And....We're Back

First of all, thanks to everyone who doanted to our ride. We really appreciate it, hopefully some of you will join us next year!

So, some how I managed to retrieve my camera out of my back jersey pocket, take a picture, put the camera back, while riding and not fall off my bike.

The ride started in Mequon (meck-kwan) which is about 10 miles north of Milwaukee, and ended in Sturgeon Bay, abotu 40 miles north of Green Bay. It's a great ride. We didn't break any records, speed-wise, but we had a blast.

Here are some picutres, I was told there were 800 riders.



Above is the registration. It's always nuts!


Here's a good shot of the Lake Michigan. For those of you not from WI, yes this is a lake and no you can't see the other side. Many people not from here don't realize how big this lake is.


Just thought is was a cool shot.


The road leading Sheboygen, lunch is coming up!


Lunch on Day 1


Finish of Day 1. I was just happy to be done. We showered, ate, and fell asleep at 4:30PM. Woke up at 8, went back to bed at 8:30, slept 'til 6 AM.


Some poeple camp on the bluff in Manitowoc, it's a pretty sweet view.

Now some shots from the second day. I thought about getting some shots of Point Beach. But on second thought, I didn't think taking pictures of the a Nuclear Plant would be a good idead.


Leaving on Day 2


Sunflowers on the bluff, if I were taller you'd be able to see the lake in the background better.




The end of Day 2.

Like I said we had a blast. Day one took about 5-1/2 hours and day 2 only took 4-1/2 hours. For some reason day 2 we were averaging 18 miles per hour.

Pretty good for only getting on our bikes 2 times before. I really think the cyclical nature of doing hundreds and hundreds of kettlebell swings made all the difference.

Well, I hoe the pics convince a few of you to join us next year, you wont regret it.

'til next time.
BJ

I was floored when I saw this...

Funny thing happened today.

I was going to post about the e-mail Kori got with a bunch of old cigarette ads from the 1950s.

Well a fellow fitness coach beat me to it, appearently him and Kori get the same e-mails.

So, I'll post it anyway just becuase it may be of interest for some of you. And while I gave me a little chuckle, I was a little disturbed too.

Here's the first on:



Here's the second:



Crazy!

While we know about sides effects of smoking now, are you familar with the sides effect of kettlebell training?

Kettlebells, side effects include:
1. Lose of Fat
2. increased stamina
3. improved muscle tone and strength
4. may experience uncontrollable amounts of fun while exercising
5. many comments from friends regarding your new body
6. lying in a pool of your own sweat and feeling content

While I realize these side effects may be too much for some, but the like other things that are highly addictive, once you get hooked it'll be hard to quit.

Find out more by attending our next Kettlebell Workshop on August 4th. Just click the link to learn more. See you there, and no, there will be no smoke breaks.

http://www.impactyourfitness.com/workshopsEvents.asp

'til later

BJ

Free Boot Camps start today!!

Today we start our week of FREE BOOT CAMP. We had a great group this morning!

Where were you?

While you were still hittin the snooze button, four ladies showed up and worked their butts off.

That's right, Ladies!

So where were all you tough guys?

Well, don't worry about it, you have two more days to redeem the male gender.

SO, be there!

Instead of flexing in front of the mirror for 15 minutes before your shower, come to camp.

Rather than watching re-runs of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on FX (yes, I realize how sad it is that I know when this is on)...Get your butt to camp.

Stop saying you'll start you're new exercise program Monday, because you know you won't, and get to Camp on Wednesday. What do you have to lose....It's free the week!

Wednesday, 6 AM @ Wirth Park in Brookfield. Enter Off of Pilgrim Rd. and look for the bright red signs.

That's it.


BTW

you can go to www.impactfitnessbootcamps.com to sign up for the full blown (which start July 23rd) IMPACT Fitness Boot Camp and get lean by labor day!

'til Later

BJ

Slow but steady ...

For those who haven't heard we are going to be hosting a TSC this September. I figure if we are going to host it, I might as well "compete". Kori too.

Although my scores will pale in comparison to some of the mutants out there, I figure "What the hell".

Since the deadlift in one of the events I have started pulling again and originally started with a similar ladder type structure found in "Enter the Kettlebell" but volume got to be too much. Since then I have switched to a straight "Power to the People" and it seems to be working much better, and I'm fresher for my pressing and pull ups, which are my main concern, specifically pull ups.

I had thought for a while my deadlift had been indirectly helping my pull ups because of the strength and stability it builds in the shouder retractors. After viewing Brett Jones' and Gray Cook's, "Secrets of the Shoulder" DVD my thoughts were confirmed. This is a great DVD, by the way. If you have some shoudler issues, or, for you trainers, have a client with one...GET THIS DVD.

One lesson that is finally sinking in is, Results take time.

The numbers I pulled in college and the rate at which they increased can't be duplicated now. I just don't recover as quickly. Plus I'm about 60 pounds lighter!

So although I'd love to add more volume, I need to pick and choose which lifts get the added volume.

I'd love to get that 500 pound pull again, I'll settle for 400 pounds with pain free shoulders and a better pull up number. I pulled a 375 last Saturday, so a near 400 by September 8 should be do-able.

I can't improve evey lift all the time anymore.

I'll continue to pull, but I don't plan on shooting for that PR until my pull ups are respectable. To me respectable would be a set of 5, dead hang, with a 24kg bell.

This, I feel will just about resolve the strength imbalance between the front and rear of my shoulder girdle and my shoulders will live happily ever after, with some maintainance of course.

Like the Tortuse, I just keep pluggin along.


Just an FYI, Our next Kettlebell Workshop will be on August 4th, I know some of you are on the fence, but check out the link and read the testimonials of those who have already participated.

Click here: Kettlebell Workshop

Kettlebell Classes are in full swing (wow, what a bad pun) check this link:

Kettlebell Classes

And Boot Camps start on july 23rd, here's the link:

IMPACT Fitness Boot Camps

Might as well give it a shot!

24kg Bottoms Up Turkish Get Up

Last chance to Donate..

As many of you know Kori and I participate in a charity bike tour, The Scenic Shore 150, that takes us from Mequon, WI all the way up to Sturgeon Bay, WI 150 miles away.

The two day tour serves to raise both money and awareness for Leukemia and Lymphoma.

While it doesn't look like we're going to hit our goal of $500 dollars, I know we can still raise more money before the deadline.

We have been taking donations through PayPal and it has worked great.

So, Please if you can, donate. Even if it's only $1, that could be the dollar the makes the difference.

If you can donate, our PayPal acct is bjbliffert@yahoo.com.

Thanks to all who have donated, and to all that will.

To find out more about the Scenic Shore 150 check out this link:

http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/all_page.adp?item_id=57271

'till next time

BJ

Goal Check II

Well Saturday I finished 5 ladders of 1,2,3,4,5 of pressing w/16kg kettlebell and pullups with bodyweight. It went very well and I can tell my right shoulder is coming along. Still a little weak, but coming back.

It seems its the first 1/4 of the press that I still geta little pain. It seem to be classic impingement, judging on where I feel the pain.

I'm going to schedule a couple A.R.T. treatments with my good friend Steve Wittemann of Pro-Release. If you have never had A.R.T. done it is amazing stuff. It isn't comfortable, but it seems to do me wonders. Plus Steve has over 15 years of experience as an Athletic Trainer so dealing with injured shoulders is nothing new for him.

A few things I have added back into my "warm ups" (things I never should have stopped doing).

1. Foam rolling, specifically my lats, IT band and periformis.

2. The "stick up" exercise against a wall. This is great for re-teaching your body to recruit the lower traps and helps build scapular stability. Many times shoulder issues stem from bad scapular control and/or stability.

3. I'm also realizing the times my shoulder felt the best was when I went totally OCD with joint mobility, often doing it multiple times a day for certian areas.

Adding those few items the last week or so have really made a difference. So-much-so I decided the test my pressing last night to see where I stood.

Some background, in the past I worked up to a solid Bulldog Press on each arm (when my left arm was the weak arm). Since then training goals have changed, I'm 20 pounds lighter, but determined to be able to press the Bulldog on demand.

Last night I pressed my 36kg bell easily with my left, and got about 1/4 of the way up. Tension isn't a problem, my shoulder just shuts down from my injury.

Pressed a double on the left with a 32kg and 2 singles on the right. This is a big improvement. Before sucking it up and reducing my pressing poundage to he 16 kg, just racking the 32kg would cause pain in my right shoulder. So, I'm happy with that.

Afterwards I banged out 5 sets of snatches w/32kg 10, 8, 6, 5, 5 R/L

So where to from here?

I'm going to stay the course with pressing and pullups and move up to the 20kg bell and add 15lbs to my pullups.

In addition, more TGUs. The last time I worked up to a Bulldog press, I did very little pressing but did a lot of TGUs. Arm Bars will also be on the agenda.

'til next time.