Amazing People Doing Amazing Things!

The four teams that showed up to represent the Hike for Hospice killed it! Nothing quite like teaming up to do a 5K carrying kettlebells, a strongman Yoke, each other, and even a vintage fanny pack! We had close to 20 people who showed up to challenge themselves. This was the first time we had done something like this, and everyone agreed we need to do it more often.

the beginning of a team 5k carrying someone on your back

Team Yoked Up rocking the new T-Shirts!

Badass ninjas with the "Stop Staring at My Traps" tank tops

Although some people may have been a little apprehensive in the beginning and maybe even wondered, "should I even try this?" Every single person was thrilled they did it. And the same goes for next week's Gauntlet Challenge. Now is the time to step up and test yourself...challenge yourself, gain the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. We are going to have a ball on the 21st and would love for you to come participate!

TANKS AND NEW SHIRTS ARE IN!! Make sure you bring your money in this week. After next week I'm putting them online for sale!

Shirt that you receive at the Gauntlet. Also available for sale at the gym- $20

See you guys for another great week of training as we prepare for Saturday's Gauntlet! This week's intro will be on Wednesday at 5pm. See you all at 6 or 7 on Monday!

the Ashley B!

Ashley B...the B stands for BEAST MODE

The above picture is an example of what happens when lay it on the line every time you train and eat right! Combining the right diet and right exercise makes for one strong machine..

At PSKC we pride ourselves on customer service...

Earlier in the week, someone asked me if we could do burpee pullups in a workout. Ask and you shall receive!

So today we started off with a 1/2 mile run followed by 3 rounds of:
10 burpee-pullups AKA "Ashley B's"
15 Push Presses
20 Sledge Strikes
then finished with another 1/2 mile run

Here's a vid of Beast Mode in action..and she smoked my time by the way..finishing in 14:51


Here she is spring the home stretch of the last terrible 1/2 mile..

And the final product...

She kicks massive amounts of ass. And by the way she eats great too, you can't out train a shitty diet....it's such an honor to coach her and everyone at PSKC. She has come a long way...but just imagine what she and you will be doing in 6 months...the future is bright..

WEEKEND ANNOUNCEMENTS:
We are rallying at 0830 at the Hospice Center in Portsmouth on Saturday for the Hike for Hospice...epic glory awaits you for this awesome event. If you want get on a team and carry some kettlebells, we'll figure out a way. Or if you just want to walk in the event and encourage those teams, please do! But remember we are cancelling the 11am class on Saturday because I want as many people to attend this event and more importantly donate money to the Hospice!

Always remember your profession...

300 what is your profession by RobGreen

Finally, we're heading up to Rogue Fitness to get some equipment on Saturday. Email me if you want me to get you a kettlebell or two.. louisdaleking@yahoo.com

See you tomorrow morning for epic glory!!

Everyone needs a ball to chase..

the man himself...Brutus..official PSKC mascot

Most of you know about our dog, Brutus. Brutus is our “baby boy”, we’ve had him since he was a pup in Colorado I got him to watch over the wife during my deployments and I firmly believe that if push came to shove, Tia would make me sleep on the couch so Brutus could have a spot in the bed.

The thing above all others that Brutus loves to do is play fetch. Rain, snow, blistering heat, uphill, in the woods, in a lake….it doesn’t matter…you throw he will get it. It’s almost as if it’s his job and that boy loves to work. I have seen him jump over and through fences, crash into other dogs, and search for over an hour…relentless on the hunt… until he got his ball…

through sea, air, and land...it's all about the chase

A desire to play “fetch” is also known as having a “high prey drive” in the canine protection community. It’s a key factor that Police/Military units look for in dogs that are to be trained for protection/search purposes. The prey drive is the instinct that makes many dogs love to locate, pursue, and catch game.The dog must live for the chase.

it all starts with a high prey drive

Chasing that ball is his physical release, his moment of joy/play, what he looks forward to each and every day. He sits inside and patrols the house until we get home…waiting for that moment when I grab the Chuck-it.

I can’t imagine not playing with fetch with Brutus. It would be a cruel punishment to take that away from him. And I can tell a distinct difference in his personality/attitude when we can’t toss the ball out in the yard for a few days because of the rain. He seems to get depressed, moping around the house, almost as if he serves no purposes…a defeated and sad pup.

no ball to chase = sad pup

There is no substitute for the ball. He doesn’t want to be tied to a leash and walk around the block, nor be tied to a stake in the yard. He wants to run, sprint, chase, and hunt….

If he doesn’t have the ball to chase, where would he gather his enjoyment and sense of satisfaction? No ball to fetch = a sad pup

Do you have a ball to chase? Do you run freely as fast and aggressive as you possibly can? Or are you restrained to the leash, frustrated…wanting to break free? Walking on the treadmill isn’t the same as sprinting, jumping, climbing, lifting heavy things..

this is our ball to chase

Are you looking forward to your workout each and every day? Anxiously awaiting the chase…the hunt to be better than you were the day before. Or do you sit in the house and lay around…sad, defeated, a shell of your once former active and confident self.

For the regulars at PSKC….the answer is obvious… they live to hunt and chase and they look forward to it. These workouts are their ball to chase and devour.

in the middle of the chase..

For some when they first started they didn’t know they had this sense of “prey drive”, the chase …but once it was turned on there is no going back. Now they just want a heavier ball thrown further and faster…

Join us…break free of the leash and find your prey drive.

PSKC Intro = Tuesday 5pm

May is going to be a busy month at PSKC!

Training for the Hike for Hospice

First up we have the team 5K Kettlebell Carry at the Hike for Hospice in Portsmouth, click HERE for details. We are going to go ahead and cancel the Pain Clinic this Saturday so we can get maximum participation. Plus a couple of us afterwards are heading up to Rogue Fitness for their annual garage sale. People are still trying to get teams together, so please get ahold of one another. It will be a killer workout for an awesome cause. Last Thursday we did a 1 miler and it was a smoker. This will be epic, don't miss out! If you need more details, email me at: louisdaleking@yahoo.com
If you don't want to do the 5K carry, that's cool too..just come out and walk and root us on!

Going to be amazingly awesome..

The following Saturday,May 21st we are rocking the inaugural Gauntlet! We've got a good number of pre-registrants but we still have some slots available please let your friends know and pass the word along. I went ahead and ordered a bunch of shirts, so we're gonna go ahead and accept registrations until the morning of the event. However, we are capping the number at 40. Plus, Primetime has been gracious enough to host a post-Gauntlet cookout! Make sure you bring a dish with you. We will have more info available at the gym as far as who needs to bring what.

Finally, the intro for this week is TOMORROW, TUESDAY AT 5PM. Please pass the word along to your friends. We are always looking for hard working, fun loving people to join the PSKC crew!

A Can of Coke = Smoking a Cigarette

Remember when it was cool to smoke?

In this day and age, when you see someone smoking a cigarette what's the first thing that pops into your mind? For me, it's typically something like "that person is a gigantic dumbass". Now, my point is not to offend any smokers or pass judgment, I'm definitely not better than you.

It's America baby, you have the right to be unhealthy and give yourself cancer, go for it. I'm not here to pass judgement, but nowadays when you light up at least you know of the risks you're taking. Not like back in the day when ads claimed "more Doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette".

But even with all the evidence and information that yes... suprisingly inhaling smoke into your lungs is actually bad for you and it can kill you...people still light up. Why? It's their choice, it's the informed risk they're taking everytime they light up. It's a nasty, gross, insanely unhealthy habit...and nicotine is a bitch to quit due to it's amazingly addictive properties. I don't think anyone is going to argue with me here. If you smoke you're increasing your chances to get cancer or some other form of disease.

AND THE SAME THING IS TRUE REGARDING CONSUMPTION OF SUGAR

Here's the mental connection I want you to make...

Everytime you drink a pop, you're smoking a cigarette

Eating a cake/cookie/doughnut/cinnamon roll...you're smoking a cigarette

Gummie (just for you Zoe)/candy...you're smoking a cigarette

Drinking that Tim Hortons/Starbucks carmel frappucino/latte...light it up brother, inhale..exhale

Harsh right? You're probably thinking, "dude, c'mon...that's a little extreme". How the hell is sugar consumption the equivalent of smoking a Newport?

I'm not a doctor, hell I don't even like science or hospitals or big words...but I do read and listen to smart people. This Dr. beautifully explains (1:29 mark) the sugar = insulin resistance = cancer tumor growth connection.



Makes sense right? You eat lots of sugars/unnecessary carbohydrates..you consistently spike your insulin levels (hyperinsulinism)...your body becomes insulin resistant...you increase your chances for cancer.

The Paleo guru Robb Wolf provides the best example....


Still not convinced? Do your own homework..google "insulin resistance and cancer", see what pops up. Click here for an example:

"It may not even be important to distinguish whether it is the insulin or the obesity or the inflammation that causes these diseases, adds Bernstein. “For example, we don’t know why smoking affects lung cancer. Does it cause inflammation? Is it an irritant? But we don’t have to know why if we can make a change that will lower our risk. Not smoking reduces lung cancer risk. Exercise and losing weight lowers risk of the diseases linked to insulin levels or obesity or metabolic syndrome."
Still don't want to give up the cinnabon and reese cups (my favorites too). Think about this...how many people, just in the Southern Ohio area alone do you know that have or had some form of cancer? The results are staggering aren't they? On my quick count I know FAR too many people that have had cancer. WTF? How is this possible? 

Is it a coincidence that it seems like everyone you know has cancer or some other sort of disease and that Scioto County is the unhealthiest county in Ohio? There's got to be some weird environmental factors in play right? Well that certainly is the answer for some of the cancer/disease victims...but for a lot of them the answer may just be food.  

Think of food as your medicine or as your poison. SUGAR = POISON ...

I'm not asking you to live the monk/nun lifestyle, just stick to the 80-90/20-10 rule. Eat all natural food (lots of meat, lots of veggies, some fruit, seeds, and nuts) 80-90% of the time, and allow yourself some of the poisonous junk 10-20% of the time (aka what I'll be doing at the Kentucky Derby this weekend).

The choice will always be yours. You can become a strong, confident, capable person..allowing your body to become the amazing machine God intended it to be. Or you can morph into the soft, weak, couch ridden creature...scared and insecure.

Do you want to die a long drawn out miserable death connected to machines, bedridden..suffering? Me neither...that's why I stopped eating like sh!t and started throwing kettlebells around and I'd love for you to join me.

the dirty...the nasty..the FILTHY

as bad as it looks..

To celebrate the boys of JSOC bringing the heat and terminating Bin Laden with extreme prejudice, we did a little Filthy 50, aka Chuck Norris...

Pusscake killed the Filthy..

During my military service, I had the extreme fortune of serving with a special operations unit. I say this not for the "cool guy" effect, as my role was to support the operators. However, it was through this relationship that I was introduced to the Crossfit method/style of training.

After several days of being asked to try it out, finally a couple of SF officers decided it would be "cool" to try "Filthy 50" and invited me along.  Some 50 minutes later and several visits to the bathroom...I was destroyed and demoralized. I couldn't even finish the damn thing ....I was pissed off with myself, because I thought I was in shape, after all I was supposed to be prepared for combat, if I had only been introduced earlier on. After that day I was hooked....that was almost exactly 4 years ago.

4 years laters, I completed the same workout in 20 minutes, 5 seconds. 

But what pleased me even more was that all regulars at PSKC completed the workout in around 30 minutes....truly a beautiful thing to witness and be able to participate alongside, I'm constantly impressed by you all...

Speaking of impressive...how strong do you think you are? Try taking over 1/2 your bodyweight in one hand, pick it off the ground and put it overhead. Need an example...here's PSKC Coach Monica clean and pressing a 70lb kettlebell...


Being strong doesn't mean being bloated and "huge"...it means being as strong as humanly possible at the lowest bodyweight....strength to bodyweight ratio. That's what we're after, and so should you be. We'll show you how...all you have to do is commit and provide the effort. PSKC will take care of the rest...

Want to learn how? Come to Wednesday's intro at 5pm....come be apart of Southern Ohio's strongest movement. 

Pre-Register for the Gauntlet Tomorrow!

gun show of the next generation

Hey guys...first up. I'm putting in the order for the Gauntlet T-Shirts after the last class tomorrow! Full details can be found here:
http://portsmouthspartankettlebellclub.blogspot.com/2011/03/pskc-gauntlet.html
A lot of folks have said they're coming, but haven't pre-registered. Hate for you guys to miss out on the shirt! We will still accept registrations all the way until the morning of the Gauntlet, but I've got to get the shirts ordered by Tuesday. Also just found out we are going to have an awesome masseuse at the gym for the entire event, thanks Kelly Chabot!
Also, Primetime is going to have the official Gauntlet after party at her house. Beer and BBQ...but you gotta bring a dish and be prepared for beer fueled challenges!

Speaking of Primetime, she was kind of enough to ask the wife and I to come to Portsmouth West Elementary for career day for 2nd graders. I honestly was freaking out...first off I knew I couldn't cuss, and then I had to worry about message I wanted to send. Well it turns out...2nd graders are amazed by Turkish Get Ups and burpees...so I was pretty much on their level.

ask any 2nd grader on the West Side, and they will tell you Ann is the strongest woman in the Tri-State area

So after we showed them how to do a burpee...we had "burpee races", which as you can imagine was killer. It was a great time and want to send a big thanks to the staff at Portsmouth West Elementary!

See you guys tomorrow at 6 or 7. Garett has a special request for tomorrow...so make sure you guys thank him ahead of time!