Deadlift PR and then some

I'm very stoked to say that I finally broke 300 in my deadlift. Tonight I did a five reps with 225 to find that they felt quite light. I attempted to lift 305 last Friday, after a few sets of 225 and then being a little overzealous and trying 315 twice--failed, obviously. It didn't go up, though it did come off the ground.

So, I successfully locked out 305 lbs. tonight. I think I could probably do 310 or 312, but I'm going to keep it here for awhile and work with it.

Prior to this, I had not deadlifted in 4-5 months. All I have been doing is kettlebells. It simply goes to show that kettlebells will make you STRONG. :)

I celebrated my PR by doing some snatches with a 16kg kettlebell (which felt extremely light), and then a short circuit with Doug: 135 lbs. sled pulls for 30 yards, immediately followed by 3-5 presses R/L. Did 3 sets of forward-facing sled pulls, then 2 sets of rear-facing ones. With all the tension drills, I was seeing stars a little bit by the end... it felt fantastic, though.

I'm feeling pretty good right now; it always feels amazing to accomplish a goal that you've been working towards. Now, just to keep getting stronger!

Fit, Fancy 'n' Fat

What a whirlwind of fantastic events. The RKC certification weekend is three weeks past; that simply boggles the hell out of my mind. It took me about a week and a half to fully recover, and training has been going quite well since.

In recent workouts:

-I did a double TGU the other day with two 16kg kbs. That was tough, but I got it done.
-A Neupert-esque doubles workout, using 12kg: 5 sets of 5 reps of each - swings, snatches, cleans, presses, front squats. 125 reps. Followed by 100 snatches with the 16kg kb.
-Worked Viking Presses and C&Js in class yesterday. For some reason my right arm intermittently doesn't straighten out during the second dip, and only does upon standing up tall. I dropped the weight to two 12kg, and that seemed to help. I'll be working that frequently to get the right wiring for it ingrained.

One thing that I find is important to keep in mind when doing any kind of double overhead activities: the finishing position of your hips is the SAME as the finishing position for your swing. Shocking! Don't visualize your hips going up with the weight (which will lead to your heels coming up off the ground and a general loss of hip drive); think about the tight contraction and drive of a Hardstyle swing, and those bells will go just where they need to.

Yesterday I had my consultation with Jess Yen at My Tattoo down in Alhambra. I first saw him at the Ink 'n' Iron Festival in Long Beach earlier this year, and had been instantly taken by his work. This man's work is jaw-droppingly beautiful. He recently won an award in New York under the category of "Best Tattoo Artist in the United States" for "Most Eye-Catching Tattoos", along with numerous other awards throughout the years. I spoke with him for about 45 minutes; he's a genius at what he does, and his energy is awesome. We hit it off and talked about some ideas that are going to be absolutely fantastic. It's a two year waiting list for an appointment, but I'm hoping that I might be able to get in there a little bit earlier. We'll see. Regardless, I'm 150% sure about the process.

Doug and I are going through a detox process for the next few weeks. We had decided that after the certification that we would have a day to basically eat whatever we wanted, and just have fun with it. That didn't happen - until today. French Toast is all I have to say. :) So worth it!

San Diego RKC: Enjoy the pain!

I’m not really sure how to go about describing what has not even begun to settle within my own mind. I really want to write this while the feelings are still raw though, and thus, I make my attempt.

I went into this weekend knowing that it would be grueling, and would test my limits physically, mentally and emotionally. I knew I would constantly be beyond comfort, and would be perpetually stretching to accommodate vast amounts of knowledge, and a lot of pain. I was also told by many that this would prove to be a turning point in my life.


I knew what I expected. I received excellent instruction for the better part of a year and a half, and I knew I was prepared for what I expected.


So… howz about for what I did NOT see coming? :)


You take what you get, and you make it your own. I got what I dreaded: extremely hot weather; roughly 102 degrees on both Friday and Saturday, to be more precise. Twenty-three hours of training in 2 ½ days in mind-melting conditions, pushing through fatigue and heat exhaustion. My core temperature would not come down, and as a result, neither would my heart rate. I woke up in the middle of the night with my heart still pounding. I took ice baths to try to regulate my body temperature at lunch time. I have hiked the Himalayas, humping around a 50 pound pack while battling intestinal parasites, and I kid you not, this weekend took me to the next level.


Before it sounds like I’m complaining, I must assure you: Given the choice to do the weekend over and change certain aspects, I would repeat the weekend exactly as it was without hesitation. It was absolutely what it needed to be for me, and as a result, was just perfect. Never would I have thought I could have pushed through those conditions – but I did.

And how amazing is it to be surrounded by 100+ people who are suffering right along with you, individually and as one huge mass of pain? Individuals who are thinking of nothing but about the task at hand? To have such incredible energy focused on ONE goal, in ONE space, at ONE time – that is beautiful power! Desperate, determined, dogmatic, and strong as hell. When you’re laying on swampy ground on your belly, grit digging into your elbows, the sun beating on your head and back, your taped hands hot and painful, sweat drenching your clothes, your body vibrating with exertion and exhaustion – and yes, EVERYONE is feeling this, separate and together. This makes sense on so many levels, and this ideology is worth every ounce of effort put forth. Such sadomasochism on such a grandscale, all for the strong belief that this is IT. This is the real deal. This pain only helps to bring us deeper into the body and to know ourselves and our limits – and to come out of the pain with a greater understanding of both aspects, both thoroughly altered and transformed. Because we did it.

I want to interject here to say thank you very much to Dave Whitley, Senior RKC, for helping to provide me with the RKC weekend that proved to be perfect for me. Kirsten, Rhonda, and Ken: Each and every one of you were fantastic Team Assistants, and I truly feel lucky to have had each and every one of you there. All of you have wonderful qualities that I deeply admire, and each of your presence contributed enormously to the experience, and to the cohesion of our team. Thank you to everyone on my team who made this weekend what it was: it was an honor to bleed, sweat, and enjoy the pain with all of you! Power to us.

Thank you so much to the Santa Barbara crew that was able to go through the RKC. I’m proud to say that the four of us that went from the SB Crew all passed. It’s been a long journey, one that we’ve worked so hard together on, and we yearned for this weekend for so long; it’ll be interesting to see where that energy is directed now. I hope simply to greater things! The only thing that would have made it better is if you had been able to be there, Dale. Much love and power to you, I called upon your incredible pressing skills more than once, especially during the grad workout, and I respect and admire you. We’ll continue kicking ass together!

Thank you to my Mama and my sister, Erika, for driving down to watch me suffer through the Grad Workout, to root me on, and to meet me at the finish with open arms and jubilant laughter. Your presence meant the world to me; sharing one family with another.

To wrap this up.

The Grad Workout: When it came to the Graduation Workout, workout number eleven of the weekend, I completely let loose. I screamed between sets as I practiced fast-and-loose drills, doused myself in icy water provided by fantastic and attentive assistants – I especially remember Nikki Schlosser and Rhonda – and powered through it. And there, always close by while still being attentive to each of his team members, was Doug Nepodal, also cooling me off, rooting me on, calling me by name, promising me that he knew I could do this. Somehow, passing that beat-up orange construction cone was magical. Somehow, a piece of plastic and rubber can inspire such a sense of victory, relief, and self-loving that is unparalleled. I did more than I thought I could have done, and I completely made it my own. To the RKC Community, to Pavel, to John Du Cane, to the Instructors: I am ever so thankful for the opportunity to become more than I have ever been.

And I must dedicate this weekend of pain to more than just our accomplishments…

Doug, baby, my love. Roughly sixteen months ago I met you, when I was introduced to kettlebells. I have not looked back since. My life started to change then, even. Your profound influence, incredible instruction, support, encouragement and gentle urging made this past weekend possible for me. You paid for me to go through the certification because I could not afford to do so, and you knew how much I wanted to do this, and, so importantly to me, you wanted me there. When I felt overcome by heat exhaustion and dehydration, you were there beside me, looking me in the eyes with truth in yours as you told me that I was doing so well, and I could do this. I am so immensely proud and immeasurably grateful to have you in my life and by my side. I cannot thank you enough for all that you have given me in all aspects of my life, and for the immense growth you’ve inspired in me as a person. You are a phenomenal instructor, mentor, best friend, and incredible love. From the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you. I love you bebe.



Power to us. Enjoy the pain!

Cert's here

I'm nervous as hell, but prepared to do whatever it takes. This will be another opportunity for me to crack my shell and grow beyond it.

Time to do this. I hope to return with a tale of victory. :) Take care, everyone!

Brief

I took it very easy this last week with training. Both shoulders were feeling a bit painful in the same spot, and my entire body just seemed to be recovering slowly. Feeling well rested and up to snuff, I did the snatch test yesterday and completed it in 3:55 without too much effort; did some TGU with the 24kg, slow and controlled; some snatches with the 24kg; and the rest of the six basics with a 16kg bell. Everything felt solid.

The next two weeks before the cert will consist of a very clean diet and workouts to maintain conditioning/strength. I was hoping to get a VO2 Max workout in, 15:15: protocol, prior to the certification, but at this point I don't want to play around with tearing my hands up with less than a fortnight until Judgement Day(s). I'm nervous, but ohhhh so excited... :)

"Transanni"

It's said that when one door closes, another will open. Why the choice? It seems it's strangely difficult for doors of a similar function to remain open simultaneously, as though the allowance of a cross breeze would be, somehow, intolerable. I think being of the mind that change--namely of the homebase variety--is a difficult adjustment, my frustration with the state of certain things is to be expected.

It's all right, though. Change can be a beautiful transformation as well, and this I know. Even as we change, we can continue to enjoy and take pleasure out of the things we always did, while releasing that which no longer has a place, or has been outgrown. Throwing oneself down a 100' self-made, painters' plastic slip 'n' slide with no stopping buffer at the end but your own ability to grab the ground is still an option. Releasing and laughing with abandon, having pure, unadulterated fun, is--and will always be--an option.

Frustration is definitely high in regards to my presses. For whatever reason, while essentially every other exercise of the six basics is very solid, my press is just... weaker. It doesn't come to me as easily, and I guess as a result I have just ingrained this resistance to growing stronger in that area within myself. I can't get beyond the 20kg 'bell, and it drives me nuts. I can't push myself now, though. My body is exhausted: my left shoulder is feeling tender and painful; right hip flexor is tight; left periformis is fired up; arches of my feet are tight from double complexes on uneven turf; low back is tired from moving in low spaces. Long story short, I need to take it easy, particularly since the certification is in 2 1/2 weeks.

Bring it, though. Even when you have the most amazing support that you could ever hope for -- and I do, absolutely, more than I could have ever hoped for -- there are challenges. Shit, things are hard sometimes; so? Get stronger! And enjoy it. Having fun with it is much more rewarding than resenting it. Just know yourself, love yourself, push yourself, and become more.

Okay--

--I am now officially nervous about the San Diego cert. Gulp.