Interval training is most definitely the answer to this problem, since you can easily get a great workout in under 10 minutes.  My favorite flavor of intervals is  — no surprise, kettlebell training.  I have made good use of well planned kettlebell interval workouts this week.  Regardless of my schedule issues,  RKC is still my goal and my training needs to proceed.

Here’s what Friday’s workout looked like:

A quick 3 minute warm up and then right into focused chinup training.  These have always been tough for me and still are.  I’d like to blame it on my bad wrist but that’s just not it.  I’m working on it. Really really hard.  5 minutes

Clean and presses.  My 12kg bell was at the studio and I can’t press the 16kg (yet) so I used the 10kg for presses.  I wanted a tough, quick workout with the 10kg so I did 3 sets of amrap (as many reps as possible) with good form and without going to failure.  I just cleaned the bell once and continued with presses.  I managed 1 set at 15, 1 at 13 and 1 at 12 reps per side.  I had hoped to get 15 each set but was satisfied nonetheless — about 8 minutes total.

Next was the kettlebell intervals.  I had about 10 minutes available.  I decided to do intervals of 20 swings followed by about 10-15 seconds of rest.   Swinging the 16kg bell for that long is still tough for me.  After a few intervals, it’s not unusual for me to get nauseous. For this workout my plan was to complete the 10 minutes with good form and going as hard as I could without hitting that point.

It went well.  When I was done I was completely exhausted. Between the chinups and the presses I got a great upper body workout.  The kettlebell swings are certainly a great lower body workout.  The intervals pushed my conditioning farther and guaranteed me a nice “afterburn” effect.  Excellent!  And all in under 30 minutes.

Some days when I am really pressed for time I skip everything but the intervals.  Five or six minutes with a heavy kettlebell is plenty.

Since time is now ruled out for an excuse, here are a few more ideas.  Kind of .  .  .

1. Keep your eye on the thing that can hurt you.
2. Slow movements give you time to think.
3. Pay close attention when someone wiser than you gives you advice.
4. Shortcuts are ok for road trips but not for workouts.
5. You’re generally stronger at the beginning of the day’s effort.
6. Sometimes it is more difficult to move slowly than to go fast.
7. Always warm up before starting your main activity.
8. Breathe.
9. When it’s time to push forward, give it everything you have.
10. Quality over quantity.
11. Concentrate on what you are doing.
12. See yourself doing it right in your mind.
13. Enjoy every opportunity for rest.
14. Write things down so you don’t forget the details.
15. Have fun.
16. Celebrate every success.  Notice but downplay the failures.
17. Getting up and down holding something heavy is hard work.
18. Quickly moving something heavy is hard work.
19. Hard work is good for you.
20. Today’s hard work will be tomorrow’s easy work.
21. When a child comes in the room, notice and say something kind to them.
22. You feel good when you’ve tried your hardest.
23. Practice everything, even the stuff you think you’re good at.
24. Some time alone can be refreshing.
25. No matter how far out of your reach, never assume something you want to do is impossible.
26. Refuel when you’re empty.
27. Share the cool information you have.

 What can you add to my list?

Tuesday was a variety day in which I chose to do twelve minutes of alternating 50 swings and 1 minute of jumping rope.  Then I did five minutes of Turkish Get Ups.  More details are here.

Wednesday was “medium” day per ETK.  There is nothing major to report, other than the harder I push myself on Tuesday, the more difficult the swing practice is on Wednesday.  I’m not sure if I’m really better off trying to get that extra conditioning on Tuesday or not.  I’m not ready to change things yet.  It’s just something I’m contemplating.

Thursday was the second variety day of the week.  I decided to focus on doing bodyweight work only, for a change.  I chose 4 exercises to do and performed them in intervals, doing :30 of work followed by :15 rest.  I completed the 4-exercise circuit 5 times.  The exercises I chose were:  Burpees (because I’ve never really done them much) Mountain Climbers (because I need to get better at them) Squats (because I ALWAYS  need to work my lower body more) and Push Ups (because I need to improve there too.)  About the second time through the circuit I wished I had chosen the exercises more intellectually because I realized that in 3 out of 4 exercises I was down on the ground, bearing weight on my hands. My right (bad) wrist got sore quickly so I didn’t push myself terribly hard.  Besides,  I was already a bit weary from the rest of the week’s work.  Nevertheless, I confirmed bodyweight exercises (even if poorly chosen) still provide an excellent workout.

 
  Friday was a rest day – hallelujah!

Saturday was “heavy” day of Week 7 of ETK.  Again this week, the presses were not the rigorous part of the practice, but were the same as the other two days.  The tough part was the swing practice. Five minutes can seem long when you are swinging a kettlebell almost nonstop!  

Saturday I also noted that my chinups seem to be a little bit stronger, probably because ETK is giving me a reason to work on them.  Thanks to Jerry for suggesting I substitute negatives when unable to do anymore regular reps.  Negatives were a big part of the training I did in the  New Rules of Lifting for Women program, to help me achieve my first chin up, so I know they work.

Sunday was a rest day, and after all of the exercise last week and the Independence Day festivities, it was mandatory. 

The Week Ahead:  Week 8 of Enter the Kettlebell began today, with a successful “light” day again.  I’m further refining my chinup training this week and am looking forward to doing more chins in the near future.  I will also be changing my kettlebell swing practice somewhat after receiving input from my friend, Sandy Sommer, RKC.  It’s going to be a great week!!

Top 5 Reasons Why I Love Kettlebell Training 

1. Kettlebell workouts are fast.  My typical workouts are about 20-25 minutes long (plus warm up and cool down.)  It is definitely possible to get an amazing workout in under ten minutes with the kettlebell.
2. Kettlebell workouts are complete.  Both cardiovascular training and strength training are accomplished at once.  Full body movements provide a workout for all major muscle groups. 
3. Kettlebells are portable and little space is required to get in a full workout.   Exercise in your basement, living room, bedroom, den, office.  Take your kettlebell outside.  It can go with you wherever you go (but beware of the rolling around in the back seat of your car!)  There is even a new backpack specially made for carrying you kettlebell with you on hikes or walks.
4. Kettlebell training is fun.  There is just something fun about swinging the kettlebell. And where I get a “this is fun- Whee!”  feeling from the swing, I get a different but equally fun “OH YEAH! THIS ROCKS!” feeling from the kettlebell snatch.  It’s empowering to be able to hoist a handled cannonball overhead. Multiple times.  Note:  the fun morphs into serious work  after a few swings and/or snatches, but that is not a bad thing.
5. Kettlebells are economical, at approximately $50 – $100 each.  We have all probably paid more than that for a good pair of running shoes.  Which one lasts longer?  You only really need one kettlebell to get started.

Just my top five.  I have a few (dozen) more in mind as well.  What are the reasons you love kettlebell training?

However, I’ve decided to follow the program designed by Pavel in  Enter the Kettlebell.  It seems to be the most trusted method for developing the kind of pressing ability and conditioning that is necessary for the Russian Kettlebell Challenge.   Given that I’m jumping into this game a little bit later in life than most, I want to follow the program that I feel will give me the greatest chance of success at RKC, in the shortest period of time.

That is not to say I’m in a hurry to get to RKC.  In fact, having started Enter the Kettlebell this week, I see now that it is probably going to take me even longer to get ready than I thought before.  That’s okay.  As long as I’m moving forward at a steady pace and seeing regular gains, I know I’ll make it when the time is right. 

I am cheating a little and I hope it doesn’t come back to haunt me.  I am skipping the Program Minimum section of ETK.  I feel that my workouts from Elise have earned me the right to start at the beginning of the second part of the training, the ”Rite of Passage.”   If I can’t handle it after I’ve tried it for a few weeks, I will reevaluate. 

For anyone unfamiliar with Enter the Kettlebell, the idea is that you begin the program with the kettlebell that you can press 5-8 times.  You follow the program, repeating it as many times as necessary, until you are doing  presses, swings and snatches with the size kettlebell that is appropriate for your tests at RKC.  Or until you can one-arm press half your bodyweight and snatch a 53 pound kettlebell 200 times in 10 minutes (men.)  The similar goal for women is to be able to perform the 10 minute snatch test of 200 reps with a 12kg kettlebell and clean and press the kettlebell closest to  a quarter of their bodyweight once with each arm.  I will be following this program a long time.

 My ETK training actually started several days ago.  I’ll finish Week 5  on Saturday.  (It’s week number 5 because I skipped  those 4 weeks called “Program Minimum” this time and went straight to “Rite of Passage.”)  So far it is going well, and I’m finding I have a bit of DOMS from the pressing, a very good sign in my opinion.

“Rite of Passage” in Enter the Kettlebell calls for 3 structured practice days, 2 variety days in which you pretty much do whatever exercise you want,  and 2  days off.  One of my variety days will be spent doing sprint intervals.  I’m doing this for extra HIIT benefits and for the extra lower body work.  You may know that lower body is the part of me that I love to hate.  My other variety day will probably be spent doing Turkish Get Ups and/or trying out the workouts I’ll be using in my coming-soon fitness classes for women. 

I’m also hoping to continue Eat Stop Eat,  the intermittent fasting that I’ve tried recently.  I completed a second fast this week. It was more difficult this time, quite different from the first.  But I’m starting to see some results.  (I’m after a bit of body fat loss.)  I’ll be closely monitoring my strength as I go along, as I know it is difficult to see fat loss and strength gain at once.  Since strength is primary for me, I’ll stop the fasting if things don’t go well.

Probably I won’t post my ETK workouts.  They are quite repetitive.  I’ll likely only write about whatever is new or what my variety days are like.  Or maybe I’ll find other things to drone on blog about. 

That’s my plan.  Unless I change it. 

Using two kettlebells, perform the following exercises once each, rapidly but maintaining good form:

1. Push Up (shoulders directly over kettlebells)
2. Up and into position–>Double Kettlebell Bent Row
3. Stand Up–> Double Clean (Dead Clean)
4. Double Kettlebell Squat

Go through this circuit 6 times then immediately run 1/4 mile.  Repeat x 4. 

Don’t have two kettlebells the same size?  No problem.  Select two that are near in size.   Alternate which side holds the heavier bell.

I also ended up throwing in double presses.  It seemed the right thing to do.

This will get your heart rate up there!

If you give it a try, let me know how it goes!

Today’s kettlebell practice did more than make me stronger.  I have had a headache for almost two days, and nothing has helped.  Sleeping made it better, but after being awake for a few hours, the headache was back in full force. 

I took yesterday off from exercise, and wasn’t sure if I would work out today or not.  In the past, the endorphin rush from the workout has helped with headaches,  so I tried it.

A few minutes into it, I could tell I had made the right decision.  Everything felt good.  I felt strong.  The headache was gone.   All in all I did about 25 minutes of swings and TGUs then followed up with 10 minutes of snatch practice. 

 ACSM has a program called Exercise is Medicine.   They are on to something.   Today’s dose was wonderful.

I consider it a blessing when I know for sure NOT to do something (or TO do something.)  Too many times, when I’m slightly sick I stew over whether or not to do my usual work out.  To be honest, though, consideration for my health often takes a back seat to my desire to exercise.  Good judgment doesn’t always reign supreme.

While recuperating, I decided to research this issue a bit to see if there were any clear cut guidelines beyond the obvious.  I did find some fairly helpful information.   First the absolutes. 

Don’t exercise if:

• You are running a fever
• You have congestion in your chest and lungs
• You feel achy
• You have gastrointestinal symptoms along with cold symptoms

If none of those apply, you MAY be ok to exercise.  Experts use what they call the  “above the neck” rule to help determine whether or not it would be prudent to work out. This is the rule:  if all of your symptoms are located above the neck (runny nose, congestion, scratchy throat) AND you feel up to working out, then it is probably alright to do so.  The caveat is this:   if your above-neck  symptoms are severe, it would be wise to rest instead of working out.

Note, if you perform your exercise in a gym or other public place, please refrain from going until you are no longer contagious.  Even then, wipe off any equipment you use when you are done.  It’s your responsibility.

If you’ve determined that you are not too sick to work out, the experts say that you should still scale back from your normal routine.  They suggest starting out at about 50% of your normal level of  intensity.  If you still feel ok after about 10 minutes, it’s probably acceptable to increase to about 80% of your usual intensity for a few moments.  In general, your workout should be shorter and less intense than usual.  This would not be the time to attempt personal records. 

The value of exercise when mildly ill is in getting your blood flowing, at least briefly clearing your congestion, and improving your general overall feeling.  If at any time you don’t feel up to continuing, it is a sign that you need to rest rather than exercise.

It is always key to remember to stay hydrated when exercising.  This becomes even more important if you’re working out with a mild cold.  Dehydration can worsen your symptoms or set the stage for complications, like sinus infections.  Over-the-counter cold medications can also make dehydration a more likely outcome.  You owe it to yourself to drink extra water if you have chosen to do your workout.

Some good news: studies have shown that those who engage in regular moderate exercise get fewer colds than those who do not.  And we tend to get over the colds in about half the time as those who don’t exercise.   That means fewer days that the question, “Am I too sick?” will even have to be considered.

Choosing the right weight for the workout was difficult.  Having recently completed Stage 7 of New Rules of Lifting for Women, I knew that I needed to pick a weight that would be  lighter than I would normally choose for any of the individual exercises. I ended up going with a 30# preweighted barbell, and I think  it was the best choice for me.

I made it through all 6 rounds.  I think it took me about 28 minutes.  Unfortunately, when I got to the gym, I couldn’t remember how to start a new session on my spanking new Polar heart rate monitor.  So I  was unable to time my workout precisely or capture any of the other fun data the watch provides.   That really stinks, because I’m sure that I burned a ton of calories and I KNOW that my heart rate got way up there.

Nausea during a tough workout is not uncommon for me.  I usually notice it when the exercises alternate between upper and lower body and are performed in a circuit fashion with little rest.   True to form, I started feeling the nausea around the second round of this workout.  It never got really bad, though, and I was able to shake it off during each rest period between rounds.  I also became aware of lactic acid building up at about the third round.

The military presses were becoming difficult for me by the end of the fourth round.  On the last two rounds I really had to work to perform all 8 reps.  That confirmed to me that choosing a heavier barbell would have been a problem.  I didn’t fatigue too much on any of the other exercises.  However, by the last round, I had to really convince my legs to cooperate when it came time for the lunges.  After that, I knew the end was in sight, and I just pushed through.  

Overall, the workout felt great.  I really love performing some of those movements, especially the Squat/Push Press.  (By the way, I did substitute a front squat/push press for that one, partly because it is an exercise I have experience with, and I didn’t want to have to think too hard when fatigued!) Explosive movements are my favorites.  I also enjoyed the fast tempo of the workout, and the simplicity of using  just one weight for an entire workout.

Doing this kind of workout periodically to gauge your fitness would be kind of fun.  I may just have to revisit this workout or a similar one in the near future.

If you decide to give this one a try,  leave me a comment below and let me know how it goes for you!