Here at Contemporary Athlete, the Kettlebell is used frequently not because of any growing trend or fad but because of its sheer versatility. I am a minimalist at heart so cluttering the most important thing the CA has, which is wide-open space makes me sad. So we swing them, lift them, push them, pull them, drag them, throw them, carry them, crawl with them, use them as door stops, on occasion even give them away as gifts.
One of my favorite quick, yet brutal, and results driven workouts is this kettlebell complex. If all I have is 30 minutes to fit my personal workout in that day in between groups and clients, and I want to get a great full body muscle screaming burn on and cover my aerobic conditioning this is almost always the first thing I reach for in my bag of tricks.
Here is how it works:
Work your way up to a kettlebell 1/3 your bodyweight
(Ex. 180 lbs. person – 60 lbs. KB)
Use a good low swing for double and single hand transitions so as you don’t break your swing rhythm as you work through the complex.
10 x reps of each stage:
Two handed swing
Single arm swing (Left side)
Single arm swing (Right side)
Single arm rack (Left Side)
Single arm rack (Right Side)
Single arm Snatch (Left side)
Single arm Snatch (Right side)
Single arm Rack (Left Side)
Single arm rack (Right Side)
Single arm swing (Left side)
Single arm swing (Right side)
Two handed swing
Rest half the time it takes to do the full sequence. I personally like to pair it with an abdominal exercise. As I generally consider abs a good place to get in active rest.
The Goal is 5 full cycles in less than 30 minutes. Start with 3 cycles
Build up to it and be smart! Hurt athletes do not compete very well. Know your limits and Swing on Ninjas!
It only took only took 11 months for me to plan an open house. (When I say me, I really mean all the awesome people that helped me in SOOOOO many ways put this together!)
What to bring: Bring Friends! Lots of them!
Some people say I am slow. I like to think about it as tactical. All the pieces had to be in the right place and I think that they finally are. So on the eve of my initial lease signing almost a year ago I am quite ok with saying, hello public. Contemporary Athlete is here and Team CA is ready to change the Capital District.
Here is your opportunity to show off the place many of you call home.
Meet my friends and associates while you nosh on some awesome healthy food from Nancy and her staff at Good Morning Café (The Good Karma Ninja, oh and my favorite Thursday Breakfast Ninja); Robin Morgan of ANew Nutrition who I trust with all my nutrition (“What do you mean no more cookies?” The Food Ninja); Paul Jensen of Albany Therapeutic Massage and Sports Performance Center (“Paul I did this…so can you fix me?” Ninja) oh and ME (Humble Ninja)!
There are going to be some awesome door prizes to win, for anybody that’s interested, a 3pm “Warm Up”, and something I am really excited about, and have been for a long time now…
The Official Launch of…
CAIR
Don’t know what it is? Well, hopefully the anticipation will make you excited enough to show up!
So on recommendation from one of the JBs the FAQ has come to be a blog. I hear a lot of stuff, so much so that there might be a spoof video soon for the website. Many of these questions are legitimate; some (most) are hilarious. All in all it’s a list that continues to grow.
Q: What is a High Performance Facility? I am scared that it is not for me.
A: HPF just means that this is a goal-oriented facility. Those goals are dictated by the client/athlete.
Q: What if all I want to do is lose some weight?
A: You will definitely do that here. Pretty much nobody gets bigger, unless you’re a football lineman, then that is a different discussion. That being said I don’t believe that losing weight is a good goal so don’t be surprised if I talk you into a race/event of some kind to train for. Things with hard deadlines keep you honest about what you’re eating and how often you are training. Nobody wants to bonk on race day, or wedding day for that matter.
Q: Why don’t we all do Olympic lifting?
A: Well it’s very technical and I don’t think everybody needs to know how to do it. There are just as effective ways to get the same results without doing it that are much safer.
Q: Are there restrooms and showers?
A: Yes, and No. There are restrooms that can be used to change in. There will be showers and a lockerroom in the very near future but at this point of time there currently are not.
Q: Are you a Cross-fit?
A: No CA is not a Cross fit. Yes we do Metabolic Training, amongst other things but everything is custom tailored for the people that train here. Yes group training is a bit broader spectrum but for the most part I look at the majority of the group and tailor the workout toward what that group needs on that day.
Q: What is a speed school?
A: We work on developing explosiveness, and efficient multi-directional movement. This also incorporates reaction time and cognitive reasoning under stress, (Being able to make good fast decisions while tired).
Q: Do we have to do the warm up?
A: Yes
Q: Why? I just came from practice.
A: Perfect, then we can skip the part where you complain about the warm up because you are already warm and we can just call “it” part 1 of the workout.
Q: How many reps are we doing?
A: It’s posted on the board
Q: Can we do 3 sets instead of 5? My legs are tired.
A: Hmmm, let me consult the board. Yup, it still says 5. Just do what it says.
Q: I suck at pull-ups. Is there something else we can do instead?
A: Yes, Pull-ups
Q: What time is group tomorrow?
A: Check the calendar, it’s on the website. It’s posted under Calendar.
Q: You have a website? What’s it called?
A: Seriously? (Empty stare)
Q: How many reps have I done?
A: I have no idea; it’s not my job to count. Let’s just say 0 and start back at 1.
Q: Do I have to lift weights? They will make me look like a man.
A: You are still a woman right? You make lots estrogen, correct? Are you planning on starting to take anabolic steroids anytime soon? No? Then don’t worry about it; biology took care of that issue for you.
Q: Why do I have to do 75 burpees?
A: Well your 15 minutes late.
Q: Yeah…but why 75?
A/Q: Well let’s work on some basic math skills. 5 burpees per minute multiplied by the 15 minutes you are late is?
A: 75
A: Good, we brushed up on your math skills; you can start doing your burpees now.
Q: Is the workout on the board?
A: Yes
Q: I don’t understand the workout?
A/Q: Oh, which part?
A: All of it.
Q: OK, I don’t understand the diagram, which exercise is the arrow supposed to be?
A: it’s not. It’s the direction you’re supposed to go in.
Q: Well what do you do there?
A: Make Ninjas
Q: Well what are we working on tonight?
A: Your go fast muscles
Q: Which ones are those again?
A: All of them.
Q: Am I doing this right?
A: well if the goal is to look like a pixy floating through the air looking for a place to land in Never Neverland with Peter Pan then yes. It looks perfect. Otherwise no, lets go back to doing it slowly, oh yeah, and correctly…
“12 years ago I stood watching the f-15 eagles fly over campus as I stood on the 3m diving platform. It made all of us wonder what was going on. Being a New Yorker in Texas and listening to the panic in my mothers repeated voice mails really solidified that the world had changed” -Bender
So much has been said, written, recounted, revisited, stated, supported, argued, and implied about that day. When everything in our world as Americans changed.
That’s not what this is about. Its about an opportunity. That opportunity is the joy of others. We all have so many things that pull us in different directions. What I love about this job (and I use that word loosely) is the people. Everyone comes here with excitement about what the WOD will be. The unknown is exciting. What keeps me so engaged is watching people grow together as a community and change.
When it happened I was in college at SMU. Part of a campus community, an athletic community, and a creative community.
Yesterday I just got to enjoy being part of this community. So much so that I forgot to take any pictures. Watching the skeptic look (possibly confusion/fear) as I explained the workout, turn to laughter as the session started and continued made me smile, and at points almost tear up (yup I’m human for those of you that think I’m a heartless cyborg. Although sometimes the thought of bionic arms sound Epic).
It’s that laughter that makes the early mornings, long days, late nights, 7 day work weeks, stress, anxiety, and fear all OK. Because it’s about the community, this community. Seeing strangers come together to have unplanned fun…is…well… Awesome.
“Over time, grit is what separates fruitful lives from aimlessness.” – John Ortberg
In life there comes a point when you just want to know. Or maybe I just want to know. Am I to old? Broken? Battered? Strong enough? Fast enough? Courageous enough? Crazy enough? Or is the ultimate glory of the challenge enough?
So, here is the story. I decided I wanted to do something great: to create a community where exceptional is the standard and not because of the resumes or backgrounds of the people within it, but because of the goals and desires of those people. These are the lions amongst lions. These people separate themselves from the everyday prey. They are the hunters of greatness and, for any number of reasons, they found themselves in the CA. I proudly call them friends, and this is why I do this.
Run the Ridge, Team CA
The hunt for greatness lies within all of us. Mine has been clawing out of me for a long time. I just didn’t know how or when it would happen. I started to consider this adventure I call the “Ultra” back in May of this year. I put together my training plan after a winter of getting the gym going, and got to work. I didn’t know if I would get the opportunity to race but figured I damn well be on the pointy end of the spear if the opportunity presented itself.
The “Spartan Ultra Beast” (which is a ridiculously cheesy name, but I’m just a participant), it is a race of unlisted distance somewhere over a marathon, which includes obstacles and happens on a mountain, in this case at Killington Ski Resort. If you have ever been to Killington to ski, you know it is no joke, and running anything past 26 miles is well…intense. So, throw in some obstacles and: well now, apparently we have a challenge. Getting acceptance into the “Ultra” took a full athletic resume and a follow up survey. So either they are limiting their pool of athletes, or they are worried about the pool of athletes surviving to tell the tale.
My brother and me before running the Mt Snow Tough Mudder
(I think there is a moment in every persons life when you just kind of go, hmmm this is a bad idea… I’m in!)
From the Ultra, Application site:
For 2013, we will have two new rules:
1. Each racer may only compete in the Beast, or the Ultra Beast, but not both. It will not be possible to win both events in 2013. You must choose: Beast or Ultra Beast.
2. If you cannot complete all 26+ miles, you will be considered a DNF. You will NOT be considered a Beast Finisher if you’re only able to complete 13+ miles. It’s all or nothing.
If you’re not sure if you’re ready, or you spend more than one hour per year at Bed, Bath and Beyond, please only register for the Beast. The Ultra Beast will be too much for you.
Every Spartan Race is a baptism.
The Ultra Beast is considered an exorcism.
So let’s fast forward a bit. I got accepted to the race via email. Which in my head I went, “HOLY {explicative, explicative, explicative,} I GOT IN!!!!” Then I went…“HOLY {explicative, explicative, explicative,} I GOT INTO WHAT?!!” I got accepted to run with the “Elites” which either means I am above the average applicant they accept or they were trying to bait an old man who still thinks he’s young to die on the side of a very steep mountain. Either way, I said what all crazy people say… “I’m in!” then smiled, took a deep breath and doubled all of my previously planned mileage I was supposed to do in training for this race.
Setting a new 1RM PR in 2012. I have since tagged on 150lbs more)
(Excerpt from my acceptance email)
Hi David,
Congratulations! You are among the fifth group of approved racers selected to race the 2013 Spartan Ultra Beast! Based on your recent responses to our Ultra Beast Application process, you have been approved and are eligible for an Open Wave Registration or an Elite Ultra Beast registration. If you think that you’re competitive enough to run with the Elites, this is your chance to prove it.
Apparently, on September 22nd of this year, I will get to stand at the base of a mountain with a group of elites athletes and find out if I really am all that I try to instill in the amazing people I work for.
Post 13.1 training day time trial. 7:05’s on repeat. Cue the Darth Vader music in my head
Even as I sit here and write this, September is closing in quickly. My fear is turning to fire, and my anticipation is sometimes overwhelming. I care how I do and I am not “just there to finish”, because honestly, sometimes when I hear people say that, it makes my soul throw up a little. You can either do just enough to finish or you can go on the attack.
I choose to attack. If you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, then teach that dog to do those old tricks better. I find myself frequently running with less in my head: empty in thought, just breathing. I’m listening to my steps, counting them, looking deeply into the trails, and looking for the clearest path to fast. Lungs burning, throat on fire. Smiling widely, on the hunt.
Kid bro and I post running Mudder. Honestly, all I wanted was Gatorade. Not beer.
My training partners are sometimes young and invincible, sometimes they are family, sometimes future Olympians. All of them, though are awesome and just crazy enough to join me even just for a snippet of this quest. It keeps me hungry and leaves me with clear vision. There is never enough to say about great training partners.
You feed their desires and support them and in return you get their support. You only need to ask once and they are in. It is an unspoken agreement that can and will take you further than either party ever thought possible. If they truly have your back they will grind you into dust when you need it, and when necessary, they will pick you up too.
The crew that decided to run up Buck Mountain with me in May. All smiles too.
Live loud, smile often, cry frequently, and occasionally do something great. I’m working on the great part. Say a few quiet words for me that I don’t die on the side of a mountain, and I can write the part two of this.
So not what you thought but I definitely got you’re attention right? So there is this phrase that people use when speaking of or to “underdogs”.
“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”
I always like to ask this. How the heck did the “big” dog get so big? It’s very possible that that dog used to be small, and got tired of getting kicked around. So instead, chose to be the big dog. To do the work that it takes to be better than they were the day before, and as they stand toe to toe with their opponent. They don’t need to have fight in them. They live the fight, they are the fight, greatness was a choice made long ago, and they are going to let that other dog know not to mess with them ever again, and eventually the little dog becomes big too.
I think we all know combat sports can go south real quick, it takes one punch, kick, or poor judgment call while grappling to end a fight. That leaves a lot of other games, races, events, challenges, and opportunities for greatness to be decided in a much less abrupt manner.
Quite often, I would even say the majority of the time. The athlete(s) who have wanted it longest and have had that internal fight within will find themselves as the victors. So the Fight in the dog was decided and the size was earned.
We as compassionate human beings love a good underdog story. They work real hard, they get their opportunity and magically they are in the right place at the right time. Interestingly enough that just generally does not happen. There are always favorites but it’s the faster, stronger (read here: bigger) athlete that takes the day.
So moral of this story, train smart, eat smart, Lift often, run hard, be the big dog in the fight, because some punk always thinks they have your number.
“Erin Little? Really? I love people with ironic last names.” – Bender
Erin Little at Syracuse University
“Optimist Prime” as we like to refer to her, is possibly the most excited, most peppy person I ever have had the good fortune to work with. At a solid six feet of awesomeness, Erin’s laugh is infectious, her drive unparallelled, and her support of those around her is unwavering.
Erin attempts a hit during a volleyball match.
A little bit about Miss Little: she is a recent NCAA Division 1 volleyball standout at Syracuse University, and was a professional player with Finnish League Bronze Medalists Oriveden Ponnistus VC. As you can see, Erin came to the CA well-decorated. Her sensational attitude toward others and training made her an easy fit here.
There was work to do though, and finding the right training partner was important. This is where “Optimist Beta” comes in. Lauren Salter, a CA sponsored athlete, got a tweet one day from Erin, who inquired about the Facebook pictures under Contemporary Athlete’s page. The two kept in touch via Twitter until Erin returned from Finland. Only a few days later, Erin made her CA debut.
Lauren has been as much a driving force and supportive role for Erin as Erin has been for Lauren. Together, they have learned to succeed here in the CA and out.
Attempting a block
There is something important to be said for having a great training partner: the right one will always make you perform better and vice versa. Erin’s place in the CA is important: She is an athlete of constant confidence, of moral support, and ultimately she is a leader by example.
Erin (right) and her training partner, Lauren Salter during warmups at Contemporary Athlete
I’m not sure of what Erin thought when she first showed up at the CA. Probably that I was a little crazy as most of what we do is unconventional, but Lauren talked her into staying and she has been a stalwart of hard work and fun. This carries through her work within the CA Professional Athletes as well as with the other amazing people I work with in my open training groups.
Off-weight lunge and twist…a “favorite”.
Erin, like many of the athletes I see walk through my doors, suffers from OTS (Over Training Syndrome). Too many days of training in a gym, on a court, and on game day, and not enough rest had left all kinds of issues in her body, and she was headed down the road towards injury. We reigned in her training and essentially started at square one with her lifting.
A particularly early Monday morning usually means coffee in hand during warmups.
Erin’s foundation as an athlete is solid, so stripping away the clutter was easy to do. With the right support, her goal-setting is moving forward, and watching her grow has been extremely fun. Erin recently decided to return to her alma mater to act as an assistant volleyball coach in order to further develop her own game, and losing her for the school year will be hard. Knowing she will be back next summer, though, has made that loss much easier.
There are some words that all coaches and trainers hate. We all have a list of words that make our skin crawl or blood boil. Our own verbal pet peeves but I think the “C” word is the most frequently used within many training facilities, and for me and what we do here at Contemporary Athlete is the most infuriating of all of them.
I CAN’T
Can’t is a lack luster, poorly descriptive, half hearted word for quit. It is generally used for early onset defeat; a submission to mental weakness, or in most cases the fear of failure. It brings about uncomfortable feelings, warm ears, sweaty palms, nausea, and an intense desire to find the closest exit and to use it… quickly. Can’t flows like a fast running spring stream of verbal diarrhea preceding or following the why’s and how’s for not trying.
For me, this is a debilitating word. It can take an amazing training day, filled with the opportunity for greatness, PR’s, and personal growth and immediately send it into the workout wood chipper. The downward spiral of doomed feelings and tears trigger a good trainers highly honed training as an emotional triage expert and an a long toothed conversation about desire, and positive reinforcement quickly follows the dirty word can’t.
Can’t is a choice, it’s a choice to not try.
Now here is the happy part of this trainer’s rant, it starts with a question:
Why not choose TO try?
I CAN
sounds exponentially better. It is much sexier. There is no hard consonant sound at the end of it. It’s shorter to say; so that is always nice for those of you that are endurance athletes looking to conserve energy. The best yet though, is it always ends with you smiling. (Yeah seriously, try that s**t out in the mirror)
By saying I can you accept the challenge, which lay ahead of you willingly and with a smile. So go out there and be a catalyst for awesome and stop standing in your own way, lead those around you with a smile. Best yet you won’t get up-charged by your trainer for the psychological services that will be offered for saying you can’t. Or the dry cleaning bill for crying on their clean training gear for saying you can’t.
Life offers you what you need when you need it. The question is will you know how to see it and will you accept the opportunity when it walks through your door? – Bender
Lauren pushes her sled at the start of 2013 US Skeleton National Championships
Lauren goes by many names here in the CA, Captain of the “Salty Crew”, “L”, “Salter”, and my personal favorite “Optimist Beta” (Thanks Erin!). All of them are good, yet small indicators of who she really is.
I met Lauren through a great friend of mine, Lindsey Murray, who was Lauren’s roommate when they both slid skeleton together. Lauren was visiting Saratoga Springs, and Lindsey told her she should come check out the gym while she was in town.
Working on snatch
Lauren came during a Saturday workout and we talked a bit of shop before I said I would love to help her train if she decided to move to Saratoga for the summer. A few months later, I got a phone call saying she was moving down, and wanted to know when she could start. I replied, “Great! I’ll see you in 6 to 8 weeks”.
She seemed perplexed.
Lauren (right) and Erin Little during a heavy lift day
As her trainer (I’m not sure what she actually calls me) I was going to help her get to the next step, but she was coming off of a season that essentially had lasted eleven months. Lauren needed time off. So I made her take it.
We talk a lot about what training is, and I have a simple formula. W+R=T (Work + Recovery = Training). It’s not complicated, but it takes all of those parts to make things happen. “R” is what she needed, so that is what I told her to do. During her month and a half of rest, she apparently finished several TV series via Netflix.
Another day, another test.
Lauren’s first day back was with my super awesome “Team XXX” (the Tuesday night women’s group). Unfortunately, she came out of the “pan” that is the Olympic Training Center, and into the “fire” that is CA. It was a dreaded “cards” day, where each suit is a different workout, and the number on the card is the number of repetitions the athlete does. I am pretty much sure that Lauren will never look at step-ups the same way again. She got through day one, but the road was long and full of adversity.
Lauren and Haley Sive (right)
We all come upon forks in our psyche at one time or another. As we go from “faking it” to “making it,” there is a place where we are unsure, insecure, and question everything. Eventually, it takes us to a place where we ask no more questions, put our head down, and accept our wants and desires in order to take the next step.
Braving the heat during an early track day
Let’s jump ahead a bit. Lauren has now learned that “awesome” is a mindset, and it comes from somewhere that even most 13-year-olds know instinctively. Ironically, a 13-year-old client of mine reminded her of this during a goal setting session.
In order to win races, games, or matches, an athlete has to be strong and fast. If they want to be fast, they have to have to have fun. If they are having fun, then they will be awesome. As we get more experience our views change, but ultimately, it’s about having fun. If you want to win a 5k, or go to the Olympics, it all boils down to having fun, because if it’s not fun, it’s not worth doing.
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away… about 5 years ago to be exact. (Also I love star wars, just so you know) Shane and I started down this path to his development as an athlete, and ultimately our friendship. He was a young kid, who was already too big to be sitting on the bench, at about 6 feet tall and 14 years old. Shane just wanted to get some time playing in, instead of sitting on the bench for his travel soccer team. Being 14 years old and 6 feet tall and probably a buck twenty soaking wet at that point of time. Shane finding the ground with his feet, instead of his head bouncing off of it first due to his gangly nature was the first thing we had to sort out.
It has been a long road to get to this point of time. I made a lot of mistakes back then. (Let me make sure to get something straight, I still do.) I was still a relatively young post collegiate athlete, and a wet behind the ears trainer who had only recently gotten his ACSM certification at that point of time. Shane was the first person in this line of work that would change my life. He asked me to help him get some playing time in.
So our journey began. We had our ups and downs, injury, travel, school, team drama, and summer vacations. Shane learned that I was relentless. I learned he was tough. Some days I played the slave driver, other days the mentor, many days the psychiatrist, and occasionally offered sage advice, generally consisting of “I did that, don’t do that it worked out poorly. Trust me on this one you don’t want to be like me.” Which then led to a personal story in which we would both laugh. Then the Burpees or sprints would begin again.
We learned about pull-ups, and deadlifts, and cone drills, and footwork. Along the way we got a few good videos of bad dancing and goofball antics, and some life lessons. We have both grown from one another; I went from operating out of my pick up truck, and using space out of the good graces of a friend of mine, to the big green of the CA.
Life offers you challenges it’s whether or not you accept that that really sets the bar on how you are defined by them. Good luck at Colgate next year and am looking forward to watching 4 more years of great soccer!
