Today's Workout: 122013

20 KB swings
10 walking lunges with kettlebell in rack (R hand)
10 walking lunges with kettlebell in rack (L hand)
20 alternating kettlebell shoulder presses
5 rounds for time.
Then: 20 minutes of mobility.
Tomorrow is our annual SUPERMEET! Two hours, beginning at 8am, to hit a max lift in the snatch: clean and jerk, bench press, back squat, deadlift and weighted pullup. Prioritize your favorite, but be finished in 120 minutes or less. This year, we’ll use the bench press instead of the press.
Tomorrow evening, we’ll have our annual Catalyst Family Potluck. You can still sign up (or just show up!) and we’d love to see you.
A walking lunge with one kettlebell in rack position is an odd lift. You’ll want to drop your elbow. You’ll want to lean sideways. You’ll want to brace the leg doing the work. Don’t.
Unilateral loading – carrying a weight only on one side of your body – is rarely used in compound movements in the gym, but frequently used in life. Think about carrying a heavy pail: you lean away from the weight to counterbalance the load. This is your body being efficient; by challenging that efficiency, we can make it better. The path of least resistance is the path to decline.
To brace one side of your body into a vertical posture, you’ll have to tighten up the musculature on that side. Some muscles, like latissimus and teres minor, can fire on only one side. But transverse abdominus fires right across your belly in an effort to create a protective tube around your midsection. Think about trying to inflate only one side of a balloon: you can’t do it. Rotational movements work in the same way: the prime rotator (obliques) may fire on one side, but the ‘core’ muscles beneath are active the whole time; they’re all-in.
It may slow you down to avoid ‘the lean.’ It will certainly take conscious effort. That’s what we’re here for; take the time to do it right.