And Now For Something New...

I know it's been a few days since I last posted. Last week was kind of a doozy. I think I may have overdone it a tad bit. I was working out, moving furniture and books up and down stairs, walking and then I woke up one morning and my balance was wackadoo. I kept feeling like I was about to tip over. It was the weirdest sensation and not at all pleasant. It was accompanied by slight dizziness. My legs felt weak and shaky. It was like this for a couple days. So I decided to lay off everything over the weekend until I got my strength and balance back.

I did - for fun - swing the 24kg (53lb) kettlebell to see how it felt (how I was progressing strength wise) and for the first time, I was able to perform one-handed swings with it. I do work out with it but I usually do 2 handed swings with it and they are not long sets. Anyway, this made me very happy.

So now for my big news - big news for me because this is a huge step forward for me. It's been a long time since I have felt comfortable taking on a new challenge and put myself out there. But this decision feels good. I have decided to try out kettlebell competition. My inspiration, of course is the great Tracy Reifkind.

The one I'll be competing in is May 31st in Omaha, Nebraska which is about 500 miles from me. It's the closest competition and just a day's drive.

Tracy is going to train me for it and I cannot tell you how bloody excited I am about this. I did my first 5 minute snatch test yesterday so she could see where I need to start my training. I have a  LOT of work ahead of me, but I can do this. I am stoked. It feels right. Am I nervous? You bet! But it's a good kind of nervous--the refreshing kind.

I just ordered my first competition bell - a 12kg. It should arrive Friday.

Training wise this week, aside from the 5 minute snatch test with my 8kg kettlebell, I did 200 (2 handed) swings with the 16kg and the 18kg (100 each).  I am just getting started with my snatch training so I am sort of doing a reset as I position myself to this new phase.

I am down another pound on the weight front which makes me happy. It's very slow but steady. I've lost eight pounds since beginning of January. I have been  playing with my calories to find what works best, so I increased my calories to about 2100 for a few weeks and now I'm bringing it down to 1800. We'll see how this goes for a another couple weeks and if I need to lower it some more. If I could lose at least 15 pounds by the competition, I would be really happy. That's about five pounds a month between now and then.

So there you have it! More to come as I start training. This will be a lot of fun - a lot of hard work but all very worth it.

Happy Wednesday!