Sunday, November 16, 2008

I need to rant

It is kind of training related.

So there is a program called Enter the Kettlebell. It's known as ETK. It is broken up into 2 parts. The Program Minimum, which is designed to condition the body. Then there is the Right of Passage, where the real work begins.

TPM get's you ready for RoP.

On the AOS forum, someone asked if she was ready to move on to week 4, or if she should repeat week 3. I gave her my opinion, based on what she said her work out was. While she was getting work done, she wasn't getting it done as it was written.

Another comment made, by another user, said they weren't doing the program as written and doing something else altogether. This user has claimed to for the last four weeks, that they were doing the ETK: Program Minimum. However came out and said that what they had been doing was CHEATING. The person thinks they're way is as good as the real thing. The user doesn't feel toasted after the work out. Which is kind of the point of The Program Minimum. Because if you're feeling toasted after that, you're not ready to move on to the next week, or for the Right of Passage. You're not in shape to move on to the real work. You haven't paid in sweat, blood and tears.

It would be like someone trying out for the first chair in a band, when the person can only play 1 song on the instrument. It would be like trying to swim a mile, when the most you have ever done is 25 yards. You're just not ready.

I really want to call the person on it. I really do. But the forum doesn't need arguments, it has had a share of rough patches lately and doesn't need more people bickering. It used to be great, but more people of the "I don't want to work hard variety have been showing up on it lately". And they're playing an ego game. Posting just to post, with out really having any value to the posts.

The point is, you either do the program as it is written (there are 2 versions of it, in Paval's ETK Book, where you swing and jog, and the version in Anthony's Workbook, where he's mixed the jogging up with other things) or you're CHEATING. The work is 12 minutes, not 10 minutes.

Start doing the real workout, and stop lying to the rest of us, that really are doing the program, and not looking for an ego boost. One of the things Paval says in ETK, if you're asking if you can make substitutions, the answer is No. See page 161 and 162 of ETK if you want the exact quote. It's in the frequently asked questions section.

2 comments:

Jennifer said...

Ditto, dear. The degradation has been painful. Check your e-mail. I'm gonna send you something.

Chris J said...

Jen,

Have you seen people getting called on their "making it up" programs in the forum? Looks beautiful. Other people apperntly feel like we do. Maybe there is hope yet.

Replied to your email. It's long. It's a mess. I'm drawing comparisons with other things I saw, and I'm all over the map in the email. Hope it wasn't too confusing.