Lone Star Kettlebell

Seems like things are in overdrive! Training is full speed ahead personally and client-wise. TSC is coming up in a couple weeks then Whitley's workshop a few weeks later in Frisco. One week later, the October RKC in the role of an Assistant Instructor this time, 1 year anniversary of my RKC. (I'm totally humbled and privelged to be on that roster!) Then it's road gear and full throttle for the RKC II next June in St Paul. The requirements are stiffer and the curriculum appears to be better than ever. Once again, a three day knowledge tempest to spend weeks, if not months, digesting post-attendance.

At the same time the circus-like juggling act of work, training, teaching and life will continue to challenge and perplex me which forces maturation and growth like no other. I look forward to the coming months and hope to absorb and apply everything ahead!

Simple training...

Wednesday, Aug 27, 2008

Corrective work:
Farmers Carries
Lots and Lots of Planks
Lots and Lots of Technique Demo

Thursday, Aug 28, 2008

Goof-off day
Worked a pair of 12kg KB's for about 40 minutes. I have no idea how many reps of everything I did, but I switched doubles and singles at will. I just did what ever came to mind. Alone in my thoughts.

Two Arm Swings
H2H Swings
Double Swings
Single Hand Juggling
Double KB Juggling
Bottoms Up Press
Bottoms Up See Saw Press
Bottoms Up Stacked KB Press
Iron Cross
Snatches
Double Snatches
Double Alternating Snatches
COC Grippers: Trainer, #1 and #2

This was a nice mindless workout. Nothing more, nothing less.

Posted by Jason Marshall at 9:57 PM | Permalink | Comments

PR'd my Conventional Dead Lift Today! Details below...

Last week was a good training week as I'm still working in my FMS corrective strategies. I've been teaching classes virtually everyday, so I'm getting a lot of residual work while I'm demonstrating technique that I sometimes oversee as actual training. I'm trying to be more mindful of this "work" so I can stay fresh for my "real" training sessions.

I've had a little shoulder flare up recently which I'm convinced is due to my funky sleeping positions. I usually sleep on my belly without a pillow, face turned to the side and my arms are overhead in a "goal-post" position. If I'm not in that position, I'm on my side with my shoulder turned in towards my chest with my arm straight in front of me and my head resting on my down shoulder. I'm not sure how to change this, but maybe a mattress change would help? Not sure.

Off to training…

Corrective Strategies Everyday:
ASLR
Corrective Get Up w/ OH Walks
Wall Sit w/ OH Press
T-Spine Rotation
Windshield Wiper
Brettzel

Thursday - Aug. 21

Dead Lift - Conventional Stance
245 - 8x3 - Double Overhand Thumbless Grip

Single Arm Dead Cleans - 4 Rounds - Went right up the ladder for each set.
24kg - 3/3
36kg - 3/3
48kg - 3/3

Superset w/ BW Pull Ups
5 Each Round

Friday - Aug. 22

KB Dead Lift
48kg 5x5

Suit Case Farmer Carry
36kg 5/5 - 30sec each

Tuesday - Aug. 26

Weighed - 189 lbs.
Dead Lift - Conventional Stance
Worked up to a heavy single
245 1x3
335 1x2
425 1x2
475 1x1
515 1x1
535 1x1 - PR in Conventional Stance!!!! The pull was slow and really made it hard to keep the upper back tight and shoulders sunk, but I locked it out none the less.

Suit Case Farmer Carry
36kg - 3/3 - 30sec each

Double KB Work - Done as a complex

Dead Clean
Front Squat (Reset each clean before front squat)
Renegade Row
Push Up
Dead Lift

2 - 24kg 1x3
2 - 28kg 1x3
2 - 32kg 3x3

Warm Down:
Bottom's Up Tall Kneeling Press
12kg - 2 x 5/5

Half Kneeling Press
12kg - 2 x 5/5

Posted by Jason Marshall at 7:46 PM | Permalink | Comments

Worked a little Dead Lift assistance and Prehab today. Corrective Strategies seem to be working their magic while I'm shifting gears to training for the TSC for a few weeks.

Warm Up:
TGU w/ OH Walks and T-Spine/C-Spine Clearing
Half Kneeling Press

Superset:
Double KB Front Squat
2 - 16kg 5
2 - 24kg 5
2 - 32kg 3x5

Romanian Dead Lift - Off Box
135 5x8

Double KB Swings
3 Rounds starting with the heavy bells and consecutively working my way down to the lighter bells on the top of the minute w/ a minute rest
2 - 32kg x 5
2 - 40kg x 5
2 - 48kg x 5

This got my heart rate up pretty good. The larger bells are hard for a guy like me with short legs, but the dynamics of the hip extension is unreal.

Warm Down w/ Late Class

All w/ 16kg
More TGUs w/ OH Walks and Spinal Rotation - 2 x L/R
(Held each segment for a one second pause)
Kneeling OH Press - 5x5 L/R
Single Leg Dead Lift - 3x15 L/R

Posted by Jason Marshall at 9:17 PM | Permalink | Comments

The CK-FMS has really opened my eyes. (Not that I wasn't concerned about certain things that my clients were showing me before in their performance.) I just didn't know exactly what to do about it. With the new tools of the CK-FMS, I have a clear road map to follow with each individual.

To explain further, I have a client who scored a 16 on the initial screen (which is pretty good…2 points above average). When he came back the day after we screened we worked on the assessment versions of the TGU and the Single Leg DL. After a few reps each with and without resistance I noticed a big ankle mobility issue which didn't really bare its fangs on the FMS. We went straight into a series of corrective strategies and tried the Single Leg DL again. The client went from dead lifting off of an 8" box to a full range SL DL with no asymmetries...immediately! I would also assume the bridge portion of the TGU is going to improve as well.

So there's a real world example of how quickly the system can work.

Now a little dead lifting. I haven't had a "real" workout since Monday, Aug. 4, about two weeks ago. All the residual I'm getting from teaching has been nice though as well as the deloading break.

This workout was to see where I was on the dead lift. This showed me my baseline since I haven't pulled since the April Tactical Strength Challenge. After watching the video, I notice some rounding in the upper back, but that usually happens when I go above 90% of 1RMax. I felt unusually good afterward, even now, two days later.

After DL I supersetted weighted pull ups w/ single leg dead lifts and concentrated on tension and form. This got me more worked up than the dead lift workout. Here's the workout broken down.

Warm Up
ASLR
Wall Sit w/ OH Press
Corrective TGU w/ OH Walk and C-Spine/T-Spine Clearing

Dead Lift
Worked up to 425 Sumo & Conventional
475
515
545 - Failed
425 or 82.5% - 3X3 - Last Rep w/ 10 second iso-hold

I worked conventional just because I felt more comfortable there. I've been slowly transitioning to conventional and I'm surprised how awkward sumo feels now.

Superset
Weighted Pull Up w/ 10kg
10, 5, 5

Single Leg Dead Lift
24kg - 3x10 L/R

Grip
COC Trainer
3x10 L/R

Posted by Jason Marshall at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments

This was undoubtedly the most well-spent time and money I've ever doled out on my training career. The CK-FMS or Certified Kettlebell - Functional Movement Specialist workshop was above and beyond what I was expecting (which was pretty high before I went). The combined knowledge, breadth and presentation quality of Brett Jones, MRKC and Gray Cook, RKC was outstanding!

There is really too much to put into words about the weekend, but I will sum up a few of the main takeaways that really hit home for me.

In America, we have traditionally neglected basic movement patterns, thus reinforcing poor movement (i.e. exercise) on top of a dysfunctional body. Why are we training ourselves and others through pain and immobility? Because that's just what we do! We don't know any better! Well, the CK-FMS has provided the tools to reprogram basic movement function, eliminate the bugs in our motor program and correct the nasty asymmetries we tend to compensate for that WILL lead to future injur(ies).

If we step back in time between our birth to 18 months of life, we see all the basic motor movement patterns displayed in perfect and beautiful harmony. From raising the head for the first time, to rolling over, to crawling, squatting, dead lifting and walking….it's all there! And all this with a giant noggin atop a miniature body with almost no musculature. Kind of miraculous when you think about it.

The Functional Movement Screen is such a good compliment to the RKC system as it's a no-frills, objective, quantifiable test that lights up a person's mobility and stability strengths and weaknesses. The approach of using kettlebells to correct asymmetries and poor movement patterns is an amazing concept which was immediately applicable in myself and my clients as soon as I got home.

I'm still in process of digesting the weekend, but one of the coolest things about this event and the RKC certification I went to in Oct. 07 is the community of people who are drawn to this way of life and school of thought. The camaraderie and relationships built during the process are worth the price of admission alone. I met so many people in the kettlebell community who I consider mentors and inspirations…RKC's, RKC II's, Senior RKC's, Master RKC's and the man himself, Pavel. I've only read about many of these people, visited their websites and blogs, seen their videos and purchased their products and now we're all in the same boat….coming together to learn and collaborate how to be better at what we do. It was truly an awesome experience and I will remember this weekend for the rest of my life!

Posted by Jason Marshall at 5:16 PM | Permalink | Comments