Still 12kg, upping volume

Friday:
1min on, 30sec off, @12kg:
4*(snatch - clean - press - snatch - clean - squat - transfer)
44 two-hand-swings
4*(snatch - clean - press - snatch - clean - squat - transfer)
4*11 one-hand swings
5 times through, 30min

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:
#1
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)
#2
with partner, double bells, I-go-you-go
10 renegade rows
10 see-saw presses
10 cossacks (this was new for many so they used just one light bell)
3 rounds
#3
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)
#4
"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 KBLA Trifecta but I messed up the instructions so it went like this:
30sec swings L - 30sec cleans L - 30sec snatches L - transfer and repeat R
He survived, so we kept it, LOL.

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.
Then I checked out Rif's blog and found this:

"Scale it, yes.Modify it, of course. Just don't not show up. Unless blood is involved.
lol.
I think."

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.
I followed the link to Tracy's blog and found her last workout, 21min of 12kg swings, and did just that. 
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.

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.

Busy, lazy, whatever

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...

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.

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.

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...

Then I did a swing workout yesterday:
Start every 45sec:
20 swings @16kg
15 swings @20kg
10 swings @24kg
10 times through, 22,5min, 450 swings

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.

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.

The center of the Universe

That's what a kettlebell swing is.

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.

But...
"An inch wide, a mile deep."

We were sitting in a restaurant Saturday evening, waiting for dinner. I'm talking with Geoff Neupert 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).

He helps me clear up some technique details and gives me tips, which is already great. But then he says:

"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..."

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.

Status update

I just thought I'd announce I'm not gonna post for another month or so :)

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.

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...).

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 Kettlebell Debrecen 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 :)

Have a wonderful summer!

Short status report

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.

Back from Denmark

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...

As for my student Will, he made me very proud, really. He is the guy I wrote my witch article 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.

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.

Pictures here :)

OTG for a week

I'm leaving for Denmark tomorrow. Woo-hoo, exciting times! Will report when I'm back.
Oh, and I finally got those 80 sets of 8 @16kg this morning.

Exactly this time one year ago

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.

Mind over matter

Last night:
swings @16kg, with clients
1min on, 30sec off
42 reps/set
10 rounds
15min, 420 swings
An hour later, with class, more
swings @16kg
40sec on, 20sec off
28 reps/set
10 rounds
10min, 280 swings

Today morning:
VO2Max, 15:15 @16kg
70 sets of 8
35min, 560 snatches

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...

(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.)

Won't take long 'til

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?).

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).
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'.
Anyway, I did the 50 sets on Saturday and took yesterday off.
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.