Tip & Technique: Practical Application Day

No tip and technique today kids. I'm actually headed out to NJ to put into practice everything I've been preaching. 

I'm competing in my first kettlebell competition today. Jumped in the deep end on this one. We'll be kicking of at about 10am, so wish me luck. I'm there to learn and that's just what I intend to do. 

I'll let you know how it goes.  Well wishes and positive energy are always welcome!

Generational Curse

This is one of those that’s going to get me in trouble.

Somewhere between coming back from WWII to the dawn of highly processed, prefabricated suburbia and the self obsessive, angst driven narcissistic me generation of the late 20^th century, we as a culture have learned to fail at one of nature's most basic metrics for success, successfully raising offspring to ensure the survival of the species.

I've said before that we're failing our children by allowing our 10 year olds to become pre-diabetic from nothing other than lifestyle choices. But it goes beyond that. We're failing our species. We're failing nature's most basic test. Pass or fail. Survive or not. Somehow giving the next generation a increased risk of cancer through a glut of hydrogenated oil and saturated fat doesn’t read as surviving very well to me.

Why? How? There isn't a single person out there that has yet to understand McDonalds is bad for you. We know sugar levels in Pepsi & the caffeine levels in Mountain Dew are so off the charts they'd keep Goliath buzzing for a week. So why is it still happening? Why are our kids still getting fatter?

Is it because we can't stomach "denying" our children their favorite tasty treats? Because we can't stand to see that pitiful pouty face they make when they don’t get the chocolate pop tart with the sugar sprinkles in the frosting? By continuing to feed our kids as we are, we’re denying them an exponentially improved chance of avoiding diabetes. We're denying them a head start against heart disease & cancer. But you know what, they got their happy meal, so it’s all good.

But “it's ok to be fat." “I’m proud of who I am.” I've also heard this next one too. "I know my kid has a gut. I have one too. I'm comfortable with that." Get past the insecurities and the damage done by schoolyard teasing. Be proud of yourself. Understand that you and your child are wonderful, complex & beautiful people. BUT, the extra 60lbs of fat will kill whoever happens to be carrying it around, you or your kids. It's not an "if." You're not bad, the extra fat is. If you don't respect your own life enough to take control, love your child's life enough to help him/her.

Please.

Workout of the Week

Check the left hand side bar. One of the big pieces of feedback I'm getting is in regards to the demo videos. So I've added in a video archive of all our past demos to use as a reference for these workouts. Any new videos will appear there as they're published. Now, on to the workout.

Here it is:
50 medicine ball cleans
6 man makers (choose a challenging weight. BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF. Push, but be safe)
40 medicine ball cleans
7 man makers
30 medicine ball cleans
8 man makers
20 medicine ball cleans
9 man makers
10 medicine ball cleans
10 man makers

Record time, dumbbell weight and medicine ball weight.

MOVE!

Thursday Blowout

There must be a call issued by our Thursday gathering, something akin to a dog whistle, or the sound the air makes before a storm the kind of a call only a select few that can hear. Canines 

hear what we cannot. Animals know to barricade their dens before the first gust of wind even begins to shift. We humans stand oblivious as nature flees before us.

 The same can be said for our Thursday athletes. I've yet to meet a mere human in our class. Thursdays call out the beasts, even when they themselves don't know wilder things live inside. I stand amazed every time.

"I don't strength train," yet she tears through the program. Beginning the evening with "Why are there skull & bones on the waiver? Isn't this about being healthy?" Then 20 minutes later through sweat and gritting teeth "I get it now," as she cranks out one more repetition.

Last week's newbie shed his human skin again for something far tougher. Gifted for finishing first with an extra helping, he still found encouragement & strength to lend his fellow athlete.

We might just have to close out next week's class by adjourning to the roof and howling at the moon.

How far can your body go? How much can it accomplish when given leave to function as one single machine, not separate parts? I think they just about found out.

Awesome work guys.

Tip & Technique: Clean Variants

I'm not going to even go into trying to teach an olympic clean via the internet. However, being such an incredibly  important with such versatile application, we need to take a look at a couple of variants at least. 

We're leaving the heavy load, one off power behind and focusing on developing whole body coordination, speed, anaerobic conditioning, and stability. 

All three examples in the video, all cleans in fact have the same three basic parts. 

1st Pull: Knees straighten and the torso maintains a consistent angle to the ground.

2nd Pull: When the knees have straightened, the hips thrust forward with as much power and  speed as possible as you shrug the shoulders and high pull.

Catch: The weight should be moving with enough energy that you've thrown it vertically. Release your grip, fall slightly back towards the ground and reposition your hands under the weight.

As with anything else, this takes practice. Then more practice. 

Be safe, listen to your body and have fun. Now  MOVE! 

100

For better or worse, here we are 100 posts down the road. Seriously, you have no idea. I considered making this a theme day. In celebration of the 100th post to Netterville Fitness, I thought of all sorts of fantastic, anaerobically challenging, mentally taxing and generally exhausting tasks and workouts I could throw out with "100" as a theme. But I actually want to turn this post around.

I ask for feedback and input on postings pretty regularly. Some of us have had some really interesting and thought provoking conversations stemming from those requests and I greatly appreciate it. This time I want to take it a step further. I'd like you to write this post.

Click on the comments link. I'd like you to post your opinion and input. In the last 100 postings, what have you found that's particularly important to you? What, if anything have you been able to take from our discussions and demos? What would you like to see more of? What have you had enough of and would probably be happy never seeing any more of? Whatever. We've had a lot of silent partners out there coming back day after day. I'd like to hear what everyone has to say.

Above all else, thank you all so much for coming back time and time again. I truly appreciate your support and participation. I hope that I've been able to contribute positively in some way to your fitness goals and that you've had a little fun along the way.

Workout of the Week

Beginning weight suggestions:

Experienced Men - 95# barbell

Novice Men - 75# barbell

Experienced Women - 75# barbell

Novice Women - 45# barbell

Be honest with yourself. It is ultimately your responsibility to be honest and safe when choosing loads. 

Start a running clock. Do one front squat in the first minute, two squats in the second minute, three in the third and so on until you cannot complete the requisite squats within the minute. 

Record your time, weight and reps.

Move.