EXTRA, EXTRA read all about it !!!!

Magazines.  There are millions of them, gossip, health, fashion, cooking, science and bodybuilding, just to name a few.  As a woman I can't deny that I've purchased hundreds, if not thousands, of magazines in all different shapes and sizes. I won't lie, I had to get my hands on People Magazine and see Kim Kardashian's three wedding dresses.  I previously had a subscription for womens health.  I actually considered asking for my money back. I finally had a realization. Why am I subscribing to this crap? Lift light weights, do lots of reps, be four pounds. :) Let's look at the content in these magazines. Every magazine these days wants to tell you what your favorite celebrity eats all day and what workouts they are put through. Hey listen, if I had a team of people cooking for me and telling me what to do every minute of the day I could eat a piece of lettuce all day too!  Lol, yeah I don't think I could or that I'd want too! But that's the mind set we all seem to be in as women, "if we aren't starving were doing something wrong!"  I know every single person reading this has said or heard a friend, girlfriend, co-worker, wife, sister or mother say "im eating a salad , im on a diet."   
So many of these  magazines instruct you to use 5 -8 pound weights. Hmmm... okay really? They say they are looking out for us they don't want us getting buff. First of all, what in your life are you picking up that weighs 8 pounds? My purse weighs more than that! You are not going to look like a body builder if you lift heavier weights! Don't believe me? ( 7 Myths of Women's Weight Training and Female Bodybuilding ) Psst, you have to get rid of the fat before you get buff ;)  Do you know how hard those women work ? How they constantly eat but eat clean and nutritious foods?  These magazines try to make women feel badly because they aren't "four pounds", but why would you want to be? (This term is used loosely to refer to women who appear alarmingly thin to me. It is not meant to insult anyone who is just naturally very thin. It's to the women who starve themselves that I use this term .) Who cares that you're not four pounds! Are you strong ? Do you bust your @ss in the gym ? Do you push yourself to be better ? Then throw those magazines out!
Elizabeth M

The HKC and me !

This past Sunday, September 11, was the HKC in West haven CT. I drove up the evening before with my sister, Olivia.  We had a nice dinner, then I made sure to find  the gym.  I'll admit I have an ocd personality or, shall we say, curious lol. Those of you that know me personally know its the former, not the latter. :)  So we finally find the gym after getting a bit lost, me freaking out a little, and my sister suggesting we stop and ask a cop. When we finally get there it was dark outside so I park the car and get out. I gaze into the huge floor to ceiling windows and check the place out. ( Not normal behavior you say ?) My sister said  I looked like a robber staking out the place and we'd better go before the cop comes back thinking we're up to no good. But then I froze and got really still because I saw the pull up bar! Olivia asked me if someone was in there. I said no, pointed to the dreaded bar and she started laughing.  I had been sweating this flexed arm hang for weeks. Why?  Well let me tell you, DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF. As I would soon find out, there was so much more for me to focus on there.

The next day began at 730 am at kettlebell daily. I walk in and am imediately handed a packet of papers to fill out. Then I get over to the dreaded bar and I know I need to own that arm hang.  I get up to the bar and I DO IT !  We were very lucky to have Dave Whitley, Master RKC,  as our instructor . The day consisted of LEARNING, yes LEARNING, how to preform  and teach a swing, turkish get up (TGU), and goblet squat. Dave was absolutely awesome. He was able to break things down and not only explain what we as students need to learn to better our swings, TGU, and goblet squats, but he also helped us with drills so we can teach others how to perform them.

 

The day ended with the dreaded test. First, we were tested on being able to explain and show someone how to correctly perform all three of these exercises. The second test was to execute them one at a time . After these tests we waited...  We were called in one at a time to find out how we did . For those of you who don't know, I passed =) ! It was a great day. I met alot of great people (strong women and men) ! I was also pleased to meet Amanda from sistasofstrength.com, whose blog I follow . One tiny, itty bity step closer to the RKC in April 2012!

Just be the best YOU!

As women we can't help but be constantly assaulted with images that tell us there is a part of our body that needs fixing. We are surrounded  by magazines telling us what to eat to lose ten pounds, get the perfect butt or amazing abs. Then, turn on the TV and commercials show us what face creams to buy to look younger and reduce those wrinkles. Clothing advertisements showing us the "four pound model" in clothes we should desire with the body we should envy. (This term is used loosely to refer to women who appear alarmingly thin to me. It is not meant to insult anyone who is just naturally very thin. It's to the women who starve themselves that I use this term . Remember the camera adds 10 pounds. P.S., my mom was thin and so is my sister.  :) ) The picture above is of my sister and I from last sept (before I decided to get buff. ) I'm not going to lie. For a looooong time I wanted to be "four pounds" some times three!  I tried it all. I was a cardio queen. I'd spend two hours on the stairmaster and not bat an eye.  I'd eat the bare minimum, limit carbs to the extreme.  But guess what? ???????  I got hit with the shocking reality, "I WILL NEVER EVER BE FOUR POUNDS"! Although I realized more importantly, I DON'T WANT TO BE!  I'm a strong chick who has curves. Yes, I have a butt (that I have no intention of making smaller )nike ad my butt-is-big ! I'm happy with me. I realize there are many things I can change and improve in my life. I can train harder, get stronger and eat cleaner. But I will never idolize or want to be a "four pound" model. You know who I admire and look up too?  All the women whose blogs I follow. Some are moms, wives, full time employees and personal trainers. But what they all have in common is they are strong women who radiate strength, power and of course, love kettle bells . ;) Everyday I try to be the best me I can be. You have to accept who you are and continue to push yourself to be better. That's the type of woman I admire and aspire to be more like. What about you??????

The constant evolution of ME!

I guess the best place to begin is at the beginning, right?  So my name is Elizabeth michalski i'm 28 years old born and raised in queens new york ( one of the five boros of NYC ). I'm a registered dental hygienist and kettlebell enthusiast. Growing up I was always involved in sports volleyball and then swimming in high school. I started going to the gym and taking step aerobics my junior year of high school. This was not by choice my mother said "if you have no plans for a Friday you will be coming to class with me".  As a high school  junior I was completely aghast. Spend a Fri night working out with my mom are you serious? Then to add insult to injury I had to use my own money to pay for this!  Seriously there had to be something severely wrong with my mother.  I should add at this time of my life I was over weight I had been over weight since about third grade. Nothing crazy probably 20 pds.  I continued to work out through high school and college. In April of freshman year of college I lost my mother to cancer.The picture above is from my high school graduation 6/2000 right before we found out she was sick. What rescued me was joining the gym and becoming a cardio queen and lifting 4 pound weights. I became obsessed with my weight.  At one point I was down to 128 pds I thought that was the perfect weight for me until I got there and wanted to weigh less. As women we obsess over the scale!  Why do we do this?  Ill address this again very soon. About seven years later and at 138 - 140 pds omg she told us how much she weighs. :)  Seven years ago actually two years ago I would never have told my bf let alone post that on my blog.  So what changed?  Everything !  I stopped obsessing about the scale I starting using weights that weren't 4 pds!  Started training using trx which is suspension training and kettlebells.  I started noticing changes in my body and my clothes were looser. Guess what the scale didn't change what the helll. So I started measuring myself and low and behold I was losing inches no weight.  What do I do now?  Cut calories ? starve ? more cardio? Wrong! Train harder ! So now is the time I've decided to train for something instead of just "working out ". Believe me there is a huge difference. First up is the HKC or hardstyle kettlebell certification. This requires a 15 sec flexed arm hang, learning and teaching the TGU, swing and goblet squat. Second on the agenda is the RKC april 2012.  So let my story to getting buff begin!