Exercise…A Necessary Nutrient?

Do you exercise? Good news, is that you are half way there! It’s as simple as combining the right kind of exercise with proper nutrition. Check out this powerful Video… A New Paradigm: Exercise as a Necessary Nutrient

Next I will blog about some simple steps about how to begin a healthy nutrition plan and succeed. It’s easier than you think!

The right combination of exercise and nutrition can bring new meaning to living the life of your dreams. Quit worrying about making a living and focus on the life you have been given!
Be Strong & Be Well
Hardsytle Diva

Foam Rolling?

As I get older, the more I find myself needing to focus on finding more ways to recover from my workouts. Sleep. Relax. Eat. How else does an active person take care of thier body and muscles? After hearing some recent buzz about foam rollers, I took the plunge and bought some of my very own. Ok — I now have foam rollers in two sizes, what do I do with them? I began searching the internet, watching videos and talking to my chiropractors office to find out the benefits and purposes for using a foam roller. In searching the internet I came across the article below that sums it up perfectly.

The article was written by Michael Boyle and originally printed in Stregth and Conditioning Magazine in December 2006.
Videos in the article below can be viewed at FOAM ROLLING

Foam Rolling?
A decade ago strength and conditioning coaches, athletic trainers, and physical therapists would have looked quizzically at a thirty six inch long round piece of foam and wondered “What is that for?”. Today nearly every athletic training room and most strength conditioning facilities contain an array of foam rollers in different lengths and consistencies.

What happened? A major change in the attitude toward injury prevention and treatment has been evidenced by a huge increase in the awareness that hands on techniques like massage, Muscle Activation (MAT), and Active Release Therapy (ART) can work wonders for injured athletes. We appear to be moving away from the eighties injury care mode of isokinetics and electronics to a more European inspired process that focuses on hands-on soft tissue care. The success of physical therapists with soft tissue mobilization (the physical therapy term for massage) and MAT, and a number of chiropractors with ART has clearly put the focus back on the muscle. The message at the elite level is “if you want to get better (healthier) get a good manual therapist in your corner”.

What does all this have to do with foam rollers you might ask? Well. Foam rollers are the poor mans massage therapist, soft tissue work for the masses. As strength and conditioning coaches and personal trainers watched elite level athletes tout their success and improvement from various soft tissue techniques the obvious question arose. How can I mass-produce “massage” or soft tissue work for large groups of athletes at a reasonable cost? Enter the foam roller. Physical Therapist Mike Clark is credited by many, the author included, with the initial exposure of the athletic and physical therapy communities to the foam roller and to what he termed “self myofascial release”. Self myofascial release is simply another technical term for self-massage. In one of Clarke’s early manuals published as a pre-cursor to his book Integrated Training for the New Millenium Clark included a few photos of self-myofascial release techniques using a foam roller. The technique illustrated was simple and nearly self-explanatory. Get a foam roller and use your bodyweight to apply pressure to sore spots. Kind of a self-accupresssure technique. I believe these photos began a trend that is now probably a multi-million dollar business in the manufacture and sale of these simple tools.

What is a Foam Roller and How do You Use It?

A foam roller is simply a cylindrical piece of some type of extruded hard-celled foam. Think pool noodles but a little more dense and larger in diameter. The techniques are simple. Clarke’s initial recommendation was not a self-massage technique but, more the accupressure concept described previously. Athletes or patients were simply instructed to use the roller to apply pressure to sensitive areas in the muscles. Depending on the orientation of the therapist, these points can alternately be described as trigger points, knots or simply areas of increased muscle density. Regardless of the name, those in the fields of athletics and rehab were familiar with the concepts of sore muscles and the need for massage.

Note:It is the authors belief that massage fell out of favor during the physical therapy boom of the 1980’s not because it was ineffective but, because it was not cost effective. With the increase in use of modalities like ultrasound and electrical stimulation athletic trainers and therapists could treat more athletes, more rapidly. In Europe and in elite athlete situations such as high-level track and field and swimming, a disdain for a modality based approach and an affinity for European inspired massage still existed. Slowly, the performance world caught on to the idea that manipulation of the soft tissue caused athletes to either stay healthier or, to get healthy faster.

The use of foam rollers has progressed in many circles from an acupressure type approach to a self-massage approach. The roller is now used to apply longer more sweeping strokes to the long muscle groups like the calves, adductors and quadriceps and small directed force to areas like the TFL, hip rotators and glute medius.

Athletes are instructed to use the roller to search for tender areas or trigger point and to roll these areas to decrease density and over-activity. The major areas that respond well to the foam roller are:

Glute max and hip rotators- the athlete, client or patient sits on the roller with a slight tilt and moves from the iliac crest to the hip joint to address the glute max (video 1a). To address the hip rotators the affected leg is crossed to place the hip rotator group on stretch. As a general rule of thumb, ten slow rolls are done in each position although there are no hard and fast rules for foam rolling (video 1b). Often athletes or clients are encouraged to simply roll until the pain disappears.
TFL and Gluteus Medius- the tensor fascia latae and gluteus medius, although small muscles, are significant factors in anterior knee pain. To address the TFL the athlete begins with the body prone and the edge of the roller placed over the TFL, just below the iliac crest. After working the TFL, the athlete turns ninety degrees to a side position and works from the hip joint to the iliac crest to address the gluteus medius.

Adductors- the adductors are probably the most neglected area of the lower body. A great deal of time and energy is focused on the quadriceps and hamstring groups and very little attention paid to the adductors. There are two methods to roll the adductors. The first is a floor based technique that will work well for beginners. In the floor technique the user abducts the leg over the roller and places the roller at about a 60 degree angle to the leg. The rolling action should be done in three portions beginning just above the knee in the area of the vastus medialis and pes anserine. Ten short rolls should be done covering about one third the length of the femur. Next the roller should be moved to the mid point of the adductor group and again rolled ten times in the middle third of the muscle. Last the roller should be moved high into the groin almost to the pubic symphysis.

The secondary technique for the adductors should be used after the athlete has acclimated to the previous technique. The secondary technique needs the use of a training room table or the top of a plyometric box (video 4). Sitting with the leg dropped over the roller allows the athlete to shift significantly more weight onto the roller and work deeper into the large adductor triangle.

Trainer Beware
It is important to note that foam rolling can be hard work, particularly for weaker or overweight clients as the arms are heavily involved in moving the body. In addition, foam rolling can border on painful. Foam rollers are available in a number of densities from relatively soft foam, slightly harder than a pool noodle, to newer high-density rollers with a much more solid feel. The feel of the roller and the intensity of the self-massage work must be properly geared to the age, and fitness level of the client. Good massage work, and correspondingly good self-massage work, may be uncomfortable much like stretching. It is important that athletes or clients learn to distinguish between a moderate level of discomfort related to a trigger point and a potentially injurious situation. Foam rolling should be used with discretion in those clients with less muscle density. Foam rolling should never cause bruising. The reality is that the athlete or client should feel better, not worse after a brief session with a foam roller.

When to Roll
Coaches and therapists are not in universal agreement over when to roll, how often to roll, or how long to roll so only general guidelines can be provided.

Rolling can provide great benefit both before and after a workout. Foam rolling prior to a workout can help to decrease muscle density and allow for better warm-up. Rolling after a workout may help to aid in recovery from strenuous exercise. The nice thing about using the foam roller is that it appears it can be done on a daily basis. In fact, Clair and Amber Davies in the The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook actually recommend trigger point work up to 12 times a day in situations of acute pain.

How long an athlete or client rolls is also individual. In a personal training setting we allow 5-10 minutes for soft tissue work at the beginning of the session prior to warm-up. With our athletic clients we do the same.

Foam Rollers versus Massage

The question often arises “Which is better, massage therapy or a foam roller?”. To me the answer is obvious. Hands work better than foam. Hands are directly connected to the brain and can feel. A foam roller cannot feel. If cost was not an issue I would have team of massage therapists on call for my athletes at all times. However, this is simply not realistic. Most athletes struggle to afford the services of a qualified coach or the cost of a facility membership. At the current state of health care, prevention is generally not a covered cost for healthy athletes. With no ability to get reimbursed the cost of massage therapy alone could approach or surpass the cost of training. The foam roller can provide unlimited self-massage for under twenty dollars? You do the math.

Conclusion

The use of foam rollers has exploded over the past ten years and will continue to increase. Athletic trainers in high school or small college situations can teach their athletes to perform hands on treatment that might not have been possible due to work schedules, while strength and conditioning coaches can provide a form of massage therapy to all of their athletes. Foam rollers are a small investment to make to see a potentially significant decrease in the number of soft tissue/ non-contact injuries.

References

Clark,M: Integrated Training for the New Millennium. National Academy of SportsMedicine, Thousand Oaks, CA. 2000

Pavel’s April 2010 RKC Workshop – OPEN FOR REGISTRATION

5 Super Simple Fat Loss Tips

Fat loss isn’t rocket science. I know we love to make our problems seem much bigger than they really are, but when you really look at them they’re typically easy to solve. And that’s often the case with fat loss.

To prove it to you here are five super simple fat loss tips you can easily follow:

1) Stop guzzling liquid sugar. Yes, I mean soft drinks and juices and bottles of iced tea loaded with high fructose corn syrup. For the most part, a 12 oz can of cola is 150 calories of pure sugar. Have a couple of those a day…

2) I’ve written it a gazillion times and I will continue to – eat breakfast! If you want to make fat loss easy then make sure you start your metabolism off on the right foot.

3) Eat more fruit. Aim for at least 5 servings a day.

4) Eat more veggies. Again, aim for at least 5 servings a day.

5) Stop eating so many processed foods. If it comes in a box from your grocery store it’s most likely processed. The fresher the foods the better.

* Bonus tip*

You can make tips 3 and 4 a breeze by using a whole foods based multi. Personally, I love Prograde Nutrition’s VGF 25+ because it is made from 25 WHOLE veggies, greens and fruits.
Be Strong & Be Well
Kristen
PS – You know I take my nutrition seriously. And it’s why I ONLY recommend Prograde Nutrition’s Whole Foods based multi. They have both a men’s and women’s formula.

RKC – the training

I said I would blog about how I trained for RKC, so here you go! I worked out about 4-6 days per week, most weeks were 5-6 days of training.

Every week I performed the Snatch Test and VO2 max. Maybe just my personality, but I found it helpful to do these on the same day every week.

SNATCH TEST

I did the Snatch Test every Thursday, usually in the evenings. I somtimes did it on Wednesdays if I knew I was not going to be able to workout on Thursday. But I always fit it in every week. I started out with 5 reps per side, as I got more comfortable with the 16Kg bell, I would move up to 10 reps per side. Although I was able to complete 100 reps in the required 5 minutes, I wanted to be able to finish in under 4 minutes. As I started feeling stronger, I experimented with 15 reps per side alternating with 10 and 5 reps. This would really speed up my time. Pre RKC, my PR for the sntach test was 3:45.

VO2 Max

I did VO2 Max every Sunday. I started with the 12kg doing 15:15 (just like we would perform at RKC) for 20 sets working my way up to 80 sets. I then moved up to 36:36 for 15 sets working my way up to 20 sets. I love VO2 as this workout provides a MAX workout in a short time!!! After experimenting with the 36:36, I went back to 20 sets of 15:15 with my snatch weight — this was a smoker. But it also REALLY helped me feel more comforatable with my Sntach bell and prepared me for the Snatch test for RKC.

SWINGS

I ALWAYS incorporated swings into every workout. I did a mix of 1:1 and 2:1 rest. My 1:1 was usually 30 sec on and 30 sec rest, but somtimes did 45 sec on and 45 sec of rest or 1 min on and 1 min rest. I either started my workout with swings or ended my workout with swings. On my 1:1 work/rest sets I did my swings with a 20Kg or 24kg bell. By swinging heavy, this would help condition me for long 8 hour days of at the Certification and help build strength. On my 2:1 work/rest sets I would usually do 20 sec on and 10 sec rest for 5-7 sets. I would use a 16Kg or 20kg bell for the 2:1 using Overspeed to also ensure max conditioning.

BODYWEIGHT EXERCISES

Every workout incorporated some type of body weight exercises. I have listed below each of these exercises – some are favorites and some not so favorite, but I incorporated something from the list below into every workout. These exercises were incorporated into each of my workouts as “active rest”. or change of activity.
– Pushups (5-10 reps)
– Burpees (1-2 minutes)
– Bodyweight squat or Hindu squat (30 sec – 1 minute)
– Squat Jumps (15-20 reps)
– Dive Bomber or Hindu pushup (5-10 reps)
– Planks (30 sec-1 minute)
– V-Ups (10-20 reps)
– Pull-ups – suspension bands (3-5 reps)
– Mountain Climbers (25-50 reps)
– Lunges (12-25 reps)
– Jump Squats (25 reps)
– Boat / Superman (30 sec each, alternating)
Here are some of my favorite combinations of bodyweight exercises:
1) V-up – 30 sec; Plank 30 sec, Russian Twists – 30 sec. Repeat 3x
2) Goblet Squats – 10 reps, Push-ups – 5 reps. Repeat for 4 mintues
3) 26 body wieght squats, 12 Lunges (one leg), 12 lunges (other leg), 24 alternating lunges, 26 Jump Squats (aka Lead Boots, by Dave Whitley)

GET-UPS

2-3 days per week I did Turkish GetUps with a 12kg or 16kg weight for 8-15 minutes. Being consistent in performing the getups, helped all aspects of my kettlebell technique from my Swings to Snatching to Cleans and Press. It is one of the best full body and movement exercises I have ever done. The benefits of this exercise are immeasurable…or rather very measurable to improving your overall functional movement, Period! The Getup is a MUST for life!!

CLEANS & PRESSES

Cleans and Presses are not my favorite nor my strongest exercise. After attending RKC, I now understand why and how to improve my Clean & Press. For now, I will stick to how I incorporated these into my training for RKC. At RKC you are tested on the Double Military Press. I had practiced with both 12kg bells and 16kg bells in performing the clean and the press. As a wise instructor (my RKC, hubby) once told me, your press is only as good as your clean. I will let you in on a secret I learned at the RKC that brought meaning to the statement “your press is only as good as your clean”. You see its all about the tension and what is called breathing behind the shield. When you remain tense and use correct breathing techniques, keeping a strong core and lots of tension at the top of the clean, this tension translates into strength to press the bells. Easier said than done….. practice and repeat, practice and repeat, practice and repeat = reaching your goals. I incorporated clean & press into my workout in a variety of ways. I performed VO2 drills with Viking push presses, very light weight here!! Mostly I did press ladders, following the Rite of Passage from Enter the Kettlebell. I started with 1-3 ladders for 3 rounds with the 12kg one arm clean and press, working up to 1-5 ladders of 5 rounds. Once I reached this goal, I increased my bell to 16kg on the one arm clean and press for 1-3 and then up to 1-5 for 5 rounds, then I repeated the same progression with double 12kg. I am still working on the double 16kg for a full 1-5 ladder of 5 rounds. Back to more get-ups to help out with my clean and press, I am working on multiple get-ups with the 20kg to help me master double 16kg 1-5 press ladders.

GOBLET SQUAT

This was probably my least favorite exercise of them all — NOW it is one of my favorites!!! In learning how to perform the ATG (ass to grass) with proper form, I know I will get maximum results and that feels GOOD!
Squats were also a part of my training each week. Some weeks I had days that consisted solely of squatting drills with and without kettlebells. No light weights for me here, I used 16kg or 20kg for goblet squats and when practicing Front Squats, I used 12kg or 16kg depending on the number of reps. 3-5 reps I would use 16kg, more than 5 reps, I would use doube 12kg.

What I think most prepared me for RKC was the conditioning of ALWAYS lifting the heaviest weight I could while maintaining proper form. To recap by the end of my training I was able to perform with good technique Swings with 24kg, Snatching with 16kg, get up with 16kg, Goblet Squat with 20kg, front squat 16kg. 160 sntaches in 10 minutes, and VO2 with 16kg for 20 sets. Maybe I over prepared compared to others, but not only did I get the desired outcome of now being a RKC, but I am ready for my next challenge…..here I come RKC II 2010.
Be Strong and Be Well
~hd

RKC Training – the emotions!

It’s just been one week since I have returned from my RKC certification and still I continue to be amazed at what I have accomplished. I will attempt to put in to words how this all came to fruition.

Back in Spring 2009, I signed up to attend the Russian Kettlebell Certification course scheduled for that August. The nerves and excitement flurried when I received my email confirmation from Dragon Door. After a week or so the excitement had worn off and I began to realize all the preparation necessary for passing the course. See, my husband passed RKC back in October 2008 and I saw first hand the training regimen. PATIENCE, not a virture of mine, was definitely going to be tested as I would fight to prepare and reach the necssary goals to pass each of the daily challenges at the RKC. RKC was still months off and I had nothing to worry about as Matt McBryde, my husband, would tell me — you have plenty of time– you can do it! Also Sr. Instructor, Dave Whitley (aka Irontamer), provided much insight and training tips along the way. As I began my training, my nerves calmed and with the support of Matt and the Irontamer, I began to believe I could really do this.

As several months passed, I enounterd many sources of encouragement along the way. First was Nikki and Mark Snow. I met the Snow’s (Mr. & Mrs SG Human Peformance), when Matt was subbing for the Irontamer’s bootcamp one day. They were a nice couple that showed up for the 6 AM bootcamp in Nashville. At this time they were just a “nice couple”…and they really seem to like this kettlebell thing too. Matt proudly said, Kristen is going to RKC this year. They both spoke about their interest as well. It was morning, my conversation usually limited during those hours (anyone that knows me can attest), was short and sweet. After all, they were still just a “nice couple” 🙂

Through Matt’s relationship with Dave Whitley (the Irontamer), we kept running into the Snow’s and now can look back and see the beginnings of a long friendship in the works! Little did I know the emotions that would propel this meeting into a long lasting friendship.

Before I go any further, I must go back and metion Dave Whitley, the Irontamer. Dave, a Sr. Instructor for RKC, trained Matt for his RKC Certification in Oct. 2008. With Matt and I realizing Kettlebells were not just a passing fitness trend for us, we partnered with Dave to help us get our bootcamp started for Tennessee Kettlebell in Franklin. We are blessed to have Dave’s experience on our side, as we embark on this new venture.

As I continued my training under the instruction from Matt and the Irontamer with demanding workouts 4-6 days a week, I recall Matt telling me that the Snow’s wanted to start meeting on Saturday mornings at 6 am (remember – not a morning person) to begin our final prepartation for RKC just about 2 months away. On our second Saturday monring, I met one more individual Jay Cannon, that would also be going to San Diego in August with us. The RKC Nashville group was growing…this is kind of fun! I was getting more excited about this RKC thing….still not quite understanding what lies ahead! Next, entered David Ebert, yet another RKC hopeful — our group now complete. Each of us bringing our own unique talents and personalities each Saturday morning kept us on track and motivated towards success!

Three weeks before RKC, David Whitley starting coming to our Sat. morning sessions to finish off (and I mean clean up and critique) our preparation for San Diego. I left that Saturday morning, feeling broken down and REALITY had hit! Feelings of self-doubt started to surface. That moring, as with us all (but it felt like only me), the Irontamer laid the smack down on our technique with brutal honesty. By this time I was feeling pretty good about my form and skills until now. I left unsure of anything at all. You see, the Irontamer has a very honest way of trainng, if something is not correct, he will tell you, he won’t sugar coat it either……BUT he will tell you how to correct it! The rest is up to you to practice and repeat, practice and repeat, practice and repeat. On my drive home that morning, I had to dig deep and find that fighting spirit I know is within me to carry on! The course is not cheap, there are no refunds, I MUST finish this…I CAN finish this! As our Saturday sessions were coming to an end, our bond as the Nashivlle Group had only begun to form and this bond would CARRY us through our RKC weekend.

My RKC packet arrived in the mail, I was really excited and completed the forms right away. Name…phone…address…emergency contact…all the usual stuff. List your Athletic Acomplishments, certifications…wait – I don’t have any – is that ok? I started to think what everyone else in our group would write, they all seemed to have something to write in this box. I had completed 3 half marathons, but that seemed to be very minimal to this sort of training! OH Well – this certification would be first ink on my certriciation list. Now – I am excited again!

Final, words from Dave and Matt were “You guys are so prepared”! OK – here we go – I had to believe this — Yes, I did feel prepared – I AM READY!

One week before RKC, I was really getting worn down on training and just wanted Day One of RKC to come. I am in the San Diego Airport, I see Mark and Nikki, then David Ebert. Jay Cannon would meet us later that night. We were all itching to pick up some Kettlebells and get started, but still had about 16 hours til our first test! We had officially named ourselves and will forever be known as the “Irontamer Clan!”

I will never for get you guys, the encouragement, the friendships, the RKC family, the bond that has been created! First of all, I have to say to Matt – I finally get it! I understand it! and I Love You, you are my Motivation! IronTamer…please keep laying the smack down — This is only the beginning! Mark and Nikki…speechless, but can only look ahead to what the future holds. Jay Cannon…I will always remember your sense of humor and Strong Will! David Ebert…WOW, how much can this guy lift, what an inpiration in strength! I do have to give one last shout out, Mrs. IronTamer — Mandy Whitley!

Last but not least…WE ARE HERE FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING! Here’s to the future 🙂

Next blog…what did I do to train for RKC, specifics about the RKC Weekend.

Hello world!

Welcome to the Hardstyle Diva Blog!  With a passion for Russian Kettlebells (RKC), Innate Health, getting the most out of your body and brain, I find myself wanting to share with you my journeys through the fitness world, dieting and how to find your inner diva ….

What can you expect from the Hardstyle Diva (1) time friendly workouts for busy people (3) how to eat what our bodies need (4) recipes for a healthy diet (5) can women really workout like men? (6) quotes, facts and statistics (7) how to change your lifestyle for good (8) real long lasting results!