Recently in health-wellness Category

In memory of the Grandmaster, who passed early this year, October 1st (his birthday) has been declared "Helio Gracie Day" by his family.

Hey kettlebell enthusiasts - guess what?!? John Du Cane of Dragon Door has announced that Pavel will be bringing the Russian Kettlebell Challenge to the east coast for the first time ever! The RKC will be October 9-11 in Philadelphia, PA.

Interested in attending? Sign-up by July 29th and save $1,000! For more information, head on over to Dragon Door.

If you've been looking for a high-quality Dragon Door kettlebell, but been hesitating due to the price (expensive!), guess what? They've cut the prices significantly as they're dumping US-based production. Remaining US-produced kettlebells:

10lb - 77
14lb - 121
18lb - 110
24kg - 23
28kg - 263
32kg - 267
36kg - 317
40kg - 63
48kg - 49

I finally got a chance to work out yesterday after laying off for about 5 weeks thanks to the baby. First of all, wow, it is amazing how heavy the 24kg kettlebells feel, no matter how heavy the 32kg bells are. Second, gosh am I ever sore today (the day after)! :) It's a good kind of sore, though. The workout entailed:

• Single-hand swings w/ 24kg to warmup


• 2-hand anyhows w/ 24kg and 16kg kbs


• side press with 24kg


• deep squats with 2 32kg kettlebells


• single-leg deadlift with 2 32kg kettlebells


• pullups


• swings to cool down

One of my dreams for at least a couple years has been to purchase a Metolius Simulator. It's a training board for climbing that you can use for hanging and pull-ups to build arm and hand strength. I'm proud to say that I now have one hung in our new home! Woohoo! And, not only that, but it turns out that I'm even able to do a wide grip pull-up, despite being at a bloated weight these days!!! Even better. :)

Though I wanted a blue Simulator, the only ones REI had were green, so I settled for a grey+green one, and I have to say that it actually looks quite decent. Once we get everything setup and settled, I'll go around and take some pictures of the place for everyone to see - and I'll be sure to include a picture of my newest toy. :)

If anybody is interested, I've received a pass for a free 30-day membership to one of the clubs in the mysportsclub.com chain, including Washington Sports Club, New York Sports Club, Boston Sports Club, and Philly Sports Club. Though I've cancelled my membership at WSC due to lack of use and inadequate hours, maybe it'll work for you. If you live in the Fairfax, VA, area then I highly recommend getting training sessions with my friend Paul Dz. at the Fairfax WSC. Ping me if you'd like the pass. First-come, first-serve.

RKC II Brett Jones has a great post up today on a few of his "ah-ha moments" in his fitness career. Good stuff - well worth the read!

RKC II Brett Jones has an excellent post up today about his ongoing struggle with eating right to feel right. Check it out here - it'll be well worth your time!

My two favorite seasons, in order of preference, are Fall and Spring. There's nothing like the cool, crisp air and the colors of the foliage to put the mind at ease come September/October/November (depending on where you live). Spring, on the other hand, often means a return of sunshine, warmth, and the colors of trees and flowers blooming everywhere. Unfortunately, in addition to being colorful, both of these seasons share another attribute (on the East Coast, anyway): smelly mulch.

Though Spring has not yet sprung here (despite stupid DST kicking in early), the landscapers were out in force as of late last week, dumping the foul smelling mulch around trees and flower gardens, in preparation of the growing season. This mulch seems to be home to one of my arch-nemeses: mold. There is, in fact, a specific type of mold (don't recall which) that seems to be in the mulch around here that absolutely kills me.

So, beware, Mid-Atlanticans: the Spring season is here, and your allergies will be striking. Get those inhalers and sprays all primed (Astelin to the rescue!), because it could be a doozy. :)

There's a decent article over on Men's Vogue this month. It provides nice background overview of the device, and also has a brief slideshow that walks through a decent basic kettlebell workout. It's definitely worth checking out, and will only take a few minute to zip through.