I would love to post some pictures of the "goings on" here, but I forgot the cable to my computer to download them....boo hoo! Anyway, I don't have much time or energy anyway.....like most RKC's it's go, go, go.....
I had to stop in my room this afternoon to shower, and in a few minutes I'm headed back to the field
The location, hotel and venue are really lovely, and I hope they come back here (I could live here for sure!). No shortage of good healthy food choices and top resturants. Peet's coffee makes it even better!
I managed to get in a Spinning class and at least 1 hour of KB's before I left. and then hit a Bikram yoga class in La Jolla Friday morning. I walked for about an hour last night before dinner, swung bells for 1 hour this morning, walked for 30 minutes, and now I've earned some shopping time while they go over the "press" before lunch.....I'll catch the "press" lecture, demos, and drills in a few weeks @ the St. Paul Cert.....but Lululemon can wait no longer, LOL! I woud have doen a Bikram class this morning, but I wasn't successful in not becoming a "Krispy Kreme", aka sunburned! I didn't think it wise to try and yoga through 104 degree heat with my "lobster" back! I'll get it in tomorrow (if I don't drink too much wine at dinner tonight!)
I'll post some pictures when I get back home on Monday....have a grat weekend (the best part is we're only 1 hour plane flight away from home....woo hoo!)
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Max 36/36 week #3 (workout 2)
Let's see....I started out Tuesday with 1 hour Spinning, then did 30 minutes of "light" swings with my 7:00am swing class, came home to feed the rugrats, flew out the door to 9:15 Bikram.....and then, Max with Mark!
I don't even bother to warm up more than a couple of swing/snatch combination sets because I use the first few sets of Max as a warm up, (it is afterall a "bonus" workout, lol). By the time 12 noon comes around (we get up around 4am) I just want to get out there and start....the sooner we start the sooner we finish!
Max w/12kg
15/15
16/16
17/17
18/18
19/19
20/20 x 14
24 sets total (Mark did 25)
30 minutes
450 snatches
Last week I used the 14kg for this workout, but since I had snatched the 16kg so much a few days ago AND I'm thinking that maybe I'll start my Saturday workout, because I'll be at the SD RKC, with the RKC snatch test (100 snatches w/16kg in 5 minutes).....this morning I'm saying "maybe", lol because I'm feeling a little beat......I decided to use the 12kg, but ladder up to 20 reps per 36 seconds and stay at that speed until the end.
Meg and I had worked up to 20 reps per 36 seconds on Saturday and as long as I don't 'short' the snatches then I need to get those reps up to increase my heartrate appropriately. Besides that, when I do the right # of reps, I dread every set, and I start contemplating whether or not to keep pace until the end, or to drop down to a slower pace.....which is rare because at that point it becomes a mental challenge as well as a physical one!
I'm off to Bikram this morning....no KB's today!
I don't even bother to warm up more than a couple of swing/snatch combination sets because I use the first few sets of Max as a warm up, (it is afterall a "bonus" workout, lol). By the time 12 noon comes around (we get up around 4am) I just want to get out there and start....the sooner we start the sooner we finish!
Max w/12kg
15/15
16/16
17/17
18/18
19/19
20/20 x 14
24 sets total (Mark did 25)
30 minutes
450 snatches
Last week I used the 14kg for this workout, but since I had snatched the 16kg so much a few days ago AND I'm thinking that maybe I'll start my Saturday workout, because I'll be at the SD RKC, with the RKC snatch test (100 snatches w/16kg in 5 minutes).....this morning I'm saying "maybe", lol because I'm feeling a little beat......I decided to use the 12kg, but ladder up to 20 reps per 36 seconds and stay at that speed until the end.
Meg and I had worked up to 20 reps per 36 seconds on Saturday and as long as I don't 'short' the snatches then I need to get those reps up to increase my heartrate appropriately. Besides that, when I do the right # of reps, I dread every set, and I start contemplating whether or not to keep pace until the end, or to drop down to a slower pace.....which is rare because at that point it becomes a mental challenge as well as a physical one!
I'm off to Bikram this morning....no KB's today!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Max 36/36 week #3
I start Saturdays training with my 2 swing/snatch classes from 8am to 9:15am @ Girya, and then I head over to Equinox to train my Max class with Meg and Gen. I had decided the night before it was time to do some more snatching w/16kg, and my thoughts about incorporating it into 36:36.....
I went into the workout thinking we would skip our 5/5 16kg snatches (this week we were up to 9 sets), and instead, alternate every other 2 sets of 18's w/12kg (1 set L, 1 set R) with 9 reps using the 16kg....so that would be half the pace, but 10lbs heavier. I thought since Meg and I snatch at the same time we could pace eachother, one snatch for every 2 snatches the other did, taking turns, alternating etc, but once I started the workout I could see that switching every 2 sets would be too hard, and slowing down to half pace would be too slow, so this is what I changed the workout to;
5/5 w/ 16kg x 5 sets
Max Vo2 36:36 30 sets
18/18 w/12kg, 4 sets (2 L, 2 R)
14/14 w/16kg, 2 sets (1 L, 1R)
18/18 w/12kg, 4 sets (2 L, 2 R)
14/14 w/16kg, 2 sets (1 L, 1R)
18/18 w/12kg, 4 sets (2 L, 2 R)
14/14 w/16kg, 2 sets (1 L, 1R)....here's where I change it slightly (we've finished set #18)
19/19 w/12kg, 2 sets
20/20 w/12kg,2 sets
14/14 w/16kg x 2 sets
20/20 w/12kg, 2 sets
20/20 w/12kg, 2 sets
14/14 w/16kg x 2 sets
374 snatches /12kg
190 snatches w/16kg
564 total snatches.....WOW! If I did the math right this is cr-razy!
Gen's workout was slightly different, as you have to take into consideration everyone's skill level and scale the workouts accordingly. Gen has been training with me consistently for months now, but had only snatched the 16kg for the first time a few weeks ago. Although I know she would match Meg and I snatch for snatch, (because she's focused, and highly competitive....not to mention an overacheiver, lol) but that's NOT the point. The point of training like an athlete is to make you workouts progressively harder, not to go "balls to the wall" every workout...you have to leave room to grow, to get stronger.....not overtrain and get weak! Here's Gen's workout;
17/17 w/12kg, 4 sets (2 L, 2 R)
14/14 w/16kg, 2 sets (1 L, 1R)
17/17 w/12kg, 4 sets (2 L, 2 R)
7 L/7 R w/16kg, 2 sets
17/17 w/12kg, 4 sets
19/19 w/12kg, 2 sets (speed)
17/17 w/12kg, 4 sets
19/19 w/12kg, 2 sets (speed)
17/17 w/12kg, 4 sets
7 L, 7 R w/16kg, 2 sets
416 snatches w/12kg
120 snatches w/16kg
536 total snatches
I had Gen match our first sets w/16kg, 14 L, 14 R (36:36), and I could see that this set was too heavy for her to repeat every 5th and 6th set, so I had her break the set by using both L & R, still snatching 14 reps, but not all on one side. At this point I could see I didn't want to run her into the ground with weight, again that's not the point, so I switched her to speed work and intensified her #17, 18, 23, 24th sets by increasing the # of snatches w/12kg by an extra 2 reps in the same amount of time. I let her end w/16kg.....just to finish it off with the heavier weight....I think it's a mental thing at this point!
I find speed work more intense than heavy weight, so Gen might of actually got the better workout! Although Meg and I eventually increased our reps w/12kg to 20 per 36 sec., it was clear how much harder that work to rest ratio was, and now that we know what we're capable of, next week, we'll get there much sooner......
We finished the workout with 5 sets of 36:36 2 hand swings with the heaviest weight we could swing for 36 secs., I used the 24kg. After the first set I asked each of the girls how many reps they got in the 36 sec., and to add 1 0r 2 more reps for the next set! Again speeding things up for intensity. The 3rd set was back to pace, 4th set increase to speed, 5th and last set back to pace.
36:36 2 hand swings w/24kg
24 reps
26 reps
24 reps
26 reps
25 reps
done. Now off to the farmers market in Saratoga, and then with what's left will burn off in Bikram!
I went into the workout thinking we would skip our 5/5 16kg snatches (this week we were up to 9 sets), and instead, alternate every other 2 sets of 18's w/12kg (1 set L, 1 set R) with 9 reps using the 16kg....so that would be half the pace, but 10lbs heavier. I thought since Meg and I snatch at the same time we could pace eachother, one snatch for every 2 snatches the other did, taking turns, alternating etc, but once I started the workout I could see that switching every 2 sets would be too hard, and slowing down to half pace would be too slow, so this is what I changed the workout to;
5/5 w/ 16kg x 5 sets
Max Vo2 36:36 30 sets
18/18 w/12kg, 4 sets (2 L, 2 R)
14/14 w/16kg, 2 sets (1 L, 1R)
18/18 w/12kg, 4 sets (2 L, 2 R)
14/14 w/16kg, 2 sets (1 L, 1R)
18/18 w/12kg, 4 sets (2 L, 2 R)
14/14 w/16kg, 2 sets (1 L, 1R)....here's where I change it slightly (we've finished set #18)
19/19 w/12kg, 2 sets
20/20 w/12kg,2 sets
14/14 w/16kg x 2 sets
20/20 w/12kg, 2 sets
20/20 w/12kg, 2 sets
14/14 w/16kg x 2 sets
374 snatches /12kg
190 snatches w/16kg
564 total snatches.....WOW! If I did the math right this is cr-razy!
Gen's workout was slightly different, as you have to take into consideration everyone's skill level and scale the workouts accordingly. Gen has been training with me consistently for months now, but had only snatched the 16kg for the first time a few weeks ago. Although I know she would match Meg and I snatch for snatch, (because she's focused, and highly competitive....not to mention an overacheiver, lol) but that's NOT the point. The point of training like an athlete is to make you workouts progressively harder, not to go "balls to the wall" every workout...you have to leave room to grow, to get stronger.....not overtrain and get weak! Here's Gen's workout;
17/17 w/12kg, 4 sets (2 L, 2 R)
14/14 w/16kg, 2 sets (1 L, 1R)
17/17 w/12kg, 4 sets (2 L, 2 R)
7 L/7 R w/16kg, 2 sets
17/17 w/12kg, 4 sets
19/19 w/12kg, 2 sets (speed)
17/17 w/12kg, 4 sets
19/19 w/12kg, 2 sets (speed)
17/17 w/12kg, 4 sets
7 L, 7 R w/16kg, 2 sets
416 snatches w/12kg
120 snatches w/16kg
536 total snatches
I had Gen match our first sets w/16kg, 14 L, 14 R (36:36), and I could see that this set was too heavy for her to repeat every 5th and 6th set, so I had her break the set by using both L & R, still snatching 14 reps, but not all on one side. At this point I could see I didn't want to run her into the ground with weight, again that's not the point, so I switched her to speed work and intensified her #17, 18, 23, 24th sets by increasing the # of snatches w/12kg by an extra 2 reps in the same amount of time. I let her end w/16kg.....just to finish it off with the heavier weight....I think it's a mental thing at this point!
I find speed work more intense than heavy weight, so Gen might of actually got the better workout! Although Meg and I eventually increased our reps w/12kg to 20 per 36 sec., it was clear how much harder that work to rest ratio was, and now that we know what we're capable of, next week, we'll get there much sooner......
We finished the workout with 5 sets of 36:36 2 hand swings with the heaviest weight we could swing for 36 secs., I used the 24kg. After the first set I asked each of the girls how many reps they got in the 36 sec., and to add 1 0r 2 more reps for the next set! Again speeding things up for intensity. The 3rd set was back to pace, 4th set increase to speed, 5th and last set back to pace.
36:36 2 hand swings w/24kg
24 reps
26 reps
24 reps
26 reps
25 reps
done. Now off to the farmers market in Saratoga, and then with what's left will burn off in Bikram!
Friday, August 21, 2009
Defining Ourselves
This subject, these thoughts, have been on my mind for quite awhile, but the inspiration to write about it has been absent until Mark read me a blogpost written by MC,
http://www.begin2dig.com/2009/08/what-if-we-were-no-longer-what-we.htmland, I thought "Damn, she beat me to it!' lol! Seriously though, she wrote about the subject at least a week ago, and, still, I'm just now sitting down to write my thoughts about it. Defining who we are, defining who I am.
When I first started to blog I was new to this "successful" weightloss stuff, and I say "successful" because there was no doubt in my mind I would be able to maintain my new found health and fitness. No doubt because I had made permanent changes in my attitude towards food and training. I will always prepare most of my own foods, and I will always swing a kettlebell....period. Those are two things that absolutely reflect a part of who I am and what I do, but do they qualify as a "definition" of what and who I am? When I was 250lbs. I never defined myself by how much I weighed, I knew I was so much more than what my physical body reflected and I wrote about it. I wrote about how I knew I was talented, smart, pretty, lucky, sucessful, capable, etc., but what I didn't write is how being more than 100lbs overweight was, in fact also, part of what defined me. (hard to admit) How could it not? I was a person, living parts of my physical life letting myself, allowing myself, to try and control how I felt by overeating.....good Lord, is it still part of what defines me?
MC writes, "What if we define ourselves as lean, and we get fat?" Or how about defining ourselves as fat and then getting lean? I never saw myself as a "fat person", although I joke about having a "fat girl" mentality.....or a "former fat girl" mentality. It always surprised me when I saw my fat reflection in a mirror or window because I never saw myself that way, even though as far back as I can remember I was always "chubby", so it wasn't like I had been a "thin" person and then I got fat....physically, I was always that way. But not on the inside.
It occured to me recently that I'm more bothered by weighing 140lbs than I was weighing 250lbs! Are you kidding? When did that happen? For so long it was no problem for me to maintain weighing around 130lbs, and then something happened.....I had defined myself as the woman that successfully lost over 120lbs.....now I was the woman that lost only 110lbs....do I feel less special? Yes. Why? Because I don't see my 120lbs weightloss, I see my 10lb weight gain, there's nothing special about gaining weight.....uncontrolably gaining weight. Do I feel like I failed? At times. Why am I so embarrassed and ashamed? Because, once again, I can't hide the fact that I'm not perfect......I'm wearing my imperfections for everyone to see......and judge. But no one is judging.....just me. When did I turn into such a critical bitch? Some of the people that know me would probably say that I've always been a critical bitch, lol....but I'm critical because that's how I feel towards myself.
During yoga the other day, in savasana, the teacher said "don't judge yourself", and I questioned her to myself, 'You mean right now, or all the time? Because I judge myelf all the time.....I may be able to let it go right now, for the moment, about judging my yoga pratice, but to not judge myself the other 23 hours, 59 minutes of the day is going to be hard.'.
Last year I admitted that my blogging had become less regular because I was "hiding out"...trying to hide the fact that I had gained some weight. This past year it became worse because I had lost the extra 5-10lbs, only to gain it back, plus a couple more. There's lots of reasons why my body weighs what it weighs. Sure, I eat more food than it takes to maintain a lower bodyweight, I believe that's the #1 reason....calories in, calories out. But something else is going on here.....
Of all the things that I feel define who I am, who Tracy is, I may only be able to remind myself of those things by first reflecting on who I know I'm not. And who I know I'm not is the number on the scale....easy to say, hard to feel, because I am, in actuality, particially at least, physically a reflection of the number on the scale. Maybe the question isn't 'what defines you?', but 'what makes you feel special?' Why is 250lbs not special? 250lbs wasn't special when I weighed 250lbs, but now, when I recognize how lucky I was to have had the experience because of the things I learned, and the compassion and understanding it gave me I can look back on it as special. Why is 140lbs not special? Well, 140lbs may be special if I find myself weighing 150lbs......but why do I feel like I have to lose something before I appreciate it for it's "specialness"? Who decides what or who is special? We do. Not our parents, not our friends and certainly not strangers.....we do. Part of what makes us all special is the ability to define, and then redefine ourselves, to re-invent who we want to be, and become something different.....or not. We lay down the history of our lives, chapter by chapter......or blogpost, by blogpost, lol!
I've always known I was special and I believe that everyone feels the same way....really I do.
Enough for now.
http://www.begin2dig.com/2009/08/what-if-we-were-no-longer-what-we.htmland, I thought "Damn, she beat me to it!' lol! Seriously though, she wrote about the subject at least a week ago, and, still, I'm just now sitting down to write my thoughts about it. Defining who we are, defining who I am.
When I first started to blog I was new to this "successful" weightloss stuff, and I say "successful" because there was no doubt in my mind I would be able to maintain my new found health and fitness. No doubt because I had made permanent changes in my attitude towards food and training. I will always prepare most of my own foods, and I will always swing a kettlebell....period. Those are two things that absolutely reflect a part of who I am and what I do, but do they qualify as a "definition" of what and who I am? When I was 250lbs. I never defined myself by how much I weighed, I knew I was so much more than what my physical body reflected and I wrote about it. I wrote about how I knew I was talented, smart, pretty, lucky, sucessful, capable, etc., but what I didn't write is how being more than 100lbs overweight was, in fact also, part of what defined me. (hard to admit) How could it not? I was a person, living parts of my physical life letting myself, allowing myself, to try and control how I felt by overeating.....good Lord, is it still part of what defines me?
MC writes, "What if we define ourselves as lean, and we get fat?" Or how about defining ourselves as fat and then getting lean? I never saw myself as a "fat person", although I joke about having a "fat girl" mentality.....or a "former fat girl" mentality. It always surprised me when I saw my fat reflection in a mirror or window because I never saw myself that way, even though as far back as I can remember I was always "chubby", so it wasn't like I had been a "thin" person and then I got fat....physically, I was always that way. But not on the inside.
It occured to me recently that I'm more bothered by weighing 140lbs than I was weighing 250lbs! Are you kidding? When did that happen? For so long it was no problem for me to maintain weighing around 130lbs, and then something happened.....I had defined myself as the woman that successfully lost over 120lbs.....now I was the woman that lost only 110lbs....do I feel less special? Yes. Why? Because I don't see my 120lbs weightloss, I see my 10lb weight gain, there's nothing special about gaining weight.....uncontrolably gaining weight. Do I feel like I failed? At times. Why am I so embarrassed and ashamed? Because, once again, I can't hide the fact that I'm not perfect......I'm wearing my imperfections for everyone to see......and judge. But no one is judging.....just me. When did I turn into such a critical bitch? Some of the people that know me would probably say that I've always been a critical bitch, lol....but I'm critical because that's how I feel towards myself.
During yoga the other day, in savasana, the teacher said "don't judge yourself", and I questioned her to myself, 'You mean right now, or all the time? Because I judge myelf all the time.....I may be able to let it go right now, for the moment, about judging my yoga pratice, but to not judge myself the other 23 hours, 59 minutes of the day is going to be hard.'.
Last year I admitted that my blogging had become less regular because I was "hiding out"...trying to hide the fact that I had gained some weight. This past year it became worse because I had lost the extra 5-10lbs, only to gain it back, plus a couple more. There's lots of reasons why my body weighs what it weighs. Sure, I eat more food than it takes to maintain a lower bodyweight, I believe that's the #1 reason....calories in, calories out. But something else is going on here.....
Of all the things that I feel define who I am, who Tracy is, I may only be able to remind myself of those things by first reflecting on who I know I'm not. And who I know I'm not is the number on the scale....easy to say, hard to feel, because I am, in actuality, particially at least, physically a reflection of the number on the scale. Maybe the question isn't 'what defines you?', but 'what makes you feel special?' Why is 250lbs not special? 250lbs wasn't special when I weighed 250lbs, but now, when I recognize how lucky I was to have had the experience because of the things I learned, and the compassion and understanding it gave me I can look back on it as special. Why is 140lbs not special? Well, 140lbs may be special if I find myself weighing 150lbs......but why do I feel like I have to lose something before I appreciate it for it's "specialness"? Who decides what or who is special? We do. Not our parents, not our friends and certainly not strangers.....we do. Part of what makes us all special is the ability to define, and then redefine ourselves, to re-invent who we want to be, and become something different.....or not. We lay down the history of our lives, chapter by chapter......or blogpost, by blogpost, lol!
I've always known I was special and I believe that everyone feels the same way....really I do.
Enough for now.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Max 36/36 week #2 (workout #2)
I'm lucky enough to train Max Vo2 twice a week.....now most people might think that's boring, but I'm not most people.....
I train KB's with Mark on either Tues., or Wed. afternoons (I dread afternoon workouts) and he hates it that I consider this workout as a "bonus", but since I train with my classes on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays at least 60+ minutes.....or should I say my classes train with me, lol......this 4th KB workout of the week is usually only about 30 minutes long, and let me tell you I rarely spend 1 minute longer! Even though Mark gives me the option of just hanging out with him while he workouts out I would rarely, if ever, do that because my first commitment, before I started teaching classes, was to train with him.....and we all know a good training partner is hard to find! But, I do get to play around with ladder and/or different KB exercise movement combinations based on Max interval ratios, because, afterall, it's a "bonus" workout, lol
Max ladder 36/36
22 sets
w/12kg
14/14
15/15
16/16
17/17
18/18
repeat these 10 sets w/ 14kg
and add last, 2 sets of 12/12
160 snatches w/12kg
184 snatches w/14kg
This doesn't include a few warmup snatches, but then I've got a class tomorrow morning before spinning, and then Bikram. Today I only did a 7:15am Bikram yoga class and passed on any other exercise (blogpost to come.....). Yesterday I went to 6:00am spin, swung with a beginning class for about 20 minutes, and passed on yoga! Yikes, things are a changin'......
I train KB's with Mark on either Tues., or Wed. afternoons (I dread afternoon workouts) and he hates it that I consider this workout as a "bonus", but since I train with my classes on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays at least 60+ minutes.....or should I say my classes train with me, lol......this 4th KB workout of the week is usually only about 30 minutes long, and let me tell you I rarely spend 1 minute longer! Even though Mark gives me the option of just hanging out with him while he workouts out I would rarely, if ever, do that because my first commitment, before I started teaching classes, was to train with him.....and we all know a good training partner is hard to find! But, I do get to play around with ladder and/or different KB exercise movement combinations based on Max interval ratios, because, afterall, it's a "bonus" workout, lol
Max ladder 36/36
22 sets
w/12kg
14/14
15/15
16/16
17/17
18/18
repeat these 10 sets w/ 14kg
and add last, 2 sets of 12/12
160 snatches w/12kg
184 snatches w/14kg
This doesn't include a few warmup snatches, but then I've got a class tomorrow morning before spinning, and then Bikram. Today I only did a 7:15am Bikram yoga class and passed on any other exercise (blogpost to come.....). Yesterday I went to 6:00am spin, swung with a beginning class for about 20 minutes, and passed on yoga! Yikes, things are a changin'......
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Max 36/36 week #2
I could have skipped my workout completely this weekend because of a 2 day trip to the East Coast I had to cancel Saturdays classes, but.....I rescheduled for Sunday knowing I couldn't miss my Max training.....afterall I've got a snatch test to re-do in a few weeks.
2-3 minutes swing/snatch warm up w/12kg
16kg Snatch
5/5 x 7 = 70 snatches
12 kg 36 sec work/rest
18 reps x 25 sets = 450 snatches
Gen was out of town on sunday, but took a 12kg & 16kg with, and did her 36/36 Max on her own (well, with her boyfriend Chris.....he used the 16kg), so it was only me and Meg. After our snatch workout I invited Meg to stay for the next class, which is the Intermediate Swing Class and I don't remember what all we did, but there were some heavy-ass swings done by all.....I think I swung the 20kg for most of the 25-30 minutes. All swing sets were short (15/15) but heavy.
2-3 minutes swing/snatch warm up w/12kg
16kg Snatch
5/5 x 7 = 70 snatches
12 kg 36 sec work/rest
18 reps x 25 sets = 450 snatches
Gen was out of town on sunday, but took a 12kg & 16kg with, and did her 36/36 Max on her own (well, with her boyfriend Chris.....he used the 16kg), so it was only me and Meg. After our snatch workout I invited Meg to stay for the next class, which is the Intermediate Swing Class and I don't remember what all we did, but there were some heavy-ass swings done by all.....I think I swung the 20kg for most of the 25-30 minutes. All swing sets were short (15/15) but heavy.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
"Breadatarian" or "Dead"-atarian
Recently I've found some new motivation to blog more often, but an unexpected trip to the East Coast, with Mark and my youngest son Gabe, left me crazy busy getting ready to leave 2 kittens, 5 cats...(one of which is on a diet), and the stress of making sure we all had everything we needed, as well as the stress of knowing we would spend half of the 48+hours we would be gone sitting in some sort of transportation....plane or car.....talk about getting stiff (not to mention the challenge of not getting too dehydrated.....I wasn't sucessful at that one.)
It's easy for me to plan food for any trips I spend away from home, taking frozen soups, shredded salads, cooked oatmeal, fiber, cream and other comforts of my diet, checked on board in a cooler and then transferred to a hotel fridge, but this time I decided to not take anything pre-prepared with me....on purpose! I decided it was time for me to try to relax and trust myself to make the best choices possible.....but that's a different blogpost, this one is about how other people eat.....not me! So........
On this trip we were with Marks family, most of who claim to be vegetartian. Vegetartian, hmmnn..... It's interesting to me when I meet vegetarians that don't cook, OR prepare most of their own meals. Vegetarian, to me, means a person that bases their meals around....hmmnn....I'm guessing....vegetables? Not just a person that doesn't eat meat! Eating a diet based on vegetables requires, last time I checked, quite a bit of food prep, I didn't say time consuming, because that's relative, but in my opinion it does require "hands on" control of your food....at least it should.
I always find myself "spying" on the food choices other people make, especially "skinny" people...but, again, that's another blogpost, but.......what I find is how very few people eat healthy, in a nutritious way, even vegetarians, especially vegetarians that don't cook their own meals! Goodness, this is such a huge subject (many blogposts, lol), but here's a conversation I had with a "vegetarian" nephew about my weightloss.....here's the scenario:
We're sitting around a table in the dining room of the Residence Inn during the "Breakfast Buffet". At this buffet they had many food choices, one of which was "fresh" waffles....what are "fresh" waffles? Well, they had "freshly made waffle batter" to which you, yourself, could cook on their waffle maker....voila, "fresh waffles!" They also offered fresh fuit, like bananas, apples, oranges, and some fruit salad made of pear, papaya, pineapple, peaches and bananas, along with many other foods like the usual sausage, eggs, pancakes, potatoes, breads, donuts, pastries, cereals, oatmeal, yogurts, with all the "fixins'", syrups, butters, jams, jellies, honey, PNB (!), etc.....
Nephew: "Did you eat alot of fast food when you were fat?" (in other words, he was asking if this is what made me fat?)
Me: "Of course! I loved fast food! But it wasn't just fast food, it was lots and lots of food! I love to eat....alot of food!"
Nephew: "Oh, well I don't eat fast food!"
I looked at him as if he was crazy and then asked him if he ever purchased a bagel for a meal, OR what he considered the "fresh" waffle he was eating as? (with syrup and sliced banana)
Nephew (getting my point very quickly): "Oh, then I guess I do! I never looked at it that way!"
Me: "I consider a granola bar 'fast food', I consider anything prepackaged, and all you do is open it as 'fast food', or anything you don't make yourself, from scratch. What do you think the difference is between the waffle you just "made" yourself, and a waffle you could drive through and purchase at McDonald's is? The waffle you just ate was made with "waffle mix" the kitchen simply made by adding water to. It is processed flours, hydrogenated fats, and probably some sugars as well as who knows what else. AND you chose a banana, instead of papaya, pear, peach or apple to top it with.....I don't consider a banana as a fruit I consider it as a starch....like a potato!"
Nephew: "Oh my gosh! I eat like crap! I don't make anything myself....it's too much trouble, and besides, I don't know how! I've been wanting to become more healthy (because I know I'm not!), where do I start?"
This, of course, created a much longer conversation, but again, that's a different blogpost.....
What I noticed about spending a couple of days with vegetarians was the consumption of breads, bagels, and cereals, spreads, like cream cheese, hummus, not to mention the granola bars, pastries and donuts (yes, even a couple of "Weight Watcher's" brownies! good Lord).....a few carrot and celery sticks, but mostly breads.....(Oh and Red Bull, lol) Mark said to our son Gabe.....and I love this...."Bread is not a meal! It's eaten with a meal" I don't eat alot of bread myself, but when I do, I go crazy! I don't chose bread because I have so many other food choices, bread is not a priority, but when I eat "out" bread is usually so abundant it's hard not to indulge....especially when it's "free", lol! There's nothing wrong with bread, just like there's nothing wrong with any kind of food, it's how you eat it that can create a problem.
I always tell people that I eat more vegetables than most vegetarians (because I eat more food than most people....you know, it's that "overeating thing"), but seriously, vegetarism should be about vegetation, shouldn't it? Vegetation is alive (until we kill it and eat of course, lol), but it comes from the earth....the living, breathing earth. How could you not feel full of life and breath by eating these live foods? How would you feel eating a diet based on bread? I know how I would feel.....maybe not "dead", but certainly constipated, lol!
Are you a "Breadatarian"? Or in my opinion a "Dead"atarian"?
This trip inspired so much I'd like to write about, but for now I've got to get to my Sunday KB classes......and maybe yoga later today.....2 days no workouts.....another blogpost subject? For sure!
It's easy for me to plan food for any trips I spend away from home, taking frozen soups, shredded salads, cooked oatmeal, fiber, cream and other comforts of my diet, checked on board in a cooler and then transferred to a hotel fridge, but this time I decided to not take anything pre-prepared with me....on purpose! I decided it was time for me to try to relax and trust myself to make the best choices possible.....but that's a different blogpost, this one is about how other people eat.....not me! So........
On this trip we were with Marks family, most of who claim to be vegetartian. Vegetartian, hmmnn..... It's interesting to me when I meet vegetarians that don't cook, OR prepare most of their own meals. Vegetarian, to me, means a person that bases their meals around....hmmnn....I'm guessing....vegetables? Not just a person that doesn't eat meat! Eating a diet based on vegetables requires, last time I checked, quite a bit of food prep, I didn't say time consuming, because that's relative, but in my opinion it does require "hands on" control of your food....at least it should.
I always find myself "spying" on the food choices other people make, especially "skinny" people...but, again, that's another blogpost, but.......what I find is how very few people eat healthy, in a nutritious way, even vegetarians, especially vegetarians that don't cook their own meals! Goodness, this is such a huge subject (many blogposts, lol), but here's a conversation I had with a "vegetarian" nephew about my weightloss.....here's the scenario:
We're sitting around a table in the dining room of the Residence Inn during the "Breakfast Buffet". At this buffet they had many food choices, one of which was "fresh" waffles....what are "fresh" waffles? Well, they had "freshly made waffle batter" to which you, yourself, could cook on their waffle maker....voila, "fresh waffles!" They also offered fresh fuit, like bananas, apples, oranges, and some fruit salad made of pear, papaya, pineapple, peaches and bananas, along with many other foods like the usual sausage, eggs, pancakes, potatoes, breads, donuts, pastries, cereals, oatmeal, yogurts, with all the "fixins'", syrups, butters, jams, jellies, honey, PNB (!), etc.....
Nephew: "Did you eat alot of fast food when you were fat?" (in other words, he was asking if this is what made me fat?)
Me: "Of course! I loved fast food! But it wasn't just fast food, it was lots and lots of food! I love to eat....alot of food!"
Nephew: "Oh, well I don't eat fast food!"
I looked at him as if he was crazy and then asked him if he ever purchased a bagel for a meal, OR what he considered the "fresh" waffle he was eating as? (with syrup and sliced banana)
Nephew (getting my point very quickly): "Oh, then I guess I do! I never looked at it that way!"
Me: "I consider a granola bar 'fast food', I consider anything prepackaged, and all you do is open it as 'fast food', or anything you don't make yourself, from scratch. What do you think the difference is between the waffle you just "made" yourself, and a waffle you could drive through and purchase at McDonald's is? The waffle you just ate was made with "waffle mix" the kitchen simply made by adding water to. It is processed flours, hydrogenated fats, and probably some sugars as well as who knows what else. AND you chose a banana, instead of papaya, pear, peach or apple to top it with.....I don't consider a banana as a fruit I consider it as a starch....like a potato!"
Nephew: "Oh my gosh! I eat like crap! I don't make anything myself....it's too much trouble, and besides, I don't know how! I've been wanting to become more healthy (because I know I'm not!), where do I start?"
This, of course, created a much longer conversation, but again, that's a different blogpost.....
What I noticed about spending a couple of days with vegetarians was the consumption of breads, bagels, and cereals, spreads, like cream cheese, hummus, not to mention the granola bars, pastries and donuts (yes, even a couple of "Weight Watcher's" brownies! good Lord).....a few carrot and celery sticks, but mostly breads.....(Oh and Red Bull, lol) Mark said to our son Gabe.....and I love this...."Bread is not a meal! It's eaten with a meal" I don't eat alot of bread myself, but when I do, I go crazy! I don't chose bread because I have so many other food choices, bread is not a priority, but when I eat "out" bread is usually so abundant it's hard not to indulge....especially when it's "free", lol! There's nothing wrong with bread, just like there's nothing wrong with any kind of food, it's how you eat it that can create a problem.
I always tell people that I eat more vegetables than most vegetarians (because I eat more food than most people....you know, it's that "overeating thing"), but seriously, vegetarism should be about vegetation, shouldn't it? Vegetation is alive (until we kill it and eat of course, lol), but it comes from the earth....the living, breathing earth. How could you not feel full of life and breath by eating these live foods? How would you feel eating a diet based on bread? I know how I would feel.....maybe not "dead", but certainly constipated, lol!
Are you a "Breadatarian"? Or in my opinion a "Dead"atarian"?
This trip inspired so much I'd like to write about, but for now I've got to get to my Sunday KB classes......and maybe yoga later today.....2 days no workouts.....another blogpost subject? For sure!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Max 36/36 week #1.....and the rugrats.....
Here is the KB workout we did yesterday and the start of the next 4 week Max Vo2 cycle. After a 2-3 minute swing/snatch warm-up....
16kg snatch
5/5 x 5 sets "I go, you go" (well actually Meg and I go, and then Gen goes, lol!)
Max Vo2 w/12kg (seems light now!)
17 reps per 36 sec work to rest ratio x 20 sets = 24 min.
Grip work swings
20 L, 20 R 1 hand swings w/12kg, 1 min work, 30 sec rest
40 2 hand swings w/16kg, 1 min. work, 30 sec rest
30 L, 30 R, 1 hand swings w/12kg, 1.5 min work, 30 sec rest
40 2 hand swings w/16kg, 1 min. work, 30 sec rest
50 L, 50 R, 1 hand swings w/12kg, 2.5 min. work....that's 280 swings in 9 min.!
Approx total workout 40 min.
Seriously! Is anyone else doing this kind of workload? 20, 30, 50 swings on one hand without switching, after training for alomst 40 minutes and snatching the 16kg....the first time for Gen, and Meg's only done that a few times herself....in fact I've gotta email Gen and congratulate her on this, it's quite a big deal, the first time!
I altered Gen's Max to 16 snatches per 36 sec. after her first 6 sets, although I'm sure she could've kept pace (because she's like that....you know, one of those "overacheiver" types, lol!), I would rather her build up the grip and shoulder strength of long snatch sets with no hand switch before getting winded and breaking form . Meg and I stayed with 17/17, even though we could have added on that extra rep to make it 18, but she reminded me that we needed to practice snatching that bell straight overhead without shorting the rep....thanks Meg! (Oh and the bottle of wine you treated me to for my B-day was really, really, really good....it's makes our "gotta get more of this one" list, lol!) I also had to alter Meg's swing sets because she had done heavy 2 hand swings with Jordan the night before, I had her stay with the 20/20 w/12kg, as Gen and I did our 40 2 hand w/16kg.
Here is a new picture of the rugrats......(that's a stuffed lion in the background, acting as a surrogate!)
You know it's a miracle really....did I really save their lives? Wow.
16kg snatch
5/5 x 5 sets "I go, you go" (well actually Meg and I go, and then Gen goes, lol!)
Max Vo2 w/12kg (seems light now!)
17 reps per 36 sec work to rest ratio x 20 sets = 24 min.
Grip work swings
20 L, 20 R 1 hand swings w/12kg, 1 min work, 30 sec rest
40 2 hand swings w/16kg, 1 min. work, 30 sec rest
30 L, 30 R, 1 hand swings w/12kg, 1.5 min work, 30 sec rest
40 2 hand swings w/16kg, 1 min. work, 30 sec rest
50 L, 50 R, 1 hand swings w/12kg, 2.5 min. work....that's 280 swings in 9 min.!
Approx total workout 40 min.
Seriously! Is anyone else doing this kind of workload? 20, 30, 50 swings on one hand without switching, after training for alomst 40 minutes and snatching the 16kg....the first time for Gen, and Meg's only done that a few times herself....in fact I've gotta email Gen and congratulate her on this, it's quite a big deal, the first time!
I altered Gen's Max to 16 snatches per 36 sec. after her first 6 sets, although I'm sure she could've kept pace (because she's like that....you know, one of those "overacheiver" types, lol!), I would rather her build up the grip and shoulder strength of long snatch sets with no hand switch before getting winded and breaking form . Meg and I stayed with 17/17, even though we could have added on that extra rep to make it 18, but she reminded me that we needed to practice snatching that bell straight overhead without shorting the rep....thanks Meg! (Oh and the bottle of wine you treated me to for my B-day was really, really, really good....it's makes our "gotta get more of this one" list, lol!) I also had to alter Meg's swing sets because she had done heavy 2 hand swings with Jordan the night before, I had her stay with the 20/20 w/12kg, as Gen and I did our 40 2 hand w/16kg.
Here is a new picture of the rugrats......(that's a stuffed lion in the background, acting as a surrogate!)
You know it's a miracle really....did I really save their lives? Wow.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Raw Cauliflower Salad w/sweet corn, tomatoes and black beans....and making your own raw salads
The staple of my diet is salads.....well, really the main staple is vegetables, and what is a salad mostly composed of? Vegetables. I often say that I eat more vegetables than most vegetarians! And my favorite salads, especially in Spring, Summer and early Fall because of the variety and abundance of the freshest vegetables available, are raw vegetable salads. Why? I don't really know, because raw or cooked there are plenty of tasty salads, but if I had to come up with a reason, it's because there is nothing closer to the heartbeat of Mother Nature than a veggie that's in it's most natural state....freshly picked and raw. I love eating what I call "fresh, live"foods....how can you not feel fresh, and full of life when you eat them? It's like breathing.....
There are many vegetables that most people never think to prepare raw. Beets, asparagus, chard, kale / collards, string beans, and cauliflower. But I find, these veggies do better with a dressing that kind of acts like a "marinade" to soften them because of their fibrous nature.....in other words, lots of acid (vinegar, lemon, etc.). Another benefit to using these fibrous veggies is that they'll stand up a few days in the fridge, only getting better in most cases as they sit and soak up the dressings.
One good technique for raw veggie salads is to slice or shred them very thin, and in this salad I used a Japanese mandoline to shred my cauliflower. I also did not want to make this salad "sweet" in any kind of "fruity" or "sugary" way, so for some sweetness, to contrast the vinegar in the dressing, I chose tomatoes and sweet corn....I didn't think sweet fruit, or a dressing with sugar or honey would taste good with raw cauliflower! I also didn't want anything "onion-ey". You have to get familiar with what different veggies taste like, and look like, if you want to start making up your own salads. For this salad I thought about the color contrast of the cauliflower with black beans, red tomatoes, yellow corn and green parsley. Another way to start is by reading recipes to see how others have combined flavors and tastes together.
Raw Cauliflower Salad w/sweet corn, tomatoes and black beans
1 head cauliflower, shredded
2 ears of sweet yellow corn
1 basket cherry toamaotes
1-2 c. cooked black beans
italian parsley, finely chopped
Dressing
2-4 tbl. extra virgin oilive oil
1/4 c. white wine vinegar
juice of 1/2 lemon or lime
season highly with salt and pepper
Toss all of the salad ingredients. No need to make the dressing in a seprate bowl, just pour right on top of salad and.....here's the important part.....taste it to see what needs adjusting.....my measurements are approximate! Is it seasoned enough with salt? Does it need more acid? (more lemon, more lime)
I used an orange cauliflower in the bottom picture because that's what I found at the market and, of course, I cooked my own black beans in the pressure cooker, but you can used canned...just remember to rinse them off......I also cooked my corn in salted boiling water for about 3 minutes and then sliced the kernals off of the cob. If you want to make your own "wraps" I think this would be great in a warm flour tortilla with a little Queso Fresca cheese.....and of course feel free to add any kind of animal protein, like chicken, turkey, bacon, or beef.....or how about some grilled salmon?
Raw cauliflower also makes an awesome "pantry salad", but I'll wait until winter, in the mean time it's fresh, fresh, fresh for me!
Cauliflower Antipasta Salad
cauliflower
black kalmata olives
sun dried tomatoes
pepprocini
diced salami
cooked dried pasta, like "bow tie"
Dressing
olive oil
red wine vinegar
a little lemon
a little juice from the pepprocini
a pinch of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
There are many vegetables that most people never think to prepare raw. Beets, asparagus, chard, kale / collards, string beans, and cauliflower. But I find, these veggies do better with a dressing that kind of acts like a "marinade" to soften them because of their fibrous nature.....in other words, lots of acid (vinegar, lemon, etc.). Another benefit to using these fibrous veggies is that they'll stand up a few days in the fridge, only getting better in most cases as they sit and soak up the dressings.
One good technique for raw veggie salads is to slice or shred them very thin, and in this salad I used a Japanese mandoline to shred my cauliflower. I also did not want to make this salad "sweet" in any kind of "fruity" or "sugary" way, so for some sweetness, to contrast the vinegar in the dressing, I chose tomatoes and sweet corn....I didn't think sweet fruit, or a dressing with sugar or honey would taste good with raw cauliflower! I also didn't want anything "onion-ey". You have to get familiar with what different veggies taste like, and look like, if you want to start making up your own salads. For this salad I thought about the color contrast of the cauliflower with black beans, red tomatoes, yellow corn and green parsley. Another way to start is by reading recipes to see how others have combined flavors and tastes together.
Raw Cauliflower Salad w/sweet corn, tomatoes and black beans
1 head cauliflower, shredded
2 ears of sweet yellow corn
1 basket cherry toamaotes
1-2 c. cooked black beans
italian parsley, finely chopped
Dressing
2-4 tbl. extra virgin oilive oil
1/4 c. white wine vinegar
juice of 1/2 lemon or lime
season highly with salt and pepper
Toss all of the salad ingredients. No need to make the dressing in a seprate bowl, just pour right on top of salad and.....here's the important part.....taste it to see what needs adjusting.....my measurements are approximate! Is it seasoned enough with salt? Does it need more acid? (more lemon, more lime)
I used an orange cauliflower in the bottom picture because that's what I found at the market and, of course, I cooked my own black beans in the pressure cooker, but you can used canned...just remember to rinse them off......I also cooked my corn in salted boiling water for about 3 minutes and then sliced the kernals off of the cob. If you want to make your own "wraps" I think this would be great in a warm flour tortilla with a little Queso Fresca cheese.....and of course feel free to add any kind of animal protein, like chicken, turkey, bacon, or beef.....or how about some grilled salmon?
Raw cauliflower also makes an awesome "pantry salad", but I'll wait until winter, in the mean time it's fresh, fresh, fresh for me!
Cauliflower Antipasta Salad
cauliflower
black kalmata olives
sun dried tomatoes
pepprocini
diced salami
cooked dried pasta, like "bow tie"
Dressing
olive oil
red wine vinegar
a little lemon
a little juice from the pepprocini
a pinch of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
New Gear
Normally I love, love, love new training gear, but sometimes new stuff gives away the fact that you, yourself, are a "newbie".....sometimes that bothers me! I never get intimidated to try something new, and let the instructor know that I've never done it before so they can show me how to do an exercise, or how to use a new peice of equipment.
That's exactly what I did at my first Spinning class.....I flagged down the instructor, let him know that it was my first time, and he showed me how to adjust the bike, how to change the tension, as well as pointing out someone else in class to me that had good form and suggested I watch her.
So not wanting to invest is "special" shoes for Spinning, until I was sure I liked it enough to attend regularly, I've been using the side of the pedal that has cages for my regular shoes.....I guess that gives it away that I'm new, lol..... Good Lord, the last time I had been on a bike, cages were the only thing available! Not the fancy, smancy, click-in cycling shoes that are standard these days....I don't even know how they work! I guess I'll have to ask, lol. (Mark bought me a road bike when we first met and we used to ride together pretty regularly, until I was almost run over by a car.....at that point I never got on a bike again. That was....goodness....20 years ago!)
Anyway, here are my new Spinning shoes! Mark bought them for me as a birthday present (I did mention that it was my birthday, didn't I?....OK, enough is enough, lol), along with a heartrate moniter and a couple of other very nice gifts (one of my gifts came in a small blue box....wink, wink). I can't wait to break them in and wear some of the newness off!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Closer to 50 than 40
Did I mention my birthday was yesterday? (LOL) Anyway, seriously, I have been teaching swing classes now since the first of this year and I love my "core" group of people, especially in my Intermediate/Advanced level class. My "core" group are the students that have been showing up, consistenly for weeks, if not months, and to see their progress from, in some cases, "sucking wind" after 1o swing reps, to being able to swing for minutes at a time with very little rest, and now some training Max Vo2 with me all the way up to 80 sets!
I realized, when someone asked me my age (can you believe someone asked?), that I am now closer to 50 than I am to 40.....yikes! did I hear that? FIFTY. Well, let me give you an idea of my KB workout today;
5 minute warmup w/16kg
100 transfers w/16kg, 2.5 min. work, 1 min. rest
100 2 hand swings w/20kg, 2.5 min. work, 1 min rest
100 rep roudabouts w/16kg, 2.5 min., work, 1 min. rest
50 2 hand swing w/ 20kg, 1.25 min work, .75 min rest (total 2 min)
x 2 (100 reps total)
100 rep roundabouts w/16kg, 2.5 min. work, 1 min. rest
4 sets of 10 reps
2 sets of 20
1 set of 30, 2 hand swings w/20kg, 4 minutes total
25-35 minutes, and then......double swing, double clean/press combinations w/ double bottoms up cleans with two 12kg's for another 15 or so minutes.
This workout was after swinging with my Beginner's class for 30 minutes, and followed with 45 minutes of Spinning. Finishing off my afternoon with 90 minutes of Bikram....is this normal for a woman that almost 50? ( I better not say that because I'm sooooo far away from 50! lol)
Until I have a little more time to write about feeling like I'm in the best shape of my life, I'm going to enjoy everyday of being 46. I'm not afraid of 50, 60, 70, 80, 90.....I'll take anything after 90, lol.....but I can wait!
PS I forgot to mention that the 3 other people in my Intermediate /Adv class....the 2 women are 1/2 my age, and the male student is a very fit 30 something, and this is a hard ass class! (I have to give Meg props though, she's closer to my age, but I'm not telling!)
I realized, when someone asked me my age (can you believe someone asked?), that I am now closer to 50 than I am to 40.....yikes! did I hear that? FIFTY. Well, let me give you an idea of my KB workout today;
5 minute warmup w/16kg
100 transfers w/16kg, 2.5 min. work, 1 min. rest
100 2 hand swings w/20kg, 2.5 min. work, 1 min rest
100 rep roudabouts w/16kg, 2.5 min., work, 1 min. rest
50 2 hand swing w/ 20kg, 1.25 min work, .75 min rest (total 2 min)
x 2 (100 reps total)
100 rep roundabouts w/16kg, 2.5 min. work, 1 min. rest
4 sets of 10 reps
2 sets of 20
1 set of 30, 2 hand swings w/20kg, 4 minutes total
25-35 minutes, and then......double swing, double clean/press combinations w/ double bottoms up cleans with two 12kg's for another 15 or so minutes.
This workout was after swinging with my Beginner's class for 30 minutes, and followed with 45 minutes of Spinning. Finishing off my afternoon with 90 minutes of Bikram....is this normal for a woman that almost 50? ( I better not say that because I'm sooooo far away from 50! lol)
Until I have a little more time to write about feeling like I'm in the best shape of my life, I'm going to enjoy everyday of being 46. I'm not afraid of 50, 60, 70, 80, 90.....I'll take anything after 90, lol.....but I can wait!
PS I forgot to mention that the 3 other people in my Intermediate /Adv class....the 2 women are 1/2 my age, and the male student is a very fit 30 something, and this is a hard ass class! (I have to give Meg props though, she's closer to my age, but I'm not telling!)
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Max Vo2 One Year Later
Here's the video of me and two of the women training for the SSST in about 8 weeks, Meg and Gen. I've got us training Max Vo2 in preparation of that and this was the last of the 15 sec work to rest ratio ending with 80 sets....that's 40 straight minutes of training the snatch!
Last year I completed 80 sets of 8 reps w/12kg when I was at the LA Cert, so this year I needed to outdo what I did a year ago! I thought I might do 80 sets of 9 reps w/12kg, or 80 sets of 8 w/14kg.......in true "Tracy Style" I combined both!
All of my Max was done with the 14kg, Meg did the same numbers but with the 12kg and Gen used the 12kg also, but with one less rep per set. Thank you to Chris Gaines RKC for taking the video.
Tracy's Max w/ 14kg, Meg's w/12kg (Gen's sets w/ 12kg typed in purple...to match her top, lol!)
8 x 8 sets (4 L, 4 R) 7 x 8
9 x 2 sets (1 L, 1 R) 8 x 2
8 x 6 sets (3 L, 3 R) 7 x 6
9 x 4 sets (2 L, 2 R) 8 x 4
8 x 4 sets (2 L, 2 R) 7 x 4
9 x 6 sets (3 L, 3R) 8 x 6
8 x 2 sets (1 L, 1 R) 7 x 2
9 x 8 sets (4 L, 4 R) 8 x 2
REPEAT!
That's 680 snatches with the 14kg in 40 minutes.....that was after teaching an hour of beg/Intermediate Swing classes @ Girya a 1/2 hour earlier that morning!
The one thing that I'll change after reviewing the video is this..... Althought Meg and I can snatch 9 reps in the 15 seconds, as you can see when you snatch that fast it looks as if the snatches are short....and they may be, but what it feels like and what it looks like are two different things! As soon as you feel that bell turn over at the top you have to pull it down, fast, and start the next rep....fine for Max training, but not for testing the 10 minute challenge. Gen also had the same form when she did 8"s. So......this week we start 36 second intervals, 17-19 reps per arm.....no shorting! (Do you hear that Meg and Gen! lol)
Here's the video of me doing 80 sets of 8 with the 12 kg last year at UCLA
PS Did I mention that today is my birthday
Last year I completed 80 sets of 8 reps w/12kg when I was at the LA Cert, so this year I needed to outdo what I did a year ago! I thought I might do 80 sets of 9 reps w/12kg, or 80 sets of 8 w/14kg.......in true "Tracy Style" I combined both!
All of my Max was done with the 14kg, Meg did the same numbers but with the 12kg and Gen used the 12kg also, but with one less rep per set. Thank you to Chris Gaines RKC for taking the video.
Tracy's Max w/ 14kg, Meg's w/12kg (Gen's sets w/ 12kg typed in purple...to match her top, lol!)
8 x 8 sets (4 L, 4 R) 7 x 8
9 x 2 sets (1 L, 1 R) 8 x 2
8 x 6 sets (3 L, 3 R) 7 x 6
9 x 4 sets (2 L, 2 R) 8 x 4
8 x 4 sets (2 L, 2 R) 7 x 4
9 x 6 sets (3 L, 3R) 8 x 6
8 x 2 sets (1 L, 1 R) 7 x 2
9 x 8 sets (4 L, 4 R) 8 x 2
REPEAT!
That's 680 snatches with the 14kg in 40 minutes.....that was after teaching an hour of beg/Intermediate Swing classes @ Girya a 1/2 hour earlier that morning!
The one thing that I'll change after reviewing the video is this..... Althought Meg and I can snatch 9 reps in the 15 seconds, as you can see when you snatch that fast it looks as if the snatches are short....and they may be, but what it feels like and what it looks like are two different things! As soon as you feel that bell turn over at the top you have to pull it down, fast, and start the next rep....fine for Max training, but not for testing the 10 minute challenge. Gen also had the same form when she did 8"s. So......this week we start 36 second intervals, 17-19 reps per arm.....no shorting! (Do you hear that Meg and Gen! lol)
Here's the video of me doing 80 sets of 8 with the 12 kg last year at UCLA
PS Did I mention that today is my birthday
Pee Monsters
I've been trying to get a couple of blogposts done, but the "pee monsters" have been keeping me busy! Thank goodness this blogpost is calle "pee" monsters, not "poop" monsters, lol!
Willy and Nilly
(PS today is my birthday!)
Sunday, August 2, 2009
FYI Rifs Blog is Back!
Just so all of you know, my brilliant husband is writing again on his blog http://rifsblog.blogspot.com/ check it out!
"And in those simple beautiful movements I remembered what was really important in training; that consistency trumps intensity; all the time. That intensity is born from consistency. That one cannot force it, one has to lay in wait for it, patiently, instinctively, calmly and be ready to grab it when Grace lays it down in front of you to take it."
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Training with Purpose or "Willy-Nilly" Workouts
Before I get into my thoughts of "willy-nilly" workouts here's a couple of pictures of what's been keeping me busy for the past week.....I'm a mommy again! Good Lord! I had just attended a baby shower on Saturday for my soon to be first granchild, a baby girl named Sophia, and then on Sunday my son Gabe called me about a kitten he and his friends found behind their frathouse....and then five minutes later a second kitten!
I don't write about it much, but I own five cats.....yes five! I ended up with five cats because about 5 years ago a stray wondered into my backyard, unbeknownest to me, pregnant! We named her (well Mark named her) Puddin (isn't that cute, lol!), and she was a little 6 or 7lb Tortiseshell cat. She gave birth to 6 cats under my bed, but just before she gave birth I was rubbing her big belly and actually felt her first contractions! Long story short, we ended up finding homes for 3 of her kittens, and kept three, Jello (her tortie daughter....get it? Jello puddin', lol), Six....yes he was the 6th kitten born, and Batman, the black boy kitten that is now known as "Fatman".....I mentioned putting him on a diet, which I actually did (finally), and he's down to 25.8 lbs, from just over 28lbs!
I was addicted to baby kittens,(there's nothing cuter than a "kitty stampede"), so 6 months later I agreed to foster a pregnant rescue cat that ended up having 7 kittens! Yes, I at one time had 12 cats in my house, lol! Anyway, Puddin got pissed at the new mother and babies and moved out of our house and in with my neighbor that was feeding her, and poor Six was killed in front of my house by a car (I cried for days....another story for another time). Long story long, lol, we kept 3 red kittens from the second litter, Petunia (Tuna), Winifred (Winnie), and Sexy Girl (her name is another long story), that equals 5 cats! So if anyone knows about kittens it's me...kind of....which is why Gabe brought them home.
Two, practically newborn, red brothers I named Willy and Nilly! Willy nilly is a phrase I use alot, and was on my mind because of all of the training I've been witnessing lately (I'm getting to that, I promise). Nilly was practically dead, barely breathing or moving when I got him, both boys so young their eyes barely opening....the eyes look like little dots, so this told me they were probably less than 2 weeks old. I've been bottle feeding and helping them go to the bathroom for a week now, my son Gabe's girlfriend, Lilly, has been foster mother #2, helping out a great deal, and she'll be taking one of the kittens off to Chico State this fall, (I'm hoping she'll take both of them...I mean, how can you choose?)....I don't know if I could do it without her help! I'll be posting more pictures as they grow......
Now about training with purpose.....
I've been lucky to live with a competitive athlete for 22 years now and see how althetes train....with purpose. Mark says.......There is "training", and there is "working out". Training is ususally accompanied with a goal and deadline, working out is just exercise movement that doesn't need a gaol, a starting point or ending point to be valid. Exercising doesn't need to progress because it's an end in itself, where is "training" is a means to an end.....a number goal, a personal record, a competition, a change in ones body, training follows a path towards something...it has purpose. Training is like an experiment, where exercise is an activity, it doesn't have to progress.
Master Instructor, Brett Jones, has a phrase that I love, and he uses at every Cert I've ever seen him teach at, which is "Shiny New Things".....that's what he describes as what people are constantly looking for when they get , God forbid, bored, lose focus, motivation, and purpose, in their workouts. As I watch so much "cross training" and crazy-ass, non purposeful exercises going on in an "un-named" Local "fitness"" Club, it just about drives me nuts! Good Lord, what are these people doing? And why? Because their trainers are telling them to, that's why!
Box jump platforms, cables pullys, machines of all sorts, "free motion" machines, and combination movements....done is running shoes of course....with no rhyme or reason. I mean why would someone need to step up on a platform 12 inches high, with two dumbells at their shoulders, step up, press overhead before stepping down, and repeating that for 10-12 reps, when they could swing a kettlebell for a 10 minute workout and change their body, their strength, and their cardio fitness more! With all of the talking trainers and clients do in between sets, and the "willy nilly" time they take getting to another exercise who can get a decent workout, much less "train" to improve fitness? I don't even have time to talk about the horrendous form, to the horrendous exercises, these trainers don't correct, but the crimes against kettlebells I see everyday is a topic for another blogpost......right now I'm off to train with purpose.....Max Vo2, 80 sets !
.. more to come about training with purpose