Ladies and gentlemen of the Primal community, greetings! I hope you all are having an awesome weekend! Mine has been a serious roller-coaster in terms of all things Kettlebells, and trust me, yinz ain’t seen nothing yet!
I had a spectacular meet-up with Scott Stransky of Power Hour Kettlebells . Scott and I got together at Robin Hill Park, right in Moon Township near the Pittsburgh International Airport (a cute little park, perfect for some awesome kettlebell fun!) Scott and I had become twitter friends over the past few months and he informed me that he had a wedding to attend in da Burgh. Well, OF COURSE we had to throw around some weights. I mean really, who would pass that up?
I was a bit delayed meeting Scott because traffic on Carson Street in the South Side was absolutely atrocious, but the epic kettlebell meet up happened! Scott and I had a lot of fun working on some double kettlebell exercises. I worked one-on-one with Scott trying to perfect double 12 kg snatches (still have some work to do there) and double 12 kg swings (which I think are solid, right Scott?). We also discovered that I can clean and press more wieght than I thought possible. In fact, I am happy to report that I can comfortable clean and press two 16 kg kettlebells at the same time! Need proof? Check out the video below me and Scott shot at the park! Prepare to see Scott do some mind-blowing kettlebell moves and watch as I clean and press some serious weight! I won the battle agains the double 16kg clean and press. Check it all out below!
Scott has truly unique way of training with Kettlebells. We spent some time going over some nerdy neuroscience and how it applies to kettlebell training. If you are a psych nut like me, check out Scott’s training style at Z Health. I am truly impressed with the science aspect of Kettlebell training. Interested in the details? Check out the different training phases at Z Health. This is some really interesting stuff that will get your gears turning in your brain. Neat fitness find!
If that wasn’t enough, Nicole Ducane , one of the BIGGEST NAMES when it comes to Kettlebells, invited/tempted me via twitter to head to Vienna, Virginia for the RKC event. And seriously, who in their right mind is going to turn down an invite from Nicole Ducane? I was all packed and prepared to drive my rental car down this morning to Vienna, Virginia for the RKC workshop, but I had a battle with my gut last night as I made a not so wise food choice with a friend of mine. Everything was going fine and dandy until a munchie attack hit at 9:00 pm and I ended up with what I will call “Dirty Yinzer Fries”. These bad boys are normally drenched in what I will call “Dirty Yinzer Cheese”. The die hard Burgher knows that this late night treat, though it looks incredibly disgusting, is a must have every now and again. So, I went and indulged last night and had a lovely conversation about my kettlebell weekend with a fellow Burgher. I wrapped everything up around 10:00 p.m., and no sooner did I get home, I had a not so pleasant feeling in my belly.
After tossing and turning all throughout the night and getting a whopping four hours of sleep, I decided that jacking myself up on coffee to prepare for 5 hours of driving to Vienna was just not worth it. I don’t like working out when I am that zonked and feeling nauseated, especially if I am going to be out in the heat. Sorry Dragon Door, but the dirty yinzer fries beat me to a pulp. I have most certainly learned a valuable lesson though. After eating ridiculously clean for months now, I just don’t tolerate bad food anymore. In fact, it makes me sick! I missed out on my volunteer victimization and 20% off kettlebells, but comrades, I have some news for you all!
I AM CALLING OUT A VICTIM REMATCH! (not with the fries though. I will NEVER AGAIN DO THAT! *pukey face* *vomit*)
For those of you who don’t know, at every Russian Kettlebell Certification, there is a designated day where innocent bystanders can volunteer to become “victims” to the newly trained RKC trainers. Basically, you sign up for a free ketltebell class, get your ass beat with some hardcore workouts, and meet up with some of the top people in the Kettlebell industry. Plus, at every RKC workshop you get 20% off your kettlebells. Considering I am lifting heavy now, this is a win win situation for me. Also, I have decided to volunteer at the RKC cert in Philadelphia the weekend of September 28-30. This is just two weekends after my HKC certification (wish me luck! It’s coming around the corner faster than expected!) so it should be a blast! I should note that this will also make for one hell of a good blog post considering Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are rival cities. Don’t believe me? Just watch Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers hockey game sometime during hockey season. You can actually feel the hatred between these cities seeping through your television screen. I love it! BRING IT PHILLY! I AM NOT BACKING DOWN!
I want to wish everyone down in Vienna, Virginia today the very best for their certification. Alas, I cannot make it and trust me, I am so mad I could scream! I am erring on the side of safety here, but you can bet your bucks that I am getting to Philly in September. Good luck to all the trainers going for their certification and I hope all the volunteer victims enjoy the pain they will endure! 🙂
Until next time, eat smart (NO DIRTY YINZER FOOD), train hard, and enjoy your life!
-Janelle
