Kettlebell Boot Camp Pdx Blog

Exploring the Stairways of Portland

dana — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:18:11 +0000

Mt. Tabor Summit, 1128 steps plus run.

Since November 2011, my training clients and boot camp crew have been meeting every Sunday at 9a.m. to explore and climb the various steep and challenging stairways of Portland. Our first location was Jackson Middle School, to initiate us all into the world of stair running and climbing. Our next location was the Summit Ave stairway in NW Portland. This is steep (90 ft. of vertical climb in 157 steps) and got our lungs primed and legs stronger! Just when we thought we were really fit, we humbled ourselves by working even steeper the next weekend at the 12th Ave stairway to upper Cardinell Rd. Our bodies were steaming, literally, while we worked. And finally,we celebrated New Years hitting the longest stairway in Portland, Mt. Tabor summit,18 flights and 282 steps!

Each workout, our goal is 1000 steps or more (or several stair repeats, the number of repeats depending on the stairway), plus a run down the adjoining road to bottom of stairway. Each workout is 60-75mins of cardio conditioning.

Dana’s Garage Bootcamp

dana — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:51:43 +0000

My Garage Gym

Sunday Stair Climbing Workouts Continue

dana — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:53:32 +0000

Last Sunday marked our 5th consecutive week of stair climbing workouts. Our first 3 workouts were at Jackson Middle School and last 2, for more vertical feet gain, were in NW Portland hills, Summit Stairway, 157 stairs and 91 ft of vertical climb. We climbed for over 1,000 steps and 900ft vertical gain. It was a tough one!

We meet next Sunday, 12-18 at the 12th Ave. Stairway, 181 stairs with 108 ft of vertical climb! Upper end of stairs: SW Cardinell Dr. This is sure to get the heart pumping at a high intensity! All workouts are FREE! Please R.S.V.P. Dana if you would like to attend.

Sunday “Worship the Stairs” Conditioning Workout

dana — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 20:31:18 +0000

Join us every Sunday at 9am (beginning November 19th and thru the Holiday season) for a vigorous stair running conditioning workout. Kettlebell exercises are integrated with stair conditioning for an ultimate Sunday eye-opening workout. Classes meet at Jackson Middle School track. All stair workouts are FREE!

Early Bird Registration Special!

dana — Thu, 19 May 2011 02:53:16 +0000

Register now and save 15% on Summer Session 1 enrollment. We have two options: Early AM Group: M-Th, 6:30-7:30 a.m. and After-Work PM Group: M & W, 6:15-7:15p.m.

Register by May 23rd and save! Go to “Sign-Up” page for enrollment. All Summer classes held at Jackson Middle School in SW Portland.

Pre-Season Workout

dana — Sun, 15 May 2011 22:55:20 +0000

Today, on a rainy Sunday morning, 12 hearty bootcampers turned out for a kick-start pre-season workout. Great effort was made by all, and special acknowledgement goes to Hannah, my youngest camper, for best attitude. She did it all and with a smile to “boot”! Way to go Hannah!

Oh Yeah, that is me in my shoulder ”immobilizer”-almost 4 weeks post-op and coaching. I might be out of sling by June 6th-wish me luck!

Here was the workout:

4:00 at a station, work in couplet. Rotate at the 1:00 to movement pair, repeat. Rotate stations at 4:00.

1. Heavy 2 Hand swings and Jump Rope
2. Wall Ball Shots and Reverse Lunges
3. Heavy 2 Hand Hi-Pulls and Jumping Squats
4. Anchored Heel Ups w/Roll-Outs and Plank Hold
5. Push-Ups and Russian Twist w/Press
6. Hot Potato and Burpees (don’t forget to clap)

Doing the Best With What You’ve Got

dana — Tue, 10 May 2011 06:22:13 +0000

Now almost 3 weeks post-op from extensive arthroscopic surgery to repair my shoulder (torn labrum from multiple dislocations), I have decided to do the best with what I’ve got.
Rehab at this point is slow, only passive movements, and painful. I am watching the muscles on my right arm that I have worked so hard over the years to develop, shrivle up. I know that this is a necessary means to an end. However, I never thought that “passive” movements would be so incredibly challenging.

With the decision to focus on what I can do rather than what I can’t, here is workout I put together today. Give it a try and remember, make the best of what you’ve got. Your attitude is key to your success.

Kettlebell Flow Ladder: (ladder 5-8)
5 Swings
5 Cleans
5 Circular Cleans
5 Circular Clean with Press
5 Circular Clean with Press
5 Circular Cleans
5 Cleans
5 Swings
Hand Change and repeat flow on opposite side. (Next round start with 6, etc-ladder up to

Follow kettlebell workout with interval cardio work at high intensity for 20-30 minutes. I chose to ride my spin bike.

This workout plan focuses on following muscles:

Arms, Core, Hips, Thighs, Glutes, Cardio

A Week of Workouts in Review

dana — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 05:05:46 +0000

I believe workouts should not only be strategic in targeting the goals and needs of my group, but also be fun. Who wants to do the same workout over and over again? Not only do you run the risk of over-use injuries due to the repetitive movements, but, let’s face it, predictability is not that inspirational.

My goal as a trainer when designing my programs is to carefully select workouts that give the most benefit, specifically, in the least amount of time. I also pride myself in never repeating the same workout twice-unless of course, it’s a “benchmark” workout.

Now many of us are creatures of habit. We like our routines. My clients have expectations for their bootcamp workouts. They know Tuesday they will get a great conditioning workout with focus on mobility, speed, agility, and stamina. Thursday is a “tabata” workout: high-intensity, short intervals designed to increase speed and power. Friday is interval station day. We make it fun by bringing in more equipment for movements like: battling ropes, trx or suspension training, med ball work, sprint run drills, bands, jump ropes, etc. We love our kettlebell, but we diversify!

Check back with our blog to see the actual workouts performed for the week. Give them a try…or come out and try a class complimentary!

Things I never thought I’d hear…

dana — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 00:50:16 +0000

The other day, Karen and I (fellow blogger and bootcamper), were chitchatting before or after bootcamp. When we started bootcamp nearly twenty months ago with Dana, I am sure we would have never imagined that we would be having this conversation.

We were talking about running. We are both now officially training for half marathons. Yet another concept we probably would have smirked at that fateful day of our first “straw run” where we tested how much we could run in 15 minutes. I don’t think Karen would mind me divulging that we were probably the last finishers that day. We were not runners.

My how times have changed and how bootcamp has changed us and what we thought was possible! Without bootcamp, I guarantee you that neither one of us would have taken our fitness to the next level and started running – and not just casually but really becoming dedicated.

As I am out of town, I couldn’t let a workout go by as I’m training for a half marathon (yes, something I’d NEVER thought I’d do) and really needed to log some miles. I’ve had a cold lingering for about three weeks too but I am sick of letting that get me down…

So, in a colder climate (about 30 degrees outside and dry – much different than Portland), I layered up and found a trail nearby. Finally after getting situated with my layers and my music, I started moving. It was COLD and at moments, I felt like the kid in The Christmas Story, all bundled up and looking like a marshmallow, but I just kept moving.

I felt like I was going soooo slow. Seriously, I thought I was trotting. I was shocked when I passed a couple that looked like real runners (It’s still yard for me to consider myself a runner, yet a real runner) and after a quick good morning greeting, the lady says to me, “Nice pace.” Really? I wanted to look next to me and see who she was talking to but I knew there was no one else anywhere. She really was talking to me. Maybe she was mocking me, but seriously, we aren’t children.

A mile or so later when I got back in the car and looked at the time…I guess it was a nice pace. In 55 minutes, I did five miles! And that included stopping for shoelace, music and attire adjustment. And probably a mile of walking. So that “nice pace” really was a nice pace!
Hmmm. That’s something I’d never thought I’d hear or thought I could do…Kettlebell pays off in so many ways including giving me these strong legs to take me on a good run.

Can’t wait to hear how Karen’s run was this weekend!

Bootycamp Jenn

Measuring Success

dana — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 05:13:34 +0000

This is the Kettlebell Bootcamp Blog. And today was a Kettlebell challenge. After a long warm up, it was time for the 400 Benchmark workout – a timed workout which includes the basic movements of the bell.

The last time we did this “test” was on November 24th, a little more than two months ago. I was going strong at that point and when I saw that this is what we were doing today, I had in my mind that my time was below 13 minutes…so of course, I wanted to beat that.

New meets Old - On the left is my new, 20 lb. bell which has become my primary weight. On the right, my old 15. Five pounds is quite the difference!

One thing was different this time for me – I have increased my primary weight to 20 lbs., as opposed to my 15 lb. red bell (Bella) that I had been using for the previous eight months.

I didn’t cut myself any slack but I figured it might be a little longer than my previous timed 400. With the goal of using the 20 for at least half of each movement, we were off to presses, swings, snatches and cleans.

Here’s the rundown:
50 Presses (each side, 100 total)
50 Swings (each side, 100 total)
50 Snatches (each side, 100 total)
50 Cleans (each side, 100 total)

Whooo….it wasn’t easy. At least I made it past my goal of half/half, with the 20 lb. being primarily used. I knew I was going slower than before and even stopping to grab a sip of water, which I knew I didn’t do before. But as Dana called out the times and others were finishing, I did get a little frustrated as 13 minutes came and went and then four more minutes ticked by…

Finally at 17 minutes and 20 seconds, I could say “Done!” to Dana. Ugh…that was slooooowwww but when I consider the difference of 5 pounds each time I moved the bell and the way that fatigued me today versus on November 24th, I decided not to be too hard on my self.

I was even a little less hard on myself when I saw I was wrong about my old time…It was a little slower than I thought at 14:37. Even though that’s nearly three minutes slower, today I decided my measurement of success was a little different. Moving up in kettlebell weight was kind of a mental block for me (lack of confidence that I could do it) and I should have done it a long time ago…so today, the time was slower but the weight was more and I know my strength has increased.

And tomorrow I’ll measure my success on how sore I am…and judging by today’s indicators, I will still be successful. ☺

Another benchmark…

Bootycamp Jenn