Those of you following along on Instagram had a few sneak previews of some of the big fun this past weekend in Western MA and Boston – the adventure began with helping Amber of GiryaScope (Boston) lead a 4 hour intro/fine tuning kettlebell workshop at CrossFit Swarm in Westfield. The workshop sold out – and despite the freezing weather, showed up ready to learn and work. I was really impressed with their overall athleticism, spirit, and enthusiasm. Having not really worked with too many CrossFit people, I’d gotten an admittedly not so great impression from some of the goofiness which flies around online. The real folks involved with this stuff, led by a good team of coaches are actually incredibly cool and strong people. We did a lot, got in some laughs, and the level of what was obviously sinking in in just 4 hours was staggering. I’m proud to have been a part of a few little game-changers.
After introductions and a “what to expect” intro from Amber, I led the group in a Primal Move warm up – this also allowed us to quickly assess the group’s mobility, stability, coordination, and basic strengths/weaknesses. What a powerful tool – since it also let us know right away if anyone might need some extra help, and also some clues as to how the group would best learn (visual/auditory/kinetic). We then did several intensive segments on the RKC style swing, the get up, and by request the kettlebell snatch. One of the really fun things about this workshop was seeing that the participants were already extremely strong – and just needed some technique help and adjustments – when they applied these then BOOM! their performance just went through the roof. The women were all really excited about lifting heavy too. LOVE to see that.
Following the workshop, there was some tooth-gnashing as we carefully assessed the weather… I’d been planning a stunt of sorts, which you’ll see later this week. Of course we also partook of many favorite hot beverages – espresso, hot tea, etc. And of course a bit of a culinary snack tour of the nearby neighborhood in Boston. Stamp of approval given! BIG TIME. I’ll say more later in another post (today is a very busy, but I wanted to update you a little at least) but there’s much deliciousness to be found in Boston.
When I got home – not even an hour after arriving back from the airport, I was greeted by a slightly disgruntled sounding UPS guy leaving a stacked near-pyramid of Dragon Door kettlebells outside my door! HURRAH!!!! Here’s a little video about unboxing these new fun sizes – 18kg and 22kg along with some chocolate from Boston and a few surprises:
I’d gotten up at 5:45AM in order to catch the flight home, so be kind if you think I’m a little more goofy than usual… 🙂
Also, please check out the post today on Dragon Door’s Progressive Calisthenics Blog. I’m answering a question that people ask literally ALL the time! Hope you enjoy it – please let me know what you think and also please comment on the blog post too. Paul Wade himself has been known to pop up on that blog and comment! (And yes, he’s real… yeash…)
Leave a Reply