ETK Week 5 - ROP Day 1

Monday:

You can definitely understand why you go through what you go through for the first month of prep before entering Rite of Passage - you need all the conditioning with the Kettlebell you can get before you move on to this. Like I've said before - it's a totally different beast than what you think it is.

The ladders were the easy part - I really only started to feel that by the third and final set, so I know my conditioning is in pretty good form judging by that. It is a light day though. After that was all said and done I had to roll my dice and landed with an 8 - I don't want to follow that aspect to the book because this is a bit more unpredictable and fun for me. The goal during this was to go at a moderate pace at about 60-65% of my MHR. I made it to the 6 minute mark and was just dog tired. I kept my heart at 65% of my MHR but I knew that I wouldn't be able to finish the last 2 rounds. I'm okay with this since it's the first time I've had to do that many snatches, 60 per side, 120 total. Well on my way though!

I've decided I'm going to run through Tacfit Commando side by side Rite of Passage. The 4x7 protocol is very interesting and is not something I've ever done before so I think it will compliment the work load that I'm getting with ROP. Scott Sonnon is a really interesting guy and you can tell by listening to him that he knows what he is talking about and is very passionate about it. This is the type of training that I could see not just benefitting first response people, but people who train for a martial art as well.

I'm looking in to taking a Russian Systema class and I think I've found one in my town - just working out the time and cost right now. It's really between this and a Krav Maga class. If anyone out there has taken these types of classes give me a shout, I'd really be interested to hear your feedback.

I'm still sticking with Super Joints / Relax Into Stretch and am reincoporating 25-40 minutes of Yoga at least once per week, preferably on the weekends. There is just a benefit that you get from Yoga that you can't get from other Joint Mobility work. It's not for everyone but it does certainly help.

I'm going to spend a little time reading 'The Nine Principles of Japans Greatest Swordman: Musashi Miyamoto' later this afternoon. It's from the Tacfit Warrior package and it's meant to be about facilitating growth and development in any aspect of your life. It's only 42 pages and has some exercises in it as well, so should be a pretty interesting read.

Have a good one!

ETK End of Week 4 - Day 7

Sunday:

So I officially made it to the end of month one - a real good primer that teaches you the essentials of what you'll need for the following 8 weeks. Great month, had a lot of fun, but now I'm really ready to get into the meat and potatoes of what Kettlebell training has to offer.

I'm still figuring out how I can integrate all these different components together without detracting from my Kettlebell training. There is such a smorgasboard of techniques out there and I am anxious to try as much as possible. Tacfit is seriously intriguing so I might run Tacfit Commando/R.O.P.E side by side with Rite of Passage. I know there are people who do 5-6 sessions of Tacfit programs a day and get great results without overtraining, so this is definitely something to think about further.

I'm looking at making a Cellmass clone from TrueProtein since the prices there are just too good to be true and you can actually control what you are putting in your supplement. Why Cellmass? Say what you want about BSN, but they do have some great supplements albeit all of them are overpriced. I don't want to risk over-supplementing so I'll stick with that and a good protein powder and I think that's all you really could want to be successful with your goals of gaining size and strength.

I never did get around to trying the 4 Hour Body Mass Gaining Diet. Honestly, I like to keep it simple. I know that if I eat a lot of healthy fats, complex carbs and lean proteins that I'm going to keep gaining weight and it will be lean muscle. Sure, gaining a fraction of 63lbs in 28 days would be nice, but I don't want to be walking around like some blowfish. I'm content with 10-15 more pounds of muscle and then entering a maintenance cycle. There comes a point when you sacrifice fluid mobility for size and that's not what I'm looking for.

This past weekend has been really re-energizing for my body. I had gone really hard this month in terms of work rate, doing 6-7 days a week, 4 with the kettlebell and 3 with the TRX - this left my body pretty tired by the end of a full month and really needed time for some recuperation. Some people like taking a week off, I'm fine with taking a weekend off. I did Yoga yesterday and some Joint Mobility work today. I've also slept a lot more this weekend (longer than my standard 8 hours a night) and I attribute that to my body taking the time to heal and prepare itself for what it knows is coming. I already feel refreshed, full of energy, and am ready to go!

It's also tax season so I think with my return I'll be getting myself another Kettlebell and one Clubbell to add to my collection so far. I've never been a fan of machines, I always trained myself with free weights because that's what worked for me, for my friends, and for anyone else that I trained. Yes program planning had something to do with it, as well as diet, but I believe the way you lift can produce dramatic results, good or bad. This older school way of training really takes me back and really makes the body and mind feel complete. 

See you guys tomorrow for Day 1, Rite of Passage.

ETK Week 4 - Day 6

Saturday:

I decided to take it a little easier today and just did 40 minutes of Ashtanga Yoga to get my energy and my body ready for Rite of Passage. I've been experimenting with some of the TacFit workouts this week so some days I have had doubles and right now I am just letting my body heal up. I may get back in it tomorrow, but I will see how my body feels - I may do the smart thing here and just let it rest for the weekend so I'm fresh for Monday.

I'm really enjoying the TacFit stuff I've got to try and am going to figure out a way I can incorporate doing the Commando Program with doing Rite of Passage without over training. To be fair, there are people who do a lot more so I think it's something that I can pull off. Tabata training is definitely intense but I can see how training in such a way would definitely benefit your fitness and overall health in every day life.

I know most of it is marketing but I do like the fact that Scott puts out little challenges now and again to get people interested - it's a way to push you to do the best you can. Case in point - The Israeli Special Forces Tacfit Challenge. Sounds daunting, and who knows if the Israeli Special Forces even train this way, but it's a great motivator and little things like this go a long way to helping people feel like they are accomplishing something great.

That's what I think Dragon Door and TacFit do right - they market their products in such a way that you get that fire in your belly of acheiving something great, not just another bootcamp for 90 days. Yeah it might be a gimmick, but if that's what gets people off the couch and inspired to get healthy, then I'm all for it.

I've been catching up on some of the Strikeforce fights I've missed from the past year. Admittedly I don't catch much of it because I mainly watch UFC, but they have some pretty great fights and I like Frank Shamrock on commentary - dude is a legend and I'd much rather listen to someone who has done something in MMA than Joe Rogan - sorry Joe. I was watching one of the shows from 2010 where Cris Cyborg, a mutant in the MMA Womens Division took on Jan Finney and I've never seen someone so aggressive. Cyborg made this fight look like a sparring session and just pick her apart over two rounds - it'll be hard to find someone out there who will want to fight Cyborg - fingers crossed for Gina Carano taking another shot at her though.

I would really be interested to hear what Dragon Door's take is on Yoga. I've never heard Pavel or even John Du Cane talk about it and I think his whole Qi Gong Recharge is a bit of a joke (most of the moves are from Super Joints). Yoga is a great functional exercise and it's not something you need to do every day - even once a week is enough to feel it's benefits. I had put it off for a couple weeks just to give myself a break but after doing it for 40 minutes today it really did wonders for my back which has felt a little tight lately. Definitely a worthwhile lifetime investment. There is a lot of different branches out there but try something that might interest you. I could not recommend Ashtanga or Bikram enough.

Well having got a late start today I'm off to get some breakfast now! Have a good weekend folks!

ETK Week 4 - Day 5

Friday:

A touch of sadness as this was the last TGU I'll have over the next 8 weeks. It's a bit puzzling why you only do it for a month and then stop outright for Rite of Passage as it offers solid shoulder stability work that can only help you and over a short period of time, and with low exertion. Alas I'll follow this by the books and stick to what the workbook and what ETK tells me - it's set out this particular way for a reason.

I love experimenting and that's something that anyone who has read this blog can attest too. From P90X to an all cardio program like Insanity, to Kettlebells, to Tacfit, Yoga, etc. There are no boundaries when it comes to personal fitness. Just because something may seem hokey or taboo doesn't mean you shouldn't try it. Take a guy like Tony Horton - The guy is an uncertified goofball, but he has some decent workouts - emphasis on workouts - I think the entirety of the P90X program is highly flawed, but a favourite workout of mine has been 'Upper Body Blaster' from the One on One series - it's just old school push and pull. I'm now on to experimenting with some of the different Tacfit programs. Why? Because they seem to offer function, intensity, and a low turn around time which is a lot like the kettlebell workouts. I don't have to spend an hour to get the desired result and it's something totally different. Change can only be GOOD for the body.

I'm still looking into getting some clubbells in the near future because the more that I watch Reifkind working them, the more that it impresses and the different way that it works your body. 15lbs seems to be the recommended weight for beginners - so that should give you some indication.

We're in the midst of another snow storm right now so it looks like I'm snowed in for today. Not sure when it's supposed to let up as the weather people didn't really tell us this was coming. I'm sure it should be all good tomorrow but we'll see what the aftermath is.

I'm very excited for Rite of Passage to start on Monday. This will be like climbing Everest for me as it's something totally new to me - so can't wait. I've decided I am going to forego any type of training on Sunday and am just going to let my body sit and rest all day as I have no idea how the first day will go in terms of taxing my body and how sore it may be the next day. Best to be fresh before embarking on something like this.

I'm definitely going to buy a 20kg KB by the end of march so I can progress up to that for C+P and Snatches. I know it'll be a while before I could snatch the 24kg so this will be a good way to bridge the gap and gradually increase my strength. Slow but steady!

That's all today folks, have a great day!

ETK Week 4 - Day 4

Thursday:

Finish line is in sight! 

I was feeling pretty sore today from the TacFit R.O.P.E program yesterday. That was the first time I`d ever done Tabata type training which would explain it. It`s not a bad pain it`s a good pain and I`m glad I actually feel a bit worked - lets me know that what I was doing was working. Scott has some really interesting programs out there and I`m definitely looking at integrating one in with ETK. I can still get my TRX work since R.O.P.E is pretty much TRX movements just with a rope from the hardware store. That`s not to knock it, it was very intense. It`s too bad more people aren`t open to different types of training. You have your Pro-Dragon Door people and your Pro-Tacfit people etcetera, when really there should be no blind loyalties as we try to take the best parts of each program.

I did 175 swings with Henry (24kg) before peetering out and finishing 75 more swings with my 16kg for a total of 250 again. The main thing here that changed from the last time was that my time decreased big time. I clocked in at just over 15 minutes on Monday to do 250 swings and today I clocked in at 12:43 so I managed to cut over 2 minutes off my total time, increasing my swing volume and speed. This is not something I was consciously trying to do, it just happened, and by the time I stopped my timer I had noticed I had finished faster than the previous time with the same amount of swings - so I believe that my strength and endurance is on spot for taking on the Rite of Passage.

I noticed that there are no dedicated days for Swings anymore as well - so I assume that with doing ladders so frequently that will continue to help my strength and endurance grow. The one thing I`m not super crazy about is that in the ETK Workbook they are openly promoting an Art of Strength DVD that is ``essential`` to your growth with a kettlebell. That`s not true at all and is incredibly misleading. You could follow ETK solely and I`m sure you would still get outstanding results without having to purchase something else that isn`t even affiliated with the program. I love the workbook as it`s really great for newbies to kettlebells, but don`t make it sound like you NEED something else to get the most out of the program.

Oil is up to 120$ a barrel. Gas is up to 123.0 cents per litre at most major gas stations across the city and is expected to continue rising. With everything that is happening in the middle east right now, it`s easy enough to say that within the next 8-12 months oil could easily break 150$ a barrel. This is a good time to invest in a bus pass as this is reminiscent of what happened last summer and the gas spike that happened then. It`s times like this that I`m really glad I live in a city that has such an abundant amount of public transit so it`s not even necessary to own a vehicle.

I haven`t gotten around to try in the TRX Janda sit-ups yet but I will definitely make that a priority over the next couple days so I can report back about that. I`ve just been preoccupied with a lot of other things but I promise I will get to that for those of you out there who have a TRX or are looking into getting one. I still would have to say it should be an essential tool in your home fitness gym.

Have my meeting this coming Tuesday so hopefully some good news will come out of that.

Have a good one folks!

ETK Week 4 - Day 3

Wednesday:

 

Started earlier than normal today. I've been sleeping a lot better than normal but still need a new bed - this mattress does wreak a special type of havoc with my back. I really don't like to rant but I thought I'd throw this in there; I also woke up to some drama as well - and I'll just say this - if you have people in your life that are causing stress that is reminiscent of high school, cut them loose. I put my foot down this morning and am better for it. Most of us are in our twenties and onward and it's time to start acting like it.

I got some really solid work with the TRX in for my session this morning and felt really worked out. It wasn't a specific program from the TRX people but a buddy of mine showed me Tacfit R.O.P.E (Rapid Onset Pull-Up Equipment) - basically it's a workout that you can do with a cheap rope from the hardware store and use like a TRX. I Did the Recruit Simulation - basically this is all tabata type style of training where you do 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest, and repeat for 8 sets. There were only 6 or 7 moves, but for 8 sets you definitely feel blasted at the end. This was a really gratifying workout and nice to try something different.

I've got a lot more faith in the product that Scott offers now and am going to really look into the products he offers and see what else might be complimentary to what I'm doing and go from there. I normally would stay away from download only products but this was a really great change of pace.

I've slowly started to work a few yoga stretches in for the spine to my daily routine as I've noticed that with all the Kettlebell work and Joint Mobility that the spinal rotation was getting a little tighter - Sun Salutations/Down Dog/Up Dog have been great and have really opened me back up. Works great in conjunction with the stretches and joint mobility Pavel offers as well.

Tomorrow is my last 'swing' day of Week 4 and I'm looking forward to moving on and trying all the different things in Rite of Passage. These have been a very challenging 4 weeks and I feel like I'm tougher than I was when I started. I've said it before that it takes a special kind of perseverence and mental toughness to make it through this first month as it's very tough if you are not used to swinging weight around and using your entire body in one movement.

I'm also taking it easy on the split switches so I can give my hips a bit of a break in that regard - I feel they were being overstretched doing that part of Super Joints every day so I've gone and ahead opted to do it every other day. The actual joint mobility moves though I do on a daily basis to keep my joints lubricated.

Over the past week I've been tracking my sleep as well - there is a really neat app for Android called Sleep Bot. Basically before you go to bed, you 'punch in' and it starts to track how many hours you sleep, and over time, the more you track, it will let you know if you are in a sleep 'debt' or not - to make sure you are getting the optimal amount of rest. When you wake up you simply punch out and it tracks your sleep for the previous nights rest. All this is presented in a nice graph so you can see what your sleep patterns are like over time. If you have Android and you're interested > Click Here <

Other than there's not much else going on - I'm looking around for as much info as possible on mass gaining diets. I've read the section in 4 Hour Body but I want to be as well versed on the subject as possible and gaining 60+ lbs in a month is kind of unreal, even if it is documented in the book. Looking into the Warrior Diet and also The Primal Blueprint to see what can be done there. I've never been a calorie counter I've just been mindful of what I'm putting into my body, which is right now I'm on a very high protein diet. If anyone has any suggestions, give me a shout.

Have a good day folks!

 

 

 

ETK Week 4 - Day 2

Tuesday:

 

Great start to the day. 

It's really gratifying when you start to feel the weight get lighter as the days and weeks go on. I remember when I first did Halo's in the warmup back in Week 1 and I thought "holy shit, this sure doesn't feel like 16kg!" and it didn't, it felt twice as heavy - and this was at a point when I felt like I was physically strong. Fast forward 4 weeks later and the 16kg feels partciularly light in that warm up - not that I'll be upping the weight since it is just a warmup, but it was something little like that that really caught my attention.

I only have one more day of Swings and TGU this week and then I'm moving on to Rite of Passage. I am 100% ready for the changes that is going to bring mentally and physically since it is a whole different beast. Doing Snatches for 10 minutes is going to be very interesting after having done ladders.

Just for fun I tried to see if I could clean my 24kg and I could fairly easily - pressing it is another matter! Big change in strength there. I think the work that my forearms are getting doing this is definitely helping a lot.

I'm going to try some TRX Janda sit ups - Chris Frankel said it was possible to do these with the system without buying something like the Ab Pavelizer, so I'm going to give this a shot later tonight and I'll see about posting a video to see how it looks and feels.

In my searches last night I came across a product called Tacfit by Scott Sonnon - there are different variations of it (Spetsnaz Kettlebell, Commando, etc) that focus on different areas of fitness. I'm always curious about what fitness products are out there so it'd be nice to hear from anyone who has tried either and can comment on it. Any reviews I googled for seemed like they were all generic and from the same site - very hard to find anything legitimate which reminds me of Athlean X - a lot of 'placed' fake reviews. Stuff like this makes the product look really shady - not knocking it as I haven't tried it, just commenting on the marketing practice.

Hoping to get some Clubbell's in the next couple months. I've checked out Mark Reifkind's blog and he does a lot of Clubbell work that looks impressive. That dude is in pretty phenomenal shape and his work ethic over there has really inspired me.

Well I'm off to run some errands and get some resumes out ahead of my meeting next Tuesday. Have a good one folks!

ETK Week 4 - Day 1

Monday:

Well today is Family Day here across Ontario - basically it's a made up holiday the government came up with to give families more time together. Do they actually use it what it was intended for? Probably not. Anyway!

Week 4 started today and I felt ready for it! I feel like I'm mentally and physically on top of my game right now - I have a goal, I'm focused on it, and I'm getting there. 

I'm still suck on how Casey Viator gained 63lbs of mass in 28 days without the use of anabolics. In just 28 days his results were staggering, and he only worked out 3 times per week. Now if you're not using any supplements and just working out and eating 6-8 times per day, how is that possible? His results were as follows:

Increase in bodyweight: 45.28 lbs.
Loss of bodyfat: 17.93 lbs.
Muscular gain: 63.21 lbs.

Check out Tim Ferris' book in The Colorado Experiment section.

Now for anyone who has gone through Enter the Kettlebell with the AOS Workbook knows that week 4 bumps you up to 50x swings, active rest, 50x swing etc. People will look at 50 and think "Pft? 50? I can do that handed while wiping my ass!" Wrong! I've made a concerted effort to use my 24kg more and more because how else am I going to progress if I keep myself in a 16kg cocoon? The work is paying off as I did 150 swings with the 24 before I felt kaput with it, and finished off the last 100 swings with my 16kg. So I'm definitely getting stronger as far as endurance and strength goes - and I am noticing it more now in my forearms as well - whereas last week I was tired at 120 with the 24, I managed 30 more - so a modest improvement. This explains why kettlebellers have such big powerful arms.

From what I've learned and experienced myself over these past 3 to 4 weeks, I've come to a personal conclusion that exercising with Kettlebells is really a fine way to find out what your weak areas are. You may think you're as solid as a rock but until you do 200 to 300 swings you really won't know anything about your body. Is it the be all end all? No. But it's an incredibly versatile tool that you can't afford to snuff.

When I was bodybuilding back in 2000-2002 my shoulders were my biggest problem area in terms of strength and stability - and stayed that way for many years. I had never had any formal diagnosis on what the problem was because I was never in pain, I would just experience some discomfort during exercises. This was really at the height of the internet so I had done a lot of reading at the time and just found simple rehabilitative ideas that inititally worked after a couple of months. Now after this whole episode happened I took some time off to let my body heal up - after which I started bodyweight training and really did not look back after that. Which brings me to current day - I had never picked up nor looked at a kettlebell till this year - and I am kicking myself in the butt for it now. My shoulders have never been stronger, sterngth/stability/mobility is all 100x better than when I had been bodybuilding and I'm not killing myself on a daily basis - simple movements are best.

So if it's something you're thinking about - research - find out the benefits it can have for you. If you're not content reading online find an HKC/RKC in your area and go have a chat with them (you can find this on the Dragon Door website). You really have nothing to lose except a little of your time.

Have a good one folks!

ETK – End of Week 3 – Day 7

Sunday:

Onward to Week 4!


My whole philosophy during this journey so far has been learn what you can, do what you can, and don’t be ashamed if you don’t feel ready. I’ve lived that every single one of these 21 days so far. I’ve educated myself daily on technique and nutrition to make myself the best that I can physically and mentally be – because you need it when you’re doing something like this.


I haven’t weighed myself yet – but I do see great body comp changes. Yes I am losing a bit of the definition I had in my abs – not a big deal – but I am seeing size everywhere else. My legs, glutes, shoulders, arms, back, neck and chest are all growing in size and the strength gains have been great. What’s so awesome about this, is that this only the Pre-RoP .. it will be really interesting to see what those 8 weeks do in terms of size and strength.


As far as I can tell, what I am doing in terms of diet is working. I’m eating at least 160-180g of protein per day at a bodyweight of around 160lbs. I space this over the course of 5 meals per day eaten every 2.5 to 3 hours. This keeps my metabolism going and keeps me energized throughout the day – it works for me although I’m always looking into trying new things.


I did my own little mix of TRX Force today – basically I shook up the rotation and added a few moves of my own to change it up. Suspended Pike Presses are definitely a bitch and my core was on fire after 2 sets of those.


The tightness I was feeling in my left hip is gone now. I took the time last night to do the full Relax into Stretch DVD + the first half of Super Joints and that really took the kinks out and got me back to normal. No progress on the splits yet – but Pavel said it takes at least 6 months to get there, so I’m in no hurry on that front.


I had been looking into the Ab Pavelizer to do Janda’s but the cost on that is pretty high for something so simple – so I looked into it and it turns out that I can do Janda’s with the TRX – this thing just keeps getting better and better. I’ll be trying this in the future for sure and letting you all know how it goes.


Overall very pleased with the direction this type of training is taking me – I feel stronger every day and look forward to what each day is going to bring. If you’re on the fence about trying it – give it a shot, you really have nothing to lose.


Have a great rest of the weekend!

ETK Week 3–Day 6

 

Saturday:

 

The more I work with the TRX the more I appreciate the little things that are in their workouts. You can pretty much customize what they are putting in front of you to your specific goals – which is why they include an “exercise library” with every dvd – basically a hard cover booklet of all the moves that are in the upcoming dvd.

 

This is important because obviously once you start collecting them you’ll have hundreds of moves at your disposal to concoct your own workout – on top of that the wealth of info already out there, especially on Youtube and you’re pretty much guaranteed to have a lifetime worth of variety.

 

I’m still learning my craft so to speak with the TRX as there are so many moves to remember, so I did TRX Strength Essentials – 50 minutes with warmup. You get your upper body, lower body, and core that’s split up into about 4 moves per section and you’re doing 2 sets of 12-16.

 

I really appreciate the different type of hip work that is offered in this – different is always good in my book and my left hip has felt a little tight this past week. I don’t know if its from doing Super Joints every day or not (the first 15 minutes, not the entire dvd). It could be the split switches that are making me tight but I can’t really say. I have been pushing myself to really open my hips up more than I have in the past.

 

It’s also nice to hit the ‘glamour’ muscles; chest/arms. That’s been one of the things I’ve missed while doing TRX/Kettlebells, but this lets me get in a little bit of work in those areas without overdoing it – and it’s helped. I can say definitively that my pushups and pullups have gotten stronger while doing this specific way of training and I don’t feel over trained like I did before. Like they say; less is more.

 

I’m leaning towards trying Tim Ferris’ 34lbs of mass in 28 days experiment. It definitely worked for him, and without anabolic drugs, as he has before and after pictures in his book. He did however use a giant cocktail of supplements and that’s not really a route I’m ready to go. I have a solid whey protein loaded with BCAA’s so I’m just going to stick that and I’ll make a Cell Mass copy over at Trueprotein and have that shipped – cheaper than buying a name label for sure.

 

I have a goal of 15-20lbs of lean muscle mass in 1 year – this should easily be attainable with as much as I eat and the quality of the food, and the way I train. Once everything is place I’m going to give a shot and post any results I get on here. This will probably be after I finish Rite of Passage as I’ll probably do that over again to prepare myself for RotK.

 

Dig deep and do what you can this weekend! Have a good one folks!

 

ETK Week 3-Day 5

 

Friday:

 

It’s kind of sad that this whole process is going by so quickly. It’s hard to believe that I’m almost at the end of Week 3 already and Rite of Passage is around the corner. I’m excited for that, but time has gone by much to quickly for my liking!

 

TGU’s on the menu today, along with my C+P and Snatch pre-warmup – as soon as I come back from my haircut I’ll be getting that done – has me a little out of my normal schedule today but it happens. I’m going to do about 15-20 minutes of these as they honestly are one of my favourite movements that I’ve done in *any* type of workout. It’s moves like that that tell you your whole body is strong and not just one isolated area.

 

One of my goals, as far as flexibility goes, is to do the splits by the end of the 12 weeks. I have been using Relax Into Stretch every other day and Super Joints every day so I’m hoping I see some improved hip mobility. Why would a guy want to do the splits? Simply because society says I shouldn’t be able too.

 

I’ve been looking into Convict Conditioning and while it seems interesting, it does seem a little too basic for my liking. What I mean is, if I can already do most of the advanced moves in the book, how would it really benefit me? I’d really like to hear from anyone who went into it with a strong base and how it really helped them.

 

There’s also a lot of crap going around about the author, Paul Wade, and if he exists/doesn’t exist, and all sorts of moral complications surrounding the book being written by an ex-con. Well whether he is or isn’t doesn’t matter – put your prejudice aside and take what you can from the book – knowledge you didn’t have before is the greatest reward you can give yourself.

 

I’m also reading Tim Ferris’ 4-Hour Body. This really interests me not for the weight loss section, but the weight gain section. There are just some really neat ideas in here for putting on some lean muscle mass. The Las Vegas experiment kind of blew my mind. 60+ lbs in 28 days, no steroids or growth hormone, just simple compound movements and a lot of really good food. It’s something I may undertake but I definitely do not want to put on 60+ lbs! I’d be happy with just a fraction of that so we’ll see how it goes!

 

Well onward to week 4! That will truly be the test of all tests! Can’t wait!

 

Have a good one!

ETK Week 3–Day 4

 

Whew!

 

That was probably the most intense swing day of this whole pre-RoP that I’ve done thus far. I’ve been really working on incorporating the 24kg for two handed swings to help build up strength, and have been doing one handed swings, 20 per side, on my last set with my 16kg.

 

I’m feeling it!

 

I did 120 swings with the 24 KG and let me tell you, my forearms were feeling it by the end of those. I know it’s not grip because I do hold the bell in my fingers and really just attribute it to forearm weakness – but this will get better!

 

I know I’m getting stronger because after doing swings with the 24kg the 16kg just floated up like paper. I may look into getting a 20kg to bridge the gap to the 24kg – especially when it’s time to try a heavier weight for C+P and Snatches.

 

The practice with the C+P and Snatch has definitely paid off as I feel more ready than ever to challenge some ladders in RoP. Looking forward to a different challenge other than just swings. I’m still going to find time when I’m done these initial 4 weeks to get doing TGU’s as well as I can’t recall if there is a designated day for those in RoP.

 

Getting closer and closer to the day of “graduating” this first phase and it’s been a pretty incredible journey so far. I’ve read and learned so much not just from Pavel’s Books but from the good folks on the Dragon Door forum – everyone has been surprisingly accessible and more than willing to help which is rare to find in a community these days. Little things like that make you want to give that extra bit of effort.

 

A month ago there is no way I would have told you that I’d be swinging a 24kg ‘cannonball with a handle’ between my legs because it wasn’t simply something I was thinking about at that time – but now that I’m here I wouldn’t change it for the world – one of the better investments I’ve made in myself and something that I can carry with me for the rest of my life. It’s not a crash course boot camp like other programs out there, this is like learning a craft from scratch that will help you better yourself physically and mentally.

 

I’ve been very pleased with my results so far and looking forward to the rest of the journey and the challenges it brings along the way!

 

Have a good one folks – accomplish your goals for the day!

ETK Week 3 - Day 3

Wednesday:

I’m switching around my TRX workouts as much possible to keep my body challenged in its routines and to break up any monotony – that’s really one of the keys to muscle growth.

I did TRX Force Workout B today – basically an upper body blaster that’s 36 minutes long. This is the workout with that nasty Suspended Incline Press.

I really enjoyed this workout! No matter how many times I do it I just find something else that I like about it. Now I could do without Fraser Quelch as the trainer but he’s from the same town that I came from so I deal with it. It’s just so refreshing to do something so different – and is it a plus that it was designed by a former SEAL? Maybe. I mean it’s nice to see that someone who was in that kind of peak physical conditioning is struggling with a workout he created for the masses. Either way you won’t get anything like this anywhere else.

Big plus for me with these workouts is that most of them are fairly short and you feel worked out by the time you get to the end, but not over trained and in a flop sweat. This is important since according to the ETK Workbook Wednesday/Saturday/Sunday are supposed to be off days. It allows me to get some work in without going to failure and over taxing my body. Find a happy medium!


I think a big part where Art of Strength went wrong with this workbook for ETK is that it only caters to people who have no fitness base and really forget about the people who do. 4 day’s a week of exercise is fine for some people, but this is limited amounts of exercise and I think there could have been some things done differently to cater to people who have a better fitness base. Not to say I’m not happy doing Pre-ROP because I’ve learned and studied a lot about the forms, but there could have been extras for one or two of the rest days.

I am going to have to look into the Strength in Motion workbook to see what that’s all about – if it’s any double kettlebell work then I may hold off and just repeat Rite of Passage again after I complete it and at that point will probably just do RotK.

I’m really enjoying the C+P and Snatch – these are slowly becoming my favourite moves and it’s something I really look forward too in RoP. I have realized though that I really dislike my 16kg handle as it’s got a fairly slick finish which can make it hard to grip when your hands start to get sweaty. I may sand this down or I may order a new 16kg from the people that I ordered Henry from (24kg) and give my 16kg to a friend so she can start getting into some type of fitness.

I’m also going to start studying for the NASM, so very excited about that! Hopefully this will pave the way to me getting my HKC next year and my RKC beyond that. There is only one place offering Kettlebells here and that’s at a Crossfit facility so I think the market here is definitely ripe for it. Only time will tell!

Have a good one folks!

ETK–Week 3–Day 2

Tuesday:

I could not feel better!

The snow is melting, the birds are chirping, the sun is out! Spring is around the corner – and after 4 months of Winter I couldn’t be happier. Not seeing the sun for so long can get a person down!

I always look forward to the days that I get to practice TGU’s because like I had mentioned it in a previous post I liken it to Yoga – in that takes patience, holding a posture, breathing, and strength all in one sequence. For something that seemingly looks so simple, it gives you one of the greatest workouts.

As far as minutes suggested in the AOS ETK workbook goes I’ve kind of tossed that out of the window for Tuesday’s and Friday’s because I just don’t think 5 minutes is enough time to really practice these movements, allowing yourself time to critique any flaws, and then fixing them. I typically take 15-20 minutes for TGU’s after warm-up and I still do practice C+P and Snatches beforehand. So all together I’m getting about 30 minutes of work in and it helps!

A lot of the muscle increase I’m seeing is around my shoulders and back and triceps – I already had very big legs/posterior so no size there, but they have started to get harder and tighten up a bit, which is a plus. I’m going to keep going with the nutritional plan I’ve concocted for myself as it seems to be working. I checked my BF% and it’s still between 7 and 8% while my protein intake is around 170-200g per day so I’m gaining in all the right places and limiting gain of fat.

I’ve also noticed that my posture has improved dramatically as well. You don’t really realize when you’re doing it but my shoulders had been pulled forward a bit instead of sitting back in the socket. This is something I hadn’t noticed until I started doing the Super Joints and Relax into Stretch DVD’s which is helping me to correct this. It’s not an over night thing but I know it’s reversible.

For what it’s worth the combination of TRX and Kettle bells is working for me but I also realize that this is just a preliminary phase and the real work begins in Rite of Passage – this to me is just to build up my endurance with a kettle bell to get me to that point. Everything will change when RoP starts but I will still do my best to get some work with the TRX in as I know that is benefitting me greatly.

Also something that kind of irked me – I know a lot of people who are using P90X to get in shape. I’ve used it before as well but to a certain degree. What bothers me about these people is how brainwashed they are that P90X is the be all end all of workouts. They are unwilling to step outside their comfort zone to try new things.

I think these people start to get an unhealthy obsession with working out longer and harder for extended periods of time and then they start to over train and wonder why they can’t sleep or why their results are slow. I know one girl who does about 2 hours of high intensity training every day which just makes me shake my head as she’s just a regular jane who wants to tone up and lose weight.

But I digress – that’s one small problem and at least people out there are making a combined effort to get healthy and fit to live a better, longer life. That’s really all anyone can ask for in the world that we live in today – I just think we need to educate these people better so they don’t burn themselves out.

Food for thought!

ETK–Week 3–Day 1

Monday:

Pat Flynn did something interesting on his blog – basically what a typical day looks like for him, so I thought I would do something similar since I thought it was such a neat idea.

Typically this is how my morning goes before I start my day:

7AM – Wake Up
7:10 AM – Actually getting out of bed – splashing water on my face
7:10-30 AM – Reply to e-mails/texts/other junk
7:30 AM – Workout
8:05 AM – Finish Workout – Towel Off – Write blog
8:15 AM – Protein shake & breakfast

I’m not going to put the whole day up here, but as you can see I do try to be pretty efficient with the time I have. Knowing what you’re going to do ahead of time can make life a lot easier. Are the times always spot on? Not always, but it’s a general guideline.

So today was day one of Week 3 and I am smoked! Swing counts are now up to 40 – active rests stay the same at one minute, but I threw push-ups in at the end instead of burpees today. I started the first 80 swings with Henry (24KG) – this felt great and it’s definitely something I’m going to keep working up too. After the first 80 I went back to the 16KG till I hit 220 swings for the rest of the workout. Duration wise I went about 13 1/2 minutes today for this half of the workout. So the stronger I get I am getting a bit quicker.

I also tried some one handed swings for 40 reps (20 per arm) and found them surprisingly easier compared to the first day when I tried a couple. This just goes to show you that if you show up, and train with your best effort, you are going to get some where. No reason to show up and train lazily. Give it your best!

Per the notes in the guidebook I added about 7 to 8 minutes of practice before the warm up on the Clean + Press and Snatch. All told I probably did 20 C+P and 15 Snatches per arm – I’m going to do this every day just to perfect the form as I want to get the most out of RoP.

Depending how RoP goes I may repeat that before moving on to something like Return of the Kettlebell. I’m not in a rush to move on to that and looking at what’s about to come is pretty daunting. It’s easy to say that you’ll be ready at the end of it before actually doing it. It is something I’m thinking of in the future but I’d be more than happy doing RoP twice before moving on. It’s good to have a solid base before you move on to anything advanced.

Once I get my PT certification I’m definitely going to go for an HKC cert – hold that for a year and then move on to an RKC cert. In my opinion it does not hurt in our profession to be a jack of all trades as that just gives you more programming that you can offer to clients that they may not get elsewhere and to essentially help them better their lives. Standard Personal Training programs can only do so much.

So TGU’s are tomorrow and I don’t know why some people (mainly some posts at the Dragon Door forum) get so bored with them. To me it’s like Yoga – it takes strength and patience, and if there's one thing I’ve noticed about North American culture – it’s hard for people to stay in one posture, or to move slowly in a posture, for an extended period of time because it’s uncomfortable. Well that’s how you’re going to see results – and it’s part of the Pre-RoP for a reason. In this case it’s easier to just bite your lip and do it.

Have a good Valentines Day folks!

Cya tomorrow.

ETK–End of Week 2–Day 7

Sunday:
And I made it!


Two full weeks down of Enter the Kettlebell and I am stoked with my results so far. I can definitely tell that I have put some weight on which is my secondary goal here aside from getting stronger.


My diet has mainly stayed the same – it’s what I’ve carried over from my previous programs. I do eat very clean – a lot of whole grains, fruits, vegetables and lean cuts of meat (tenderloin (pork and beef), sirloin, chicken breast and turkey breast), and a fair amount of legumes as well – as for fish, salmon and tuna are really the only ones that i like. I’ve really made an effort to eat at least 1.5g of protein per pound of bodyweight and it looks like it is paying off. I don’t have a scale but you can tell by how you look in the mirror and how clothes fit – I also used my BF% callipers from school and I was around 7 to 8%, which is what I was before – so my lean mass is increasing with no fat gain.


The workout today was something a little different and nothing I’ve really done before – it was 34 minutes of strength training (workout B) from the TRX Force DVD – which is programming geared toward getting you in the best shape possible if you’re going to enter the armed forces.


This was challenging – right off the bat you have to do a suspended incline press. Doesn’t sound so bad right? Wrong! Your feet are elevated above your head, as if you were doing a handstand on an angle – the TRX supports only one of your feet while you do push-ups on the ground.

This is what it looks like – and that is not me:

This was really unlike anything I did yesterday – it was definitely TRX different. In a good way! This is challenging muscles that didn’t get worked yesterday and I can see why this is such an effective workout for people wanting to get in shape for enlistment. With only one foot in the cradle you’re entire body is on fire trying to stay stabilized.


Tomorrow week 3 starts. Like I said before this is really going to determine if I go on to week 4 or not because Swing counts are moving up to 40. I am expecting to be to real smoked by the time I get to the end of that 12 minutes. My Goal is to get bare minimum 210 swings like last time – anything more than that would be bonus for me and I will be pushing. If I find my hands getting tired I’ll just switch to one handed swings. Which also brings me to the point that I’ve noticed my grip strength is also increasing a lot from using the ‘classic’ style KB – unexpected.


Going to get some groceries, some breakfast, hit the library to pick up 4 Hour Body and then just take it easy the rest of the day so I’m rested and energized tomorrow.


Cheers!

ETK Week 2–Day 6

Saturday:
More snow overnight.. it seems whatever New York was getting earlier in the winter has now magically migrated back to Canada to punish us. Times like this I’m glad I don’t have to shovel. I’d actually be interested to see how many lbs of snow I’ve shovelled over my life time.


Today my original plan was to do some Yoga – but I’ve taken a break from Yoga and things like Plyo because I’ve been doing more of the stretch and mobility drills Pavel offers and am finding that they really do the same thing for me that Yoga was doing, minus the cardiovascular workout.


So instead of that I ended up doing TRX Performance: Train Like The Pros. Same kind of style as TRX Essentials Strength Training, except this poses a slightly harder workout. I don’t ever find that I’m breaking a sweat in these workouts and I am matching Intensity with the trainers on the tape, but I definitely feel the moves working the targeted muscles groups. I can safely say that I hated the push up to pike move at the mid way mark – that lit my core up big time.


I think I had mentioned this before but the TRX is a great compliment – as in it’s an amazing add on to a routine you’re doing already – after having done a bunch of these workouts, I can’t see someone just doing strictly TRX workouts – although I’m sure some do, I just haven’t heard of that except for the TRX Force, which has it’s own schedule to follow – AB – Rest – AB. (That’s A workout, B workout).


Honestly the hardest workout I’ve done with it, funnily enough, was the Iron Circuit Conditioning which mixed Kettlebells w/ TRX and that was an ass kicker.


So doing ETK this way – 4 days of Kettlebell work and 2 to 3 days of TRX work has been beneficial to me so far. My strength and endurance have increased, and more importantly, my stability and balance has also increased, which obviously is important in the real world. We spend the bulk of our days supported by our base so it’s important to work that area out and challenge them in new ways.


Obviously this isn’t for everyone – either for cost or interest – but you have the best of both worlds here – the power of the kettlebell and the versatility of the TRX. It’s all you really need to get the most out of your training.


I think tomorrow I’ll be doing the Relax Into Stretching DVD w/ Super Joints Part one to get me ready for Monday which will mark the start of week 3. I’m looking forward to this because it’s going to be another challenge to get through and that’s really what pushes me – who likes to be beat? I’ve also been practicing C+P and snatches for the past week and am looking forward to ROP when I can do those on a regular basis – when you have the form down they are incredibly fun moves.


Anyway off for some breakfast and cleaning – have a good one and don’t give up with whatever you’re doing this weekend!

ETK Week 2–Day 5

Friday:
I was re-reading ETK last night – yes the whole book from front to back and one thing that really stuck with me last time over the last is that I should not count reps for TGU’s – just do your best and don’t worry about the numbers.


So I took this philosophy and applied it to today since it was TGU day. I did the normal warm up this time, but before I started the actual workout I did some practice sets of C+P and Snatches. My form is actually really good right now – I’ve been practicing for a week but I caught a video from Dr. Mark Cheng which really simplified the process of the snatch and I can now say I am doing this properly – this has also carried over to my clean so I’m very happy with how quickly I am progressing with the basic moves.


I’ve been extending the time on TGU days because I feel like I get more out of 10-12 minutes than out of 5. I don’t workout to failure, but I do workout till I feel it. It also allows me the extra time of slowing down, focusing on form and breathing, and fixing anything in the form that may need to be fixed, but I am getting stronger in doing these twice a week, although admittedly my left side is a bit weaker than my right, which is normal for everyone apparently – but pretty soon the KB’s won’t be the only cannonballs in the room!


It’s been an adjustment trying to eat more than you’re normally used too. I’m trying to really gain some weight while I do this routine so I’ve upped my calorie intake, although I am not counting as strictly as I used too – I’m doing the same things as before just increasing portion sizes, and eating more lean cuts of meat – typically grain fed from the farmers market when available. I don’t own a scale but going by how I look in the mirror I can see that I have put on some more muscle – it’s funny how such simple moves that have been around for the longest time just pack it on you.


I’m really looking forward to week 3 as that’s just another challenge to conquer. I think that will really be a benchmark week for me that will let me know if I’m really ready for Week 4. I think if my endurance was as good as it was this week I will be in good shape for Rite of Passage.


Note: The link for the Snatch by Dr. Cheng can be found > H E R E <

Have a good one folks!

ETK Week 2–Day 4

Thursday:

Today was the day – a real test – to see how I’m progressing with this whole journey.


It was another 12 minute workout with the swing being increased from 20 to 30. Doesn’t sound like a lot but when you’re going for 12 minutes it can be. I managed to do 210 swings with my 16kg for the 12 minutes and I swapped in some pushups and jump rope for active rest instead of burpees and mountain climbers – just needed a little something different.


My conditioning and strength must be improving because I didn’t start to feel gassed till around the 165th swing but I dug deeper and managed to pull it out till I hit 210 – and with good form – I was just blasted at the end of them. This is in stark contrast to how I felt doing cycles of 20x swings – while I felt good, I felt that I was more tired doing shorter sets, and doing the longer sets gave me that extra push to settle in and get it done.


I had been considering trying Henry (24kg) out today but I’m glad I didn’t because this let me really see what I was capable of. I think once I start week 3 next week I’ll do one day with him to see how that’ll play out as far 12 minutes of swings go. I have tried a few with him and I honestly like the feel over the 16kg, but that’s totally different when you’re doing a few compared to over 200. I’m thinking about it but odds are I will stick with the 16kg till I get to ROP.


The protein I’m using as well is definitely helping with recovery too since the convenience of being able to ingest it directly after working out is helping all the muscles I’ve used start to recover. It’s an EAS brand, so it’s not bad, but it takes forever to mix up. Luckily I found out a bout TrueProtein.com on the DD forum and they are really affordable and look to have a superior product so I’ll be getting a few goodies from them next month. Also love the fact that you can make your own formula – that kind of freedom as far supplementation goes is pretty awesome.


Now off to defrost my windows and get some breakfast – this winter is brutal – windows frozen shut? Bloody hell.


Have a good one all!

ETK Week 2–Day 3

Wednesday:


It needs to be said.


I hate winter!


I had to get up around 8 this morning just so I could get to the grocery store to get the stuff I need for my daily breakfasts – it was minus 23 Celsius outside with the windchill when I went out. The reason I did this was so I could get the food, make it back, get my workout in, and eat my breakfast in decent time.


Getting the groceries is not a problem, but this bitter winter goes right to the bones and seriously dries out the skin.
Today was TRX Essentials Strength Training and boy did I feel it today. I increased my angle in all the moves to make it a bit more challenging for myself and after doing that it really makes sense why they only have 2 sets per move – because if you’re doing it right you feel it and then some!


I definitely think the TRX and the Kettlebell represent the perfect marriage because you are working two highly effective ways – the Kettlebell, which offers strength and conditioning, and the TRX, which offers stability and core strength really bring it together to give your body an optimal, even spread of training.


I wake up every day with more energy than the last and have been feeling stronger than ever – which just goes to show when you keep it simple, things come together. No fancy gimmicks here. Suspension training – which gymnasts have been doing for years, and kettlebell training which has been around for 300 or so odd years. No muscle confusion, no max interval training – just back to basics.


On another note I am trying to prod one of my better friends into giving KB training a try – although it’s hard convincing a girl to swing a cast iron object around, I think she’ll eventually go for it. She has pretty much been a “Beachbody” product girl and I think that’s why she has gotten so bored with her fitness – because it’s the same thing everyday.


So we’ll see what happens on that front, but it’s always great to spread the good word re: this form of training.
Looking forward to the challenge of 30x swings a cycle tomorrow!


Have a good one people!

Henry has arrived…

Finally came today.. good timing considering the guy was on vacation and shipped it out yesterday (the day he got back).

Handle and finish is more preferable to me than my 16KG so I will probably buy two 16KG’s from these guys, and a 32 when the time is right. This should at least take me through the rest of ETK and then some! My KB family is slowly but surely growing =)

ETK Week 2–Day 2

Tuesday:
TGU Day! I’m looking forward more and more to each day I get to work with my ‘bell!


My goal for today was to do at least 12 minutes of controlled TGU’s and to self-evaluate what needs to be improved. The only little thing I notice I’m having trouble with sometimes is at the beginning of TGU where I push off with my leg and elbow that sometimes the leg laying flat will come off the ground a bit. I attribute this to a lack of strength that will come over time.


Perhaps when I finish ETK I’ll look into getting Kettlebells From The Ground Up if I feel I’m still not where I want to be in regards to that movement.


Also it’s really funny how hard that move works your entire body but it’s so controlled. I really love that about some kettlebell moves – they are so fluid but they just kick your butt. I always feel very very satisfied when I’ve done 25-30 minutes (including warm up).


And some great news, for me anyway! My 24KG is scheduled to be delivered today while I’m at a meeting by the Fedex guy/gal. Super excited because I know this distributor makes quality kettlebells at a fraction of the price. DD’s KB prices just recently went up so this is the ideal route to get something of similar quality.


Tomorrow I’ll be doing the TRX Strength workout for my variety day – slowly growing to become one of my favourites. And it delivers results when used in conjunction with something like the KB.


Nervous as hell for Thursday when Swing counts go up to 30x from the previous 20. This next half of the week will tell me a lot if I’m ready or not to move on from week 2 to week 3. I’ve set a personal goal for 180 swings on Thursday in the 12 minutes – but the variables do change because you’re doing an extra 10 swings before you get active rest – so I have no idea if I’ll be more or less tired during this. If I don’t get at least a respectable enough number for myself I’ll be repeating the week and I have no problem with that – it’s NOT a race!


When I get home and have time to open I’ll take some pictures and put them up here so you can compare to the DD bell.
Have a good one folks!

ETK Week 2–Day 1

Monday:
Hope everyone had a good Superbowl/UFC weekend! Can’t say enough about how Anderson Silva is now the baddest man on the planet!


Week 2 started today – very excited! I’ve noticed since incorporating the Super Joints Joint Mobility Work my hips have been much more open than they normally have been in the past year – and this shows more during the warm up with the wall squats, which translates to the swing – so that’s something I definitely appreciate. I’d recommend buying that set – it may seem like common sense but the way Pavel presents it makes it worth it.


I went about 30 seconds over on the warm up – but the more I’m thinking about it, these numbers in the workbook are really just guidelines and you can go longer if needed.


I’m also noticing, albeit slight, increase in size in my arms/shoulders/neck/back that I didn’t have previously. I have been making a very big effort to eat more calories, and doubling up my protein as I don’t want to put on some more lean muscle, so I guess that is working although I haven’t weighed myself as I make it a point to not own a scale.


The main workout was great – again I went about 13 1/2 minutes over the 12 that was in the book and managed 180 swings, which felt great. I’ve paid so much attention to my form over the past week and a bit that I feel like I’m in a really good place with it right now. Strength wise – the kettlebell is feeling lighter than when I originally walked home with it in the snow – which makes me feel a lot better knowing my 24KG will be here on Wednesday.


I also added in a set of pull-ups on the first cycle through instead of jumping jacks just for some added variety. I am going to play with this over the next 10 weeks to see what else would be effective.


Overall, I’m still feeling great and still going strong! Can’t wait till Thursday when Swing numbers in the cycles are increased. Love the challenge!!


Make it a good one folks!

ETK–End of Week 1–Day 7

Sunday:
Today is the perennial “day off” that I promised myself I would take and pretty much what my body is used to getting with 6 days a week of exercise.


I kept my routine very basic today. TRX Flexibility followed by Joint Mobility drills. All very basic drills to keep my joints lubricated and loose for tomorrow. All in all I spent about 62 minutes combined on both sets of exercises to make sure I got the optimal effect.


There was a lot of hip work again in the TRX DVD which I greatly appreciated. Hips play such an important part in kettlebell training that I want mine to be running like a well oiled machine. I never realized how tight they were before this week and I have always considered myself quite flexible. The good part is, is that I am very close to being able to do the splits like Pavel. This is something I haven’t been able to do as a kid, and as a man there aren’t that many of us out there that can do something like this, which motivates me more.


I took 10 minutes after the stretches to practice some Cleans and Single Handed Swings since I know that will be coming up soon. Cleans are definitely a challenge but I feel that my form is improving over the first time I tried them (which was earlier in the week). The big challenge for me is controlling the ‘bell when it gets to the top so it doesn’t bang my forearm. It’ll get there.. it’s only week one after all!


Do I feel like I adequately completed Week 1?


Yes.


I already came from a fairly athletic base so my endurance has been better than what I expected it to be, but still somewhat of a challenge. I am getting closer to hitting 200+ swings with my 16kg in the 12 minute interval so I do think I am ready to go on to week 2 – how long I stay there though will be the question I have to ask myself at the end of next week.


I am continually trying new things every day to try and improve my performance and I am practicing the things that I am weakest in and want to be better at, such as TGU’s. It’s getting there but definitely work to be done. Kettlebell Training definitely takes a special kind of perseverance so if you’re reading this and considering trying it, give it a shot and don’t beat yourself up, the kettlebells will do that enough for you.


Don’t give up!


Looking forward to tomorrow!

ETK Week 1–Day 6

Saturday:
While weekends are supposed to be a rest day I feel more can be gained from moving the body than just sitting around. You want to keep those joints fluid and stop them from getting stiff and rickety.


This brings me to today – TRX Strength Essentials. It’s my first time doing this workout actually and it was very well paced – a lot of the workouts compliment what I’m doing in Enter the Kettlebell – some posterior strength and stretching – namely a great focus on the hips which is a huge benefit from doing so many swings in my opinion.


There  was some upper body work as well, chest/back/bis/tris – but I think anyone who has ever done a TRX workout knows you aren’t blasting set after set on one body part, you usually get 2 sets of 16 and then you move on to another body part. So for instance, you could do 2 sets of 16 for your chest, and then you move on to biceps, then on to triceps, etc. and that’ll be your upper body part of the workout. It works really nice because you get to work all these muscle groups, but not to failure.


I’m already feeling a lot of the benefits doing Enter the Kettlebell this way – I have more energy than I did when I did P90X and Insanity and other types of bodyweight resistance training and I can definitely say I’m stronger than I was before.


As a little test I tried to do some one handed push ups last night before I did the ‘Super Joints’ mobility work before bed. Now I can say that in all the years I’ve been fit, one handed push ups have been my albatross – I just couldn’t do them. So I figured that since it was the end of week 1 I wanted to give it a try. I managed to do 5 per side and felt I could have kept going!


This was incredible for me – now I’m not saying that Enter the Kettlebell will work miracles for your strength – it’s a combination of a lot of little things coming together for ME right now. A solid combo of Kettlebells/TRX/Joint Mobility and Stretching are just making me solid over all. Different things work for different people, but if you never give it a shot how will you ever know?


Anyway that’s all for today! Off to the farmers market to get some fresh food for the next couple weeks!


Have a good one world =)

ETK Week 1–Day 5

Friday:
Well I officially made it through week one and it was a lot tougher than I originally thought it would be. Like I had said on the Dragon Door website, I give kudos to everyone who has ever followed this program all the way through – it’s going to be an insanely awesome ride!


I felt much stronger today than on Tuesday – but I attribute that to practicing 10-15 minutes a day. When I say practice I mean practice and I am going at a much slower pace – this allows me to go move extra slow and critique my own form. I do this by recording from my camera and then playing it back to myself and comparing against the ETK video (the method of TGU that I follow).


Then again the feeling stronger could all be a mental confidence thing as well, but I sure felt different today and in a really good way.


I am moving on to week two next week – there is no real benchmark on what tells you you’re ready to move on – the AOS workbook says move on if you feel you adequately completed week one, which I feel I did coming into this with no prior kettlebell experience. My endurance has been good as well my form (note: Monday was day 1 and i did notice i was a little sore in my lower back, glutes and hams – but upon hearing from other people this is quite normal on day 1 and I haven’t experienced any soreness in my lower back since).


I have been rotating the Super Joints Joint Mobility dvd with the Relax into the Stretch dvd this week and found it has definitely helped with any kinks, which, lets face it, we all have at least one. Really good stuff here and a must have in my opinion.


The weekend is supposed to be comprised of “off” days – basically words that don’t exist in my vocabulary. Tomorrow I’m going to throw in some TRX Strength training and Sunday some TRX Stretching. I still find it to be a wonderful compliment to kettlebell training as you aren’t really overworking yourself and you can challenge your body in a different way.


Now off for a protein shake and breakfast and then time to start the day! Have a good one world!

ETK Week 1–Day 4

Thursday:
This is the day I was most excited for – Swing intervals for 12 minutes! I really wanted to prove to myself that hey, I know I was way more capable than what I did on day one as far as endurance goes.


So instead of doing a pre-workout like I did last time I just did some joint mobility exercises from Pavel’s Super Joints DVD/Book to get me ready. I did that for about 6 or 7 minutes – really nice change from active stretching to be honest and I felt it worked any kinks out much more effectively.


Completing the warm up felt easier today – I don’t know if that was all mental or not but I ended up with:


Wall Squats 6 cycles x 10
Halos 6 cycles x 10
Pumps 6 cycles x 10


Pretty much doubled what I had on Monday. I’m normally not all about the numbers, but in this case it’s nice to see that the workout I had did prior did sap me of a lot of my strength. I did find myself moving a bit quicker as I was getting more comfortable with the form on Halos. Squats is something I’ve been familiar with for a long time so I’ve never had a problem there, and with Yoga practice the Pumps are like second nature.


As for the workout itself, I was motoring! I had such a sense of renewed strength and energy that it just made the Kettlebell seem effortless – not that it was as I was quite soaked from sweat at the end of my 12 minutes.
At around the 6 minute mark I paused for a little less than 10 seconds to get a water break even though in the book it says don’t stop. I was parched and needed a drink – not from being tired.


I managed doing 1.5 more cycles than I did on Monday, so this brought my total swing count to 160 in 12 minutes – averaging 13 swings a minute. Obviously still a lot of work to do but this is encouraging for week 1.
Looking forward to tomorrow for my round of TGU’s. I think I’m going to make the 5 minutes into 10 so I can really get some extra practice in on that.


Also ordered a 24KG KB that should be here by Wednesday next week – reasoning for this is that I can already tell that I will outgrow the 16KG fairly quickly and want to be prepared to have a little variety. 95$ CDN w/ shipping is the best deal I’ve found for a KB that size!


Well off to finish breakfast and grab a shower before I’m off to an afternoon meeting. Have a good one people!

ETK Week 1– Day 3

Wednesday:
Today was supposed to be a rest day or I guess a variety day – the ETK workbook wasn’t that clear on it!


I’m feeling good so far – I haven’t had any soreness but I attribute that to the recovery drink post workout.


About an hour to two every day I’m scouring over Kettlebell workouts and videos just to see if I can pick anything up that may be useful in future workouts. You can never know enough is what I always like to say.


So for my variety day today I did a TRX workout – TRX Essentials Cardio Circuit.


Basically this is a mix of resistance and jump rope movements. Since I don’t have a jump rope – or enough space to do it – I opted for a mix of regular/straight arm jumping jacks for the jump rope intervals. When the weather is nicer – meaning no snow – then I’ll definitely take my TRX to the park for a workout like this.


Overall it was very productive – there was a nice mix between cardio and the resistance moves – and the resistance moves were varied enough that you weren’t cranking out sets of the same move. I think counting there were 25 TRX moves – all different, so a great variety that worked the whole body.


The thing I like about incorporating TRX with the ETK Kettlebell workout is that I’m still getting some strength and conditioning work on my off days, but it’s not so intense that it will lead to overtraining. If I were to do something like P90X in tandem with this that’s a different story. (Not meant to be singling P90X out here a lot – I still think it’s a great basic program).
Very excited for tomorrows workout now that I know not to underestimate it!


Have a good one folks!