Lady Bears Softball...

Providing the pre-workout brief to the Lady Bears...

Last week PSKC was honored to start working with the Shawnee State University softball team. These girls get after it...it truly is a pleasure to work with them twice a week. They come in...focused and intense. Even more telling is that when they can't make their regularly scheduled workout, they come in on an "off" day for a makeup. I'm no softball expert...but I guarantee no team they will face is putting in the work these girls are right now.

Keep up the great work ladies....always remember whatever life throws at you, you can choose to passively let it happen to you, or you can attack it head on....keep attacking

If you're interested in having your team come in to increase their physical capacity and develop mental toughness as a unit...don't hesitate to drop me a line. I guarantee your team will enter their season, stronger, better conditioned, and most importantly mentally tough and engaged...
louisdaleking@yahoo.com

The Two Minute Torture

Over 30 people rocking the Training Room 2 minute torture

Thanks to my man Uncle Mike at the Training Room, we introduced the two minute torture today at PSKC. After we worked on some Turkish Get-Ups, we went straight into the two minute torture..

Every two minutes for 20 minutes, you complete the following as fast as you can
5 burpees
10 Snatches (5w/5s)
15 Mountain Climbers
20 Swings

The clock resets every 2 minutes and you start over again for a total of 10 rounds, so the faster you get done the more rest you get before the 2 minutes is up. It gets really brutal really fast...see below

Also, I'm super excited to officially announce Spartan Jiu Jitsu....

 I was very fortunate to be approached by some outstanding local jiu jitsu instructors (Jason Shepherd and John Bruce) who wanted to offer jiu jitsu classes at PSKC! The first class will be this Friday at 6pm at the gym. It will be available to current members at a small additional fee, and a jiu jitsu only membership will also be available. I will announce the schedule and dues/memberships as we nail them down...right now we are just super stoked to be able to get this up and going and make it available to the community...more details to follow!

More info, check out the Spartan Jiu Jitsu facebook page...click HERE

Congrats!!

Some of the members of the PSKC family at the Marshall Marathon

So what do you do for fun on a Sunday? Well apparently if you train at PSKC, you go run in a 1/2 Marathon at Marshall. Around 7 PSKC regulars woke up super early on a very chilly Sunday to run over 13 miles, some even bested their times by 10 minutes.

Now what the hell does long distance running and kettlebell training have in common? Nothing really...as a matter of fact I'm not a fan of long distance running, because it's not something I personally enjoy doing (I'm preparing for Ann Marie to beat me up). I'm more of a MMA, Olympic lifting, kettlebell sport kind of guy...but that's besides the point.

What I am a fan of is..setting goals and challenging yourself. No matter what your goal is, what obstacle you want to overcome....GO DO IT! That's exactly what these group of people did....it was their goal to go run a 1/2 marathon....some just wanted to go see if they could do it, some wanted to reach a specific time. But they ALL chose to challenge themselves.

Now is training at PSKC specific to getting you ready to be a long distance runner...no. Will it help you in your long distance running? Yes....will it help you be a better at softball, football, basketball, tennis, fighting?...YES.

Well this sounds like some sort of a magical ninja training that must have been kept a secret for centuries...not really. This super secret training involves busting your ass...it means working your strength and conditioning levels equally...no matter what you want to do athletically..you need to have a base of general strength and conditioning for your sport specific skill to rest upon.

Now think back to that point in your life when you believed you were in the "best shape of your life". Odds are the majority of you will say it was when you played on a sports team either in high school or college. So what happens when you're no longer involved in competitive sports?

So basically after age 22...what are you supposed to do?

Are you just supposed to slide down the has been path to becoming soft and weak. Some of you keep at it by going to the gym...but it's just not the same, you're there by yourself amongst a sea of anonymity and surrounded by mediocrity. There is no coach and their damn sure ain't a team there.

Just because you're not on a team doesn't mean you have to stop training like a athlete.
When you train like an athlete 2 things happen:

1. You become more athletic
2. You look like an athlete

Pretty simple...that's what we do at PSKC....we train like athletes and we push each other through it. No matter what your goals, run a 1/2 marathon, get ready for the military, or just be a kickass mom/wife...we are the place for you. Get back to that point of being in the best shape of your life. Now is the time...we only ask you give supreme effort...anything easy ain't worth having. 

Another great week is lined up, it kicks off tomorrow at 6pm and we have an additional session at 7pm. We will also honor our Nation's Heroes for a great Veteran's Day workout later in the week on Thursday. See you guys tomorrow! 

Some footage of recent weeks...

Below is a clip of some the past weeks' highlights....you guys have so much to be proud of, keep up the great work and have a great weekend. A new week of ass kicking starts Monday! I'll be sure to put together one helluva Veteran's Day workout on Thursday.


Also, I'm very excited that in the near future we are going to be able to offer jiu jitsu classes at the gym! We are working the details out now...but rest assured it's going to be awesome.

Sissy Test

One of the toughest girls at PSKC moments after the Sissy Test

Thursday night witnessed the inaugural Sissy Test experience at PSKC. As much as I wish I could take credit for developing such a terrible thing, the Sissy Test was developed by a Senior Russian Kettlebell Instructor Brad Nelson. So what is it?....

It's a combo of 2 exercises; the kettlbell swing and the dreaded burpee in an alternating ladder format...it works like this.

25 swings/ 1 burpee
24 swings, 2 burpees
23 swings, 3 burpees
22 swings, 4 burpees
.
.
.
all the way down to..
1 swing, 25 burpees

In the beginning...when everyone's mind and body were fresh

So quick hillbilly math...that's 325 swings and 325 burpees...a very disturbing test of the physical and more so of the mental fitness.

And the after...exhausted after a combined total of 650 reps

Everyone did a fantastic job. I honestly did not expect over 20 people to show up for this. That's is one of my proudest days in the gym. After I purposely tried to scare people into how awful it would be, I thought I might get a handful to show up and take the Sissy Test...but over 20?? That's just simply amazing and beautiful.

Now think back to 2 months ago when we started this whole thing...after your first workout with kettlebells, imagine if I would have told you..."in 2 months from now we're going to do a workout that involves 325 swings and 325 burpees and it will take around 50 minutes non-stop work to complete"..you would have told me to go hell...but the great part is only have a few shorts months you guys are living for stuff like the Sissy Test...you come in look on the board and destroy whatever God awful mess of a workout is written up there. You complete these workouts as a badge of honor and rightfully so. And on top of all this...strength is being gained, pounds are being lost, and goals are being attained. That's why it was one of my proudest nights in the gym so far....cannot wait for what the future holds.

A big thank you to all of those who came in and killed the Sissy Test!!

Sissy Test Preparation

Sweat Angel via full Sissy Test

Okay guys....just managed the mad evil journey that is the Sissy Test in 40 minutes 50 seconds. Now don't worry I won't be posting a spoiler as to what it is actually is...I'll have a full blown recap after you guys kill it tomorrow. So here are some tips for you all to prepare..

No matter the temperature inside the gym you will get hot. As I was cranking Rollins Band in the gym by myself, I had to take the shirt off because it was becoming a sweaty steamy mess...I would venture to say the gym was around 50 degrees and I was pouring sweat...that's a good thing because I properly hydrated.

So..here's the first tip;

1) START DRINKING WATER NOW...AND KEEP DRINKING. Bring a water bottle with you and set it beside you..you'll need it.

2) Dress in layers..after you start getting warm, you can peel them off. Don't worry I'll be getting torpedo heaters in the near future to see us through the winter.

2) Come in with an empty gut...this a twofold message. Have plenty of good calories in you, but don't eat any one big meal throughout the day. Second part...make sure you poop beforehand. Seriously, I'm half joking and being half serious. You don't any type of gastrointestinal roadblocks popping up...no need to have butt mudd on your cleats slowing you down on the field during the game if you know what I'm saying..

3) MUSIC - If you don't like my music or want your own IPOD...go for it. There's not much to coach during the sissy test, so feel free to plug in and rock out

4) Keep going...in all honesty you'll be fine, I'm making a bigger deal out of it than it is, purposely trying to pysche you guys out...it will be challenging but all you guys will do fine.

Now here's the real test...let's see how many people are actually going to show up to class tomorrow. Will it be you? Are you willing to accept a challenge? To get outside your comfort zone and see it through to the end? Or will you back down and shy away? What will happen when you're faced with a REAL LIFE challenge...what will happen then? Let these sessions give you the confidence that you can and will be the one standing at the end...there's a difference between THINKING you can endure versus KNOWING you can...

Remember, you have 2 options for class times tomorrow 6pm or 7pm.

PS..This week has been a great week at PSKC...lots of exciting things are in the works for PSKC in the near future.

This week's work..

Working on handstand push-ups..how else would you bond with your mom? 

Monday and Tuesday's classes have been great. The block program is up and running and it's great to see the names and goals scribbled all over the walls. Now it's time to start knocking them out...speaking of goals. The below snippet is from HYPERFIT USA...please click HERE to read the post in its entirety..

People come into the gym with goals - lose weight, get stronger, be fitter or combat boredom. These goals are so simple to accomplish that it is almost laughable. Ready for the secret sauce? Shhhhhhh...don't tell anyone: stop eating processed carbs/sugars and come to the gym at least 3 times per week and work hard.  Magic! At a minimum, 99% of people’s fitness and health goals can be accomplished like this. Seriously. Three hours per week and stay out of the drive through. When grocery shopping, if it doesn't go bad in a few days, don't buy it. If your goal is to lose weight and be healthier - but you can't control your food cravings and can't get to the gym - then it isn't really a goal, it is a wish

So far this week we've got in a great conditioning workout on Monday and put in some strength work today..

Monday we worked on refining the kettlebell snatch..then we started on 2 X 10 minute As Many Rounds As Possible (AMRAP) of the following:

AMRAP #1
6 X KB Snatch weak/strong arm
16 X Sledge hammer/Slamball/Rope Chops

AMRAP #2
4 X Pullups
8 X KB Goblet Squat
12 X KB High Pulls

Tuesday we focused on building strength in a descending ladder format: 8,6,4,3,2,1 of...
KB Floor Press
Renegade Rows
KB Cleans
Pistols (one legged squats)
Handstand Pushups

Bussa cleaning the 88

That's what friends are for...Primetime and the Burpee Machine or for my Spanish speaking friends                                      "la maquina de Burpeos" 

Tomorrow we will spend a lot of time working on people's goals as we taper down somewhat in preparation for Thursday's inaugural "SISSY TEST".....it will be one helluva challenge workout!