Whoa.

The other day I was listening to Geoff Neupert interview John Brookfield and I was bitten by a bug; a rope bug. I had an itch to work the Tsunami drill from Brookfield's Battling Ropes. If you don't know the Tsunami is where you take a 2" 5O' rope anchored at one end and you try to sustain waves all the way down to the other end of the rope. If you can't picture it, it is a full body explosive drill. And, it is brutal. Anyway, I thought I would also work odd carries to warm up before I tried the Tsunami. So the session looked like this:

Kettlebell Ball carry w/ 32kg: 100 ft
Kettlebell Rack Position carry w/ 32kg: 100 ft L/ 100 ft R
Bottoms Up Kettlebell carry w/ 32kg: 50 ft L / 50 ft R - this was quite a challenge!
I repeated this for 3 rounds
Tsunami drill : 15 seconds x 10 rounds - I had to rest long enough to catch my breath between sets.

End result? I was trashed. What an eye opener. The Tsunami is a killer. I was completely wiped out the rest of the day. Lesson learned? I thought I was easing into it; turns out, not so much.

Will I do this again? Yep, I have got to make this drill easy because if I can, it will take my training to a whole new level.

So I will pepper this into my training every now and then...

The DVD has been selling well. Betsy and I are pleased. Have you gotten yours yet?!

Finally!

The Rapid Results Kettlebell Series, Level 1 DVD is now available! Time Efficient Training for Optimal Results. It only took 3 months to complete, but it is finally ready. Betsy has been a blast to work with, and a slave driver... Always telling me what to do and stuff! Anyway, our first DVD offering is finally here.

If you already know how to use a kettlebell as far as the basic moves, but just don't know to structure your routines in a time efficient manor, this video is for you.

If you want to check it out, go here:

http://www.opt4more.net/Rapid_Results_Kettlebell_Series/RR_DVD.html

Yesterday's training looked like this:

TGU w/ high bridge: 16kg - 5/5
TGU w/ squat: 16kg - 5/5
BU TGU w/ 16kg - 2/2
Double Bottoms up Squats w/ 2 20kgs: 5 x 4 sets
Double Bottoms up Presses w/ 2 20kgs: 5 x 4 sets
2 Hands Anyhow w/ 2 16kgs: 5/5 x 3 sets
Double Bottoms up cleans w/ 2 16kgs: 20, 20, 20
SLDL w/ 16kg: 10/10 x 2 sets

The 2 Hands Anyhow was a throw back! I almost enjoyed it...

What makes a good trainer?

Have you ever wondered what makes a good trainer? I guess it depends on who you ask. If you ask a fitness magazine, they'll say someone with an accredited certification, or someone who has liability insurance. If you ask a certifying organization, they may say anyone who has there certification. Everyone has a bias. Everyone has a label. I guess I'm wondering if labels make good trainers.

I used to think so. I would see a list of credentials after a person's name and determine whether or not they were a good trainer. That's ridiculous, I know. But I would do it. I would literally look pass the person and look to their qualifications. Then I wonder, do people do that with me? If I do it, do they do it? Do we live in a world where the label makes the person? Yep, sometimes we do. At least I do. I did.

There are great trainers out there who have different certifications. Like everything else, there is no one best certification. There is no one best way to train. It is the person who makes the certification look good. It is the individual who makes a great trainer, not a label. Sure there are good trainers and bad trainers. But there are also good trainers with not so "desirable" certifications, or backgrounds AND there are horrible trainers out there with excellent certification credentials behind their name.

What is the point? The point is a person, a client, buys the trainer, not their label. If you are shopping for a label when you choose your trainer, you are doing yourself a disservice. You're missing the boat. Sure don't just choose a guy off the street. Do your homework, but look deeper than the label. Look at the person, their personality, their character, their passion and dedication.

We live in a world of labels and we shouldn't.

Anyway, training yesterday:

TGU w/ 16kg: 10/10
Dbl Bottoms Up Squats w/ 2 20kgs: 5 x 4 sets
Dbl Bottoms Up Press w/ 2 20kgs: 5 x 4 sets
Dbl Bottoms Up Cleans w/ 2 20kgs: 10, 10, 10
Bent Press w/ 24kg: 5/5 x 4
SLDL w/ 24kg: 5/5 x 4 sets

T-phase

All righty then! Just finished up with T-phase in Arizona. If you haven't read me saying this before, Z-health is truly amazing! Or more accurately, the human body is truly amazing! Every thing you do, every move you make, every thought you think effects your entire body. If you could touch just one cell in your body, every cell in your body would be affected by just that one small touch. Anything can affect everything.

If you are not performing well, or not as well as you would like, what is holding you back? Are you moving as well as you should? Are you thinking as well (or positive) as you should? Do you have an old injury that is effecting your movements? If so, you can do something about it. And, growing older does not have to mean a decline in ability, mobility, strength, or skill. If you think so, you're just lying to yourself. And that is fine, if that's what you want to do.

However, If you want to "stay in the game" of life, Learn how to move well.Learn about your body. Learn about Z-health. It could be the best investment you ever make. And yes, you are worth it.

Disney Hangover

Sorry I have neglected my postings for a while. I went to Disney. It is not a good excuse, but it took a lot out of me. I'm still getting over it. However, the time there with my family was awesome. Can't wait to go back.

Training is going well. I decided to start working LCCJ for some reason. (long cycle clean and jerks) So that is what I think I will focus on every two weeks in between my two week bottoms up kicks. I just really like doing doubles lately. Thank you Geoff Neupert. I'm a doubles guy now. Most of the time... Double TGUs are ugly!

Training yesterday looked like this:

Light Day
TGU w/ 16kg: 20/20
Dbl Snatches w/ 16s: 10 x 10 sets
Dbl LCCJ w/ 16s: 10 x 5 sets
SLDL w/ 16kg: 5/5 x 5 w/ no rest b/w sets

Buttoms Up!

I am back on my double bottoms up training block this week and it has been pretty cool so far. I had to go to Rapid Results and use Betsy's 28kg kettlebells because I don't have any yet. I wanted to try double bottoms up cleans to squats with the 28kgs because the 24's were getting pretty easy! Oh what a difference the extra 8 kgs makes for doing doubles. Cool thing is I was able to perform 4 sets of 2 with the double 28's. When I started using the 24's, I could only do sets of 3.

So here was Friday's workout:
TGU w/ 32kg: 10/10 no rest
Dbl BUC to Squat w/ 2 28kgs: 2, 2, 2, 2
Dbl Cleans w/ 2 32kgs: 10, 10, 10, 10!!!
1/2 kneeling Waiter's press w/ 32kg: 5/5 x 4
Deadlift w/ 2 32kgs: 5, 5, 5, 5

All in all, I was pretty happy. Now I have to procure a pair of 28kgs...

Maybe our new DVD will help. It should be ready for production this week! Woohoo! Betsy and I are excited. At the very least it should be good entertainment. I'll post when it is ready.

Back to Swings

Well, my two weeks of double kettlebell exercises is over and I'm back to working on Get-ups and Swings again. It's amazing how the first day back into swings has made my arse and hamstrings a little tender. Amazing, but cool.

Betsy and I think we have finished filming for our DVD. I say think because we have not seen the edited version yet. I do know there will be a few funny parts, though not on purpose. That adds replay value, right? Does the camera really add 10 pounds?...

Training looks like this:
9/5/09 - Heavy
TGU w/ 36kg: 5/5
Double Bottoms Up Clean to Squat w/ 2 24kgs: 5 x 4 sets
Double Cleans w/ 2 32kgs: 10 x 3 sets
1/2 kneeling waiter's press w/ 32kg: 5/5 x 4 sets
SLDL w/ 32kg: 5/5 x 4 sets

9/7/09 - Light
7 steps of TGU w/ 24kg: 5/5 x each step
Pistols w/ 16kg: 3/3 x 4 sets
Double Bottoms Up Squat w/ 2 16kgs: 5 x 4 sets
Double Bottoms Up Cleans w/ 2 20kgs: 10 x 3 sets
Double Bottoms Up Press w/ 2 20kgs: 5 x 4 sets
Single Leg Dead Lift w/ 20kg: 5/5 x 4 sets

New training block:

9/9/09 - Medium
TGU w/ 32kg: 6/6
Swings w/ 24kg: 20/20 x 2, 10/10 x 6 = 200
2H Swings w/ 24kg: 20 x 5
Windmill w/ 16kg: 5/5 x 3
SLDL w/ 24kg: 5/5 x 4