Embrace The Kettlebell Part I

[Trying to keep your hands dry in the TX heat and humidity is a real M.F. Sweat + scuffed handle = blister on palm.]

I owe myself an apology.

Outside forces( some that where out of my control, and some that totally were in my control) have caused me to neglect my accountability. If I can not hold myself accountable for my goals, then why the hell do I set goals in the first place? Setting a goal without holding yourself accountable for achieving it is like drawing a bowstring past its anchor point, which will cause the arrow to fall off the string to the ground below. I guess that's what happened to me. I drew my bowstring too far back by trying to accomplish too much at one time.

I don't want to make any excuses for this neglect...,

...but 4 months of studying for a promotional exam tends to take your focus away from a few things. Training (my self) gave me a 45 min escape from the monotony of reading page after page of technical fire fighter BLAH BLAH BLAH all day. I trained for strength. I trained for endurance. I trained for conditioning. I trained because I got to beat my aggression out with a sledgehammer. Training became such a big part of my mental rehab that I lost sight of the "why" and focused on the "do it" for the sake of doing it. I was still focused on preparing for the RKC, but I wasn't going about it the right way. I ignored one of the basic, yet one of the most important, concepts of training; the S.A.I.D principle (Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands). "...basically means the best way to prepare for a kettlebell cert. is to train with a kettlebell" (enter Eric J. Moss, RKC). I ignored a basic rule..that I knew and implemented with my clients. It was like I was learning how to speak Spanish by taking Japanese. A trainer should know better. Well, a great trainer would know better and, apparently; I still have a lot to learn.

Aviod reinventing the wheel.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it, and I am no mechanic. When I first decided to embark on this journey, I thought it would be awesome if I came up with a personalized ETK program that not only helped me prepare for the RKC, but also for the physically demanding life of a fire fighter. ( Hello idiot!. ETK can do both.) Throw a few heavy dead lifts, tire flips, hammer chops, and sandbags into the pot. Pour in 2 cups of KB clean and presses, TGUs, swings, and snatches. You've got yourself quite a stew brewing, but too bad it smells like 'shit house door on a tuna boat' (you can thank Doug Sr. for that one).

Deep down, I knew it. I guess I was just trying to create something that I could take ownership in and maybe put in a book. 'ETK: The Fire Fighter Way' had a nice ring to it. Talk about premature confabulation!

Time to pick up the arrow, clean the tip off, and take aim.

I went down the wrong path. I know that now, and now is not the time to dwell on it. I have recognized my mistakes and know how to fix them. I would like to write more, but it is getting late. I still have a few more chapters that I want to review before I go to bed. Tomorrow, I will list my life goals and how I plan on accomplishing them. This ,and future post, will be here for you to read at your leisure. They will serve a much greater purpose for me. They will be my motivation, accountability, and a log of how I got to where I am going.