Moving to a new blog address!

Now that a new chapter in our lives is about to begin, Nikki and I have decided to make a small change and have new blog addresses.

You can always check out our blogs from our homepage of http://www.sghumanperformance.com or http://www.nebraskakettlebell.com

My new blog (titled Mr. SG Human Performance) is located at http://mrsghumanperformance.wordpress.com

Nikki's blog is located at: http://mrssghumanperformance.wordpress.com

Have a wonderful year everyone and see you on the other side!

What is a Pattern? By Dr. Mark Cheng

Terrific post by one of my mentors, Dr. Mark Cheng. Really helps to explain what the FMS and RKC systems are applying to help improve individuals imbalances, asymmetries and pain.

http://kettlebellslosangeles.blogspot.com/2009/12/whats-pattern.html

Can Chocolate be Healthy? By Dr. John Berardi

Eat and Run is an internet program Precision Nutrition has created in partnership with the endurance-oriented folks at Competitor.com. (Thus the name; Eat and Run.)

Over the next few months Precision Nutrition is bringing you dozens of new high-quality nutrition videos. Every single one supports the important ideas presented in the Precision Nutrition System.
So, make sure you’ve got your copy of PN. And then be prepared for a host of “a-ha” moments as we roll out successive episodes of Eat and Run.
Also, keep one thing in mind. The tips you’ll learn in the Eat and Run program aren’t exclusive to an endurance-oriented audience. Indeed, good nutrition is univerally important whether your primary activity is lifting weights or whether it’s lifting your bike pedals.

For more information about Chocolate:
Check out our Precision Nutrition System

Frozen Pumpkin Mousse Pie from eatingwell.com

Healthier Pumpkin Pie
A classic holiday favorite made healthy!
Here is a visual comparison of EatingWell’s Thanksgiving recipes versus more traditional versions of the same foods that are bound to be gracing your holiday table. We included calories, fat, saturated fat and sodium in our comparison, and we think you’ll agree the statistics are telling. Best of all, the tricks and techniques used to make these recipes lighter also make them delicious! There is no sacrificing taste in any of these great recipes. Share these healthy dishes with your family and friends this year—and save up some of those calories for the next big holiday.

EatingWell Frozen Pumpkin Mousse
We go with a crust made from gingersnap cookies, raisins and a bit of healthy canola oil rather than a traditional pastry crust. This cuts out the butter and shortening (along with the saturated fat) normally in a pastry crust.
Look for healthier brands of store-bought gingersnaps for the crust that don’t have any partially hydrogenated oils in the ingredient list.
Many pumpkin pies use cream and whole milk in the pumpkin filling. We combine pureed pumpkin with low fat frozen yogurt in this untraditional frozen version. We get a creamy rich result with less total fat, saturated fat and calories.
Pumpkins are already sweet so we limit the amount of sugar we add to the filling to decrease the calories even more.
EatingWell Frozen Pumpkin Mousse

230 Calories

5 g Fat

1 g Saturated Fat

2g Fiber

179 mg Sodium

Regular Pumpkin Pie
484 Calories
33 g Fat
20 g Saturated Fat
3 g Fiber
191 mg Sodium

10 servings
Active Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes (including freezing time)

Ingredients
Crust
30 small gingersnap cookies, (about 7 1/2 ounces)
2 tablespoons raisins
1 tablespoon canola oil

Filling
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 pints (4 cups) frozen low-fat vanilla ice cream, softened (see Tip)

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan with cooking spray.
To prepare crust: Combine gingersnaps and raisins in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add oil and pulse until blended. Press evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pan.
Bake the crust until set, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To prepare filling: Combine pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg in a large bowl and mix well. Add ice cream and stir until blended. Spoon the mixture into the cooled pie crust. Freeze until firm, at least 2 hours. Let the pie soften slightly in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.

Tips & Notes
Make Ahead Tip: Cover and freeze the pie for up to 3 days. Equipment: 9-inch deep-dish pie pan
Tip: To soften ice cream quickly, microwave on Medium-Low for 30 to 60 seconds.

Nutrition
Per serving: 230 calories; 5 g fat (1 g sat, 2 g mono); 4 mg cholesterol; 42 g carbohydrates; 4 g protein; 2 g fiber; 179 mg sodium; 165 mg potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin A (80% daily value)
3 Carbohydrate Serving
Exchanges: 3 other carbohydrate, 1 fat

Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Get Your Hardstyle Kettlebell Certification

Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Get Your Hardstyle Kettlebell Certification

1. You will understand why mastery of the kettlebell swing is fundamental to high-level Hard Style practice

• like you didn't already know that!
• the universe revolves around the kb swing/deadlift

2. You will develop deep understanding of the true benefits of kettlebell training—for both yourself and your clients

• discover the benefits that I have found and no where else
• you will find a deep appreciation for the SYSTEM and the kettlebell is a tool to help enhance teaching the system!

3. How to train hip extension for back and knee health and athletic performance

• train and teach others how to live pain free by waking up the glutes!

4. How to employ bracing and neutral spine—for injury prevention, enhanced performance and optimal transmission of force

• understanding tension and how to optimally use your core musculature! No more crunches!

5. How to recruit the lat as a "core muscle" to improve the spine safety and glute strength

• Train the lats, glutes and trunk stabilizers to work the way they were suppossed to, together!

6. How to increase power with the biomechanical breathing match

• proper breathing is one of the most common mistakes seen with people who suffer from poor strength, muscular imbalances and pain

7. Learn how to perform the kettlebell swing, turkish get up, goblet squat

• Not only the technique but the HKC provides you the exercise benefits, technique, teaching progression, and remedial drills to help improve your technique as well as the people you train

8. Ten program design tools for an unlimited variety of effective kettlebell workouts are provided in your HKC manual:

• Rep Ladders
• Weight Ladders
• Time Ladders
• Breathing Ladders
• Reverse Ladders
• Drop Sets
• Super Sets
• Timed Sets
• Series
• Active Recovery Exercises

9. Your registration fee counts towards an upcoming Russian Kettlebell Challenge Certification

10. Join the brother/sisterhood! You will be joining a team of over 1000 HKC& RKC’s!

• Discounts on kettlebells and items
• Forum membership to speak with other HKC’s/RKC’s about training, starting a business and other items

Sara Cheatham on finding time to stay in shape

Excellent article by Sara on how military moms can find the time to train to get the results that they need. I also believe that this article can apply to everyone!

If you are interested in learning more about kettlebells or getting one check here!

Women:

26 Lb Kettlebell Quick-Start Kit with DVD

Men:

Men's 35lb Russian Kettlebell Quick-Start Kit with DVD

Ladder Training

Been getting back into the swing of things this week. Beginning my valley to work into peaking on my pressing.

Had a little set back a few weeks ago when my neck acted up on me. Just my body was telling me to back off and do things right. I normally press a 24kg for sets, my personal best is pressing a 36kg each side x1.

This week I am pressing a 20kg. Today did 4 ladders of 5 reps. Goes a little something like this for people who are not familar with ladders.

20kg clean and press

1 rep each side, rest

2 reps each side, rest

3 reps each side, rest

4 reps each side, rest

5 reps each side, rest

rest and repeat for 4 rounds

The beautiful thing about ladders is that you can add much more load than you would with higher reps. This means many things. Better strength gains, less chance of bulking up (if you are a lady), more appropriate muscle action (in my experience, you go over 8 reps and you tend to lose your concentration and can cheat more, setting you up for injury).

I hardly ever go over 5 reps with my training or training my clients unless we are doing explosive lifts like swings and snatches.

Look at it this way: 4 ladders of 5 allows me to lift a heavier weight. it equals to lifting 2,640 pounds each arm If i did the regular 3x10 deal, I would have used a 16kg and the total lift would be only 1,050 pounds per arm.

More efficient, better technique, better results. Try using ladders with your combination lifts that require you use your whole body such as squats, push ups, and deadlifts. For more information on ladders check out the book. Enter the Kettlebell

Hardstyle Kettlebell Certification is coming to OMAHA, NE!!!!

With Senior RKC Jon Engum

and RKC Team Leader Dr. Mark Cheng

Saturday November 14, 2009

7am—5:00pm

Omaha, Nebraska

I am very excited to announce that the Hardstyle Kettlebell Certification is coming to our homestate! Please see below for some of the details.

Dr. Mark Cheng is wicked smart! I consider him to be one of my mentors, please sign up! You will so thank me for it!

Attend the HKC and leave with these major advantages:

Taken from www.dragondoor.com

• A deep understanding of the true benefits of kettlebell training—for both yourself and your clients
• A solid knowledge of vital kettlebell training safety procedures
• A workmanlike grasp of the fundamentals of biomechanics—to ensure your clients move with perfect form and avoid injury
• A grasp of the key HardStyle skills and principles of strength
• The ability to competently perform the three foundational kettlebell exercises (the Swing, the Get-Up, and the Goblet Squat)
• The confidence you can now correctly teach the three essential kettlebell exercises—and troubleshoot common technique problems
• The unique HKC template for designing an unlimited number of effective kettlebell workouts.

And discover all this and more in the course of your HKC training:

• Understand why mastery of the kettlebell swing is fundamental to high-level HardStyle practice
• How to develop power through compensatory acceleration and overspeed eccentrics
• How to train hip extension for back and knee health and athletic performance
• How to employ bracing and neutral spine—for injury prevention, enhanced performance and optimal transmission of force
• How to recruit the lat as a "core muscle" to improve the spine safety and glute strength
• How to increase power with the biomechanical breathing match
• A safe, effective modality for developing different types of endurance
• Explosive training techniques for more effective fat-loss
• The deadlift: the most "functional" exercise of all
• The two-arm swing and corrective exercises
• The concept of rooting and two key drills for developing it
• The one-arm swing
• The hand-to-hand swing
• Russian relaxation exercises to enhance the acquisition of skilful movement, increase power and endurance
  
  
• The two hundred year history of the get-up
• The get-up as an assessment tool
• The strength and health benefits of the get-up
• How to correctly perform the get-up and teach corrective drills
• How to move from mobility to stability, then from stability to strength—and why this progression is crucial for truly effective kettlebell work
• The get-up, shoulder mobility and stability exercises. The role of the lat in shoulder stability and strength—and advanced lat facilitation techniques
• How to employ and teach steering strength
• The concepts of leakage and linkage—and their importance for effective kettlebell lifting
  
  
• How to perform the goblet squat and corrective drills
• "Strength stretching" for the hips
• How to overcome gluteal amnesia
• How to most effectively stretch the hip flexors to dramatically improve athletic performance, back health, and posture
  
  
• How to modify the squat stance for a client with back problems
  
  
• An alternative squat exercise for overweight clients
  
  
• Why "sport specific training" is inappropriate for 99% of the coaches and athletes—and a powerful alternative

Take home an information packed HKC instructor manual:

• What makes kettlebell training unique?
• What Russian research says about the benefits of kettlebell training?
• What is "Hardstyle"?
• Kettlebell safety 101: ten key items
• The Swing: its benefits, technique, teaching progression, and remedial drills
• The Get-Up: its benefits, technique, teaching progression, and remedial drills
• The Goblet Squat: its benefits, technique, teaching progression, and remedial drills
  
  
• HKC program design
• The three key principles of effective training identified by Russian sports scientists: continuity of the training process, waving the loads, and specialized variety,
• Ten program design tools for an unlimited variety of effective kettlebell workouts:
  • Rep Ladders
  • Weight Ladders
  • Time Ladders
  • Breathing Ladders
  • Reverse Ladders
  • Drop Sets
  • Super Sets
  • Timed Sets
  • Series
  • Active Recovery Exercises

As with the RKC, the HKC will be earned through diligent testing of each candidate. Besides having to pass the requisite pullup/flexed-arm hang test at the outset of the workshop, each HKC candidate will be evaluated for technical proficiency and teaching skills at the end of the workshop and will then be granted either a pass or fail.

2009 Komen Greater Nashville Race for the Cure - More about Komen

Susan G. Komen for the Cure®
Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, that she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever.

In 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure and launched the global breast cancer movement.

Today, Komen for the Cure is the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the Komen Race for the Cure, we have invested nearly $1 billion to fulfill our promise, becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world. Our name and logo symbolize who we are and what we stand for.

“Susan G. Komen” reminds us of Nancy G. Brinker’s promise to her sister Susan to do everything in her power to spare other women and men the agony of breast cancer. “For the Cure’ reaffirms our vision of a world without the disease. The name conveys the original promise quickly and simply…

Susan G. Komen = the Cure.

The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation is the nation’s largest funding source for research dedicated solely to breast cancer. Local affiliates run races, raising money, for the purpose of advancing research, education, treatment and screening. Since its formation in 1991, the Greater Nashville Affiliate has funded breast cancer education screening and treatment programs for the medically underserved in its local community and has given additional money to the Komen Foundation and Research Grant Program to help fund breast research programs in the Greater Nashville service region.

I am volunteering and taking donations in the name of my Aunt, Shelia McGuire, who passed away from breast cancer when I was 13. Please help us in the fight to make sure that other families do not have to go through what our family did with this type of tragedy.

I would like to ask that you donate $5 for every person you know who has been affected by Breast Cancer.

Thank you for supporting Susan G. Komen for the Cure - Greater Nashville. Your contribution is greatly appreciated.

RKC Instructor Certification now open for April 2010

Make the investment......
Make a plan.......
Get screened............
Meet with a RKC...........
& START TRAINING!

Take the first step now! Make the investment towards a better future! It will change your life!

Click the title above to save $1,000 of the registration price! You can also pay in 4 monthly installments!