What I learned in a month of 10,000 swings ~ 03/29/2010
For the month of March I committed to a training schedule so contrary to my nature. I committed to doing the same thing every day, all month long - nothing but swings. Sounds oppressive, I know, but to my surprise within the discipline of the basic kettlebell swing, there is a whole universe of lessons to be learned. (To be honest, I did do many Turkish get-ups every day and added bottom-up cleans and presses to work deeper on my left handed grip asymmetry. And I may have tossed in a few snatches and of course goblet squats just to help the hips open up) Kettlebells used - 12k, 16k, 20k, 24k, 28k, 32k My swings varied with two handed swings, one hanged swings, alternating hands and occasional mid-air last nano second grab followed by and audible “whoopsy”. Sets were combinations of kettlebell weights and swings. My typical workout was 500 swings a session and later in the month I spent a few days snapping out 1000 swings in one training session. First and foremost I made every swing what I call an “Alyssa Change swing.” Alyssa was my teammate at RKC and her amazingly powerful swings inspired me to no end. Side note – I read about Tracy Rifkin’s 600 swings in 30 minutes and while I do not know her exact timing or what kettlebell she uses, I used a 16k kettlebell and went one minute on and one off. This was a fast and powerful hip snap, launching the bell up, followed by an equally fast and powerful contraction to “grab,” “yank,” “hurl,” the kettlebell right back down using lats, grip and a well timed hip crack. I had to work very hard to keep my depth in my hips and not short hip the swing. What an amazing 30 minutes! This workout is very different from my other swing sets and I highly recommend giving it a go. It worked me SO hard! On my heavy days form had to be perfect. You can’t swing big if you are not in perfect form. It’s what I love about swinging the big bells, there is no room for bad form. I also like the feeling of adding more and more reps to heavier bells, wonderful gratification for so many swings. I should also admit to shamelessly enjoying the side-ways glances I get from others at the gym. I get smirks when I pick up a heavy one and then kind of a “what the!” look as I swing something I could barely carry moments before. Perhaps I over think sometimes, but I have found multitudes of micro-details and subtleties that make a swing appear so simple, yet so very foundational to everything we do as we train with our kettlebells. I kind of like to Geek out and talk about it to anyone who will listen…or pretend to listen. So here, in no particular order are some of the things I learned in a month of 10,000 swings: Blisters and tears are not de-rigueur. Even for us short fingered types. I suffered not a single boo-boo in this entire month. Just keep those calluses in check and train yourself how to “hook.” Though I am feeling very ambitious and want to make gains with my presses and snatches (after all what will I post on You Tube?), I feel this month was very well spent. Going deep into a discipline offers layers one might otherwise miss, like getting up before dawn to experiences all the magic in that part of the day. The swing has so many lessons to teach. My left hand’s grip weakness makes my one handed swings on that side wacky, and my left shoulder pops up to try and help and it all goes very wrong. Explains some questionable presses and snatches on that side. Thought I was in good condition before I started, but I have been surprised at how very, very, very tired I have felt this month. Swings, well done, are hard work. Rest days make for great training days! Naps are best if stolen in the afternoon sunshine followed by tea. After a swing workout I walk different - perfectly poised, relaxed and regal - like I’m queen of the universe! My body changed. My weight is the same but the jeans fit better and my derriere is almost as hard as RKC Team Leader Mr.Vezinas. Surprisingly, my arms and back show more definition and the chub under my arms is noticeably melting away to show muscle. Snuck in a road ride one day and was climbing a steep, long hill. I felt so powerful but still my legs burned. I whined out loud that the climb felt so hard and my riding partner pointed out that I had climbed the whole way in my big chain ring! I grinned all the way down the other side relishing in my small feat of demonstrated strength, ‘cept for the whining of course. People watch me and say, “but you are only doing one thing”. My reply is, “I’m doing the equivalent of box jumps, burpees, plank, sit-ups, row, and I’m getting cardio, interval training AND flexibility work in my hips” The typical response is a stare. I always offer a lesson. I’ve converted a few willing to be open. Did you know that swings work powerful energy centers in the body? The first, second & third (and I’ll argue fourth) Chakras. Here is was I have personally experienced in terms of these areas. First Chakra feeling is very solid, very balanced, like I have very deep roots, as if I have access to a depth of strength. The heavier kettlebells don’t feel heavier, rather I feel like I am drawing energy from deeper in the well. After training with swings I feel a sense of entitlement, like I belong. What a great feeling. Second Chakra feeling…. I’ll admit that this area feels churned up as I train. Think silt at the bottom of a pond. I have cried a lot and for no good reason this month. I also cried a ton at RKC and it confounded me as I was never so happy, so invigorated and supported by a great team (Team Castro forever!) as I was that weekend. But second Chakra is where we keep/hide our negative emotions and if this form of training will help me release feelings that do not serve me, all the better to commit to many, many swings. Third Chakra… long story another blog perhaps, but kettlebell training has given me strength not only in body, but in will, the seat of the third Chakra. Long story short, I changed my career path last January. Kettlebell training and all its core strengthening gave me a sense of courage and a feeling that I had all the internal and external support I needed to make a daring life change. Took a leap of faith, I’ll let you now when I land. Fourth Chakra…. The open chest. It is the single most common characteristic I have noticed among the RKC of every rank, a genuine openness to share and put forth the best of the collective knowledge. What I learned most over the last 10,000 swings is that my RKC isn’t something I do, it is at this time in my career, my chosen school of strength of which I am a devoted student. Everyday devoted to kettlebell mastery enriches me on a personal and professional level. My RKC mentality permeates my developing persona as a personal trainer, it gives everything I do with my clients so much clarity of purpose and reason. We train intelligently, from the functional movement screen to fine points of the Turkish Get-up. Now, what to do next in the month of April? Denise Palermo, RKC www.sanmateokettlebells.com Virtues of the Warrior Woman Workout 02/26/2010
Dear Sisters, I’ve spent many hours pondering how to best espouse the benefits to your body with the Warrior Woman Workout. This workout is all about strength, flexibility and the breath. Strength without proper range of motion makes us brittle and vulnerable to injury. Flexibility with no control, and we are weak. In learning to breathe properly we can ignite super-strength and aid our body in generating power. The breath can also help our body let go of limited range of motion and realign our posture. Strength in my book is not in building bulk, not in big weights and heavy lifting, but accessing true strength from deep within, from our true center, our core. Absolutely everything builds upon this foundation. With the kettlebell as our weapon of choice, I offer you the most impactful core strengthening tool available. Imagine doing sit-ups, lunges, box jumps and the plank all at once. That is the basic kettlebell swing, a cornerstone of the Warrior Woman Workout. Side affects include burning almost 300 calories in 20 minutes. The equal to strength is flexibility. That pliability in which we properly align our bodies is vital to building strength. I focus on hips, shoulders and chest. I have the tools to help you reach a greater range of motion in a matter of minutes! Through the methods I offer you, I have personally decimated decades of lower back pain and weakness with concentrated devotion to hip flexibility. And to the breath. We will work to adopt new ways to breathe, deep belly breathing, breath for power, breathing for flexibility, and recovery breath work. These techniques are tools you can use outside the workout in daily life. The Warrior Woman workout is for any woman of any physical condition. We will work progressively and without injury. I do promise you will sweat, burn away excess, reveal firmness and from day one discover the true potential of your core strength. I am at your service and available to answer any questions you may have. Sincerely, Denise Palermo, RKC 650.520.8286 Part One: I still get emotional when I talk to people about this past weekend. I have a hard time articulating what happened to me there. It changed me. I am different. Let me try to explain: Abandoning all other training methods, last August/September, I gave myself entirely to kettlebells. I trained dutifully in my back yard, holding "Enter the Kettlebell" in one hand and kettlebell in the other. Trying like heck to figure out how to do the Turkish get-up. Giggling at Pavels sense of humor. Enjoying the photo of the Girevik with the curly golden hair and nothing but a fig leaf (page 103). Something was missing, was I so undisciplined? No, I needed a KB trainer. Found Jordan Vezina in Palo Alto. He has a very enthusiastic following, is highly respected and completely endearing (the guy has superb dry wit, who couldn't like that?) Weeks and months pass, I get better, stronger and at times feel invincible. I'm not invincible. Day one I meet my teammates (Paul, Meg, Jake, Hazel, Alyssa, Mathew), my team leader (Mike) and two assistant leaders (Robert and Gayle). I don't know them, but I love them (yes, Doug the dog's line from the movie "UP") . Before the snatch test - "Hello my name is - I'm so nervous I could puke, what is yours?" 15 minutes later - "Great job! back slap, fist punch, a run for neosporin and bandaids. We were team Castro! Dear Warrior Women, I can hardly wait to meet you all Thursday evening Feb.11 and begin this program. This class has been developing inside me for years and years, perhaps since I was a girl. I was a strange mix of ballet, pink, rainbow and unicorns and running with the boys, tree climbing, war paint and pretend bows and arrows. Isn’t it great to be a woman? We are so complicated, undefined and ever changing, like the moon. Because you are my “maiden” group, I wanted to share with you the ideas behind the program design of this class. The Warrior Woman Workout is designed to be a four week program (monthly) and each week is a progression of the one before. My goal is to keep you moving and extremely challenged and to pack as much in to one hour as we can, this class will move at a good clip. I will use kettlebells, TRX and some other “fun” activities (sound like a Girl Scout meeting? It won’t feel like one). Every week I will teach a progression on the KB’s. The workout program design for each week is very deliberate and linked to the metal focus of that week. As we work (hard, very hard) I will be offering many visuals and ideas to connect your physical work with your mental focus. Why? Training is largely about re-patterning brain to body neural patterns. We do this sub consciously all the time. I mean to bring the purpose and intention up to your conscious and present state. I want you completely present – mind and body. This will deliver much greater and lasting results. Week 1 - Air – breath, breathing for awareness, awakening, mental focus, endurance, power, recovery and complete relaxation. Week 2 - Water – flow, persistence, miniscule efforts add up to monumental changes, mountains melt to the sea, strongest of all elements is the softest, in water there is life… and living…etc.. Week – 3 - Earth – grounding and drawing strength from what you feel, linking instinct an intuition (earth and sky). Week 4 - Fire – Burn away what no longer serves you - fat, weakness, negative thinking about your body, an attitude holds you back. Fire week is intense – long intervals and heavy loads – the peak week. But wait! There’s more! We are energetic beings and our emotions/feelings greatly affect our physical state of being. In my book, this can often be a key to why we can’t lose weight, why we have a chronic injury, and may be a factor in reaching higher levels of fitness. I will introduce you to your various energetic centers and talk about what emotions, thoughts and physical maladies are connected to those places in our bodies. Here is what I would like to ask of each of you before we meet:
I sincerely look forward to meeting you all soon! Please feel free to call me with any questions. Sincerely, Denise Palermo 650.520.8286 1 - I'm drenched. Never have I been one to sweat profusely. Now even my knees are dripping sweat (who knew there was a nice collection of sweat glands right below the knee cap?). Love it! I don't glow, I glisten and glimmer. Sounds girly, but really, I'm soaking. 2 - I feel limber, flexible and very balanced. How is that possible after swinging and pressing and snatching and a set of get-ups? I think it is because the entire body is working as a whole, like dancing. 3 - I feel worked but never "shredded" or sore and stiff. Because of the intelligence behind the form, and the idea of practicing the movements before working out, the body is well prepared for the workload. I have yet (knock wood) to suffer any injury from kettlebell training. 4 - I feel empowered!!! Not "roidishly" pumped. No. I actually appear quite subdued, but inside I feel so strong, the kind of strong that comes from a very deep well of purposeful practice, the reward of noticeable improved strength (like snatching the 16k !!!) and ... joy. Yes, joy. What ever we are passionate about creates energy, and is expressed in joy. | Denise is...
Passionate about kettlebell training and in awe of its phenomenal impact on the body.. and spirit.  |