A few injuries

I had an x-ray last week on my left knee. It's been giving me discomfort over the past 6 months (my timeline memory isn't too hot) but it has been getting more painful in recent weeks. In short,I can't kneel on it as it feels lie it's on fire. It feels unstable sometimes when I walk,run,or even Spin,but never hurts when I do those activities.

The surgeon I met with made an early diagnosis of either a cyst or a tear on the meniscus (lateral) and anticipates I will need surgery to repair it. He has booked me in for an MRI on January 8th to confirm all this.

The pain I have is below the knee. Now while I'm not trying to jump ahead here or analyze what's to come,I am hoping the recovery is smooth and quick. I have a tremendous first half of 2009 ahead of me and would hate to turn anything down due to what I consider my first "real" injury.

Time will tell.

I have another appointment for the end of January to sort out a sriously numbing discomfort I have in the knuckle of the big toe on my right foot.(I say discomfort because I fully appreciate what real pain is,and this ain't pain!) It feels like gout,but my GP doesn't think it is. The knuckle swells up pretty quickly and doesn't repond too well to floor walking,which is what my day-job consists alot of. But it also doesn't like being in my Spinning shoes either :-(

Other than those 2 niggles,I'm feeling great {sniffle,sniffle}

catch-up time

I have had a new tattoo on my right shoulder.It was inked between work and Spinning class this past friday and I am very pleased with it. That's four now and whilst I am toying with the idea of one more,it won't be for some time.

Monday,I had an appointment at the hospital to check on my left knee. It's been causing me discomfort for quite a few months and I have had enough of it,although I wasn't expecting the doctor to say what he said. After the x-ray was taken,I was informed that there was something wrong in there,he mentioned the words tear,cyst and meniscus very quickly and then jammed my finger into my knee and as I lost feeling in my own finger,I was unable to feel a thing in my knee.So I'll take his word for it. He did go on to say I would be sent for an mri and quite probably keyhole surgery. This is fixing to become my first real,grown-up injury!

Work is good this week,so is Spinning. I was aware I'd be starting a 6th class in the new year and that would be a challenge too.Not to start it,but to make it a success whilst keeping the current classes full at the same time.So monday will now have me doing the double. That was until I received a call this afternoon. The club are so pleased with how well the classes are going,they want more classes and they want them in January too. So I'll be doing the double on Monday,Thursday & Saturday. Saturday,in effect,will really be a triple as I teach at 9am in one club and then the double at another at 11am & 12:30pm.

Monday - 5:45-6:30pm & 7:00-7:45pm (both King Alfred)
Tuesday - OFF
Wednesday - 5:45-6:30pm (K.A.) & 7:00-7:45pm (Corals)
Thursday - 6-00-6:45pm & 7:15-8:00pm (both K.A.)
Friday - 6:00-6:45pm (K.A.)
Saturday - 9:00-9:45am (Corals),11:00-11:45am & 12:30-1:15pm (both K.A.)
Sunday - OFF

I hope the knee can recover quickly!

Studies are going well - I did the Spinning with the Senior Populations in just a day,but won't have the exam sheet until the new year.

WSSC will be booking up soon.

I have good,strong plans to travel to Doha in March to take part in a 5 hour charity ride that my friend,Luz Lovern will be organising so I need to increase my training and anticipate the heat. Is training in a studio with the AC on heat safe? I guess it is so long as I hydrate sufficiently (and dry the handlebars)

Kranking - The Real Blog

So here goes,I've written a few letters to some of the people on the Kranking Family so I hope I don't leave anything from this in fear of duplicating myself (as if I'd do that!!) In Kranking there are 3 basics movements,Single,Split,Double with 3 variations on these - seated,standing and retro.I want to say that doing any of the 3 in a seated position are easy but they aren't - that's not to say they're difficult but there is so much you can put into each rotation of the Krank arm that you will possibly never be perfect at it.But you can still aim for it nonetheless.You would normally start a session with a single arm movement in the seated position and the sooner you learned to not push but simply assist the handle &nd Krank around,the smoother it would feel.Just the arm here.

When you move to a double,there is an element of co-ordination.The weighted flywheel is floating,you see,so the big old dominant arm/shoulder does you no good here as you have to back it off and work at the strength of the less dominant side to improve on the balance of your body.There are so many sporting applications that this movement alone assists but the one that jumps immediately to my mind is swimming the butterfly with the two arms coming up over the top and the lats kicking in to bring them back and around once again,always in time with each other.

The split is the technique masterclass of the movements,timing,control,energy,focus,breathing & consistency all play major parts in this move.Let you mind run away and you'll be needing to stop to line the handles up and start again.Aaaaarghhh!

Still in the seated position but shifting one leg back behind the seat allows you to start getting more of your upper body involved on the split or single by using your whole shoulder girdle and damn it feels so good.If you want to work your right arm,you would place your right foot back for a better grounding and this is where the whole damn body starts getting involved.

Don't get me wrong,the abs have been bracing themselves from the first Krank but now it really starts to feel like something special!Controlled power!! Once you stand up and you start to feel the music,you can't help but want to dance with the machine in front of you and then you move to a double and OMFG it's where you find your body coming A L I V E big time.Even if like me you have no known rhyhtm,you will find it.I should say prepare for major heart rate numbers by this point,somewhere in the region of 80-95% mhr yet very maintainable.

The retro movement has you facing the cycle from the front (although not on the final model) and the purpose is scapula retraction and it is a welcome feeling too,still maintaining heart rate numbers to be very proud of and still able to go single,split or double as well.

The heart rate system that comes with the Krank Cycles is simply the easiest,most fun and engaging system I have seen (although I'm sure someone "older" will say it's been around for years!)

The set up of the machine as I was shown was incredibly easy yet the final model that Matrix is producing appears to be even more simply to set up and the best part of all is it will allow wheelchair users to participate right alongside anyone else.Brilliant!

I wanted to cover my experiences at the ECA convention but to put them into words would not do them justice by a long way.I will however thank with all my heart the Kranking Family for their arms of support through what for me was a leap but they caught me good.

Johnny,Jim,Mike,Clemente,Ayla,Yvonne,Jordan,Carolyn,Billy,Ria,Matty,Jodie and Dennis - thank you.

I can not wait to pay back your kindness in the form of spreading the Kranking Method to the UK and whoever else will listen.

Kranking in Miami - Part one

Hmmm,so I spent about an hour between classes this morning typing out my blog covering attending the ECA convention in Miami. I only covered half of it but thought I would post what I have so far. So I come on here and see a blog of mine "Kranking 101" which I totally forgot posting and as I read it I realised it was about 3/4 of what I typed up this morning so that's not gonna work.So we'll call this the Prologue and Part one will be posted tomorrow (sunday 23rd).

Body follows Mind? YOU BET IT DOES!!!

I'm really proud of myself today,more than normal. All week I've been preparing myself mentally to go to the gym and run for 60 minutes non-stop and this evening I did it. While it may not be much for some,for me just 6 weeks ago I was struggling with 2 minute intervals and I mean I was longing for the 2nd minute to finish so I could walk again!

Anyway,that's me,I may run again on Tuesday to help me sleep well before flying over to Miami to learn how to Krank.

Kranking 101

Last Tuesday I had a conversation with Yvonne via Skype (I love that,it's soooo cool) and we were talking about how business was going with Kranking . I've been thinking about getting involved but didn't really know how to or what to do.Were there recognized courses,certifications? Was there even a distribution plan? Well after seeing a vid clip on Youtube of Johnny saying that there now is a manufacturer and it going worldwide in 2009,that lit a fire in me.

Back to the conversation,Yvonne mentioned it was a real shame that I couldn't be in Miami on the 13th November as the ECA convention was having a heavy Kranking presence.

Why couldn't I be there?

Within 20 minutes I had about 6 windows open on the laptop checking everything from the convention to hotels to flights and then learned of a Kranking forum too.I gave a call to Robert,a Spinning...."enthusiast" ;-) and he bit on the idea of going almost immidately - I mean within about 67 seconds - but we said we'd sleep on the idea as it wouldn't hurt to slow down for a few hours.

Thursday came around and as I was waiting for him to finish teaching and getting back home,I was checking flights and they had dropped in price overnight :-) and then the hotel was no longer available :-( (but then it was :-) )

After a short discussion - 3 minutes,at a stretch - the flights and hotel were booked and paid for.Then the convention booking fun & games,conferring over Skype all the way.I've never booked a convention where Spinning was on the schedule and it didn't take priority when booking the slots - sorry Scott & Josh - but now we're booked to go to take part in at least 9 Kranking sessions over 4 days and come away with a whole different perspective on exercise that will change the way I approach my Spinning rides too.

While there,we will be meeting up with Felix "The Cannondale Guy" and hopefully make some new friends in a whole new family.It feels like my first WSSC all over again but with a twist of confidence thrown in to sweeten the flavor.It's only 9 days till we fly and I know it's gonna be here in a New York Minute so I'm taking a deep breath now and saying goodnight.

Just around the corner.....

Yesterday was a bad day for me at work,I'm gonna sleep on it for one more night before posting in full

BOSU Training 101 - Just My Opinion

Today I attended a training course to use a Bosu (BOth Sides Up). It was gonna be the first training course I've attended in the past 4 years that isn't Spinning/Schwinn run so first my comfort zone was taken away in the form of no bikes and then it was taken away again in the knowledge that I wouldn't already know at least half the attendees including the instructor.

I walked in to Soho Gym Borough and there were 4 people sitting there already chatting away,I asked them if they were there for the course to which one replied yes so I sat down and they all stopped talking. Spinning courses are the opposite,thise there first introduce and greet each other as they arrive,it's the Spinning family but these were....Studio Instructors & Personal Trainers.

With 5 minutes before start time,a guy walked in and started transporting the stack of Bosu's to the studio and it seemed odd. Odd that he wouldn't say "Good Morning" & odd that nobody stepped up to help,so I did. Even he didn't introduce himself as the instructor or thank me for the help.

As we waited in the studio for the remainder of the participants to arrive,two women started saying how they wished we started early and had shorter breaks so we could finish early,valid point I thought but didn't engage in the early complaining session.

Once everybody had gathered in the studio "he" was pumping the bosu's up and said he would do these first and then introduce himself/everyone else.Surely,I thought this should already be done and come 10am we start work. My bad. He said his name along with some speel about himself. I didn't hear his name,he mumbled it too quickly and then proceeded to tell us that if he appears to limp later it's because he fractured his fibular 2 weeks ago whilst playing on a see-saw drunk. I couldn't care less and by this point he was pissing me off (you may be able to tell....)

He gave us a brief breakdown of how long we'd be doing what for,lunch,breaks etc. and then that person started. The one person that everybody has on every training course. The one that asks every inconceivable question under the sun. She took over the next 45 minutes even asking how much the bosu weighed and whether it should be pumped up more for someone who was fatter!

The instructor by this point had locked in on the blonde at the front of the studio and started with the body language already,using her for demonstartions when clearly he should be doing them himself. He started us all off at the same point without giving any alternatives and explanations and this continued for the next 2 hours where we would all be given and expected to do various positions/exercises on the Bosu without explaining teaching points and benefits but just to do them because they were good. There were many things the instructor said which were contradicting things he had said only moments earlier,none of which spring to mind now because they were coming too frequently to remember them. He would also give his personal opinion alot of the time too,which I felt was unprofessional as his personal opinion isn't worth a dime in a court of law (and that is why we do these courses,to KNOW what we are teaching is safe and beneficial,not opinion or hearsay) Also,for being the person who wrote the course,he seemed to faulter frequently and had to continually refer to his notes more than I would have expected,although that granted,is a small thing.

He also did a great job of pushing the "flexi-bar" onto us,incorporating approximately 10 minutes straight at one point explaining all about it and how IT worked,if only he did that for the Bosu....

So after having been there for 3 hours and expecting a lunchbreak,he tells us to take a 5 minute break and we'd re-conveine for a 30 minute group format session where we'd all be doing all of the exercises.

OK.

Again,no explanation of the purpose was given (maybe I am too Spinning format regulated.....) and again no alternatives were advised suggesting that alternatives were not acceptable. Each exercise seemed to bring him more pleasure in our discomfort and pain.Now he was pissing me off in a red mist kinda way. Once the "Class" was over and just before everybody went for a pub lunch - great!!! - I noticed something written on the platform side of the Bosu,it read,"Standing on the platform is strongly not recommended" so I asked him why he had been getting us to stand on it. His reply was that the manufacturer was being too careful. This was enough for me to hear. Between his loving his own voice to his flirting with the blonde to the personal trainer asking the mot stupid questions to the women who complained it was too late starting and then being more concerned with their hair and tea than much anything else,oh and my burning desire to hit the cocky-ass instructor a bit too hard,I chose to realise that what I had learned from this course was that common sense is good enough for me to be able to stand on a half a swiss ball and move a little bit. I didn't return for the afternoon session.

The first one.......

I've been thinking how to do this and daft as it sounds,I wasn't sure how to get started so rather than type out a long,well-rounded editorial I intend on just putting down my thoughts and my opinions just "as is".

work is work,spinning is so far removed I can't define it right now,where I'm at........May 31st can't come quick enough,I need it more this time round than ever.......how can one place be so good to work at and one place be so poor to work at........chalk & cheese.......it's the people.........i need to thank Varinka and Shannon for their instant support,it's so perfect,thank you xox.....2 years tomorrow i've been riding through that desert on the wagon,what a great ride..........how is it Mandelsohn is (a)still employed (b) back (c) smiling? well i know why he's smiling - it's (a + b) = ££££££..........i'm tired........i need a vacation.......May 31st..........how can i sell out a class on one day and have an empty studio on another? (answers on a postcard).............focus is under-rated.

On Dos Tres...On Those Trays....think about it,what show?