ROD 012612

January 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

ROD

Thursday, 26Jan12

 

X- treme ROD

This is a timed set of 30 seconds on and 20 seconds rest for 5 rounds ~ No Rest

  • Deadlifts
  • Weighted Step ups
  • Wall Ball
  • Dbl KB Swings
  • Ball slams

___________________________________________________________________________

Ready for Anything Training!!!!!

This class is a 1 hour ass kicking circuit that will leave you in a puddle of sweat.

Your cardiorespiratory and muscle strength will benefit from our motivational, challenging and fun circuit training set to energetic music.

Let’s see what you’ve got!!!!

Filed Under: Barbell Training, Bodyweight, Conditioning, Deadlifts, Fat Burner Tagged With: , , ,

ROD 012512

January 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment

ROD

Wednesday, 25Jan12

 

Couplets

20 seconds work/20 seconds work/20 seconds rest x 8 rounds

Burpees will commence as each individual person performs 3 burpees while the others perform static crab. This will continue until the last person finishes the burpees… then we move on to…

  • Jumping pullups/Kettlebell high pulls
  • Battling ropes /Goblet squats
  • Dumbbell thrusters/ Tire pushes

Complete 8 rounds of each couplet rest 1 minute and move on … until fork tender.

______________________________________________________________________

A Guide to Eating for Sports

                   

Eat Extra for Excellence

There’s a lot more to eating for sports than chowing down on carbs or chugging sports drinks. The good news is that eating to reach your peak performance level likely doesn’t require a special diet or supplements. It’s all about working the right foods into your fitness plan in the right amounts.

Teen athletes have unique nutrition needs. Because athletes work out more than their less-active peers, they generally need extra calories to fuel both their sports performance and their growth. Depending on how active they are, teen athletes may need anywhere from 2,000 to 5,000 total calories per day to meet their energy needs.

So what happens if teen athletes don’t eat enough? Their bodies are less likely to achieve peak performance and may even break down rather than build up muscles. Athletes who don’t take in enough calories every day won’t be as fast and as strong as they could be and may not be able to maintain their weight. And extreme calorie restriction could lead to growth problems and other serious health risks for both girls and guys.

Athletes and Dieting

Since teen athletes need extra fuel, it’s usually a bad idea to diet. Athletes in sports where weight is emphasized — such as wrestling, swimming, dance, or gymnastics — might feel pressure to lose weight, but they need to weigh that choice with the possible negative side effects mentioned above.

If a coach, gym teacher, or teammate says that you need to go on a diet, talk to your doctor first or visit a dietitian who specializes in teen athletes. If a health professional you trust agrees that it’s safe to diet, he or she can work with you to develop a plan that allows you get the proper amount of nutrients, perform your best, and lose weight.

Eat a Variety of Foods

You may have heard about “carb loading” before a game. But when it comes to powering your game for the long haul, it’s a bad idea to focus on only one type of food.

Carbohydrates are an important source of fuel, but they’re only one of many foods an athlete needs. It also takes vitamins, minerals, protein, and fats to stay in peak playing shape.

Muscular Minerals and Vital Vitamins

Calcium helps build the strong bones that athletes depend on, and iron carries oxygen to muscles. Most teens don’t get enough of these minerals, and that’s especially true of teen athletes because their needs may be even higher than those of other teens.

To get the iron you need, eat lean (not much fat) meat, fish, and poultry; green, leafy vegetables; and iron-fortified cereals. Calcium — a must for protecting against stress fractures — is found in dairy foods, such as low-fat milk, yogurt, and cheese.

In addition to calcium and iron, you need a whole bunch of other vitamins and minerals that do everything from help you access energy to keep you from getting sick. Eating a balanced diet, including lots of different fruits and veggies, should provide the vitamins and minerals needed for good health and sports performance.

Protein Power

Athletes may need more protein than less-active teens, but most teen athletes get plenty of protein through regular eating. It’s a myth that athletes need a huge daily intake of protein to build large, strong muscles. Muscle growth comes from regular training and hard work. And taking in too much protein can actually harm the body, causing dehydration, calcium loss, and even kidney problems.

Good sources of protein are fish, lean meats and poultry, eggs, dairy, nuts, soy, and peanut butter.

Carb Charge

Carbohydrates provide athletes with an excellent source of fuel. Cutting back on carbs or following low-carb diets isn’t a good idea for athletes because restricting carbohydrates can cause a person to feel tired and worn out, which ultimately affects performance.

Good sources of carbohydrates include fruits, vegetables, and grains. Choose whole grains (such as brown rice, oatmeal, whole-wheat bread) more often than their more processed counterparts like white rice and white bread. That’s because whole grains provide both the energy athletes need to perform and the fiber and other nutrients they need to be healthy.

Sugary carbs such as candy bars or sodas are less healthy for athletes because they don’t contain any of the other nutrients you need. In addition, eating candy bars or other sugary snacks just before practice or competition can give athletes a quick burst of energy and then leave them to “crash” or run out of energy before they’ve finished working out.

Fat Fuel

Everyone needs a certain amount of fat each day, and this is particularly true for athletes. That’s because active muscles quickly burn through carbs and need fats for long-lasting energy. Like carbs, not all fats are created equal. Experts advise athletes to concentrate on healthier fats, such as the unsaturated fat found in most vegetable oils.

Choosing when to eat fats is also important for athletes. Fatty foods can slow digestion, so it’s a good idea to avoid eating these foods for a few hours before and after exercising.

Shun Supplements

Protein and energy bars don’t do a whole lot of good, but they won’t really do you much harm either. But other types of supplements can really do some damage.

Anabolic steroids can seriously mess with a person’s hormones, causing side effects like testicular shrinkage and baldness in guys and facial hair growth in girls. Steroids can cause mental health problems, including depression and serious mood swings.

Some supplements contain hormones that are related to testosterone (such as dehydroepiandrosterone, or DHEA for short). These supplements can have similar side effects to anabolic steroids. Other sports supplements (like creatine, for example) have not been tested in people younger than 18. So the risks of taking them are not yet known.

Salt tablets are another supplement to watch out for. People take them to avoid dehydration, but salt tablets can actually lead to dehydration. In large amounts, salt can cause nausea, vomiting, cramps, and diarrhea and may damage the lining of the stomach. In general, you are better off drinking fluids in order to maintain hydration. Any salt you lose in sweat can usually be made up with sports drinks or food eaten after exercise.

Ditch Dehydration

Speaking of dehydration, water is just as important to unlocking your game power as food. When you sweat during exercise, it’s easy to become overheated, headachy, and worn out — especially in hot or humid weather. Even mild dehydration can affect an athlete’s physical and mental performance.

There’s no one-size-fits-all formula for how much water to drink. How much fluid each person needs depends on the individual’s age, size, level of physical activity, and environmental temperature.

Experts recommend that athletes drink before and after exercise as well as every 15 to 20 minutes during exercise. Don’t wait until you feel thirsty, because thirst is a sign that your body has needed liquids for a while. But don’t force yourself to drink more fluids than you may need either. It’s hard to run when there’s a lot of water sloshing around in your stomach!

If you like the taste of sports drinks better than regular water, then it’s OK to drink them. But it’s important to know that a sports drink is really no better for you than water unless you are exercising for more than 60 to 90 minutes or in really hot weather. The additional carbohydrates and electrolytes may improve performance in these conditions, but otherwise your body will do just as well with water.

Avoid drinking carbonated drinks or juice because they could give you a stomachache while you’re competing.

Caffeine

Caffeine is a diuretic, meaning it causes a person to urinate (pee) more. It’s not clear whether this causes dehydration or not, but to be safe, it’s wise to stay away from too much caffeine, especially if you’ll be exercising in hot weather.

Although some studies have found that caffeine may help with endurance sports performance, it’s good to weigh any benefits against potential problems. Too much caffeine can leave an athlete feeling anxious or jittery. It can also cause trouble sleeping. All of these can drag down a person’s sports performance. Plus, taking certain medications — including supplements — can make caffeine’s side effects seem even worse.

Game-Day Eats

Your performance on game day will depend on the foods you’ve eaten over the past several days and weeks. But you can boost your performance even more by paying attention to the food you eat on game day. Strive for a game-day diet rich in carbohydrates, moderate in protein, and low in fat.

Here are some guidelines on what to eat and when:

  • Eat a meal 2 to 4 hours before the game or event: Choose a protein and carbohydrate meal (like a turkey or chicken sandwich, cereal and milk, chicken noodle soup and yogurt, or pasta with tomato sauce).
  • Eat a snack less than 2 hours before the game: If you haven’t had time to have a pre-game meal, be sure to have a light snack such as low-fiber fruits or vegetables (like plums, melons, cherries, carrots), crackers, a bagel, or low-fat yogurt.

Consider not eating anything for the hour before you compete or have practice because digestion requires energy — energy that you want to use to win. Also, eating too soon before any kind of activity can leave food in the stomach, making you feel full, bloated, crampy, and sick.

Everyone is different, so get to know what works best for you. You may want to experiment with meal timing and how much to eat on practice days so that you’re better prepared for game day.

Want to get an eating plan personalized for you? The U.S. government has developed a website, ChooseMyPlate.gov, that tells a person how much to eat from different food groups based on age, gender, and activity level. [Please note: By clicking on this link, you will be leaving our site.]

Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD
Date reviewed: November 2011
Originally reviewed by: Jessica Donze Black, RD, CDE, MPH

Filed Under: Battling Ropes, Conditioning, Dumbbell Training, Fat Burner, Kettlebell, Muscle Endurance Tagged With: , , , ,

ROD 012412

January 24, 2012 By 2 Comments

ROD

Tuesday, 24Jan12

 

Ready for Anything Training!!!!!

This class is a 1 hour ass kicking circuit that will leave you in a puddle of sweat.

Your cardiorespiratory and muscle strength will benefit from our motivational, challenging and fun circuit training set to energetic music.

Let’s see what you’ve got!!!!

_________________________________________________________________

The Dozen by Dozen

Complete four rounds of the following for time:

  • 12 Half Burpees
  • 24 Dumbbell push press
  • 36 Air squats
  • 48 Kettlebell swings

_____________________________________________________________________

 Athlete ROD

40 sec work / 20 sec rest for rounds recommended at time of performance.

  • Bosu push-up w /OH reach
  • Reclines
  • Med ball slams
  • S/L Jump rope
  • Burpees
  • Band pull aparts

_______________________________________________________________________

More to Follow…

Filed Under: Boxing, Conditioning, Fat Burner, HIIT X-treme, Kettlebell, Muscle Endurance Tagged With: , , , ,

ROD 012312

January 22, 2012 By 1 Comment

Cravings: Why They Strike, How to Curb ThemROD

Monday, 23Jan12

 

Our athlete’s performed this ROD on Saturday…. now it’s your turn. 

Triple Threat

3  Stations, 7 minutes each station for Max Rounds

1:30 min rest in between stations

“Speed” (go quickly)
10 KB High pulls
10 Burpees

“Strength” (go heavy)
10 Kettlebell Swings
10 Dumbbell Push Press

“Stamina” (go w/o resting)
10 Push-ups
10 Mountain Climbers

**Post rounds to comments**

_____________________________________________________________________

149 Day’s till summer. Will you be ready for this?

What do you want to look like this summer?

   or    

                                    It’s all up to you.

_________________________________________________

 

Cravings: Why They Strike, How to Curb Them

Almost everyone has hankered after potato chips, ice cream, chocolate, or another beckoning treat. But why? And what do you do when a craving calls your name? Is it OK to give in once in a while? What if your cravings start to run amok and demand satisfaction every day?

Food Cravings From the Inside Out

Cornell professor Brian Wansink, PhD, makes it his business to understand food cravings. He’s studied a woman who loved to cuddle up with her favorite snack: a bowl of popcorn mixed with M&Ms. He knows why hearty men crave steaks and pizza, while women usually go for candy or cookies.

Insight into cravings is important because our environment is loaded with sensory cues that can prompt us to overeat, Wansink says. He directs Cornell University’s Food and Brand Lab, which studies consumers’ relationships with food. (The lab’s motto: “We uncover eating traps and change them.”) He also wrote the book, Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think.

Visual cues — such as seeing enticing foods — are the most frequent environmental triggers. Smells are potent, too. For instance, “You walk by a Cinnabon,” Wansink says, and the rich, sweet aroma can automatically trip a strong desire for the cinnamon rolls.

Don’t Blame Nutrition

One popular myth holds that people crave certain foods to fill a nutritional deficiency.

“The naive view has always been that cravings represent wisdom of the body,” says Marcia Pelchat, PhD, a food researcher at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia.

But it’s not so. Some of her work has shown that people have cravings even when they’re fed a diet that’s completely adequate in calories and nutrients.

“People will often say things, like, ‘Gee, I’m craving potato chips. I’d better eat some because I must need the salt,’” Pelchat says. “But really, how many of us — aside from runners in hot weather — are deficient in salt? And then how do you explain cravings for sweets in terms of deficiency?”

We feel virtuous blaming cravings on nutritional needs, Pelchat says. But “we don’t have such great wisdom of the body,” she says. “Unfortunately, humans rely less on instincts and more on culture to determine what they eat — or on individual experience.” (In her city, for example, a lot of men crave Philly cheese steaks.)

Culture, Sex, and Cravings

Wansink agrees that culture and gender play a big role in cravings. In his research, men were more likely to crave pizza, pasta, and soup over cakes and cookies. Why? Besides being tasty and filling, such hot, savory foods reminded them of attention from their mothers or wives.

In contrast, women liked these foods well enough, but associated them with work, including preparation and cleanup. So instead, women tended to crave hassle-free snack foods, such as candy, cookies, ice cream, and chocolate.

What about that woman who liked popcorn mixed with M&M’s? Not only was the snack easy to prepare, but it made her feel “cozy and safe,” Wansink says. She and her husband had made it as a “secret snack” when they were dating in college; hence, the positive association turned it into her favorite craving.

Almost everyone has hankered after potato chips, ice cream, chocolate, or another beckoning treat. But why? And what do you do when a craving calls your name?

Is it OK to give in once in a while? What if your cravings start to run amok and demand satisfaction every day?

Good Mood, Bad Mood

Certain emotions, including stress, sadness, and boredom, can promote cravings, Pelchat says. “That’s another very strong correlate of cravings. A bad mood can become a conditioned cue for eating. Just like walking by the donut shop, being in a bad mood becomes a cue that elicits going over to the refrigerator.”

Those negative moods get all the press, but Wansink suggests that happy moods might be even more likely to cause cravings. In his survey of about 1,000 Americans, 86% reported that they craved comfort foods when they were happy, and 74% had cravings when they wanted to celebrate or reward themselves. In contrast, 52% had cravings when they were bored and 39% when they were sad or lonely.

The happy eaters craved food to maintain their upbeat mood, he explains: “I want to do something to extend my happy feeling or my happy experience.” Furthermore, they tended to prefer “more meal-like, healthier foods,” he says. In contrast, people in sad moods were much more likely to seek out ice cream, cookies, or potato chips.

You also learn to crave certain foods in certain situations. “If you have a cookie every day after school, just walking into the house cues you to have a cookie,” Pelchat says. “If you don’t get that cookie right away, your mind obsesses about it and turns it into a craving.”

Taming Your Cravings

So you want to put your cravings back in their place. What should you do?

Don’t waste your time on bizarre methods. They don’t work for most people. For example, some models deal with cravings for sweets by taking one bite from a candy bar and spitting it out, or carrying a candy wrapper to sniff, Wansink writes in his book.

Here are some expert tips to try instead:

Eat the Food You Crave Less Often

You may have heard that having a little bit of the food you crave is a good way to break the craving. Maybe not.

“We used to think that eating a small amount of those foods would extinguish a craving. For a long time, we thought that that was the way to deal with cravings, and it just doesn’t seem to work for most people,” Wansink says.

Rather than quitting the craving, continually eating the food may just strengthen the habit. “The more you eat sweets, the more you reinforce the cravings for sweets,” Pelchat says.

So should you go cold turkey? No, Wansink says. Feeling deprived of a favorite food often backfires and you end up eating too much. “You can indulge in it, but just do it less frequently,” he says.

Use Portion Control

“Allow yourself to have a food, but do it in a portion-controlled way,” Pelchat says. For example, don’t keep tempting foods at home, because it’s too easy to wolf down excessive amounts. Instead, go out for one scoop of ice cream or one slice of pizza.

Also, know yourself. Portion control doesn’t work for everyone, especially if tempting foods are on hand. Some people can count out and eat only 15 smoked almonds; others routinely barrel their way to the bottom of the can.

“If you can’t manage portion control, then you want to weaken the link between cues in the environment and eating that food,” Pelchat says. Hide the food in the back of a cupboard; don’t keep it on a kitchen counter or in plain sight. “If you resist, you weaken the link between cues and mindless eating,” she says.

Substitute a Healthier Food

“There’s a very fine line between eating an unhealthy food and a healthy food in terms of how it satisfies cravings,” Wansink says. “You may be dying for that chocolate sundae or whatever, but eating something that’s healthier will eliminate that craving almost as effectively.”

For instance, eating apple slices with peanut butter might satisfy your craving as much as if you really did splurge on ice cream, he says. The sense of satisfaction might not happen immediately or even five minutes later, but it will kick in 15 to 20 minutes later, he says.

Just make sure to eat an amount equal to the volume of the craved food. Otherwise, “you’re still going to be hungry,” Wansink says — and your craving will still be there, waiting for you to give in.

Distract Yourself With an Activity Unrelated to Food

“Substitute something else until the craving goes away. It could be in the form of taking a walk or doing pushups or calling a friend,” Wansink says. Cravings are fleeting, he says. They’ll diminish or go away within an hour, if not sooner.

Don’t wait out a craving passively. An activity that’s “somewhat absorbing” will help you to resist, Pelchat says. “Even counting to 10 does help,” she adds. “People are less likely to eat the craved food. It gives them more control over it.

Have a Plan to Combat Chronic Cravings

“The most dangerous cravings are the ones that are chronic. Those are going to be the most difficult ones to deal with,” Wansink says.

Let’s say that on most days, around 3 p.m., you crave a sweet or salty food — jelly donuts or a big bag of cheese puffs. “In those cases, it can’t be a piecemeal, day-by-day strategy,” he says. That’s a set-up for failure.

It’s better to have a steadfast plan. Make sure to have sugarless gum on hand, ready to pop into your mouth when the craving strikes. Or make it routine to take a walk at that time. “Habitually, you replace that craving,” Wansink says.

Filed Under: Conditioning, Fat Burner, Kettlebell, Muscle Endurance Tagged With: , , ,

ROD 012112

January 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment

ROD

Saturday, 21Jan12

 

WE ARE OPEN TODAY

For safety reasons, please bring an extra pair of sneakers to workout in.

 

Kettlebell Strength Ladder

Down by two’s (10,8,6,4,2) for time:

  • Dbl KB floor presses (r+l=1 rep)
  • Dbl KB front squat
  • Dbl KB bent over rows (make sure you back is straight when performing this movement)
  • Dbl KB swings (outside the legs)
  • Sit-outs (r+l=1 rep)

________________________________________________________________________

Athletes ROD

Triple Threat

3  Stations, 7 minutes each station for Max Rounds

1:30 min rest in between stations

“Speed” (go quickly)
10 KB High pulls
10 Burpees

“Strength” (go heavy)
10 Kettlebell Swings
10 Dumbbell Push Press

“Stamina” (go w/o resting)
10 Push-ups
10 Mountain Climbers

________________________________________________________________________

Unleash The Power Of Heavy Kettlebell Training  by Mike Mahler

Many people believe light to moderate kettlebell training is ideal, 53lb kettlebells for men and 26lb kettlebells for women. This line of thinking is a great way to miss out on the benefits of heavy kettlebell training.

For example, 53lb kettlebells are not challenging to me at all and if I based my training on 53lb kettlebells, I would not have the strength, size, endurance, and explosive power that I currently have. Moreover, my clients would not make the improvements that they have made if they stuck to light bells.

Even if your goals are cardio and muscular endurance, why not work up to heavier kettlebells for reps? Do you really think that knocking off ten double swings with two 88lb kettlebells will not be beneficial? Do you think that ten clean and presses with the 70s will not benefit you as an athlete? Of course both will. An athlete would clearly do better with do twelve clean and presses with two 70s than thirty clean and presses with two 53s.

If you can do thirty reps with a weight, it is too easy to have any dramatic benefit for athletic activities and strength (unless your sport is GS, a kettlebell sport), especially, for combat athletes. The heavier the kettlebells you can handle for muscular endurance, the more benefit you will have for your sport. Using Olympic lifting as a back drop, an athlete who can Power Clean 315lbs five times is going to have much more explosive power than an athlete who can Power Clean 135lbs fifteen times. Moreover, the athlete who can Power Clean 315lbs will be able to do far more than fifteen reps with 135lbs.

Heavy training improves light training, but not the other way around. So why even bother with light training? With the exception of working on form and back-off weeks, I would say do not bother. Personally, 70lb bells are the lightest ones I own and I only use them for GTG (Pavel’s Greasing the Groove in which you practice an exercise daily for neurological facilitation) for presses and sometimes high-rep Front Squats.

Recently someone asked me how many reps I can do for the ten-minute Snatch test with a 53lb kettlebell. I have no idea as I have never done the test. With all due respect to the test and the great people who have participated in the test (lots of impressive numbers by people who have taken the test), I’d rather have an athlete knock off twenty Snatches left and right with an 88lb kettlebell and eventually the 105lb bell. Sounds like too much? I can do 17 Snatches left and right with a 105lb kettlebell and I am far from a gifted athlete.

A few months ago I knocked off 50 reps per arm on One-arm Snatches with a 53lb bell. I am not breaking any records, and there are a few things you should know. I never train with light kettlebells; I rarely work on high reps (over ten reps per set), and the 50 reps left and right was easy for me. The power and endurance that I built with heavy kettlebells carried over very well to light weights for high reps. However, take a man or woman who can do 50 snatches with a 53lb kettlebell who has never trained with a heavier kettlebell and I promise you that he or she will not be able to do more than a few reps with a 105lb kettlebell. More than likely, he or she will not even be able to do one rep. If you are an athlete, light training it is not ideal for the majority of your workouts.

Once you have the technique down, ramp up the intensity. Heavy kettlebell training will do far more for explosive power and when done in high reps will develop muscular endurance that will transfer to your sport.

Now I am not blowing my own horn here or trying to convey what a great athlete I am. Again I am not a great athlete and certainly not a genetic freak. My anabolic hormone levels are good, but certainly not exceptional. Thus, I do not have tremendous recovery abilities either. I did not even start lifting weights until I was 18 and got pinned with 100lbs on the bench press when I first got started. I never played sports in high school or college. Thus, if I can work up to the numbers above, it should be no problem for gifted athletes. I am just an average guy who learned how to train smart, recruit the CNS, and use my own leverage points to handle heavier bells – more about leverage points later.

My point to drive home is that heavy kettlebell training is not just beneficial for size and strength, but for muscular endurance as well. The muscular endurance you build with heavy kettlebells is much more beneficial than light kettlebells for athletes. In addition, heavy kettlebell training engages the CNS more efficiently, teaches you how to master your own leverage points, and if used correctly, probably has a great benefit to optimizing anabolic hormones. Of course this is far more complicated than just training.

Let me make it clear by stating that I do not think heavy weight low-rep training takes the place of muscular endurance. That is not what this article is about. Of course you need to work with high reps and lots of volume or frequency to ramp up endurance, but you should not be afraid of heavy kettlebell training. If muscular endurance is your thing, have a goal of working up to some high reps with some heavy kettlebells on the Double Clean and Press, Double Swing, Double Front Squat (or Double Clean and Front Squat), Double Clean and Jerk (or Clean and Push Press), Double Snatches, One-arm Swings, and One-arm Snatches.

Heavy kettlebells are bells you can only do a few reps with, say 2-4. Start with low reps to get used to the heavier kettlebells. For example, if you can Clean and Press two 53lb bells ten times, do a few sets of two reps when you start working with the 70lb bells. Make each rep perfect. Once that gets easy, start building the reps. When you can do ten Clean and Presses with the 70s, get a pair of 88s and do the same thing.

One important thing to keep in mind is that training form needs to be modified as the bells get heavier. Let’s use the Clean and Press as an example. With light kettlebells, you can keep the body fairly loose and still maintain proper technique. You can easily keep your body upright as leverage is not a necessity. However, once you start doing Clean and Presses with heavy kettlebells, you are playing in a whole new ball game. You have to tighten up and apply more tension to have a solid foundation. You will have to let your back “sit back” and push your hips as far forward as possible for optimal leverage. Your breathing will change. Now you have to hold your breath or apply “power breathing” to keep the tension high to get the bells moving.

An another example is the One-arm Snatch: When I do Snatches with a 105lb bell my form is much different than my form with a 70lb kettlebell. I drive through with much more power and pop the pelvis through and let my back sit back for more explosive power and leverage similar to what Olympic lifters do. As the bell goes overhead, I bend my knees slightly to get under the weight and catch it. When I return the bell to the starting position, I keep it close to my body for maximum control. I also do not swing the bell back as far between my feet as that also throws off the leverage. It is almost a completely different exercise all together than a One-arm Snatch with a lighter bell.

One final example is the One-arm Military Press with a 105lb kettlebell. At my bodyweight of 193, I can One-arm Military Press a 70lb kettlebell easily without having to shift my weight at all for optimal leverage. When I press an 88lb bell, I shift my weight a little bit. However, when I press a 105lb kettlebell, I need every leverage point that I can take advantage of. I kick my hip out under the bell; I take the bell behind my back so I can engage the lat more and acquire more leverage and stability. Then I shift my weight in the opposite direction similar to a side press to keep the bell moving, and once I have the bell moving, I shift my weight under the bell to finish the move.

I saw Steve Cotter, founder of Full Kontact Kettlebells, One-arm Military Press a 105lb kettlebell recently and it almost looked like a Kettlebell Windmill. Steve started the press from under the chin and quickly got the bell behind his back to reach the optimal leverage point. Some of you may feel that this is cheating. To retort I say you either weigh a lot more than Steve and do not need leverage to press a 105lb kettlebell, or you are not even close to pressing a 105lb. Do you really feel that mastering leverage with a heavy kettlebell is not beneficial to athletes? Isn’t that what athletes do all of the time? Judo and wrestling have a lot of techniques in which the ideal leverage is used to take the opponent down efficiently. In football you do not just ram into your opponent haphazardly, you go for a particular spot to do the most damage.

One of the strong benefits of heavy kettlebell training is that you ultimately have to master all of your leverage points to get the job done. Right now, I am working on the Double Clean and Press with two 105lb kettlebells. The only way that it is going to happen is if I apply my ideal leverage points. These are points I have not found yet as I have not needed to apply them with 88lb kettlebells and below. Regardless, I will find these points and I will press the 105lb kettlebells. It is only a matter of time and the learning process in and of itself is a lot of fun. I really enjoy the challenge. When I work up to a Clean and Press with the 105lb kettlebells for reps, you better believe that it will improve my numbers with the 88s and 70s. No doubt about it.

I will leave you with this. Even if you do not want to train with heavy kettlebells, if you want to improve your numbers with the bells you are currently using, get some heavier kettlebells. The 88lb kettlebells always felt heavy to me until I started training with 105lb kettlebells. Now they feel light and the 70s feel so light that when I went to do a Double Clean and Press yesterday, I almost ended up doing a Double Snatch by accident!

Filed Under: AMRAP, Dumbbell Training, Fat Burner Tagged With: , , , , ,

ROD 012012

January 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment

ROD

Friday, 20Jan12

 

Kick ass in the early morning with this fat burning class.

__________________________________________________________________________

F***king Friday

The clock will be set to go for 40 second work with a 20 second rest with a 1 min rest between the 3 rounds.

  • Recline face pulls
  • DB Squat Hang Cleans
  • Bounders
  • KB Deadlifts
  • Bear Crawls
  • DB Thrusters

__________________________________________________________________________

Filed Under: Boxing, Conditioning, Deadlifts, Dumbbell Training, Fat Burner, Kettlebell, Muscle Endurance, Power & Strength Tagged With: , , , ,

ROD 011912

January 19, 2012 By 7 Comments

ROD

Thursday, 19Jan12

 

Kettlebell Crazy Eights

Chris, hope you can make it for this one!!

8 reps of each 8 exercises for 8 rounds. This is for time… or 22 mins

  • KB SumoDeadlift HighPull
  • KB Renegade Row
  • KB Racked Squats (switch between rounds)
  • KB Diamond Situps
  • KB Hold to figure 8
  • KB Push press
  • KB Alternating stand-kneel-stand
  • KB Swings

______________________________________________________________________

Ready for Anything Training!!!!!

This class is a 1 hour ass kicking circuit that will leave you in a puddle of sweat.

Your cardiorespiratory and muscle strength will benefit from our motivational, challenging and fun circuit training set to energetic music.

Let’s see what you’ve got!!!!

__________________________________________________________________________

 

      

 

Filed Under: Conditioning, Fat Burner, Kettlebell, Power & Strength Tagged With: , ,

ROD 011612

January 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

ROD

Monday, 16Jan12

 

Monday Met-Con

This is a timed 30 second work / 20 second rest for 4 rounds ~ no rest

Circuit A  

  • Jumping pull-ups
  • Sit-up to a wall toss w/dynamax ball
  • Burpees w/a roll right (stand & jump) repeat roll left
  • Reverse KB contralateral lunge (KB right side/lunge back with right leg)

Rest 2 minutes… set up for another 4 rounds ~

Circuit B

  • Recline overhead pull
  • Kettlebell deadlift jumps
  • Sit-outs
  • KB swings

_______________________________________________________________________

          Go Giants!!

________________________________________________________________________

Every great
dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength,
the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the
world.
Harriet Tubman

___________________________________________________________

19 Reasons To Ignore Everybody And Follow Your Dreams

We’ve been conditioned to believe that we need to keep our heads down and follow a template for living.

It goes something like this: Go to school, go to college, find a job that you kind of like (but really don’t), get married, have some kids, save for retirement, and slowly give up.

But we don’t have to live like this. Just because a lot of people do something, doesn’t mean that’s the only way to live. You can follow your own path, wake up excited, and live on your own terms.

I want to share 19 reasons why you should ignore everyone and follow your dreams:

  1. The only “yes” you need to follow your dreams is yours.
  2. You’ll regret it later in life, and if you’re delaying it, you’ll question yourself why didn’t you do it sooner.
  3. Not following your dreams makes you feel unaccomplished.  Eventually, this will stop you from dreaming altogether.
  4. It will attract some attention, even from the naysayers ad haters. You will feel strong as you prove the naysayers wrong.  As Walter Bagehot said; “The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.”
  5. People who follow their dreams are doers.   Doers have more power to create, influence, and change their environment… and eventually the world.
  6. Life feels more memorable, hence you feel/become more memorable.
  7. Following your dreams might take unexpected turns, but those are the interesting and memorable challenges of living the dream.
  8. Those challenges will help you grow as they make you step out of your comfort zone.
  9. Dreams make you take chances, but chances can bring more opportunities.
  10. Afraid about it? Good. Being afraid makes you feel more alive, so smash through that brick wall of fear.  Don’t be afraid to make mistakes.  Elbert Hubbard once said, “The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.”
  11. Your dreams and your actions define you.  Don’t let others define you with what they tell you to do and not to.
  12. You will inspire other to follow their own dreams, even if they know nothing about you.
  13. Following your dreams makes you interesting.
  14. Who doesn’t love to challenge the status quo?
  15. There are no rules in life so why limit yourself to what everybody else is doing?
  16. Accomplishing your dreams will spark even bigger dreams.
  17. You feel you have something more to live for.
  18. Even if your dreams fail, you’ll feel proud you gave it your all to accomplish them. Dreamers tend to fail, but they tend to learn more in life. You learn from failure.  So, dust yourself and try it again.
  19. It’s your life, live it under your terms!

It is up to you to live your dreams.

Filed Under: Conditioning, Fat Burner, Kettlebell, Power & Strength Tagged With: , ,

ROD 011412

January 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment

ROD

Saturday 14Jan12

 

Pre Party Ladder

10 rounds for time. 10 reps of each in the first, 9 in the second, 8 in the third and so on through one rep of each. This is going to kick your ass.

  • Dbl KB swings (now that you learned how… Do it!!)
  • Half burpees
  • KB shoulder passes (1 shoulder=1 rep) Let’s go heavy now…
  • Box Jumps
  • Mt. Climbers (r+l = 1 rep)

___________________________________________________________________________

Athletes ROD

60 seconds work / 30 seconds rest / 3 rounds of:

  • Reclines to over head pull
  • 3-D Box Jumps
  • 5 dot drill
  • KB shoulder passes to a squat (1 pass / 1 rep)
  • Walkouts to a 1 rep mtn.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Filed Under: Fat Burner, Kettlebell, Mobility Tagged With: ,

ROD 011012

January 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

ROD

Tuesday, 10Jan12

 

Ready for Anything Training!!!!!

This class is a 1 hour ass kicking circuit that will leave you in a puddle of sweat.

Your cardiorespiratory and muscle strength will benefit from our motivational, challenging and fun circuit training set to energetic music.

Let’s see what you’ve got!!!!

_________________________________________________________________________

Kettlebell Krackup

60 second work 30 second rest. Perform 2 rounds of the following 6 exercises with no rest.

  1. KB Racked Squat to Press to Reverse Lunge (right)
  2. Same on Left
  3. Alternating Bent Over Row ( keep your back straight and knees bent on this one)
  4. Plank Climber Blast (feet elevated on box with a push-up between ea one)
  5. Single KB Single-Leg Deadlift (right)
  6. Same on Left

Now comes the Killa …

TABATA your ass off!

20 seconds MAX EFFORT with 10 seconds rest. Complete 4 rounds of the following 2 exercises:

  1. Heavy Kettlebell Swing
  2. Dynamic Squats
________________________________________________________________________________
Filed Under: Boxing, Fat Burner, HIIT X-treme, Kettlebell, Tabata Style Tagged With: , , , , ,
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »