Friday, September 23, 2011
Moving Time!
Hello my readers, just wanted to let you know that the Girevik headquarters is moving this weekend so posts will be sparse. We'll be back up and running, hopefully with some videos and more workouts as soon as I am settled in my new digs. We'll also have some great news about 1 on 1 training and possible future classes in the Central Square area! Stay Tuned...
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
9/21/11 - Training
Started off with some deep weighted squats and foam rolling with the rumble roller to help my left glute and right knee continue rehab. Then the RKC mobility cycle (halos, neck mobility, shoulders, elbows, etc) did the 20 minute portion of this workout from Tracy Reifkind and loved it!
I really want to get into using a gymboss more for intervals, and this really allowed me to feel the 15 second intervals, and how much work was possible within them. I did it with a 16kg today to get a feel for the timing. I'll most likely try it all the way through in a few days with the 16 again, then move to a 40lb or so, just to make sure I'm not utilizing my shoulders at all. I definitely got a nice float at the top of my swings, and enjoyed getting into the transfers and feeling that weightless moment when I could just switch grips without an issue. Also really worked on my breathing, which is a big one for me. I always forget to breathe!
Once we're moved and settled I'll work on videotaping some of my practice sessions to explain better what I am doing, but for now, no one wants to see my messy pre-move apartment. I'll have to get a few shoots in our new apartment in the outdoor courtyard, it looks like Hogwarts!
Now for some PVC pass throughs, a shower, and work!
I really want to get into using a gymboss more for intervals, and this really allowed me to feel the 15 second intervals, and how much work was possible within them. I did it with a 16kg today to get a feel for the timing. I'll most likely try it all the way through in a few days with the 16 again, then move to a 40lb or so, just to make sure I'm not utilizing my shoulders at all. I definitely got a nice float at the top of my swings, and enjoyed getting into the transfers and feeling that weightless moment when I could just switch grips without an issue. Also really worked on my breathing, which is a big one for me. I always forget to breathe!
Once we're moved and settled I'll work on videotaping some of my practice sessions to explain better what I am doing, but for now, no one wants to see my messy pre-move apartment. I'll have to get a few shoots in our new apartment in the outdoor courtyard, it looks like Hogwarts!
Now for some PVC pass throughs, a shower, and work!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
A Great Article on Deception and Performance
I found this article through the Twitterverse and the lovely Jen Sinkler, fellow RKC attendee and curator of the Survival of the Fittest community on Facebook. It highlights how when challenged by an avatar, cyclists will perform above their perceived previous best efforts.
A Little Deception Helps Push Athletes to the Limit
This reminds me of a great talk given by Pavel at the RKC. He asked people to give a full effort, in the case of his example, at a hand squeeze. Then he asked them to give a 50% effort, then an 80% effort. In every case, when they gave the 80% effort the actual hand squeeze was HARDER than the "full effort" squeeze. What does that mean? Well, it definitely seems to mean we underestimate ourselves pretty frequently, but it also means that language is a key part of getting the maximum effort out of clients and athletes. I've used percentages in running drills before, I'll make sure to integrate them into my other training into the future!
A Little Deception Helps Push Athletes to the Limit
This reminds me of a great talk given by Pavel at the RKC. He asked people to give a full effort, in the case of his example, at a hand squeeze. Then he asked them to give a 50% effort, then an 80% effort. In every case, when they gave the 80% effort the actual hand squeeze was HARDER than the "full effort" squeeze. What does that mean? Well, it definitely seems to mean we underestimate ourselves pretty frequently, but it also means that language is a key part of getting the maximum effort out of clients and athletes. I've used percentages in running drills before, I'll make sure to integrate them into my other training into the future!
Saturday, September 17, 2011
All I have...
Is three kettlebells and a jump rope, and me. Time to train on a beautiful morning, since sleep was escaping me.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Fortune Cookie
"If you keep too busy learning the tricks of the trade, you may never learn the trade"
So true. Just keep practicing the basics. A good foundation of skill is the biggest "trick" of the trade.
So true. Just keep practicing the basics. A good foundation of skill is the biggest "trick" of the trade.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
First Steps
Did a lot today. Had an important conversation with my friend Rich about my direction and the direction of Mountain Strength CrossFit, took a long introspective walk, got a mani/pedi, ran some errands (quarters for laundry tomorrow) and realized that today is just the first step. So I grabbed the gymboss, did a joint mobility warm up, and went through:
6 rounds of:
30 seconds - 10 2 handed swings for form, nice and slow, working on the "float" at the top
30 seconds - Plank position hold.
I had considered only 5 rounds, but I felt as though I was holding the planks well. It only took that last round for me to really feel my abdominals and glutes fighting with that plank. Which obviously means... more planks!
The big goal here is to hold the plank as I would a kettlebell in the cleaned position. Rib cage locked in, glutes tight, elbows and forearm as one with the side of the body, abs and quads tight, and lats pressing back and down into my back pockets. These felt good. I need to take care to park the kettlebell after swings correctly and complete the back swing as instructed so no one knows that you're stopping until you park that bell.
Now to get ready for work!
6 rounds of:
30 seconds - 10 2 handed swings for form, nice and slow, working on the "float" at the top
30 seconds - Plank position hold.
I had considered only 5 rounds, but I felt as though I was holding the planks well. It only took that last round for me to really feel my abdominals and glutes fighting with that plank. Which obviously means... more planks!
The big goal here is to hold the plank as I would a kettlebell in the cleaned position. Rib cage locked in, glutes tight, elbows and forearm as one with the side of the body, abs and quads tight, and lats pressing back and down into my back pockets. These felt good. I need to take care to park the kettlebell after swings correctly and complete the back swing as instructed so no one knows that you're stopping until you park that bell.
Now to get ready for work!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Sophomoric
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." - PlatoI guess that makes me something somewhere between a wise man and a fool. I have an experience to share, and yet, at the same time I simply have to say something to work through my experiences.
Perhaps Sophomoric is a fitting term.
How I Failed the RKC
It feels strange to write a blog about how I didn't achieve something, but as I've stated, this is the beginning of a journey, and not the end of it. I attended my RKC this past weekend, and I failed. I have to retake the course to be considered to pass, and I am my own reason for failing.
1. I was not prepared for 8 hours a day of serious effort. I worked out, I worked on what I thought were the skills I needed, but without feedback from a professional I was not ready and I had errors in my form.
2. Why did I not have professional feedback? I was arrogant. I thought I could tell if my form was good, I assumed that I was doing things as I should be because no one had told me otherwise previously, and I didn't actively seek someone to critique me.
3. Even past all those items, I doubted myself. The second I walked into the roomful of fit, energetic, and aggressively ambitious people I felt imposter syndrome settle in, and it was a feeling I didn't shake for most of the weekend.
I am signing up to attend the workshop again this coming April. I've already found an RKC II who has assisted at several RKC workshops to help me in my training, and I have a much better idea of the expectations set for me now that I've attended the certification.
Even though I did not pass my testing, I did pass the coaching portion with a perfect 5/5 and was told that I adapted well to all the corrections to my form over the weekend. I feel that attending was extremely valuable, and that attending again will only serve to make me a better coach and member of the RKC.
I'll be tracking my training via this blog and posting interesting articles I find along the way to help others in their pursuit of their RKC. I hope others preparing will find it useful!
1. I was not prepared for 8 hours a day of serious effort. I worked out, I worked on what I thought were the skills I needed, but without feedback from a professional I was not ready and I had errors in my form.
2. Why did I not have professional feedback? I was arrogant. I thought I could tell if my form was good, I assumed that I was doing things as I should be because no one had told me otherwise previously, and I didn't actively seek someone to critique me.
3. Even past all those items, I doubted myself. The second I walked into the roomful of fit, energetic, and aggressively ambitious people I felt imposter syndrome settle in, and it was a feeling I didn't shake for most of the weekend.
I am signing up to attend the workshop again this coming April. I've already found an RKC II who has assisted at several RKC workshops to help me in my training, and I have a much better idea of the expectations set for me now that I've attended the certification.
Even though I did not pass my testing, I did pass the coaching portion with a perfect 5/5 and was told that I adapted well to all the corrections to my form over the weekend. I feel that attending was extremely valuable, and that attending again will only serve to make me a better coach and member of the RKC.
I'll be tracking my training via this blog and posting interesting articles I find along the way to help others in their pursuit of their RKC. I hope others preparing will find it useful!
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