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The Family that Works Out Together…

Angela C. — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:44:56 +0000

I’m so lucky. I have a wonderful extended ‘ohana here- it’s one of the reasons why I chose to move back to Hawai’i. I even consider the neighbors down the street “Aunties” and “Uncles.”

My nephew plays football for his high school, and his uncle created a gym in the garage for them to train in. Now that my 9-year-old nephew is starting sports, he and his best friend down the street can also train here.

On Wednesday, we all had our turns working out. Mine, as usual, was punctuated by various interruptions including technical difficulties, runaway toddlers, and curious babies. This made it a bit of a challenge to complete the two circuits I was assigned by my trainer for homework.

But-- you know what they say-- The family that works out together stays together! Enjoy:

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPsMx91w2f0

Just in case you missed it— my homework from my trainer was:

10 -- 15 minutes of cardio, then, using the 8kg kettlebell
Deadlift x12
Pushups x10
Suitcase Squat x12 each side
Orbits x10 each direction
Complete the above twice, then
Double thrusters x5- 4- 3- 2- 1
Swings x 15 in between thrusters set
Complete the above twice, then
I added in a little ab work and lots of stretching at the end!

Heart Rate in the 808

Angela C. — Sun, 31 May 2009 08:00:29 +0000

What a day.

I actually started out on the right side of the bed, waking up early and meeting my power partner for a walk around Kapiolani Park in Waikiki.

The sun shone brightly and I found parking right away. Even my son was agreeable.

I decided to try out the new heart monitor that my trainer taught me to use. After all of these years in Education, I just learned that there’s a specific heart rate that I can aim for in order to maximize my workout– my target heart rate. (Thanks, Quoc!)

My resting heart rate is about 60 beats per minute (bpm). According to the formula, I can work at a 50% – 75% level when my heart rate is between 122 and 165 bpm.

As I worked with my trainer, I also learned that anyone, “even Lance Armstrong,” will feel fatigued at a heart rate of about 170 bpm. In my case, my form starts to degrade and my chances of injury increase.

This Saturday morning, I wore the heart rate monitor and walked around the Park, stopping to stretch and enjoy the view. Unfortunately, my heart rate was steady in the early 120s, never reaching higher than 125 bpm.

What does this mean? I’m not that efficient yet.

What does that mean? All it means is that I’m burning less fat than someone who has higher cardiovascular efficiency. Bummer.

The good news is that this training will pay off. By working with kettlebells while monitoring my heart rate, I have already seen a slight improvement.

I can easily increase the value of my workout with different exercises, both static (the grinds) and dynamic (ballistic).

As I increase the weight of my kettlebell, although my heart rate stays about the same, my cardiovascular efficiency is actually improving, since essentially, I’m doing more work!

Now can you guys see why I heart kettlebells? With such a simple tool, I can gain (and lose) so much!

Pushing 22kg for 3 Miles

Angela C. — Fri, 22 May 2009 22:00:59 +0000

I’ve been sick all week, so I’ve been pretty sedentary. As a work-at-home mom, it’s all too easy to justify the need to stay indoors, especially when a deadline is encroaching. But what about all the other times of the year?

Luckily for me, I have my 2-year-old and my sister’s 3-year-old to keep me company. Even if I wanted to lie in bed with the flu, it’s just not an option. After about 5 days of this mess, I decided to get the heck out of the house!

I’m still motivated by a really good latte. (Yes Bill--it’s sugar free!) So I strapped the kids in and, on a really hot morning, took a brisk walk to my favorite Coffee Bean. My little guy weighs in at 31 pounds, and his older cousin is 29 pounds, so I was pushing about 60 pounds for 3 miles in the Hawaiian sun.

Well, I started out briskly and we did okay for the 1.5 miles on our way there. I think the mistake was stopping for too long to watch the car wash. After a period of too much rest, who wants to hurry up and get moving again? Not me!

But, it got done. And that’s all I have to say about that. At least I can go to my workout tomorrow knowing that I did something. (Exercise does not have to be complicated!)

If you like kids, or, if you’re just curious, enjoy this video of my excited nephew, my laid-back son, me and my freckles:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbxtl4dLQfk

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(Quick Side Note: I’d love to hear from other parents who work their kid(s) into their workout. I was really inspired to read about an 11-year old who can kick his dad’s butt in the gym. Comment to this blog, or send me an e-mail with the link above!)

Mahalo, see you after my next kettlebell workout!

What the kettlebell?

Angela C. — Wed, 06 May 2009 22:00:49 +0000

I know you’re saying to yourself, “Kettlebell– wth?” because I did, not that long ago. In fact, the first time I misheard its name, I kept referring to it as a kettleBALL!

I live in a pretty sizeable city, so it was only a matter of time before I would be introduced to the kettlebell. A friend of mine has been sharing the benefits of using kettlebells for overall fitness, and showed me some of his.

Closeup of a 12kg kettlebell

Once I actually saw a kettlebell, I kept bumping into them. It was kind of like when you get a new car, and all of a sudden, you see that exact same car everywhere. My friend started training with kettlebells and has been twittering about it after his sessions. A girlfriend of mine had been training with kettlebells over the past few years. And apparently, firefighters are using them all around the nation.

Sometimes kettlebells are referred to as Russian Kettlebells, due to their popularity in the former Soviet Union for strength training and in competitions. Although there are some typical weight-bearing movements that can be done with kettlebells, such as squats and military-style bench presses (they aren’t called these names in kettleworld, by the way), the main difference with a kettlebell is that it is used in a fluid, swinging motion.

Unlike machines or free weights, kettlebell training integrates both aerobic and anaerobic activity, or cardio and weight training. This aspect appealed to me most, since I don’t have a lot of time and in a sense, would be killing two birds with one… kettlebell.

Kettlebells typically are described in kilograms. My American mind has a hard time wrapping around this concept, so I’ll break it down for you: For every 1 kilogram, there are 2.20462262 pounds. Just to be clear- when talking about kettlebells, low numbers of kilograms equal much higher numbers of pounds. (I’m not an idiot, but for some reason, this troubles me.)

So, a woman may start out with an 8kg kettlebell, but she’s actually swinging and lifting almost 18 pounds of solid metal. A man may begin his program with a 16kg, which is really about 35 pounds.

I finally decided to take the leap and find myself a trainer. On this day, I am nervously awaiting our first meeting. In the meantime, I received what I’m calling a “babybell,” a 4kg kettlebell that looks like an orange bocce ball with a black handle.

My babybell: Cute, isn't it?

Just to give you an idea of how much work this program is going to be for me– I was quickly demonstrating a few kettlebell swings at home, and I broke into a sweat. The next day, my triceps hurt. (Although, I was also lifting my real 16kg babybell over my head for fun that day as well.)

My real 16kg babybell

So, if you’d never heard of a kettlebell before KettleTell– I know from experience– you’re going to see a lot more about them from here on out! (And stay tuned for upcoming video and pics of me trying kettlebells for the first time with my trainer!)