6/7/13 Friday June 7, 2013 (2H SW ladder)

7:30am - Original Strength resets - 10 minutes

Had to hop on a flight back to Seattle from Boise, and then go work for several hours.

4:15pm - Primal Move - 15 minutes

4:30pm - Kettlebell warm up ("Standard")

1/2K halos - 8kg, 4X each side / each leg (total 16X)
1/2K pullover - 12 kg, 5X each leg

1/2K halos - 12kg, 4X each side / each leg (total 16X)

1/2K pullover - 16 kg, 5X each leg
Roll to press (TGU start) - shoulder cam shafts, each arm

4:45pm - Training session -2H SW

Warm up -
TGU 16 kg roll to elbow, 3+3

TGU 24 kg roll to elbow, 3+3

3X:
2H SW 24 kg, 15
2H SW 28 kg, 15
2H SW 32 kg, 10
2H SW 36 kg, 10

150 reps total, I got these done in 12 minutes, which is definitely a PR in terms of density for me.

5:10pm - Complete

Notes -  Well I supposed to get more work done here, adding in some supersets of GSq with TGUs per some instructions from Kevin, but that is going to have to wait for next week.  I just did not have much time with the kids coming over at 5:15pm and was lucky to get the work in that I did given the odd nature of my schedule on this day.  The 2H SW were extremely strong and I was really pleased with how I was able to just bang out 150 reps in 12 minutes.  I know others can do much more in that time period but this was good for me and this is going in the right direction for certain in terms of the strength gains I am getting from doing so many more swings, and the increase in conditioning by trying to do them in compressed time periods.

6/6/13 Thursday June 6, 2013 (18 holes of golf, and some reflection)

Different day - in Boise on a trip with coworkers

7:15am - Some Original Strength re-sets for about 20 minutes

1:30pm - 18 holes of golf with coworkers (I walked about 5 miles and it was 90 degrees out!!)

Totally awesome day.  It was a serious "WTH" moment as I probably golf about once every 3 years and cannot remember the last time I went out and swung a golf club, it has been that long.  I hit a lot of really good shots, and just flat out did not expect to be able to do that whatsoever.

 It just blows my mind that getting my body to move so much better, release some very old bad muscle and tension patterns in various places in my body (shoulders, pecs, neck, hips, et al), and then adding a load  of strength through kettlebell training, has made such a significant difference in the quality of my life.  I am grateful.  To walk out and enjoy golfing is something I honestly am not sure I have been able to ever really do in my entire life.

I was reflecting on that and it made me think of the much bigger picture of all of the changes in my life that have been going on since late October when Jill told me that she had been unhappy in our marriage and believed that it was over.  It has been quite the time period, the hardest thing I have ever faced in my life, that the only woman I ever loved and have loved for 17 years, almost half of my life, wants to move on and no longer be married.  I have faced this situation head on and have done just about everything I can think of and then some to understand how we got to this place, and seek a way forward, together, to take all of the good in our long relationship and build on that foundation to create something better for both of us.  Instead of rolling up into a ball, I did the opposite - I opened up, completely open, probably for the first time in my life, about a lot of things.  I have been able to show Jill my love and my commitment to her, and respect for all of the time we have invested in each other.  It has not done anything to change her mind or make her want to be with me, but I am ok with that.  There is too much life to be lived, for both of us, to remain in a relationship where one or the other person is not able to fully love their partner, for whatever reason or reasons that might be.  I believe that there are reasons beyond my full comprehension or consciousness that this pain has become part of my life, and that through pain, suffering and difficult times, a person's true character, true self, can emerge and take that challenge and turn it into a deeply positive experience that will lead to better things down the road in life.  I feel like the last 18 months or so since I first met Ross and then shortly thereafter began training with kettlebells has been a time period of forging a strongly physical sense of self, and now, a mental and emotional strength.  I am grateful for my life, I have a lot to live for, and that is exciting to think about.

6/5/13 Wednesday June 5, 2013 (DB CL to SQ complex)

5:15am - Joint mobility, Original Strength, Primal Move drills - 30 minutes

5:45am - Kettlebell warm up ("Standard")

1/2K halos - 8kg, 4X each side / each leg (total 16X)
1/2K pullover - 12 kg, 5X each leg

1/2K halos - 12kg, 4X each side / each leg (total 16X)

1/2K pullover - 16 kg, 5X each leg
Roll to press (TGU start) - shoulder cam shafts, each arm

6:00am - Training session - Doing a complex, DB CL, DB SQ using 20s, and 24s

Warm up -

GSq, 24kg - 5
DB DLs 32 kg, 5, ALT 1H DL, 5 each arm
TK SS PR with 16kg, 5 L/R

3X:
DB CL, 20s, 5
DB SQ, 20s, 5
DB CL, 24s, 5
DB SQ, 24s, 3

6:20am - Complete

Notes - I was extremely pressed for time due to a trip to Boise with coworkers, so I just blasted through these sets with relatively little rest.  Totally burned me and it felt great.  Good technique on all reps, I did not want to do too much work as this was just a variety day, so I kept the sets of DB SQ with the 24 to just 3 reps.  With little rest between sets the DB 24s to squat are just an extremely taxing movement for me, in a good way.