Day 3 review is delayed.

My flight from Bellingham was canceled due to equipment problems. The put a bunch of us on a bus and took us to Seattle, so we missed our connecting flights. They put us up in a hotel and once there I went out to eat with one of the other guys from the cert. We wound up at IHOP. Steak (another bad one), eggs and pancakes.

I slept a few hours & now I get to navigate SeaTac airport. I won't get home until 10 or so tonight, assuming there are no more problems.

 I will write up day 3 of the CST later & post it when I can.

Overload, more mental than physical. I got a good nights sleep, crashing about 10:30 while trying to read the manual for the course. I got up about 7am and discovered that breakfast was nothing but carbs and bad sausage. Blechh. I ate it anyway, gotta have some fuel for the day. Oh and 2 cups of hotel coffee, gotta caffeinate!

We started at 9 by doing more JM work and went into the newly created Clubbell Fitness and Physique program. We spent some time going through each of the drills. There were 10 exercises I think, but I didn't write them down and they would be impossible to explain here. Wait for the DVD that is sure to follow. 

We had a break and switched to lecture mode where Scott went into some detail about deconstructing a movement and figuring out how to pull out pieces and create a corrective movement that can help "fix" an issue using open and closed chain exercise components. This is similar, but way more in depth than Gray Cook's FMS that I learned last week. Combining both methods is going to make a huge difference in how I work with new clients and make me pay more attention to the subtleties in the movements of my existing clients. The CST principles apply to ALL movement patterns, not just Clubbell swinging or yoga, as does the FMS.

 After the lecture we went back to the Fitness program and did it as a workout. What was supposed to be 5 times through with 30 secs rest between circuits was cut to 3 due to lack of time, darn. It was, not hard like Newport or Smokin' Ladders, but say challenging. I wasn't trashed by the end but I knew I had done some work. It is a good routine, but there are a few movements I didn't care for, mainly the lateral raises both moving into side lunge and on Swiss ball.

 After lunch we started in on some key Clubbell lifts: the swing, the clean the front pendulum, rockets, swipes, mills, hammer swings. We went through each breaking them down into the basic parts and working them, then putting them back to make the whole exercise. Along the way we looked at common issues and some options for correcting them. It was a LOT of volume. I did finally get to use some 20 lb clubs and they felt just right. I have 15s and 25s , the former are a tad to light, the latter too heavy unless I'm doing low rep strength work. So I'll have to drop some more $$ to get a pair of 20s.

To finish off, as if we hadn't done enough already, Coach Wilson decided we needed to do some Flow Fit and work on leg swoops, the bastard, I'll get him tomorrow! (j/k  Coach)

Although I know I did a ton of work today, I felt ok leaving. I had to buy a new bag to carry my Clubbells home. We had to either bring a pair or buy a pair. I didn't feel like lugging my 15s on this cross-country adventure. No telling where they would have shown up since my regular bag missed the switch from Chicago to St. Paul, I probably would have never seen the clubs again.

 So, I got the bag and found a place that served sushi, Pad Tai. I walked in and was greeted by lots of non-Japanese waitresses (no Furman, not that kind of place).The decor was decidedly non-Japanese as well. I think the chef might have been. Oh well. The Sashimi was decent, but the presentation was lacking in artistry. If you know anything about Japanese food preparation, you know that it is all about the presentation. It is an art form.

As I write this the work load is sinking in and I will probably be sore tomorrow, which promises to be almost as tough as today. We have to do our Trial By Fire which is 130 2 Clubbell swipes, 130 mills with each hand and 65 hammer swings in each direction all with 15lb clubs. I've done it at home, rested, in about 30 minutes, not pushing it. I should be able to do it under an hour tomorrow, even fatigured. We can set the club down when we need to and  switch hands whenever, but can't move to the next exercise until we complete the preceeding one.

We are also supposed to work on Prasara yoga some more, which I suck at and somewhere in there we are supposed to work with "victims" in Pavel speak and assess them and come up with corrective strategies for them in 7 minutes or less and then we have to present what we found and what we did to correct it. That will be the hardest part of the weekend.

The instructors were all great. Once again they showed their mastery of what they were teaching us and did an excellent job of conveying tremendous amounts of information. Coach Wilson is a nut, someone needs to keep him away from Starbucks. Coach Steer was excellent in his presentation of the 3 Trial By Fire lifts and the other Coaches were excellent as well.Scott has surrounded himself with some top notch coaches. I hope to reach lthat level myself down the road.

As I was working with the Clubbells today, it dawned on me how much more complicated, or perhaps we should say sophisticated, Clubbell work is comared to all other fitness modalities, even kettlebells. There is a lot of nuance, subtlety that is not present in most other forms of fitness. Olympic lifts have a lot of technique, kettlebell lifts have a lot too, but we are only working in two dimensions. Clubbells allow us to move in 3 planes and six degrees of freedom ( I will write about that later) which increases the complexity of the movement manifold times.

Now it's time to pack, but the Sashimi is wearing off, I wonder what I can find to eat......

Day 1 of the Xi Cadre CST ICS, that's Circular Strength Training Instructor Certification Seminar.

So far so good, but you better be prepared, this is not a workshop for beginner's. You are expected to have a base knowledge of the 3 rings to the CST system: Clubbells, Prasara Yoga/Body Flow/Flow Fit, and Intu-Flow (joint mobility).

We jumped right in this morning with some basic JM work for warm-up and then we heard a lecture on what was expected of us over the course of the weekend and what we have to do to become certified.Like the CK-FMS this is not a paper certification. You must meet the criteria or you will fail.

The requirements are:

1. Your performance in all 3 rings of the CST
2. Assessment and Presentation of it. The assessment has to be done in under 7 minutes, similar to the CK-FMS
3. The Physical Exam - the Trial by Fire. 130 swipes with 2 15lb clubs, 130 mills with each hand, again with a 15, and finally 65 2 handed hammer swings in each direction, in under and hour
4. The written exam
5. Following a 28 day Personal program (the 4x7)

We then heard about the 3 rings and how they relate and overlap with the goal of reaching "flow" state. This is commonly referred to as the "Zone", that state of mind where things happen seemingly effortlessly, without you have to think. Your mind gets out of the way of your body and moves.

After lunch we delved into some basic Prasara yoga and Be Breathed which is about letting your movement make you breathe rather than breathing intentionally. The focus is on breath mastery .

We also went mucn deeper into some upper body Intu-Flow work focusing on sophisticating the neck and thoracic spine (as we did at the CK-FMS but much more in depth in Intu-Flow). 

Somewhere in there we also did lots of quad hops in all 4 planes. There were lots of people moaning when we finished those!

We had more lecture on the historty of clubbells and "Biotensegrity"; how the body is held together. Not by columns stacked up straight, but more like a suspension bridge. The bones expand and the muscles, tendons and ligaments keep  the bones from falling apart.

Then we got to do a clubbell workout. It was fun, a little tough, but not bad.

front pendulum 2x15 36sec

squat/flag press 1x15 36 sec

lunge w/hammer curl 2x15 36 sec

side to side lunge with lateral raise 2x15 (the lateral raises sucked) holding the clubs with the barrels forward and holding near that end. 36 sec

OH sway. 1x15 arms locked overhead, bend at waist and straighten up. 36 sec

staggered stance diagonal/rotational drill 1x15 36sec

we did that circuit 4 times, it was tough but good.

We finished up with another lecture on breathing and integrating structure and called it a day.

Tomorrow is supposed to be all clubbells and they said it would be much more demanding than today. We'll see.

 In addition to Scott Sonnon, thereare 6 instructors at head coach level or up. They are all very knowledgeable and they all walked around, helping where needed. I have a LOT to work on in Prasara and Intu-Flow.

Today, Thursday the 14th I caught a 7am flight to Bellingham, Wa. Talk about a tiny airport! We landed on the tarmac came down the ladder and walked across the tarmac and into the terminal which consisted of a baggage area and 4 car rental places and not much else. The baggage area wasn't even conveyors, just a place where  the ground crew dumped the bags.

I had not reserved a car because the hotel is right around the corner and I didn't want to spend the money, but when I got here I decided to get one after all. Of the 4 places, Hertz had no cars, Budget had a Hummer and Avis had a cargo van. Enterprise was the only one with small cars and I got a Dodge Caliber. It's a decent little car.

I'm very glad I got the car. After I checked in and got some food and some drugs ( i caught a damned cold some how) I drove out t Mt Baker/Snoqualamie National Forest, stopping at the Mt. Baker Vineyards on the way! . I sampled 4 or 5 wines and got 6 bottles to bring home. I just hope they survive checked baggage.

From there I kept going, heading for the big mountain with the snow on top. I thought Lake Tahoe was beautiful, but this area was unbelievable. I've never seen such splendor. The day was perfect, the temperature was in the mid 90s in the valley  but very little humidity. The sky was blue and I could see for miles. The lady at the vineyard said they rarely get days like today.

On the way up to the top I stopped off at a trail which runs along side of the north fork of the Nooksack River. Walking the trail a short way I found a good spot to get to the bank, which had some good size rocks to sit on. I had my phone with me out of habit, and when I went to sit down it decided to commit seppuku. I rescued it from the water, but as of now it is still dead. Hopefully it will dry out overnight, then I will have a Zombie Blackberry. Otherwise I'm going to have to have Tmobile replace it, but it is under maintenance. 

Once I fished out the phone I walked further upstream. The river in that area is very fast, lots of rapids. The signs said it was Class III to Class IV. It was wonderful to hear the rushing water and to see the 50 - 60 ft, or higher cedar trees, the moss on them , the ferns and wildflowers on the ground. It was stunning.

Not having proper attire (sandals), nor drinking water I headed back to the car and drove on up the mountain. I'm kicking myself for not having a camera. You need to Google Mt Baker to see some pics like this ---->

Driving further up along the tree lined road occasionally catching glimpses of mountains and all of a sudden the trees open and you can see the glacier and the surrounding mountains, it was breathtaking. I kept going stopping a few times to get out and really see things, especially Nooksack Falls

At the top is the glacier and you can walk out on it and head down several different trails. It's a bit disconcerting to be walking on snow in sandals when the sun is beating down and it is 85 - 90 degrees. 

There wasn't a lot of snow and I'm not sure if the snow pack always gets that low or if the warmer than normal summers of the past few years are causing it to melt faster, but I could tell there were places that should have had snow on them.

It was getting late and I was getting hungry so I called it a day and came back down. It was a great day. Now if I can get rid of this cold by morning. The CST workshop starts at 9am.

I left St. Paul early Monday for Reno, Nv via Las Vegas and Phoenix. THe flight left at 7am and the shuttle came at 4:30am. I hate mornings. Once at the airport I got some coffe but I managed to spill itall over the place. Fortunately it was Caribou coffee and there was a Starbucks just arond the corner from my departure gate. I got to Vegas and had a 3 hour layover then flew to Phoenix and had a layover plus the plane was 45 minutes late. I got into Reno about 4pm

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I spent with my Dad, his wife, my sister and her husband. I haven't seen them I many, many years and we spent some time catching up.

On Tuesday we drove from Reno down to Lake Tahoe & drove all the way around it. It is very pretty there. The lake is very clear and the California side is very nice except the South Shore which is very overdeveloped. You can tell when you leave Nevada, the casinos stop.

We got out at Emerald Bay, which is a very picturesque area overlooking a small island. We took some pics (on my dad's camera, when he sends them to me I will post them) and continued on up around the California side. 

On Wednesday, my sister & brother-in-law left for home in Colorado and my Dad & I drove up to Quincy Ca, so he could pay the taxes on his gold mine claim!. Its not really a mine, but he has a nice chunk of land near Prattville, Ca & Lake Almanor.

The mine claim is down a gravel switchback almost to the bottom of a ravine near a stream. He uses a back hoe to dig out the old river bed and then sifts it out using a machine. He does get a little gold, which he saves. Its his way of staying busy in his retirement. It is very peacful and quiet there, although he said he saw a bear not to long ago and has shot quite a few rattlesnakes.

I've been up since 3:30 Central time for a 7 am flight. St. Paul to Las Vegas wasn't bad. Then a 3 hour layover in Las Vegas and then a flight to Phoenix which is where I am as I right this. The flight from Phoenix to Reno is delayed at least 45 mins. Blah. Thank God all these airports have free Wi-Fi!!

 In Reno I hope to make it down to Lake Tahoe and mainly just hang out for a few days and catch up with my Dad and sister.

Day 3 of the CMS got us more lecture, this tie in primitive patterns which is basically crawling and rolling. Learning how to use the head  torso to roll over without using the lower body and also learning to roll by using the just the lower body. These are key components in rotary stabilization and rotary mobilization. If you watch a baby, these are the ways the learn to roll.

We re-learned the single leg deadlft focusing on contra-lateral lifting. That is you lift with the arm opposite the standing leg. It makes a HUGE difference. And there are some minor tweaks and things to adjust here.

We also covered kneeling presses to address other rotary issues. 1/2 kneeling and pressing a LIGHT kb. The up knee and down knee are in line, try to press with the arm on the side of the up knee.Watch yourself fall over!

 Next up I have to do screens on at least 20 people just for practice and with no intent on fixing things yet. Then in about a month I will have to take an online exam and pick someone to work on. I will have to tape what I do and how I fixed whatever the issue(s) was and submit it to make sure I'm following the system correctly.

There will a shift in emphasis in class from all the met-con stuff to more "practice" and working to fix movement patterns. For some of yo it means yo may not be allowed to do a lift if you have an issue that the screen shows up in which doing that lift is contra-indicated. It may be 10 mins or it maybe a month before you can resume that lift depending on how long it takes to correct the issue.

 Now I get to pack up & be ready for tomorrow. I have to catch the shuttle to the airport at 4:30am. yechhh

Wow. Information overload!

Lots of good stuff today. We did corrective strategies, primarily for the active straight leg raise (ASLR) since that seems to be most peoples' problems and fixing it will fix many other things. We also worked a lot on the TGU focusing on some specific movements to fix stability and mobility issues. It doesn't replace or negate the way I've been teaching it, it just allows me to focus on some specific points.

We also worked on shoulders and thoracic spine (t-spine) mobility and stability. Freeing up the t-spine fixes many problems including shoulder issues and off side stability.

We spent a lot of time doing case studies on ourselves to have hands on experience with the corrective strategies.

This is great stuff!

I arrived yesterday minus my luggage. It was left in Chicago apparently someone in Louisville tagged it wrong and was never transferred to my flight from Chicago to Minneapols/St. Paul. It finally got here aroud 10am. Unfortunately it came in after I was long gone to the workshop.

Day 1 started off with the snatch test. I did 40 each arm which was 24 total more than necessary. It was easy.

The rest of the day was lecture and hands on assessment of 7 basic movement patterns. This course is already making me think of ways to restructure our classes to help you guys fix some of your movements issues. Rather than piling on exercises and making you fitter we need to work on your movements so you can fix underlying issues, then add on the fitness component.It will be a part of the new FitCamp beginners course which starts September 8th.

What is a CK-FMS? CK = Certified KettleBell, FMS is the Functional Movement Specialist. It is based on the Functional Movement Screen a system devised by Gray Cook, Physical Therapist and Orthopedic Clinical Specialist, because he was tired of seeing athletes being "fixed" by making them work harder or by adding more weight rather than seeing the underlying problems and devising corrective strategies.

The FMS is a system consisting of seven movements and athletes (that would be you) are assessed as they are walked through the movements. The tests make it very easy to see where a persons' movement restrictions are. Tomorrow we work on taking those assessments and figuring out how to fix the imbalances or weakness uncovered by the assessment.

Gray is an excellent speaker and is very passionate about what he does.

 Brett Jones, Master RKC is the other instructor and he too brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to this course. He has a Masters in Rehab Science a B.S. in Sports Medicine and a CSCS. Brett was one of the first people to take Gray's FMS course and has been working with Gray ever since. They have been working to incorporate the principles of Gray's FMS with the RKC system to make better trainers of us all.

The main benefits of this system are:

• reduce the potential for training and sports injuries
• provides a simple grading system to assess movement
• easy to use by sports medicine and fitness professionals
• identifies physical weakness or imbalances
• rehabs those imbalances and weaknesses with simple corrective exercises

There is a strong focus on both mobility and stability, you need both to function well and some parts of the body are meant to be stabilizers, such as the foot and lumbar spine, while others or supposed to be mobile, like the ankle and hip.

The degree of lack of mobility or stability causes use to compensate by changing the way you. Doing so causes imbalances and muscles begin to fire at the wrong time or not at all which leads to more issues. If we continue to pile on more and more work/weight to these problems injury will occur. The goal then is to identify the problem areas and fix them before trying to increase work capacity.

The RKC is a constantly evolving system. Pavel is always looking for ways to make it simpler but at the same time focus on proper movement patterns. As part of that they change they way the six basic lifts are taught and today I discovered they have changed the Turkish getup teaching progression as well as how it is performed. That means you get to re-learn the TGU!

 All in all I'm very excited to be a part of this workshop, I'm learning a lot and this will give me more knowledge to help you. And this is not a paper cert where you walk in pay your money and get a piece of paper saying you are certified. I will have to take a test after the course is over and video-tape myself working on someone to demonstrate I understand what I was taught and can apply it

Thanks to Tamas for finding this on DragonDoor

24k try not to set it down

swings 10/10

snatch 1/1

swing 10/10

snatch 2/2

etc up to

swing 10/10

snatch 10/10

 Try to complete in under 10 mins. I did it in 10:48 using a DragonDoor kb. I had to stop 1/2 through to chalk my hands. On a scale from 1 to 10 it was about 7 or 7.5