Lean and Mean

About 17 weeks ago I set out on a new training adventure. Actually, I set out to test my limits; again. I decided to try Geoff Neupert's Kettlebell Burn program. This a program designed to burn fat. When I started the program, I weighed 168 and I was already at 6% bodyfat. So, honestly, I didn't really expect much of a change. But I do enjoy a challenge. Anyway, by the end of the program, and all the way through it, I was amazed. Now I am down to 163 lbs and I have 3.8% bodyfat! I have muscles that have muscles! Geoff's program rocks!


Losing the bodyfat was awesome, but what was even more amazing is that my strength sky rocketed. By the end of Geoff's program, I was snatching 32kg over my head 63 times per arm in 15 minutes. That's 126 times! That's almost half my own bodyweight being snatched over my head in ONE arm 126 times! Not only that, I was doing 20 turkish getups with the 32kg in 10 minutes! My body feels so solid and strong; it is an amazing feeling. 


So, between 4 to 5 lbs of bodyfat and got stronger. Not only did I get stronger, but I legitimately PR'd every single time I trained. By that, I mean that I consistently achieved more reps every single time I trained. That is freakin' amazing. How was I able to do that? Simple; solid program design. Geoff's Kettlebell Burn is brilliantly laid out. He is a genius when it comes to program design. I never had to test my range of motion, I never worried that I shouldn't be doing a particular exercise. I trained. I followed Geoff's program. I got stronger - everyday. I got leaner. I got results. Period.


Thanks for stopping by!


Tim

Making Progress

There is a lot of talk out there right now about using biofeedback to determine how or what you train on. This is an interesting concept but I don't know how reliable it is. If I understand it correctly, you can test an exercise, like a deadlift, then perform a range of motion test to determine if you should train on that exercise during your training session. If your range of motion improves, train with your tested exercise. If your range of motion gets worse, it is not a good day for you to train with that particular exercise. 


Here's a question I have - what if your range of motion never test well for a particular exercise? Should you just write that exercise off and never perform it? Better yet, why not try to determine why the exercise test poorly to start with? If I test poorly on a deadlift, why? What is it about that move does my body not like? Should I not try to make the deadlift a move my body does like? I guess that brings forth another question - how would you take an exercise your body doesn't like and make it into one it does like? Hmmm. Maybe strengthen your weaknesses, that may be one solution. Another solution may be to make sure you are moving well in the first place. 


At any rate, I'm not sure it is such a good idea to work yourself into a training corner by only training with exercises that yield a positive biofeedback result. What if you hate pull-ups and because of that, you always test poorly when you perform the pull-up? Is the pull-up really bad for you, or do you just not like doing it? Hate may be a strong word, maybe you're just apprehensive about doing pull-ups... The point is, there may be many reasons you test bad for particular exercises. But it would be a shame to train with a limited tool box of exercises and expect yourself to unlock your full potential when you could unlock your full potential by addressing the issues that cause you to test poorly in the first place. 


Just my random thoughts on training with biofeedback. To me, if it tests poorly, fix it. 


Training today:
Snatch w/ 32kg: 3/3 x 19, 4/4 x 1
Lunges w/ 24kg: 10/10 x 6 
Staggard Rows w/ 24kg: 10/10 x 6
TGUs w/ 32kg: 2/2 x 5


I'm feeling AWESOME!

Doin' It

Training has been going fairly well lately. I've been doing Geoff Neupert's Kettlebell Burn program for 14 weeks now. Everyday I ask myself what I ever did to Geoff to make him so mad at me. I swear he's trying to kill me! 


Here is what today's session looked like:
Heavy Snatches with the 32kg: 3/3 x 20 sets
Reverse lunges with 24kg: 10/10 x 6 sets
Staggard Rows w/ 24kg: 10/10 x 5 sets
TGUs w/ 32kg: 1/1 x 9 sets


I'm toast! I feel like I need 2 days to recover. Geoff's program works; i am down to 4.1% bodyfat. Gotta like that.

Setting the example

Some of you may know, or not know, that my Mom-in-law, Kat, has been battling breast cancer now for 6 years. I am sad to say that the battle was won and Kat is now in Heaven. I would just like to say, to tell the world if you read this, that she was a wonderful woman. 


She was filled with grace, love, compassion, strength and elegance. She raised two awesome children who are both filled with her same qualities. And she has also had the biggest, most wonderful, influence on my own children. They are a product of her love and guidance. I could not be a luckier person, a more blessed person, than I am for having known her. In fact, I am a better man having known her. She has truly been a shining light in my world. 


...And not just in my world, along with all the sadness around me, I have witnessed more love than anyone could imagine. Kat has been a rock of strength and love for hundreds of people. She has truly made the world a better place. And now, Heaven is in trouble.


So, while I am sad, I am thankful. I was loved by a great woman. And my world will never be the same....


Love you Kat.

Consistent blog attempt

Just finished a LONG cycle at the fire department this week. Thank God for 4 day breaks!
Training has been going really well lately. I've been implementing some CK-FMS tools over the last 3 months thanks to my friends Geoff and Brett. Now if i can just connect the dots from everything i've been learning over the last 10 years....


Anyway, here is what I did yesterday:


A - Cross-body Single Leg Dead Lifts w/ 32kg: 1, 2, 3L / 1, 2, 3R x 8 ladders in 15 minutes
B1 - C & P w/ 32kg: 3/3 x 9 sets                   in 15 minutes
B2 - Front Squats w/ 32kg: 3/3 x 9 sets


Today is rest and mobility day!

Just Move!

First, I apologize. I'm a horrible blogger. Second, if you have found yourself on my blog, thanks for stopping by. A friend of mine told me to get off my butt and update my blog. So, here goes....

You want to be healthy? You want to get strong? Just start moving. It doesn't matter if you want to use a kettlebell, a barbell, or a Solo Flex machine (yeah, a throw back!), just move. Find a training modality you like, find a training system you like and apply it. The body is an amazing, resilient creation. And, it can be complicated, but it's not that complicated. The secret to health is movement.

It's been a while since I've posted, so here is a little recap about me: I like kettlebells, that's my tool of choice. I also like bodyweight training. I do both. I don't do anything, i don't enjoy (training wise ;) ). I don't believe there is ONE "right way" to train. I do believe there are smart ways to train. And, conversely, I believe there are not so smart ways to train.

For instance, getting a fitness magazine, pulling out the poster, and following the workout on the poster so you can look like the guy in the poster. I don't think that is smart. That guy probably doesn't even do that workout either. In fact, i'm not sure following anything out of a fitness magazine is smart.

Anyway, big tangent there... If you want to be healthy, start moving. Learn how to move your body. Get your joints moving. Learn how to do a pushup. That is HUGE! Can't do a pushup? Learn how to start crawling around until you are strong enough to do a pushup. You can get amazingly stronger and "healthier" just by getting off the couch and crawling around on the floor. AND, you have NO business trying to bench press if you can't even do a good pushup. What is the sense in that? It's almost as crazy as putting a bar on your back and trying to squat when you can't even do a bodyweight squat. It's just crazy.

Learn how to move your own body first. If you just don't know how, or don't know where to start, hire a trainer. The point is, move. Find out how to move. Start moving and then get good at moving. In doing so, you will create all kinds of good changes and lay a foundation for fitness, health and strength.

Have a good one.

The Big Secret

It is time for my monthly post! So here it goes...

It's a new year already. Heck, January is all but gone. Every year at this time many people get bit with the fitness bug. We make resolutions to get in shape, lose some weight, tone up, eat better, sleep more, or whatever. Many of us make these resolutions because we want to be healthy and we want to feel good. For many of us, the new year inspires us with hope that we too can change and improve ourselves; that we can be new again. Then, February rolls around and that new inspiration of hope starts to feel more like a fleeting dream because life starts to get in the way.

It doesn’t have to be this way. You can change if you want to, you don’t even have to wait for a new year to begin either. There is a secret to making a new you; whatever your goal might be. It is a secret that holds tremendous power and it makes all the difference in the world. It is the one secret that separates those that succeed from those that fail. That secret is: Consistency.

Merriam-Webster defines consistency as: 1 firmness of constitution or character : persistency

Consistency is probably the most important ingredient to success. Whether your goal is to lose 30 pounds or to run 10 miles, it is your ability to be consistent that will get you to where you want to be. You could have the best plan in the world and fail miserably if you lack consistency in following your plan. Conversely, you can have a not-so-great plan, but a good vision of where you want to be, and succeed wonderfully if you have the discipline to consistently follow your plan and chase your vision.

Consistency is not glamorous, it is not miraculous, but it is that special ingredient that is necessary to succeed at whatever your goal might be. So, lets say you had a strange goal to eat a whole elephant. As the joke goes, the best way to eat an elephant is by taking one bite at a time. However, you probably shouldn’t expect to eat the entire elephant all in one day, or one week for that matter. But, if you consistently took one bite at a time, day after day, week after week, eventually the elephant would be gone. Crazy analogy, I know. Besides, elephants are full of saturated fat. BUT, the point is if you have a goal and you consistently take small, doable steps towards reaching that goal, you can’t help but be successful.

If you made a resolution this year, you can achieve it. Just be consistent. There will be road blocks, there will be hurdles, there will be challenges. That is life. But none of those things has to stop you. If you consistently chase after your goal and follow your plan, you will succeed.

As for my own training, it is going well. I found my butt the other day. I tried to swing the 32kg as much as I could in ten minutes. Turns out, it wasn't that much, but my butt feels like I swung it 1000 times...