I am putting up a video of my TGU...

I have been not as crisp on TGUs 40kg and up.

I am putting a video so I can get some feedback.



I am cheating with my arm and my foot in falling inward. Yuck.

Nothing that some practice can some constructive (or destructive) criticism will not fix.

Quest for 176.....

Right now I am at my lightest that I have been in 6 years (189, down from a max of 235 after breaking my back).

My goal now is to get down to 176 by August 31. Just like when I had to make a weight for RKC (198, weight loss is easier when you have a goal that is:
* Quantitative
* Time-boxed

I plan on doing this w/o stepping on a stair-climber (or curb climber), sitting on a treadmill, or ellipticalling on an elliptical.

Here are some of my tactics for achieving this goal:
* Clean eating with more vegetables
* Starting every morning with coffee. No coffee after 11 AM
* Split workouts, with 11 workouts per week (yes, I still saw workout, even if I don't try to kill myself during the workout)
* Zig Zag eating (I will have 1 day/week where I eat more than what burn off)
* Weigh myself daily
* Never count calories
* Blog workouts and eating

Yesterday's workout:
Morning (leg day)
* Good Mornings: 135, 225, 275, 315 x 1 x 5; 335, 355, 365 x 1 x 3 (felt good)
* Leg Presses: Up to 11.5 plates per side x 10 (strong and deep)
* Abductors/Adductors: stack x 1 x 40
* Hip Flexors: 3 x 15
* Squats standing on medicine ball

Early Evening:
Alternate 2 DDR songs with 15 Beast swings
* 28 songs of DDR (about 560 calories) and 195 swings

Late Evening:
Bowling (sport league): 148, 180, 188 - sucked

Friday:
* Early morning: Some TGU for videotape
32kg x 7:00; 40kg x 1; 48kg x 1

* Mid Morning (Shoulders)

* Afternoon
- Presses: 24kg x 5; (24kg + 8kg) x 5; (24kg + 12kg) x 1 x 5
- Curls: 80lb, 100lb, 110lb x 1 x 10;
- Max VO2: 24kg x 7 x 12 minutes

Evening:
Swings: 32kg swings x 10 x 8 (10s rest after each set)

Eating was OK, but not enough veggies

Flyer for my new studio:

Today's Workout and other stuff....

I had a lot of time to myself today (only 2 clients, the other 2 were out sick), so I took advantage. Besides laundry and errands, I was able to do the following:

* Made some stir fry broccoli and chicken
* Made some broccoli and chicken garbage bread
--If you don't know what garbage bread is, just ask
* Made a big salad with all the romain clusters
* Juiced the rest of the carrots, celery, and apples
* Roasted some broccoli and carrots
--cut broccoli florets and carrots into bit sized pieces
--coat baking sheet with olive oil
--roast for 15 minutes at 385F
--season with salt, pepper and cumin to taste

Two workouts today:
Early afternoon (Chest Day):
* Bench Press: 135, 185 x 1 x 5; 205, 215 x 1 x 2 (these still hurt my shoulder like a bitch)
* Incline DB Bench: 95 x 2 x 10
* Cable Crossovers
* Decline Hammer Strength
* Pec Dec
* Alternating presses, hands out

* Tricep Pressdown
* Tricep Presses: worked up to 225 x 1 x 1
* Skull Crushers


Late evening
* Random KB exercise (5)
* Alternated 2 songs of DDR with 15 Beast swings

Weight: 187.2 (but I think I was a little dry) - about 11lbs to go.

Challenge.....178! Also, functional training...

My challenge for the next two months is to get down to 178lb (about a 12lb. weight loss) without losing any strength and maintaining my kettlebelling abilities. Any retard can (and typically does) go on a treadmill deathmarch and lose weight and look like a Biggest Loser reject. This person typically regains the weight because they have no "foundation" of fitness.

The key is going to be cleaning up the diet. I will have to be more diligent in preparing meals to take with me as I would my personal training business.

Here are the skills that I will need to maintain:
425+ lb squat
475 lb deadlift
120+ reps in 5 minute snatch test
sub 6:30 mile
flipping 500lb tire

Losing weight for the purpose of losing weight is pretty silly.

I have been hearing a lot about functional training. One thing that I have found is that a lot of people who are weak are actually "justifying" it by saying that their training is functional. Their definition of functional is "I must include some type of fitness crap (e.g., bosu, medicine ball, exercise ball, fitness band, balance board)" in the exercise.

Here is my definition of functional (taken from dictionary.com):
having or serving a utilitarian purpose; capable of serving the purpose for which it was designed

Lets take heavy lifting (not necessarily 1RM lifting). We lift heavy things all of the time. Therefore heavy lifting is "functional". Let me ask you a question -- if you were moving a couch, who would you rather have help you. Someone who can lift heavy things, or someone that can do squats on a bosu.

Lets say you were moving to a new home. Who would you rather have help you. Someone who can lift a moderate amount of weight a lot (i.e., work capacity), or someone who does leg lifts with an exercise ball between their legs.

I know from my training that I can go into any class (spin, yoga, step aerobic) and do just fine. Ask your yogi to get under a bar loaded with 2x their bodyweight and see how they do. Strength carries over to all "functions". While other stuff is important - I swear that personal trainers talk about functional fitness because they are unable to teach someone how to lift. What they did is call their gimmicks "functional".





Let us look up

HoC/DDR+ Routine with double 24kg bells

HoC/DDR+: This week's routine included:
Doing the entire protocol wearing a 26lb X-vest
Using 2 24kg bells for each exercise.

Really was sweating bullets with this one...I lost about 5lb in water weight doing this. You will notice my pants getting darker, that is not because it was getting darker, but I was sweating and the pants were nylon.



2 songs of DDR
15 double 24kg swings, 2 songs of DDR
15 double 24kg C&Ps, 2 songs of DDR
12 double 24kg snatches, 2 songs of DDR
10 24kg renegade rows, 2 songs of DDR
15 double 24kg cleans, 2 songs of DDR
10 double 24kg see saw presses, 2 songs of DDR
8 double 24kg dead snatches, 2 songs of DDR
10 double 24kg Military Presses, 2 songs of DDR
8 double 24kg hang snatches (not on video, messed up), 2 songs of DDR
30 double 24kg floor presses (not on video, messed up), 2 songs of DDR
20 double 24kg swings(not on video, messed up), 2 songs of DDR
10 double 24kg jerks, 2 songs of DDR
==> Active Recovery along burned about 572 calories (26 songs * ~22 cal/song) alone.

All songs on DDR were Expert or Difficult level...no failed songs.

Took about 1:15

Some chair snatching.....

This may not be party approved, but I did it anyway:

Chair Snatch: 24kg x 10L/9R (miscounted) in about 52s




Chair Snatch: 32k x 9L/10R (miscounted) in about 58s

PBA Experience League/Bells/New Clients

Lots of new stuff going on:

1) Adding new clients almost daily. Most of them are on a referral basis (i.e., they came to me). My strategy of seeing as many people as possible early on has paid off.

2) I joined a PBA Experience league. After two weeks, I am averaging 189. Today I started out really bad (I have a 71 in the seventh frame with 6 opens). I close with 226 and 221 games for a 584. I made the following adjustment to my game because my timing has been the shits for the last 20 weeks.
a) Try to lead with the ring finger (I had been coming around the ball early)
b) Lower pushaway (I have short legs, and if you get to the line to fast, the ball is still moving backwards when you get there and timing is off).
c) Slow feet down, so I can stay down and rooted.

I would love to average 200 in this league -- I will need to put some big weeks together. Also, bowling feels like a sport when "3 boards of area) does not mean "first arrow, second arrow, and third arrow". Also, there is no handicap so the better bowler (or team) wins. Also, I like the fact that there are individual and team matches. Makes it a lot more interesting.

3) Continuing to set new records daily in Dance Dance Revolution. The songs are starting to feel slower. Songs that seemed impossible just 3 weeks ago are now As and Bs on Expert. Here are some other observations:
* While not a complete FMS, DDR makes you move in a lot of different directions. Really opens up the hips.
* My calves are getting ridiculously vascular.
* I see DDR is being packaged as a "Youth Fitness Bundle". Given my success with it, every Boys/Girls club, community center, and day care should have DDR in their facility. It is fun, safe, and functional. ]

4) My training. Right shoulder is getting better. Here are some highlights:
* TGU with Beast with both hands
* Started doing chair snatches. Did 12L/12R with the 32kg this afternoon.
* Probably going to bail on the TSC this year.
* Weight is down to 189. Plan to get to 176 by the end of August.
* My clothes absolutely do not fit anymore. I can take off my jeans w/o unbuttoning them.

Quick Update...

I tore up my shoulder on March 3. On June 3 I did Turkish Get-Ups with the 48kg with both my left and right hands. I also "chair snatched" a 32kg bell with both hands.

If you asked me what a "chair snatch" was before I discovered kettlebells, I probably would have said that it was something in a porn movie.

Weight is down to 189 (down 15 since 12/31/08). Trying to get to 176. Need to clean up diet to get there.