Am I spoiled or something?

Update on the veggilicious adventure.

So I've been pretty good with the veggies so far... in the daily mix has been: broccoli, carrot, cabbage, cucumber, green beans... juiced parsley, spinach, beets, carrots, kale, celery..... sure, had a break over the weekend for an out-of-town wedding, but otherwise, you know... pretty decent intake.

I bought a blender today. I do plan to use it, especially once the Ultimate Meal stuff arrives. I'll consider it a supplement for all the nutrition I'm otherwise missing.

The thing is.... I feel TIRED. I'm not noticing any difference yet from the veggies....I actually feel a bit worse this week than last. Sure it could be something else... and I will of course stick with it, but it's disappointing anyway.

I must be spoiled - expecting noticeable results almost immediately, as with kettlebell training. *wink*
Maybe nutrition doesn't work that way... but it should, right? If we can feel terrible after a sugar/carb binge, why shouldn't we feel great after finally getting some needed nutrition in our diet? *sigh*

It will be nice to get TRif's take on it later this week, I'm looking forward to that.

Just worn OUT lately, today especially - double swings were okay, then 24kg RKC snatches were only 14/12... but a 32kg clean was strong, best ever. And for the first time ever, boxing practice left me totally spent - usually I feel like I would love another session soon afterward - not tonight. Tonight I would like to sleep for about 14 hours...

Orrrr get up an hour earlier than usual and try training in the morning. Chances this will happen: slim. It's a nice idea. :)

First I watched OSU beat USC,

Then had a quick celebration with the 24kg:

100 hardstyle snatches, sets of 5L/5R
50 hardstyle swings, 2 sets of 25
10 goblet squats
5 presses on the right

And several BW pistols during the game.

No press strength today. Couldn't get a single one on the left, and took probably 5 tries to get one on the right. What is up with THAT? Anyway, as the snatches got done, the presses started to go up. *Shrug* Whatever, I'm not going to worry too much about one off night. I expect to be back to normal next time... which will be Monday. I'll be out of town without a bell for 3 days. I'll be working pistols like crazy, though! ;)

How about just "Blog Post" this time. :)

The good news: I hit a PR today. RKC-test snatches with the 24kg... goal is 20/20, I came close-ish, with 18L/17R. (35 total, last test was 31.)

The bad news: Training and diet have been absolute crap lately. Little wonder the mood has been crap along with it. ;)

The other good news: All of that nonsense ended today.

Well, most of it. I still have to figure out a way to eat vegetables. Yeah, like, any, at all. Iceberg lettuce with a tiny bit of carrot & green onion (Chin Chin) or a tiny bit of spinach (Subway) does not count. Salsa... does not count. (Or, does it? ...No, no!)

So, if anyone has a suggestion for some decent real-veggie alternative, like a pre-prepared smoothie or something, until I can figure out a healthier way to eat more veggies every day.... please let me know. No V-8 though.

Our Tuesday evening Kettlebells Los Angeles group class is a blast, and I'm very proud of what we've seen so far - tonight was no exception. Many of you know what I'm talking about when I say what a thrill it is to see such great improvement over the course of an hour, or even a couple minutes. Our class dynamic (we are KBLA, after all, wink-wink) is fabulous - a great combination of fun, intensity, work, and play...how is it that the KBLA folks are always such great people? Great attitudes, great focus, and always a great effort, both physically and mentally. Thanks to you all for making my Tuesday evenings so fulfilling. It really reinforces my drive to always improve myself and my instruction skills....

....Yes. There it is.
All my life, the thought has been: Whatever it is I'm going to do, I want to be really, really good at it. I don't just want to love it. I want to be one of the BEST at it. And... all of a sudden... here it is - I love teaching hardstyle kettlebell training. And I want to be one of the best there is at teaching it. *shrug* That's it. And I don't mean, by some measurable "standard" or "ranking," one of the best. It's not recognition, it's results... and it's always moving forward, there is no resting. I want to instruct my clients as effectively as possible. They deserve it, and I want to provide that for them. I won't be satisfied with just giving them a great workout, and teaching them something here and there, and tweaking this here, and challenging them there. ...It will be a continual process - one that, I know, will be just as satisfying for me as it will be for those who benefit directly.
.....So THAT's cool...

:)

Enough typing, I have still have some pull-ups to do. Ooh! and a few more pistols. Gotta work those back in more regularly - daily. Even just a couple. (Winks to Sharon & Spencer.)


Oh, one more thing:
Shortest restaurant review ever: Anisette Brasserie, Santa Monica 9/21 (2pm on a Sunday).

Service: *shrug* Not good. Might have just been unlucky.
Food: I can speak only for the Croque Monsieur, and o-m-g, mmmmm. Ham and cheese, perfected. Only for the rare indulgence, seriously. And good fries, always important.
Drink: Huge wall of absinthe (unusual), and a small selection of very nice draft beers, though they were out of the Hoegaarden. Didn't see a wine list.
Ambience: It works, I like this place, and will go again for a different meal - dinner probably. Yeah, I'll try to get some veggies. ;)

9/15 Training

16kg :15/:15 V02 Max
6 reps for 50 sets
300 total reps

16kg TGU: 6, alternating

16kg BU Press: almost on the left, 4 MP on right

18lb pullup: 1, 1, 1

9/11 Restaurant Review - Bar Pintxo, Santa Monica

The good: HUGE assortment of Spanish wine and tapas, for a decent price, with friendly and accommodating service.

The bad: Muy uncomfortable stool-chairs.

Our party of 9 enjoyed 6 bottles of wine and probably 20 tapas, for about $500.

This is probably the way to do Bar Pintxo - not for a comfortable, quiet, culinary dining experience - but with a group of wine-loving friends who are too busy enjoying each other's company, and daring one another to eat a shrimp head, to focus much on the quality of the food itself (or lack thereof).

So, go with friends, drink some wine, and enjoy the tapas just as a constant stream of "things" to try, but don't expect any show-stoppers.

Got it.

Well, half of "it."

My pressing goals were to get the 24kg on the left and the 28kg on the right by this Sunday.
Still have some work to do for that 28kg, will give myself another few weeks.

Got the 24kg on the left last night, though!

Anton and I had our second class, and it was great fun. The class location is now OFFICIALLY the Southwest corner of Clover Park - off of 25th Street, next to the tennis courts.

After class I rocked out 10L/10R 24kg snatches (FAST!) before some work with the focus mitts... I would so love to do this every day. Boxing practice is F-U-N! I want more!

Neuromuscular Pavelization

The theme of tonight's workout was Neuromuscular Inhibition... and Neuromuscular Pavelization. *wink*
(or, Yep, I'm Kind of a Dork. ...So?)

I remember a post on Rif's blog quite a while back about what I BELIEVE he called Neuromuscular Inhibition - the phenomenon where if you don't fully believe you will be able to do what you then try to do, chances are you won't succeed with it. (Sir, please correct me where needed.)
Well, I recognized a bit of "NI" going on tonight.

Discovering that the gymboss was out of batteries (oh yeahhhh), I decided to do the 24kg snatch/right press alternating workout that I did the other night.
Started with an MP, then went to a set of snatches.

Around the 5th or 6th set, the presses were weak. I felt weak, mentally, physically...and I knew it was all in my head. Even in the middle of a press, I would think, it's this damn "NI" that's making this so hard, I know it! Where is my confidence? Why am I so uncertain I can get this press each time?

Then, Pavel walked by.

No, not really...
Starting at the 7th set, I basically imagined that Pavel had just happened by (which is actually not totally impossible ;), and said something like, "Show me your 24-kilo military press, Nikki."

It's kind of embarrassing what a huge difference this made. The presses were so smooth and easy, I then decided to keep doing snatch sets for as long as I was able to do the MP. I hit 10, 11, 12.... laughing inside every time the press went up. "Guess I'm doing another snatch set..." (The last time I did this workout, I was only able to do 7 sets of the single presses.)

The 15th set tonight, snatch form fell far from perfect, so that was it for snatches. I continued with the press to see how many I could get - yes, using Neuromuscular Pavelization each time. ;)
First attempt on the 20th set didn't make it. Re-cleaned, got the press, called it a night.

20 is a loooong way from 7. Crazy. Something about performing under pressure, I guess - and if you can fake the pressure, why not? Feel ridiculous? Get over it! Training and progress are more important. I did a lot of heavy presses tonight.

Work Summary:
150 snatches with 24kg, sets of 5L/5R
20 R military presses with 24kg, sets of 1
Couple L push presses with 24kg (still waiting till Sunday to test)
Couple 18lb pullups

The Funniest Thing...

Anton and I taught our first Tuesday evening KBLA class tonight, and it went really well. Unfortunately, the neighboring houses weren't quite as enthusiastic... around 8:00 a police officer pulled up to make sure we had the proper permits, etc., and we suspect this resulted from a phone call from one of the neighbors who circle the park we held the training session in.

The officer then started to ask us questions about kettlbell training, wondering if we thought the 20kg was too heavy for him to start with, etc...it turns out he had attended the victim training session with his daughters at the UCLA RKC, and has corresponded with Dr. Cheng a couple times.

Strange how often Los Angeles seems like a small town. :)

Nailed a great PR prior to class:
6 MPs on the left with the 20kg!
I'll definitely have the 24kg press goal met on Sunday. As for the 28kg press on the right... progress does not seem as good there, the single 24kg press is still a challenge, so I'll have to work that a bit more. Even cleaning the 28kg tonight didn't feel nearly as strong as I hoped.

After class, did some padwork with Anton and one of our KB attendees (until a neighboring old lady told us it was too noisy...at 8:45pm. So, we may have to use a different location, after all.)
The boxing practice was fantastic, though - Anton, thanks again - is there anything you can't do???

New KBLA Group Classes

Starting this week, Kettlebells Los Angeles is hosting two new group classes in two new locations, days, and times. The class fee remains $20.

Santa Monica: Tuesdays at 7:00pm
RKC Instructors: Anton Summers and Nikki Shlosser
Location: Palisades at 7th Street
Heading north on 7th Street, just past Montana Ave. is Palisades. Take a left on Palisades, and park anywhere. We're at the park there in the middle of the street.

Hollywood: Wednesdays at 9:00am (beginning Sept. 10)
RKC Instructor: John Spezzano
Location: Griffith Park at the Canyon Drive entrance.
There is a small play area for children just inside the park entrance on the left, parking is another 50 yds up on the right. Canyon Drive is one block EAST of Bronson, the park is NORTH of Franklin.

So if any of you have been having trouble getting up for a 7am Sunday morning class, you now have two more options!
Can't wait to see you all out there!