Beestie - I completely agree. :) My physical therapist was wary, too. I have always tried to look for certified kettlebell trainers when finding a KB gym.

The instructor I previously used was RKC, which was the original group that Pavel Tsatsouline was associated with. The one from Sunday is a senior StrongFirst instructor. This is Pavel's current company that focuses on strength. They have barbell and bodyweight courses as well as Kettlebells.

You could tell by the way the instructor talked that it wasn't just about movement, it was about how to tell if your body was firing the correct muscles, where the muscles are, why, feeling the difference between not firing them and firing them. It was almost a mini anatomy lesson.

HA! I just clicked on the links and they're both Pavel videos :D I think we're of the same mindset. I also have the simple and sinister pdf somewhere.

Watch out, you'll push the button on that fancy camera and crush it like a grape. :haha:

Had my first "jump start" class at the new gym. I am so excited. The instructor seems so much more knowledgeable than the previous one. And as a result, I expect her instructors to be the same since they all have the same certification.

I did have a badass moment. She recognized me from the user course, so she knew I had some experience. We were doing an exercise that I had never done before - an advanced exercise. I had my 10lb kettlebell ready to go and she was like "Brandy, you can't use that, you'll launch it". Needless to say. I was tickled

I had my first official class today. Some corrections, a learning curve that I wasn't expecting, but all in all, a good atmosphere. I found that doing compound moves isn't something I am good at - lol. Do a squat? Ok. Do a press? Ok. Do a squat then a press? Um, what? The instructor was really nice. He is only there on Mondays (for the morning class). Wed and Fri will be another instructor. I saw him on Saturday. Big, bald, with a beard. In my experience, very nice guys :D

The early mornings just my kill me, but it will be a happy death. The only concern is my shoulder. It's been worked like it hasn't been worked in a long time (that's what she said?). I really want to ice it, but I don't have an ice pack here at work. I am considering bringing the big boy from home and keeping it here. I just need to make a pillow case holder that looks a little neater.

You need a little number for the office you can slip an ice-pack into the shoulder pad. Problem solved. ;)

.....I believe they would send me to the psych ward if I showed up in that.

If they try that, just tell then Jor El wouldn't like that.;)

Well, I hit a bump in the road and had to skip workouts after that first one (family emergency). I am now back at it. I am SO sore, but it is satisfying to push myself. My shoulder seems to be holding up well, but I may need to ice it later today. I am also considering foam rolling the sore muscles. Not sure if I've ever mentioned it, but it is the epitome of hurts so good. It really does hurt when using on sore muscles, but it does help get the soreness to dissipate quicker. One more workout day this week.

There is a different instructor for Wednesday and Friday. I like him, too. He's a bit more attentive to form and encouraging. Not that the Monday guy isn't good, too. They both encourage and push a bit, but are aware of my shoulder and make sure I am not re-injuring it.

Hadn't heard of foam rolling.

It's a useful tool when done correctly. I used it in PT for my shoulder to stretch. I use to roll sore muscles - mostly legs - and it can help ease the soreness sooner. Alas, I was too lazy for it. I can walk fine today, but it was another workout and I don't have high hopes for tomorrow - lol.

I did do some work that impressed myself. Turkish get ups with 14 lbs. Like this, but much, much smaller weight. And you do one on each side for a single rep: (See Bruce's repost)

These are traditionally done in low reps. The combo I did was get up to standing, clean the kettlebell, squat, press, and get back down. Fun stuff. Sweat pouring off me! But I DID ALL FIVE SETS :D

Also, I've had trouble with single leg deadlifts - I tend to fall over.
(See Bruce's repost) start @ 50 secs. I don't know the stomp crap. We don't do that.

I wasn't too happy with these, either, but apparently I am too hard on myself. The instructor complimented my form.....and I promptly lost balance - lol. 14lbs here, too.

I am really enjoying this gym and the instructors. I was just able to walk normally and they did this workout. Looks like it's back to the shuffle :D

Aw - the youtube stuff didn't work.

Yay! Bruce fixed it! I'll edit my post so it's not as long while I still can

I seem to be improving, still. My shoulder still gets sore, but not in a way that limits movement, so I am not concerned. I know I need to add PT exercises back in. I am hoping to get motivation to do that T, H, S - Off days to my KB class.

BUT, I am doing the workouts in about the same time as the rest of the people in the class instead of taking a half hour longer. The weights are going up. Left arm is actually weaker than the right, so I have to start on that side with one armed exercises like most people.

Today's workout ended with what my trainer called "The Gauntlet". We were told to time ourselves, but I don't know if anyone else did. This is after a full, normal workout:
15 - Two Handed Swings
20 - BW Squats
15 - Two Handed Swings
20 - BW Squats
1 - Crawl across the gym
20 - Mountain Climbers (10 each leg)
Walking Lunges across the gym
40 - BW squats

My legs were like jelly afterwards, but I finished all of it. I got it done in 7:45. I figured it would take like 10 minutes - lol. I am really getting in the grove of working out in the morning.

In other health news, I have some new goals for this month.
Last month was a mess with my bro in the hospital and bad eating, but I had a goal of tracking everything that went in my mouth. I achieved that (minus one day). I only managed to lose 1.2 pounds for the entire month. My measurements were weird, too: I gained an inch on my thigh and upper arm. Lost a half inch on my calf, an inch on my hips, and one and a half inches on my waist. My neck was the same. Counting it as a win, but since I didn't meet my weight loss goal, I don't get my prize *sigh*

This month (minus one day), I am still tracking everything, but staying under my calorie limit every day, too. It's hard because I'm so hungry! LOL. It's going well so far. I almost mucked up one day when I thought I logged 95 grams of ice cream, but I only logged 90. Luckily there was enough wiggle room that I could eat the rest of the container :p:

I am also not weighing this month, so any loss at the end of the month will be a surprise :) It's a lot harder than I thought it would be. I almost broke down on Saturday, but I held strong! I miss my scale. I still have a weight loss goal, but since I'll only know at the end of the month, it's not really a motivator this month.

Ok, ok, enough rambling for today. I should actually get to work or something.:blush:

Building muscle and loosing weight at the same time is for masochists. Muscle is smaller but a lot heavier, be happy with shrinking dimensions

I am. It's not the primary goal, just happened

Good work!

Thanks!

The owner has been trying to kill us with circuit training lately. Monday was 35s work, 25s rest, move on to the next exercise. Technically, there were 8 exercises, but 2 of them were single arm exercises, so each arm got it's own round. Do this 3 times with 3 minutes between each set.

I kept up until the last round. On one exercise, I put the weight down intending to stop, but decided against it and got a few more reps in. Cue compliment from the trainer :P:

The second to last exercise, I thought I was gonna hurl, so I was just going to stop. The trainer asked if I could do it with a little extra rest, so of course I said yes. Finished that one and the very last exercise he didn't time, just counted off reps for me.

It was rough, but I technically completed it, even if the end wasn't the full round. I even attempted a snatch to see how my shoulder handled it. This was after I almost collapsed - lol.

Today is more my type of workout. Strength! We did a swing set with three different weights for 5 sets. Then, 5 exercises with low reps for 5 sets. Lastly, it was snatches on each arm for 10 reps for 5 sets.

These type of exercise is go at your own pace, but not standing around for a really long time between sets. I was actually able to keep up with the woman that usually passes me even if we start at the same time. :D

Since I am really new to the snatch, I did alternating sets with one arm swings. It was SOOO messy. I am not sure if it was just fatigue or learning a new exercise. I almost think it would have been better with a heavier weight, but I wouldn't have been able to do all the reps.

Another exercise I did for the first time today is called a windmill. I LOVED IT! I want to do more! I actually think it is a good exercise for shoulder stability.

It's been hard to get out of bed this week, but if I don't stop, I'll be at 5 weeks of 3 workouts/week. Only one missed KB class in that time. WOOT!

I broke down and weighed myself last Saturday. I am down 3-4 pounds. I didn't look at it very long, so I am not sure. If that is correct, I am almost to my monthly goal. I am going to try REALLY hard to not weigh in again until the end of the month. It's really hard when pants start fitting looser and you just wanna check...... :)

Ah, yes...I remember when I was new to the snatch.

Good times, good times.

:p:

I KNEW someone would say something like that. I just figured it would be Bruce :rolleyes:

He might be able to remember at this point. . . .







Might not.

Actually I thought about it and passed. :p:

Another killer workout today. I admit, I only did 4 sets of one exercise instead of the prescribed 5. I should've pushed and done the last set - even without weights *SIGH* It's surprising how much an engaged trainer can push you to finish. The one on Wed and Fri is more laid back than the Mon one. No spontaneous encouragement or anything. I mean, I like him, but I kind of want the Mon one more often - lol

I did another new move, today. It's called the high pull. I still haven't "gotten" it yet. I am doing a low weight because it's new, but the hip thrust (*sigh for a different reason*) is too powerful for it, so I am having difficulty controlling it. I should not be actually pulling or pushing the weight with my arm - contrary to the name. It's a ballistic move that should be powered by the hips, instead. I need to learn to control it before moving to a higher weight to prevent injury. It's just frustrating to be TOO strong.

That is one thing I like about this training style - it's about perfection of the move before heavy weights. It doesn't do much good if you are using a heavy weight with poor form. You should be able to do the same move with a low weight with the same precision.

This move is actually a stepping stone for the snatch. I think I might step back and do these in place of the snatch like I was doing with one-handed swing. Just to get more practice and more confidence in the movement

Also, I may nap in my car at some point today. Been up since 4:30 and over an hour workout :zzz: Maybe Chipotle will help.....

I know, doing the pull instead of the snatch may not be as satisfying, but much more convenient.

And always an option.

Aaaaand I'm done.

:lol2:

Coward, how dare you deprive us of imagination fuel, we so fully enjoy and richly deserve. http://cellar.org/2015/shades.gif

Let me guess.

The Time Warp.