Kettlebell Workshop-June 23rd

BJ and I are hosting a Beginner Level Kettlebell Workshop on Saturday, June 23rd from 10am-3pm. If you are looking to...

1. Lose weight and tone up
2. Learn the hottest new way to train/workout
3. Improve your Kettlebell skills (if you have already been using them)
4. Just have fun learning something new

Then you MUST sign up for the workshop! We will be going through numerous exercises that can help you shed unwanted weight, tone up, and jump start your metabolism. Every exercise will be broken down to it's simplest steps for easy learning. We will also show how to vary each exercise so you can challenge yourself on your harder training days or make it easier for those "light" training days.

Don't wait to sign up! We are only taking the first 12 people! Please go to IMPACT Fitness and sign up!

2 WEEKS FREE OF BOOT CAMPS!

Ok everyone the summer is 1 week away...are you ready? If you are not or are not sure you should come join us for 2 weeks free of boot camp classes. All of the classes are being held at Wirth Park in Brookfield. It is for men and women of any and every age. Come see what all the hype is about and what Boot Camps can do to get you into that summer body you want! Here are the times and dates of the classes...

Tuesday May 22 6am & 5:30pm
Wednesday May 23 6am & 5:30pm
Thursday May 24 6am
Friday May 25 6am & 5:30pm
Saturday May 26 7-10am (Multiple Sessions)
Tuesday May 29 6am & 5:30pm
Wednesday May 30 6am & 5:30pm
Thursday May 31 6am & 5:30pm
Friday June 1 6am & 5:30pm
Saturday June 2 7-10am Multiple Sessions

So come to one or to all! See you there!

Train Like A Girl!

Hello everyone! I am so sorry for not blogging for the past 2 weeks...I have had some stuff going on and haven't been able. But I did want to let you all in on some great news. I have another blog that I am putting together. It is www.trainlikeagirl.com. This blog is going to be more about training in general and on it I will be putting tips about training and nutrition. Also, I will be blogging more about what I am doing. This blog that you are reading right now will be more educational. I wanted to seperate the two because too many things going on with one blog can become confusing.

So if you haven't already, go to www.trainlikeagirl.com and see what it is all about!

KB Workshop

Well Saturday BJ and I had our Beginner Kettlebell Workshop. It was a lot of fun. We met some new people like John from Illinois, and Irvin from right here in Waukesha. It was 4 hours long, but it really flew by. The format was, we taught a move, practiced it, troubleshooted, and then did a mini-workout with it. I hope everyone had as much fun as BJ and I did. We will be having more. We are planning on having 1-2 workshops a month. Not all will be beginner. I am sure we will be having more advanced workshops too! So we will keep everyone updated.

It was really nice for me to see how my new skills from the RKC came into play. I was able to look at people doing the exercise, give them a few tips and then their form would improve. Also, it was a lot of fun to watch BJ teach. If anyone wants to see BJ in his world, watch him teach. He is great at it! I might be a little bias...no I am not. Basically everything I have learned about fitness, KBs, nutrition, etc is from BJ and it is because he is such a great teacher. Ok enough with the mushy stuff.

I hope everyone will be able to attend a workshop we put on and we will make it fun...I promise!

Today's Workout

So I still am a bit tired from this past weekend, but I couldn't take another day off. So I decided today (with the help of BJ) to test my maximum Deadlift. I LOVE doing deadlifts. Besides working with the KB, they are one of my most favorite exercises! And you can do them with a KB. So here was today's workout...short but painful.

Max Deadlift: 115 x 3 for a warm-up
135 x 1 pretty easy
155 x 1 getting a little hard, but not bad
165 x 1 harder, but I did it
170...didn't make it.
So 165lbs is my maximum deadlift. I am happy with it. I might have been able to go higher if I would have rested longer. I took about 2 min inbetween eat set.

Then I went on to pull ups. I hate these things. I think I hate them so much because I suck at them. So I did 5 sets of 1. I really need to work on these! UGGHH!

Lastly, I did 10 sets of 10 Kettlebell swings with a 24kg (53lb) kettlebell totalling 100 swings. That felt good. You would think I would be sick of that thing...but no!

Tomorrow is a conditioning day. I will do swings, squats, and push-ups for intervals 30 sec each for 20 min. Then I will drag the sled around for 5-10 min. All depends on how much pain I am in. :)

I PASSED!!!! I AM NOW A RKC!!!

Yes this past weekend will go down in history as one of the most strenuous, hard working, and most fun I have ever had! I am proud to tell all of you that I am now a Certified Russian Kettlebell instructor! So here is what my weekend looked like:

Thursday I was so nervous, excited, and just plain ready to start the weekend. BJ and I left for St.Paul around 8am and got to the hotel around 12:30. BJ had to go set up some stuff and do his Snatch test for the weekend. He passed with flying colors. Then there was the "Meet & Greet". I got to meet Tracy Reifkind who is not only a phenominal woman but is strong as hell. And I got to meet a lot of cool people. We were all just saying how much we wanted to get our Snatch tests out of the way.

Friday the pain began! We got to the rec center, I got weighed in...129! I couldn't believe it. I was stuck at 132-133 for so long. I think my nerves were eating away my fat! HA! So I was able to drop down the lower weight class for the Snatch test. I only had to do 54. The bell never felt lighter! I passed with flying colors and could have done more. Then for the next 2 days this is what happened...

*learn an exercise and/or lift
*practice the exercise/lift
*troubleshoot the exercise/lift with Pavel
*lecture
*get our butts kicked with a tough workout

Then on Sunday the very last thing we had to do was the "Grad Workout". This is were you really find out if you are a man! Even if you are a woman. We started at the very end of 3 baseball fields. We had to do 30 sec of 2-handed swings followed by 30 sec of See-Saw presses. See-Saw presses is where with every step you press a KB with the same arm you are stepping with. We had to do that across 3 baseball fields! IT WAS GREAT! And what was even better is that Kenneth Jay (as senior RKC) was doing it with us and everyone was cheering everyone else on in the end. I got very emotional when it was all over. I know you are probably asking why...well b/c I worked so hard and long for this weekend that for it to be over with made me want to cry.

I LOVED EVERY PART OF IT!!!!!!!!!

The instructors were so very helpful and really showed us what was wrong and right. Safety first! I had 3 of the best instructors in the RKC. Kenneth Jay (he is from Denmark and looks like a Viking), Jeff O'Connor, and Mark "Doc" Cheng. They were able to show me my weaknesses and now I have new goals to achieve.

There is an RKC level 2. BJ and I plan on being there next year! I will post some pictures as soon as they are downloaded. Until next time...POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

RKC....Here I come!

Ok, so I will admit....I AM NERVOUS!!!!!! Maybe not nervous, but very excited! As for those who don't know, this weekend BJ and I are going up to St. Paul, MN for the Russian Kettlebell Certification. BJ got certified last April and is going to be an Assistant Instructor this year. I am going to get certified. I have worked towards this goal for a little over 6 months now and I can't wait!

From what I hear, it is a greuling 3 days of testing, performance and teaching that I have to do. If we do anything wrong...PUNISHMENT! Usually push-ups or some type of KB exercise. But in the end it is all worth it. I hold myself to very high standards when it comes to this type of stuff, so I know I will do my best if not better. Not much else to say, but I will let you know how everything goes on either Monday or Tuesday when I am back!

One more thing. For those of you who are interested we are holding a Kettlebell Workshop on May 5th (Saturday) from 1-5pm. We only have 14 spots open and they are filling fast! If you are interested please contact me or BJ at www.impactyourfitness.com

Have a great weekend everyone and ENJOY THE PAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!

Food=Energy

I would love to go back to the days when I was little and I could run around 22 out of the 24 hours of the day and still have energy. Today is a different story, as I am sure most of you would agree. With full and/or part-time jobs, families, household chores, and just getting around, energy is just a faint memory. When I ask my clients what they most want from exercise and/or eating better, there is a tie for the number one answer. Either to lose weight or get more energy.

Exercise will definately help with both of those goals. Exercise is wonderful for kickstarting your body to give you more energy. It helps get rid of some of those nasty toxins that we have from stress. Helps relieve the muscles and get the "kinks" out.

Another way to get more energy is by how you eat. Do you ever wonder why after having a lunch filled with refined carbs and processed foods you either A. Feel very sluggish and can't lift your head off your desk or B. Crash about 1-2 hours after you have eaten and become hungry again? The answer to both of those questions is the food. Filling your plate (or stomach) with processed foods is a horrible way to get the engery you need for the day. A better way would be to eat a good combo of protein, veggies, and whole grains. Basically brain food. And don't forget the fat! Good fat I mean. Like olive oil, nuts, seeds, etc. I know the "Twinkie" fat taste good, but not really good for you.

So the next time you are feeling sluggish and just down at work, home, or out. Think back to what you have eaten that day or even the day before. Make some adjustments (as said above) and turn your food into energy!

Breakfast: "But I'm not hungry in the morning!"

Ah, the most popular response I get when I ask someone why they don't eat breakfast. I must admit myself, sometimes it is hard to wake up and eat in the morning. But what most people have to understand is that your body has fasted for 6-10 hours (depending on how much you sleep) and your body needs that nutrition to start off the day right.

Breakfast starts up your metabolism and gets your "inner furnace" ready for the day. But what to eat for breakfast? Well if you are like most, a doughnut, or bagel with a bunch of cream cheese will do. But how healthy is that? Come on, you know the answer to that question. NOT VERY! So why is it not healthy? Well first off, the doughnut, pure fat and sugar. Although, I will give you that they taste great, the doughnut will not keep you full for very long and you will be hungry in about an hour. The bagel too is not great. A lot of refined carbohydrates plus the added cream cheese. Again fat + sugar = BAD!

So what can or should you eat? Well eggs are great! Hard-boiled, scrambled, over-easy, poached, omelet, etc. Eggs have a great amount of protein and fat to keep you full and will start your metabolism up. Adding fruit or veggies is great too. Oatmeal is also a great breakfast...just not the instant! Take the 3 min and make good old fashion oats. Put some cinnamon and raisins in it or some frozen berries! Ofcourse cereal is a poplar breakfast dish. It is easy, fast, and there is a wide variety. You just need to watch out for those hidden sugars. If it has too much sugar you are going to get the same high and crash you would if you ate a doughnut.

I understand not everyone has time to make the food and sit down to eat. Well I have a solution for that too! Advocare makes a great Meal Replacement Shake that can satisfy anyone! And they taste great. All you do is put the packet into a shaker and add water, shake and go! It has all the nutrients that you need to start your day.

So as you can see there are many options. Some good, some bad. But the main principle you want to remember is EAT BREAKFAST!!!!

Plateaus

So recently I hit a plateau with my weight loss. I couldn't break the plateau of 135-136. For me, and for most, plateaus are frustrating! I have a goal in mind and I have a date that my goal MUST be achieved by and the plateaus that I might come across can either break me or make me. For awhile, it was breaking me. I kept thinking to myself..."Why am I busting my ass for nothing to happen?". Then I would realize that the reason why I am busting my ass is because I want to achieve a goal. Plateaus are always something everyone is going to go through, especially in losing weight. So to break my plateau, my wonderful husband and I sat down last week and looked at what I was doing for my workouts and my eating and tried to find out why I couldn't break the plateau. To make a long story short, I added more food to my diet (protein and veggies only) and decided to keep my workouts simple, but hard. And like a wave of the magic wand I have broken my plateau! I have lost another 3 pounds! So don't get frustrated and give up when you hit a plateau. Infact, make it more of a competition between you and the plateau. Sit down and look at what you are doing for your workouts and dieting and switch it up! Your body will thank you!