tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21932243161102671842024-02-21T11:58:04.166+01:00A Hungarian Courage CornerGabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02052338344749872672noreply@blogger.comBlogger197125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2193224316110267184.post-57623536589360207072010-09-15T10:42:00.003+02:002011-03-12T10:17:41.483+01:00Dave Whitley's Lessons from the Old-Time Strongmen DVD<div style="text-align: justify;">In case you might have had any doubt if Dave is the right person to talk about old-time strongman training, they'll be dispersed right away as the Iron Tamer starts with a real old time strongman performance with amazing feats like bending nails, straightening a horse shoe, rolling up a frying pan, tearing a deck of cards behind the back, just to mention a few. He makes it all look so easy, he is talking to you casually the whole time, he even makes jokes, like in a circus show, but be aware, he is dropping gems of wisdom right from the start. Just watch out for his definition of "luck" and what it takes to "bend your luck" :)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He'll also take you back in time and talk about performing strongmen's everyday life, organized mainly by their appearances, eventually several times a day (that's how they made their living), and how they managed to maintain and even increase their strength without negative impacts on their performance (many of them accomplished feats that put the best athletes of today to shame - daily!) - and that into high age, which is not the typical sports career today!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I absolutely love the R. W. Emerson quote about methods and principles he uses as a starting point and keeps returning to from time to time: <i>"As to methods there may be a million and then some, but principles are few. The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble."</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When introducing him at the beginning, Rif mentions Pavel's answer to the question, how one becomes a Master Instructor: 'that's not really something you can apply for, it's something we recognize.' It might be a stupid analogy but this is what came to my mind when I heard the above quote: it's the same thing with methods and principles, there's a lot of schools that teach you methods, but there are very few that, like the RKC, also try to teach you the principles behind them, most of the time you just have to try and be smart enough to recognize them. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Or, now, you can <a href="http://www.dragondoor.com/dv077/?apid=katschthaler">learn them from Iron Tamer Dave.</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He'll help you to find your way in a Babel of trends and fads by directing your attention to the only handful of really relevant things, e.g.:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- The RKC definition of strength and a differentiation between technique as a specific set of skills and generating muscle tension as a broader aspect</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- The principles of getting stronger are the same regardless of what method one uses, be it a barbell, a kettlebell, odd objects or even bodyweight exercises. If we look back in history and see what the most successful strongmen had in common in their training, the principles shine through, while differences appear on the level of the methods or equipments they used.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- There are really only two basic principles of getting stronger - or if there are more, they tend to fall into one of those two categories. To apply them in practice requires a strong focus but the rules to follow are, as the stories about Arthur Saxon, George Hackenschmidt, Slim the Hammer Man, Dennis Rogers or Joe Rollino and his 'Mr. Trevis' will also reveal, simple.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- A quick check on the lineage, the roots reveals a lot about what you should expect behind promising names like "functional", "core" or even "old-school" training - everybody can create a fad around a specific method but if it doesn't line up with those two principles, it'll go down just as quickly, unable to produce results in the long run.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He'll also tell you why, even if you find an authentic source, you can't just "copy-paste" whatever old time strongmen did: their "context" was way different back then. Modern lifestyle has brought about changes that create some underlying problems. Our ability to move well has deteriorated significantly in the past 100-150 years and we are trying to work our way around it, coming up with ways to successfully add fitness to dysfunction, inviting injury. There are some mentality issues going on as well, partly resulting from the above: today's training became something to "get over with" or to "endure", when measuring progress, focus has shifted from actual results to the amount of pain and soreness (no pain, no gain, uh?), and in general, the principles are outpowered by numbers, routines and getting a "workout".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He'll give you simple guidelines how to avoid those pitfalls and start "from zero" by re-gaining mobility first and adding stability next and how to implement the two basic principles in practice so you can proceed towards "hero" by building useful strength on a solid base. You'll get useful tips on exercise and method selection, programming and tracking progress, and some more crazy feats to wrap it all up: he does a get up with a kettlebell and a sledge hammer and he drives a nail through a board to pop a balloon with bare hands. Impressive, but inspiring as well - he walks his talk, and if you use his stepping stones, invest the time and put in the work, you can walk just as far.</div>Gabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02052338344749872672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2193224316110267184.post-78930922909341010782010-09-12T14:51:00.003+02:002011-03-12T10:15:52.676+01:00Dave Whitley's Kettlebell Fundamentals: Deepening Your Getup Skills DVD<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.dragondoor.com/dv078/?apid=katschthaler">Yet another DVD on the Get-Up</a>, you might think. What's the upheaval about this get-up thing anyway, why does it suddenly get so much attention after having been almost forgotten for decades? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well, there are many ways to do a get-up. And there's the RKC way. What the RKC does is "reverse engineering of what the strongest and most coordinated people do naturally". So you can't go wrong learning it from <a href="http://irontamerblog.com/meet-the-iron-tamer/">Master RKC and CK-FMS David Whitley</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dave walks the talk. Not only is he a big and incredibly strong guy, but he is also very flexible AND moves well, and that's a rare combo indeed. But he is also a passionate and motivating teacher on the quest of making everybody ready to listen move better and get stronger.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So listen.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">You'll see the get-up in a totally different light. Depending on how you apply it, it can be a lift, an exercise or a movement screen. It can develop strength, flexibility, coordination or even conditioning.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The RKC Program Minimum starts out beginners on "merely" two exercises: the swing and the get-up, and that has good reasons. And there are different but just as good reasons for why advanced Hardstyle practitioners go full circle and return to refine their swing and get-up... As Dave puts it, <i>"if the swing is the center of the universe, [...] then the get-up is orbiting right around"</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He will explain</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- how the get-up takes you through all the ways the body can move, how it integrates pushing, pulling, hip dominant, quad dominant and trunk rotational movements, how it improves mobility and stability in all different planes;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- why all progressions, especially overhead work, should (and do) start with the getup and how actually every kettlebell exercise contains and builds on one or more aspects of the swing and the get-up; </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- the fascial connection between the lats and the glutes (the two biggest muscles in the body), how their interaction makes back extension a very strong and stable position, as opposed to the flexion-dominance of modern lifestyle.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He'll talk you through the 7 steps one by one, adjusting every position and every transition so you can easily follow along and re-create the sense of precision either at home or when working with your clients. His verbal cues will shift your focus to concentrate on movement quality instead of moving the weight, which - paradoxically, maybe - will also make you stronger instantly.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">You'll hear in detail about</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- the difference between sitting up and rolling up to the elbow, why you should avoid trunk torsion and how an unusual bridging drill can make sure you combine hip flexion and torso rotation instead;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- the windshield wiper technique to similarly load your hip and unload your spine in the kneeling windmill position;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- how a specific pelvic tilt in sitting facilitates glute-lat-interaction and prevents spine flexion;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- why the high bridge is so much more than just an unnecessary speed bump;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- how your heel coming up or your hand position changing can point towards a hip mobility problem and how a variation of leg swing-through can help opening them;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- how a neurologically built-in protective mechanism makes a bent wrist weak and how to counter that by crush-gripping the handle and goosenecking the wrist;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- how your body angles during the lunge determine whether you're improving your strength or your compensations.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">You'll also learn a couple more drills that can be seen as "derivatives" from the get-up leading towards other exercises:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- the classic RKC arm bar and the crooked arm bar, for complex stretching and strengthening at the same time, </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- the tall kneeling press, to emphasize hip extension as part of proper alignment for overhead work (glute activation facilitates lat activation, remember?),</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- and a crooked arm bar from the kneeling windmill position, an "aha"-drill for the bent press. As a bonus, he'll reveal how a simple household item can drastically shorten the learning curve of this seemingly complicated lift - that alone is worth the price! :)</div>Gabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02052338344749872672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2193224316110267184.post-87452261117892690612010-09-07T15:58:00.003+02:002011-03-12T10:11:27.358+01:00MRKC Mark Reifkind: Lats, the Super Muscles DVD<div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rif has almost 40 years of experience in training and competing himself, in gymnastics, triathlon, ultramarathon, Ironman, bodybuilding, powerlifting and Hard Style kettlebell training, and more than 30 years in training and coaching other people, from average folks to world class athletes (click <a href="http://www.giryastrength.com/girya_about_mark_reifkind.html">here</a> for references). If he, a Master RKC with such a background thinks the lats are important, important enough to do a whole workshop session just on them and publish it on a <a href="http://www.dragondoor.com/dv076/?apid=katschthaler">DVD</a>, then I readily believe they are.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Okay, apart from "the Party is always right!" talk, there are quite a couple of cogent arguments as to why the lats should be considered super-muscles. First, as you'll hear Rif explain and show you, the lats are the second largest muscles in the body, second only to the glutes. They're fan-shaped muscles with very extended origins, on multiple points from the T-spine and the tip of the scapula down to the thoraco-lumbar fascia and the iliac crest, sweeping up and inserting on your upper arm. Consider this for a moment... It is probably not so just for the fun of it, there's good reason to assume they have an accordingly wide range of functions, way more than people in today's inactive civilized life and in a fitness world of disintegration and isolation actually utilize. As Rif puts it, the lats are the "most misunderstood, most under-utilized and hardest to activate" muscles, in spite of the fact that they should be involved everywhere, even in sports movements you wouldn't think they'd play a role. Moving the arm, that's obvious, but did you think of their interplay with the glutes, abdominal muscles (the whole trunk musculature, actually), hip flexors etc. during something as simple as gait, running, swimming? Or their role in back extension and shoulder stabilisation? Overall posture? Even breathing?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After listening to Rif explaining how the lats build a bridge between arm and shoulder, arm and spine, shoulder and hips, arm and lower body, you'll have no doubts that everything you do is a "whole-body, interconnected and interlinked, movement" and the lats have "lots of potential to be used in several different modalities and the ability to use it is critical". And you'll also agree it's not about the kettlebell at all. "There's no kettlebell", as Pavel would say, and there's no barbell, ball, bat or racket either, it's all about how you move.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">You will be eager to learn</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- how to find your lats and activate them - in both directions (oh yes, it's not just the arm movement!);</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- how to fine tune your deadlift set-up by establishing connection between arm and hip and why muscle activation in both directions not only improves your strength instantly but is also hugely protective for the shoulder;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- how lat activation automatically ensures pelvic tilt for safety and better performance with the pendulum swing;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- why a pre-stretched muscle is a stronger muscle and how lat activation increases loading your hips: learn or refine the kettlebell swing hike pass and overspeed eccentric technique;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- how to fine tune lat engagement to increase force generation and to optimalize force transmission from the engine of your swings, the hips, all the way through your core and arms to the hands and the kettlebell;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- from what aspects swinging to parallel and thus projecting force forward is more beneficial than swinging overhead;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- how lat activation before and during overhead presses creates optimal scapular and shoulder position to prevent injury and makes all the difference between an isolated shoulder exercise and an integrated full body move;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- how a couple of slight shifts in focus during your press can instantly set your groove right;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- how slight changes in handle and wrist position can enhance or ruin performance;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- how to use a "pulling" muscle to initiate a strong press and how, in turn, you can use a press to strengthen your lats - or your teres major, depending on your posture;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- why the lats are really hard to stretch out, why it's all the more important to do it and a couple of ways of how to do it effectively.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Expect in-depth and yet easy to understand anatomical and biomechanical explanations on the theory-side and a basketful of brilliant little drills and visual aids to put it all into practice - real gems for your own training and even more so if you work with clients, not just in kettlebell training but practically any sports (stronger bench or pushups, anyone?)!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well, "it's all easy 'til its heavy" - but "strong fixes almost everything" :)</div></div>Gabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02052338344749872672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2193224316110267184.post-70336135764362176982010-09-05T08:27:00.007+02:002011-03-12T10:14:01.737+01:00Tracy Reifkind: Programming the Kettlebell Swing 2-DVD-set<div style="text-align: justify;">My first exposure to "Tracy-style" training dates back to the beginning of 2008 when I signed up and started preparing for my RKC. I got a tremendous amount of help right from the beginning from the members of the Dragon Door forum and the blogging part of the RKC community. I was following MRKC Brett Jones' RKC Prep Program for form practice and for conditioning Rif's advice: swings are the best method ever to build up work capacity quickly, safely and effectively. So I studied the Swing Queen's blog, adjusted her workout schemes to my own level of ability and in a matter of just a few months I could do like 1600 swings in an hour or 900 swings in half an hour - thank to Tracy's principle of distraction, combining swing types, different time and rep ladders and using weights from 12 to 24kg. (It also stripped the last rests of stubborn fat off me and I was ripped and muscular like never before - and that wasn't even my goal, just a side effect!).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Work capacity - in a deck of cards it would definitely be one of the aces. No matter what goal you're striving for, from improving body composition to honing athletic skills, you'll have to put in the work necessary, there's no way around it. The better your work capacity, the more work you can put in, the faster you get there. But it also requires a lot of mental strength and self discipline to keep "showing up and doing the work".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Before I got certified I used to teach business communication psychology a lot, and this background made me appreciate Tracy's principle of distracton even more. It's a brilliant way to sell yourself the idea of doing tons of reps of a single same exercise! Because, let's face it, even if one recognizes the exceptional value of "the center of the RKC universe", even if one really strives to stay internally focused on perfecting every single rep, the mere idea of doing hundreds of them can be discouraging and they can very well get boring. The more you have to concentrate on the scheme the less energy you have to think about how much work you have done and/or how much is still left. But there's more to it. It's human nature to group and organize things into patterns - AND to keep those patterns whole, the more complicated the pattern, the more so. You may, for example, plan 10 sets of 10 and stop by set 7 because you're tired, but you are probably less likely to abandon a 100 rep workout if it calls for a pyramid from 1 up to 10 and back down to 1, because it would leave you with a stronger feeling of 'unfinished business'...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Simply put, you can trick yourself - or your clients! - into doing workloads you never thought possible if you follow Tracy's methods. Iwas sold on them in the moment I saw a sample workout on her blog and so will you a few minutes into her DVD <a href="http://www.dragondoor.com/dv075/?apid=katschthaler">Programming the Kettlebell Swing</a>. It comes with a pdf of the progressions and a Disc 2 with a panel Q&A discussion.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But let's see what you can expect.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">First, one thing you should be clear about: the information on this DVD is not about how to learn or practice the swing, but how to train it once you have the basics of at least the two hand swing technique down. Apart from that, Tracy's progressions can be started at any, even a very low, level of conditioning. She lays a heavy emphasis on how to increase load incrementally, easing into high volume training: "you can start with 10 reps at a time... or even less". If you're at an advanced level, just grab a heavier bell and/or watch out for the special tips coming throughout the DVD.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">You will learn, by following along if you want:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- how high volume kettlebell swing training, especially longer sets, combines aerobic and slightly anaerobic work, burns A LOT of calories AND builds muscle, increases muscle tone in the shortest amount of time;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- how you can create practically infinite ways to maximize the workload by manipulating single or multiple factors of intensity like weight, sets, reps, speed, swing types and their combinations, work to rest ratios, etc.;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- why pacing is important, how you can establish a comfortable pace that lets you go the distance, and how to do "speed swings", a less obvious alternative to heavier weights to increase intensity and boost your metabolism;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- about the importance of equal work to equal rest and how "on-the-minute training"makes it possible, even in groups, to individualize workload for everyone, how it makes tracking progress easy and how it takes beginners safely and effectively to 1:1 work:rest ratio;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- how to go beyond that and build up aerobic capacity to be able to do long sets, by "working into rest", "overloading short sets", "stealing" progressively from the rest period, while being distracted by the laddering concept, going uphill, downhill or both (all have different effect);</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- a seemingly minor tweak on the one hand swing that proves to be an effective way to make sure your posture stays correct and your mechanics natural and also shortens the learning curve of the hand switch - while increasing your power output at the same time;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- why the two hand swing is easier and harder than the one arm swing at the same time, how the difficulty of transfers and one arm swings compares from different aspects, and what difference all this makes when teaching/learning vs. training the one arm swing and the hand switch;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- how you can use combinations of these different swing types either to ease into high volume training mentally, or into swinging heavier bells one handed by learning the TracyRif Roundabout, which is not only the absolutely most grip sparing swing rep scheme ever, but also has a built-in mechanism of preventing you from being thrown off-center for long by the heavy weight;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">and at the end you get a sample workout combining different concepts. You can do it as it is, as a complete workout, or you can also freely choose any part or sequence and repeat it X times, but it also provides a glimpse into the endless variety of possible combinations of the presented methods - even if you just stay with the same weight (as for me, I'm a big fan of adding different bell sizes into the mix as well, an option mentioned but not demonstrated in this workshop), you could train your swings every day for years without having to repeat a single session!</div>Gabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02052338344749872672noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2193224316110267184.post-54653042526928948752009-12-28T11:20:00.002+01:002009-12-28T11:23:37.495+01:001000 swings are no joke for two, either<div style="text-align: justify;">Especially if you've been kettlebelling only for 5 weeks :) Still there were two studs that did all the 1000 by themselves - with a 16 though, but it's a great accomplishment anyway! Those working in pairs got served right, too, of course, as the bigger bells came into play, too :)<br /></div><br /><div style="width: 400px; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><div><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fg.katschthaler%2Falbumid%2F5419097033156802145%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" height="267" width="400"></embed></div><span style="float: left;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/g.katschthaler/1000swing_20091222?feat=flashalbum" style="color: rgb(57, 100, 194);">View all</a></span><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/getEmbed?feat=flashalbum" style="color: rgb(57, 100, 194);">Get your own</a></div></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Congrats to them all, t.b.c. in January, happy New Year to you all!</div>Gabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02052338344749872672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2193224316110267184.post-12732399087547543022009-12-19T16:22:00.003+01:002009-12-19T16:29:40.579+01:001000 swings are no joke<div style="text-align: justify;">But we all had a great time, nevertheless :)</div><br /><div style="width:400px;font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><div><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fg.katschthaler%2Falbumid%2F5416927712973890081%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed></div><span style="float:left;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/g.katschthaler/1000swing_2009dec?feat=flashalbum" style="color:#3964c2">View all</a></span><div style="text-align:right;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/getEmbed?feat=flashalbum" style="color:#3964c2">Get your own</a></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Everybody did great: 3 people finished in less than 50, 5 more under 60min, nobody needed more than 90min. I'm so proud of them all!</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A few guys that wanted to come couldn't make it, which is a pity - but it's not all lost yet as they have one more opportunity to join in on Tuesday 5:30PM.</div>Gabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02052338344749872672noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2193224316110267184.post-74124164656045610772009-12-17T14:51:00.003+01:002009-12-17T14:59:12.070+01:00Who would've thought?<div style="text-align: justify;">What started out as a joke on one of my students' part on Monday that we should skip training at the last session of the year and order some food to the gym instead has by now developed, pretty much spontaneously, into a full-blown Christmas-New-Year-event tomorrow, with everybody taking the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=192766345562">1000 Kettlebell Swing Challenge</a> and then of course dinner and party :)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm impressed: almost all my advanced students have signed up so far, some former students, too, incl. <a href="http://www.dragondoor.com/instructor/1901">Sebi</a> from Oradea, who has since become an RKC himself. Wow!</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Even my beginners (1 to 3 months' practice) are participating, they'll do the 1000 reps in pairs or eventually teams of 3. We'll do that on Tuesday. Certainly with dinner and all, too :)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I wish I could have brought them all together, but I don't have space for so many people :( Next time we do something similar we'll choose a less snowy season so we can go outside. But this is gonna be fun anyway!</div>Gabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02052338344749872672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2193224316110267184.post-44702862603225488152009-11-09T11:54:00.001+01:002009-11-09T11:56:42.044+01:00Parasympathetic Nervous System Influence<div style="text-align: justify;">"Rest and digest." The Z stuff is amazing. I'd like to come up with a writeup of how I personally see and understand the small bit of Z I learned at R-Phase, but I want it to be concise and at the same time easily comprehensible for anyybody out there, so it'll probably take a few more days. But I've already started practicing the talk as well as the walk :)<br /><br />As soon as I arrived home, I started out working with my family. They all got pretty excited (except my husband, ever the classically stoic type, he just kept smiling at the sudden reduction of the funny "sweep" of his right foot he had had ever since he was a kid, a sort of a bit incredulous and confused but anyway appreciative smile... ). My son enjoyed "being made strong", my younger daughter got rid of her loud, "thumping" walk that had been also causing her heel pains for quite a while now, and my elder daughter was so fascinated altogether she announced she wanted me to teach her "all the moves and all this stuff" right away (she's 13) :)<br /><br />I did a short demo in my morning group during the warmup, too, as a result of which the right shoulder ROM of a client improved instantly from what you would call Nazi-style lockout to full vertical. Later, in the middle of the workout he came up to me and asked: "Would you please do that magic to my other shoulder, too? It's so cool there's no tension, restriction, whatsoever on my right any more..." The beauty of the whole thing is, it is you, my friend, that should perform the "conjuring trick" for it to last, and I can teach you how... :)</div>Gabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02052338344749872672noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2193224316110267184.post-19555223969616696272009-11-06T21:14:00.001+01:002009-11-06T21:16:18.633+01:00Cooooool!<div style="text-align: justify;">The fifth day of Z-Health R-Phase is over, we did the written, teaching and assessment testing today. I think I did quite well - which is really easy as all you have to do is follow the protocols by the letter and pay attention to details with the drills and everything else takes care of themselves as if by magic. And exactly this is what is on my mind all the time: this is like magic. We spent 5 days going over background and theory and all that, and it all makes perfect sense, and I do feel comfortable with all that in general, but still, it is still way beyond my comprehension when, in particular, I see tilting one's ankle 3 times gently to the side make a chronic shoulder pain go away, on the spot... ?!?<br /><br />Also, I was lucky enough that I got the chance to have my injured leg checked by Dr. Cobb personally! Wowww :) It was massively frightening to be confronted with the fact that my center of gravity was inches away from where it should have been... Was it a wonder, then, that I had balance issues even just standing on that leg?!? He worked with me on that a bit today, he put me in one (two, actually) of the most weird positions imaginable and all I had to do was a few small pelvic tilts (he called them nerve glides). And!!! Lo and behold, there was I standing on one leg, planted like a tree, and even did my first ever stable pistol on my left leg there and then! (He did hold my hand for all cases but he didn't actually support me). Woohoo!! Freakin' awesome, and at the same time, sort of, mystical :)<br />And on top of all that, he said the balance issue was probably not from the knee tendinitis but the other way around, and it all goes back to an impingement of a nerve by scar tissue of a many years old abdominal surgery incision... A glimpse of how endlessly much I don't know I don't know.<br /><br />Another really cool thing was that yesterday during lunch break Kenneth The Dane Of Pain personally taught me the Viking Push Press, the jerk and checked my bent press too. There were, thank God, no really big issues, but, as we all know, it's the small details that make the big difference :)<br /><br />Am I lucky or what? Life's soooo good! :)</div>Gabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02052338344749872672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2193224316110267184.post-24935839848338045042009-11-03T20:44:00.002+01:002009-11-03T21:13:11.749+01:00FMS, Z-Health and such<div style="text-align: justify;">We had another FMS-weekend with our one and only Brett Jones at the end of October, which was, as expected, a blast. Lots of AHA-moments, for me personally also some unpleasant news: he scored me two asymmetrical 1's (HS left, ILL right) and even the TSPU was 1. I was not that much surprized by the former, all the more by the latter (I used to be a solid 3 on that). Brett had a fully comprehensible explanation for it (injury and pain messes up or even blocks your stability patterns to protect you, so to say, from yourself), but still... Okay, I know what to do and I'll fix that, but I wouldn't have thought it'd have such an effect even after half a year or so.<br /><br />But now I also see why it was (and why it necessarily was) the case and now I don't even understand what I was so surprized about, lol. This <a href="http://www.infinitusfortis.com/certifications.asp">Z-Health</a> stuff is amazing, and although we are only at the end of the second day yet and we only got just a small glimpse of the system, it brought about, like the CK-FMS, an instant paradigm shift, from the biomechanical approach to the neurological one and that makes the whole thing frighteningly large-scaled and at the same time so logical and, actually, simple that I get light-headed just to think of it.<br /><br />More to come and 'get busy being afraid': in addition to broomstick voodoo I can now cast or break a spell (if I so wish, haha) with one touch :)<br /></div>Gabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02052338344749872672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2193224316110267184.post-42614203088108749172009-10-02T22:30:00.002+02:002009-10-02T22:37:51.406+02:00Kettlebell Woodstock<div align="justify">That's what the first ever HKC event was like, with Pavel and John, all the Masters and all but one Seniors (so sad Sara couldn't make it) present. It was sooo coool to see them all again, as well as many more friends like Andrea Chang, Ricardo, Fawn, Tracy, and to finally meet guys in person like Adam Glass, Dustin Rippetoe or Brad Nelson.<br />Speaking of the latter... Well... he's such a nice guy, really... You wouldn't ever think he'd come up with something as mean as The Sissy Test... :) (In case you haven't tried yet: it's 25 swings, 1 burpee, 24 swings, 2 burpees, 23 swings, 3 burpees, etc., all the way down to 1 swing and 25 burpees - done for time.) I did that last Tuesday, it took me about 40min and it was waaay more of a horror than 1000 swings in 50min @24kg or 80 sets of 8 @16kg VO2Max or whatever crazy stuff I had ever done before. (I had suspected something like that, or else why would I have kept putting this off for more than a year in the first place? LOL.)<br />I even had the chance to clear up a couple of form questions regarding the windmill and the bent press with David Whitley (thanks again, Dave!) so I'm a lot more positive about L2 now, too.<br /><br />But back to the HKC itself. <br /><br />In a nutshell: The 3 most basic kettlebell lifts were taught, the goblet squat, the (old, switching-legs) get-up and the basic swing. There was a technique test and a teaching test, too. I missed the workouts though - although the chapter on program design in the manual is a gem, in training matters feeling is more believing than seeing, I'd say :) Oh, and there was an entry test of pullups/flexed arm hang, too (I still wish it was something KB-related, just to make sure people do spend some time practicing the drills before showing up). <br />Assisting Andrea Du Cane was, again, a great experience, highly educational and lots of fun at the same time. We had a fantastic bunch of dedicated people on our team who were a pleasure to work with. Results-wise, I don't know for sure but I think the overall failure rate was similar to that of an average RKC. The HKC was nowhere near as physically challenging as even half a day of an RKC weekend, that's true, but, its main focus was on teaching people how to train with kettlebells _safely_ and that was taken very seriously when it came to passing or failing people.<br /><br />One thing is sure: This is going to be HUGE!! It was amazing to see such a diversity of folks showing up: from as young as 10 years of age (okay, that was Jeff O'connor's son, but still) to well over 60, of all fitness levels and training experience. This way the RKC principles of hardstyle kettlebell lifting are going to reach a much wider public. Many of the candidates stated they wouldn't have dared to even dream of attending an RKC but in the HKC they saw an opportunity to take a smaller bite first - at the end most of them were eager to learn more and do the RKC within a year. They'll be better prepared, not only in the 3 lifts taught but also because they have now seen it's all by far not as easy as they maybe thought to learn (and teach!) correct form and will probably seek out an RKC to help them get ready.<br /><br />And the other thing is, as kettlebells are now 'in', there are far too many trainers out there already that think they must jump on this wagon too, and they're teaching without a cert and without a freakin' idea of what they're doing trying to copy youtube stuff or whatever and how dangerous that can be for their clients. They'd probably never commit themselves to doing the RKC but much harm could be avoided if they got at least the very basic instruction at an HKC.<br /><br />As for training this week:<br />Not much. I'm still tired.<br />Tuesday I was glad to be alive at all (I arrived Monday night), lol. Some Z drills only.<br />Wednesday I did a lot of naked and light weight (low and high) windmills, "leash" bent presses, and then<br />5/5 military presses @12kg<br />5/5 side presses @12kg<br />5/5 bent presses @12kg<br />5 times through.<br />I actually got a bit sore in the lats, cool.<br />Thursday I practiced hang cleans and dead cleans @16 and 24kg and then did variations of the FTL press @2*12kg (the double overhead version is really no joke!). Fun stuff.<br />All I could think of the whole day today was sleep so I only did naked partial get-ups (sit-up to half-kneel, HKC-style - this is a great drill by itself for the T-spine and the hips) and a few 2*32kg deadlifts, that was all.<br /></div>Gabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02052338344749872672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2193224316110267184.post-8664673693795450662009-09-21T12:50:00.001+02:002009-09-21T12:52:04.972+02:00Heavy swings<div align="justify">I had to finally try, my ego needed that :D<br /><br />Yesterday:<br />Every 45sec:<br />10 (5/5 one hand) swings @24kg<br />10 (2 two hand/2 L/2 two hand/2 R/2 two hand) swings @32kg<br />10 (two hand) swings @40kg<br />10 times through, 300 swings, 22,5min<br /><br />That was fun. And hard, too. Especially the one hand swings @32kg - in the last round you would have had to look pretty hard for the "overspeed" in the eccentric, lol. But the 40kg is no joke either, 10 reps may not seem a big deal but there's a whole world of a difference when swinging it in timed sets.<br />They made the 24kg, on the other hand, feel quite light, which is good if I want to start snatching it again (and eventually try jerking it, too) soon.<br /></div>Gabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02052338344749872672noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2193224316110267184.post-44820791935122910182009-09-19T14:50:00.001+02:002009-09-19T14:55:05.151+02:00Ranting and training<div align="justify">Let's get that rant over with first.<br /><br />Ever happened to you? An opponent's ultimate argument in a discussion is "I know I'm right, I've been doing this for 20 years!"<br />So many people claim to be an expert just because they did something long enough. Even if it was nothing more than mindless repetition of whatever they picked up somewhere some time. Dunno... Especially when I see what results they got - AND at what price. Quantity doesn't equal and doesn't always imply quality.<br />Experience vs. expertise.<br />They may sound a bit similar, but please, PLEASE, don't confuse them.<br />Practice alone doesn't make perfect, it makes permanent.<br />Just the fact that you have been doing something (one way or the other) for 20 years doesn't necessarily mean you've gotten any better at WHATever you've been doing - you've probably gotten more efficient THE WAY you've been doing it, that's all.<br />If you were compensating for an asymmetry, you got more efficient compensating your asymmetry.<br />If you were squatting your swings, you got more efficient squatting your swings.<br />If you were designing lousy programs you got more efficient designing lousy programs.<br />I could go on and extend this to all areas of life - please raise your hand if you've never met a lousy teacher/boss/parent/tradesman/doctor/[insert whatever social role here] with an impressive amount of years of "experience"...<br /><br /><br />As for training this week:<br /><br />Monday:<br />5/5 TGU @16kg<br />some extra work on the high bridge+corkscrew<br />two hand swing + goblet squat ladder @16kg<br />10 sw - 10 sq - 9 sw - 9 sq - ... down to 1 (no rest between rungs)<br />//not only were those goblet squats killing me, I also noticed I'm drifting a bit to the right, still trying to unconsciously unload the injured leg, I guess//<br />squat form work: 5 curls at the bottom, 1 front raise overhead+ascend @8kg, 5 times<br />a few 16kg presses<br /><br />Tuesday:<br />GTG BW chins and pistols<br />Pistols on the left leg are a complete disaster: seems like my left ankle got more locked up than ever :( It'll be a loooooong way to the RKC II... But, you have what you have and that's what you have to work with/on.<br />ankle tilts, toe pulls, 6 position ankle circles, closed chain knee circles<br />@12kg:<br />30sec (15) snatches L - 30sec (15) cleans L, 30sec (22) swings L - repeat R (3min)<br /><br />Wednesday, Thursday and today:<br />BJ #1, 2, 3<br />3 rounds @12kg each day<br />40 swings, 6/6 presses, 10 goblet squats, 5/5 TGU, 10/10 snatches.<br />That means 600 swings on the swing day, 90 presses/arm on the press day and 150 squats on the squat day. Left me tired and sore but all in all it's not bad for the start.<br /></div>Gabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02052338344749872672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2193224316110267184.post-33540638502661260842009-09-13T20:33:00.003+02:002009-09-13T20:47:06.281+02:00Still 12kg, upping volume<div align="justify">Friday:<br />1min on, 30sec off, @12kg:<br />4*(snatch - clean - press - snatch - clean - squat - transfer)<br />44 two-hand-swings<br />4*(snatch - clean - press - snatch - clean - squat - transfer)<br />4*11 one-hand swings<br />5 times through, 30min<br /><br />Saturday was off, there was a two-day kettlebell bootcamp in Budapest where I also taught a block. It was about how to get a lot of work done in a relatively short time. For me, that means combos and circuits. We did 3 mini-workouts (lighter weights and/or shorter times - more demo-wise). I had them do:<br />#1<br />5 snatches L - TGU down and back up L - 5 snatches L - transfer - 5 snatches R - TGU down and back up R - 5 snatches R - transfer - etc.; 7min continuously (you'd normally do 10min or more, if you just do this)<br />#2<br />with partner, double bells, I-go-you-go<br />10 renegade rows<br />10 see-saw presses<br />10 cossacks (this was new for many so they used just one light bell)<br />3 rounds<br />#3<br />would have been 5 rounds of the above snatch-press-squat combo, but they were pretty fried already so I did some CK-FMS corrections instead (shoulder blade retraction and open chest when holding one bell by the horns to avoid a "turtle back" while squats/cossacks)<br />#4<br />"death in three minutes" - the name comes from a student of mine and the whole thing originates in my lousy memory. I actually wanted to have him do the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K80sUBv0VPU">KBLA Trifecta</a> but I messed up the instructions so it went like this:<br />30sec swings L - 30sec cleans L - 30sec snatches L - transfer and repeat R<br />He survived, so we kept it, LOL.<br /><br />Today I felt pretty hungry right in the morning (which was unusual) and it didn't get better during the day (even more so) so some time around noon I decided to eat a few eggs, so what - but that proved to be a big mistake as I felt so heavy and sluggish the rest of the day I couldn't even see my bells around, let alone do a BJ workout as planned.<br />Then I checked out Rif's blog and found <a href="http://rifsblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/weakness-is-icy-hill.html">this</a>:<br /><br /><em>"Scale it, yes.Modify it, of course. Just don't not show up. Unless blood is involved.<br />lol.<br />I think."</em><br /><br />Sort of funny, he's like a guardian angel to me, I always find the right thing there at the right time. Thank God he's back to blogging again.<br />I followed the link to Tracy's blog and found her last workout, <a href="http://tracysfoodandthought.blogspot.com/2009/09/intermediateadvanced-swing-combiation.html">21min of 12kg swings</a>, and did just that. <br />But, instead of squats and getups at the end I went down the same ladder and added 10 two hand swings just to have 1200 swings in 40min.<br /><br />That was fun. It's been a long time I hit 4-digit numbers. I guess the last time was November 2008, those 120 sets of 9 @12kg VO2Max.</div>Gabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02052338344749872672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2193224316110267184.post-64477779206121910022009-09-11T11:51:00.000+02:002009-09-11T11:53:38.085+02:00Busy, lazy, whatever<div align="justify">Yes, on one hand I was busy, busy, busy figuring out how to make the best of having a place of my own business-wise. Not just marketing and referral system and such, but also, how my training portfolio should look like and what teaching conception it should be based upon. How to integrate the activities of the other two RKCs in the area (my student Will and Zoli, we were teammates when we got certified - they are going to offer classes there, too) so that there's consistency in our work but also room for individuality. Now we have beginners' classes and workshops we all do pretty much the same way - teach the 6 basic exercises. These go for a given time period and once they started no one can join in. Then each of us offer some goal-specific classes, whatever we are more experienced in: for fat loss, GPP, MA and other contact sports conditioning, rehab and restoring movement quality, even classes to compliment (and balance out) bodybuilding (Zoli is a bodybuilding-fitness trainer in the first place). These are open for anyone to join but folks are required to have the basics down. Looks all good on paper, and we had a good start so far, too, but time will tell how it works out in practice...<br /><br />On the other hand, I used all this as an excuse to procrastinate returning to training - okay, some time off after my knee injury was okay, but then I was on holiday, and then the fear and then this and then that, and maybe it's just me, but the longer I waited the more difficult it seemed to get started again. And then of course I lost a lot of my previous condition and it was frustrating to be confronted with that, too. After the Budapest cert I started practicing the basics again, doing a couple of sets here and there but it was all rather half-hearted and I readily let myself get diverted.<br /><br />But now it's time to pull myself together. 3 months of passivity was more than enough. Or maybe I needed that, I don't know, but now I definitely feel the urge to get back in shape which was not the case before.<br /><br />This week I dusted off my 12kg bell and did the Brett Jones 3 day RKC prep program to get a baseline. I did 3 rounds of each day with 20 swings/snatches and 5/5 clean-and-presses, clean-and-squats and TGUs. Took almost an hour and I got pretty tired, but I expected worse...<br /><br />Then I did a swing workout yesterday:<br />Start every 45sec:<br />20 swings @16kg<br />15 swings @20kg<br />10 swings @24kg<br />10 times through, 22,5min, 450 swings<br /><br />I was very pleased by the fact it didn't feel that hard at all and I could have gone on (I was even thinking of doing 5 more ladders) but then I said to myself I'd better build up slowly and right I was as I got sore like hell by today, LOL.<br /><br />I'm going to stay with the BJ program with one or two additional swing workouts for two more weeks and after the HKC I'll add VO2Max training back into the mix. I just don't know yet if I should build the 15:15 @16kg back up (I was at 80 sets of 8 in May) or start with 12kg and do the 36:36 protocol first. Let's see what the cadence test says when I'm back home.<br /></div>Gabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02052338344749872672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2193224316110267184.post-91630061634921373272009-08-21T21:22:00.002+02:002009-08-21T21:27:21.308+02:00The center of the Universe<div align="justify">That's what a kettlebell swing is.<br /><br /></div><div align="justify">How many times did I hear that? At least 20 times at every RKC event (this was my 4th), from Pavel and all the Masters, Seniors and Team Leaders, plus at least 20 times every week from my own mouth, when I'm preaching this same thing to my students. Nothing new, one could think.<br /><br /></div><div align="justify">But...<br />"An inch wide, a mile deep."<br /><br /></div><div align="justify">We were sitting in a restaurant Saturday evening, waiting for dinner. I'm talking with <a href="http://chasingstrength.com/">Geoff Neupert</a> and I raise the subject of so many people failing RKC 2 and why. He seems reluctant first, 'I wasn't there, I don't know'. - 'But still,' I insist, 'an idea, maybe?' - 'Probably because many people forget the basics'. I don't let the subject lie, however, and go on telling him about my knee injury and the mixed feelings I have towards the L2 drills since that, mainly that the basic (L1) exercises had helped me get and stay out of pain but now the L2 drills seem to put me back into pain again: push presses and jerks bother my knee in the front, windmills and bent presses in the back, pullups bother my elbow, etc. (in short: fear).<br /></div><div align="justify">He helps me clear up some technique details and gives me tips, which is already great. But then he says:<br /><br />"It's all about the basics. Remember? The center of the Universe is the swing. A pullup is nothing else than a swing. A jerk is a swing. A windmill is a swing..."</div><div align="justify"><br />Dinner was served at this moment, we didn't continue. But it's food for thought and I'm digesting it for almost a week now. I re-read some parts of RTK, NW and the old RKC book, searching for the jerk as a swing, the windmill as a swing, the pistol as a swing... I've found a lot and there's more to find. My brain keeps replaying that movie of him sitting there in front of me and telling me this. Not just because he made me stop fretting. It was as if I had caught a glimpse of how deep a mile can be.</div>Gabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02052338344749872672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2193224316110267184.post-5294700856970924652009-07-18T19:09:00.004+02:002009-07-18T19:22:20.222+02:00Status update<div align="justify">I just thought I'd announce I'm not gonna post for another month or so :) </div><div align="justify"><br />Me and my family are leaving for Austria to visit my in-laws, we'll be back around August 8th. And using wifi in the Austrian Alps can be quite a challenge, I'll be glad if the internet connection works long enough to check my emails once in a while. </div><div align="justify"><br />Those knee issues I had mentioned in my previous post culminated meanwhile in a full blown hamstring tendinitis due to which I had to request an RKC II transfer to next year. It was a bummer, but what can you do. Even now, it isn't fully recovered yet, it still objects to being fully locked out, but at least my everyday life is not affected anymore (it's only funny in the first five minutes to have to work the clutch pedal "from the hip" while driving...). </div><div align="justify"><br />But I was/am making the best use possible of this down time. There's a lot bubbling in the witch's kitchen :) Me and my student Will have joined forces so we are going to run <em>Kettlebell Debrecen</em> together, in our own Courage Corner. And because two people make up a system and a system is always more than the sum of its elements, there'll be a lot of exciting changes on all fronts in the second half of August after the Budapest Cert, or in September the latest. But I'm not going to tell a word about the details yet, I don't want to blow the surprise :)</div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="justify">Have a wonderful summer!</div>Gabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02052338344749872672noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2193224316110267184.post-78284521150070254932009-06-09T11:45:00.000+02:002009-06-09T11:46:27.203+02:00Short status report<div align="justify">Seen better times. Quite some health issues in the family lately. Business planning requires a lot of brainwork, need to make some major decisions that can't be put off for long. Concerned about seemingly minor knee issues aggravating and turning stubborn. Don't have the time (and nerves) to blog. Will be back when at least some of the things are settled.</div>Gabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02052338344749872672noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2193224316110267184.post-29084580090587547672009-05-21T14:59:00.004+02:002009-05-21T15:14:16.370+02:00Back from Denmark<div align="justify">Actually since Monday night already, but it's kind of difficult to get my head out of the RKC clouds and come back to everyday reality. As Doc put it, and everybody else agreed, it's a phenomenon commonly called "post-RKC depression", lol. And I'm still pretty much tired, teaching, with all the responsibility, can very well exhaust you mentally. But I had a great team of wonderful people to assist who put a whole lot of dedication, enthusiasm and effort, but also high spirit and humor on display so it was absolutely a pleasure to work with them, to see instant changes and the overall "transformation" during the course of the three days I experience as a miracle every time. I was on Sr. RKC Jeff O'connor's Team and thanks to his generosity I got the chance to work with folks one on one (use some CK-FMS voodoo, too), do some team practice with them, play a part in the technique testing and shout out the commands during the grad workout at the end. Well, I'll still have to get used to those prompt (and loud) "Yes, Ma'am!"s, but it has a special feeling to it, for sure :) And of course hanging out with Doc, Jeff and Mark Toomey in the evenings and at breakfast, with Pavel, Kenneth, Sara, mc, my student Will and others joining us from time to time, was great fun and highly educational at the same time, I can't be grateful enough for being welcomed like this. I just wish John had made it, too...<br /><br />As for my student Will, he made me very proud, really. He is the guy I wrote my <a href="http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/516/">witch article</a> about - his story became quite intricate later when he injured his knee during competition like two months before the RKC so that he had to go in for surgery on April 6th. That meant we had like 5 weeks for rehab, two of which he spent on crutches, so the decision whether to participate or transfer (especially the squats seemed to be a big challenge) has fallen as late as 3 days or so before flying out. But he was there, set the stage with 140(!) in the snatch test and worked himself up to winning the technique competition, too (with full squats and all, yes!). I'll hold myself back on further details as he is going to write an article for the DD site about his lickety-split recovery and RKC experience - I'll let you know when it's up.<br /><br />This all sounds like I'm boasting, I guess, and probably because I am... My, can happen once in a while, you'll have to excuse me that. He did an outstanding job AND was careful enough not to get hurt again - I must admit I was pretty much concerned about how that knee would hold up and all the more am I relieved that everything went so well for him.<br /><br />Pictures <a href="http://www.dragondoor.com/thumbs/workshops/may09">here</a> :)<br /></div>Gabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02052338344749872672noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2193224316110267184.post-7974541252348769312009-05-12T23:15:00.001+02:002009-05-12T23:15:53.656+02:00OTG for a week<div align="justify">I'm leaving for Denmark tomorrow. Woo-hoo, exciting times! Will report when I'm back.<br />Oh, and I finally got those 80 sets of 8 @16kg this morning.</div>Gabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02052338344749872672noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2193224316110267184.post-24091233950447716302009-05-11T17:34:00.003+02:002009-05-11T17:55:22.439+02:00Exactly this time one year ago<div align="justify">I was sitting in Doc's room in Budapest, chatting around a bit with Doc and Kenneth before saying goodbye and heading for home from the RKC Budapest, May 9-11, 2008. I was dead tired, moving like a tin soldier but felt great and was simply overwhelmed by the experience. Great memories coming up! Can't believe one year has already flown by... So many things have happened since then, I did the CK-FMS in August, assisted at the RKC in October and at the FMS in February, taught hundreds of KB classes, my way of thinking and acting has changed (in some aspects dramatically), my life(, the universe, and everything, if you know what I mean) has changed, and at the same time it also feels as if nothing had changed... And in a certain sense nothing did. Sorry, if this all sounds weird talk... Can't explain. One has to experience it. </div><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8zt5YZZ0KyI&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8zt5YZZ0KyI&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Gabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02052338344749872672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2193224316110267184.post-14583035921836698602009-05-06T16:18:00.001+02:002009-05-06T16:19:24.972+02:00Mind over matter<div align="justify">Last night:<br />swings @16kg, with clients<br />1min on, 30sec off<br />42 reps/set<br />10 rounds<br />15min, 420 swings<br />An hour later, with class, more<br />swings @16kg<br />40sec on, 20sec off<br />28 reps/set<br />10 rounds<br />10min, 280 swings<br /><br />Today morning:<br />VO2Max, 15:15 @16kg<br />70 sets of 8<br />35min, 560 snatches<br /><br />I was carrying a bit of fatigue from those 700 swings as the two workouts were like 12 hours or so apart, but it was more mentally an issue than physically, as I had no problem keeping up the cadence, once I managed to persuade myself to pick up the bell for the next set, lol. Good I had someone with me, going for 70 sets of 7 @24kg...<br /><br />(I also keep GTG-ing presses, pullups, pistols, OH squats, windmills, TGU, etc., I don't really keep track of how many sets, I just do one or two whenever, maybe every hour or so. Practice. No elbow or other issues so far.)<br /></div>Gabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02052338344749872672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2193224316110267184.post-7495936651741861942009-05-04T17:08:00.002+02:002009-05-04T17:09:23.825+02:00Won't take long 'til<div align="justify">80. Sets, I mean, not years :) If it all goes on like this, I'll get to that milestone before leaving for DK (and see the Viking Warrior KJ - how cool is that?).<br /><br />Thursday was supposed to be my off day, but then I did 10 sets of 10 swings @24kg with a client I-go-you-go-style (a walkin' Gymboss, lol).<br />Friday I planned to do 50 sets of 8 (VO2Max, 15:15 @16kg), but I had another kettlebell design with me that started to pinch my skin almost immediately so I got pissed and stopped after like 12 sets. Crazy (and frightening), how I got used to 'my snatch bell'.<br />Anyway, I did the 50 sets on Saturday and took yesterday off.<br />Today I did 60 sets of 8 (30min, 480 snatches). I had the same feeling as with snatching the 12kg back last October: once I get over 50 sets, there are no big differences. 60 wasn't much tougher than 50 and I could have gone on, as if I had fallen into a kind of 'automatic mode'. But we'll see.<br /></div>Gabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02052338344749872672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2193224316110267184.post-91888093267711090002009-04-30T09:14:00.002+02:002009-04-30T09:19:13.378+02:00Better days, finally<div align="justify">I was so glad last week that I seemed to have gotten rid of those freakin' clingy viruses and could return to training that I probably overdid something (pistols, maybe, dunno) and managed to pull some groin muscle so that for days even driving my car was a challenge. More time off from training, eh. What can I say, I'm obviously not tough enough for being that stupid.<br /><br />The good news is, however, after this forced off time, voila, I finally managed my first unassisted pullups, woo-hoo, 'twas about time!<br /><br />Anyhoo, I've decided to proceed real cautiously this time and do all strength work in good old GTG fashion until the DK cert (in two weeks) is over: pullups, pistols, presses, windmills, everything. A set or two between two clients/classes. That adds up quickly.<br /><br />As for ballistics, I'm getting back into VO2Max training:<br /><br />Monday:<br />15:15 @16kg, 20 sets of 8<br />10min, 160 snatches<br />That was less than half of what I did last time but it felt unexpectedly tough.<br />Then, another 10min of swings:<br />40sec on, 20 sec off<br />27-28 swings @24kg<br />10 sets<br />This was the first time, I think, I worked with the 24 in a work-rest ratio of more than 1:1. Hard on the forearms, although I kept mixing one- and two-hand swings.<br /><br />Tuesday:<br />15:15 @16kg, 30 sets of 7<br />15min, 210 snatches<br />Cut back a rep and went for more sets. That one rep makes quite a difference.<br /><br />Yesterday:<br />15:15 @16kg, 40 sets of 8<br />20min, 320 snatches<br />This felt like I'm almost back to where I was. Cool.<br /><br />And I saved the best for last: by courtesy of John Du Cane and Dragon Door (a big thank you!), I'm now a cartoon heroine! You can check out my new article, a case study of my CK-FMS "voodoo" work <a href="http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/516/">in the articles section of the Dragon Door website</a>.<br /></div>Gabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02052338344749872672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2193224316110267184.post-59627158599258648402009-04-20T16:03:00.001+02:002009-04-20T16:04:41.599+02:00There's hope<div align="justify">Although I'm a bit scared to say that - the last few days were like a roller coaster, one day I felt better, the next weak again.<br />Thursday was my planned off day, on Friday I only did my pullups and even that was a burden. On Saturday I was only good for vegging out.<br /><br />Things were getting better yesterday:<br />band pullups: 4, 4, 3, 2, 1<br />Then:<br />5/5 C&P @16kg<br />20 swings @32kg<br />10 rounds<br /><br />Today:<br />band pullups +<br />MP @16kg (L/R) +<br />box pistols (R/L)<br />5, 4, 3, 2, 1<br />Then<br />VO2Max, 15:15 @16kg<br />50 sets of 8<br />25min, 400 snatches<br /><br />So far so good...<br /></div>Gabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02052338344749872672noreply@blogger.com1