Today marks the one -year mark for this blog.  It’s strongsarah.com’s blogiversary, which also means that today is the (4th) anniversary of  The Accident. That was a rough day, but it was also the start of something very cool. You just never know how things will unfold and evolve into something beyond your wildest imagination.

A look back at the past year is in order.  It has been a big year, most of which has been documented here. In the last 12 months I have evolved from kettlebell newbie to HKC instructor.  Not to be limited to kettlebell training alone, I became quite proficient at jumping rope, and also tried a Randy Couture MMA (mixed martial arts) workout that I loved.  I explored (and did not love) the Eat Stop Eat program. My kettlebell studio, Intensity Works, was conceived and opened, and I shared many details of that process. I worked through the Enter the Kettlebell (ETK) program twice and realized success with it,  nearly doubling my kettlebell pressing ability.  I struggled with physical limitations resulting from The Accident and worked around or through them. I even began to feel ready to register for the RKC Instructor course. Just contemplating that was a milestone for me. I feel pretty good about the last year.

The blog has been neglected a lot too. I didn’t want my posts to become too repetitive, so I stopped posting regularly when my workouts often looked the same.  When starting a small business became my focus, blogging dropped down the priority list.  Then, when a (cancer) bomb was dropped on my world, I started a new blog, strongersarah.com, which has received much more attention than this blog lately.

But, Happy Birthday to strongsarah.com.  I hope to be able to post many more workout triumphs over the course of the next year.  Possibly, I will even have the priviledge of posting my experiences at an RKC instructor weekend.  If not, maybe I will have at least registered for one by the time this blog turns 2.  I am grateful to all who have visited and commented and encouraged me here. This has been fun, and it is far from over.  You just never know how things will unfold, and I am excited to continue the adventure!

Last time through Enter the Kettlebell, I used a 12kg kettlebell.  Around the time I finished the program, I pressed the 16kg on a couple of occasions.  Then, I shifted my focus and began to lose a bit of weight.  I really haven’t tried to press the 16kg again lately, but instead have worked more with the 12kg and 14kg for presses.  I considered starting Enter the Kettlebell again with the 14kg but a couple of weeks ago, but struggled horribly to get through a 3 x 3 Clean and Press ladder. I ended up doing push presses or assisted presses for many of the reps.

Since then I have worked with the 12kg strictly, but haven’t spent too much time with it, only focusing about one day per week on pressing.  Today I decided to try a 3 x 3 Clean and Press ladder with the 14kg.  I really expected to have to shift to the 12kg part way through but totally surprised myself.  The entire 3 x 3 ladder went well, and I know I could even have done more.  I’m very happy to be getting somewhere with the 14kg kettlebell.  I used it for my easy snatch practice on Monday also, doing 112 snatches at 10L/10R/rest for 9:00.

My muscles don’t seem to know I have cancer.  That’s cool with me!  I really don’t feel like I have it at all.  And when I’m happily pressing my 14kg, cancer is pretty much out of my mind. That’s priceless. 

Me right after my ETK Week 11 Medium day.

I estimate that by the time I complete this “Rite of Passage” portion of the ETK program,  I will have pressed the 12kg bell nearly 1,000 times on each side.  It’s an understatement to say that there is a lot of pulling (rowing, pull-ups or chin-ups) and cleaning and pressing  the kettlebell with this program, but I love it.  I feel strong pushing that kettlebell over my head.  Challenging my body and mind to do it even when I think it can’t be done is the type of challenge that I crave. Doing this program right, in my opinion, will guarantee you strength gains and improved conditioning.  It is tough.  It can be boring.  But it works.

Until now I’ve been focusing primarily on my kettlebell pressing, as it was the skill that needed the most work prior to attending an RKC weekend.  I still need to work on pressing some more, but other things have risen to the top of the list. When I finish Enter the Kettlebell, my main priority is going to be improving my kettlebell snatch technique.  Turkish Get-Ups are always on my to-do list, and I find that regular practice with them is vital, to avoid regression.  Also, it may be time for me to try some double kettlebell work.   Of course, lots and lots of swings are a priority as well.

RKC Instructors: what else am I missing?  What would you have done differently (if anything) to prepare for your RKC weekend? What’s the best way to get ready for the Grad Workout? How can I determine if my overall conditioning is good enough to get me through the weekend? I know I am not going to be ready for RKC until at least late spring, so I have time to change my training now to make a difference.  And you know I’m committed.  Or maybe I should be (committed!)

Starting to think about what will be next, too.  I probably have about 2 more weeks of ETK left.  Finishing a program is always bittersweet.  I’m not sure what my plan will be after that, other than, of course, kettlebell training.

On one hand, I’m pretty excited to be nearly done.  Completing the program with anything larger than a kettlenetics-style toy kettlebell is something to be proud of.  It takes significant discipline and hard work to do these workouts.  And to do them over and over again.

Being done with ETK also represents a milestone in my training.  I’m one step closer to RKC having done this program.  No question, I’ll have to repeat the program at least once,  and probably twice before I go to RKC.  It will take me that long to develop the strength and conditioning necessary to be ready.  But having done it once and getting that behind me is one more step on the path.  That’s pretty exciting!

On the other hand, I’m strangely sad to see the end of this round of ETK.  (Anyone who has completed the program:  pick your jaw up from the floor!)  Pavel designed a winning program in Enter the Kettlebell.  I must admit, I barely believed Sandy Sommer, RKC when he so highly recommended the program and touted its benefits.  But he was right.  (Catch that, Sandy?)   My results have not been limited to strength gains.  Those are evident for sure.  However, I’ve also seen some fat loss !

So now I’m somewhat attached to this beast of a program.  Yes, you have to work hard, ridiculously hard.  But you get amazing rewards from the hard work.  It is so worth it.  I hardly want to think of training any other way.  I know there are many great options available.  For variety, I’ll need a break from ETK before I restart it with a heavier kettlebell, so I’ll be looking for one of those great options.

In the meantime, I’ll be working through my last week on the program.  And loving/hating every minute of it.

Mental toughness factors in on heavy days.  It may not sound too daunting to read about, but in practice, hoisting a kettlebell overhead many, many times becomes not only a physical challenge but also a mental one. I’m sure it is  not unlike any other tough athletic practice, in which self talk can make or break the entire effort.

No doubt, during a heavy ETK day, my thoughts can become tainted with self doubt and/or slight insanity.   Here’s a sample of a few of my thoughts during today’s kettlebell practice: 

(Note my abbreviations:  Rg- Rung: Repetitions performed in a specific pattern.  On your first rung you do one clean and press on the right, then one clean and press on the left, followed by one pulling exercise (chinup/pullup or one single arm row per side.) On rung #2 you perform 2 presses on the right, 2 presses on the left and 2 pulls.)    Lr-Ladder:  A group of rungs.  Generally three to five rungs make a ladder.  A heavy day in ETK has 5 ladders with 5 rungs each.)

Lr 1 Rg 4 This kettlebell feels heavier than it did last time. Am I still recovering from being sick?

Lr 1 Rg 5 Made it through the first ladder, only 4 more to go.  Ugh 4 more!?

Lr 2 Rg 1 OK gotta blow through Lr 2 so I will only have 3 more ladders to go.

Lr 2 Rg 3 Ouch that was a bad clean.  I know how to do cleans.  What’s my problem?

Lr 2 Rg 4 Ouch gotta fix that bad clean.  RKCs don’t do that.  Gotta do better than that to be an RKC.

Lr 2 Rg 5 Almost done second ladder, push! And I have to do how many more ladders? Right.

Lr 2 Rg 5 This is taking a long time.  Who do I think I am?

Lr 3 Rg 2 I think I’m almost half way done.  Ugh. I’m not mostly done?????

Lr 3 Rg 4 I lost count, what am I doing?

Lr 3 Rg 4 Oh yeah I just did 3 pulls last time so I’m on Rung 4 now. FOCUS!! Don’t want to have to repeat a ladder.

Lr 3 Rg 4 Gotta watch the clean.  Lock out the elbow.  Don’t make stupid mistakes!

Lr 3 Rg 4 Only two more ladders, almost.  I’ll feel good later.

Lr 3 Rg 5 Two more whole ladders??????? I did this before but it’s so harrrrd this time.

Lr 4 Rg 1 Yeah next to last ladder!! One silly rep. Ha Ha!!

Lr 4 Rg 2 Keep shoulder down, don’t make stupid mistakes.  Focus!!

Lr 4 Rg 2 Am I on ladder 4? cool.

Lr 4 Rg 3 Why do I practice with kettlebells?  This is extreme.

Lr 4 Rg 4 Shoot. This is hard. Come on wrist, stay locked and straight.

Lr 4 Rg 4 Grip the bell HARD!!! Push!  Don’t want to have to repeat week 10!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lr 4 Rg 5 I am on the last rung of this stupid ladder thing.  I must get this last press. NOT going to have to redo!!!!!!!

Lr  5 Rg 1 Oh yeah!  Oh yeah!! I’m on the last ladder!! Oh, the swings are ahead.

Lr 5 Rg 2 Hee hee two presses.  Easy!

Lr 5 Rg 3 This isn’t a tough rung to get through.  Come on.  Can’t run out of gas.  But the swings are ahead.

Lr 5 Rg 4 Shoot.  My arm feels weak.  I don’t want to repeat this week.

Lr 5 Rg 4 I’m tired.  The swings are ahead.  Pavel is a bad, bad man.

Lr 5 Rg 4 I hope this stupid program pays off.

Lr 5 Rg 5 Last rung of  last ladder – this might happen.  Gotta make it through.  So hard to push.  I have to!!!!!!!!!

Lr 5 Rg 5 I don’t like this. 

Lr 5 Rg 5 Last press -come on YESSS!

AHHHHH!! Putting the silly kettlebell down, but in a minute I have to do the swings. . .

Thankfully, with the swing practice, there isn’t really much time for thinking.  It’s mostly counting and breathing and hopefully focusing on good form.  And glancing at the gymboss to see how much longer.  And then, finally, REST.

This morning I wasn’t even sure I could make it through today’s light workout.  My son came down with the same virus yesterday, and although he was over the “worst” of it, he was awake much of the night with body aches.  Of course this means I didn’t get much sleep either, so the thought of exercise wasn’t all that enticing this morning.

However, propelled by the desire to reestablish my normal routine, I made the workout happen.  Today consisted of clean and press ladders:  five ladders of three rungs each.  As usual, I added in chinups/rows as prescribed in the workbook.  Together that portion of the workout was difficult but doable.

The second half of my kettlebell practice consisted of 9 minutes of snatches performed at a comfortable pace.  I got through this, but not without experiencing more fatigue than usual, and probably less-than-stellar form for some of the reps.  Afterward I felt exhausted rather than energized.  I guess that’s to be expected, so I’m not too concerned.  And I am continuing with medium day of week 10 on Wednesday.  Tomorrow’s variety day may end up as a rest day, though.  I’m still not feeling 100%. 

My second, and somewhat unplanned workout of the day consisted of moving a large desk and heavy park bench into my future studio space.  The landlord had agreed to let me  have these pieces of furniture, which had been left by prior tenants in other units.  So my husband and I used our “functional” strength combined with some hand trucks to get the job done.  Look for pictures of the space and the two “new” pieces of furniture to be posted here later today. 

Light day was no problem with the cleans and presses. Chinups were tough.  The conditioning practice on light days includes kettlebell snatches performed at an easy pace: 10 R, 10 L followed by a minute rest.  In this case, the practice lasted 8 minutes.  I’m not sure if grip strength is the problem, or just form in general.  But kettlebell snatches are just painful for my hands.  I’m training with Elise Matthews, RKC-II on Sunday and am psyched about letting her evaluate my form with snatches, among other things.

Tuesday was a variety day and I chose to do a test to see how many swings I could do for a set period of time with as-close-to-perfect form as my body and brain could agree on.  The practice lasted 12 minutes and wasn’t physcially  tough because I was focused on correct form as opposed to a completing a certain number of preselected reps.  When I felt like I was losing form in any way at all, I stopped and rested until I felt ready to go again.  It was an interesting practice, and illuminated the fact that many of my past workouts have gone too far.  The hardworking exercise fanatic in me always wants to push the work load.  I have to focus on taming that beast because form needs to be the priority.

Wednesday was medium day, so the clean and press practice included an extra rung in each of the five ladders. It went fine.  I think I must be getting stronger with the presses.  For the conditioning portion of the practice,  I did kettlebell swings for 8 minutes: 24 swings (which equates to about 45 seconds work for me) followed by 15 seconds active rest.  This part of the workout felt more heavy than medium!

By Thursday I realized that I would be losing a rest day this weekend because I’ll be training with Elise on Sunday.  I am taking rest days very seriously and prefer to err on the side of too many at this point, so eliminating one from the week didn’t feel right.  I considered using Thursday, a planned “variety” day, as a rest day to make up for losing Sunday, but then realized that if I did so, I wouldn’t get much practice with Turkish Get Ups in this week.  That didn’t seem right either, so I did a workout of 15 minutes of slow “naked” (no weight) Turkish Get Ups followed by some (no idea how many) single leg deadlifts.  (Just because I miss deadlifts). I think it was a good compromise.

The need for rest was confirmed when I somehow slept over 9 hours Thursday night.  Because today, Friday, is a planned rest day, I had turned off the alarm clock.  I expected to wake up at my usual time but slept through instead.  I feel really good today, and am excited to tackle my first “heavy” day of cleans and presses tomorrow.   More fun follows on Sunday!  Yay!

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!!

The program last week was 50 swings followed by 1 minute of jogging for 12 minutes then 5 minutes of TGUs.  I changed it up only slightly this week by substituting jumping rope for the jogging.  I prefer the rope jumping.  I’m not that great at it, but I’m not bad either. It’s enjoyable.   It reminds me of being a little girl. 

I also decided to vary the kettlebell swings a bit.  Initially I had planned to stick with 2 hand swings throughout but decided on my second round of swings to switch things up.   I did just a simple circuit of 10 2 hand, 10 right, 10 left, 10 2 hand, 5 right , 5 left.  I like that pattern.  It made the rest of the practice go much easier.  When the timer went off at the end of the 12 minutes, I was only part way through a round of swings but had plenty of steam left.  I completed that round and contemplated another but eventually decided to stop.

A few minutes later I practiced several rounds of alternating Turkish Get Up singles done with no weight.  I should have thought to use the shoe to balance on my hand.  Oh well.  It was great to focus on each movement carefully.  I stopped the practice at the end of 5 minutes.   

Next Tuesday I’m going to make the swing portion harder.  Not sure what I’m going to change. Maybe I’ll use the bigger kettlebell. Or add minutes.  Or shorten the rest.  At least I have a week to decide.