The Things We Do

Did you know that the body adapts to everything we do? Whether we practice bad posture, good movements, poor eating, or positive thinking, everything we do habitually cements itself into our bodies.

Can you believe that if we sit slumped in front of a computer all day almost every day of the week, our body will eventually make it easier and easier to sit that same way? In fact, our bodies will actually start to develop fascia and lay down connective tissues to support our new choice of posture! Our structure will actually change. The opposite is also true. If we practice good posture, our body will develop our structure to support that as well. So, sit up straight!

Even our thoughts can change our physical structure. If we are always worrying or practicing negative thinking, our muscles will grow chronically tight and our posture will eventually draw up or slump. The body will again lay down new connective tissue to support this posture. Not only that, we will always feel tired because our chronically tight muscles will rob us of nutrients because working muscles need energy. Our brain will even change its neurons to facilitate our habitual thinking and virtually make negative thoughts effortless. Our negative thinking will adversely affect our hormones as well. In short, we will stress our body out. And, we will be good at it.

Yes, bad habits are, well, bad... But, just as bad habits can change our bodies, good habits can too. This is deeper than just exercising. Practicing good movements and positive thinking can be more beneficial than even exercise. That is especially true for a person who exercises, but still practices negative thinking, or exercises with bad posture...

The point is, most of the time, the body we have is the body we’ve earned. The cool thing about this is, we can also earn a great body. Practicing simple things like good joint mobility, not worrying, diaphragmatic breathing, and making good food choices can all go a very long way towards having a healthy body and feeling great.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! This is the best time of the year, for me that is. Everyone seems so much nicer and more loving in November and December. Nothing like a little Thanksgiving and Christmas to warm the world's heart. Or this country's heart; don't know that the rest of the world does Thanksgiving... Anyway, this time of year is awesome.

Except, I have to work tomorrow. I guess I can be thankful I have a job! I am thankful for that, It allows me to take care of my wonderful family, of whom I am very thankful! Anyway, Have a great Thanksgiving.

Training today:
TGU w/ 24kg: 3/3 -> w/ 32kg: 3/3
Dbl Squat to Press w/ 2 32kgs: 2 x 6 sets
Windmill w/ 32kg: 5/5 x 3 sets
Bottoms Up Clean w/ 32kg: 5/5 x 3 sets
1/2 kneeling press w/ 32kg: 5/5 x 3
Dead Lift w/ 2 32kgs: 10 x 3 sets

That's about it, I was tired after that.

Whoa.

The other day I was listening to Geoff Neupert interview John Brookfield and I was bitten by a bug; a rope bug. I had an itch to work the Tsunami drill from Brookfield's Battling Ropes. If you don't know the Tsunami is where you take a 2" 5O' rope anchored at one end and you try to sustain waves all the way down to the other end of the rope. If you can't picture it, it is a full body explosive drill. And, it is brutal. Anyway, I thought I would also work odd carries to warm up before I tried the Tsunami. So the session looked like this:

Kettlebell Ball carry w/ 32kg: 100 ft
Kettlebell Rack Position carry w/ 32kg: 100 ft L/ 100 ft R
Bottoms Up Kettlebell carry w/ 32kg: 50 ft L / 50 ft R - this was quite a challenge!
I repeated this for 3 rounds
Tsunami drill : 15 seconds x 10 rounds - I had to rest long enough to catch my breath between sets.

End result? I was trashed. What an eye opener. The Tsunami is a killer. I was completely wiped out the rest of the day. Lesson learned? I thought I was easing into it; turns out, not so much.

Will I do this again? Yep, I have got to make this drill easy because if I can, it will take my training to a whole new level.

So I will pepper this into my training every now and then...

The DVD has been selling well. Betsy and I are pleased. Have you gotten yours yet?!

Finally!

The Rapid Results Kettlebell Series, Level 1 DVD is now available! Time Efficient Training for Optimal Results. It only took 3 months to complete, but it is finally ready. Betsy has been a blast to work with, and a slave driver... Always telling me what to do and stuff! Anyway, our first DVD offering is finally here.

If you already know how to use a kettlebell as far as the basic moves, but just don't know to structure your routines in a time efficient manor, this video is for you.

If you want to check it out, go here:

http://www.opt4more.net/Rapid_Results_Kettlebell_Series/RR_DVD.html

Yesterday's training looked like this:

TGU w/ high bridge: 16kg - 5/5
TGU w/ squat: 16kg - 5/5
BU TGU w/ 16kg - 2/2
Double Bottoms up Squats w/ 2 20kgs: 5 x 4 sets
Double Bottoms up Presses w/ 2 20kgs: 5 x 4 sets
2 Hands Anyhow w/ 2 16kgs: 5/5 x 3 sets
Double Bottoms up cleans w/ 2 16kgs: 20, 20, 20
SLDL w/ 16kg: 10/10 x 2 sets

The 2 Hands Anyhow was a throw back! I almost enjoyed it...

What makes a good trainer?

Have you ever wondered what makes a good trainer? I guess it depends on who you ask. If you ask a fitness magazine, they'll say someone with an accredited certification, or someone who has liability insurance. If you ask a certifying organization, they may say anyone who has there certification. Everyone has a bias. Everyone has a label. I guess I'm wondering if labels make good trainers.

I used to think so. I would see a list of credentials after a person's name and determine whether or not they were a good trainer. That's ridiculous, I know. But I would do it. I would literally look pass the person and look to their qualifications. Then I wonder, do people do that with me? If I do it, do they do it? Do we live in a world where the label makes the person? Yep, sometimes we do. At least I do. I did.

There are great trainers out there who have different certifications. Like everything else, there is no one best certification. There is no one best way to train. It is the person who makes the certification look good. It is the individual who makes a great trainer, not a label. Sure there are good trainers and bad trainers. But there are also good trainers with not so "desirable" certifications, or backgrounds AND there are horrible trainers out there with excellent certification credentials behind their name.

What is the point? The point is a person, a client, buys the trainer, not their label. If you are shopping for a label when you choose your trainer, you are doing yourself a disservice. You're missing the boat. Sure don't just choose a guy off the street. Do your homework, but look deeper than the label. Look at the person, their personality, their character, their passion and dedication.

We live in a world of labels and we shouldn't.

Anyway, training yesterday:

TGU w/ 16kg: 10/10
Dbl Bottoms Up Squats w/ 2 20kgs: 5 x 4 sets
Dbl Bottoms Up Press w/ 2 20kgs: 5 x 4 sets
Dbl Bottoms Up Cleans w/ 2 20kgs: 10, 10, 10
Bent Press w/ 24kg: 5/5 x 4
SLDL w/ 24kg: 5/5 x 4 sets

T-phase

All righty then! Just finished up with T-phase in Arizona. If you haven't read me saying this before, Z-health is truly amazing! Or more accurately, the human body is truly amazing! Every thing you do, every move you make, every thought you think effects your entire body. If you could touch just one cell in your body, every cell in your body would be affected by just that one small touch. Anything can affect everything.

If you are not performing well, or not as well as you would like, what is holding you back? Are you moving as well as you should? Are you thinking as well (or positive) as you should? Do you have an old injury that is effecting your movements? If so, you can do something about it. And, growing older does not have to mean a decline in ability, mobility, strength, or skill. If you think so, you're just lying to yourself. And that is fine, if that's what you want to do.

However, If you want to "stay in the game" of life, Learn how to move well.Learn about your body. Learn about Z-health. It could be the best investment you ever make. And yes, you are worth it.

Disney Hangover

Sorry I have neglected my postings for a while. I went to Disney. It is not a good excuse, but it took a lot out of me. I'm still getting over it. However, the time there with my family was awesome. Can't wait to go back.

Training is going well. I decided to start working LCCJ for some reason. (long cycle clean and jerks) So that is what I think I will focus on every two weeks in between my two week bottoms up kicks. I just really like doing doubles lately. Thank you Geoff Neupert. I'm a doubles guy now. Most of the time... Double TGUs are ugly!

Training yesterday looked like this:

Light Day
TGU w/ 16kg: 20/20
Dbl Snatches w/ 16s: 10 x 10 sets
Dbl LCCJ w/ 16s: 10 x 5 sets
SLDL w/ 16kg: 5/5 x 5 w/ no rest b/w sets