Kettlebell Master of Sport..kitchen...kids...and kettlebells

Kitchen, Kids, and Kettlebells

Part I…

So I’m a KB (kettlebell) Master of Sport…what does that mean?!  

I must admit, 2 years ago, when I first picked up a kettlebell, I had doubts that I could actually achieve a rank or be the least bit successful at such a sport.  I’ve been “athletic” my whole life – growing up on a farm, slinging hay bales and keeping up with my 3 older brothers.  I was always stronger than most other girls and even some guys.  But when I picked up a 20Kg (44lbs.) bell for the first time, I knew I’d met my match.  Picking it up was one thing – no big deal – lifting it up and over my head multiple times in a span of 10 minutes was a whole different obstacle.

So how did I get to this point.....and why?

My mother battled cancer most of my childhood and adult life; so I was accustomed to meeting challenges “head on” and achieving certain “milestones.”  I knew at a young age I wanted to be a wife, mother, and teacher.  Along the way, I added food and wellness-blog writer as well as musician and runner to that list.  Lots of things seemed to come naturally to me, others not so much.  I’m a pretty good cook and an even better eater, so writing about food and its’ nourishing characteristics was a breeze.  Music has always been a source of relaxation, therapy, and enjoyment; I can’t remember a time I didn’t know how to play the piano.  However, I was never a very good runner, but when my husband, Jeremiah (Dirty Gym II coach) began running to prepare for the military, I ran along beside him. Five minute run/walk intervals led to my first half-marathon as well as countless 5 and 10K’s.  In my experience, becoming an endurance athlete required months of training long runs.  But, by the grace of God, I set a goal and enjoyed the accomplishment that followed. 

When Jeremiah began working with Marcus Mucheck (Dirty Gym owner/coach), to begin his journey from endurance to strength, I followed along and started to test my own strength in a different sport.  I found elements of power-lifting to be quite rewarding, but with a full-time job and 3 little girls, it was difficult for me to keep up with the required training time.  That’s when coach Mucheck introduced me to the sport of Kettlebells.  As I watched other women compete and earn their ranks, I decided I wanted to join them.  Two years later - October 13, 2012 - this wife, teacher and mother earned the Kettlebell Master of Sport rank at the Beast of the East Kettlebell competition (my very first competition) in Connecticut. 

My road to rank was not a short one, nor always an easy one, especially with a family and a teaching career.  When I entered the sport of kettlebells, my family lived on a small farm in Ohio.  My gym was a barn and my partners were my chickens, my daughters’ horses, and our cow.  Yep…you heard correctly…our cow!  Our family was living a very self-sustained life on our little farm and I was swinging my kettlebells in a barn!  The neighbors probably thought me a little odd; come to think of it, most people think me a little odd.  Oh well.  Along the way, I dealt with the frustration of my body and its limitations…as most athletes do at one point or another.  I discovered that my shoulders where going to be a source of imperfection…the rotation required for back squatting had left them really aggravated at me.  Arthritis in my shoulder and tendinitis in the heads of my biceps were a constant pain.  However, I changed some things in my diet to decrease inflammation and left certain elements of power-lifting behind as I focused on my kettlebell training.  As my training progresses, I was also fortunate to have the insight and instruction of some very accomplished kettlebell athletes like Marty Farrell and Lorna Kleidman. 

Then a little over a year ago, our military family received the news that we would be relocating to New England.  The move was very stressful for our family and we not only hated to leave our home, our farm and our barn, we also hated to leave good friends and training partners/coaches behind in Dayton.

So that’s when The Dirty Gym II was founded.

Here, we train power-lifters, kettlebell lifters, cross-fitters, and those who just want to improve their physical fitness. www.facebook.com/TheDirtyGymII

So what does it mean to be a Master of Sport?

Simply put, it means being able to perform a minimum number of repetitions of a certain lift during a specific amount of time.  Below you will find the link to requirements necessary to achieve individual rankings.  Master of Sport in the Long Cycle requires a lifter in the 72Kg weight class to perform 118 repetitions with a 20Kg bell within 10 minutes.  I achieved Master of Sport rank by completing 127 repetitions in the 10 min. Long Cycle. 

http://www.ikff.net/site/ikff/images/Rules_Policies.pdf

So what’s next?

Well, it looks like my bells need to get bigger!  Back to the gym!

*Special thanks to my husband/coach Jeremiah True (Dirty Gym II), coach Marcus Mucheck (Dirty Gym – Dayton), Matthew Swartout, (Dirty Gym-Dayton) and KB Master of Sport Marty Farrell.
www.facebook.com/dirtygym

As we embark upon the fantastic foods of fall, I should let you know that our family continues to learn more and more everyday about the best ways to achieve nourishment.  As we do so, we find ourselves moving closer and closer to more of a "paleo" way of eating.  Again, some may be familiar with the term "paleo" others not so much.  The Paleo movement is, in my opinion, an excellent step in the direction of nourishment.  However, there are a few holes in the logic and so if you're a "die-hard paleo person" you may find some of my foods to be questionable.  

But enough about that.  Let's get on with the point of this post, and that is to share a quick, delicious, weeknight recipe.  I try to serve my family fish at least once a week.  This week, I had lots of wild caught cod fillets in my freezer and was anxious to try something a little different with them.  My children are NOT fans of fish, so whenever they hear we're having fish for dinner, they generally cringe.  However, after this meal, I heard comments like "It's actually not bad" and "Can I have another piece?"  Music to my ears!

So here's the recipe:

8-10 cod fillets (wild caught)
coconut oil
1 egg (mix with a bit of water and beat)
1-2 shredded unsweetened coconut (maybe more if you need)

Melt 1-2 T coconut oil in large skillet over medium high.  Dredge each fillet in egg, then in shredded/grated coconut, then fry about 3 min. per side or until coconut is lightly browned and fish is slightly flaky.  Fry in batches and keep warm in oven.  Enjoy!

Do you know what you're eating?

Well, it's been quite a while since I've posted on this blog and some of you may think I've fallen off the face of the Earth.  However, that is not the case, and I look forward to getting back into the game and sharing more of my family's journey to nourishment.  Here are just a few more thoughts on the whole genetic modification issue, but I'd like future posts to be geared specifically toward my family and the lessons we're learning as we travel this road of food freedom and knowledge.  

Yesterday, I posted some information about things to keep in mind when you're grocery shopping.  GMO - might be something you've heard before, maybe not.  Genetic Modification is pretty self-explanatory:  the changes made to an organism at the genetic level.  Simply put:  re-wiring plants and animals to grow and develop the way certain folks think they should rather than the way nature intended; changing them at the cellular level so that every part of their being is un-natural (for lack of better terms), and "man-made."  Of course we could take off here into a philosophical debate, but we'll save that for another time.  



If you haven't ever looked at the labels on your food or thought two thoughts about what you're feeding your family, please start now!  Stop relying on someone else to tell you what's good or bad for your body.  Do your own research and make educated decisions about your food.

Are YOU Genetically Modified?

The best way to avoid Genetically Modified foods at your grocery store, is to know which ingredients are likely to be genetically modified.

  Dairy/Eggs Unless the label says "organic" or rBST-free, everything in the dairy case probably contains milk from cows injected with rBST, a genetically modified hormone.

  Meat Genetically modified corn and soy are so prevalent in the US that almost everything in the meat case comes from animals fed GM crops.

Fresh Produce Watch out for genetically modified sweet corn!

  Cereals Unless they're organic, cereals probably included GM ingredients, mainly high-fructose corn syrup and other corn products. Be careful choosing "natural" cereals - that doesn't really mean non-GMO.

  Cookies/Rice/Beans You're fairly safe here (as far as genetic modification goes), but be careful about "heat-and-eat" pasta meals (which you should avoid anyway) that include GM ingredients.

  Ice Cream/Frozen Prepared Meals Unless labeled organic, these are pretty much guaranteed to have GM ingredients like corn, soy products, and even GM beet sugar.

  Oils/Fats/Shortenings Olive oil in non-GMO. However, any "vegetable oil" (corn, soybean, and canola) is usually genetically modified. Solid shortening is no better in this case, unless you rendered it yourself from your own animals/plants.

  Condiments/Prepared Foods ALL of these things contain genetically modified soy, corn, and/or canola, unless they're labeled organic.

  Breads/Crackers Almost ALL bread from your grocery store is made with corn syrup and soy-based ingredients. So, I'd say avoid them all-together....but more on that thought next time. ...

"Dirty Dozen" "Clean 15"

While buying organic produce is often the best way to avoid pesticide contamination, it's not an option for everyone, especially people who are already struggling to make ends meet. The EWG also notes that "the health benefits of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables outweigh the risks of pesticide exposure." Still, here are the items that you should try to buy organic (or from local farmers markets, or grow in your own garden) whenever possible: The Dirty Dozen Plus: apples celery sweet bell peppers peaches strawberries imported nectaries grapes spinach lettuce cucumbers domestic blueberries potatoes green beans kale, collards, and leafy greens Conventionally grown items on the "Clean 15" list are generally low in pesticides. "More than 90 percent of cabbage, asparagus, sweet peas, eggplant and sweet potato samples had one or fewer pesticides detected," the report says. "Of the 'Clean Fifteen' vegetables, no single sample had more than 5 different chemicals, and no single fruit sample from the 'Clean Fifteen' had more than 5 types of pesticides detected." The Clean 15: onions sweet corn pineapples avocado cabbage sweet Peas asparagus mangoes eggplant kiwi domestic cantaloupe sweet potatoes grapefruit watermelon mushrooms