Get To Class: With Strikerfit Kettlebell Club

It is always an amazing feeling after getting your butt handed to you, especially in the most friendly and polite manner. It is almost like getting spun around over the head of Randy Savage and rather than passing out of sheer fright, you find yourself crying “Eagleeeeeee!” instead and getting treated to dinner afterwards. In the past 2 weeks, I attended 2 of the free classes offered by Strikerfit Kettlebell Club. Their philosophy is to get people out of the gym with both indoor and outdoor classes to achieve an effective and fun workout with others in *iron* solidarity. As a personal trainer, I have always needed another trainer to both push me to my max and actually keep me interested. It was like kismet stumbling upon this fine group of people.

For both of the free classes, there was ample time for warm-up and overview of basic technique for all levels to get familiar with kettlebell terms and moves, lead by the owner himself. Then after feeling like a pro with the basic moves, I quickly found myself back in a rookie state of mind as one of their trainers started the actual workout. After about a half hour of a few exercise sets—which became more brutal as the session went on—we were rewarded with a cool down and stretching session led by a yoga instructor. The same format was followed for the 2nd class I attended, with the exception of an additional trainer who warranted a few groans from the regulars. The woman next to me leaned over and said, “Get ready to get your ass kicked.” She wasn’t kidding. But his portion was so short that I almost wanted more. Almost.

The classes had a good mix of new faces and regulars, which offered an insight to the club itself. When the regulars are comfortable enough to prod the instructors while they themselves tell the cheesiest of kettlebell puns, I become more drawn to wanting to be part of the club. A sense of community is what makes clubs like these the most desirable, and it didn’t hurt feeling like a badass on the beach as a dude on his bike kept riding by and yelling strangely positive and supportive compliments. Overall the free classes gave a gleeful taste of what the club was about. The owner’s wife was on hand to answer questions and hand out free training session coupons and class calendars. Chatting with them afterwards, they were genuinely interested in hearing feedback and getting suggestions for more locations to make their club accessible to different neighborhoods. They currently offer membership plans to class locations that are not especially close to me, so I am hoping they expand to my neighborhood so I can commit.

Check out Strikerfit Kettlebell Club on Facebook for upcoming free sessions as well as their official website for more information and membership details.

Quote of the Week: When No One Else Is Looking

"Champions are made when no one else is looking and when no one is keeping score."
—Unknown

Just Breathe: Sports and Exercise Induced Asthma

photo by Divine Harvester via photopin cc

As an athlete, there are just as many setbacks as there are gains. Some we can control with proper training and over time, others we have no control over whatsoever and swear that Zeus himself cast a curse to forever roll rocks up hills. For me, I stumbled—rather, choked—upon one that I didn’t even know existed.

I didn’t grow up with asthma. It wasn’t until going into my second season of roller derby that I started to have real trouble breathing. At first, I didn’t know what was wrong. There were a few times during my first season where I thought I was either not warmed up enough or conditioned to jump in the game off the bench cold. The next year—during pre-season—while beginning to attend regular speed practices, I found myself constantly gasping for air, thinking that my conditioning was not up to par. When I found myself choking for air and coughing non-stop just to be able to swallow, my captain sat me down and asked if I had asthma. That is when I went to see my doctor and was diagnosed with Exercise Induced Asthma (EIC).

Exercise Induced Asthma is defined as the narrowing of airways causing difficulty moving air out the lungs during exercise. There are additional triggers that can set it off, which I pretty much was exposed to all the time. Allergies played a huge part, more than I knew, so in addition to seeing my regular physician, I saw an allergist. Dry air was also a contributor, as preseason started late fall and went through the dead of winter, I had every element against me.

How I Broke Through

I am not a health expert. I can neither diagnose nor prescribe what will work as every person is different and reacts differently to environmental and physical factors. But I can tell you how I managed to do it.

1. I listen to my doctor.

When I first starting having problems, it was my best and most accurate move to find the root of it all. Now that I listen to my regular physician, I also follow my allergist’s advice as well. My allergist brought to light that I am severely allergic to everything in the natural world—every seasonal allergy, dust mites, cats … you name it. (I literally could be the Grandmaster for the Allergy Pride Parade.) Since having found out which allergens affect me the most, a plan is in place for when I need to absolutely use certain medications and when I can ease off them depending on what season it was. I eventually cut down on multiple aides once I had control (I was on an albuterol inhaler, a nasal spray and an oral pill—in addition to a steroid-based inhaler) but I had no idea what worked and what didn’t until I was able to rule out major triggers.

2. I keep it consistent.

I couldn’t stop a routine just because I thought I was having a good day. I also hated the fact that I now had 4 different and particularly expensive medicines to control one problem. But It was the presence of persistence and discipline that gives me control. With medications keeping triggers at bay, endurance and stamina training was also built into my regular schedule. My biggest problems burst to the surface when I reach my highest intensity and heart rate, so when I train at that level in a controlled setting, I am able to scale back how much I have to reach for my inhaler during activity. This also came in handy when I had a regular rotation in the roster and needed to stay on the track.

3. I make others aware and don't feel ashamed when I need a break.

That first year of learning to control my asthma, my captain came up with a signal for me to use for when I had hit my limit and would sit me until I recovered. It kept me out of danger and kept my teammates aware as well. I knew I was in a safe place when everyone was aware. Even when I was ignoring my own signals and wanting to push harder, there was a level of accountability that kept me in check. I learned never keep it to myself, even when I thought I was being a wimp and I knew I wasn’t alone. (Almost half my team was asthmatic, Team Puff Puff). There is a distinct difference between excuse and reason and the inability to breathe is not an excuse by any means.

Knowing my limitations kept me from getting set back by taking the time to focus on how to work with them. It took some time and a lot of patience to figure it out but it was worth it. If only it were as easy as: inhale, exhale, repeat.

Read more about breathing, exercise and asthma:

The Art of Breathing | via Hockey Training Pro

Star Athletes with Asthma | via Health

Asthma and Exercise | via AAAAI

Freebie: Your Summer Solstice Playlist

Hope everyone is enjoying the first day of summer! Break out those crisp new white shoes and treat yourself to a refreshing beverage. What better way to kick off the new season than with a new playlist? Made to help you hit the pavement hard and sweat like you mean it. Enjoy!

Lose the Guilt About Missing the Gym (and How to Make Up For It)

I have been spending a lot of time lately trying to leave negativity out of my life. When I get caught up in negative thoughts, it often snowballs into guilt, self-deprecation and a large amount of stress. None of these things belong in my life. And it shouldn’t belong in yours either. I have noticed how hard we tend to be on ourselves when we miss a day at the gym. We overlook what we could have been doing with that time instead of turning to social media and publicly shaming ourselves. Instead of doing mental harm about missing the gym, make up for it with these more positive actions instead.

1.     Core Work

Core work is something that can do every day and not need the gym or equipment to do so. Catching up on plank variations and isometric holds is an easy way to cancel out the guilt of missing a full strength workout at the gym. When you can’t laugh at this the next day without being feeling sore, it’s a good thing.

2.     Recovery Work

An athletic trainer friend of mine always has to remind her clients that once an injury has occurred, it will always remain with you. The point she couldn’t stress enough is that physical therapy doesn’t end when sessions end. It is something that always must be done. So when the gym isn’t on the agenda for the day, remember there is always work to be done in the tiniest amount. So get back to those ankle alphabets and shoulder Ys and Ts if staying strong without setbacks is important (which it is!).

3.     Flexibility/Stretch/Massage Work

The great thing about flexibility and stretch work is that it is an integral part of being well-rounded athlete. (More importantly keep injury away.) Load up a yoga or stretching routine from a favorite workout app.  Grab that foam roller that is collecting dust in the corner and work out the kinks in those quads and calves. After all the wincing, yelping and swearing so loud that it scares the neighbors, the amount of relief and energy that will be felt after will make anyone forget a missed gym day.

4.     Quality Time

There are times when my clients ask me for advice on their training plans, and after they give me the rundown of their jam-pack training schedule I often have to tell them to cancel a gym or training day to make room for quality time. The running joke with athletes is that their significant other/kids/cats/guinea pigs never see them and that if cats could attend games that would be the most time spent together in one sitting. There is always room for mentally recovering and keeping your life in balance. Once, when I pulled a practice off of a client’s weekly schedule she immediately responded with, “Oh! Now I can have date night!” That guy is now marrying her. (Related? Shrug. But I’d like to take credit for that.)

5.     Treat Yo’Self (to sleep and a good meal)

Now it’s time to treat yo’self. None of that cheat meal nonsense. I am talking about that hour you missed at the gym that leaves you a wide-open opportunity to cook a real meal mid-week and sit down with actual utensils instead of standing over the sink eating out of Tupperware. And the time you cut out of traveling to the gym? Wind down early and hop in bed with a book or that significant other/cat/guinea pig and get some real lovin’ on. Everyone wins.