Week 2: Mid-week check-in

I asked Coach Fedorenko during our phone call Sunday night whether the competition would have a clock or timer that I could look at during my set so that I could keep track of my pacing. He told me he didn't know, that it depends on the individuals setting up the competition. Which brings me back to my dancing days...

Often in dance class the dancers practice and learn choreography by following a teacher or director in a mirror that spans the length of the room. Then, I noticed, dancers are often thrown off when they are asked to perform the choreography without the mirror, like when we first dance on stage for a dress rehearsal. This reliance on something external is a real detriment, and best shed early, in my opinion. When I learned to rely on the feeling of the dance moving through my body, and when I practice my kettlebell lifts with out a timer or similar . . . crutch . . . then I automatically improve. The mirror and the timer represent just one more thing to think about, when all I really need to think about is right here, in my body and breath. 

What Coach VF told me, in a nutshell:
 Focus on how many reps you've done, and if you've practiced well enough with good, even pacing, then you'll know how much time has passed.

The workouts are getting tougher, but it really helps to have Coach VF helping me along. Not only for the customized, personalized workouts, but for the encouragement and mental training, too!

So here are my workouts so far this week. I was "supposed" to go all five days, but I allowed myself a rest day on Tuesday because I had to study for a final exam (the one exam that stood in the way between me and a joint law degree/master's of environmental law and policy--I better have studied hard!)

Monday:
Jerk two 24kg- 6 min. @ 5/6rpm, try to go to best. Got to 5 minutes @ 6rpm, then stopped; rested one minute, then lifted for one minute @ 8rpm. So I did 5 minutes @6rpm, then rested for 1 minute, the 8 additional reps. Total 38 reps.

Snatch 3min./3min. 2:30/2:30 @ 14rpm--total of 35L/35R.

Tuesday:
Rest (STUDY!!!!)

Wednesday after taking my exam!:
Jerk 20kg 6min@8rpm--45reps/5mins, rest 3 min VIDEO BELOW!!!
OAJ 24 kg 2min/2min max rpm--result: 30L/30R, rest 10 minutes
Snatch 20kg 6 min. 14/15rpm--52L/52R rest 2minutes
Swing 24kg 40L/40R

Today, Wednesday, was encouraging. I lifted more than usual, and it felt easier than ever. I think that's two big steps forward!

Here's the video of my Jerk set from tonight. It felt easier, more relaxed, elbows felt better connected to hips, grip was relaxed and comfortable, and breath came naturally. I know it won't always be this easy, so I'll enjoy it while I can :)

Cheers!

Mid-week reflection on competition training

This past Monday through Wednesday I followed the structure VF recommended. I did the exact same workout each day:

20kg--Three sets of Jerks, five minutes each set. I did 6rpm, so 30 reps per set, for 90 [turns out I was mistaken--he only wanted me to do one set per day over three days for a total of three sets, instead of three sets each day--whoops! Oh well, at least I got in some good lifting!]
24kg--one set one-arm jerk (OAJ), 20L/20R pausing at the top to feel fixation.

20kg--One set Snatch, six minutes total. I did 14rpm, for total of 42L/42R.

24kg--One set swing, 40L/40R.

The biggest challenge for me was the Jerk sets, where I had trouble staying comfortable in the rack position. My elbows currently do not reach my hip bones, and I constantly struggle to keep my elbows connected to my body and not sliding off to both sides. I need to stretch. I don't feel so bad, however, because I know it's not an easy move to master. As VF puts it, "If it was easy, everybody would do it, or nobody would do it." I am also encouraged because my cardio is strong enough that if I could find a stable rack position I think I would be successful in a 10 minute set, even with 24kg or above.

I also worked on opening my wrist, and I feel like I am getting more comfortable doing so. For the past three years I trained with a neutral or even slightly closed wrist, so this new grip feels like a big change. I need to get used to the kettlebell sitting on the bone in the heel of my hand and lower on my forearm. I know that the discomfort with go away, however, because I previously felt the same type of discomfort when I was first learning to hold the kettlebell with my grip all the way into the handle.

The next technique I practiced was breathing in on the way up and out on the way down, both in Jerk and Snatch. I tried not to force my breathing into a pattern by counting the number of breaths between reps, which seems unnatural. Instead I breathed normally and I made sure to breathe IN on the way up, and OUT on the way down. The IN breath takes some getting used to, because I have always trained to breathe out on exertion, but I am acclimating to this new style, and so far my breath and cardio are very strong. I will keep it up.

I have two more days at this routine, then I rest over the weekend, and move on next week to training with my competition weight--24kg. 

Opening post: Achieving Rank 2 with World Kettlebell Club

I created this blog to have a record of my experience training with kettlebells. I began lifting kettlebells in January 2010, and I began my journey into the style of lifting used in kettlebell sport competitions (also called girevoy sport, or GS) in November 2011. At the time I began training in this style, I lived in a fairly isolated and rural part of the country, and I was not able to access traditional coaching or classes. As a result, I began teaching myself the various lifting techniques by watching online videos and reading blogs and forums.

But first, let me introduce my self. I'm 33 years old. I'm 5'10" tall and I weigh just under 75kg. My physical fitness background is quite varied: growing up I played golf at a fairly high level, and I played nearly all sports in junior club teams in various forms. I love to run, hike, bike, swim--you name it. If it's physical, I'm into it. Beginning when I was 21 years old, I trained and performed in modern and hip-hop dance for about eight years, and I eventually danced with a professional company for the last fours years. I have an associate's degree in dance performance, and I have trained extensively in Pilates, yoga, and many other forms of fitness and calisthenics. So to sum up, I have a very high level of body awareness and physical coordination, and I generally pick up new movement styles fairly quickly. Luckily, kettlebell sport was no different. In November 2012, I committed to training for a kettlebell sport competition. In order to lift at the World Kettlebell Club (WKC) World Kettlebell Lifting Championships, a lifter must be ranked at least Rank 3 with the WKC. This enables a lifter to compete with 20kg kettlebells. Being the competitive person that I am, I wanted to start at Rank 2.

 

The WKC Ranks progress in descending order--Rank 4 is lowest, then Rank 3 is more difficult, and so on. After Rank 1, a very highly skilled lifter enters the world of Master of Sport categories, which begin with Candidate for Master of Sport and culminate with the highest rank of Honored Master of Sport. So I began training on my own, and in January 2013 I submitted three videos to the World Kettlebell Club for my Rank attempt in Longcycle and Biathlon (which consists of two events: Jerk and Snatch). Although my technique is nowhere near perfect, I was able to successfully pass both Rank attempts, and I achieved Rank 2 status. This is where my real journey begins.

 

Currently, I am signed up for the Ice Chamber 2013 West Coast Kettlebell Sport Classic, which is being held in Richmond, CA on February 9, 2013. I plan on competing in Biathlon with 24kg kettlebells. This will be a real challenge and test, because I really worked hard to make Rank 2 with the 20kg bells, and I only have three weeks to prepare to lift two 24kg bells.

You can view my LongCycle Rank 2 submission here, and my Biathlon submission here (Jerk) and here (Snatch).

And this is where the genesis for this blog comes in...

Being the diligent researcher, I constantly peruse websites looking for good kettlebell knowledge, and in October 2012 I began participating in kettlebell-related conversations on the social-media site Reddit, which has a subsection (called a subreddit) dedicated to kettlebell lifting. This is where--quite serendipitously--I "met" Valery Fedorenko (also known as VF), who is the founder/head coach/chief adviser of the World Kettlebell Club. I had posted a few videos and responded to a few user comments on the kettlebell subreddit, and noticed one day that Coach Fedorenko had joined the site. I was excited to have his wealth of knowledge on the site, and I immediately said hello. He and I exchanged a few comments, and he never shot me down as being incorrect or a buffoon, so I was encouraged. I eventually asked

him if he knew of any training facilities worthy of the WKC in San Diego (my home), but he replied in the negative. He did, however, suggest that he could train me remotely over the Internet and telephone in exchange for my blogging about my progress and sharing that progress on various social media outlets. So that's what I am starting today! 

My first VF-prescribed workout begins today. I will let you know how it goes! I suspect he's pushing me a bit hard because I only have three weeks to train for the competition, but I'm up for it, and frankly, I trust his guidance. 

Lastly, I want to share a few thoughts about this blog in general:

• Although I am training with VF and therefore somewhat affiliated with him and the WKC, I am not a representative of the WKC, and the views expressed in this blog are mine alone and are not endorsed in any way by Valery Fedorenko or the World Kettlebell Club. (I'm also in law school, if you couldn't tell...how am I doing so far? ;)
• I will give my absolute honest opinion of my progress, to the best of my ability. In other words, I will attempt to be as objective as possible regarding my results and the quality of the training. I will not sugarcoat my experience just because I am training with VF.
• I will do my best to be as detailed and up front about the training and coaching experience, and I will do my best to answer any comments or questions, but if for some reason VF asks me not to share a training technique, then I will keep it confidential.

Thanks, and happy reading!