Day: February 3, 2011

Ego Checked

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Well that was totally embarrassing.

I should have told him I am an executive secretary not a group exercise instructor/trainer!

Yeah, my training session seriously kicked my ass.

I am pretty sure I shot myself in the foot by going to Kettlebell Conditioning this morning and drinking too much coffee (two cups, late morning).  Whatever it was, I was messed up.  No, seriously, I started getting blurred vision and everything sounded muffled.  I got nauseous and had to excuse myself (luckily nothing happened with that if you know what I mean).

I have never experienced that before.  We’re talking true muscle failure.  After 35 or so minutes I was toast.  Burnt toast.

He was apologetic and I was embarrassed but I think we both handled it pretty well.   It was a hell of an ego check and awesome to see that I rarely actually push myself to my edge.  Not that I need to see that edge quite so closely again anytime soon.

I was all fueled up from an awesome lunch so I know that wasn’t the problem!

Beets have never been my thing.   I love the greens (they’re salty!) but the root I could take or leave…until lately.  The local beets seem to be getter sweeter with storage and I’ve been hooked on them for the last few weeks.  They are so good that Tate, a true beet detester, has been enjoying them in moderation.

My favorite way to eat a beet is roasted.

Last night I roasted a big batch for dinner and leftovers, along with a turnip.

And today they topped a salad for lunch.

One of my other favorites lately has been raw kale in salads.  It adds a nice heartiness that makes a green salad seem more wintery.

 

Served with pineapple bbq tempeh…mmmmm

And lots of Snap Happy Ginger Snaps!

I am still working on the final name for these guys

Sunday night my brother-in-law brought over some Whole Foods ginger snaps and asked could I make some “ginger snaps but make them extra snappy?”.  After clarifying that for him the snap was more about flavor than texture I started to get excited.  I love ginger.  The snappier the better. 🙂

The Dry

  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1/4-1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 packet Sweetleaf stevia
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • salt
  • ample amounts of ground ginger, fresh ground nutmeg, and fresh ground cinnamon
  • itsy pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 2 tsp cocoa

The Wet

  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 1 Tbs honey
  • 1/4 cup plum sauce (or apple sauce, I just had plum in the fridge)
  • grated knob of fresh, peeled ginger
  • 1 egg
  1. mix wet into dry
  2. make small balls
  3. place onto parchment covered cookie sheet
  4. flatten with fingers
  5. bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes

Makes 2 dozen plus some cookie dough to snack on.

The cookies will still be soft when the come out of the oven but will become crunchy snappy as they cool.  At first I thought, yuck, these are too dry but then I remembered that ginger snaps are supposed to be on the dryer side and that they are best served with tea/coffee or peanut butter.  Or both.

I got so caught up in cookie making that I sort of forgot to tell my brother-in-law to come in and collect his cookies when he picked up his car last night. 😉

Next time!  I am scheming up how to make these even healthier by replacing the brown sugar with mashed banana.  Tate is skeptical but we all know he’ll eat them anyway!

Make It Snappy Ginger Snaps?  Snap Happy Ginger Snaps?  Extra Ginger Snaps?

Right now I am calling them Snack Happy Ginger Snaps 🙂

To Kettle or Not To Kettle

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Do you work out with kettlebells?

I have been aware of them for years but quite skeptical about their role in the average gym-goers workout.  To me, kettlebell training was obviously risky for the shoulders and back and the bouncing and locking in your hip and knee joints that is required to perform the form is…against everything I know about form!

So for years I have been anti-kettlebell.  Recently I was lured into giving this old-school strength training technique another shot by promises of serious calorie burn, quick workouts, and full-body exercises.

I bought a kettlebell and some dvd’s.

Kettlebells can be really expensive but I totally cheaped out and bought the department store variety.  It’s girly and pastel, not at all cannonball-like :).  It turns out that 10 pounds is just right for one-armed moves and a little light for two armed moves for me.

I admit, I’ve only used the kettlebell 4 or 5 times since I gifted myself with it around Christmas so it’s impossible to say if I’ve seen results.  The dvd’s are great, they give good descriptions for posture and technique and provide good workouts but I still felt like I was missing some vital keys in technique.

I thought that the only kettlebell training available at the gym was in conjunction with a cycle class. I don’t cycle.  Maybe I will someday but for now I don’t cycle.  I was thrilled to discover a kettle conditioning class tucked up in the corner of the Thursday morning group exercise schedule.  This morning I got my tush out of bed and went.

The class was hard and good.  My heart rate was seriously elevated for only about 10 minutes of the hour class but my muscles were quaking by the end.  On the teachers recommendation I used 15 and 20 pound bells (mostly 15!) but I think a 10 pounder would have been more appropriate for some exercises.

I continue to have mixed feelings about the safety of kettlebell training.  The bouncing and locking into the leg joints is less scary and treacherous than I previously thought, unless you hyper-extend your knees (which I don’t).  I still have serious concerns about shoulder and back overuse issues.

By the end of class my low back hurt!  My low back rarely hurts, which I attribute to regular Pilates workouts and good alignment/posture.  It doesn’t feel like I strained anything, just like I overused it.  Not to toot my own horn, but I have very good form and I am strong.  I was keeping a long back with engaged abs the entire time and my back still feels yucky.  My conclusion is that 60 minutes is way too long for a newbie to kettlebell training.  The gym should offer a 30-45 minute intro class to build up strength and practice form.

I can only imagine how rough I would be feeling if I was “de-conditioned” and decided to jump into that class.  OW!

My stand on kettlebells at this point is that they are a fantastic tool that I will continue to incorporate into my regular workouts but as a trainer and teacher I think it is crucial to take the time to build your technique and strength up slowly.  And stop doing it if it bugs my back or shoulders!