Yoga - Not a Complete Waste of Time

  I went to a second yoga class. I documented my first try at it here, remember? So I decided to give it another try.  And my overall conclusion is the very one that you read in the title. "Yoga - Not a Complete Waste of Time".

I said as much after leaving the class. I was trying to express my indifference toward yoga while not completely insulting yoga, the people who enjoy it and all it stands for. In my eloquence (or lack thereof), I'm not too sure I succeeded.

I like yoga. Sort of. It's a challenge - balance, strength, overall fitness, all of that. Absolutely. Focus, relaxation, inner peace. All that good stuff. Really, yoga is great. But I've decided it's just not my thing. At least at this point in my life. You would think I would appreciate the relaxed nature - a big change from my everyday life which is rush rush rush, do this, do that, get it done, crap! I didn't get it all done. Rush rush rush some more. It should be a chance to breathe, to enjoy the challenge, feel my muscles stretching, moving, strengthening, blah blah blah. But I just can't get past the "OK what's next? Let's do the next exercise. I gotta move! I can't sit still! Let me move!" (And I didn't even have coffee before class!)

As I stand in half lotus, breathing deeply, visions of kettlebells and the power and ballistics of the kettlebell moves float through my mind like butterflies in the breeze.

As I bend into a butt-exposing stretch in the silent room, praying no one lets one rip, the sounds of a karate class - pounding music, shouted 'Yessir!"s, kiais and explosive breaths reverberate through my mind like a drum beat.

As I lift my arm in front of me and bend, extending my leg behind, hoping my non-existant cleavage isn't being exposed as I hop and shimmy in an attempt to stay balanced I feel the wind whistling past my ears and feel the wheels upon my feet as I blow down the parkway in my rollerblades like a groom who's late for his wedding.

And then, finally, the class was over. The relaxing stretch and burn was over. The deep breathing was over. The silence was over. I was free. Yes, apparently I completely and utterly miss the point of yoga. I've given up trying to find it. It's elusive, mysterious, out of my grasp.

I was out the door like a shot. Where's my kettlebell? Where are my roller blades? I . . . must . . . move!

Quack!

Swaths of Hot Fuzzy Fleece - My Kettlebell Fashion Statement

  Remember when I mentioned that yoga seminar? Well, there's going to be a kettlebell seminar too. Coming up in a few weeks. I'm very excited. I've been doing kettlebell for several months now. I've definately seen improvements in my strength, muscle definition and endurance since I started. It will be great to see how much of this I'm actually doing correctly and how much I'm not. It will be great to hear from someone who really knows what he's doing.

Actually though, I think I'm doing pretty good. I've spent a fair amount of time researching this stuff and have a pretty good idea of when I'm moving my body in a way that's dangerous to my joints and muscles - and so far so good. No major injuries and very few minor ones other than bruising during the learning phase. And some of that has been countered by knowing when to wear my arm guards.

I have three kettlebells - a 20lb, a 25lb and a 35lb. The 25lb is a different brand than the other two - some generic knock-off of a 'real' brand. I can't do anything with that one without major bruising. The shape, for whatever reason, sits just off and immediately bruises my arm. I don't even get a warning shot. If I do one clean with it without my pads, instant bruise. And it's kinda rough besides. Not so much that it tears up my hands, but it's not nice and smooth like the Cap brand which I highly recommend.

So, I have this nice, fashionable length of soft fleecy cloth that I wrap around my wrists when I use that particular bell. It works great! An inch of soft, fuzzy, fleecy padding works much better than child soccer shin guards (which I tried) and better than knee pads and socks (which I tried). So, despite looking like a complete dork, I continue to wrap myself in thick swaths of hot, fuzzy fleece.

But, back to the seminar. It should be fun. A friend of mine is even coming along to the seminar with me. She's getting into kettlebell too and wants to learn more. It should be a great time. If you want to come along, let me know! The more the merrier!
 
Quack!

Kettlebell Swings Sometimes Make Me Giggle

OK, so you know that I've been working out with kettlebells lately, right? And I really enjoy it. I've also been doing a little bit of browsing at various websites and I found this site here where Lisa Shaffer did a 10,000 swing challenge - doing 10,000 kettlebell swings in a month. After reading that over I was somewhat inspired. But I'm not completely crazy! (Not that she is, but she has significantly more experience with this than I and also significantly more muscle than I.) So, I decided to do something similar on a smaller scale.

Over the first three weeks of my own personal challenge I managed to do about 3300 swings. I did 300-500 at a time, about 3-4 days a week. I skipped almost a week at one point and had to do 600 in a day to catch up! But I did it and I reached my goal. I did 5000 swings in a month!

Throughout the challenge I averaged 1/3 of the swings with the 35lb kettlebell and 2/3 with the 20lb bell. That remained the same throughout the month, but I did increase the size of my sets. I went from doing sets of 10 with the 35 bell up to sets of 25. And for the 20 pound bell I got up to sets of 50 and sometimes more before I stopped to gasp for breath. And I've been doing one-armed swings with the 20 lb bell because frankly, at this point, doing a 2 handed swing with the 20 lb bell makes me giggle. So I must be improving!

Next challenge is to try to do more than 3 one-arm swings with the 35lb bell (without hurting myself of course).

This is fun!


Quack!

Kettlebells for Dummies - A Book Review

If you follow my blog you know that I've recently discovered kettlebells - those innocuous looking hunks of iron that supposedly can whip you into shape faster than Julia Child can whip up a chocolate mousse.

If you know me, you also know that I've always been somewhat active. I was into martial arts when I was a teenager up until I got married and started having babies. Then, even though I let the martial arts slide due to a lack of time, I kept up with daily exercises for several years. Once the kids got more numerous and sleep was the number one priority, I let exercise slide almost completely for several years. But my interest in being fit was sparked again when I saw a segment on TV about kettlebells. I was intrigued. They looked like fun and sounded like a great way to get into shape. I did some research; printed off some routines I found on the internet and picked up a kettlebell. It was a great start, but I needed one more thing - some better instruction.

My wish was granted. I was recently given a copy of the book Kettlebells for Dummies by Sarah Lurie. This is a really great book for anyone getting started with kettlebells. 

Chapter 1 - Gearing Up is all about what a kettlebell is, how they are used and how they differ from traditional weights. There is information on how to pick the right size kettlebell including some simple ways to test your strength and flexibility and how to choose the right size kettlebell based on those simple test results. This process was spot-on! I was able to choose the right weight kettlebell and after working with it a bit I know that it's the right size - it's challenging, but not overly so. 

This chapter also goes into the essentials of spine and hip positioning and alignment - how to get into the right positions and maintain them and how to do the hip snap movements. It also covers some warming up, cooling down and stretching topics.

Chapter 2 - Basics covers some of the basic kettlebell moves: The Swing and its variations, the Turkish Get Up and variations of it with and without the kettlebell and other basic moves such as squats, cleans and the military press. There are detailed, step by step instructions on how to get the movements down and tips and exercises to do if you are having trouble. Can't quite get the squats just right? There are some exercises to do to get your body used to the correct movements.

It then moves into some beginner workouts which include suggested routines with chapter references so you can refer back for more details on specific exercises. There are three workouts - 'Flab to Fab', 'Cardio Burn' and 'Power and Strength', each incorporating exercises that work toward a particular goal - losing fat/burning calories, cardio or strength.

Chapter 3 - Advanced Kettlebell Moves progresses into some more advanced moves and covers ways to master those moves. There are some quick 5-minute workouts that are great to use as warm-ups for a full workout, or just to squeeze in on those days when you don't have time for a full workout.

Then, as in the previous beginner workouts, there are three workouts - 'Flab to Fab', 'Cardio Burn' and 'Power and Strength' that incorporate some of the more advanced moves into the workouts.

This chapter also gets into some kettlebell combos that pull together various kettlebell movements into a single exercise to take full advantage of the kettlebell's ability to engage your entire body and core muscles with some simple movements and combinations of movements.

Chapter 4 - Special Situations covers kettlebell use for young adults, boomers and seniors. There are guidelines to follow and suggestions on how to adjust the workouts to suit your own special situation.

Everything you can think of from a section on pregnancy and post-natal workouts to sections on rehabbing and supporting substantial weight loss are covered as well as tips to achieve goals and guidelines to help you find a certified trainer.

Overall, this is an excellent book. Throughout the book are photos showing the correct form for each exercise each step of the way as well as detailed written instructions for each step. There are plenty of tips and pointers for identifying bad form and correcting it and the suggested workouts are extremely helpful in creating a full workout plan.

The book is geared toward a kettlebell novice and has a lot of detail to get you started and to keep you going for a long time with intermediate and advanced moves and topics. I will be referring to this book for a long time as I progress with my kettlebell training. With my kettlebell and this book I'm good to go. I have what I need to get the basics down and then some.

Quack!

A Friggin' Kettlebell Monster

  I recently got myself a kettlebell. If you've never heard of them they are awesome little pieces of excercise equipment. (And by 'little' I mean, they are relatively small in size, but not in weight. As far as workouts go they pack quite a punch!) Read about them here.

First, I picked up a 10 pounder one day on a whim. I'd been thinking about it for a while, then when I was out I saw some for a decent price so I picked up a 10 pounder. I really knew almost nothing about them yet except for what I'd seen in an infomercial that I watched for about 5 minutes. Once I got it home I did some research and decided that it wasn't quite heavy enough. Normally, when I do an excercise routine with a DVD (which I haven't done faithfully in many years) I used 5 and sometimes 8 pound hand weights depending on the exercise. But kettlebells are used differently. You generally aren't doing reps that isolate a single muscle or two at a time, you are doing exercises that use your entire body - your core muscles along with, say, your quadriceps and hamstrings and/or biceps or shoulders. So you can and should use a much heavier weight. For the basic swing exercise, it may look like a shoulder and arm excercise where you are lifting the kettlebell, but it's far from it. You aren't lifting - you're swinging the weight and using your hips to accomplish most of the action. (My thighs and butt will tell you how effective it is! They certainly tell me. Loudly! But really, now I can do a workout without getting uber sore. The first one though - whoa! I couldn't move for days!)

So, needless to say, after doing my research and deciding that I was in pretty decent shape I went with a 20 pounder. Now, all the DVDs you see show these fit women tossing around a 5-10 pounder, but the more hard-core fitness sites seemed to be under the consensus that a woman should start with at least 15 pounds, 20 if she's in good shape, or 26 if she's in phenomenal shape. Well, I'm in decent shape, but not phenomenal. So I got a 20 pounder. I found a site where I could order it online and they shipped it for FREE. Wow! 20 pounds of iron and they shipped it free! You can't go wrong there!

When that thing arrived at my doorstep I was a little intimidated. 20 pounds of shiny black metal is heavy! A lot heavier than a 5 pound hand weight. That's four bags of flour! (I bake a lot so that comparison works for me!)

I also picked up a copy of Kettlebells for Dummies. That has a good test to find the right size kettlebell. After trying the test I decided that 20 pounds was probably about right. Maybe a little heavy, but I figured better that than not heavy enough.

I also spent a little time on youtube. There are some great videos out there demonstrating the basic moves and it was a big help to see someone doing the movements right!
So far, after my first couple of weeks with this thing I'm doing great. I really enjoy it, I'm definately getting stronger and I haven't injured myself. I was a little worried about some of the movements at first. It takes a little while to get the techniques down and there were a few times where I started the movement, then said 'Holy crap! I can't do that with 20 pounds! But that was a couple of weeks ago and now I CAN do it with 20 pounds! Maybe not 20 reps. Maybe not even 10 reps, but certainly 3 or four to start with. I'll work up from there.

As far as the basic moves go, so far I have a pretty good handle on doing the 'clean' where you basically get the kettlebell up into a 'rack' position under your chin with your elbow bent and tucked into your side. It's not a curl, which would be very difficult to do more than a couple times with a 20 pound weight! There's a technique to it, that if done right, keeps you from injuring yourself and makes you feel pretty darn good for having done it right! :)

Then there's the 'snatch'. (Yes, that's what it's called. Don't blame me. I didn't name it!) I definitely need some work on that one. With a 20 pound weight I'm struggling with getting the movements right without hurting myself. I've done it a few times well and just need to practice, but getting that thing up where it's supposed to be, over my head, without smashing my arms to bloody bits is somewhat daunting. I can see where it's probably not that hard once you have the movements down, but getting the movements down with a 20 pound weight in your hands is a challenge. This is where it's helpful to have a lighter kettlebell to practice the movements with then move up to the heavier bell when I have it down.

I had some trouble in the beginning with mashing the front of my forearm with the bell, but I'm getting much better with that. I rarely slam it into my forearm any more. That kind of thing you tend to learn pretty quickly. The first few times aren't so bad, but after that, well, . . . It gets old really really fast.
There's the halo. That one's cool. No swinging or smashing. You hold it by the sides and just circle it around your head. A great exercise for not only arms and shoulders, but also your core muscles.

And then there's the Windmill and the Turkish Get-Up. (Other than the 'snatch' these exercises have some pretty cool names! It's much more fun to do an exercise if the name of the movements are fun, right? OK, so I'm easily amused. Anyway . . .) Both exercises involve some moving around while holding the kettlebell up over your head. It takes balance and core strength and a lot of shoulder control to keep the thing up there while moving yourself around. The TGU is a standard kettlebell exercise and it's pretty cool, but the first time I tried was not pretty. I ended up just putting the kettlebell down and practicing with no weights. After a day or so of that I was able to get the movements down and now I can do 4 on each side with the kettlebell before I stop.

The only warning I have (other than watching your forarms and not dropping it on yourself) is to make sure you have enough space to swing it! It doesn't take a lot of room, but you sure don't want to hit the TV with that thing! Or the kids. Or the cat. Or anything. 20 pounds is a force to be reckoned with when it's swinging around.

And, (best of all) this week I found the trick to making that 20 pound kettlebell seem so much lighter. Get a 35 pound bell. Yes. It works! You see, there are some kettlebell certifications and for that you (meaning me, a woman of my weight) would need to use a 35 pound bell. So, whether I ever get certified or not I decided to get the 'official' size. Holy cow! That's one heavy piece of iron! Just carrying it from the back of the store up to the front had me out of breath with muscles trembling and sweat dripping down my face. I'm able to do some of the exercises with it, but not all. For the ones I can't quite manage yet (anything that involves lifting it over my head) I go back to the 20 pounder and it feels so light that it makes me giggle. Really. If I ever get to
the point where I can actually do 100 snatches with the 35 kettlebell I will officially be a monster. That's right. A friggin' kettlebell monster. It's good to have goals.

So, if you're looking for something to try - this is it. It doesn't involve any equipment other than one kettlebell (you can use two, but really only need one), it's a super workout and it's fun. Try it!

Quack!