Saturday Max on Hold...

I decided it was time to break from Max Vo2 for a couple of weeks and spend some time practicing some of my methods for high volume snatch training for upcoming workshops and video....I've got some lucky training partners, huh?

The theme of my classes this morning was "100"....yep, another 100 rep snatch workout. I combined pacing with speed....here's what we did,

12kg

10/10, 1 min work, 30 sec rest (20 **paced snatches)

10/10 *speed snatches 40 sec. work, 1 min., 20 sec rest (20 speed snatches total)

10/10 x 2, 2 min work, 1 min. rest ( 40 paced snatches)

10/10 speed snatches 40 sec. work, 1 min., 20 sec rest (20 speed snatches, 40 total)

10/10 x 3, 3 min work, 1 min rest ( 60 paced snatches)

10/10 speed snatches 40 sec. work, 1 min., 20 sec rest (20 speed snatches, 60 total)

10/10 x 4, 4 min work, 1 min rest ( 80 paced snatches)

10/10 speed snatches 40 sec. work, 1 min., 20 sec rest (20 speed snatches, 80 total)

10/10 x 5, 5 min work, 1 min rest ( 100 paced snatches)

10/10 speed snatches 40 sec. work, 1 min., 20 sec rest (20 speed snatches, 100 total)

400 total snatches
29.5 minutes



10/10 speed snatches (2 min)
10/10 x 2 speed snatches (3 min)
10/10 x 3 speed snatches (4 min)
10/10 x 4 speed snatches (5 min)
10/10 x 5 speed snatches (6 min)video shows this last set of 100. I believe this took me about 2 1/2 minutes to complete with the 12kg

300 snatches
20 minutes

700 total snatches
50 minutes total time

And this was a low intensity workout compared to many of our past Saturday snatch workouts.

For instance I did 72 sets of Max on Thursday...576 14kg snatches in 36 minutes. Last Thursday I did 943 12kg snatches in apporx 50 minutes.....243 more that today in the same amount of time!

*speed snatches

Here's how I trained these sets....we snatched 10 reps, both left and right as fast as we could. I timed the work and rest for 2 minutes total. However long it took each person to complete the 20 snatch reps left them with the remainder of the two minutes for rest before the next set of paced snatch sets. For instance, it took me 40 seconds to complete my fast paced 20 snatch reps, I then had 1 min. 20 sec of the remaining 2 minutes to rest before the next set.

I timed the last rotation of speed santches in the same way, except for every additional 20 reps (10 L, 10 R) I added 1 full minute to complete.

**paced snatches

All paced snatches we timed at 10 snatch reps per 30 seconds....no faster, no slower. Therefore each 10/10 took 1 minute. Every additional 10/10 increased the time of the set by 1 minute. Example....100 snatch reps, done 10 L, 10 R, took 5 minutes to complete.

A New Year starts when you decide it starts....a "rags to riches" story...

This weekend I'm having a couple of rooms in my house painted....before cooking, painting ( and decorating) used to be my hobby. I used to paint every room in my house about once a year, and I've painted many of my friends rooms over the years. But those times are over and now I hire the paint jobs out....lucky me!

If you've ever painted any rooms in your house on your own, or hired someone to paint for you, the routine is the same....you have to move ev-ver-y-thing....EVERYTHING! All the pictures come down, all of the furniture is moved....what a perfect time to clean. Or should I say cleanse. wipe all of the dust away, mop or vaccum, edit the crap that piles up..... This time not only will I clean out these rooms, but I am committed to only put back the things I need, or the things I've collected that make me happy or that I love to look at. I'm going to keep my riches and get rid of my rags (trash).

Tuesday afternoon my yoga teacher, Elena, started out the practice by talking about the Fall season. She described Fall as the final season of the year, the last cycle. Time to clean up all that you harvested earlier in the year and plant for the upcoming Spring. The seeds you plant now will be what you harvest next year...but first you have to clean out and prepare the feilds. A time to start over....could we look at Fall as the start of a new year? Sounds good to me! From now on, Fall will be my New Year.

This reminded me of a conversation I had with a woman that grew up on a farm. She told me that when summer was over, all of the unharvested vegetables would rot in the fields, as it grew too fast to keep up with, and how nature runs riot and grows so much more that one family can eat, or give away. After hearing this story I, for the first time, didn't worry so much about "wasting" food, as nature wastes enough on it's own. Food is abundant....lucky us we live in a country where we can say that with confidence.

Anyway....Fall, a time to clean what has overgrown our lives. Why is it that traditionally during the Fall we create more mess? Most of our biggest food Holidays start in the Fall. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas. Instead of getting ready now for the New Year, we pack more on top of the "old year", in the way of being busier than ever, eating more foods than we normally would, and buying more stuff that we don't need? Why do we have to wait until January 1st to start anew? If we start now, by the time Jan. 1st hits we'll be golden! Screw holiday obligations, what about the obligation to ourselves? Start a New Year now! Plant the seeds of lightness, strength and health now. Don't give yourself the excuse to do more damage in this Fall season, instead start your new year now.

This past year, especially, I've been giving away "stuff" like a madwoman. I own too much stuff, including food, and I used to like it....but I don't anymore. Owning too much stuff is paralyizing, not to mention it weighs too much. I've packed my car with at least 4 full loads that I took to the Goodwill. I did manage to have a garage sale right before summer that I made of ton of cash at....but I spent it on more stuff! I routinely edit and give away expensive designer clothes to my friends, giving some of my yoga teachers that I know can't afford much, Lululemon that I never wear. Too bad for my best friend Fawn that she's a size smaller than me....she already got all of the stuff I grew out of last year, lol!

So that brings me to my "rags to riches" story.....

I don't know about you, but when I decide to "be in for the day", in other words, my ass is not leaving the house anymore, I change into "kick back clothes". What are "kick back clothes"? Well, they are PJ bottoms, and the oldest t-shirt I can find...and of course it never "matches". It never fits quite right either because who cares? Are you kidding me? I have so many cute clothes, t-shirts, leggings, shorts, sweaters, hoodies....I can afford to wear my "riches" for rags!

My raggedy days are over. Life is too short to look ugly, or feel ugly! Even if no one is around to see you (tree in falling in the forest, lol). Mark, of course, could care less what I wear, but we all know how we feel when we feel we look cute, don't we? (I happen to be feeling really cute right now!)

Starting "New Years" are a luxury we can all afford by deciding to focus on our "riches". Husband, wife, children (grandchildren), a roof over our heads, one or two kettlebells, the knowledge of how to prepare our own foods. The time to workout, a daily walk, yoga, kettlebells. Clean bedsheets, our own washer and dryer, or a bunch of quarters for the laudrymat! Foodstamps, if we need them, and friends and family to turn to for support when we feel down. A full tank of gas, DVR, cell phones, laptops, a successful business, passion for what you do, health, strength, art, intensity.

Do not forget how rich we all are and how little we actually need. Dump the rags. Life is too short, and we are too cute, to wear rags....

Tempe AZ HKC

Mark and I just got home from paradise! What's paradise? Tempe, Arizona in late Oct....oh, about what? 84 degrees! Goodness....this afternoon we got off the plane, back home in California, at 1:00pm to a cold, chilly, pre rainstorm 66 degrees..... I really hope to see a Fall RKC sometime in the future in this great state, and convenient, if not destinational, location in the Southwest.



Keats and Tammy Snideman were gracious enough to host me and Mark in their beautiful as well as comfortable home, along with their two handsome, well behaved, energized young boys, Aiden and Soren. (Aiden future soccer and ping pong champion, and Soren, a incredibley intense and talented, not to mention dramatic, artistic genius) Keats Sneideman is Franz Snideman's twin brother and is the Kettlebell expert in Arizona. This is the 2nd HKC we've done at Keats' Reality Based Fitness Personal Training Studio, and although small, like the first, I hope it will help to establish Keats, and his business, as the "go to" place for Kettlebell Certifications as well as kettlebell instruction.

I never tire of listening and watching Mark teach, and I always learn how to become a better teacher and Instructor by assisiting at these Certs. Lucky me. I also got a chance to take the HKC candidates through a workout that will be a part of an upcoming video, in addition to teaching the roundabout, followed by a mini roundabout ladder workout.

Next? Goodness, I'm so backed up on video request, new video projects, emails, blogposts....oh and I'm freakin' excited about a new style of yoga I started training 2 weeks ago...what? No over-training Bikrams anymore? Nope, no more Bikram Binges!

So much great stuff happening. Life is good.

Sophi's First Introduction to KB

I got the chance to teach Sophi's mom, Cristina, how to swing a kettlebell yesterday! Cristina did great, and I hope she liked it enough to give it a few workouts.....afterall it a great exercise and workout for a busy mom! It's a great exercise and workout for everyone, but when time is a consideration then you can't beat it.

I forgot a baby bell for Sophi to play with, but I did get her to touch the handle, and I tried to have her do an "empty handed" deadlift....I'm working on her! I think getting her to sqeeze her glutes is going to be tough though.

Check out Sophi's natural squat...oh what it must be like to be 1 year old!

I was just talking about veggies first....

I know I've already blogposted about meatballs, but ground meat is so underrated sometimes.....goodness, ground meat? Ground meat is kind of like the "broccoli" of meat! In other words when you can't think of anything else, you go for the ground meat. Personally when I ask for ground meat at the butchers counter I always think that the Meat Cutter must think I don't know how to cook! Sometimes we just don't have the energy to deal with a protein that takes time to cook and clean up. Mostly though, you get to the meat counter and lacking imagination is #1 problem, and you just want something fast.

But since I was just writing about veggies first, I thought I might post some pictures of tonights meatballs....they may not make it into some homemade tomato sauce, but who the hell cares.....I think I've already treated myself to 1/2 dozen!

I diced 1/2 onion, 5 green onions, 2 celery stalks, and one of the roasted jalapenos from last night. (I included some seeds to make it spicey hot!) Sautee in a bit of olive oil for 5-8 minutes, let cool and then add to

1 lb ground meat (I used pork)

1 egg

1 cup oatmeal (I ground this fine in my blender)

1/4 cup water (I think this is to expand the oatmeal...or breadcrumbs. Whichever you use)

1 tsp salt, ground pepper (I use kosher salt, so if you are using sea salt, or iodized salt you would use 1/2 this amount)

Using a 2 tbl scoop, I formed the mixture into a couple dozen meatballs. Does it matter if the meatballs are perfectly round? I don't think so! If these ever make it into some sauce it will be a miracle!

This is also the same way you make meatloaf, only you form it into a log, and cook it in a 375 degree oven. The time varies with how much meat you use....I always use 2 lbs of ground meats for my meatloaf, so it takes about 45 minutes....I do check with an insta-read thermometer occasionally. The problem with making a big meatloaf is that I will eat slice after slice after yummy slice, starting with the end pieces first! I admit I can be a bit greedy when it comes to the end pieces. When I make meatballs I eat less.

PS green onions are second only to radishes for the biggest deal in the produce section! Good Lord, what do they cost? 2, 3, 4 bunches for $1? My BFF Fawn makes a killer salad dressing from using just the green tops with oil, goat cheese, lemon and honey! In this recipe I was cleaning out my veg drawers and 4-5 green onion stalks lingered.....I once used sliced green onions in my Split Pea Soup when I discovered no other onion in my pantry....the result? MMM, mmm, good! Slice up those leftover green onions, green tops and all, into your sauteed veggies. You never know!

Start with Vegetables. Nutritional Status

I often claim to eat more vegetables than most vegetarians and to demonstrate this point, here's a picture of my stovetop tonight....tomato soup, Sloppy Joe sauce, and roasted peppers for the freezer (which will more than likely end up in homemade hummus).



I cooked down about 8lbs of tomatoes a couple of nights ago, without any other kind of veg, or seasonings. So, tonight I diced 3 jalapenos, 2 red bell, 2 carrots, 3 celery, and 1 large onion...do you know how much that measures? It measures at least 3-4 cups of veggies. That's in addition to 8lbs of tomatoes! After I sauteed the veggies I added in the homemade tomato sauce, about 1 c. chicken stock and cooked it at a med simmer for about 30 minutes. Tomorrow I will put it through the blender and freeze in 2 c. and 4 c. batches.



Well.....that's all I was going to do, but as I wiped the counter down I thought.....why don't you dice up a couple more veggies and make some Sloppy Joe sauce? It has, basically, the same ingredients.... 1 more red bell, 1 green bell, 2 more jalapenos, 1 carrot, 2 celery, and 1/2 lg onion.....1 can of tomato sauce....Ok, I admit, I have a problem using homemade tomato sauce in Sloppy Joes....but that's only because so much other "crap" that goes into the sauce.



Sloppy Joe Sauce Recipe


onion,
carrot,
celery,
green bell,
red bell,
jalapeno,


all diced small, and sauteed for 5-8 minutes. Add


one 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 c. chicken stock (homemade in my case, to make up for the canned sauce, lol)
1/4 c. worcestershire sauce
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 red wine vinegar
good squeeze of 1 lemon
S & P


bring to a boil and simmer until thick, about 20-30 minutes. Double this and freeze half for another time.


Brown 1- 1 1/2 lb. ground meat (beef, pork, chicken, or a combination of), add to sauce and scoop over bread, or eat alone (that's what we do!).


The most important thing about cooking is that you taste your food as you go along! Sloppy Joe sauce has a sweet/sour (vinegar) flavor. Taste it! If it doesn't taste quite right, what is missing? More sugar? More vinegar? A bit more salt? Here are some other ingredients you may find in Sloppy Joes sauce,



Ketchup (sweet/tomato/vinegar)
tomato paste (to thicken)
mustard (savory)
hot sauce (tomatoey, vinegarey, kick!)
spices like cayenne, thyme, garlic salt (I chose to not put garlic in this batch...go figure!)
red pepper flakes


Make it your own! Look up some recipes online and find the common theme.... I use 3-4 times the fresh veg of any recipe I've ever come across, but that's how I cook everything! Veg first.


I base my meals in order of nutritional status. Vegetable, protein, fat (flavor and texture), sugar/fruit/carb. If you have to overeat, then overeat health. Start with vegetables.


Make no mistake however....I start my day with caffeine and fat! Coffee w/heavy cream!

Picture above shows in the top saute pan, veggies for the Sloppy Joe sauce before the tomato sauce mixture is added. To the right is my tomato soup, with the same veggies, as the SJ sauce. One leftover red bell and two jalapenos get roasted for another time.....

Blaming Food

food is not the problem.....trying to find a "food solution" when food is not the problem will not provide an answer.

the site is not the source....the site of the pain is not the source, never look at the site as the origination of the problem.

you cannot fill an emotional hole with a physical object.