Kettlebell Training and Meals 6/20/09

This morning I woke up excited and ready to learn kettlebell basics! After having my green drink and some green tea, my sister and I headed off to Jersey Shore Crossfit. When we arrived, the morning Crossfit class was just winding down. They were doing their stretching and it looked like people of varying ages and ability levels. I'd say there were about 20+ people there.

Mike Stehle, one of the owners, was super friendly. We started with learning a basic squat movement. From there he went into kettlebell swings, one arm swings, cleans, clean and press, clean front squats, two arm high pull, one arm high pull, and thrusters. I used an 8kg kettlebell and that seemd fine to start with. Thankfully there were only 5 of us in the class so he was able to spend some time observing and correcting our form. I really like the explosive nature of the movements. After that we did push ups, inverted rows with rings, and assisted band pull ups. I felt it was a good overview of the basics in this hour and half class. Just enough to make me want to know more and practice the exercises!

Next Wednesday, I will be attending a 4 hour workshop in Hamilton, NJ taught by Dr. Mark Cheng and I hope to learn even more! I think after this workshop I can probably get started one to two days a week in practice and if I feel like I need some assistance, I will certainly set up a private lesson with Mike Stehle. My first impression of kettlebell training is that it is very technical and you really shouldn't jump into it without getting some instruction by an RKC. You can find a qualified RKC in your area by clicking here and entering your zip code.

Seperately, I tried some different things in my diet today. These were my meals for the day:

1. green drink w/kale, collards, red swiss chard, spinach, celery, cucumber, parsley, ginger, apple, lemon juice, apple juice, 2 tablespoons hemp protein powder, 1 tablespoon flax oil, green tea

2. 1 cup strawberry kefir w/scoop Miracle Reds, serving of Mrs Mays nut/fruit crunch

3. 2 egg white, 1 egg omelet w/salsa, raw diced red pepper, and 1/2 avocado

4. raw chocolate banana smoothie (from the Thrive book)
1/4 cup raw almonds, 2 cups cold water, 1 banana, 2 pitted dates, 1 tablespoon each of hemp powder, raw cacao nibs, flax meal (serves 2)

5. Sushi Saturday - salad w/ginger dressing, side order of bean sprouts, 1 order salmon sashimi, 1 order Toms River roll (spicy tuna and avocado inside w/salmon on top)

6. cherries w/nut and seed crunch bar

For those not familiar with hemp protein powder, it is a raw food powder made from the hemp plant. It is usually imported from Canada because it's illegal to grow hemp in the U.S. It has no gluten, dairy, lactose, or artificial sweeteners. I paid $12.99 for a 16 oz container of Nutiva Organic. I will say the raw chocolate banana smoothie was delicious! High in antioxidants and easy to make. I would definitely make it again.

I am feeling a little sore but nothing terrible. Probably going to run tomorrow. I haven't done that since last Wednesday. Tomorrow I will also be updating my training and goals for next week!