Looking in the mirror...

REMINDER: NO CLASS TONIGHT; WE WILL MEET BACK UP ON FRIDAY AT 5PM.


Another great crowd yesterday! We worked on the refining the kettlebell clean and press technique for the newer members, while the more advanced folks worked on finding how heavy a bell they could clean and press with solid technique. It’s an awesome thing to witness people nail a clean and press a weight they never thought they could lift, or hit their first box jump (way to go Jennifer!)

The clean is a tricky thing to learn especially if you’re new to it…so check out Uncle Mike from the Training Room give some excellent coaching points;


We are always striving to find that perfect balance between strength and conditioning. What good is it if you can deadlift 700 pounds but it takes you 20 minutes to run a mile? Or vice versa, you are a marathon runner, but don’t have the strength to carry your significant other out of a burning house/car/etc…

After the cleans and presses, we went into a sprint style workout of descending/ascending ladders of one arm kettlebell swings and box jumps;

10X 1 arm swings w/s
1X box jump
…
…
all the way down to;
1 X 1 arm swing w/s
10X box jumps

Times came in anywhere from 6-12 minutes, most left exhausted but a few left looking like there still might have been some gas in the tank. Sometimes during these shorter sprint workouts, a few of the advanced trainees leave wanting more compared to (for example) Tuesday’s 30 minute workout. Just because something is shorter in time does not make it easier;  IF MAXIMUM EFFORT IS APPLIED.

Look at it like this; if I told you to run one lap (400 meters) versus 4 laps (1 mile) around the track, there is going to be a significant difference in power output on the one lap versus a sustained effort on the mile run. The difference in that power output is directly related to intensity/effort level that is being produced.

Some of you are much more comfortable staying at the medium/moderate levels of intensity that you would apply on the mile run versus an extremely high level of intensity required (outside of your comfort zone) for an all out no holds barred 400 meter sprint (shorter distance).

I did the same workout earlier in that day in just over 6 minutes and I was spent/exhausted/wanted my mommy to tell me everything is going to be okay. 2-3 minutes later I was fine as I recovered. But I would not have felt that way if I only put forth a moderate level of effort and finished the same workout in say 8 minutes. I would have been cheating myself…

Only you know if you gave it all you had; you’re the one who has to look in the mirror that day and ask if you gave it your best on that day.

For some of you, this may be an unfamiliar concept, and that is perfectly fine. If you’re willing to learn, we can show the way…