MRI, Quick Train at Crossfit and Marty's Article

Got the MRI on my neck this morning. Not fun but like anything else, should be worth it to get a clear diagnosis and fix the pain. I could have opted for the open MRI but they said it was not as accurate so I zoned out and prayed a lot for 30 minutes and made it through.
Great quick train at Crossfit Everstrong last night. Initially it was just Paul and Me getting together to work on swings and then before it was over we had 7 people swinging iron around. Should be some sore hammies today.
If you get a chance check out Marty's site. There is a link on my side banner. I completely agree about the fat food mania and estrogen issues in America. It amazes me how people belly up to the trough and then go to the doctor to get meds for their high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, back problems, etc, etc. Of course even more disturbing is the whole pharmaceutical (sp) industry selling you a pill that treats the symptom not the cause. Would you rather have a pill for $500 that you take one time and cure the problem or one that costs $1 that you take every day for the rest of your life. Did you know that 80% of the food consumed at McDonalds is consumed by 20% of the customers? I digress. Check out Paul Zane Pilzer's Perfect Storm.
I don't really buy into the whole thing about soy products. I was told by Dr. William Kraemer, who is a world reknown scientist that he fed a rat 1/2 it's body weight for 6 months before estrogen showed up. I doubt switching your cow milk for soy milk will hurt you. I have always been a proponent of moderation with consistency.
Ya'll have a great weekend and practice your swings.

Swing - The Center of the Kettlebell Universe

Since the CK-FMS I have been working on my swing technique. It all starts with the dead lift groove. I had too much knee bend and not enough hip hinge. I've been working on keeping the back straight and the knees from moving forward on the dead lift then quickly moving to the swing and just recreating the groove but faster with more snap. I think part of the problem was working out facing a mirror. Trying so hard to watch form that I was keeping my head up and not letting the lower back release for the hinge. I started letting my eyes drift down with the kettlebell and even straight down during the hike then back up all the way. Amazing. My hamstrings are waiving the white flag. If you are feeling the swing in your quads you need to work on form. Get parallel to the mirror and don't let your knees/shins move forward during the backswing. They might pop out a little on the hip snap but it should be minimal. Make sure you don't 'chicken neck'. This means keep your head/neck neutral to your spine. Head and spine should stay in line with very little or no angle. Snap the hips, lift the knees. On the way down punch your but back and hinge at the waist. Go back to the deadlift. Practice every rep and don't do more than about 10 reps per set. Enjoy.

Here's how not to swing:

Here's a decent swing and a work in progress. Notice the difference in the knee movement and more hinge. Also look at where I'm looking at the bottom of the swing.

CK-FMS and Taking a Break

Went to the Certified Kettlebell Functional Movement Screen seminar a couple weeks ago. Lots of info and got to hang out with Jennifer Bryan, RKC and Laurel Blackburn, RKC. Great to get to know them better. The class was filled with info that I can hopefully use to make people move and feel better. I already helped one friend improve shoulder mobility by 2 inches with about 45 minutes of training/drills. I also made my mother inlaw cuss at me by putting her in the Bretzel 2.0.

Upon return I have worked on my deadlift groove and swing groove along with some stretching and that's about it. Everyone needs a break. Two weeks shouldn't hurt anyone's training. Trying to eat right. Got down to about 188lbs one day this week. Reworked my yard, including digging up old grass and laying 3 pallets of centipede sod in one afternoon. Been fishing a few times and had a weekend of kicking back at Gantt Lake. Yes, taking a break, ha ha.

Getting geared up for Advocare Success School in 2 weeks. Hopefully get to hang out with Andy Andrews and see Drew Brees but more importantly get to visit with good Christian friends and learn more about nutrition and creating a plan B for the future.

We've recently hit the Ruby level in Advocare so this is starting to become a reality that it could replace one of our incomes and create some time freedom in the future. Some people thing we are crazy running all over the place selling vitamins but in 10 years when they are still working and we are playing we will see who is crazy.

I continue to follow my four "F" plan.

Faith, Family, Finance and Fitness in that order. If it doesn't fit in the plan, it's not a priority right now. If you ask me about the latest episode of dancing with the stars or some other show I don't know the name of and I look at you funny, it's because just doesn't warrant my time.

Everyone keep praying about the oil spill and what positive can come from it. We'll find something. ........J