No, I have not fallen of the face of the earth...

I've taken quite a long break from blogging...mainly 'cause I've been a naughty girl in terms of working out. The winter holidays usually tend to through me for a curve, and I let it get the best of me. Overall I feel like a blob...Thanks for stopping in if you are still around. I'm going to go look at my links now; it's been forever since I've checked in with web friends. Oh yea, then I need to go do some swings :)

Home Alone

Today I got the rarest of treats...the house to myself! I was able to read the paper, fold clothes and of course, workout without the pitter-patter of little feet upstairs. Aren't Grandmas great? Today was short, but sweet. I have just a bit of time home before I'm off to parent/teacher conferences.

squats w/racked 16kg, 4 sets of 7.
double cleans w/16kg into 10 see-saw presses
swings with 24kg.
10 with two hands and (just for fun) 3l/3r.
I also tried out a few transfers with the 24, just to see how that much weight would feel...I'll keep working on it.

December...almost here!

So as December approaches, now is the time to ponder eating habits. So many temptations on the way. At least I have my boys Christmas presents bought. Now I just have to wrap.
Anyway, here is today's workout:
squats w/8kg, 3 sets of 10
clean and press w/16, 2 sets of 5l/5r
clean and push press w/24kg, 1 set of 3r/3l
2 handed swings w/24kg 3 sets 10, 10, 8
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving

The Lazy Blogger

yes, I've been quite the lazy blogger. I've been working out, albeit more sporadically than usual. For those of you still checking in with me, thanks!
Here was today's workout:
Cleans w/16kg
3 sets of 5r/5l w/30 secs in between

Double cleans into see-saw press w 16kg
5l/5r, 5l/5r, 6l/6r

3 sets of 10 2 handed swings with 24kg

The 24 swings are getting more comfortable.

Also, I'm feeling pretty good since I got all the Christmas shopping for my boys done yesterday!

Sunday Morning

So it is now that peaceful time on Sunday morning where I have a few moments to breath before getting the boys dressed for church. I did workout yesterday and Thursday, but I don't have my notebook handy at the moment, so I'll just tell you that I have starting doing two-handed swings with the 24kg. I can't do a lot with them, but I would like to work up to one-handed swings with them. It'll be good grip work for me; although 20+ years of being a pianist has really helped with forearm strength. I did some dead lifts with the 32kg, and even though I have done them with more weight on a bar, it just feels good to say that I used it...lol.
Last weekend was crazy, so it's been nice just hanging at home. Well, got to go get ready for church...my pipe organ is not going to play itself!

Quick post....making dinner!

OK, I have 6 minutes before the oven timer goes off.
Today's workout:
40 swings w/16kg to warm up

Combo (I amuse myself by making them up)
Snatch into a press 5l/5r - 3 sets with 16kg

Cleans w/24 5l/5r
3 sets

I was feeling pretty good so...
15 two handed swings w/24kg

Perhaps I will try to increase that; maybe then working up to a snatch...scary!

That's it...thanks for stopping by!

Jelly Arms

So I was inspired to try something new tonight - the over head hold (Thank you Taikei). Grabbed a 16kg, clean and press and up we go! I set the timer for one minute. I found it interesting and challenging to have to focus on all the different stabling muscles during the stillness of this exercise. There's no cheating form with the momentum of the bell here! So I managed to do 2 on each side, one minute each time. Then I did a little combo that went something like this (w/16kg):
5 swings r, transfer
5 swings l, transfer,
5 swings r, transfer
4 swings l, snatch and hold for 15 seconds - bring down slowly to clean position.
Now you're on the left side to start pattern again...fun!
I did that pattern 4 times total. Then, since it was going on 10pm (yep, another night workout), and my arms were feeling wobbly, I decided to stop.

Here's a little something extra for all you ninja fans! I know it has nothing to do with kettlebells, but it's fun...I like fun...enjoy!

Night KBs

9:45 is not the ideal time to work out..I'm talking about PM, by the way. But I was in the mood, and after food shopping, making dinner, putting the boys to bed and getting some laundry done, it was now or never (or at least tomorrow). Well, here it is:
Double clean into see-saw presses w/ 16kg
Sets - 4 presses (l,r,l,r),4, 4, 6, 8, 8
15 seconds timed rest between sets

Snatches 5l, 5r, 5l, 5r w/16 - no rest in between sets
(I know that's not much; I just wasn't in a snatching mood)

Clean and jerks with the 24kg
4 reps each set (r, l, r, l) - 3 sets with one minute rest in between
When I say "jerk", I'm not using one foot in front of the other as in Olympic Power lifting, it's just that I have to use the spring of my body to get it up. My feet stay shoulder width apart. I'm actually pretty good at bringing it down fairly slowly, it's the "up" that needs the extra push.

And no, I am not fond of swings.
As always, thanks for stopping by!

A Lovely Day To Workout

So another balmy day in Jersey. At least I got some free time today. My in-laws had the boys overnight, so after church I had to drive to their house to get them, about 45 minutes away. There's a lot of stores on the way up, and even if I don't buy anything, I enjoy the alone time anyway. I did get the new Rascal Flatts CD at Barnes and Noble and listened to it on the way.

Since I didn't work out since Thursday (thanks for the reminder Howie), I figured I should push a bit harder today.

80 swings in 2 minutes with 8kg (transfer every 10)
squats with 8kg, three sets of 10
one legged dead lifts with 16kg, 5l/5r - 3 sets
clean & jerk with 24kg one each side, 3 sets.

Overall, I'm feeling pretty good. My balance wasn't that great with the dead lifts, so I definitely need to return to those again in the near future. I was surprised at how much easier the 24kg jerks were since I first wrote about them in August...it nice to think that perhaps I'm getting stronger. I'll probably also add a walk around the block after putting the boys to bed since the hubby is home tonight

Quick workout

Well, today's workout was a quick one. The boys were in one of those "He's bothering me!" moods, so I figured that I better do something that will kick butt in a short amount of time. 40 swings with 8kg 3 sets of double cleans with 16kg - 9 reps, 9 reps, 6 reps A few kb-free squats to finish. Not very inspiring, but it got the job done. As per my last post, here is my backyard - Tuesday's workout area: