tough-guy talk I wasn't familiar with. I attribute this 50% to me being a dork and 50% to the fact that, until that night, I had no idea people actually did things like tear decks of cards in 1/2 for fun. Well, I was in for quite a surprise when I was witness to, not only the tearing of cards, but the bending of nails (as in a 6" shank) and other random acts of retard strength :) I think my facial expressions spoke for themselves.

I don't consider myself to have (at all) lived a sheltered life, but the world of "hold my beer and watch this" tricks was entirely new to me. You can see this and all types of other crazy shit (like pistol jumps on and off tables and the tearing in 1/2 of phone books, etc.) at www.strongstuff.dk. Definitely worth checking out! And- even though I will never really be in the tough-guy club with any significant achievements by their standard- as soon as I acquire the ability (and I'm practicing... so watch out) to do something even remotely cool like that- I feel compelled to say, "Hold my glass of Pinot and watch this." Totally kidding...kind of :)

Anyway. My workout. I have decided to quit messing around with the 12k. I don't have much use for it anymore except my weekly SSST- which my numbers are improving, but I'm still not in the top 15 :( I'll get there. I am much newer to this game than I realized, so I'm taking things one step at a time.

In the lovely N.C. sunshine things went as follows:

warm up:
20 2-hand swings (w/16k)
(30 sec rest)
5 sets

workout:
all w/ 24k except last-
5L/5R one-leg d.l.
(30 sec rest)
20 swings
(30 sec rest)
10 fr squat 5 racked R/5 racked L
(30 sec rest)
20 swings (w/16k)
5 sets

15 min abs:
all w/ 16k except last-
20 torso twists
10 get-up sit-ups
20 torso twists
10 hanging leg raises
3 sets

All in all it felt good- well, I'm still working on good form with my 24k swings, but its definitely improving. I really felt a difference in how that applies to just about everything. Using more weight certainly makes you focus on your technique and trying to clean a 24k is just un-fun. But, I can definitely feel that its gonna hurt so good in the morning.

My 4th of July was fun. We did fireworks which my godson is absolutely, ridiculously excited about. He was still talking about it when we put him to bed :) So cute. Not ready for my own though... I can barely get the puppy to behave ;) Time for a hot shower and good sleep. I am physically tired, and after a glass of wine, I'm sleepy and relaxed. Night.

What NOT to Do...

2007-07-03T21:13:00.000-04:00

Great workout last night (evening). However, the last 10 minutes taught me a very valuable lesson: Never take responsibility for a 3 year old when the neighbors are setting off fireworks and you are in the last 10 reps of a swing ladder. No one is sick, injured, or maimed so no real harm was done. But, enough said about that.

AM: easy 3.5 mile (30 min) jog with my room-mate

PM:
16k 2-handed swing ladder-
50 swings
10 hindu sq.
(30 sec)
40 swings
20 hindu sq.
(30 sec)
30 swings
30 hindu sq.
(30 sec)
20 swings
40 hindu sq.
(30 sec)
10 swings
50 hindu sq.
(1 min)
2 sets

10 "cheating" crush curls (I used my fingers alot towards the end)
2 min around body passes (1 min e/ way)
5L/5R windmills
2 min figure-8's (1 min e/ way)
50 tactical lunges
2 min halos (1 min e/ way)
5L/5R clean squat
3 sets

Quick Abs:
(all w/12 k)
10 get-up sit-ups
20 twists
10 hanging leg lifts

I did all the movements with a 12k except the squats where I switched to a 16k. I jumped right into the swing ladder first which was a bad idea without warming up a little, but lesson learned. Then, I did the 3 sets of movements (taking 15 sec breaks between each exercise) and finished up with another swing ladder. Afterwards I felt beat, but in a good way. Waking up this morning- I can definitely feel those 24k swings from Mon. night. Of for another jog to loosen up on a beautiful 4th of July!!

Should Take My Own Advice As The Guilt of A Lazy Weekend Sets In

2007-07-03T08:18:00.000-04:00

Well, I decided to take the weekend off. Sat I played around with windmills, pistols, pull-ups, and abs. But Sunday, I took the day to do nothing whatsoever. I played with my godson and watched NASCAR in my pajamas and had sushi and pink cupcakes (my two weaknesses; supplied courtesy of my room-mate).
It was a much-needed day of relaxation and indulgence like I haven't had in as long as I can remember. Yesterday, however, I knew I had to get back to it. And, although it was a typically busy first working-day of the month, I worked out last night after a wonderful BBQ dinner with my friends George and Katy. Here's how it went-

warm up:
20 swings w/16k
(30 sec rest)
5 sets

workout:
2L/2R TGUs with 16k (moving down to the 12k after the 1st 2 sets)
(30 sec rest)
20 swings w/ 24k
(45 sec rest)
8 clean/press
(30 sec rest)
20 swings w/24k
(45 sec rest)
10 squat/thrust/push w/12k
(30 sec rest)
5 sets
3R/3L pistols

20 min abs:
10 get-up sit-ups
20 torso twist
15 hanging leg raises
1 min stomach vacuuming
3 sets

I got a lot from this workout (one thing being that a day of indulgence does not come without a price to pay). Its funny how two days off can make you feel so refreshed, but so lazy. Needless to say, it will be a long time before I do that again. Anyway, back to what I learned from my workout: First, putting up more than 12k for any significant number of TGU's is harder than I thought. Second, swinging with a 24k is also harder than I thought (it was harder to keep good form than anything)- it felt good none the less. Third, I am going to stick with primarily resistance ab exercises. I've been doing the same Marine Corps ab workout for too long and my body just doesn't respond anymore. Fourth and finally, having a pull-up bar in the doorway between our living room and kitchen ROCKS!! It is visible from just about every common area of the house, and you have to walk under it before you get to the kitchen, which always compels me to stop and do a few (and also makes me re-think my choices in the kitchen once I get there). Great investment. The 4th is coming up woo-hoo! Bring on the fireworks!

Woo-Hoo For Midnight Workouts!

2007-06-30T02:03:00.000-04:00

I don't exactly know what this says about my social life, but I decided to start my workout around 11:15 tonight. I had the pleasure of training a great guy and kick-ass fighter today. It was a really good time in the sunshine! He already has a lot of strength for lifting in the gym, but I was glad to see that I could help him develop the kind of strength that kettlebells offer so he can have the explosiveness and power that he'd like to show in his next fight.

Anyway. I was pretty tired after training in the sun all afternoon, but for some reason I got super motivated late this evening, and rocked out and awesome workout despite my hellacious blisters.

warm-up: w/ 12k
40 2-hand swings
(30 sec rest)
20 transfer swings
(30 sec rest)
3 sets

workout:
10 thrusters w/ 12ks
(1 min rest)
20 alt L/R seated presses
(30 sec rest)
40 2-hand swings w/ 16k
8 sets

20 min abs

I had messed around today with a lot of pistols and figure-8's before my workout which was a lot of fun. I will definitely be incorporating them into my workouts soon. Well, it's late now and I am sleeeeepy after the nice hot shower I just indulged in. Looking forward to another day of training George tomorrow. He's a quick learner and has picked up on everything so quickly. I can tell he's going to hate me by tomorrow night however (I got lots of "fun" planned for tomorrow's training- he takes Sun off).

Holy Hot Day Batman!!

2007-06-29T07:43:00.000-04:00

So, it was freakin' scorching out yesterday, but it was bright and sunny and so we took the training outside for the day. When I got done with my client- I was so motivated that I decided to try and get a little workout in for myself after he left.

warm-up: w/ 16k
20 2-hand swings
(30 sec. rest)
5 sets

workout: w/12k's
5 double clean/press/squats (I love these)
(45 sec rest)
20 double swings
(45 sec rest)
5 sets

20 min abs

It was just a little workout, but the double swings had my heart rate up there and it felt awesome. Plus, I love cl/pr/sq's! They hurt so good. I felt like I should have done more sets, but I was on a limited time schedule, so I did what I could as quickly as possible.

Everything is going so great right now. I am finally getting everything up and running with the business in hopes of July 1 being our "official" opening date! School is wonderful. The only good thing about your last little stint of college (well undergrad) is that you get to take all your major-specific "4" level classes, which in my case, are all psych classes that I love. My best-friend and god-son are wonderful, and everything is lovely right now (even the weather!).

REVEILLE!!

2007-06-27T12:11:00.000-04:00

So, 5:30 this morning- I got up and did my 10:00 snatch "test" for myself. Boo...that's all I have to say. Though I really shouldn't be disappointed in my numbers, I am. I did 50 on each arm to start off with and then switched roughly every 20-25 after that. Time was the factor in this which I did not give enough credit to. I could have kept going- but I stopped at the 10:00 mark to see where I was (my room-mate was counting) only to see that I was far from my goal. Though I am right handed and think that my right side is stronger (therefore quicker), it wasn't. On my left side- they just seemed to fly by, but were notably slower on my right and I lost a lot of time there (and on my10 sec. break). So, this is what I did and how I chose to haze myself afterwards:

A.M.
10:00 snatches w/ 12k
218 total
(1 10-second rest after 100th)

workout (hazing myself for not meeting my goal):
TGU R&L alt 12k/16k
20 swings w/16k
(30 second rest)
5 sets

Not much punishment for "hazing" I know, but I was also in a hurry to get my god-son dressed and to school on time. I will have to go double-hard tonight though, because not only did I not perform like I wanted to this morning, I didn't do anything yesterday except take care of my sick god-son (who, for some some reason, is more well-behaved when he is sick, wtf?).

**I really hate excuses- so please understand that my explanation herein of why I choose to or choose not to do something on a given day is only because I chose to set my priorities that way. And, I am in no way making excuses for my actions.**

Quickie

2007-06-25T22:08:00.000-04:00

I got up and ran an easy 3 miles with my room-mate this morning, and then stressed out all day over a midterm I had to take and big paper I had to turn in tonight at class. But, fortunately (I'm pretty sure) I aced my exam and my paper came out exactly how I wanted, so it all turned out fine in the end. So, tonight I just did a quickie workout after class:

AM: easy 3 mile run (8 min/mile pace)

PM:
warm-up: with 12k
40 2-hand swings
(1 min rest)
5 sets

workout: with 12k's
5 double clean/press
(45 second rest)
8 double clean/squats
(45 second rest)
5 sets

30 double swings

I also practiced windmills and pistols and then did my 15 min of abs, but that was just for fun. I'm trying my ass off to get pistol squats down, but I still have to have my room-mate spot me a little. I'm feeling so much better, so tomorrow I'm doing my 10 min snatch test to hopefully hang with the big-girls (Tracey, Casey, and Nikki), but I guess we'll see. They've set some pretty impressive numbers up...

Back on Track

2007-06-25T19:00:00.000-04:00

Last night, I had the pleasure of training one of my best friends and seeing her learn to swing was awesome. She has awesome form for just starting. I'm realizing this blog thing is hard to keep up with, so some of my posts are a few days behind. Just a quick recap- my best friend came back into town for the weekend, so I took it easy and spent lots of time hanging out with her. Good times for sure!! After training with Andrea last night, I was inspired to come home and do one of Tracy's workouts. She has been such an inspiration, and I can't wait to get my numbers in there for the the "friendly challenge" that she, Casey, and Nikki have going on. This was last night, l-a-t-e because I stopped to visit a friend after training with Andy.

Warm-Up:
3 sets of 40 2-hand swings with 12k
(1 min rest between sets)

Workout:
25 2-hand swings with 12k
25 2-hand swings with 16k
(1 min rest between sets)
for 3 sets

5 double clean/press
(30 sec rest)
10 each side snatches
(30 sec rest)
for 3 sets

25 2-hand swings with 16k
25 2-hand swings with 12k
(1 min rest between sets)
for 3 sets

Abs for 15 min.

It felt awesome to be swinging like this. Switching up the 12 and 16k really made it interesting. I threw in the snatches and clean/presses just to mix it up. And, I rocked my abs REAL good for a solid 15 min afterwards. When I was done- I felt worked and I LOVE it. I can feel my body getting all better from being sick and I feel like I am getting my strength back. Yeeeaahhh!

Run Day

2007-06-25T00:03:00.000-04:00

A good friend of mine, who has been stationed in Germany for the past few years, came back for the weekend!! She's just in town for the weekend, so I am taking it easy and trying to spend some quality time with her. But, I did have an awesome 5 mile run (in this lovely NC humidity) that felt like it was never going to end. It was bright and sunny (and H-O-T), but it felt good to sweat out some of the wine that I had indulged in the night before :)

Feeling better, so time to train again- Thank God!

2007-06-21T22:02:00.000-04:00

Well, as I mentioned in my last post- I got pretty sick after the RKC workshop a few weeks ago. When my stubborn ass finally went to see a Dr, I found out I had strep throat. He told me to slow it down for a little while (apparently, I have a propensity to run my body a little hard, even when its telling me to slow it down). Well, the doctor seemed to concur with what my body was saying and told me just that; slow it down for a little while and take some medicine...boo.

So, I have been trying to take it easy- not running too much (it is ill-advised to run with a fever) or working out too hard for long enough. I have started to feel better the past few days, so I decided it was time to deviate from my routine of minimal swings, TGUs, and snatches that I have been doing (along with a few others to keep it interesting), and finally get back into a good groove. So, my first "real" workout (inspired by Tracy Rif) since this whole sick girl thing was awesome!

AM:
35 min run (4ish miles @ a very comfortable pace)

PM:
warm up: 10 min
5 x 40 2-hand swings alternating 12k/16k
(1 min rest between )

workout: 8 sets w/12k's
20 double swings
(45 second rest)
alt 5/10 double clean/presses
(45 second rest)
6 double clean/squats
(1 min rest between sets)

The whole workout took me about 30 min (but I wasn't paying close attention). It felt great (thanks, in part, to a healthy dose of Tylenol Cold). I don't recommend running or training on medicine, but I made sure I was adequately hydrated and kept an eye on my heart rate. Otherwise, I am excited to be easing back into training. I think jogging helped to clear my congestion and energize me for the day, making my PM workout much more productive.

Sick Girl / RKC: Fun in the Sun

2007-06-18T08:48:00.000-04:00

Well, I have been pretty sick since a few days after after I returned from the RKC (June 8-10, I think). I took the week after returning to focus on my form, doing sets of 10 2-handed swings, 10/10 switching hands (swings), a few snatches, squats, and TGUs. Again, this was only to critique my own form (which is not easy without a video camera). I was doing my best to keep my running to a minimum, because you're not supposed to run with a fever. So- that was what has been my little training since my return from MN.

About the RKC:
I really can't say enough how impressed I was with the whole experience of being up there with so many experienced and extremely knowledgeable folks. The workshop ran very smooth and there was so much to be learned in a really short time. It was fabulous to finally have people to critique my form and let me know some of my strengths and weaknesses.

I have been going it alone since I first picked up a kettlebell- with the exception of my dad, who was also relatively untrained. I will say that the Kettlebell Goddess video was great for watching proper technique, especially for women. But, as I mentioned before, NOT easy when you don't have a video camera to replay your workout.

But, really everyone did a spectacular job of putting on a fabulous workshop. I must say thanks to Kenneth, Yoana, and Doc for being awesome leaders. I have to credit Yoana for drilling me into lengthening my spine and sticking my butt out to properly load my hips. I could go on all day about how great my team was and all the things I learned from them. It was really wonderful to have my dad there with me. The man is 56 y/o, a Vietnam vet who was sprayed up his back with bullets there, had two back surgeries (one being a spinal fusion), and he has the flexibility of an elephant. But, he did great and it was so great to see him rock out and stay so motivated.

The workouts were great- especially the "crucible." I am a masochist when it comes to working out, so I loved the pain :) The instructors were phenomenal- all of the classes we got were so packed with information that I wish I could have taken shorthand and copied all of the info they passed (especially since I am not known for my spectacular memory). Everyone there really was a wealth of knowledge and Pavel was, well... Pavel. He is an amazing man and amazing teacher who really blended his hard-style tactics with sadistic humor. Tough love baby! Not to mention, being trained by the man who started the kettlebell revolution in this country and the subject-matter expert on any/everything kb related is truly an honor. Thanks to everyone involved for some great training and an awesome time!

So- here are a few pictures of the workshop. I'll post more as they get disseminated.

Here we go (an introduction)....

2007-06-15T13:25:00.000-04:00

Well, this blog thing seems to be what's up right now, so I figured I would venture into the uncharted waters of blogging!

To introduce myself- I am Renee, a personal trainer, group fitness instructor, and now an RKC!! I have been training with Kettlebells for a while now- properly training with them for a much shorter time. I was fortunate enough to be trained by some of the most amazing people I have ever met at my certification workshop.

I just opened Jacksonville RKC- a personal training and kettlebell studio here in Jacksonville, NC. I am super excited and looking forward to everything that the future with this will bring. I plan on posting my training here as well as updates on the studio, pictures of some awesome training, and anything else that I think will be of interest to everyone. So- here we go...