Pieces of Russia

As an aspiring superhero, I have dabbled in everything from Judo to Thai-bo to Krav Maga, and then fitness enhances such as spinning and aerobics, like a crack addict looking for that ultimate high.  Searching for that catalyst that was going to get me itching for more.

Enter the kettlebell.

About 18 months ago we were formally introduced.  Where has this inelaborate little cannonball been all my life?  The Russians have known kettlebells as long as they have known vodka?

This truly Russian national sport is in its infancy in this country. These remarkable pieces of Russia are one of thee most effective means of strength development in the industry today, and introduces a new era in the evolving of human muscle potential.  They have been turning men into machines since the 17th century with their unique, challenging and intense drills.

A day goes by without a kettlebell in my hand and I begin to get withdrawal symptoms. Their high repetition ballistic exercises combine strength, cardio and flexibility into training and leave you sweating like a pig in a bacon factory. The fitness industry lost the definition of 'fit' with the introduction of their scientifically engineered machines, training lost its functionality, people lost their drive and passion and in turn drove them to their TV remotes. Working with kettlebells require co-ordination and kinesthetic awareness, therefor not just increasing your physical abilities but improving your mental focus too.  Welcome to Utopia.

At first glance of a kettlebell in all its modesty, it seems better suited for weighing down a doctoral thesis than being a super efficient tool for physical metamorphosis. Kettlebells amplify your power output, train your body to contend with an ever changing center of gravity, bridges the gap between strength and cardio and improves your overall athleticism, whilst building muscle and torching fat at 20 calories a minute. They are used by the military, international SWAT teams, the red army and special forces, and you can bet your bottom dollar these guys have done their research.

You will find yourself in the best shape of your life and begging for more.  Some of the most simple movements, but with their high repetition drills make you want to throw up a kidney, and leave you respecting such a humble piece of equipment and burning in muscles you never knew existed for days afterwards.

Dear Kettlebell, you make me want to be a better women.

You never to young to grab life by the bells!

The Roof of Africa

So my brother is tackling Mt Kilimanjaro at the end of September.  Sorry, what? Repeat. Wow, I am overwhelmed with inspiration.  This is a callous and serious endeavour that requires smoking mental ability and a rock like level of physical fitness and stamina. I say - Damn boy, you go for it - you own that mountain!

Whats ironic about Africa's highest mountain is that it is known to the local Chagga people as "little hill of white".  This little hill is 5 895m above sea level, this is no Sunday stroll on the beach front. Enthusiastic climbers need to undergo medical tests just to be given the go ahead.

Personally my biggest fear are the resident man-eating spirits, this may be just local folklore, but hell something must have sparked this thought!  Its all rather confusing as the locals see the mountain as 'the giver of life'.  Now is it giving or is it taking??  I suppose you going to have to climb it to find out.

This majestic piece of Africa is crowned by an eternal snow cap which indicates that when preparing for this challenge you need to flirt with the elements.  Its the type of fitness and not the degree of fitness that needs to be taken into consideration.  So when heading for the pinnacle of Kibo, I would advise your training to be simulated, get out and get running on those cold and rainy days, prepare your body for extreme conditions.  Be fare to your body, surprising it with sudden freezing conditions that it has never exerted itself in is only going to leave you balls to the walls.

Running is going to help you prepare your lungs and improve your VO2 but does not prepare your muscles for this strenuous hike.  Develop your muscles for endurance, do some progressive resistance training.  At the end of the day the fitter you are the more enjoyable the hike will be.  How can I continue without mentioning a kettlebell? Overhead kettlebell exercises force the muscles most responsible for breathing to play an even larger role in cardio-vascular fitness.

He is determined, he is focused and he will demolish this mountain!

Best of luck to you big brother - salute!

Welcome to the block party

Its that day of the week that has people far and wide shouting from their car windows, office cubicles, high rise balconies and street corners. "Its the weeeeeeekend babbbbbby" and everyone knows exactly what this means.

Come 5pm and there are bottle tops cracking open country wide, designer shots being thrown back and toilet cleaners cursing the ground that we walk on.  The sound of shrill laughter, clinking glasses, and spirited music pumping while the young and feisty end the week off by cutting serious rugs on the dance floor.

And hell, we deserve it, don't we? We bust our chops day and night at the grindstone, early mornings, late meetings, deadlines, commissions, obligations, productions and elbow grease! We have earned that 13th shot of tequila!  If you agree with that - you are well on your way to becoming a statistic.

I say "Practice with a purpose and play with passion" we spend a lot of time putting our hearts into other peoples businesses, and for the fitness junkie - we spend a lot of time perfecting our bodies, so come Friday don't throw it down the toilet along with 10 shots of sambuca and 6 glasses of wine.

A few glasses of wine, a couple beers, are good for you.  In fact a glass of wine a day is excellent for you.  Moderation is what it comes down to. Enjoy yourself, kick back, have a drink, release yourself, be social but be wise.

Don't purposefully drink yourself into a stupor, don't be influenced by those around you. Binge drinking burdens your body, alcohol is a depressant.  With large amounts over short periods, your body just cant process it quickly enough and can result in a long list of issues. Don't end your week by waking up in your own vomit.

Keep it fresh, don't become a statistic and love your body - it's the only place you have to live.

The Unavoidable Guido

Across the world, in parks, gyms and any place 'to be seen', you will find the typical and unavoidable Guido.

This rough and nondescript stereotype, can be found either in the local USN section of a health store, non discreetly flexing his juice filled biceps, whilst on a break from his panel beating job. Or by night, cruising the main streets looking to pick a fight or attempting to out stage the bouncer at a local club. Who spends more time picking out the appropriate gel for his overdone hair-do then he does with his girlfriend.

These typical adolescent young males of our generation are what gives our industry a greasy name.  These guys are about appearance and not ability, flash and not function.

We are constantly being told by the media that we need to sign up at the local gym, that we need to purchase their overpriced verimark equipment and monster protein shakes in order to flex those pecs like the rest.  We are being sold lifelong contracts to facilities with glorified and expensive scientifically engineered machines.
If we are not wearing those R3000 trainers and designer sports bra's we are not going to get the results we strive for.

What complete an utter nonsense. The money driven world has given you this vision. You don't need all this to reach the pinnacles of strength and fitness - all you need is your body, some clothes you can sweat it, your two bare feet, the right knowledge and a bucket load of determination.

Machines, equipment, fancy tools and designer spandex give you all 'show', and no 'go'. Don't even get me started on steroids, while they quickly developing your muscles at an incredibly fast rate, your joints are being left to tether. You taking 10 steps backwards and no steps forward.

Bodyweight training, my methods of training progressively strengthen your joints for life. At the end of the day, why do you exercise? Why do you seek fitness?.... For longevity, strength, endurance, power, athleticism... bodyweight training will give you that tenfold, real nervous power, stamina, inner strength and conditioning for true ability not just for show.

I weigh a whole of 49kg and can probably drop and give you 50 without breaking a sweat, or hold a plank for 5 minutes without as much as a shiver, why you may ask? Because I train for function, for ability.

Next time you wondering around the local gym, take a look around, tell me what you see.  All muscle, pumping away at the pec dec, pressing iron on the leg press - when in your life have you been in a situation that has called for you to press 250kg when lying in submission with your legs in the air?  If this was so necessary - why would George Hurst have invented 'the jaws of life' when one could surely just pull themselves out of a wrangled mess?

Its about understanding the science of movement, compound, isolated and ballistic exercises, the benefits, and the development of functionality.

Learn to train your body for life.

* Inspired by Convict Conditioning

To plank, or not to plank, that is the question.

The craze of 'planking' has taken the world by storm.  Even if you live in a cave, this phenomenon has hit you hard in the face.  The logic of this movement is however left for those who really have nothing better to do with their time, then to place themselves face down on arbitrary props.  The only benefit I seize to find here is that it makes people smile and is good for the soul.

Performing an actual 'plank', the isometric exercise for raw core strength is done by placing your elbows below your shoulders, stretching out and balancing on your toes.  Simple right? I find this exercise to be more mentally challenging then physical on so many levels.

As much as it requires a strong core, this challenging exercise strengthens your arms, your abdominal muscles and strengthens your lower back, its imperative that you keep your pelvis lifted and stabilize your lower back by engaging your core muscles.

This mind boggling, simple yet 'tough as nails' exercise is brutal.  Lets start talking numbers, once you have put in a full minute of this exercise and felt those flames being thrown from your abdomen you will begin to understand the extent of the plank.  You will begin to understand why I say this is mentally challenging.

Physically, depending on your level of strength and fitness after a few minutes you will literally be shaking like a leaf, sweat will drip out of your every pore like the Ganges in monsoon season, and this is when your mental abilities will kick in.  Gold Coast's Paul Drinan at 68 years old did not break the world record of 33 minutes on physical ability alone. You need the mental power of a yogi to be smashing back those minutes.

And why you may ask would you put yourself through the physical stress of such a simple movement?  The plank blasts energy transfer between your lower and upper body, strengthens your inner core muscles that support your joints, improves flexibility in your posterior muscles, improves your posture and with the muscle development you are torching fat like a blowtorch on a petrol tank..

Like a silent sniper sitting in the distance, focus, timing and precision.

Unscared

We have all been in that very cold and uncomfortable place.  That first day on the job where you stand around hoping nobody is going to notice you, staring into a corner without the faintest idea of what your purpose is. Attempting to blend in with the dividers in your office or making trivial conversation with the tea lady, despite being completely uninterested in where the coffee cups are kept. Repeating to yourself in a creepy monotone "it will all be over soon" that has the office personnel looking over their shoulders at you and whispering amongst each other.

When you walk into a room you have a decision to make, are you going to 'OWN' the space, or 'RENT' the space.  This choice will define you, where you going, and where you will end up.  I think I chose the career that I did purely because I have a history of running head first into anything and everything.  Yes you bump your head a few times, it knocks you down, sometimes harder then others - but hell, you dust yourself off and get up again, you never duck and run, you NEVER rent.

Being a fitness junkie, an adrenalin whore and overall thrill seeker has put me right at the entrance door of this 'space', I've discovered my calling now do I stand around and wait inside, in the safe zone or dive through headfirst?  So I've spent a few years trotting the globe, studying, throwing myself out of high flying objects, surfing lonely open waters, learning and living.  Some might say at 27 years old 'You aught to know where you going by now, young lady'... but no, I'm still unsure, undecided and unawares.
 

What I do know is that I'm passionate, obsessive and committed to fitness.  Iv entered this bright new world of possibilities, this world that motivates me to be up at dawn and grabbing life by the bells! Starting something new is never easy, making a name for yourself, facing new challenges, accomplishing goals, building  a repertoire.  Being a fresh fish in an already over crowded tank would send anyone looking for the escape bait but I'm done deliberating, Iv started a small business and I'm on the road to discovery one step at a time.

Your neighbour, your friend, your teacher, your mother - they have all been there, they where all at 'Day One' once - don't be afraid - dive in head first.

I'm through the door, Iv taken the step.  I'm unscared.