IKFF

Last weekend, I was certified by the International Kettlebell and Fitness Federation as a CKT (certified kettlebell teacher). Yes, I have previously-twice as a matter-of-fact been certified as a kettlebell lifting instructor and coach by other organizations. In addition to continuing my education as a kettlebell lifter and teacher, it is important to always check-in with others to review my technique. One, two, three certifications doesn't necessarily make me an "expert" but it does make me a more sound instructor.

To date, I have had the good fortune of being trained by experts such as, Valery Federenko-World Champion in Girevoy Sport (kettlebell lifting sport), Master of Sport Marty Farrell, and most recently Steve Cotter (President) and Ken Blackburn (Director of Operations) of IKFF. Technically, I've trained previously with Steve at a few of his seminars he conducted individually prior to the formation of the IKFF.

The message is this: to be good at something, you have to practice it (train) and to be great at something, you have to seek out more knowledge from those who have more experience and are the "experts"; practice makes perfect and the best teachers are those who continue to educate themselves keeping in mind that knowledge/information is not static but ever evolving. You wouldn't want to go to an M.D. who only went to Med. school (never did anything beyond that) would you?

Peace

Pacing Myself

Had what I consider to be a pretty decent work-out yesterday. I had a rough week with research papers' deadlines and sat on my gluteus maximum a lot! I did teach a couple of Pilates classes and a yoga class during the week, which helped prevent me from seizing up completely. Whenever I am unable to get in a "good" work-out for more than several days, I'm always weary that when I do, it'll be a struggle and am pleasantly surprised when it isn't.

Approaching my session with great caution, I made sure to do 5 rounds of Sun Salutation A before starting. As most of you know, I do love a good outdoor work-out. I went to Mondauk Park in Dresher, PA, which has a 1 mile gravel track that isn't completely flat (read: more challenging).

Here's what I did:

1 lap -jog
20, 15, 10, 5 L/R 12 kg kettlebell cleans, switching out, and without setting the bell down
1 lap -jog
20, 15, 10 L/R 12 kg kettlebell jerks, switching out, and without setting the bell down
1 lap -jog
30, 20, 10 L/R 12 kg kettlebell swings, switching out, and without setting the bell down
-stretch for 5 minutes

I forgot my watch so I couldn't determine how long each lap or each kettlebell interval set took so I paced myself; jogged and lifted at a steady rate.

Peace

De-Stressing

Stress-we all have it due to varying causes at different degrees from one day, one week, one month, or one year to the next. Granted, some stressors we can't make go away: spouses, significant others, children, boss at work, co-workers, or friends. As a matter of fact, it is often the ones we love the most that cause us the most grief! When it comes to work, we can't just quit because we don't like the project we're involved in or the team we're on.

So what do you do? Exercise helps, that's a no-brainer. What if you are exercising regularly and the stress isn't being alleviated and you're either starting to lose sleep or engage in bad habits? First, don't give up on the exercise. It does help and will continue to do so.

Look at your dietary habits: reduce or eliminate the junk (sweets, fried foods, processed foods especially baked goods); reduce or eliminate any items that have caffeine (coffee, tea, soda, chocolate); increase foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids (flax, walnuts, salmon, sardines); and increase foods that contain magnesium (almonds, dark leafy greens, brown rice, black-eyed peas).

Meditation is a great way to calm the mind. I'm not promoting anything "new agey" nor am I saying not to try anything in that realm. Meditation comes in many forms. I'm a big fan of breath work. Sit quietly, comfortably, and preferably alone. Bring your attention to your breath? Are you breathing? There are a lot of breath holders out there. Is your breath even; equal inhalation and exhalation? If not, even it out. What are you shoulders like? Are they up to your ears and bound up? Relax them. Continue to breathe evenly and focus your attention and mind to your breath and nothing but your breath. Try this for 1-3 minutes the first time out and continue to increase the time in small increments with each session.

Give these things a try and let me know how it works out for you.

In health and peace,

Rebecca :)

Red Bull

I recently read an article stating that Red Bull can cause symptoms associated with cardiovascular disease within an hour of consumption.

Here's the link: http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSSYD5846120080815?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

I'll admit that I've had a can or 5 but will be reluctant to drink it from here forward especially since I'm not trying to have a heart attack. A few days after I read the article, I saw an old man walking down the street drinking the stuff and thought how much more at risk he probably is and started reviewing CPR in my head in the event he falls over with an infarction while in my line of sight.

Kettle-lates

What? Kettle-lates is kettlebell lifting meets Pilates. Before I proceed, I'm going to apologize to my serious kettlebell lifting friends and associates who probably are disgusted with my combing the two! To explain a bit, I was in a hurry, needed to get a work-out in with the primary goal being simply to move my body-nothing more.

Here's what I did:

1 minute each L/R single arm swings 12 kgs
1 minute Pilates roll-up
rest 1 minute

1 minute each L/R single arm jerk 12 kgs 12 rpm
1 minute Pilates single leg stretch
rest 1 minute

1 minute each L/R single arm jerk 12 kgs 12 rpm
1 minute Pilates criss-cross
rest 1 minute

1 minute each L/R single arm jerk 12 kgs 12 rpm
1 minute Pilates double leg stretch
rest 1 minute

1 minute each L/R single arm swings 16 kgs
1 minute Pilates teaser

Done! Like I said, I was in a hurry, sitting most of the afternoon doing research, and wanted to get the blood flowing, joints mobile, and muscles moving.

Fat-loss Success

I came across an article in the Archives of Internal Medicine http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/168/14/1550 stating -and I'm paraphrasing- that in order for fat-loss to occur and maintained in overweight women three criteria must be met:

1) physical activity at least 5 days/wk for at least 55 minutes per session**
2) reduce caloric intake to between 1200 to 1500 kcalories
3) intervention by professional via phone or in-person meetings

Let me translate:

1) You have to exercise most days of the week, that's it and that's that

2) You have to control/monitor how much you eat. Let me take it a step further -and I'm borrowing from yet another article from Applied Psychology, Dietary Planning as a Mediator of the Intentional-Behavior Relation: An Experimental-Causal-Chain Design, you must "self-report". AKA journaling, keeping a food diary, etc. to know with certainty what and how much you are eating.

3) You can't do it all by yourself, you need help preferably from a professional. Why? Most people don't know what to do and left to their own devices will not hold themselves accountable therefore not achieving their goal of fat-loss.

**I disagree with this amount of time. The article did not go into great detail about what type of activity but only time. I, and many other fitness experts, know that a work-out session resulting in increased metabolism, in combination with "cleaning up" your dietary habits, can be had in less than 30 minutes ala circuit-resistance training.

What Produce to Buy Organic

I came across some information this morning that I thought would be helpful for all courtesy of Dr. Andrew Weil's website. Below are two lists: produce that you should buy organic and produce that can be purchased as "conventional" (not organic).

To buy organic:

• Peaches
• Apples
• Sweet bell peppers
• Celery
• Nectarines
• Strawberries
• Cherries
• Lettuce
• Grapes (imported)
• Pears
• Spinach
• Potatoes

Okay to buy non-organic*:

• Broccoli
• Eggplant
• Cabbage
• Banana
• Kiwi
• Asparagus
• Sweet peas (frozen)
• Mango
• Pineapple
• Sweet corn (frozen)
• Avocado
• Onion

*Please note that these items aren't pesticide free, they just have less pesticide residue.