Friday on Saturday

Because I was travelling Friday, I couldn't get in my training. I was fortunate that I had a 16 kg bell at my lake home so I could do a version of my training this morning.

Clean & Press - 16 kg - 4 x 1, 2, 3 L, R
- I did have to push press on the left for the third reps.

Squat - 16 kg - 5 x 8
-I did a narrow stance and went ATG (arse to grass) to replicate the pistol. I also tried holding the bell away from my body for a set. Yikes! I need to keep working on these if I want to get a pistol!

Windmills - 16 kg - 5 x 6 L, R

The rest of the day will be spent on the boat. Relaxing is on deck!

Wednesday's Training

Heavy day, but a very successful one.

Snatch, lower, Jerk - 20 kg (44 lb) - 5 x 4 L, R
RPE - 8 on the left, 7 on the right

Reverse Rows - 4 x 8
Hindu Pushups - 4 x 8
-I do these as a mini circuit.
RPE - 6

Swings - 24 kg (53 lb) - 20/min. for 10 min.
-I did singles and two-handed
-My heart rate was virtually the same as last week.
RPE - 8

I am exhausted and hungry. I've definitely noticed an increase in my appetite again. I get a little nervous when I am so ravenous, but I keep telling myself to eat smart and it will be okay. Almonds, fruit, some cheese, an extra egg. My body will adjust and then my appetite will return to normal.

Monday's Training

Had a great session today.

Squats - 20 kg (44 lb) - 5 x 8
-These were strong.
RPE - 6

Windmills - 20 kg - 5 x 3 L, R
-These felt strong as well. Since I haven't done TGUs for awhile, the heavy windmills were a good challenge.
RPE - 6

Clean & Press - 16 kg (35 lb) - 4 x 1, 2, 3 L, R
-I took my time on these so that I could complete the full ladder with both arms. Success.
-I had to push press on the third reps on the left. This was definitely my strongest session on the left, though.
RPE - 8

After the kettlebell fun, I went and shot a round of golf. That was up and down. I was either really on (par) or really off (snowman). Someday I'll get more consistent. Yeah, right.

Friday's Training

Clean & Press - 16 kg - 4 x 1, 2, 3 - Right arm only
Goblet Squats - 20 kg (44 lbs) - 5 x 6
Windmills - 16 kg (35 lbs) - 5 x 5 L, R

No time to expound. There it is. No frills. I'll be more verbose next week.

Happy Weekend everyone!

Wednesday's Training

Block B is bringing new challenges.

Snatch - lower to rack - Jerk - 20 kg (44 lb) - 4 x 3 L, R
-I kept wanting to clean the bell instead of snatching it! Once I got my brain to think "snatch, lower, jerk, snatch" I was good.
-I L-O-V-E-D this combo.
RPE - 7

Reverse Rows - 4 x 7
Hindu Pushups - 4 x 7
-I did these as a mini-circuit. Reverse rows right into the pushups.
RPE - 6

Swings - 24 kg (53 lb) - 20 at the top of the min. for 10 min.
-It took me about 24-27 seconds to do the 20 swings, leaving me with 30+ seconds to rest.
-This will definitely work my grip!
-Heart rate at completion - 138 bpm
-at 1 min. - 120 bpm
-at 2 min. - 108 bpm
RPE - 7

After that I went for a much-needed massage. I am a pile of mush right now. Sleep cannot come soon enough. Tomorrow will bring pullups and pistol work.

Monday's Block

I'm on Block B this week. The previous two weeks have been Block A. Here's what I accomplished:

Goblet Squats - 20 kg (44 lbs) - 5 x 6
-My focus was on my movement. Press my knees open, my hips open, lengthening my spine. Ahhhhhh
RPE - 7

Windmills - 16 kg (35 lbs) - 5 x 5 L, R
-It's been awhile since I really trained the windmill. I've been demonstrating them. A lot. But not seriously working on them. They felt amazing.
RPE - 5

Clean & Press - 16 kg - 3 x 1, 2, 3 - Right arm
-I decided to take Marty Gallagher's advice and do my ladders entirely on my right side before even attempting to press on my left. I can't really put into words how it felt to do this, but suffice it to say, it definitely felt different. I felt lopsided, but in a good way. I'm weird, I know!
RPE - 7

Military Press - 12 kg - 4 x 6 - Left arm
-I want to imprint the proper motion and make sure I am keeping my lat engaged and my shoulder pulled down. No shrugging!!
RPE - 7

I also got out on the driving range and hit with all of my clubs, except my driver. (I didn't want to try driving for 300 yards and throw something out. ha!) It was a gorgeous day, finally. My swing was a bit rusty, but not bad for the first time out this season. I'll take it.

Too Much!

Brad Nelson is too much. Check out his latest antics at

www.bradrants.com

You will laugh your arse off, fo sho!!

Training Log - May 14

Hardcore training session. I am feeling it today!

Suitcase Deadlifts - 85 lbs. - 5 x 3 L, R
-My grip is holding tight. I'm very pleased.
RPE - 7

Bent Press - 24 kg (53 lbs.) - 7 x 1 L, R
-I did these pretty much nonstop. Left, right, 30 seconds rest. I really crushed the handle and pressed the bell as much as I could.
RPE - 6

Pullups - Black band - 3 x 2
-Sucked eggs.
-After my success with the ring pullups, I was extremely frustrated with these band pullups. Extremely. My sticky point is where my biceps are parallel to the ground. I can't pull through that point to get my elbows to my sides. I think I'm shrugging my shoulders. I need a trainer!! (to watch me and help me make adjustments, that is)
-I suppose I should cut myself a little slack since I had done heavy pulls and presses before the pullups.

Snatches - 10 x 8 L, R - 30 secs between sets
-Awesome heart pounding. It took me about 11 minutes to do this, which means I did the 16 reps per round in 35 seconds or so. Not bad, I guess.
RPE - 8

I've been a bad GTGer, Brad. It just wasn't on my radar this week with everything I had going on. Now that my semester is finished, I will be more diligent; I promise. :)

Local Media Coverage

There's an article on the Sioux City Journal website about my kettlebell training. Here's the link to the story.

http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2009/05/14/news_living/health/2bd11ac21c3ef2f4862575b5006d30d1.txt

The reporter also took a short video:
http://videos.siouxcityjournal.com/p/video?id=4119342

Enjoy!

In Shock

I'm in shock. If you're my facebook friend, you've already heard the news:

I did 3 pullups on rings.

Three.

Me.

Never in my life have I done a pullup. Crazy!!

Now I want to see how close I am to doing a tactical pullup. With the rings I wasn't in a dead hang to start. Plus, I could really use my biceps. However - my lats were on fire when I was finished, so I know I used em to haul my cookies up into the air.

Today, I was back at my new training regimen:

Arm Bar to Turkish Get-Up - 16 kg (35 lbs) - 8 L, R
-I alternated left, right and didn't stop.
-Have I said how much I love TGUs? Seriously. I could do them every day. Not that I will. But I could. :-)
RPE - 5

Bodyweight Circuit:
ATG Squats - 20
Hindu Pushups - 8
Burpees - 15
Dips - 12
Mountain Climbers - 30
-No rest between drills. 1 min. between rounds. 4 rounds
-The 4th round made the RPE go up from last session.
RPE - 7

I am in full out professor mode this week. Lottsa papers to grade before Friday. Why didn't I go into a field where the students just fill in the bubbles on tests? Seriously.

Friday's Training.

Oops. The days got away from me and I didn't get Friday's training posted. Good thing I keep a training journal so I can go back and see how things went.

I was super tired on Friday. The stressors of the week were getting to me. I didn't have high expectations going in, but I wanted to make the session worthwhile.

Bent Press - 24 kg - 4 x 2 L, R
-No complaints. These went very well.
RPE - 7

Suitcase Deadlift - 90 lbs. - 3 x 3 L, R
-Wow, these are progressing much better now that my grip has caught up. I did three reps in succession. I felt strong.
RPE - 7

Pullup - Black Band - 3 x 2
-Okay, I think I had used up my allotted strength by the time I got to these. I was disappointed that I couldn't get the final 2 inches. I just hung there, stuck.
-Well, there's always next week!
RPF - 10 (Rate of Perceived Frustration)

Snatch - 20 kg (44 lb) - 5 x 5 L, R
-I had one minute to rest between rounds.
-I remember when the 16 kg bell felt like this. It's funny how you make gains and don't even realize it. I should have kept a training journal from the get-go. Live and learn.

RPE - 7

I had a relaxing Mother's Day. No cooking, no laundry. Plus, I got a 2 hour nap. What a life! Here's a couple pics of my kids (Conner and Lauren) and my dog (Penny the boxer).

Training Log - May 6

Kickin it old school! The basics are the bestest.

Arm Bar to Turkish Get-Up - 16 kg (35 lbs) - 7 L, R
-These were fun. I alternated left, right and didn't stop.
RPE - 5

Bodyweight Circuit:
ATG Squats - 20
Hindu Pushups - 8
Burpees - 15
Dips - 12
Mountain Climbers - 30

-No rest between drills. 1 min. between rounds. 3 rounds
-I hadn't done one of these circuits for months. Nice change of pace.
RPE - 6

RPE - 5

I've been back training this week after my back off. I know that my body rested adequately because my training went very well. The entire session rated a 5 on my RPE scale.

My Rate of Perceived Exertion scale is a 1-10 scale, very scientific. Here is how it works:
On a scale of 1-10, how was that?
1=I could do this for hours.
10=Shoot me right now.

I did some suitcase deadlifts with great results. I pulled 85 lbs. on each side and felt strong. My grip didn't give out, which was a great boost. I think the ultimate snatching and SSST two weeks in a row helped strengthen my grip.

I also did 24 kg bent presses. Okay, I NEED to get a heavier kettlebell fo sho!! Who'd a thunk it a few months ago???

I also did 200 12 kg snatches in 10 minutes. That was a cake walk. Seriously.

Maybe I should delete that last sentence because now Brad will give me a killer snatch session next week! Show me some mercy evil kettlebell trainer! ;-)

Thanks, everyone, for your kind words regarding my transformation. I hope that something in my story resonates with all who read it. If my experience is an inspiration to even one person, then it was worth posting the bikini picture.

(Still trying to figure out how I had the courage to push the send button with the photo attached. See, I get stronger every day!)

No Afters Here

Okay, folks. I did it. I let Brad post my "before" and "after" pictures on his blog. http://bradrants.com/blog/woodbury-fitness-boot-camp-weight-loss-before-after-amy-jurrens/

For a woman, that is a scary, scary thing. I am pretty much a wreck today knowing that lots of people will be seeing me in a swimsuit. I am so outside my comfort zone right now.

Don't get me wrong. I am extremely proud of the changes I've made. As I say in my interview with Brad, the changes on the outside are mere reflections of the changes on the inside. Having more confidence in my appearance is a wonderful feeling; however, the best feeling is knowing I made a commitment to myself. Even though I don't do everything I know I should do, I work hard, I don't dwell on slip ups, and I keep pushing myself.

Yes, there is an "after" photo of me on Brad Rants, but I like to think of it as a check point. How am I doing at this point? I'm certainly not finished with anything. "After" implies that the work is done. Afterall, I attained the "after." There's no more to do, right? Wrong!!

I am still on a journey. I am still discovering all of my potential. This week starts a whole new round of training. I have much to do on my journey. I'll enjoy every minute!!

Okay, back off week is over. Time to hit it hard!!

Still Thinking

I'm still here. I'm still thinking. It's been a reflective week.

Not only have I been thinking about my training journey, but I have also been thinking about my physical and mental journey. I've been going through "before" and "after" photos. Talk about eye opening!

In January I had a meeting with a gentleman who hadn't seen me for two years. We had seen each other several times a month for three months while working on a project back then. When he saw me in January, he didn't recognize me. That was crazy to me. I didn't realize how much I had changed until that moment.

That moment, that "a-ha moment," gave me a push to start really focusing on my training goals. I immediately signed up for Brad and Adam's Grip-N-Rip and have been gaining strength ever since. I've dropped more weight as an added bonus, too, but that wasn't really my intention. (Gotta love those perks!)

I've also been pondering how much my mindset has changed. I attack my training, in fact my entire lifestyle, with determination. I want to keep pushing myself to see who I am deep down, when training is tough, when nutrition is tough, what do I do? How do I behave? Where do I still have work to do? Where do I give in, give up? Where do I push through? I learn something about myself every day.

So, I've concluded that my new goals will center around challenges that push me to do what I never imagined was possible. In January when Brad and Adam told me I would do 200 16 kg (35 lb) snatches in 10 minutes, I didn't imagine it was possible.

It was.

I just had to push myself. I never imagined a pull-up was possible. It is. I just haven't given it enough time for my strength to develop. It will. I will do pull-ups. I will do weighted pull-ups. Just not next week.

What's on deck for my goals? P -n -P - Pistols and Presses. To do those will require many days of TGUs, bent presses, squats, and deadlifts. Bring it on!!!