I have been sick as a dog the last few days so this post took me way longer to write than normal…hopefully I’ll get back in action today and be ready to train this weekend!
I got an email from my kettlebell buddy the other day. We met at the HKC and we are both attending the RKC in April! 🙂
She said “I feel like it was just August and we were signing up for RKC thinking we had all the time in the world.” Ummm yah. …and now we leave in 5 weeks. FIVE WEEKS PEOPLE. And between now and then my husband and I are opening our gym. And no, my regular life and day-to-day tasks are not stopping. I still work full time as a marketing manager and full time as a mom to a 9 month old baby. At some point I think I might need a vacation, but for now it’s go-go-go and train-train-train.
The last RKC training update I gave you was my chinup and kettlebell press workout mid-February. My husband and Brett Jones have given me some tips and tweaks and my husband helped me with my last program to work through over the final 6 weeks.
I tweaked my schedule in order to get used to working out on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (since those are the days of the RKC). In addition, I’m practicing one arm swings Tuesday and doing my snatch test on Wednesday. It’s a complete shakeup from my normal routine so it will take some getting used to. Usually I do my tough workouts during the week and maybe on Saturday mornings, but Sundays are usually rest days for me.
I started working on some breathing techniques and it feels so unnatural to me since it’s all new, but boy does it make a difference. You should hear the sounds coming from my mouth when I get confused on when I’m supposed to breath in or out! Hopefully I’ll get this under control over the next few weeks. 🙂
Here’s one of the workouts I did last weekend (and will be doing for the next 5 weekends). I’ll post some videos next week!
Current Challenges
I get frustrated because I started snatching the 16K kettlebell back in September when I got past my mental block. I ended up hurting my shoulder (again) awhile back so I took some time off from snatches in general. Unfortunately, the 16K usually still feels heavy despite the fact that I can do one-arm swings fairly easily with the 24K kettlebell. But on a positive note, it is absolutely getting easier. I have to keep reminding myself that the snatch test is not supposed to be easy!
Everyone keeps asking if I’m going to be using the 12K or the 16K kettlebell at RKC. My answer…prepping with the 16K and hoping for the 12K. My weight’s been lingering between 121 and 125 so I’m hopeful that I’ll be below 123 for sure in a month or so. It will be nice not having to watch the scale so closely after April 15th!
Current Successes
Everything is getting easier and I’m feeling stronger overall. I feel like my techinique on most exercises is getting there. I am much more comfortable doing TGU’s with the 16K than I ever have been before. Goblet squats and front squats feel better than they ever have before. I’m finally making some progress with my pressing and can press the 14K for multiple reps on my left and the 16K for multiple reps on my right. I was stuck at the 12K for a long time so this is progress and progress is good. Pressing is where my breathing technique is going to play a huge role as it will help me to use my entire body to press instead of just my shoulder. Easier said than done, but I’m getting there!
Preparing for the RKC definitely takes time, patience and persistence. Just like learning to crawl and walk. 🙂
What the hardest physical challenge you have trained for (or are training for now)?
you got this, amanda! also, you are reminding me that i need to do more one-handed and alternating hand swings! 🙂
Yes! You’ll be tested on one-handed swings at HKC. 🙂
ah! good to know!
what kind of rest breaks are you taking during each of these, either between exercises or between sets? i might give this one a whirl tonight!
good question! i actually don’t keep track of rest time, but here’s what I do. get ups first. then i get into the rest of the workout …i write them all on the board and check off after each set. then i usually do kind of circuit style…so i would do either one set of each exercise and go through until done (you’d be done dl’s first since only 2 sets so you’d skip that on the 3rd round). OR…you can jump around and do what feels rested. OR…you can do 2-3 exercises back to back and then move on. basically…mix it up and keep moving. rest just when necessary to maintain good technique!! let me know if you try this! good luck. 🙂
awesome, thank you! i’ll let you know!! 🙂
Wow indeed. I wish I knew more of your tricks! I think I’m pretty good at time management myself but I can’t seem to squeeze the time to blog in there lol! I’m a full time engineer, full time mom of a 7 months old, training for an ironman (another job in itself) and next month we’re moving to europe! It’s nice to see I’m not the only one pulling her hair out! ha!
I don’t have a lot of tricks, but we should definitely keep in touch and support each other. Sounds like you have plenty going on as well. 🙂 Good luck with your ironman and your big move! Where are in Europe?
Wow. This is pretty incredible to read – I can’t even fathom doing those workouts!! You are so strong!! Similar to Jo – for me, it’s been training to become barre n9ne certified (more so mentally, than physically). Although, I’m pretty sure in a few months my answer will change to “marathon training” but we’ll see!!
You have been rocking your barre n9ne training and you’ll soon be rocking your marathon training too. Funny how you can’t fathom doing these workouts and for me I can’t fathom running a marathon (even though I used to run a ton!)
Wow, that looks so intense, my friend! you are killing it in your training! I am so impressed. I think that training for the half marathons I’ve done was probably the hardest…barre n9ne training has been, but in a completely different way. It’s always worth it in the end 🙂
You’re right it is always worth it in the end. 🙂 I do wish I had known that we were opening the gym in April and I may have spaced things out a bit better, but everything happens for a reason, right? 🙂