Back to Bragg

The weekend of the 21st I flew out to San Diego for a collaborative workshop with Lauren Brooks, that was filmed. Lucky me, my brother-in-law and his family live in the area as well. So I was able to see them a few days and my sister-in-law joined me at the workshop that Sunday.

Unlucky me decided Pizza Hut Pepperoni Pizza would be a good idea for dinner the Friday prior and paid for it BIG TIME. As I was vomiting my guts up between 4am & 2pm, I could hear Mike's voice in my head: "Babe, you know you can't eat food like that. What were you thinking?" It's true, my guts just aren't cut out for lotsa grease and sub-par food anymore. Needless to say I will NOT be eating Pizza Hut for some time... I got food poisoning from Subway when I was 8 and didn't eat there again until I was 23.

I managed to make it through the workshop/dvd filming on three saltines and half-a glass of water. I couldn't have asked for a better turn-out of high caliber folks. Everyone had previous kettlebell experience and all were chomping at the bit to learn more in every aspect from picking up cues & tools to take back to their clients, to applying new moves & concepts to their own training. It was an outstanding group of people to say the least. Everyone was so kind and willing to learn and share.

Here's some of their feedback:

"I heard that these trainers were the best in the field. I was so happy that everyone was correct. I hope to be as effective with my clients"
"Great job ladies"
" Thank you Lauren & Sara! You guys were awesome"
" You two worked really well together, well planned"

What did you like most about this workshop?
"Casual Experience and open to questions."
" Learning intermediate technique that I haven't been exposed to before"
"Hardcore, safe, effective workouts w/ step by step instruction"
" Personal "
" Great pace/tempo of instruction, great instructors"
" Presenters had great energy and command of material. Great introduction to KB movements"
" I like the fact that they mixed the physical with the conceptual foundation"

What did you like least about this workshop?
"Too short! Lots of information."
" How out of shape I feel"
"N/A it was very thorough"
" It was all valuable"

What was the most valuable information provided?
"Progression for heavy snatches, integration of joint mobility"
" Increasing Snatch power"
" Motivational part from Sara really resonated"
" Cues for exercises"
" It was all valuable"
" Proper form, technique and the theoretical purpose involved in training the mind"

What 3 words best describe this workshop?
"Informative, creative, fun"
" Interactive, well-paced, educational"
"Got me motivated"
"Fun, Functional, Fierce"
" A Great Time"
" Fun, Efficient, Introductory"
" Fun, Informative, Practical"

I have to thank Carolyn at Phyzyks for graciously letting us use her very cool gym in Cardiff for the event, thank you Carolyn! Della from Buggy Bells helped assist as well and did such a great job. thank you Della! (Check out http://www.phyzyks.com/ & http://mykettlebellgroup.blogspot.com/ for more info on both ladies!)

After the workshop it was back to family time with my brother-in-law's family. Little Blaine got a haircut and then we strolled around Coronado on a beautiful Monday afternoon.

I tagged family time in Oklahoma onto the other end of the workshop as well. About 20 family members came out for a huge home made meal, including my dad & youngest nephew, Lyriq pictured below. That weekend was also Lyriq's third birthday. He's quite the talker & happy little kid. I don't know much about three-year-olds, but when he whipped out "pterodactyl" and "accident" in complete sentances, I was pretty impressed :)

So now it's back to the day-to-day livin' on Fort Bragg. I had my tough group of Saturday morning ladies turn out this morning for a sweaty workout in the training room. With one of us 2 months pregnant, another 6+ months, and another nearing 8 months, you'd think it was a prenatal kettlebell class! (For the workout we did, check my other blog http://redstarathletics.blogspot.com/) I also included kettlebell training tips during pregnancy on the workshop dvd done with Lauren. So if you want to know more, you'll have to stay tuned for when it gets out of editing (projected for June).

Up next for me is getting some Red Star women's tanks made, men's black t's, and even adding kids t-shirts to the RSA line. Look for those to be available by the middle/end of April. You'll be able to purchase them through the paypal drop-box at right with my other products. I am also slated to represent Z-Health at a convention in Chicago at the end of April!