A Workout, a Template, a Tetanus shot, an Introduction, and Something to Look Forward to!

Let’s start with the workout and you can decide how much entertainment beyond that you’d like.  This has been a fairly crazy week, as usual.  For about a week I had misplaced the completed “little gray Moleskine notebook” that I’d been scribbing workouts to test and the results and adjustments of them. Since there’s been some joking about certain people “snagging it and making some $ from it” I took full advantage of joking back at them knowing full well that I’d just misplaced it in a bag or backpack.  Finally found the darn thing last night.   Fortunately for you, I’d already put most of the best workouts up on this site in the workouts area anyway.

Yesterday, just a few pages into a new “little dark red Moleskine notebook” we had fun with a modified old favorite.  I’ll list it below, but then also show you how you can use the pattern to form your own challenges.  Sorry it took me this long to get to a blog post this week, I’ve been wanting to give you all as much time as possible to vote on the “what do you want” poll (which is still running, so click here and vote if you haven’t already!)

So, we did a brief, but full body Joint Mobility warm up (which is remarkably similar to the one they now are teaching at the HKC and RKC workshops… imagine that!) followed by the CC2 Trifecta.
Then we started right in with a descending ladder of the following exercises:

• 12 Spiderman push ups (or if more appropriate, choose any push up variant)
• 12 HEAVY to moderate kettlebell swings (we used at least 24kg, 28kg)
• 12 kettlebell snatches (6/side) with what would be our RKC testing weight (for me that’s 14kg for example)
• A sprint out to a specified distance (50 yards) and a jog back
• 10 spiderman push ups
• 10 swings
• 10 kettlebell snatches (5/side)
• A sprint out to a specified distance (50 yards) and a jog back
• … complete the pattern all the way down to…
• 2 spiderman push ups
• 2 kettlebell swings
• 2 kettlebell snatches (1 per side)
• A sprint out to a specified distance (50 yards) and a jog back

And actually we repeated the last round of “2” just for fun.

After a water break it was time for a 2nd small circuit 3x through:

• 5 ab wheel roll outs from the knees
• 1 farmer’s walk out and back (round trip 50 yards, swap hands at midpoint, we used 1 24kg kettlebell and 1 28kg kettlebell for this which is a fun little challenge, it’s easy to forget that this is 52kg or about 114.5lbs total, until my fingers suddenly seem to “feel long” haha just kidding)
• 5/5 kettlebell around the worlds (can be moderate/light)
• 10 tuck-ups (like v-ups, but the knees are tucked, though you could absolutely do v-ups if you wish)

Following that we did a joint mobility cool down (it started out as Primal Move, but I switched it to a standing version because during the crawling portion a freakishly tiny but freakishly stiff piece of the most unbending metal wire decided to go right into my palm.

I caught it quickly and didn’t put my full weight on it or anything, but when I went to pull out what I thought was just a splinter or thorn, the darn thing just KEPT COMING. I must have had quite an expression on my face as I saw over 1/4″ of metal come out of my hand, then annoyingly barely bleed (I did encourage it).  It was just like the beginning of a certain Japanese cult classic grossout movie involving a whole lot of metal… but that part where the normal guy pulls this little wire out of his face and it kept going… yes that.  My family reads this blog, so kindly don’t mention the name of this nefarious “classic” movie as I do not want to be responsible for their or anyone else’s psychological damage from watching it.

ANYWAY. With that and with the memory of “I’ve not had any shots other than novocane at the dentist since 1999” I thought now might be a good time to see about a tetanus shot!  Seemed like a reasonable idea anyway since I’ve been prone to climb up, over, around, and through all kinds of things these days, and otherwise I’d just get all paranoid about it.  For the curious they’re $60 at Walgreens walk in (I got the one with the extra stuff Tdap), no fuss other than the fact that the nurse practitioner might be amused at your deltoid.

Back to the workout, I love the concept of the descending ladder because it lets you get the higher rep sets when you have the most energy at the beginning of the workout.  In theory, you should be able to do all the reps of the workout with your best form.  The pattern above can be used for infinite workout variations, here’s the general formula and as always it’s to be adapted to the fitness level of whoever is performing it:

Next topic! Over about the past year I’ve been helping out some local friends with their new company called Trideck.  Very pleased to announce that their original design, patented all-terrain skateboard/scooter hybrids have arrived and are ready for immediate purchase!  I have a super rare limited custom one with an all matte black frame.  The cool thing about Trideck is that it has a removable “handlebar” that’s actually very similar to a canoe or paddleboard paddle handle that you use to get used to the thing.  Having not been a skateboarder as a kid, that handle completely takes away that “omg so totally going to wipe out in front of everyone” feeling.  The Trideck is steerable by leaning towards your toes or heels, much like you would with surfing (or my old favorite, skimboarding).  The bonus is that you can just sort of take off across the grass (which gives you the power to shock and surprise squirrels) and apparently does very well on the hard packed sand at the beach.  Even as a beginner with the Trideck on a maiden voyage to Starbucks, I not only managed to get here safely, but was able to get enough speed going that casual observers a few blocks away were surprised to see that it did not have a motor of any kind.   There’s also a powerful rear footbrake.

Here’s the official video featuring people who know what they’re doing with it:

Here’s me giving it a try after some skilled coaching from the inventor of Trideck himself. Those children running in front of me had no idea of their peril! (How-to videos will be coming from them soon.)

Other extremely exciting news includes the 1-day HKC (Hardstyle Kettlebell Certification) is now eligable for ACE CECs and NCSA CEUs. I will be assisting Senior RKC Mike Krivka at an upcoming HKC in Jacksonville, Florida March 29th!  If you are ready to take your personal training career to the next level, or you’re really serious about getting serious with your kettlebell training this is an 8 hour info-packed workshop that you will not want to miss.  It’s also a handy stepping-stone to the RKC 3-day certification which I would of course whole-heartedly recommend.  Unlike most 1-day fitness certifications, the HKC is serious business, so be sure to read all about what is expected of you to earn the cert (it’s not just that you showed up, you will be tested!)

And additional exciting news is that Zach Even-Esh’s Underground Strength Coach workshop and certification is also coming to Florida – Celebration, FL to be exact. Having observed one of Zach’s half-day workshops on his home turf of Edison, NJ last year (click here for the write-up of that) I am really looking forward to what Zach brings to the full day.  After I signed up, I received an email with a nearly overwhelming amount of awesome stuff to download and start working with immediately.  Giant ebooks and manuals, plus really cool audio interviews with some of the best unconventional strength coaches in the US.  You’ll no doubt recognize many of their names. Zach’s Encyclopedia of Underground Strength and Conditioning is a book I always keep handy, so experiencing the workshop will be a whole lot of fun.  Zach’s approach to programming and using what you have/what’s available to get freakish but usable strength is real-world tested.  So far there’s upcoming USC certs happening in Edison, NJ, Austin, TX, Celebration, FL, and Advance, NC. Don’t miss out.  Along with challenging workouts, techniques, strategies, programming strategies, and business advice, Zach also has an infectious positive (but real, none of this mumbo-jumbo) attitude and intensely motivating vibe. Zach “Lives the Code” and will show you how to do it too!  My training in preparation for the USC has already begun!