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. ;)
195 x 1 x 9 205 x 1 225 x CLOSE! 205 x 1 20kg swings 5 x 8/8, floor pushups
40, 30
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What a great day! Moved my grip and my stance back in. Concentrated on
pushing UP on the bar un takeoff and then decided, during warmups, to pause
befor...
17 hours ago
31 comments:
With regard to the veggies...I wish I knew. I just kept making myself eat them and eventually started actually enjoying it. :)
I'm just frikkin' blown away by your 24kg snatches. And quite a bit jealous. Definitely proud for you though.
And I don't know who did those new pics of you on your sidebar, but they are TOTALLY ROCKIN'! The use of the flare, the camera angle, post production, just everything is great. Are there more?
Veggie ideas: "Veggie Chop" - I have a food chopper from Pampered Chef that I use to beat out a huge bowl of cabbage, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, green onion, anything in my veggie crisper. It's a lot of fun and stress relieving!! Then I either make my own vinagrette with olive oil, red wine vinegar, and lime juice or I use Paul Newman's Lime Vinagrette dressing. Yum!! Poppy seed dressing is also good on my veggie chop. I sometimes eat this on top of mixed greens. Then I don't need any more dressing.
Oh and welcome to the wonderful world of teaching. It's amazing isn't it! See why teachers do what they do for such little pay. It's humbling, awe-inspiring, and simply beautiful to watch people grow and change! Enjoy!
Jennifer, I really would eat them, if I ever cooked... I guess I'll have to start, huh? :) Thanks for the kind words. =D Adrian Luna did the photos, he's a personal friend and kickass photographer, yeah he really got some great shots, I think they're so cool! There are a few more, but these three are the best. :)
Amy, I have the chopper!! It's the one "chef" type thing I own, really. It's probably 10 years old! I've cooked maybe four times in the past couple years, seriously. I remember seeing your blog post about the veggie chop, actually, and thought that would be something to try. I think maybe I will. :) Thanks for the suggestion!
I've been practicing my Pistols all day. My legs are jello, but I am determined to have it by next class!!!!
Oh, and Tuesday class RULES.
Between 1994 and 2007 I probably ate a total of one pound of vegetables. I thought they tasted bad, but the truth was that my palate was so thoroughly corrupted by sweets and salts that I only thought they tasted bad. When I detoxed and stopped taking in sugar during the day, they started tasting good. Juicing veggies in the morning works great for me. I also use this thing called 'the ultimate meal' that fills a lot of the gaps. It tastes like green peas and dirt. If you eat veggies for 30 days, you'll hit your snatch test goal. I'd bet money on it. You might also read the warrior diet. Even if you don't do the plan there's a ton of great info in there on nutrition.
You snatch more reps on the 24 kg. then several men I know.
Yeah Sharon!! You rock.
Jordan, thanks for the comments. :) Really, the problem isn't that I don't like veggies - lots of them I do like. For example, broccoli, green beans, onions sometimes, peas sometimes, carrots, love zucchini and squashes...not any bell peppers though, and tomatoes only in some cases. ;) The BIG problem is that I don't cook. Or juice, or anything. So, I need to buy a veggie juice or something until I can start cooking...or whatever that "ultimate meal" is... I'll Google that.
Warrior Diet... yeah, I know. It sounds pretty great. The problem is, dinner is the easiest meal for me to "skip," basically. I get so busy with training, etc. after my day job that I basically forget about eating. Who knows, I might have to give it a try anyway. :)
Something I'm doing now is getting five or six different veggies, chopping them up and dividing them into quart zip lock bags. I just try to work my way through a bag a day. Eating them raw also helps preserve the enzymes.
I can do that!!
I'll go to the store tonight and buy some chop-up veggies. I'm thinking broccoli... uh......... *thud* carrots? What else is decent raw? No cauliflower, cauliflower sucks.
Hey again - Have you thought about soup?
Soup is great, (split pea with ham - yum!)... but it involves cooking. *sigh*
Actually, I made that earlier this year (my one time cooking in '08!) and it was awesome. Next weekend, I'll try it again, maybe.
If you have any other somewhat easy recipes for a non-cook, pass em on! You never know, I might actually try it. :B
Hey Nikki!
Giraffe Starr here. I could learn ya about veggies and cooking veggies. I pretty near do all the cooking 'round here. Trader Joe's offers some awesome frozen veggies that only require a kick bath in hot water (frozen organic veggies supposedly retain more nutrients than "fresh" ones).
I've got the pistol on the right–ass-to-the-grass–but the left is quite a bit weaker.
How 'bout this: next week on Tuesday I'll match ya one for one on snatches with a 24kg?
Nikki,
For a long time, I let the fact that my first meal is always my best and biggest one get in my way of following the warrior diet, too. Then I read a little from folks who follow intermittent fasting type programs that were not necessarily based on the warrior diet. I then decided not to be an all-or-none gal and do the warrior diet the way that my job would allow--doing the large meal at the beginning of the day. Sure, it's not ideal, and it goes against the theories of some of it, but so far it's working for me. Think about how you might be able to maniputalate it to your favor. And most importantly, you just have to find what works for you. Good luck!
Just make a salad and eat it ~ before lunch and before dinner. Done.
Consider it work. You're good at doing work, and this work is easy.
More veggies equals more poop, and more poop is always good.
Hi Nikki,
Congrats on the PR! You got some real good veggie advice, too. One thing that I do besides eat plenty of broccoli or spinach for dinner is that for breakfast, I use a powdered green drink (Green Vibrance) and mix it with some flax oil. It's an acquired taste at first, of course, but this way I know I'm getting my greens. Good luck in your veggie quest! :)
Broccoli, easy to cut, steam it and it's done. My body wants it after extreme stress of workout. Known (for men) as one of anti-estrogenic vegetables.
Never thought about your current diet did 35 total 24kg snatches?
I've always wanted to do a "simple cooking" blog post and maybe this will inspire me to make one.
If you have a food processor (or just a cutting board), frozen mixed vegetables, rice, eggs, and bacon - it's pretty easy to make fried rice. Everything is optional and things can be added or subtracted to taste or dietary restrictions, but quick, easy, and relatively nutritious.
Not as nutritious, but very easy is finely chopped brocolli in Mac & Cheese - yummy.
Yup, Anisette was a serious disappointment. A friend took me there and we sat at the bar. The bartender got almost every part of our order wrong, including the drinks, and acted almost totally unapologetic. Heinous. If the company wasn't enjoyable, I'd have bailed after the first round of drinks... when the idiot bartender poured me a Jack & Coke instead of Crown & Coke.
As for the teaching & training, keep it up - KBLA Hard Style!
Giraffe Starr, good tip on the frozen veggies. Especially since people like me struggle with having to go to the store/market frequently enough to keep fresh produce at home.
You got the pistol already, omg!! Can't wait to see these next Tuesday. (I'll be out of town this weekend.)
You're on for the snatches. ;)
Jen, interesting idea re: reverse WD. It's a good way to think about it - apply good principles however you can keep them most consistent.... well, I'm off to a good start, I think. Thank you. =D
Sorry, Aaron, I can't trick myself into that one. ;)
I did buy a bag of pre-shredded broccolli stems with cabbage & carrots last night, though. It's convenient, and I need convenient.
Have also had two different veggie juices from Evolution since last night... I think my cellular membranes are wiggling with delight. (Wow, green stuff! Thank you, Nikki!)
And, picked up some green beans and a grilled salmon filet from the whole foods prepared-stuff-counter this morning. Yeah, it costs too much. But, I wouldn't eat it otherwise, so....hell. This is the solution for today. :)
OMG, Farmer John, green powder mixed with flax oil?? So it's... oily?? And, downed like a shot or something? Actually, I could probably handle that. Better than trying to chug a quart of something nasty. Interesting idea, and thank you!
Taikei, yes, luckly broccoli is a fave. I'll try my best to make it a daily intake. =D
And yeah... I'm pretty excited to see what effect the improved diet will have on training. :)
Get on it, Boris!
Mac & Cheese with broccoli... that sounds like an addiction-in-waiting. :)
Whoa, Sifu, that sounds wretched! I hope one of you spoke to management? Honestly, though, that Croque Monseiur will have me going back, crap service or not. ;)
Hey Nikki-Jordan just turned me onto your blog. You so inspire me to work harder!
As for the veggies, sounds like you don't cook too much. Ever do juices? You can get juicers, they're easy enough. Or check out WholeFoods or other health stores (there's one on Main St. in Santa Monica that has great juices). Sometimes I even take Perfect Food, it's a supplement that's pretty good.
I know you already have a lot of veggie advice, but here is some from me:
1) Get a juicer. While vegetable in their raw state are very bulky, juicing them makes them easier on your digestive system. Also, you can prepare about 3-5 days of veggies at one time.
Also, there is no more efficient way to get vitamins and minteral into your system than juices. Here are some of my favorites:
* Apples/Carrots/Ginger
* Carrots/Celery/Jalapenos
* Carrots/Beets/Ginger
You can get a quality juicer for about 100. Get one with a big mouth so you don't waste time chopping (I don't mind the chopping, I used to work in a restaurant and I have mad knife skills.)
I am thinking about going to my twenty year reunion, and doing a 7 day veggie cleanse before I go.
Great snatching by the way. When my hand heals, I am going for snatch number for both hands, RKC style.
Tara, I'm totally flattered, thanks!!
Faizal, man, I should have done the veggie cleanse before my friend's wedding this weekend... instead of eating a half gallon of ice cream in three days. Oh, not to mention a baguette, SEVERAL pastries, a couple bottles of wine, and about $30 worth of cheese. My dress is screaming at me... along every seam. *sigh* Freakin moron sometimes, I swear.
Well all you guys are talking about the goodness of juice, and the experience with the Evolution juices in the last 24 hours wasn't terrible. So... I think I'll be getting a juicer along with the blender next week.
Embarking on a veggilicious journey...
Thank you, to all of you, for the advice, and the support.
Nikki,
You don't need recipes, you need some real advice and motivation on why you should, and HOW to implement, taking charge of the of the foods, and nutrition you put in your body! I can't possibly begin to type everything I want to share with you. Can you e-mail me and let's set up a phone conversation, friend to friend?
You're young, MAKE the time to practice food prep. Just like, as trainers, we tell people to make the time to workout, NOTHING in your life will be of more value than learning to feed yourself good, live, REAL foods.
No disrespect, but cut your workouts by a couple of 24kg snatches to spend 10 minutes making a salad, seriously, lol!
Yay, Tracy! You'll have an e-mail from me today. =D
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