A word about our Charlie....

 

Though Charlie and I share a surname, we are not related. Twitter is the magic medium that has brought us together in a  shower of mutual appreciation. We have never met , and yet this amazing bird has had one heck of an impact on my life ! I wanted to blog it so she knows ! Yes, my dear Charles, this is all about YOU!! J

So over the past few months Charlie and I have been nattering on and off twitter and found we have a great deal in common,  I have stood with her in spirit while she has gone through a really tricky time from a professional and personal perspective. Our blog is not about dwelling on the negative – that’s not who we are….but I touch on it simply because it is important to our story. I have witnessed first-hand this chica wrestle with injustice and come out grinning. She truly is a trooper of the highest order. Let me tell you why.

As a fairly new PT I am really aware that this is quite a guy-dominant industry – or so it seems to me! Equally, it is a tough world not to be pigeon-holed as a girl! I don’t do Zumba, I like to lift weights and I’ll be damned if I am told I only need to climb half way up a rope that my male counterpart has to go all the way to the beam…J I have always been like this, it is both a downfall and a strength I think…..and I feel like I have been searching without knowing it for a gal with a similar misfit attitude to life….and thank God I found Charlie! Here is someone I can share with and learn from and buzz off and dream with! Whilst I cringe and want to slap myself at the mere thought of typing the phrase ‘girl power’, I  guess that’s kind of what I mean. In Charlie, I have found a tenacious spirit, a passion for life, a genuine love of people, a desire to make the world a better place, a triumphant vibe in the face of adversity….and a shi* hot example of what it means to be a trainer! I have learnt heaps from this shining star and so publicly I wanna say ThAnKYou WALL!!! Loving our soul sista, swing sista vibe…..long may the kettle bell swing ! J

Lizzie xoxoxo

SWINGSISTA WOD for Thursday 31st May :o)

Gooood morning again peeps, another wee SwingSista WOD for you to celebrate 31 days of May! Whilst you do this, I will be winging my way to London to see James Breese an RKC coach with a couple of other Kettlebell coaches from Cambridge, with the aim of learning some more amazing Kettlebell skills, to make me stronger, fitter, and ultimately get me to my goal of being an RKC Coach next year.  I am REALLY looking forward to seeing James again as I very much enjoyed my days training with him a few weeks ago. 

Lizzie and I had some AWESOME news yesterday too!! Whilst tweeting to the one and only Mike Mahler (yeah thats how we ROLL), he happened to mention that he liked our blog AND was going to put a link to it on his site!!! We were honestly dancing around like loons last night!! What an HONOUR!!! 👯  👯    I cannot tell you how much this meant to me in particular, as the likes of Lauren Brookes and Mike Mahler I have followed for about 5 years. 



Anyway, without further ado here is your WOD




Do these in ANY order you like, but just get 'em done ~ Post your times 💜

THE HOW TO.. 

Double swings  x 150


Left Windmill x 50


Right Windmill x 50


Kettlebell Split Row L x 50


Kettlebell Split Row R x 50


Burpee's x 100 (add a press-up on the end for an extra challenge) 

See you soon lovelies!

Have a great day

Charlie and Lizzie xxx

Wednesday WOD!

Morning ladies ! Here is our workout for today! I have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA how to make it all swirly and fancy like Charlie does! While she's out putting a new crew of Bootcampers through their paces, I am sipping on green tea trying to figure out how the heck to do it !!! If you want your WOD today, I suspect it might have to be rather less fancy pants then normal........or else it might be NEXT Weds before I manage it! Haha!!

Without further ado....let's get swinging !

WOD Wednesday May 30th, 2012

Set a timer for 10 - 15 minutes, depending on how long you think you can do.

At the start of each minute, perform 10 x 2 handed swings
followed by 5 snatches R and then 5 snatches L.

The remainder of each minute you get as a rest!

Then start round 2 at the top of the next minute!

Keep going for 10 rounds/minutes or up to 15 if you're feeling strong!

Enjoy it, report back and have a LOVELY day !!!

Liz & Charlie xxx

The HOW TO...

Two handed swing


Kettlebell Snatch

(If you can't yet snatch or are not confident with it, go for the clean to press )

Sorry I couldnt find videos of GIRLS doing these moves....Charlie we have to rectify this !!!

SwingSista WOD for Tuesday 29th May'12

Gooooood day to you #swingsista's (and our 1 official #swingbro) heheheh! :o)

I am excited by todays #WOD, and looking forward to cracking on with this later.. Mum and Cambridge Bootcamp duties first though booooo!!

So, you can choose either 3 or 4 rounds of these exercises. Try to go a little bit heavier if you can as the reps are relatively low.

Double or Single handed Swing x 10

Kettlebell Cossack x 10 (each side)

Tuck Jumps x 10 (any Knee issues, just do a normal Squat going as low as you can without compromising anything)

Kettlebell Push~Up x 10

Kettlebell Renegade Row x 10  (Go to 2mins in, in this clip if you are short on time)

I hope its sunny where you are, as its grey again in Cambridge!


Have fun, don't forget to let us know how you get on.

Much love,

Charlie and Lizzie xxx

SwingSista WOD for Monday :o)

Morning ladies, we hope you have had an amazing weekend in the sunshine :o) I don't know about Lizzie, but I took the whole of Sunday off to just rest and take it easy. 


Here is your Work-out of the Day (WOD) for Monday ...

OverHead Swing


Turkish Get-Up  I absolutely LOVE this video of Lauren Brooks  TGU'ing a 24kg Kettlebell! She is a complete inspiration to me. She has been trained by the RKC which is my goal for 2013! This year, I hope to be able to pass the Hardstyle Kettlebell Certification which is a one day course, and then get my training sorted to be ready for the 3 day RKC course. 


Kettlebell Manmaker 


Have a great day,


Love, Charlie and Lizzie x

#SaturdaySwingSistas WOD

Morning #swingsista's :o)  New WOD up for you today ~ You will need a timer, a kettlebell and a skipping rope.  Three rounds for time.. Let us know how you get on! Have a great weekend in the sunshine x

Kettlebell Halo   GREAT for working shoulder mobility 


Stiff-leg Dead-Lift   You can use 1 or 2 bells for this exercise 


Figure 8 to Hold  Focus on engaging core muscles and keeping your chest up, squeezing the glutes on the upward phase.


Looking forward to hearing your times :o)




Much Saturday LOVE,




Charlie and Lizzie xxx


#swingsista 

TABATTA WOD 25.05.12

Here is your #wod for Friday the 25th May, ideally this should take you 12 minutes. Set your timer for 8 x rounds of 20 secs work and 10 secs rest. Your option is to rest between each super-set (or NOT :p)

Super Set 1 


Swings (Dbl or Single) 
Mountain Climber    Place both your hands on the Kettlebell as a harder option ;)




Super Set 2


Kettlebell High-Pull


Super-set 3 


Deck Squat 


Janda Sit-up

WOD for 24th May 2012

Goooooood Morrrrning :D  WOD is now up for 24.12.05. You will need to do 4 rounds of the following exercises and then post us your time ~ Simples :o)

Here are the how-too's :o)

TRIPLE CRUSH 

TACTICAL LUNGE 

TURKISH GET-UP SIT-UP

Kb Swing -> 3 x push-ups --->  Just swing the Kettlebell 3 x, then jump down into press-up position, and do 3 x press-ups :o)


Enjoy, let us know how you get on


Charlie and Lizzie :o) x

WOD 23rd May 2012

Here it is ladies! ENJOY!! Remember to report back after you've done it! Post in the comments below!
Love Liz & Charlie xxx

The 'How To's'....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlgZaEb-WK4     Stand-Knee-Stand drill, hold KB in Left hand for 1 round, and right hand for second drill. Lead with left leg etc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8kBsZ10YjU    Coffin sit up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr-HHgxXTqg    Inchworm

#SWINGSISTA'S WOD 22nd May :)

Good Morning warrior's.

Here is our WOD for today 22.12.12. We need just 12 minutes to complete this AMRAP (As many rounds as possible)

Double Over-Head Press

Vertical Pull/ Burpee 

Bear Crawl 


Have fun, see you soon :0)


Charlie and Lizzie x

WOD for 21st May 2012

Here is our WOD for today :-) 

Just 15 minutes. Set your timer for 15 Rounds of 40 secs work/ 15 secs rest. We use a Gymboss, which you can easily get via Amazon :0)  Make sure you warm-up and stretch off effectively. If snatches are too difficult please do a Kettlebell high pull

1. Roundabout Swing 

2 + 3. Single Leg D/L

4+5. Single Arm Snatch 

Try to focus on technique rather than speed, so that we can work on increasing strength :-)

Let us know how you got on.

Charlie and Lizzie :0)

A word from Charlieeee :)

Hi, yes I know I'm a ding-bat Lixy, I have been affectionately termed a 'Techno-dunce' by many Facebook friends :p

Today, I told Lizzie that I would not be doing the WOD as myself and some of my Cambridge Bootcamp ladies were running the Wimpole 10k. There were 500 runners today, and it was cold, windy, muddy and a wee bit rainy :/  I personally have not run since the Cambridge Half Marathon, firstly because my knee was damaged doing those 13 miles, and secondly, I was struck down with a chronic chest infection quite soon after that marathon which has had lasting effects on my chest. I was quite apprehensive about doing it today, but with all the Cambridge Bootcamp chicks there, I knew it would be OK.

It was VERY hilly!! (This IS Cambridge where I am constantly being told its flat!!) That first hill nearly had me turning round and walking back to the start line with my tail between my legs..  My chest was screaming at me and hugely tight, something I have never experienced before, which stopped me running and as people began to overtake me, I did ponder whether I could run the rest of the race. Then one of my best mates ran past me, put her hand on my back, and I re-started. I felt the rest of the 10k for every single step BUT did complete it in 62 mins!!!

It struck me whilst running that beautiful countryside, that whilst I really do NOT enjoy running, there is a teeny tiny part that wants to master it, and learn to enjoy it. Part of the reason of this blog with Lizzie was to kick our own asses, and running is my nemesis!! So, I would like this also to be part of my own training. I find it very difficult to fit running into my life, as it seems to take me so blinking long to run ANYWHERE!!

WOD will be posted tomorrow for Monday's ass-kicking :-)

Charlie x

A Word about WOD...

One of the things we swingsistas have pledged to keep each other accountable for is a daily workout. We're going for intensity rather than lonnnnnng drawn out workouts, not only because it yields better results to train in this way but MOSTLY because we're super busy and need workouts that fit into our lives ! Charlie is an absolute genius at this and the workouts so far are rockin'! Now that we've ironed out the technical hitch (snigger.....Charrrrrrrlie you dingbat!!!), the wod queen will be publishing our workouts each day. For now though, here are the past few day's worth...

*wod stands for Workout of the Day !

A word from Charlie !

Well, fellow SwingSista's this is me Charlie Wall. As Lizzie has already said fresh from a Skype call, we have created this blog to make ourselves accountable to each other for our training, and we hope to bring some of you along for the ride.
We 'met' through Twitter (Me @PurpleFitness and Lizzie @LixWallPT) Inspired by Lizzie's humour, honesty, creativity and love for fitness we struck a friendship which I hope will continue .

For those that don't already know me, I run Cambridge Bootcamps and Purple Fitness in Cambridge and specialise in female fitness. My background is in Addictions counselling and Psychiatry, so I bring a whole host of qualifications and experience to this blog. With Lizzie's background in CBT + Psychotherapeutic Counselling, we hope to be a formidable force :-)

Over the last few months, Lizzie has been a huge source of support for me, as I have been through professional trauma's, a chronic illness and loss of training mojo (mainly because of SOB on exerting myself due to illness) and this has led to a lowering of my confidence. I can't speak for Lizzie but she without knowing it has given me a new light to look forward to. I have spent so long being consumed by the negativity of what had happened recently, that I forgot to look forwards and focus on the GOOD THINGS in my life.

So, here we are, forging a new friendship and writing a public blog together :-) We will be writing work-outs for you most days hopefully (WOD's). We both love CrossFit + Kettlebells + Strength Training + Nutrition. We *hope* this brings together those of you who share our love for all those things, as we also hope to continue to grow and learn in this a relatively new profession for both of us.

Here is your WOD for today the 19th May 2012. I am running a 10k around Wimpole tomorrow though so will save this work-out for Monday morning.

Thank you for being my #SwingSista Lizzie, let's hope we find many more on our journey :o)

Charlie x

Here we go !

Fresh off the back of a skype session, #swingsista is BORN! Charlie and I needed a kick up the arse, so we have pledged to be that to one another! No more arsing about...we are both busy, successful Personal Trainers and BootCamp Queens....and yes, we do say so ourselves....and a lot of our time is devoted to you, our clients. This means that we don't devote as much time as we should to our own training. THIS. STOPS. NOW. We have both found our love for training and made it our careers...it's time to take a step back from our busy lives and reassess our goals for US!

We want #swingsista to grow as a community of like-minded women that love to train, pursue health, and lead full lives! So we're starting with us! One in Cambridge (Charlie), the other on The Wirral (Liz)...if you like what you see and the vibe we're afater suits you...then join us !

Charlie...it's over to you......!

Liz x