Friday, September 30, 2011

Kettlebell/TRX Suspension Trainer workouts

The 6:30 group in action

This week I've decided to post a few workouts for the readers of the blog. They're a few of sessions I've done with my classes in the past few weeks. Just make sure you use good form. It helps to have someone watch you and be honest instead of giving an "atta boy" or "it's all you". I've also included a video of the 7:30 class doing this past Wednesday's circuit.



9/28/2011 - 7:30 level 3
Mobility prep and Naked TGU practice
TGU with snatch weight bell 5 mins

2 hand swing and plank.
30 seconds of each for 3 sets. Each set is 3 minutes long.
Alternating swings (transfers) and TRX Suspension Trainer side plank 30 seconds of each.
Do 30 seconds of swings followed by a suspended side plank on 1 side. Then 30 seconds of swings followed by a suspended side plank on the other side. Do 4 sets

Circuit - Flow drill
Kettlebell - 1 hand swing, 1 clean & press, 1 front squat and an uppercut (figure 8 to a hold) to switch sides
Suspension Trainer - 1 chest press, 1 chest flye, 1 bus driver. Watch the video to see the bus driver.

Stretch

9/28/2011 - 6:30 level 2

Mobility prep and Naked TGU practice

TGU with snatch weight 5 minutes

2 hand swing and TRX Suspension Trainer chest press (3 foot positions)
3 sets of 15
For the chest press your first set is done with a neutral stance. Your second set is done with your feet together. Your last set is done from a staggered stance with you stepping back so you're lower to the ground. You'll be able to go lower and build up to a much lower chest press.

1 hand swings and TRX Suspension Trainer Pistol Squats
2 sets of 20 swings (10 each hand), 2 sets of 10 pistols (5 each leg)

10 minutes working on kettlebell cleans using facing the wall drills to tame the arc and dead stop swings to ensure proper set up each rep.

Circuit - AMRAP
12 minutes of
3 cleans (R,L)
5 front squats (R,L)
7 TRX Suspension Trainer rows

Stretch

Again take these workouts and use them yourself. Feel free to share them with others (just direct them here to get it hahaha). Make modifications if necessary. Use a lighter bell if you have too. If your form breaks down STOP THE EXERCISE.

Pharaoh out!!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Train your weaknesses first

Ok, so I can be a bit edgy at times





Let's face it, no one likes to think about their weaknesses. Think about the last time you were at a job interview and someone asked, " So what are your weaknesses?" Response, "Ummmmmmm".


Too often in training we focus on the things that we are good at. Personally I avoided workouts that included pullups like the plague. What good does that do us? Wouldn't we be better in the long run if we turned that weakness into a strength? Wouldn't we be mentally and physically stronger if we addressed our weaknesses? Let's be clear here, I'm not talking about "problem areas". Fat loss strategies will be another blog post (most likely a rant so be warned). I'm talking about something that limits you.

For RKC 2 I need to perform pistol squats. Does this mean I avoid becoming an RKC 2? No it means that 4 days a week I work on them. Right after my mobility warm up (which is another blog post) I do 2 sets of 5 tactical pullups and 2 sets of 3 pistol progressions. I'm doing enough so I become better at the movement, but not over doing it so I'm tired and produce junk reps (guess what I sense another blog post). Generally it takes about 5-10 minutes and then I proceed to my training. If you're a boxer and your jab is a weakness, do you avoid throwing it? Good luck with that strategy. If you're a basketball player and you can't hit free throws (damn there's a ton of those guys), do you avoid contact so you stay off the foul line? No. If you're a runner and hills absolutely crush you, do you avoid races that have hills? If you're a person that takes my Sports Conditioning class and you hate the stairs, do you stop coming to class? If you take my kettlebell class and snatches are you're downfall do you avoid them when I put them in a workout? C'mon Son! Get outta here with that bull.

Set a timer for 10 minutes 2-3 times a week and work on the things you're not good at. Do them at the beginning of your workout when you're fresh. Focus on the technique and don't wear yourself out. If you make a mistake or you can't do something, shake it off count to 10 and try it again. If you need to video yourself and study it. When the timer goes off, finish your workout. Don't go past the 10 minute mark. MORE DOESN'T MEAN BETTER, BETTER MEANS BETTER!

Pharaoh out

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Why do you yell so much?

 Hey DAD!!!!!!

That's a young Pharaoh on the right. The man on my left is my Dad. My sister says the older I get the more I look like Dad. This photo is at a N.Y. Jets game at Shea Stadium in the late 70's. Many Sundays my Dad and I would go and sit in the 1st row of the endzone and watch games together. I always wanted my Dad to be proud of me, but didn't always feel I did enough for him. My Dad and I would argue and many times go a long time without speaking, often for silly reasons.

6 and a half years ago I started working at NYSC. My first year there was rough and contemplated leaving many times, but stuck with it. At the start of my 2nd year I began to teach classes and found my niche. By the middle of my second year I was a Master Trainer with NYSC. 5 years ago my Dad and I went to eat for my birthday. Of course stubbornness by both of us left us not speaking at the end of the day.  I remember telling him about my promotion and being excited but again, we were too upset with each other to notice. My Dad was planning on moving to Texas to live with my sister and be "Pa pa" to his 3 grandchildren. He was also sick with a rare autoimmune disorder. So Labor Day weekend we (and I mean he drove and I rode shotgun) went to Texas. He was admitted to the hospital 3 days later and never came home. He passed away 2 months later.

My sister told me the day before Dad passed away he told her that he was proud that I'd finally found something I was passionate about. I never got to hear him say it. But knowing that he that's how he felt gets me going. It's why I do tuck jumps before class. It's why I ask for 2 CLAPS! It's why I make people yell louder when they count. It's why I sit up late at night and look up stuff to do in class. It's why I've brought suitcases with 50lbs of equipment to a group exercise class. It's why I get hyped when the person in my Small Group Training class makes vast improvements. It's why I get in your face for you to work harder. It's why it pisses me off when some people show up to class and talk.

I'm fortunate to do something I'm passionate about for a living. I'm fortunate that my Dad knew about that passion.

2 CLAPS
2 CLAPS
2 CLAPS

Pharaoh out!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

The GOAL is to keep the GOAL the GOAL



The title is a quote from Senior RKC Dan John . What is your GOAL? Don't lose sight of it. If your GOAL is running a marathon, then go run with no worries and have an experience. If your GOAL is to run the Empire State Building, then go climb the stairs and have an experience.

On the right side of my blog I have a list of Training GOALS. A few are just for show (100 double unders just sounds cool to me). Others have a purpose and meaning. When I started this blog my top GOAL was to become an RKC. With that came things that I had to focus on to attain the GOAL. Having a faster time on my snatch test was something I wanted and listed as a goal, but it wasn't the GOAL. The GOAL was to become an RKC. The snatch test was a part of getting to the GOAL. Looking better Nekkid (yes I said nekkid) was never the goal, although it's a great result from training and reaching my GOAL. 10,000 swings in a month was a goal, but again it was something I chose to do in order to get to the real GOAL.

So my new GOAL is to become an RKC 2. Yes, I'm doing it again, April 27-29, 2012, St. Paul Minnesota. What does it entail? Here's a link to the list of the requirements . Again on the right side of the blog, you'll see my training goals. Become an RKC 2, clean and press a 44kg bell, pistol squats and 5 tactical pullups with the 24kg. The last 3 are requirements needed to become an RKC 2, except for the 5 tactical pullups. Only 1 is needed, 5 just sounds cool. So my training for the next 8 months will be all about the GOAL.


The video was from my kettlebell class last night. We focused on some new things and had some "aha" moments. Very soon, some of the participants will have their own GOAL to shoot for!!!!! Pick a GOAL and strive to achieve it.

Pharaoh out!