TRX Metabolic Circuit A, Phase 3: The Revenge!

I've already described this one: 1-leg squats, oblique atomic pushups, low rows with feet elevated, 1-leg crossover balance lunges, side planks with thread-through, 45 seconds per exercise (or 90 sec. if a unilateral exercise), 20 seconds rest/transition between exercises, 3 minutes rest between sets. Last time I performed 3 sets; this time it was 4.

It was vile, but you knew that.

Actually, a big part of the problem for me was that because of my schedule I ended up having to work out at the end of the day, after training clients, taking a 90 minute ballet class, and in odd moments attempting cleans and getups with a 14 kg kettlebell (more on that later). I didn't really have much of a chance to eat during the day, so gobbled a larger than usual pre-workout snack before getting down to business, and that turned out to be a mistake. I was also dealing with some late-afternoon heat in my workout area, and the combination of the heat and the full stomach made me feel a bit nauseated at times. This is good, though. Now I know what my clients go through.

Anyhoo, I got through it but definitely had to regress some of the exercises toward the end. The feet-elevated low rows in particular were not happening, and my tempo slowed a bit with each set on the 1-leg squats.

I sweated buckets, but that could've been due to the warmth of the room; not sure how high my heart rate actually got, although I certainly was breathing hard.

Oh, and today's kettlebell practice consisted of cleans, 5 per side, and getups, 1 per side, supersetted, using a 14 kg kettlebell. I think I got through about 3 supersets instead of the 5 I had planned, but it was just as well because I wasn't happy at all about how my right side was performing. My wrist just would not stay straight, no matter how much I yelled at it! I hadn't really eaten, and I think that may have been an issue. The kettlebell was also a nasty thing with a rough handle, which certainly didn't help matters although on another day I don't think it would've been an issue.

I am seriously tempted to get a 16 kg kettlebell from www.performbetter.com. Shipping is free right now, and I think I'm ready to go a bit heavier on certain exercises. Also, if I gain weight I'll have to use a 16 kg bell at RKC for my snatch test, and given that I'm perimenopausal I think it's probably smart to prepare for that possibility. My 12 kg kettlebell is from Perform Better and it's okay. Certainly I prefer it to the kettlebells at my gym. I was planning to get a Dragon Door kettlebell but apparently there have been some quality issues since they switched manufacturers, and while I have every confidence that the bugs are going to get ironed out I'm not sure I want to wait that long to get a 16 kg bell.

In my perfect world there would be something like San Francisco Dancewear for kettlebellers, where we could get "fitted" for a kettlebell with the help of experts familiar with all the different models on the market. Finding the right kettlebell isn't quite as involved a process as finding the perfect pointe shoe but only because there aren't as many possibilities.