Overweight since childhood,I spent most of my 30's tipping the scales around 250lbs. At age 41 I took charge of feeding myself by preparing all of my own meals, no more fast foods! I created a way to use my love of cooking, food, and eating to permanently lose over 100lbs. During this time I discovered kettlebells and my own style of training The Kettlebell Swing, bringing out my inner athlete and erasing all signs of former lifelong obesity. It's never too late, YOU CAN DO IT!
Sorry I haven't posted any video lately, but I've been busy practicing...well, designing, creating AND practicing the swing routines for the 2 videos I'll be filming and producing in less than 2 weeks! Yikes! When I did my other videos I had a couple of months to prepare...not sure which is better! I have the beginning of both routines done (the first 30 minutes) and I'm really, really excited about them! It's the second half of each workout and the extra bonus at the end that I still have to put together. And I have to say that both of them are completely different than my original thoughts! That's what I love about my creative process!
I start with an idea, I take it into the workout, it evolves as we train it (LPT). I refine it over the week and make it more clear, more progressive, add or take out reps/time, fine tune it down to each and every rep....and then you never know, it could change into something better the next workout! I love what I do!
Photo above was taken at my first video shoot "Give and Take", during the "bonus workout"! (L to R) Meg Lloyd RKC, my client and training partner for over 4 years, Chris Gaines RKC (he didn't know what he was getting himself into that day!), and Brian Hemedinger,a client, and the only "male" training partner I've ever had. Brian at the time was the GM of Equinox and had trained with me for almost 2 years. He has since been promoted and moved to So Cal. Both Meg and Brian have (and had) never, ever, not even once, missed a workout! (business trips and vacations excluded btw)
Gosh, it's been so long, but I do remember the very first day of my "diet". I packed my lunch, for the very first time that day, a salmon and spinach salad. I purchased the spinach salad from Costco, added my own grilled salmon, and a little bit....okay, "alot a bit" of more spinach! With so many better choices than fast food these days, I'm not above using a good quality alternative to a completely home cooked meal.
In the beginning I used chicken harvested from store purchased roasted birds. I used many protein options, like prepared salmon cakes, and pot roast from Trader Joe's. But, I made the majority of my meals, mostly the vegetable additions myself, along with big pots of soup and stew. I never left the house without my own homemade, pre portioned meals....and an apple! I may have not made certain "components" of my homemade meals, but I put them together myself, packed them myself, and planned ahead.
Things are not the way they used to be.
Back in "my day" I had the option of Taco Bell, Jack in the Box, McDonalds, Mr Chau's. Now? You have Chipolte and Baja Fresh, Sonoma Chicken Coop, Subway, Happy House, Whole Foods, and goodness....I don't know! Anyway, my point is that you can get a better quality of "fast foods" in a number of places these days. But I still believe in a more "hands on" approach....that's why I "partner up" sometimes!
Take for instance one of my favorite salads these days. Seaweed. Asian salads have numerous ingredients in common:
Sesame oil (fat and flavor)
Soy sauce (salt)
rice wine vinegar (acid)
ginger (spice)
red pepper (heat)
oh, and SUGAR! That's why it tastes so good! lol
Maybe a little MSG and viola! Asian salad!
Personally, I am not afraid of a little MSG, but I reserve the right to change my mind in the future! Really, I don't trip about details most of the time. I take my life as a whole. MSG, refined white sugar, HFCS? Refined white flour? Butter, olive oil, hydrogenated oils? These ingredients are a fraction of my daily consumption, if I consume them at all. If I'm fat I'm eating too much....of everything! None of these ingredients are to blame...IMO.
Goon-ness! This was supposed to be a blogpost about seaweed salad for God's sake!
OK. Nijiya Market. My neighborhood Japanese Market sells all kinds of pre made Japanese foods. Everything from sushi to seaweed salad....and all of the produce is organic btw. Funny that they should sell a product with MSG...just sayin! Good thing I'm not afraid.....today.
Favorite salad?
Purchased, prepared, Seaweed Salad. Ingredients?
Can I make it myself without processed, and fake ingredients? Of course. But until then, I will enjoy partially using and taking advantage of the convenience of a pre made, and purchased, salad.
I shred my own cabbage (green and red), and carrot, add diced jalapeno, and cilantro with lemon juice to preserve (for up to 1 week). Although I mostly dislike TJ's, I do like the 1/2 sodium canned tuna option they offer. 1-2tbl mayo/plain yogurt, 1 whole can of TJ's 1/2 sodium tuna, my own shredded cabbage mix, 1/2 Nijiya Market Seaweed salad, a splash of rice wine vinegar, a splash of soy sauce, and maybe some fruit. These days it could be Fuyu persimmon, or grapes, OR a combination of (apple is good too!).
Sweet, sour, salty, savory. The definition of Asian flavor.
List of ingredients in Nijiya Seaweed Salad
seaweed
agar-agar (a thickener)
sesame seed (nut/fat/flavor)
black fungus (mushroom, umami)
red pepper (heat)
sesame oil (nut flavor and fat)
sugar (sweetness)
salt (salt!)
hydrogenated vegetable protein
MSG (more salt)
Don't fool yourself into believing "Chinese Chicken Salad" is good for you! lol
Bottom line? Sure, I can make my own seaweed salad and dressing. In fact I can make a better version! In the mean time I can purchase and use a option ready made. This purchased salad is actually too strong in flavors for me, that's why I mix it with my own shredded veggies and additional dressing.
If I find myself overweight, it's not because of a purchased seaweed salad! It's most likely the quart of ice cream, the bag of cookies or Halloween candy, the "Grande Pumpkin Latte" I eat mindlessly everyday, in addition to 3-4 meals a day!
Establishing the habits of eating more vegetables, good quality proteins, homemade and pre-planned, pre portioned meals, instead of the fast, high fat, high sugar snacks, will be what can guarantee your success to a permanent, healthy,life and body weight. Congratulations!
I didn't plan to have any "highlights" to my training, it just happened that way! The highlights also all happened in 10 minute increments!
50 reps 16kg press
Thursday after I did my usual swing training for about 50 minutes I had to go on to some non ballistic training. I decided to do some 1 minute clean and press work sets, alternating R and L for a total of 10 reps per interval (5 R, 5 L). I did 5 sets with the 14kg (10 min). I'm not going to say that the 14kg felt "light", it just didn't feel all that challenging. I decided to go up in weight, the 16kg, and if I had to resort to some push presses or jerks then fine, no problem. Well, to my surprise I was able to strict press all reps, 5 sets of 10.
This may not seem like a big deal, and if I trained a heavy press regularly it wouldn't be! But what I found so amazing is that I haven't pressed the 16kg, much less trained it, for probably over 1 year! At the most I've done maybe 10 reps total! Sure I snatch it regularly, but strict press? Nope. Considering that I did my very first 16kg press less than 3 years ago, that's not bad! What the heck, right?
304 12kg snatch reps
After I did 10 sets of presses (5 w/14kg, 5 w/16kg) I ended my workout with a 10 minute, snatch set. It was not my intention to snatch as fast as I could, in fact the only intention I did have was to snatch continuous for 10 min. I set up the video camera to count reps afterwards because I had no idea how it was going to turn out.
I started with a downhill ladder at a fairly quick pace. 15/15, 14/14, 13/13, 12/12, 11/11, 10.10, and settled into 10/10 for the remainder of the set. Was I snatching as fast as I possibly could? No because I didn't go into it as a "test", and it was the end of my workout that morning, I just wanted to get some light and fast reps done. I was aware of a 15 reps per 30 sec pace though.
But when you are snatching very quickly (and you know you have video to count reps afterwards!) the brain cells just don't work as well! I lost count, it wasn't that important anyway. At 5 minutes I questioned whether or not I wanted to go to 10....10 is hard! 10 is not 5! Seriously 10 minutes seems so much more than just twice as long as 5!
It wasn't really until later that evening when I counted up the reps, via video, that it occurred to me that 304 reps was a pretty decent showing! Especially considering I wasn't really trying to get as many reps as possible, and it was at the end of a 1 1/2 hour training session. Add in the fact that I haven't tested this in forever, and the very first time I did it, about 5 years ago, I was 44 and my total the first time out was 297 reps. I've gotten stronger and more fit approaching 50, not less! I think that's pretty freakin' good!
270 swing reps w/24kg
Saturday I swung the 24kg at the end of my workout with the intention of trying to do 20 reps per 30 sec, with only a 15 sec rest. This is 2 to 1 work to rest ratio. I've done plenty of 1 to 1 w/24kg, but never 2 to 1. 10 minutes equals out to thirteen ".75" intervals with 15 sec left, so I did the thirteen 20 rep sets with a 10 rep set at the end. Another PR
What a week! Fun stuff!
PS I counted 154 snatch reps at the 5 minute mark, and finished with another 150 in the next 5 minutes. I'll post the video in You tube later if anybody wants to see it...kinda boring...but then isn't most of this? lol) here's the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84GG72q3SPc&feature=youtu.be
I know I've done a few posts already about tomato soup, but here's another!
Every Fall for at least the past 4-5 years I make and freeze a ton of tomato soup and sauce in my freezer. It's one of the easiest soups to make, with really only one ingredient, tomatoes! Making soup, 99.9% of the time starts with an onion. Well, onion, celery, carrot (mirepoix http://suite101.com/article/mirepoix-a14814), so to me those are "non ingreients"! I also include the following as non ingredients:
oil/butter
salt and pepper
(sometimes garlic).
These non ingredients should always be on hand if you want to get in the habit of cooking on a regular basis. Good thing they are also inexpensive. Onto my soup.
I decided to go the the Farmers Market late yesterday and take my chances on finding a relatively close parking space. (Mark was doing his interview with Scott Iradella) Lucky me I did! I went with the intention of buying a box of tomatoes, as the season is coming to a close any day, and the thought of not ever making any homemade tomato soup this year finally became too much to bear! Double lucky me I got there about 1/2 hour before closing and all the heirloom tomatoes (and everything else) were $1 a pound! If I would have had my cart with me I would have bought two boxes! (triple lucky me, I didn't need to hoard anyway!)
I grabbed all of the orange tomatoes that were left first. For some reason orange tomato soup sounded extra appealing to me....quadruple lucky me, it was! In fact the orange tomato soup was twice as good/sweet as the red. The red tomatoes were unusually tart. So tart that I had to add sugar, in fact 3 tbls! But in all fairness I made the red soup with only onion, as I used the only carrots and celery I had with the orange soup! And this was in a large batch of 3 liters, but still. Looks like I'll have to turn it into some sauce and add celery, and some sweet carrots and red bells to round out the flavors.....but I got the important part done!
Since I knew I was going to puree my soup through a food mill I kept the onion in bigger slices. As I was cooking the onion and celery I decided last minute to add a big pinch of red pepper flakes (another non ingredient!). Add in diced carrot, all the tomatoes, cover, bring to a boil. Turn down heat, move the cover on the pot to allow a bit of steam to escape and tomatoes to reduce a bit, cook for 30 minutes.
Puree in foodmill, which will keep the skin and the seeds out. If you don't mind risking a slighty bitter taste from the skin and seeds then you can use a blender to puree. Season with salt and pepper. (and maybe a pinch of sugar).
I've been listening to the same morning radio show for the past 10 + years, but after taking 3-4 years off I recently returned now that I spend a lot of time driving to the gym in the mid morning commute...anyway.... During my absence this morning radio crew started a podcast and an additional "secret show" in the hour after the end of the public broadcast. I have never listened to it, but I can imagine that it is uncensored, more "adult" kind of content, maybe not for everyone. Why am I writing about this?
Well, I feel like I am going to have a little "secret show" myself! In less than weeks I'm going to produce two more work along swing routine DVD's and I've decided to invite guests! I haven't been able to promote it publicly yet because I had to write the schedule of events, and I had to write and create the swing routines before I could promote it! And now I have! All of the information should be live by tomorrow night, (it's live!) but here's a quick description:
2 hour event/workshop/class/demonstration, video taping and production of "The Swing Quest" these workouts are designed and created for multiple levels of strength and cardio conditioning keeping the beginning kettlebell athlete in mind. The emphasis will be on interval training with an "equal work to rest" ratio.
Cost, $50 per person, price includesthe two DVD's you will be participating in!
Reserve your spot now as space and kettlebells are limited!
More Details
You must already know the skill of the kettlebell swing! No teaching of the skill or technique is included in this event. This is a perfect opportunity if you are an RKC/PT interested in ideas for swing classes, or routines to use in you business, or with clients. If you are not in the fitness industry, this is a great event for you to learn how to program your own workouts for maximum strength and cardio endurance training and/or improving overall strength, health and fitness while promoting weightloss!
Start time is 9:00am with a 10-15 minute mobility warm up with Master Instructor Mark Reifkind. MRKC Mark Reifkind will also be available to address and take questions regarding this type of high volume based swing training and technique throughout the morning.....I'll just be bossing people around! (kidding...sort of!)
9:15am "The Dirty 30" This workout starts at the very beginning, with a 15 min "On the Minute" workout (OTM). It is followed by three more swing workouts, the last is an 10 minute Intermediate/Advanced level bonus addition. No work set is more that 30 reps long (45 sec)
10:30am "Top 40" In these workouts I will first lead you through all of my kettlebell swing progressions, and then apply them, in sets up to 40 reps. We will be practicing sets of 5, 10, 20 and 40. I've designed two 25 minute workouts based on this theme and a 10-15 min bonus workout.
This event is not for sissies! It will total 1000's of swing reps, the equivalent to running a marathon! You must be confident in your ability to "scale" the workloads, if completing the workouts in their entirety is your first goal. Never do more than you are safely capable of doing, and I will constantly remind you throughout the morning.
There will be bells available for you to use, but I suggest, because of the high volume, if you own your own kettlebells that you bring the ones you are comfortable using. You will not need more than one or two size kettlebells.
I know...this is a lot of information! But it's a crazy good opportunity for you to experience, first hand, the possibilities of programming this simple (but not easy) movement to change you body, your health, your life. Please come and be a part of it...this is only the beginning!
Oh, and I'll be doing interviews, on camera, when it's over, so come looking pretty!
PS Modesto is about 1 hour-1 1/2 hours east from the SF Bay Area.
It is super duper rare that you will find me posting a "motivational phrase". It's because that although I know most people that share these types of phrases find motivation themselves through reading the words, and have the best of intentions, personally, I would rather hear (or read) what exactly it was for them, how it affected a part of their life, and in what way it motivated some kind of change for them.
So, if I post a motivation phrase then I will indeed share what it means to me and how it changes how I think, in a positive way. Afterall I'm not just interested in what and how I think, I'm also interested in your thoughts, and what you have found works to better improve your life.
For the longest of time I've believed I was special. In fact I may even dare to say from the day I was born. But I believe that, truly, everybody, either openly or secretly, believes the same. You may say that you don't, but really, I don't believe it.
I don't think I'm any more special than anybody else, but I do think that simply recognizing, and not apologizing for, having that feeling may make me "different" from some. I'm more than delighted to be around people that value themselves in the same way. We are all individual and unique, not having to "try". And the more and more we stay "true to ourselves" the more different we are from eachother.
Being different, feeling different in most ways doesn't have to mean not being the same in a lot of other ways. We are also the same in many ways! For instance, we are all special! The same...but not the same!
Be good. When you are good, through action, thought, or intent, then what ever you are, who ever you are, where ever you are, is a great place to be. You don't have to try and be something other than that.
Feel good. We all know what that feels like! Even if, sometimes, we can only use the example of NOT feeling good! For sure we know what that feels like!
I once heard some of the best advice.
Only do things that make you feel good.
Only say words that make you feel good.
Only wear clothes that make you feel good.
Only eat foods you feel good about.
And when you don't, or feel you can't, know that you get closer and closer all the time, in fact today may be the day, that all of that changes for you!
PS You will never see a post shared by me with a "motivational phrase" that uses the image of a female, 20 something year old fitness model or competitive athlete for motivation! (or male to be honest) I'm not saying it's wrong, it's just that I do not find it motivational in any sense of the word or feeling! If you do, then more power to you! And I'm not "hating", it's just that I know, or I should say "suspect", that most women, fit or fat have thoughts about their body image that would probably surprise most of us. But I'm just guessing.
It was NOT my idea! In fact, I'm not sure I've ever swing the 32kg before...oh, yes, maybe I did 100 reps in sets of 5 last year? Anyway....
5 reps at a time is NOT 20 reps! And 20 reps is NOT 20 reps when you only get 7 seconds rest since the last 15 reps! That's how freakin Sinister it is! 5 reps,easy, 10 reps totally doable, 15, starts to get irritating (in a good way!), and 20, especially with practically no rest, sucks! Sucks wind that is!
This workout was done first by Karen Rossler maybe 3 weeks ago, and she posted video of her last of four rotations 50 reps w/32kg on facebook (and here it is below!) I was surprised to hear of, and see, a woman just decide "Hey, I think I'll use the 32kg!" I mean why not? Because it's he-he-he-heavy! That's what so great about the swing. If you can deadlift the bell, you can probably swing it. How many reps? Well, that's the test!
And speaking of tests, and I consider "challenges" the same as a "test", a "peak", a personal best, etc., I don't believe that once presented you have to just go out and do it, or try it, asap, and you have to consider the source as well! If you train on a regular basis (which you should be to even consider something like this) you also have to take into account your core workouts first. I had just been doing a cycle of some really heavy ballistic training and had just backed off, so as much as my ego wanted to "just do it", I gave it some time and a little planning to recover from the weeks of heavy loading I had just completed.
Then, again on facebook, another one of my fellow female RKC Instructors, Michelle Carlborg, had posted that she had been doing a bit of Sinister training, and I asked if she had tried it with the 32kg, using Karen workout as an example. Well, wouldn't you know what? Michelle posted over the weekend this picture of her, yep, swinging the 32kg! It was time for me to Lady up!
I never feel pressure to compete or to take on a ridiculous challenge....let's see...the "10,000 swings in a month challenge" to name one...not that I don't already do that kind of volume, but I would never ever promote it, especially to someone untrained. Besides if you train consistently you already do your share of reps, and consistency is way more important that driving yourself into the ground because someone threw out a crazy number based on the only fact that it was a crazy number (to most people). Anyway....I did NOT take this 32kg Sinister as a challenge, and I'm not presenting it to anybody else as a challenge.
The true challenge is to work up to swinging 20-30 minutes two - three times a week, using an equal work to rest interval ratio as a first goal. The next goal is to keep showing up on a regular schedule and repeat it over 3 - 6 - 9 - 12 months! During this time, if you want to drag out a really heavy bell and have some fun, give it a go! No pressure, because as Mark says, you gotta get back in the gym for your next workout anyway.
Ok, so the low down? I was a little concerned about my grip, but that was never a problem. What really surprised me was the super intense cardio element created by moving such a heavy load with short intervals! My heart rate got up to around 160-165 and it took 2 minutes to come barely start coming down after I stopped! I knew my Flip was about done with the batteries, but I ran out of new replacements so I couldn't change them (seriously, I'm not lying!). So when I heard the Flip "go off" during my third rotation, with nobody watching I'm afraid to admit things probably got a bit ugly! My last 2 sets of 15 and 20 reps all I kept focusing on was 5 reps at a time. 15 reps meant I had to repeat "5 " three times...short, short rest...ok, now I only had to repeat "5" four times and that was it! Really it was all I could think about!
Looking back at it, it was crazy fun! But one more confession....my heart rate got so high I was actually concerned, maybe a little afraid! There I was at 6:30am, in my garage, all alone! What if I gave myself a heart attack? lol Funny thinking maybe, but I'm not a spring chicken afterall!
Oh, and maybe one more confession....will I do it again? Hell to the NO! Afterwards I never wanted to pick up the 32kg again! But now that I've had time to calm down a bit...me and the 32kg? It's on!
It looks as if it's time to make coleslaw...I mean, cabbage salad again! A good client of Marks gave us a bag full of Fuyu persimmons from her tree so I decided to add them to green and red shredded cabbage, along with some cilantro....that's about all I had in the fridge! Cabbage salad has been a staple in my diet for years and years now since it's one of the easiest to prepare ahead of time. also I find it to be extremely versatile, and the best part, undressed, it will last at least a week in the fridge.
Since I made enough for a week (why not, right?), how I store it will make dressing it, when I eat it, super simple! After I shred my veggies I give the mixture a good pinch of salt, and squeeze lemon juice all over, toss it in a large stainless steel bowl, cover it and refrigerate until I'm ready to eat. Because I've already added the acid (lemon) all I have to do is add the fat...mayo, or oil.
The acid keeps everything from turning brown. Lemon is usually my first choice, but vinegar, or a mixture of citrus and vinegar is always another option. (apple cider, white wine, flavored vinegars, etc.). Sometimes, like in this case because of the persimmons, I drizzle a little honey, or sprinkle a little sugar at the same time I salt it, but that's personal taste and preference.
Fuyu persimmons always remind me of Asian flavors,(and so does cilantro), so I may go in that direction for one of my salads this week. Here are the two versions I will most probably make
Salad
green and red cabbage
fuyu persommon
cilantro
Dressing #1
lemon/apple cider vinegar
honey
mayo/plain yogurt mix
(bonus garlic and curry powder)
Dressing #2
lemon
rice wine vinegar
honey
mayo/plain yogurt mix
drizzle of roasted sesame oil and/or toasted sesame seeds
Of course I could go on and on with more ideas...for instance if you did want to make it more Asian inspired you could add some noodles along with chicken or shredded pork. Chopped peanuts instead of sesame, bean sprouts, scallions (green onion), jalapeno ( a personal favorite!), carrot (I didn't have one!), etc.
Dried fruits like raisins and/or dates, is always delicious, but when fresh firm fruit is available I would choose, grapes, apple or in this case persimmon.
I've got some of that leftover roasted chicken that I need to eat by Friday so I'll toss some of that in for my protein. Salad for a week....done!
PS
I love my cabbage salads and I think that the name "coleslaw" has given them a bad rap! I wrote about this back in 2007 http://tracyrif.blogspot.com/2007/12/coleslawi-mean-cabbage-salad.html, and have posted many recipes and variations of this versatile salad on both of my blogs (and my book, of course!).....maybe even this one before!
I don't think it's a mystery why I started creating these workouts I title "No Brainers"...sometimes you just don't want to think, you just need to swing! I try and keep these "No Brainer" workouts as simple as possible (per rotation), and then simply repeat the pattern over until it fits into the time I have left to train. Here is the one I did last Tuesday using two heavy bells, but it can easily be done using one bell, just use what you have on hand that is appropriate for your own strength and cardio conditioning. After reviewing it, I liked it so much that, I will most likely be repeating a very similar workout after class tomorrow morning!
10 2 hd sw x 1 set (15/15) 10 transfer swings x 1 set (15/15) 10 2 hd sw x 1 set (15/15) 5/5 one hd sw x 1 set (15/15) 10 2 hd sw x 1 set (15/15) 10/10 one hd sw (30/30) 3.5 min per, 70 swing reps
x 5 rotations w/20kg and 24kg 17.5 min, 350 swings
Oops...I miscounted and I just figured it out now, a week later! I thought each rotation had 60 swing reps, but now I see it was 70 reps! Which means I miscalculated the training time too...oh well! A few more swings never hurt anybody!
I am hell bent on testing my 5 minute, 20kg snatch again, sooner than later, so I have to plan for it. Heavy swings, light snatches....wait until you see the snatch workouts coming! But you may need a few brain cells for those...luckily, if you want to train along, I'll do the thinking!
Before I get into all of my "long story telling"....the pasture raised, $30 chicken, did indeed taste "better". 'Nuf said?
Value. How do you define value? Where can I start?
Well, if I define the value of a food product based on "purity" then good God I better be willing to put my money where my mouth is...literally! So I will simply ask one question before I go on.... Will I negate the highest of health and nutritional standards of buying, preparing and eating a $30 pasture raised, "vegetarian" fed, organic, and hormone / antibiotic free chicken, if I follow it up with a Big Hunk candy bar for dessert? I didn't....but I might!
I will start by saying that I know how to roast a mean chicken! Foster Farm's $2 chicken, Whole Foods "air chilled" Rosey Farms chicken, or super duper (and expensive) pasture fed whatever, doesn't matter! I know how to roast an excellent tasting, moist and tender chicken! I knew this to be true but it became even more evident at the end of this "roast off"! When it came time to taste test I cut a sliver of breast meat out from both birds, and of course I bit into the $30 bird first! But after tasting the $7 bird I found myself going back and forth equally. I then cut a wing from each bird next....and then a drumstick....and then back for more breast meat! Although there was a distinct difference both were yummy!
The pasture raised chicken was the flavor winner, but was it the value winner? Um, no. No way was this pastured chicken worth $30. $17? Maybe. I know "17" is a weird number, but that's as far as I would go for a 5-6lb chicken....but lucky me the $7 is probably good enough for me.
What might you get for $30?
The flavor of this particular pastured breed was sold to me as having "sweeter" tasting meat, and I did, in fact, detect a "sweeter" taste. There was nothing outstandingly wrong with the WF chicken, in fact nothing wrong at all,IF I had not a side by side comparison.
The meat itself was more fibrous, in a good way. I would never describe it as "stringy", but "firmer"? The "mouth feel" was more pleasing. Mark described the WF chicken as "mealy" in comparison, although not mealy, just more so, for lack of another description. Again, when you have the opportunity of a side by side test you are able to discriminate.
You can feel good about eating it. But for that matter you can choose to feel good about anything you eat. Our bodies are, scientifically, the product of the foods we eat right? I guess at the end of the day is your body, in comparison, the equivalent of that $30 chicken, or a $7 chicken? How do you treat the rest of your diet? And do your get out into the fresh pure "pasture" enough to run free in the sunlight, or do you stay caged up in an office or in front of the TV?
Con....the $$
It was really expensive! If I were to invite company over, sure, I would want to serve the "best" that I could afford. But would company prefer a Prime Rib from a reputable market to a $30 pasture fed chicken? (or some other expensive cut of meat). Would company, be it family, friends, or work associates expect me to go beyond or extend my budget? And if I did, would I feel that I needed to present the meal to them with a full description of all the fancy smancy words to describe what I was about to serve? Otherwise would anybody notice? Or would they be thankful for a lovely home cooked meal?
Enough, enough already! Better taste, better texture, piece of mind (maybe). $30 bucks? Not when I have loads of other choices. Bottom line for me is that this chicken was not worth $30. $20, maybe...barely...maybe not. So, I will seek out other options for high quality more "affordable" chicken, and decide what am I ultimately willing to paying for? Taste, or relief of some kind of guilt? And am I taking care to hold the rest of my food choices to the highest of standards?
.
This was actually a ton of fun and I plan on doing more side by side cook offs! Mark is interested for me to do a really cheap chicken and compare it to WF!
This workout has both long and short swing rep sets...hence the name! It's a great routine to do with a group or partners at different levels of conditioning and strength as the options to take work sets out come often if extra rest is needed. The rep counts are relatively low, in the first version especially, with so many sets of only 10 reps using a much heavier bell will easily increase the intensity for some one more advanced. While the one hand swing sets increase in rep count, the number of one hand swings ladder up in difficulty one rep at a time, and these longer and longer sets increase by only 15 seconds each progression. Go as far as you feel you can safely maintain proper technique and form.
I've split the workout into three parts. Beginning level is all EWR (equal work/rest) and takes 10 minutes to complete. If you have more time repeat it!
10 2 hd sw x 1 (15/15) 10 transfer swings x 1 (15/15) 10 2 hd sw x 2 sets (15/15 x 2) 1 sw, 1 tr x 10 x 1 set (20 swings, 30/30) 10 2 hd sw x 3 set (15/15 x 3) 2 sw, 1 tr x 10 x 1 set (30 swings, 45/45 sec) 10 2 hd sw x 4 sets (15/15 x 4) 3 sw, 1 tr x 10 x 1 set (40 swings, 1 min/1 min) 10 minutes, 200 swings Here the next progression I consider an Intermediate and Advanced level because the one hand work sets increase to 2 minutes long, while the rest periods are only 1 minute at the longest! That's 80 reps non stop, a 2 to 1 work/rest ratio! Not to mention the total time of the workout is over 20 minutes (23.5 minutes), and if you add in the first part (10 min), it's over 30 minutes total.
10 2 hd sw x 5 sets 4 sw, 1 tr x 10 x 1 set (50 reps 1.25 min/1 min) 10 2 hd sw x 6 sets 5 sw, 1 tr x 10 x 1 set (60 reps 1.5 min/1 min) 10 2 hd sw x 7 6 sw, 1 tr x 10 x 1 set (70 reps, 1.75 min/1 min) 10 2 hd sw x 8 7 sw, 1 tr x 10 x 1 set (80 reps, 2 min/1min) 23.5 min, 520 swings
Super Advanced! If you only do this part, (and a good part it is!) the two longest sets of one hand swings are 90 and 100 reps, for sure an Advanced level, but "Super Advanced" if you have already trained the 33 minutes that have lead up to this point....
10 2 hd sw x 9 sets 8 sw, 1 tr, x 10 x 1 set (2.25 min/1 min) 10 2 hd sw x 10 sets 9 sw, 1 tr x 10 x 1 set (2.5 min/done!)
15.25 min, 380 swings
Super Total 49.75 min, 1100 swing reps!
You can find the entire, uninterrupted 50 minute workout here on Youtube;
I did indeed go to the Farmers' Market yesterday morning. It's been weeks since I went for a number of reasons.
#1 I find myself buying too much food. I found myself reacting in a way to the limited availability of some of my favorite seasonal foods by really overbuying. I think it was the $30 worth of nectarines that really did me in! (they weren't even that good and I haven't had one since!) I'm not finding myself throwing it out, instead eat too much! That had to change.
#2 The FM's are crazy crowded. Did I need to spend at least 1 hour extra of my morning getting to and getting back from a shopping trip for food I didn't need in the first place? And then more time prepping that unneeded food for storage?
#3 I'm not finding myself cooking as much because I don't need as much! Until it gets a bit cooler I find myself making mostly salads, eating more yogurt and cheese/dairy, and most of the things I cook are ingredients for meals, not entire meals in themselves. I cook all of my proteins separate, beef, chicken, eggs, and my grains/beans in the PC. I actually took some soup out of the freezer last week instead of making more...hmnn some chili is starting to sound good!
Oh, and I have to add that, lucky me, #4, I had been given some eggs from someone that has chickens so I didn't need to go for that reason either!
But this post is not about going or not going to the market, and why or why not! It's about the one purchase I made yesterday that after I thought about it brought up some interesting thoughts.
Sure, I bought a ton of veggies for my salad and soup this week, I bought some smoked salmon jerky for Mark, I bought some of my favorite sheep's milk cheese, a handful of raisins (I'm not to be trusted with more than that!), oh some small melons, a basket of figs (which I knew would not make it out of the market!), a box of my favorite, individual, almond chocolate cakes, which also happen to be gluten free but I'm not holding it against them because they are yummy! Okay, so now for the one purchase that I'm not sure I'm happy about....
I bought a pasture fed chicken. A no brainer right? It weighs about 5lbs....it cost $6.50 a pound....that's over $30 bucks I paid for a chicken! Thirty bucks for a chicken!
My first thought was "What? Did I really just pay $30 for a chicken?" I normally don't really care where I buy my chickens, paying as little as $1.49lb, or less! And up to $3.98lb (at WF). I better really enjoy that chicken!
I had started to plan how I was going to really take care to make this chicken last! How I would eat it slower, and be more conscious of how much it cost me! And for sure how I would make the bones into even more "precious" chicken stock!
The conversation in my head continued....
Could a chicken, any chicken be worth $30? I'm not sure! I was perfectly happy with the $5 chicken from Safeway, and the $8 chicken from Mi Pueblo! But I admit that paying a premium made me value my food more, and it made me not want to waste it by eating more than I needed to eat! Oh no, I was going to savor and appreciate every bite! I imagined what it must have been like in the "olden days" when families had very little money, never having the luxury of waste!
Why didn't I feel that way about all the food I buy? I have to be honest and say that some of the "higher quality" foods I chose to buy and eat just make be feel good! So why did it take spending $30 on one chicken to bring me into a different kind of consciousness? I've never batted an eyelash at spending $14.95lb for coffee, $32.99lb for good cheese, $16.98lb for a rib eye, or prime rib ($70-80 bucks at Christmas time!), $40 for a good bottle of wine, or $4.98lb for a cherimoya....but over $30 a chicken? It better be good! lol
I started to compare the cost of this chicken to gas! When gas is expensive we tend to want to use less, and sometimes we do. Certainly in other countries where gas is more expensive people take more care on how much they use and have a higher respect for waste! Wouldn't it be great to have more of this kind of thinking/attitude about food? A more careful and thoughtful approach to how much we buy, and how much we eat?
Of course I don't want to see the price of food sky rocket in order to "teach us a lesson", but food is cheap! I consider food one of the few affordable luxuries, and because it is many of us will buy more than we need, and more of the kinds of foods we really don't need to eat. In fact sometimes it's the cheapest, least expensive foods that we should steer clear of! Cheap foods, more times than not, are of poor nutritious quality that may not be the best choices for our good health...hmnn, what about the quality of that $5 chicken?
Well, personally, I'm not sure there is a big difference between the chicken from Safeway/Mi Pueblo and the one from Whole Foods (I don't trust WF!). But I do have complete trust that the one I bought at the FM is different. $30 different? Not sure.
What about you? Do you hold your chicken to high standards, what about the rest of your food? And if you do, do you consider yourself overweight? Just askin'
I hope to keep this blog post short and to the point...."points"...
I decided (for reasons soon to be explained) to test the 5 minute snatch with the 20kg this morning.
I needed to video as I would knew I would lose count!
I thought it would be a good time for a number of reasons. #1 Two of my three training partners are out of town (the country actually) for 2-3 weeks, leaving me with Maribel, and I know she's always game for anything! #2 I took my body weight this morning and it was pretty high, surprisingly so in fact for a Saturday morning, not really because I know how much I've been eating!. So I thought this could be a good time to put those "extra" pounds to work! #3 To me, a more important training goal than to strict press the 24kg, or Get-up the 28kg is to complete the 5 minute snatch test with the 20kg...but that's just me!
Let me also preface this by explaining, not that I need to explain, that I have only snatched the 20kg once (3-4 weeks ago) in the past 2 + years. I also recognize that a few female kettlebell athletes, that I truly have the highest respect for, have proven to pass this test with little, or no problem...but that's them, and this is me, for which I try not to compare!
This was a "baseline" test for me, and finishing it, and reviewing the video, has left me feeling "over the moon" happy!
Of course I did, in fact lose count of my reps. I thought I had only completed 61 reps. Far from my "dream" goal of 75 reps. Watching it for the first time I counted 71....so close! But I was freakin happy as shit that I was that close! When I thought I had only done 61, well, to be honest I was embarrassed. I'm not going to lie...I expected my strength and ability to be better. Okay, so now I know this is NOT going to be a short blog post!
Since this was my first attempt, and a surprise at that, I did not go in with a strategy. Here is how I went into it and what I would change:
#1 I did not "warm up" in a way that I probably needed to. I did an unusually short warm up. In fact I did not even snatch the 20kg for 1 rep before I started! I did two sets with the 12kg, two sets with the 16kg and then I went for it. No swings, no nothing else. I now know that I need a longer or different way of "warming up". Ok, fine! Now I know!
#2 It took, easily, the first 3 minutes before I felt as if I had "found my groove"! I wish I could have kept going past the 5 minutes! In fact an hour later (after hundreds of swings) I thought about testing it again! Of course I would have crashed and burned, (probably), but we'll never know at this point!
#3 I was actually depressed that I only managed 61 reps. I thought about whether or not to post the video, or post a still picture with commentary. But I pulled my egotistical head out of my ass and decided to post anyway (after I got approval from Mark that I didn't look like an idiot!)
#4 Reviewing the video the first time I re-counted 71 reps, not 61! Good God! Really? 71? Okay, maybe I'm not such a loser! Wow! I was so close to my "dream" rep count for a first attempt (that I've not yet even trained for) of 75 reps! Sweet!
#5 Re-reviewing the video...could it be? Is it really? 81 reps? No...you're kidding! 81 reps! 6 reps beyond the 75 that was my dream goal, and 19 short of 100! Over the freakin' moon!
It was clear to me what my weakness is to completing this test successfully.
#1 I'm weak! Not my conditioning, not my grip, but my absolute strength. I'm not making excuses, but I train a ton of volume, because I like it, but my core, my foundation of strength suffers because of this. It's like expecting a marathon runner to also set respectable powerlifting numbers!
#2 I'm not making excuses, but I am almost 50 years old, with NO background of any kind in any competitive sport or athletics....and should I throw in the fact that I was obese most of my adult life? Okay, I won't go there...but...just sayin'
#3 I forgot to train heavier one hand swings as a prelude to this test! I had no idea when I wanted to test this, only that some day I would want to...well, today was the day! I just didn't plan for it! To be honest, again, I was a bit afraid of it. Seriously. The reason why I haven't snatched the 20kg in years, much less trained for it, is because the last time I had tried, 2 + years ago, my grip was fried and the bell almost flew out of my hands (L) on the first rep.
Still many things to reflect upon. But for now, I'm over the moon!
Now for Maribel's first ever attempt with the 16kg.
Maribel has been training with me for, probably, two years. She first approached me 30-40 lbs heavier, maybe more. and has since lost the weight, and established a consistent, hardcore for sure, training routine! She had no idea that I was going to throw a 5 minute snatch test at her...no idea at all! Maribel had only snatched the 16kg, for the first time ever, about 4 weeks ago. She is 5' tall (approx) and her bodyweight around 130-135. But here is the real deal.....I did NOT tell her I was snatching the 20kg. I feel that this is an important part of the story because going into the test I knew I would not be snatching continuously, instead, unlike any other snatch test I've ever done, I would be putting the bell down at some, if not multiple points during the 5 minutes.
I really feel that if I never put the bell down Maribel would have been able to complete more continuous reps. Instead, with me as an example, as a teacher and coach, putting the bell down as often as I did gave a less than best example. Had Maribel known I was working with the 20kg, and not the 16kg, maybe she would have not, subconsciously, used me as a comparison. For that I'm sorry I didn't coach her better. I know, without a doubt, Maribel's 78 reps could have been better, more solid at least, if I had coached her through her first ever attempt! And for that I apologize for my greediness. It won't happen again!
Here is to both of us CRUSHING the next attempt! Congratulations to the both of us! We killed it! Oh, and we went on to finish our mornings' workout with another 1100 swing reps...just sayin'!
(blogpost to follow!)
Picture above is of me and Maribel, maybe last Summer (?), she was 10 lbs heavier, but down 30lbs, or more, from her original starting weight! I love my clients/training partners!
Thursdays are my one training day that I don't worry about anything else but swing routines. I used to do some clean/pressing, but now mostly swings, but I will snatch if I'm working on refining a workout. Tuesday mornings start my week off with a 45 minute class at 6:15am, the first 30 minutes is all swings. And lately I've had to design swing routines for a huge mixed level of students. Some only training with me for a couple of weeks/months, all the way up to my most advanced, 3 + years!
I wrap up my Tuesday class with 15 min of snatch training and then continue on (after class), repeating the snatch "theme" on my own, further refining it, or I practice my clean/squats, for another 45 min. I finish my morning with private appointments, and one 30 min "L 2 Swing", and one 30 minute Beginning Swing class in Menlo Park from 11:00-12:00.
Thursdays I train here, in our garage gym, with a couple of my clients starting at 6:00am (I used to start at 5:30!), and finish at 7:45. From 6:30-7:00 is when I usually video tape the workouts I post here on my blog and on facebook. I start out repeating what I did on Tuesday morning, but better/different, I then tape the new and improved version for you all! The rest of my mornings have more private appointments and my 11:00am Thursday afternoon group in Menlo Park. By the time I get to MP the workout is perfect! So perfect I usually repeat it one more time on Saturday, in my 9:30am Swing class! Lucky me I have different people in all of my classes! But even if one or two of them make it to more than one class a week, it's always different is some kind of way!
I've chopped this workout into 3 parts. The first is a 3 minute warm up, video above:
10 2 hand sw x 2 sets (15/15) 5/5 x 2 sets (15/15) 10 tr x 2 sets (15/15) 3 minutes, 60 swings
(this order of swing progressions is a "learning" progression, not a workload progression)
I then went on to video tape the advanced version first! I had already gone through it once with my 6:30 client and I knew I better do it again and get it out of the way, because it's hard! (hard in a good way of course!) I will post it last.
Second video is the workout more appropriate for those of you that know you can swing 20 reps, or are close! Always take the rest you need, as this workout is mostly equal work to rest, but also includes shortened rest periods that will equal a 2 to 1 work to rest ratio. Never feel as if you should be able to do all of these reps. With regular training it will come in time, if you want it to. Consistency comes first. 10-15 minutes 2-3 times a week.
Less advanced version, repeat twice for a 15 minute workout.
5/5 x 2 sets (15/15) 10 tr x 2 sets (15/15) 10 2 hd sw x 2 sets (15/15)
5/5 x 2 x 1 set (20 reps 30/30) 20 tr x 1 set (30/30) 20 2 hd sw x 1 set (30/30)
Here's the tricky bit! This next time through decrease the rest period by half (15 sec), OR decrease your reps to 10 and take the 30 second break.
5/5 x 2 x 1 set (20 reps 30/15) 20 tr x 1 set (30/15) 20 2 hd sw x 1 set (30/15) 7 min, 180 swings x 2 plus warm up = 17 minutes, 420 swings Advanced version, 4 to 1 work to rest, 2 minute sets All rest periods are 30 seconds! Yep! All rest periods! 10/10 x 1 set (30/30) 20 tr x 1 set (30/30) 20 2 hd sw x 1 set (30/30) 10/10 x 2 x 1 set (1 min/30) 40 tr x 1 set (1 min/30) 40 2 hd sw (1 min/30 sec) 10/10 x 3 x 1 set (1.5 min/30 sec) 60 tr x 1 set (1.5/30) 60 2 hd sw x 1 set (1.5/30) 10/10 x 4 x 1 set (2 min/30 sec) 80 tr x 1 set (2 min/30 sec) 80 2 hd sw x 1 set (2 min/30 sec) 21 min, 600 swings 24 min, 660 swings including warm up
In the full length version on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzop7_9x1SE warm up, 3 min, 60 swings advanced, 21 min, 600 swings less adv, 14 min, 360 swings total, 38 min., 1020 swings...just sayin'
I have so many training methods going on in this workout! "Plus 50%", "Work into Rest", "Pacing". This double snatch workout requires light bells, the intensity will come from the high reps, the speed of light bells, and the short rest periods, and because of these reasons training double snatches becomes doable for most people.
I could do a whole workshop, (a three day workshop!) on how I've developed, over the past few years, numerous ways to train the snatch. Many of my methods and techniques come from how I program the swing, but there is one method I use that is much more applicable to the snatch than it is to the swing....and that is pace!
Pacing swings really only makes sense if you are increasing or decreasing RPM (reps per minute, or in how I program and train, per 15 second intervals) when you add 1 or 2 reps. It does not make sense to train the swing faster, in my opinion, and slower? Well, again, in my experience slowing down the swing can only be done, and make sense, by 1 or 2 reps. And can only increase in speed, safely and without compromise to form and technique, by, at the most 2-4 reps (this gives you a range of 8-14 reps per 15 sec, 16-28 per 30 sec, 32-56). If you speed up the swing to it's fastest possible pace, 14 reps per 15 sec, training it for a 1 minute interval is nearly impossible, especially for a beginner, and not necessary (ever) unless it's for a very specific, sports related purpose. Otherwise you are just trying it to see if you can do it, which is the same as "testing" your skill and ability, and sometimes that's enough reason, but you don't do that every week, much less every workout! But seriously, swinging super fast on a regular basis has no room in the average persons workouts when there is so much else to do, and so much else that has greater value than burn out! (jmo)
Okay, so this post is not about swings, it's about snatches. Snatch training, however, thrives on pace work! The way I combine pacing with my own "Snatch Combinations" has, and still has, unlimited variety, mix in a few swings and I could go on and on, and on... Snatch pace can, and does, include "snatch holds", another way to train for strength and stability. That means training snatch pace gives you the options of starting at 1 rep "holds" increasing in speed up to 30 reps per minute (15 every 30 sec, 8 every 15, Max pace), give or take a rep or two, 1-30 rep pace, now that's variety! Snatch for strength and stability, or speed and endurance, or all of them.
Am I ever going to get to the workout? I've decided to post as many of my own workout videos that I have time and energy to tape, but I may not do a lot of writing/explaining of the routine. I will write the workout down in my own shorthand, but if you want to try them, just train along with me as I'll lead you through, verbally, on video.
The top video was Saturdays light dble snatch workout, refined by the one I did on Thursday, and it's written out and posted here last (at bottom of post). Saturdays video workout is shown in it's entirety (over 20 minutes) and Thursdays is separated into two parts. Saturday's workout starts with a single bell option, but it's not necessarily an easier option because you must be able to snatch for 1 minute and longer with only one hand switch, 12-18 reps each R and L. It shouldn't be a problem if you have been training regularly for some time and using the appropriate weight.
But I'm going to start with Thursdays workout because, in it, I do much more explaining and coaching of the workout, and I suggest you start with watching and following along with that one first.(#1 below) If you are just starting to experiment with light double snatches, or are a trainer that wants to introduce your clients/classes to this kind of training, this video is the first half of the workout and where you want to start, at a 12 rep per 30 sec pace. The extra reps, the ones added past the 30 sec interval, are extra bonus work! Do not do this workout or encourage beginners to #1 add extra reps at all unless you/they can competently complete the first 12! Also, do not do, or introduce, a workout like this to any client or class that has not yet trained an entire cycle or Max Vo2 training (80 sets of 7-8 reps 15/15)
2 8kg's
12 snatches per 30 sec pace
add two reps until you increase the workload by 50%
14
16
18
repeat adding one rep at a time up to 50%
12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18
and finish with one last set of
12
12 minutes, 187 dbl snatches
Now the pace picks up to 14 reps per 30 sec. From this point the pace always stays the same! You should hit the 14th rep at 30 seconds, each rep addition will go into the rest period. You will increase your work, AND lose rest...a double whammy!
14 reps
16
18
20
21 x 2, end with one last set of
14
11 sets, 11 minutes, 192 dbl snatches.
total 23 minutes, 379 dbl snatches
When I increased the pace to 14 reps per 30 sec I decided to jump up by two reps until I got to 7 additional reps (50%), but I repeated the rotation. I just couldn't bear going up by one rep at a time! I saved it for the next workout! Little did I know this was as much or more work! "Plus 50%" Snatch-aholics (top video, Saturday's workout)
This version starts with a single bell as a warm up for the upcoming method of adding 50% more work. The sets are twice as long, 1 minute + because you have to train R and L. This was the workout I designed for last Tuesday's class and I liked it so much I interpreted it for doubles...which is how this all happened! This single bell version is another complete workout, and repeated and sped up is super fun on it's own too!
In this full length video I do not tape the first 5 minutes of swing/snatch sets that I always use as a "warm up", the video starts with the first set of the theme of the workout, which is "Plus 50%". In this workout I add reps, each set, until I have increased the rep count by 50%. In both of these workouts I start out at a 12 rep per 30 sec pace, and increase it to a 14 rep per 30 sec pace. The pace is important, and as I add reps, the pace stays the same! The extra reps will go into the rest period, do not change the pace!
With one bell, each set starts on a 2 minute interval, 12kg
12 reps R, 12 reps L (this should take 30/30, with 1 min rest)
14 reps R, 14 reps L (approx 70/50 sec)
16 reps R, 16 reps L (approx 80/40)
18 reps R, 18 reps L (approx 90/30)
12/12 (1 min/1min) 10 minutes, 144 snatch reps
With double bells each set starts "on the minute" interval (since you will be snatching both R and L at the same time) double 20 lber's
12, 14, 16, 18, 12 5 min, 72 dbl sn reps
Speed up the pace to 14 reps per 30 sec and increase each set by one additional rep
Dang! Whew, done! and this was less dbl reps than I did on Thursday! Didn't feel like it! I did increase my dbl bell weight from 8kg, to 20lb, adding in 4 lbs total. Still though! You might even hear me "triple breathe" in the last few sets.
24 minutes, 144 sngl snatch reps w/12kg, 226 dbl sn reps w/20lb bells (370 total snatch reps) If your conditioning or skill is not up to this level, and or you are training with someone who is not up to this level, the progression is this order. #1 decrease the number of reps per interval.
#2 decrease the number of reps per interval, but do not decrease the rep pace. For instance, if you can only dble snatch 10 reps safely, then only complete 10, but at the 12 or 14 rep per 30 sec pace. For that matter if 5 reps is you max at that pace that's perfectly fine.
#3 complete only the 12 or 14 reps per 30 seconds. Do not add additional reps at all.
PS if "knocking" double bells bothers you then you must have a longer inseam than I do! (one of my training partners is 4'11"). Good thing Franz Snideman isn't watching...or should I say, listening!
I'm currently having the time of my life living and writing about food, diet, training and exercise. I'm happy, confident and strong. I'm proud of my 25 year marriage, my husband, my two boys, and myself!
I don't know quite what the future holds for me, but I'm all about making my life easier, not harder....I'm done with doing things the hard way!
