Inspiration from Determination

I ran across this clip on another Blog. I was transfixed by the transformation that this person went through. It shows the power of desire and determination. This is a man that does not quit and gets back up everytime he falls. To have that grit is a gift.

A clear and present danger

This is a must see movie for everyone that has a credit card or any type of debt. This along with "King Corn" are two movies that can change your life for the better.

There is a lot of debt out there and people are living paycheck to paycheck. Why? We have become a nation of "gotta have right nows." If you are in that boat, there is a light at the end of the tunnel out there. The Dave Ramsey Show can show a common sense path to empower you to achieve the life you want and need to have. The problem is that we need to live our wage and stop paying the banks all of our money. We need to be debt free and let our money work for us and not the other way around. But we, as a country, are buying things that we do not need with money that we do not have. I have been as guilty as the next person.

This blog is not just about kettlebells, self defense and craziness I come up with. It is a path that I am on to live the right life. As Dave says, "Change your Family Tree." We need to stop teaching our kids that debt will get us what we need. Teach them Debt is Dumb, Cash is King. I am working at teaching mine that Giving, Saving and Spending versus borrowing, spending, suffering to pay back is the way to live. Save your money to purchase what you need and giving to others is the correct path.

The rich rules over the poor and the borrower is always slave to the lender... Proverbs 22:7

Friday Fun

Not the Next Karate Kid - Watch more free videos

There is a reason that people should not video every single thing that they do.

Workout for today

hand to hand swings 5 x 10 l/r w/88

row 4 x 5 w/88

sandbag get ups 3 x 10 w/50lb

headed to sets of 5 for all next week

King Corn

While I have yet to see the movie, this clip is eye opening. Corn is in everything, and it appears to make up a large part of our bodies. King Corn comes out on DVD on April 29th. It is available through Amazon. Watch the clip and do a little research on your own. I have ordered the video and will post a review in May.

We are doing our best to clean out the corn from food. As you will see in this clip, it is a difficult task to accomplish.

Some Interesting Thoughts

The purpose of fighting is to win.
There is no possible victory in defense.
The sword is more important than the shield, and skill is more important than either.
The final weapon is the brain. All else is supplemental.

As John Steinbeck once said: 1. Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.
2. If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck.
3. I carry a gun cause a cop is too heavy.
4. When seconds count, the cops are just minutes away.
5. A reporter did a human-interest piece on the Texas Rangers. The reporter recognized the Colt Model 1911 the Ranger was carrying and asked him "Why do you carry a 45?" The Ranger responded, "Because they don't make a 46."
6. An armed man will kill an unarmed man with monotonous regularity.
7. The old sheriff was attending an awards dinner when a lady commented on his wearing his sidearm. "Sheriff, I see you have your pistol. Are you expecting trouble?" "No Ma'am. If I were expecting trouble, I would have brought my rifle."
8. Beware the man who only has one gun. HE PROBABLY KNOWS HOW TO USE IT!!!

But wait, there's more! I was once asked by a lady visiting if I had a gun in the house. I said I did. She said "Well I certainly hope it isn't loaded!" To which I said, of course it is loaded, can't work without bullets!" She then asked, "Are you that afraid of someone evil coming into your house?" My reply was, "No not at all. I am not afraid of the house catching fire either, but I have fire extinguishers around, and they are all loaded too." To which I'll add, having a gun in the house that isn't loaded is like having a car in the garage without gas in the tank. I'm a firm believer of the 2nd Amendment! If you are too, please forward.

High Fructose Corn Syrup

High fructose corn syrup is in almost every thing we eat. There are so many concerns about it that even Good Morning America recently did a spot on how corn in general is bad for you. There are a lot of politics involved in Americans being feed things that are really not good for us. High fructose Corn syrup is one of the biggest issues we have had in relation to everyone's health.

I have a daughter that is allergic to corn and that caused us to read the packaging on all of the foods that we purchase. I was surprised by the amount of things that corn syrup is in. I always knew that it was in a lot of drinks and some candy, but it is now in almost every item that we come across. I looked at packages in the U.K. and Ireland and found that there was not much of a corn syrup problem there. I also noticed that there was not a large problem with obesity, but it has increased. That started with the introduction of some American products and fast food restaurants. that coupled with video games has caused a rise in fat kids in England.

Here is a good link about High Fructose Corn Syrup and what it is believed to do to harm our health. we have cut it out almost entirely and have noticed some healthy changes. I have dropped 10 lbs and feel better. I do not have the sluggishness that I used to get after eating.

The best advice is to shop on the outsides of the supermarket or hit one of the Whole Foods style markets. the cleaner you eat the better you will feel and be. We are even looking towards purchasing meats that are not fed corn.

Ireland

Ireland is absolutely beautiful. I cannot download any photos yet. I have been eating really well. The eating is clean here as there is no corn syrup in anything. I am eating meat potatoes and vegetables. I have not seen any real obesity here. But my take on corn syrup will have to come when I have more time.

I have been working out since arriving. I have been using the tabata protocol with body weight foloowed by a few sets of cable presses. I have used the following exercises: pushups, squats and burpees. last night was three sets of pushups, 3 sets of squats and 2 sets of burpees. Even these body weight exercises will smoke you when done in 20 second sprints with little rest. I am out of computer time.

Paul

Out of Town

I am headed out of town for the next week or so. I will be spending St. Patrick's Day in Ireland. I will post something tomorrow before I head out. I am hoping to hit the KB's before I leave.

I am taking my Lifeline Cables with me to workout with. I will also be doing some body weight Tabata.

Great class tonight with two more promotions. So things are moving right along.



Some hardcore training with Jeff Monson.

Steve Cotter

I do not agree with a lot of his personal beliefs or his animosity towards Pavel. He was my team Leader at the RKC and basically did not even want to be there. Having said all that, he is a genetic freak and incredibly strong. He is not human in some of his abilities.

Impressive Strength

I was looking around the internet this morning before heading to church and came across this clip. I am having trouble pressing the 88 overhead in the regular way, let alone doing a bottoms up press. This is a great motivator to keep working hard at improving strength and skill. I really like the juggling displayed in this clip. People look at it as parlor games at times, but the strength that is developed by juggling is real. Hand to hand swings build intense grip strength and when you add real resistance through a heavier kettlebell... Just remember that it is all relative. If you are using a 16kg you still benefit from that weight. If you move up to a 24kg, how much stronger are you than before. Not everyone can use 88's, but they can be stronger than they were by working with weights that are heavy for them.

We had a good week of training this week. My workout yesterday was a little weak, but I had trained someone for an hour and a half immediately prior. We have had a bunch of people move up in belts lately and they are all wanting to head to Nacogdoches in October for Joe Lansdale's Annual Camp. For some reason they all believe they have to be even better than they are to go down there. But, as long as they are motivated, more power to them.

Great Fight Scene

This is a great fight scene that has some validity to the real world. Basically the character looks at what the real attacks and consequences will be based on his possible actions. when he acts, not reacts, he takes care of the situation quickly and brutally. There is no sparring or game playing, it is handled. That is the mind set that needs to be had for self defense. If you are in trouble, take care of the problem quickly, efficiently and with the appropriate level of violence. As Blauer teaches, "In a fight for your life, what tactic is to violent." Just remember that we are discussing self-defense or defense of a third party and not starting fights as a bad guy.

Workout of the Day

Swings 3 x 10 l,r w/88

press 3 x 3 w/88

dbl squat 3 x 5 w/88

Jump shrug 3 x 8 w/88's

Great Get Up Instructional

Art of Strength has great stuff. I have several of their videos and use them periodically. I go as heavy as I can and have actually used 32kgs for AOS Providence. This is a great Get Up instructional.

Rather be lucky than good

This fight is pretty interesting for a variety of reasons. First, the kid in red was lucky. He pretty much telegraphs his training in traditional martial arts. Second, he does not move naturally at all. The good thing is that the other kid was worried due to the fact that the kid had some type of training. He kept backing up and flinching and did not show any real skill. It came down to a lucky strike winning the fight.

There does not need to be any telegraphing of training or intention. Normal everyday stances and movement allow faster and more fluid responses. You need to be able to fight from any position that you find yourself in. You need to be able to fight like you walk or run. you are built the way you are for a reason, to crouch and bend in ways that are not normal, limits your abilities and your power generation.

stuff to think about.

WOD

swings 3x5 l/r w/88

press 3 x 3 w/88

double squat 3 x 5 w/88

felt pretty good today.

Kettlebell Results

I mentioned some interesting results on Dragondoor the other day. I have been training with kettlebells for about three years now as my main tool. I do some other odds and ends stuff, but have focused on the KB's. I took a PT test recently for a Reserve Police position and was surprised by the results. I ran the mile and a half in 13:41, the 300 meter in 59 sec and pushups and sit ups did not even cause a sweat. While those numbers are not the best ever, there is something cool about them.

I have not run in at least five years. I hat running and only did it when I was forced to do so, i.e. Uncle Sam, Police Academy etc. I never stopped during my run, and kept pretty much the same pace throughout. I would have done much better, but I paced myself because I was really worried about not passing the run.

To what do I attribute all of this? Kettlebells. I have worked a lot of swings and snatches over the last few years. The week prior to the test, I was doing 5 x 10 snatches with the 70 on my five pillar program. There is nothing better than swings and snatches for muscular endurance and cardio benefits.

What else have the KB's done for me? I had an insurance physical the other day. I am 167lbs with a 5% body fat. My resting pulse is in the 50's and my BP is usually 110/60. I am 40 and in the best shape of my life.

I have decided that I am a little on the light side however. At the RKC I was 178. The funny thing is that I am able to swing the 70's all day now, where the 53 was heavy then. I have moved up to the 88's as my tool of pain and enjoyment. I hope to be doing them for reps here pretty soon. For the time being, I am working on reps in the 3-5 range in an attempt to build some strength and add a little body weight.

I am so lucky to have found Pavel and the kettlebell.

rosstraining.com

If you have not seen any of Ross' stuff, it is great. I like his low-tech, high effect philosophy. He has a great website, www.rosstraining.com and it is worth visiting. I have not ever ordered his stuff, but havepicked up a a lot out of his writings. Take a look and learn something new. The clip is worth watching all of the way through.

I have dropped to 167 and decided I needed to go a little heavier for a while.

WOD

snatch 2 x 3 w/88

swing 3 x 5 w/88

renegade row 3 x 5 w/88's

suitcase squats 3 x 10 w/ 88's