I already have my “Before” picture so I’m halfway there.
This will be a fitness journal to get some thoughts down about different workouts.
I want to capture things as I go along because it’s important to capture my beginner’s mind while I’m still a beginner.
I’ve been keeping sort of a fitness journal.
I’ve been reading a lot of Dan John’s material lately. His blog has always been a straightforward WordPress installation. He just keeps adding to it and he has been for years.
I’m trying to write again and I’m not going to worry too much about doing revisions. Someday when I compile things then I’ll think more about editing. I’ll treat the blog, and particularly this fitness journal category, like it were my Xanga or something.
It’ll be a little more free flowing.
I’ve been taking kettlebell classes and I seem to learn at least one new thing every time
I want to share that one thing each time because I’m pretty sure that’s the sort of stuff that might help other people. I also want to cement it in my mind. Here are a few things that come to mind. They’re small. It adds up.
- Swings: Keep the shoulders down. I did a workshop and thought I knew this already but there’s a difference between knowing this and doing it each time. I still do a little bit of a shrug sometimes when I’m doing swings. You should keep the shoulders packed through the swing movement.
- One-handed swings: Try to keep centered. On the downswing, you might be tempted to twist your torso but you want to try to keep the movement centered.
- One-handed clean: Grip toward one side. If you’re using your left hand, grip more toward the right side of the bell and vice versa for your right hand. Whichever side is closer to the center of your body. When you clean it up it’ll rotate into a rack position easier.
- One-handed swings, pt 2: Thumbs down on the downswing. I’ve been thinking about Gladiator and the thumbs up/down scene. Anyway, you point your thumb more down on the downswing to protect your shoulder.
- Waiter walks: Keep your wrist straight! I took my kettlebell to a park once and did horrible waiter walks. My wrist didn’t feel right for a few days. Small setback in the long run. If I were in class I’m pretty sure the instructor would’ve caught this and helped out.
That’s a good amount for now. These are pretty random but it’s because cues from instructors don’t come in a set order. I only hear them when I’m doing something wrong. (Which is pretty often!)
If you’re starting out with kettlebell training, you might be missing some of these also, so I hope they help!