Beginner to Advanced 10 x 10 group workout! The "Goldilocks" version!

My poor training partners that come in before the crack of dawn on a Saturday only to find out I want them to help me make a video!  Can you imagine?  No make up, much less combed hair.....welcome to my world!  But good sports that they are, here is another version of last Thursday's 10 x 10 Beginner to Advanced level interval workout, that I'm calling the "Goldilocks" version!

In this video each one of us demonstrates how to use these sets to customize your own workout.  Every set starts at 45 seconds and the choices are 10 reps (1-2 work/rest), 15 reps (equal work/rest), 20 reps (2-1 work/rest).  You can alternate the reps per set to make it harder or easier, with the goal of making it a workout for you that is "just right"!  Remember the tale of Goldilocks and the three bears where she find the chair, bed and porridge that is just right for her? So, I (Goldilocks) along with my three bears (and I mean that in the nicest and most appreciative of ways) demonstrate each option.

This workout uses all of the combinations we have been practicing for the last 4 months.  Two hand swings.  Two hands to one hand (5/5), and one hand to one hand (5/5)

10 2 hd sw (or 15-20)
10 2 hd sw (or 15-20)
5 two hd + 5 one hd R (+ 5 two hd-10 2 hd)
5 two hd + 5 one hd L (+ 5 two hd-10 2 hd)
5 R + 5 L ((+ 5 two hd-10 2 hd)
10 2 hd sw (or 15-20 2 hd sw)
5 two hd + 5 one hand R (+ 5 two hd-10 2 hd)
5 two hd + 5 one hd L (+ 5 two hd-10 2 hd)
5 R + 5 L ((+ 5 two hd-10 2 hd)
10 2 hd sw (or 15-20)

I always do 10 reps, Deepika swings the alternating version (typed in blue), Andrea always swings 15 reps, and Meg always swings 20 reps.

These 10 x 10 (actually 10-20 x 10's) take 7.5 minutes to complete each round, so if and when you are ready to string two or three together it's a great, and fast workout!

Enjoy!

Thursday 10 x 10 Beginner to Advanced!

First of all let me say that there is nothing "beginner" about a 10 x 10!  It all comes down to variables.  How much time between work/rest intervals, and how much weight you use are the two primary ways of changing the workout.  The sets and reps can stay the same, and you can never change them and still get a better workout than most anything else, combining strength, power, stability and cardio all in one fell swoop!

So in this week's 10 x 10 I alternate the rep count instead of the rest time interval or the weight (s) for a few reasons.  To maybe help push you out of the 10 rep comfort zone, but mostly so you can train with a friend, a client, a class, a group, giving everybody a way to customize their own workout for the day.

Now for this 7.5 minute workout start each set for 45 second intervals:

Set #1, 10 reps
Set #2, 15 reps (or stay at 10 if this is where you are right now)
Set #3, 20 reps (or stay at 10, or maybe chance going to 15, or maybe 15 is where you are for the entire workout)

repeat in alternating order starting each set "on the 45 sec"; 10, 15, 20, 10, 15, 20, 10, 15, 20, 10, or customize each set.  Maybe sometimes you push the reps higher, maybe sometimes you back down.  Every time you do this 7.5 min workout will you can choose the rep count from 100-200 reps!  These two workouts, alternating rep counts = 145 reps.

10 rep sets = 15 work/30 sec rest (1/2 ratio)
15 rep sets = 22.5 sec work/.22.5 sec rest (equal ratio)
20 rep sets = 30 sec work/15 sec rest (2/1 ratio)

For a one hand swing version:

5R/5 L = 10 reps
5R/5 L + 5 2 hd swing = 15 reps
5R/5 L + 5R/5 L = 20 reps

I hope to rope my training partners into demonstrating a group version of this Saturday morning! In the mean time train along with me, but choose your own sets and reps!

Enjoy!

(ps this workout is similar to Sinister and Give and Take!)

Everything, including the kitchen sink, recipe.

It's been a while since I had to literally do a clean out in my fridge.  My "no frost" refrigerator / freezer froze over and guess what I had to do?  Yep, defrost the stinkin' thing!  Time for a new refrigerator (never buy Kenmore again), although this one is only 10 years old, and has given me grief from day one....


Anyway.....

Springtime usually means an abundance of fresh vegetables too irresistible to buy...darn!  So, having to empty out the freezer and fridge I was forced to defrost some of that corned beef sausage I hoarded a couple months back, too many scallions (purchased for savory oats), and a brand of sliced swiss cheese Mark did not care for (Kraft...yuck).  Add a generous pour of heavy cream (or 1/2 & 1/2),  couple of eggs and it's quiche time!  I've posted many many times about my quiche and how I renamed it a "Quittata"!  Since I rarely make a crust (either homemade or store bought) I consider this dish a cross between a quiche and a frittata.  

For the meat and veg I browned the sausage, sauteed the scallions, both green and white parts, added some baby spinach and spring garlic.  Two eggs, a handful of cheese (almost any kind will work from goat cheese to mozzarella, parmesan, cheddar or a mix if you don't have enough of one), and then I usually eyeball the amount of cream so the mixture is very wet, but not swimming.  Pour it into a generously buttered pie dish, bake at 375 degrees for about 35-45 min.  Dinner or lunch is done for a couple of days and nothing goes to waste (God forbid!)


What's your go to "everything, including the kitchen sink, recipe"?

Thursday 10 x 10 "Side by Side"

Need just a tad more rest, or a tad more work?  Well, this 10 x 10, Side by Side ladder is for you....just ignore the miscounting vortex I fell into, and swing!

10/11
10/12
10/13
10/14
10/15
10/14
10/13
10/12
10/11
10/10
whoops...did we do an extra one?  I think I forgot I was the one that started with my set so yes...we did another set:
10/10

If you want to try both sides then swing with me the first time around, and with Deepika the second...or vice a versa...or both!  Possibilities abound! Enjoy....oh and let me know what you decided to try!

110 partner #1 / 135 partner #2 swing reps, approx 7 min.

To find your copy of "Side by Side" featuring my good friend Jeff Sokol SFG 2 click on the link below:
https://www.createspace.com/379031

The Swing Quest's 10 x 10's Learn how to program your own workouts!

10 x 10 #1  all two hand swings

The Swing Quest's latest event was probably the most fun for me that I've had to date!  At the last minute, kind of on the fly I decided to have a couple of guest leaders!  You'll have to watch the video to find out who, but with very little warning (maybe 15 minutes) the two women did an awesome job! Which leads me to again write about why I started posting 10 x 10 workouts, and an upcoming workshop I'm scheduled to teach in Chicago on May 17th and 18th. (http://danlonafitness.com/swing-quest)

10 x 10 #2  two hand to one hand swings 

First the videos.  I'm posting them one 10 x 10 at a time (5 min workout, 100 swing reps), and then all 5 rounds in it's entirety.  You choose.  Are you just beginning your Swing Quest?  Then maybe one or two of these workouts will be just enough for you to start building from until, if you want, you can do two or three....or four...or all five!  You may have a favorite that you repeat.  As I demonstrate in the first three 10 x 10's you do not even need to have a kettlebell!  Please, stand up, go through the swing movement and pretend!  If you are currently not exercising at all on a regular basis then you must start doing something....now!  Don't let anymore excuses dictate your future health and happiness!

10 x 10 #3  one hand swings (5/5)

This year I changed the first 500 swing reps of The Swing Quest to always be a 10 x 10 (5 rounds), practicing my swing combinations in progressive order as the year goes along.  The Swing Quest 2014 is just that...two thousand, fourteen swing reps, done "equal work to equal rest" (100 minutes = 1 hour, 40 minutes)  I've been leading 4 events a year at my home studio and I'm now beginning to take it on the road!  The goal of The Swing Quest is to have a goal in the first place!  Ah...so much to say, but let's get back to the workouts!

10 x 10 #4 1st Guest lead

10 2 hd sw x 4 sets

5/5 one hand swings x 3 sets

5 2 hd + 5 R one hd sw, 5 2 hd + 5 L x 1 set each

10 2 hd swings

I'll write more about TSQ and my workshop, "Programming the Kettlebell Swing" next time!  But real quick.....it was an absolute joy to be lead through a workout by someone else!  Maybe someday you would want to be that "someone else", never having to rely on someone else's program or routine!  Come see me if you are in the Chicago area and want to learn how to train The Swing, and stay motivated for the rest of your life.

10 x 10 2nd Guest lead (freestyling!)

10 2 hd sw

5 2 hd + 5 R

5 2 hd + 5 L

5 R + 5 2 hd sw

5 L + 5 2 hd sw

10 2 hd sw

5 R/ 5 L x 2 sets

5 R + 5 2 hd sw

5 L + 5 2 hd sw

PS....I learned how to cook when I was in my early 30's by attending, first, a series of classes based in cooking methods and techniques.  I then became obsessed with watching cooking shows and reading cookbooks....until I realized that if I spent as much time actually cooking I'd become a much better cook that watching and reading about cooking! Please, please, join me in training the kettlebell swing.  Unlike cooking, when you need the right ingredients and the right tools, you need nothing to practice the movement of The Swing.  Only the wanting to improve how you move and how you feel.  

I thank my blog readers (and facebook fans) for all of the interest and support you have given me over the years, but please, if you've only been watching, now is the time to get up and move.  It's never too late, but there is no time like the present!

The Swing Quest 10 x 10, 5 rounds, 500 swing reps. Enjoy!

Thursday 10 x 10! Reviewing one hand swings, and an optional progression before the "transfer swing"

Happy Thursday!

Today's 10 x 10 reviews the last swing combinations and it adds in more of the "five by five one hand swings" (5 R/ 5 L), with a bit of a "regression"!  Today I give you the option of practicing your one hand swings without a mid air transfer swing.  Instead you can practice one hand swings, setting the bell down, switching hands, and continue to practice your one hand swings on your other hand, until you feel comfortable and confident to switch from R to L in mid air!  This is commonly how I teach brand new students the one hand swing.

The Swing Quest workouts in January started to lead us into more and more one hand swings, and this 10 x 10 reviews them as we start to expand our skills and abilities of doing more one hand swings, AND our skill and ability to switch hands more often (transfer swing OR "hand to hand" swing)

Here is this morning's 10 x 10, so practice up because I have a real treat for you that I will post over the weekend.....

10 2 hd sw x 1 set
5 2 hd sw + 5 R one hand sw x 1 set
5 2 hd sw + 5 L one hand sw x 1 set
5/5 one hand swings

5 R one hd sw, put the bell down, switch to L, 5 L one hd swings

5/5 one hand swings x 1 set

5 R one hd sw, put the bell down, switch to L, 5 L one hd swings

5 R/ 5 L one hand swings x 2 sets

Whoops....that only adds up to 9 sets of 10!  Add in one more practice set of 5/5 to complete you 10 sets!  Sorry!

Anyway....I trust that you all will do what your motivation, time and energy will allow!  Whether it's 9 sets, 10 sets, 11 sets....or more!  Sometimes you may still need me to lead you through a 10 minute workout, while other times you are fine on your own!  And speaking about being on you own....

The next 10 x 10 blog post will include last weekend's 5 rounds of The Swing Quest in it's entirety (25 minutes) with a couple of surprises!  I hope to also post each round so you can chose how long you want to swing, and which swing combinations you want to work on.  So exciting!  Thank you all for your continued support and interest, but most of all for your wanting to take some action to be, feel, and look your absolute best!