Academy Workout

I work as a PT instructor for the Los Rios Community College Police acdaemy as well. They are a motivated bunch of recruits who pay their own way through the academy. This academy has a special place in my heart since this is the same academy that I had went through as a recruit in 1993. (many moons ago, grasshoppa). In the back of their classroom is an award I am proud of, "Most Inspirational" voted on by my academy classmates of Class 13. It reminds me of the great importance we can have on influencing others in a positive (or negative) way.

A circuit both classes did last week. 30 seconds work/30 seconds rest. 90 seconds rest per round/4 rounds.

1. Concept II row
2. DB or KB press/ alt. press
3. Jump rope
4. Physioball situps
5. KB around the body pass
6. Dynamax ball burpee/sprawl wall slam
7. D-ball slams

I did the workout with my recruits while I let my second handle the whistle. It was a good day!

YOU HAVE IT BETTER THAN YOU THINK

My blog is changing, and does life. If no one else reads my blog, it will be fine, this will serve as a reminder to me to stay focused.

My wife asked me the other day what motivates me. I was surprised when I did not have an immediate passioned response. I realized many things, that I was letting myself go through the motions. Stress was reigning supreme, and I was letting it take me for the ride.

I am extremely fortunate to have a partner and soulmate who can check me into reality with one question.

Hick's Law

Tony Blauer. Good Stuff to study.

I'M BACK!

Alot has happened since Nov. 2007. I became a POST Master Instructor, saw my PT project not get certified by POST (that's a long and bitter story to tell), so I ran the project in-house instead. Graduated an academy, started a new academy class, and also teach at the Los Rios Community COllege police academy. (They get KBs too!) Here's a little bit of irony, the same people who would not certify my course also gave me high marks for my lesson plans and approach at the academy. Bittersweet.

I was fortunate to see John Giduck present a debrief of the Virginia Tech shooting. If you have not heard of John Giduck, he has an extensive background in Russian studies/O.C from St. Petersburg. Anyways, he wrote a very intense book about the hostage/murder school siege at Beslan. (Terror at Beslan). I think every American should read that book, especially those that think we are safe here in mainland USA. John Giduck has a greate foreward in the book by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, another great American who has lived and researched the warrior mentality/mindset. The officers of VA Tech and Blacksburg were erroneously and negligently portrayed in the media as slow to respond/cowardly. They arrived on the scene in 2 minutes! No one could have responded better than they did. It was criminal how they were portrayed in the press. Much respect to those officers who entered that bloodbath and did the job that they were trained to do the best way they could.

With regards to physical training, I am not training solely with kettlebells, but looking at the whole buffet of PT. I had a severe low back strain recently that had me review my training. I believed that this should not have happened had I been paying attention to strict form. I was leading the class in Tabata squats (my score: 22), but in the 2nd round (out of 8) I felt a jerk/slip in my low back. A more prudent person would have stopped. A foolish person continued.

I am back whole, and going back to my foundation: kettlebells, barbells, and bodyweight exercises. I am even running again. (I am not fond of running-it is a necessary evil!)

Peace-out!

Too close for missiles, switching to guns.

FINALLY!

I have graduated from the Master Instructor Development Program through POST. At what cost, the list is long and plentiful. Even though I also became an RKC and an AKC coach in this duration, I really focused on self accomplishment, and other things took a secondary role. That is now changing.

I will be taking a break from blogging for a spell. It is time for me to regroup and refocus. This blog is only taking a snooze, and will rear its ugly head again. For those of you who need to get a hold of me can get me through my email (petediaz2@yahoo.com) or if you have my cell, you are always welcome to call.

Needless to say, I have enjoyed my encounters with so many wonderful people in this blogosphere! Ken, (who I already knew from kettlebell training) Franz, Tom, Rif, were the mainstays in the beginning after the RKC, and then people who popped in during its run, Sarah, KBL, Rolando, Podunk. Thanks for the input!

Before I go underground, I must say this. Division is pointless. Mocking other styles is pointless. In the end, a healthier stronger body is the goal in order to be a productive person to our families and keeping our community intact. How you get there is your business. The world is turning and is going to get darker before it gets lighter. Contribute to the lightness. Count your blessings, because you have it better than you think.

Going silent for now, but I shall return. (Filipinos love Gen. MacArthur :) )

On the road back

The flu and subsequent shut down really messed me up! I am worlds better now. Taking it slowly getting back. I definitely lost lean muscle. :( but still weighing 190.

Tues: First kb workout in eons.
warmup
Swings 16 kg 20/20
LCCJ: 16 kg. 15/15 x 2

Double 16s LCCJ 16 reps/2:00 min. 8 per minute.
Single 24 kg. LCCJ Alt. arms each minute
7/7/7/7 (4:00)
8/8/8/8 (4:00)

Jump squat with bar 20 reps
Jump squat bar + 20 kg: 20 reps.
(I have never done these before- felt good, but kicked my butt after the kb work).
Jog 15 mins.

Wed.
Pugilistics day at the academy. Played Mit-man with the recruits. Worked a little sweat from that. Sore from Tues. workout.

Thurs. My colleagues convinced me to work a BJJ session with them. Hour long session- felt very refreshing! Over stressed in the first round, and gassed out. Relaxed in later rounds, and did not gas out at all. Learning to relax under a weight is a definite skill that carries over to BJJ.

Frid. work behind a computer, but I will get a session in later. Graduation from MIDP is next week!

Competitive kettlebell lift instructions

I read Rolando's post on the DD forum, and he has asked here about the benefits/carryover to other sports such as martial arts, or other lifting. Since I don't actively participate in other sports (teaching police defensive tactics doesn't count, although, it is much easier to teach and demonstrate and well as be the uki- person being thrown- from kettlebell lifting period)I can't speak intelligently on such things. I am curious about the rest of you. Has kettlebell sport lifting helped in your sprinting, cycling, martial arts, etc?

Having met Rolando at the Sept. RKC, he is a motivated athlete, and an all-around fun guy. His heart is in the right place. Below is one of his videos.




This is taken from AKC coach/Fire Safety Advisor Mike Stefano's blog.
http://firefightersworkout.blogspot.com/2007/10/confessions-of-kettlebell-coach.html

I think it is a good tutorial on the competitive lifts approach.



PART ONE

SWING


Not following the bell with your torso as it swings back between your legs, forcing a premature forward swing
POSSIBLE FIX: Follow the bell with your eyes and allow the back to round, as you let the bell to finish its rearward swing before reversing direction. This same fix applies to the clean and snatch. Once this problem is eliminated, you can stop watching the bell and keep eyes fixed on the floor a few feet in front of you.

Holding too much tension in the body, and using the arm to pull the bell forward

POSSIBLE FIX: Relax... this can't be over stated. Think of the arm as a rope tied to the bell handle and generate motion with the back and legs. Collapse forward as you empty of air, at the moment the bell starts to travel forward on its own, straighten up with the back and legs. Feel the pull through the arm and shoulder, but don't originate it from there.

Bell rocks or shakes between legs in backswing
POSSIBLE FIX: Proper grip, holding bell handle on the inside corner with a hook grip. Also, maintain the handle at a 45 degree angle. This will give you much control of the bell. Another possible reason the bell doesn't follow a straight line is found the the first problem, not following the bell. If the arc rearward is shortened prematurely (bells not done moving on its own), there's a forceful pull that rocks the bell (and kills your grip in Snatch and Clean).

Go To: >>SWING VIDEO
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CLEAN

Man or woman, when first learning sticking with one arm cleans, jerks, and long cycles provides plenty of challenge, and what I feel is a better way for the average person to safely progress. This article will strictly deal with one arm work.
No rest in the rack position. By far the most common problem, and one that contributes to early fatigue is the inability to achieve a good rack position. With AKC and Valery's training, we learned to find the hip with the elbow as your hips move forward, knees stay straight, and back is round. From here the arm forms a virtual V that cradles the bell with the handle resting on the hip of the palm.

POSSIBLE FIX: I've worked with some people that have no trouble finding the hip right away. But some of my bigger boys tend to be far away. The fix here isn't automatic, but needs to be ingrained over time. Again, relax into the position, searching for 100 percent gravity support of the bell with virtually no muscular effort to keep it in place. The bell is actually more balanced than held in the most ideal situation.

As another solution and if necessary I'll stick with more Long Cycle work to allow a break from the rack position. It's not uncommon to have a client do Long Cycle Push Press even before they've learned to Jerk. As the rack gradually improves, a return to Jerks is implemented.

Another aspect of resting is found in the wrist position which must be slightly bent back but totally relaxed. The bell still sits directly on the hip of the hand, but with a relaxed wrist a shelf forms with very little muscle effort. At all times the bell is supported structurally, over the ulna, almost eliminating the wrist from the equation. This also applies the the overhead lockout.

Tossing the bell when dropping is another common issue. Whether learning cleans or performing Long Cycle, it almost hurts me to watch a Tosser. I define a tosser as someone who pushes the bell as far away from there body as possible when lowering the bell from the rack position preparing for another rep. This problem can stem from working with a light bell, that's sometimes necessary to master other finer aspects of the movement and still do high rep sets. Even so, the time to correct this problem is early on, before making the switch to a heavier bell.
POSSIBLE FIX: Reinforce the concept of dropping the bell, nudging it out of the rack with the shoulder, keeping the grip as relaxed as possible, re-grabbing with a hook grip with perfect timing and no distinct pull on the arm and shoulder. Then, reverse the motion (with all the same technique as the swing above) when the bell begins to swing forward.

Mike Stefano
>>EastCoastKettlebells.com


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PART TWO

THE JERK

Allowing your arm / elbow to move off the hip before popping it up with the legs

POSSIBLE FIX: Wait for the pressure of the hip against the elbow as you execute the first dip. Do not allow the elbow to drift away from the hip by "pressing" the bell with your arm. Keep the arm and elbow married to the body as much as you can, until it's driven up by the connection with the lower body. For some, resting the elbow on the hip isn't possible.

Unable to get the elbow(s) close the hip(s)

POSSIBLE FIX: Over time the body will adapt and somewhat mold itself around the movement. Relax into it, be sure the hips are forward, knees straight, and back round. The rounding of the back is what brings the elbow to the hip. If you can't make the hip, allow the upper arm and elbow to rest against your body where it lies. For some, it may be beneficial to emphasize a slightly longer lockout to catch some rest, but long and slow sets that feature an extensive hold in the rack is what will get you there. Resort to Long Cycle (rack isn't held as long) if necessary.

Excessive arm and shoulder fatigue due to controlling the bell on the down drop
POSSIBLE FIX: Before lifting kettlebells, we were all taught to control the weight on the negative portion of the rep - Not so here! After lockout is achieved, the weight is literally released from its position as it's dropped to the shoulder, directly back into the rack position in preparation for another rep. The weight is absorbed by the body in several ways.

Releasing a big exhalation as the kettlebell drops and lands
Employing a slight bending of the ankles, knees, hips, as the bell makes contact with the shoulder

Raising up on the toes as the bell drops and immediately reversing direction as it touches the body
Emphasis on a smooth landing where the bell slides into position versus crashes in
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PART THREE

THE SNATCH

Not following the bell as it travels backward between the legs
POSSIBLE FIX: Keep your eyes on the bell as it travels back. Allow the back to round, and the bell to finish its rearward motion, before pulling back, and standing up. The same fix applies to both the clean and swing. Don't allow this to become a permanent practice. Eventually, get your gaze focused back on the floor or wall in front of you.


Not being able to get the bell to land on the "hip of the hand" in lockout

POSSIBLE FIX: Some aspect of your timing is off or you're using too much weight. When the bell repeatedly fails to land on that sweet spot, fatigue accelerates proportionally. Drop down in weight (or switch hands if necessary), and improve timing with more and more reps, and longer sets. Remember the basics:

Follow the bell as it swings between your legs
Pull back with power from back and legs
When bell is "weightless", reposition hand, rushing into bell
Lockout with bell handle diagonally across the hand, weight on hip of the palm


Dropping the bell over the top of the hand instead of around the side

POSSIBLE FIX: I feel the drop sets up the entire rep, and with a bad drop there's little chance of getting off a lot of really good reps. Catherine Imes described it very nicely when she said (and I'm paraphrasing), that you need to get the weight of the bell from the hip of the palm (pinky side) to the index finger side of the hand. This nudge, followed by elbow bend and an actual drop of the bell (where gravity does all the work) becomes a "rest". The bell is dropped in the saggital plane, or the groove directly in front of the body (imagine slicing the body in half from left to right), allowed its full back swing, then brought back up.

OT

Stress combined with the stomach virus/flu is seriously wrecking havoc on my health. I am furiously finishing up my MIDP work. (Graduation is Nov. 1) Too much controversy to go into with the recent updates. Need to seriously destress the body. I don't know if what i have now is left-over from the virus or the effects of stress on the body. At any rate, I have not been able to train since the last practice and it is killing me.

I thought I'd have a little fun with some favorite moments in music history. I don't know if the first clip is true or not, but here is the tale. Elvis Costello was told not to play Radio, Radio on Saturday Night Live for fear of offending the media corps. This must have been pretty exciting for Live TV back then. He was supposedly banned from SNL. He re-created his stunt with the BEastie Boys on the 2nd clip. Obviously that one was planned, but I thought it was freakin' brilliant! Cheers. (Watch at the end- after they finish, they bail quickly, the drummer knocks over a cymbal on accident, pauses, then bails!)


2nd Appearance:

Cate Imes Master of Sport

I would be remiss if I did not post the Great Cate Imes being the 1st American born kettlebell Master of Sport. Awesome achievement!

GS in action

Marty Farrell attempts Master of Sport ranking in Kettlebell lifting. Amazing when you think that he is only about 150 lbs, and he was jerking 140 lbs. It's even more amazing to see it in person.

Getting Better

Monday:
Busy day: could only fit in this quick one.
5 mins. Double jerk (2-12kg) 6 rpm.

Tues
Warmups with swings and 1 arm jerk w/ 16s.

Work Set
5 mins. double jerk (2-16kg) 6 rpm
3 mins. double jerk (2-16kg) 6 rpm

1 arm jerk
2 mins 24kg- 6 rpm L
2 mins 24kg- 6rpm R
2 mins 24kg- 6 rpm L
2 mins 24kg- 6rpm R

Snatch 16kg
10 mins. 16 rpm (160 reps)
(5min L/5 min. R)

SHELC (supine hip extension leg curl) on swiss ball
2 x 10

Finally found my hip, alot easier on the 1 arm than the 2 arm. Learning a whole new curve. It felt good!

OT Rant (recovering still)

Fall means a couple of things near here. Apple Hill and Fleet Week in San Francisco. Apple Hill, the collection of family farms that sell apples (and other fall fruit and vegetables, as well as seriously addicting apple pies, et al). I love going up there with the family, the smells of wood fires, cinammon, spice, and pine. It is everything good about living in Northern California (except the Northern Coast, of course).

Fall also means Fleet Week in San Francisco. The Blue Angels fly in as well as large naval ships come in. Of course the complaining and moaning from the toxic-minded ultra liberals who are quick to wave a white flag and surrender under any circumstance are the first to complain about the noise, and threat to the population. Since 1945, there have only been 9 crashes from the Blue Angels performing in a civilian community. I wonder how many crashes have occurred since the start of Critical Mass?

Training has suffered this week due to the virus. Today I have felt the closest to feeling myself. My throat does not feel like it has gone through a cusinart. And I am itching to get those new competitive kettlebells!

Got Sick

Monday

Double 16kg jerk

Set 1: 4:24 min. 32 reps
Set 2: 3:35 min. 28 reps
Set 3 3:00 21 reps
Total 5670 lbs.

Snatches with 16kg
Set 1: 7:30 100 reps

Total: 3520 lbs.

Swings w/ 24kg

40L/40R
40L/40 R

Total 8448 lbs.

Overall total: 17,638
I finished feeling strong, I did not want to overdo it just yet. I know I need to work on my pacing and working up to 10 mins. The snatches felt good. I shouldn't stopped at 100, but I thought it was a good number to stop.

TUES- Got some Virus that has been going around-felt like absolute garbage. It's always telling when your co-workers tell you to go home, and that you look like hell! :)

Empty My Cup

I love to go to training where I must "empty the cup" and learn something different or new. I met Valery Fedorenko, Marty Farrell, John Hoskins and trained with the American Kettlebell Club over the weekend. It was great meeting and training with motivated people. That has been a constant in the journey in kettlebell lifting. Much has been written about the RKC and AKC, none of which I will rehash here. That's old news and better time is spent training. I will say this, though. Kettlebells are a great tool for either use from my own experience and training people to become stronger. I am stronger and leaner from my using kettlebells. It is a phenomenal time to be a physical fitness instructor in the middle of this physical culture rennaisance.

212 degrees

This was too good not to repost. I saw this on Alwyn Cosgrove's blog. Watch it.

Training

Training has been hectic since the RKC. I have been keeping my weight down (I hit 188 for the first time in years). I need to get my body fat checked to see how much weight loss is lean body mass as well. MIDP work is coming to an end, but it has been revision, revision, revision til the very end! UGH!

Yesterday: No time to train- so I did 250 2 hand swings with the 16 kg. Sets of 25. Due to an interruption, it took me 15 minutes. Still, the heart was pounding pretty nicely.

Tues. warm up
100 swings w/ 16 kg. 5 sets of 20.

Circuit from Alwyn Cosgrove's Afterburn.
Squats/20 x 3 (135)
T-pushups 8 l/r x 3
Step ups 20 x 3
Pulley row to neck- 20 x 3
Supine Hip Extension Leg Curl on Swiss Ball (20 x 3- These were hell on the hammies!)
Ball sit ups 20 x 3 with 16 kg kb

Ok, I went for the reps and quick turnaround instead of pushing major weight. I wanted to feel the training then vary up the weights. I know, I can be a big chicken, but I will be going away for some training this weekend.

Monday. Trained a Roseville officer/former student. Showed him some of the finer techniques of kb lifting. Excellent athlete, and quick learner. He will be more of a monster once he trains with KBs more on a regular basis. Didn't keep track of what I did for myself, but I did some double and single jerks for anywhere from 30 secs to 2 mins.

Ok, back to MIDP work. oh yes, it's 4 am in the morning, and I have been up since 2:45!

OT- A little pride

Love em or hate em- The Black Eyed Peas. Apl De Ap is probably the first Filipino to make it huge in the US music industry. Being a 2nd generation half Filipino, I can appreciate this. My mother (RIP) came over after marrying my dad, and she did not know any English. It is insanely impoverished in the Philipines, and I am very fortunate and proud to be American. It is a shame that too many take their birthright for granted.

The background:


The actual video:

Tuessday Morning with the Fire Academy recruits

I gave a basic introduction to the Fire academy recruits this morning. What a strong bunch of motivated people! Many thanks to Coach John Hoffman for letting me come in and train his people.

Reflections on Day 3 RKC

Ok, it has been a busy week and I am just getting to reporting on the third day of the RKC experience. I knew today was going to be a great experience with the graduation workout at the end.

The day started off on a depressing note, two members of my team did not meet the snatch test standard. I have no doubt that after a good couple of weeks rest, and application of their newfound technical skills, they will pass the snatch test and become RKC instructors.

Cindy Glass (Trained by Rif to prepare for the RKC, no less!) from Team Brown was selected to represent her team in the form/technique competition. It took a lot of courage to get critiqued in front of over 60 trainers. Cindy did not win, but performed well. Way to go, Cindy!

Reviewing all the drills with the team showed how far they had all come in such a "short" period of time. Nothing can beat proper instruction from qualified instructors! Learning from a dvd is like learning martial arts from a book.

Everyone got team up with a volunteer "victim" from the surrounding community to get a free kettlebell lesson. All of the team members performed well, despite one having a "difficult" volunteer to train. Then, it was time for Jon Engum to lead the graduation exercise! I almost forgot how far the distance was for the graduation exercise. First, there was the double clean wal/farmer carry of approx. 150 yards. Then the turnaround was the swings and walking push-presses with the double 24kgs. (double 16s for the females). What a blaster! Everyone finished with great intensity and drive. It was very motivating to see. I have attached some video clips of the event!

9-11 Tribute at the LE/Fire academies