10 weeks down, 2 to go!

Saturday was our “Heavy” day, and if you’ve been reading (or participating, I hope) along, then you know that “Heavy” means 5 ladders with 5 rungs each.  This is our hard, max effort day.

I had to work overtime from 5:30 to 11:30 last night, so we did our workout early in the day (2:00 p.m.) as opposed to our usual time of 6:00 p.m.  Of course that meant we had to battle the sun and heat as well, which made those 5 X 5’s just a little bit harder.

After our customary warm-ups, we started our sets with our heavier bells.  Val used her 16 kg for her singles, while I used my 28 kg for my first four rungs, and my 24 kg for my 5th rung.

Val’s sets went like this: 

Ladder 1:  16 kg/1; 12 kg/2,3,4,5
Pull-ups:  1 (no band), 2,3,4,5
Rest for 1′30″

Ladder 2:  16 kg/1; 12 kg/2,3,4,5
Pull-ups:  1,2,3,4,5
Rest for 1′30″

Ladder 3:  16 kg/1; 12 kg/2,3,4,5
Pull-ups:  1,2,3,4,5
Rest for 1′30″

Ladder 4:  16 kg/1; 12 kg/2,3,4,5
Pull-ups:  1,2,3,4,5
Rest for 1′30″

Ladder 5:  16 kg/1; 12 kg/2,3,4,5
Pull-ups:  1,2,3,4,5

My sets were similar, but looked like this:

Ladder 1:  28 kg/1,2,3,4; 24 kg/5
Pull-ups:  1,2,3,4,5
Rest for 1′30″

Ladder 2:  28 kg/1,2,3,4; 24 kg/5
Pull-ups:  1,2,3,4,5
Rest for 1′30″

Ladder 3:  28 kg/1,2,3,4; 24 kg/5
Pull-ups:  1,2,3,4,5
Rest for 1′30″

Ladder 4:  28 kg/1,2,3,4; 24 kg/5
Pull-ups:  1,2,3,4,5
Rest for 1′30″

Ladder 5:  28 kg/1,2,3,4; 24 kg/5
Pull-ups:  1,2,3,4,5

Remember, we’re doing 1 clean and press right, 1 clean and press left, and 1 pull-up.  Then the second ng for 2 R, 2 L, 2 pull-ups;  all the way up to 5.  The rest.  Usually we rest for only 1 minute.  However, due to the heat, I pushed our rest periods out to 1 minute 30 seconds.  We also went through about 3 bottles of water each.

My clean and press ladders were tough and I felt like I could have used the 28 kg for every rung.  However, I thought I would play it safe and wait until week 11’s “Heavy” day to hit 5 X 5 with the 28 kg.  Week 12 will be an all out battle with the 28 kg and the 32 kg.

We finished our “Heavy” day with 8 minutes of swings.  25 reps with 5 second rest periods.  The AOS ETK workbook called for 310-390 reps.  We managed 200.  And those 5 second rest periods?  I think we hit the first 3 or 4 on the nose.  The rest were stretched a bit. 

Once we finished our swings, I did my ab work consisting of 25 Janda sit-ups and 20 straight-leg sit-ups. Val and I then stretched out our hamstrings and lower backs and jumped in the pool to cool down.

I finally timed our entire workout, something I’ve been meaning to do for some time now but had never gotten around to, and found that we took about 1 hour and 15 minutes from the start of our warm-ups to my last straight-leg sit-up.  We rested for about 2 minutes between the warm-ups and our first ladder and for about 5 minutes between our last ladder and our swings.  I then went directly from my last swing to my ab work. 

The last 10 weeks have been challenging but also results-producing.  I’ve lost weight, gained strength and added size and shape to my muscles.  Val has done the same and has increased her confidence as well.  I can’t recommend the Enter the Kettlebell (ETK) program enough and urge you to buy the ETK quick start set from Dragondoor.com and the Art of Strength ETK workbook from Artofstrength.com.  Then study the ETK program and video and start your own transformation!

Invest in your health!

Bottom Line Personal Vol. 29, No. 12- June 15, 2008

Heartburn symptoms are not eliminated by avoiding chocolate, caffeine, spicy foods and citrus fruits, contrary to popular belief.  Best way to prevent heartburn:  Lose weight.  Being overweight increases intra-abdominal pressure, contributing to heartburn.

Lauren Gerson, MD, assistant professor of medicine, director of esophageal and Small Bowel Disorder Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, and leader of meta-analysis of 100 studies, published in Archives of Internal Medicine.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

To help you in your quest to lose weight, check out the Weight Science and Antioxidant Science products at MyNutritionStore.com.            

www.foundingfathers.info

www.allposters.com

http://z.about.com/d/dc/1/5/h/Q/capitol-fireworks01.jpg

Scientists: Watermelon yields Viagra-like effects

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080703/D91MBPC01.html

 I’d like to comment more on this but I have to run to the Farmer’s market and pick up some watermelon.  Actually, I have to rent a truck first…

And all those kinds of things! 

Week 10, Medium Day!

Let’s get to it.  Cameron’s gone visiting friends form Northern California, so Val and I will push through together.  Three circuits of our warm-up series, a short break and 5 ladders of 4 rungs today.

Val used her 16 kg for her singles, and her 12 kg for her 2,3,and 4 rep sets.  I stayed with my 28 kg for all my sets.  I plan on hitting 5 X 5 with my 28 kg on week 11’s Heavy Day.  I’ve noticed that my form is suffering a bit as I get into the last ladder and I want to play it safe and stay injury free.

Once our clean and press ladders were complete, we rested for about 3 minutes and started our swings.  Val used her 12 kg while I used with my 24 kg.  We had seven minutes to complete 50 rep sets with 20 seconds of rest between them.  We hit 200 reps right at the 7 minute beep of our handy Gymboss Interval Timer.

Afterwards, I got 25 Janda sit-ups, 20 straight-leg sit-ups, and then stretched out the lower back and hamstrings.

Today was a rough day as Val had a job interview that did not end up in her being hired.  She has been out of work since the end of January and to date has not had any success in finding new work.  We had high hopes for today’s interview, and when it fell through, it was hard to accept for both of us. 

Today would have been a good day to shine on the workout and dwell on the lost opportunity, however, we pressed on and completed the workout, even going for a quick 15-minute walk when we were through stretching. 

I remarked to Val that I had a hard time getting excited about working out, and an even harder time preparing myself mentally for the 50-rep swings we were going to finish with.  Once we were done working out though, we both felt better for having done it and more focused on what we needed to do. 

Folks, I am positive that we are better able to cope with the financial stress of our reduced income by keeping to our workout regimen.  As it is, I’m most fortunate to have a partner who gives me the strength to keep pushing on when it seems tough to do so.

Remember:  Keep moving forward! 

It’s always nice to hit a light Monday after the 5X5 ladders on Saturday.  That doesn’t mean we slow down though.  We have three weeks to the end of the program and our final test.  We’re going to use those weeks wisely and finish strong.

This is my last day on vacation and I was a little cranky before we started to work out.  Once we started moving, however, I was able to clear my mind and focus on powering through our 5 ladders of 3 rungs.

We started with our warm-ups and a little stretching for our lower backs.  Cameron joined us today and used his 16 kg and 24 kg kettlebells.  Val used her 8 kg, 12 kg and 16 kg.  I used my 24 kg and 28 kg.

Cameron and Val are both excited to be pushing the heavier weights and used their bigger bells to do their singles with. 

Cameron has been focusing on not using his legs to help the bell up, and pushing it up in its proper arc.  

Val has been trying to lock the heavier bell out at the top.  I think she’s got it.

I stayed with my 28 kg bell for all my presses.   

Once we were done with our C&Ps, I switched to the 24 kg for the snatch.  Cameron and Val switched to their lighter bells as well, with Cameron using his 16 kg while Val went down to her 8 kg to practice her form.

We snatched 10 R / 10 L and rested for one minute for 9 minutes total.  100 total reps.

Once we finished, I did my ab work, stretched with Val and we put another light day away.

I don’t post a lot about diet because it’s not my area of expertise.  However, I have been trying to wean myself of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) for some time and am amazed to find the products that contain HFCS.  Check out this article and do some research for yourself.

Dangers of High Fructose Corn Syrup - HFCS

When people from Iceland visit the United States, the first thing they notice is the number of fat people they see. The average weight of American women (164 pounds) and men (191 pounds) has increased 25 pounds since 1960. We are the fattest people on earth, thanks to Coke, Pepsi and ADM - Archer Daniels Midland - the largest producer of HFCS.

Due to federal agribusiness subsidies, every dollar of profits earned by ADM’s corn sweetener operation costs consumers $10. Of the $113.6 billion in taxpayer commodity subsidy payments distributed by the USDA between 1995 and 2004, corn drew $41.8 billion — more than cotton, soy, and rice combined. What’s wrong with this picture? Maybe it’s the Iowa presidential primary. Where do the presidential candidates and your congress people stand on corn subsidies? Who sucks up to ADM?

The occurrence of new cases of type 2 diabetes has doubled over the past three decades, according to a report in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation - June 2006. The percentage of overweight children in the United States has tripled since 1980. The epidemic of type 2 diabetes cases across the nation is likely to lead to a substantially higher incidence of strokes among middle-aged adults and newly diagnosed diabetics.

“Most, but not all, of the increase in diabetes occurred in people who were obese - those with a body mass index of 30 or more,” according to the National Lung, Heart, and Blood Institute in Framingham, Massachusetts.

A person with diabetes has a 50 percent chance of having a heart attack compared with a risk of 5 percent for people without diabetes or who don’t know if they have a vascular disease. In fact, diabetes puts you at the same risk for a heart attack as a non-diabetic who has had a heart attack and whose risk of another is substantially higher. 

High Fructose Corn Syrup is found in fruit drinks like Capri Sun, Sunny Delight, Snapple, Hawaiian Punch, Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice and in most energy drinks. It is also found in chocolate drinks like Yoohoo, Arizona Tea, SoBe Beverages, cookies, ice cream, Campbell soup, Heinz Ketchup, Ragu, Aunt Jemima Syrup, Hershey’s Syrup, Breyers Yogurt, Kraft Barbecue Sauce, Smucker’s Preserves and some breakfast cereals.

High fructose corn syrup masquerades under the name of crystalline fructose in Glaceau Vitamin Water and some energy drinks. Naive teenagers guzzle this “poison” because they think it is good for them. Then they go on a diet and wonder why they are still gaining weight.

Have you seen the new commercials on TV for Capri Sun? The ad suggests that Capri Sun is now healthy for you because they have added antioxidants. As long as they continue to sweeten Capri Sun with HFCS, they are lying to you.

People who use HFCS as a sweetener increase their triglycerides 32 percent relative to people who use mostly sugar, according to University of Minnesota professor John Bantle. The body metabolizes high fructose corn syrup differently than sugar. It blunts the body’s ability to recognize when it is full and increases a person’s appetite.

High Fructose Corn Syrup puts people at risk for metabolic syndrome. According to the Mayo Clinic, “Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that occur together, increasing your risk for heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Having just one of these conditions — increased blood pressure, elevated insulin levels, excess body fat around the waist or abnormal cholesterol levels — contributes to your risk of serious disease. In combination, your risk is even greater.”

There is a a rise in uric acid in the bloodstream that occurs after fructose is consumed. The temporary spike of HFCS blocks the action of insulin, which typically regulates how body cells use and store sugar and other food nutrients for energy. If uric acid levels are frequently elevated, over time features of metabolic syndrome may develop, including high blood pressure, obesity and elevated blood cholesterol levels.

Research by the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reveals that high fructose diets shorten the life span of laboratory mice from the normal two years to a mere five weeks.

If you compare the population of non-diabetics to diabetics, the average life span is 10 years less. There are many complications that occur with diabetes. They include coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, blindness, kidney disease and loss of sensation in the hands and feet.

Older people may have something to worry about also. The leading theory about the cause of Alzheimer’s Disease implicates insulin. Insulin concentrations in the brain drop significantly in early Alzheimer’s and continue to fall as the disease worsens, suggesting that Alzheimer’s Disease may be Type 3 diabetes. Researchers found that insulin is not just produced in the pancreas, but also in the brain.

If you wish to prevent diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease, the prudent thing to do is to read the label of food items and beverages before you buy them at the store. If you see High Fructose Corn Syrup or crystalline fructose - Don’t Buy It!

One tip is to try an ethnic grocery store - such as an Asian or Latino food store, if you have trouble finding HFCS free foods that you like. The American food industry doesn’t give two “toots” about your health.

According to Dr. Mark Hyman, MD “Immediate action is needed to address this problem on a societal level. The time for blaming the victim, for putting the entire responsibility of the obesity epidemic on a gluttonous population is over. The science is clear, and we have the means to save lives and millions in health care dollars.”

Question of the decade: Why doesn’t the FDA approve stevia as a sweetener? Stevia was introduced in the 1970s in Japan and accounts for over 40% of the sweetener market there. It is also commonly used in South America. Only 24 percent of Japanese aged 15 and older are believed to be overweight, compared to over 65 percent of adults in the United States.

In 1991, at the request of an anonymous complaint, the FDA labeled stevia as an unsafe food additive. It is truly absurd that the medical establishment and government watch dogs in the U.S. are so myopic as to believe that if a product has not been scientifically proven safe inside the borders of the U.S., then it is dangerous until proven otherwise. What’s wrong with this picture?

After spending half the afternoon at Ikea in Emeryville planning and ordering a friend’s new kitchen (she liked the way ours looked), we returned home empty-handed after both our credit cards were declined.  I don’t really know why, as there was plenty of room on both of them. ???

Anyway, Val and I started our workout at about 6:15 this evening, as the sun was going down and a nice breeze was blowing in.  Nothing like natural air conditioning.

Today was our heavy day, and as those of you doing ETK know (or are about to find out), once you hit the 5 X 5, you’re in for some hard work.  We began with our usual warm-ups, rested for a couple minutes and began to climb our first ladder.

Val stayed with her 12 kg for most of her ladders, and then got brave on her last two and used the 16 kg for her first rung singles.  What a day!  I’m very proud of her and she’s worked hard to get to this point.  Next week, she’s going to try to use the 16 kg for all of her singles.

As I wrote after our Medium Day workout, I modified my ladders and rungs to accommodate my 28 kg, in lieu of the 32.  My ladders went like this:

First Ladder:  24 kg-1,2,3,4,5

Pull-ups:  1,2,3,4,5

Second Ladder:  28 kg-1,2,3,4; 24 kg-5

Pull-ups:  1,2,3,4,5

Third Ladder:  28 kg-1,2,3,4; 24 kg-5

Pull-ups:  1,2,3,4,5

Fourth Ladder:  28 kg-1,2,3,4; 24 kg-5

Pull-ups:  1,2,3,4,5

Fifth Ladder:  32 kg-1; 28 kg-2,3,4; 24 kg-5

Pull-ups:  1,2,3,4,5

As we finished our fourth set, Cameron came home and joined us by warming up and doing some light presses and pull-ups.  Cameron can bang out 10 strict dead-hang pull-ups and he has a goal to get to twenty by early next year.  I have no doubt he’ll get there. 

For swings today, Anthony’s evil dice landed on a six.  So we were tasked with swinging for 50 reps and resting for 10 seconds.  Repeat for 6 minutes.  We got to 150 with about 28 seconds left, so we decided to get an extra 50 to make an even 200.

After that, I did my ab work consisting of 20 Janda sit-ups, followed by 20 straight-leg sit-ups.  We concluded with our lower back/hamstring stretches and then enjoyed a nice cold beer. 

I’ve been working on our outdoor kitchen Thursday and Friday, which happened to coincide with ETK’s variety day and off day.  This is my last week on vacation (back to work July 1st) and I’m trying to maximize the time I spend on my house remodeling projects.

My kettlebells and free weights sit in and next to my garage, which also happens to be where the boxes full of my Ikea kitchen cabinets are stacked.

So in order to keep a little variety in my days off, I did a few sets of deadlifts and cleans as I went into the garage to get my tools and supplies throughout the day.

On Thursday, I deadlifted.  I use a traditional stance, modified a bit to keep my knees from hurting too much (2 surgeries on the left knee - ACL tear and reconstruction, and impending doom on the right knee).  I keep my grip overhand, with my pinky fingers on the knurling and my shins on the bar, outside my arms.  It’s kind of a close-stance sumo, sorta, kinda. 

Any-who, I pulled a couple triples with 135 to get in the groove.  Then I put 225 on the bar (the rust made them stick a little) and grabbed 3 sets of 3 over the course of an hour.  It’s not a lot of weight, I know, but it’s variety day and I’m not going to kill myself before our heavy day on Saturday.  I just wanted to get back into the groove of deadlifting, as I’m giving serious thought to entering the Tactical Strength Challenge this September, which would give me another goal to meet as well as something else to write about and thereby stay motivated (and honest!).  Check it out www.tacticalstrengthchallenge.com.

Oh yeah.  When I finished deadlifting, I grabbed the 16 kg bell and did windmills for 5 reps each side, nice and slow.

On Friday, I was putting cabinets together again, and as I went in the garage, saw my pair of Ader 32 kg bells there on the floor.  Ordinarily, I use those big bells to keep my feet in position while I do my Janda sit-ups after my ETK workouts.  As they looked kind of lonely, I decided to use them for more than paper weights.  I started out by grabbing a pair of 24 kg kettlebells and cleaned them for 5 reps.  I dropped them, grabbed what I went in there for and left.

About 30 minutes later, I went back in, grabbed those 32s off the floor and did 7 cleans until my right knee started to complain. 

1. Rule number 1:  Never contest space with your kettlebells!
2. Rule number 2:  Stop if you feel pain!

So, 1) I didn’t; and 2)  I did!

This has happened to me before when I’ve used double kettlebells for drills (like you’ll find on the Aggressive Strength page, above).  I get a sudden sharp pain when my knee goes from flexed to straight. 

Usually all I have to do is widen my stance a bit and point my feet further out (close to a 45 degree angle)and the pain goes away.

I grabbed my stuff and didn’t go back until about a half hour later.  When I went in, I grabbed the bells, adjusted my stance and got 10 cleans.  Those felt good.

Back out to the patio for my “real” work and then back into the garage about 20 minutes later for 10 more double cleans.

And that’s it!  Friday’s my off day, remember?

Remember that you don’t always have to do a full programmed workout.  Sometimes it’s fun to just go out and throw heavy things around for a bit.  Just make sure your form is correct and have a good time!

I never really thought about this until I was at the Dermatologist yesterday, having a couple chunks of my skin shaved off to perform biopsies on. As I train with my kettlebells outside during the summer, and often have to stand around in the direct sunlight during the course of my job, I need to be more aware of what the sun’s doing to my skin. So should you.

Bottom Line Personal, Vol 29, No. 10  May 15, 2008

Sunblock, which is opaque, blocks almost all of the sun’s UVA and UVB rays.  It consists largely of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide.  Sunblock does not have to be reapplied every few hours.  Sunscreensare less visible on the skin and are designed to protect against UVA, UVB or both types of ultraviolet rays.  However, they do allow some radiation through and need to be reapplied every few hours, because their ingredients break down after exposure to sunlight.  If you use sunscreen, choose one with a high SPF, apply generously and reapply every two to three hours.

Kenneth A, Arndt, MD, clinical professor of dermatology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, and editor of the report “Skin Care and Repair,” published by Harvard Health Publications.

After a little research on the web, I found that the following sunblocks were well-rated by reviewers/consumers:

1. Coppertone Sport Sunblock -

Coppertone Sport Sunblock Gel, SPF 30, 6-Ounce Bottles (Pack of 2)

2. Neutrogena Active Breathable Sunblock -

          Neutrogena Active Breathable Sunblock Lotion SPF 45 - 4 Oz