Look Before You Leap

Well, I started off with a bang and then fell off the last several days. Suffice it to say, I did pretty well with my nutrition, although there was that single scoop of Mocha Almond ice cream after sushi dinner on Saturday. On the exercise front, last Saturday was a killer day. Went hard with the Oceanside CrossFit crew, that workout was killer. My triceps and shoulders were smoked. Then about 2 1/2 hours later I did my CrossFit Endurance workout - 3 x 5K HARD on the bike. I was pretty much spent after that. Good thing Sunday was a rest day for me. Then on Monday and Tuesday of this week I proceeded to get my ass handed to me at the Russian Kettlebell Challenge Certification Course, which leads me to the title of this post. (learn more about Kettlebell training by clicking here)

Let me just say this, I had no business being at that certification. My experience with Kettlebells amounts to doing some Kettebell Swings (American Style), some KB Sumo Deadlift High-Pulls and some single KB front squats. Trust me when I say that this is nowhere near enough experience to try to engage in the RKC certification course. So, why was I there? I heard through the grapevine that Pavel and his RKC crew was coming to Camp Pendleton to give a certification course to the MCCS crew. I had attended another course via the MCCS crew and was able to pull a string and was allowed to attend this course as well, for free, key part of the story.

I got the course requirement info, read it briefly, saw something about a Kettlebell Snatch test, didn't quite understand the requirements and frankly didn't do much to try to get more information. My thinking was this, I have met some of these MCCS people. There are some pretty good athletes there, but several of them, frankly aren't in that great of shape. If they can hang for this course, certainly I could. Well, we all found on on day one that this course is no f'ing joke. When they say Kettlebell Snatch Test they mean TEST. My requirement was to perform 48 consecutive Kettlebell Snatches, single-arm mind you, without putting the kettlebell down and only switching arms one time. Up until this point I had never performed a kettlebell snatch before in my life. I eaked out 20 with my right arm, then my arm gave out and I thought I caught it at the end just as it was grazing the grass, but they said I put it down and that my attempt was terminated. I knew this was not a debatable point, so I left it alone and walked away disappointed.

The rest of the day continued down a slippery slope of diappointment, aggravation, hunger, dehydration and just general hate and discontent. Oh, I forgot to mention blisters and destroyed forearms. The instructors were pissed because nobody was prepared for the course, we were pissed because we didn't realize that this was what we had gotten ourselves into. We were also pissed because the course ran from 8am until 6:30pm and the longest breaks we got were 10 minutes and they were few and far in between. We were outside the entire time, it was hot and we were working our asses off. When I finally went home on Monday I was hungry, thirsty, sweaty, stinky, sore and most notably pissed off. I strongly considered not going back on Tuesday, but I knew that despite my frustrations, I actually did learn a fair amount through the day. So, I decided to make Tuesday a good day.

Tuesday was much better. All the expectations were now out in the open. It was clear that the overwhelming majority of us would not receive our RKC certs and I think most of us were okay with that. Now, it was just about learning as much as we could about RKC training. Tuesday was still a long, hot and sweaty day. My hands were completely thrashed from Monday's work. I tried to tape them, but to no avail. I suffered through as much as I possibly could and was genuinely disappointed when my hands and poor tape job failed me and I was not able to complete some of the workouts.

Despite the frustrations of the two days, I can honestly say that I learned a lot and have already applied what I have learned in my PT clinic and in my own personal workout. I am thankful to Pavel and his RKC crew for putting on this course, free of charge, and for putting up with our utter lack of preparation and understanding of the demands and requirements of the course. I also learned a very valuable lesson when it comes to attending fitness courses...thoroughly read the pre-course requirements and if you don't understand what is required of you, ASK QUESTIONS!



am weight - 149.6

Breakfast (4 blocks)
1 cup lowfat cottage cheese
1 small banana
1 block canteloupe
48 almonds
1 slice Milton's Whole Grain Plus toast w/ light Raw honey smear

Snack (2 blocks)
2 oz roasted chicken
1 apple
handful of nuts (pecans, macadamia nuts, almonds)

Skipped CFE swim due to fatigue from RKC course

Lunch (4 blocks)
4 oz Trader Joe's Panang Curry Tuna (get this, Yum, Yum!!)
1 1/2 cups cauliflower (mixed with the tuna)
1 1/2 cups chopped green leaf lettuce
1/2 c broccoli slaw
1/2 c cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp Bragg vinaigrette
1 c strawberries
1/2 c grapes

afternoon snack (2 blocks)
1 oz sharp cheddar cheese
1 oz ham deli meat (nitrate free)
1 orange
handful of mixed nuts (peanuts, pecans, almonds, macadamia nuts)

Oceanside CF workout - Helen 8:55 (RXd)

Dinner (4 blocks)
1 1/2 block salad Green leaf lettuce, basil, tomatoes, baby mozzarella with balsamic and oil vinaigrette
2 blocks of homemade macaroni & cheese (whole wheat pasta)
1 1/2 Fresh & Easy Chicken Apple Sausage