3/31/14 Monday March 31, 2014 (TGUs, TK PR 24kg, DB SW 24 kgs / PU Planks)

8:00am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 45 minutes (extra work on lacrosse ball for traps, glutes, quads, hams)

8:45am - Kettlebell warm up

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

16kg Roll to press (TGU start) - shoulder cam shafts, each arm
Arm bar 12 kg, 1+1
Crooked arm bar 12kg, 3+3 with press

9:00am - Training session - Focus on TGUs, TK PR 24kg, super DB SW 24 kgs / planks

TGUs (start from the top finish at the top)

16kg x 1/1

20kg x 1/1

24kg x 1/1

12kg Tall Kneeling Halos x 5/5

24kg TK PR x 4/4 x 5 sets (up from 3/3 x 5 last week)

Superset 9x:

DB SW 24kgs x 10

Around the World (PU Plank) x 1/1

(up from 8x last week)

Total of 90 DB SW (80 last week)

9:50am - Complete

Notes -  So this was a good day to measure progress on several fronts, basically in every single lift.  But I will get to that in a second.  First off I slept in somewhat inadvertently but had time fortunately to get a long mob session.  Body was not that well recovered from my training work yesterday running/pull ups / push ups.  Was feeling very tight in the lats, various hot spots in the legs too so really worked a lot of foam roller and lacrosse ball.  I really wish I could speed up my warm up work, but thus far, to no avail.  Best thing to do would be to improve consistent sleep quality, an area where I notoriously fail.  No doubt it is holding back further gains that could be made because on the work I am doing, things keep getting better.  Good overhead position in the TGUs, very pleased, able to keep the elbows locked out much better and just in general the overhead position is improving.  The TK PRs with the 24kg were very good today, really getting a nice vertical forearm, good lat engagement, I really like these very much.  Best part of the training session was seeing the improvement in the DB SW with the 24 kgs.  Last week felt a little off, just had not practiced the movement in some time, and I was also testing out the new grip where I did not let go of the bells on the float.  Today, got very good power in the swings, crisp, and the new bell consistent grip felt much more comfortable, actually really felt like I had even more control of the bells.  I like the change in grip technique, that was a very good suggestion by Kevin, and there is no issue whatsoever on my wrists if I keep a strong grip on the bells and do not let them go and recatch on the float.  So that technique is definitely here to stay, particularly because I am not interested in "high rep" swings where recatching on the float to preserve grip would be a good idea.  Don't need it. Lastly the planks were good, last week I really felt great after doing these, I think it helped loosen up what had been a very tight R oblique and hip.  Interested to see if a similar thing happens this week though the R side has been feeling good all week.

3/30/14 Sunday March 30, 2014 (interval running / pull ups / push ups)

Did not get going until mid afternoon Sunday.  Absolutely spectacular, warm-ish weather with a lot of sun in Seattle.  Amazing, and is the kind of day you live for to be outside and enjoy being alive.

Stayed nearly the same as last week but added one set as it was so nice; went with 3 minute running intervals, a total of 6 sets, which ended up being 36 minutes of running (30/5 last week).

Run 3 minutes, SL DLs 5/5, run 3 minutes, pullups 5, pushups 5
x 6

36 minutes running, 30 SL DLs per leg, 30 pullups, 30 pushups

So again the running felt fantastic.  Really got going fast (for me) on several of the intervals and one in particular I really pushed it, sprinted nearly the entire 3 minutes.  That was tough, felt pretty good to push it.  SL DLs are getting easier, at some point it would be sweet to turn these into some sort of progressions for pistol squats which really is a long-term strength goal.  I have a hard time imagining myself being able to do unweighted pistols but then again I am getting way closer to this achievement given better leg strength with the single leg work, improved recruitment of tension on a number of lifts, etc.  Something to discuss with Kevin and I think I need to read Naked Warrior really closely.

Did this work at a different part of Greenlake, over by the boat launch area for the rowing club.  There are some pull up rings over there and I wanted to see what they were like.  They are much nicer than the other ones by the tennis courts and kiddie playground where I usually train, so that was a pleasant surprise.  A little tougher too because they are a little closer to the ground, it actually forced me to raise my legs higher than usual in the hollow position so as to not touch the ground, so that was tough.  The 5th rep on the last 3 sets was tougher than I would have liked.  I was not at failure, but certainly closer than I wanted to be.  In that sense I am glad I added the 6th set as it would be good to build just a little bit of volume (very little bit) over time with these.

3/28/14 Friday March 28, 2014 (24/28/32 kg PPR ladders, 24 kg SN ladders)

7:30am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 45 minutes

8:15am - Kettlebell warm up

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

16kg Roll to press (TGU start) - shoulder cam shafts, each arm
Arm bar 12 kg, 1+1
Crooked arm bar 12kg, 3+3 with press

8:30am - Training session - Focus on 24/28/32 kg Push Press (PPR) ladders, 24kg SN ladders

24kg TGU , 2/2
DB 32 kgs DL, 5 (this felt so light I was completely blown away)
24kg SL DL, 5/5

5x of the following ladders:

PPR 24kg, 3/3
PPR 28kg, 2/2
PPR 32kg, 1/1

30 reps per arm on the PPR

2x of the following ladders:

24kg SN, 3/3, 6/6/, 9/9, 12/12 (setting bell down between ladder)

Total of 120 reps on the SN

Took me 15 minutes to do this (really had to take some breaks)

9:15am - Complete

Notes -  This was a really fun day.  Man I have not done the push press in about a year, and I like it.  I like it a lot.  Training for power (really explosive movements) is a lot of fun and this is a great explosive movement.  My technique on this is a hell of a lot better a year later and that is in large part I think because I am a lot stronger.  Much stronger legs now, much better base for this lift because really it is a lift that emphasizes the quads, not the upper body, to get the bell up into lockout.  All of the squatting work is really paying off big time.  I felt like I could definitely improve on the technique here though of course.  I felt good with the drops, and the drive, and had very good lockouts on these reps even with the 32kg.  Overhead lockout is definitely getting better in general.  Focused on really keeping the bell vertical in the rack, elbow really tight to the body, and then straight up into lockout on the drive, trying not to waste movement.  However I felt like I had a little lean back on certain reps, need to stay tighter in the abs, and make sure to really tense the glutes and stay tight in lockout, and lowering the bell down (I did "hard" negatives on every rep, did not drop the bell back into the rack).  These were also good practice for some heaving 1H CL, getting the bell into the rack particularly with the 32kg.   So I was pretty taxed getting to the SN and although Kevin's notes called for 2-3 rounds, I mentally said 2 max, and would re-assess that even after doing 1 round.  The first round was not bad, took me just under 6 minutes to get in the 60 reps, setting the bell down and getting some breaths between each ladder with a focus on maintaining power on every single rep.  I decided to go for the 2nd round but had a feeling I was going to need a lot of rest to finish.  I was right.  Took me just over 9 minutes to get the 2nd round of 60 reps done.  I probably took 3 minutes between the ladders of 9/9 and 12/12 because I really, really did not want shitty reps on the 12/12, needed to make sure I had enough gas in the tank to get good reps done.  I did, felt really good about it at the end.

Also one very random thing I noticed in the warm up is that DB 32kgs deadlifts were just LIGHT.  I have noticed in the farmer walks that the 32kg feels lighter and lighter.  I am wondering what I could deadlift with a bar these days.  I have not deadlifted with a bar in a year.  When I did, my best pull was 300 lbs, something at the time I was quite proud of because honestly I have probably dead lifted with a bar maybe 3-4 days/training sessions total in m life.  It is a hole in my training and I should try to do something about it, but just don't have any real place to train with a bar even if I had one.  I am not about to go back to a commercial gym - ever.  I need a bigger house.  At least the KB work helps the deadlift, it probably wouldn't be too bad if I tested it again.  I would be curious if I could pull 330 without practice (a 10% increase from a year ago).  Probably not, but it would be interesting to know.

Definitely a very tough strength / power training practice today, I really enjoyed it and am just feeling very grateful for everything I have learned from Ross and now Kevin.  My body awareness and intelligence in training is definitely improving and that is very important.  I am far from totaling "being there" with everything but this is a lifelong pursuit.  I am just happy to be able to see real progress, even if it is a slow and steady march.  The journey is fun.

3/27/14 Thursday March 27, 2014 (OS, PM, SL DLs 24kg)

7:15am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 30 minutes

7:45am - Kettlebell warm up

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

16kg Roll to press (TGU start) - shoulder cam shafts, each arm
Arm bar 12 kg, 1+1
Crooked arm bar with press, 12kg, 3+3

Break

8:45am - Training session - Focus on 24kg SL DLs

24kg SL DLs, 5/5, x 2

8:55am - Complete

Notes -  Good day, body is feeling pretty good. Need to get to bed earlier and get some more restful sleep tonight.  R hip and obliques continue to be very "loose" this week, not tight, this is really a great development. R forearm feeling a little less tension as well after some focused lacrosse ball work.  More tonight to get ready for some push presses and snatching tomorrow, going to be a pretty big training session I think. 

3/26/14 Wednesday March 26, 2014 (TGUs/RRs/ DB 20kg complex)

7:45am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 60 minutes (extra work on lacrosse ball for traps, glutes, quads, hams, forearms)

8:45am - Kettlebell warm up

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

16kg Roll to press (TGU start) - shoulder cam shafts, each arm
Arm bar 12 kg, 1+1
Crooked arm bar 12kg, 3+3 with press

9:00am - Training session - Focus on TGUs / Rows, DB 20kg complex

Superset the following - set of TGUs, then Renegade Rows off hand on a box

TGUs roll to elbow

28kg x 3/3

32kg x 2, 1 /3 (had to put bell down before getting 3rd rep on the L)

36kg x 1/1 x 2 (got a really good 2nd rep on L with the 36kg, best I have had yet, and decided to finish with that instead of getting a 3rd rep)

Renegade rows after each set, 24kg, 5/5 (first time I have repped rows)

Double 20kg complex.  Went like this

1st set:
2 DB CL, 1 DB SQ
4 DB CL, 2 DB SQ
6 DB CL, 3 DB SQ
4 DB CL (set bell down), 4 DB CL, 4 DB SQ
5 DB CL (set bell down), 5 DB CL, 5 DB SQ

Rest 3-4 minutes

2nd set:
2 DB CL, 1 DB SQ
4 DB CL, 2 DB SQ (set bell down)
6 DB CL, 3 DB SQ (set bell down)
8 DB CL, 4 DB SQ (set bell down)
10 DB CL, 5 DB SQ

Overall took about 20 minutes to get the complex done.

9:45am - Complete

Notes -  Well, it was an interesting day on several fronts.  I continue to be interested in this cycle because it is a lot different than what I have been doing.  On the TGUs it was good to get some practice simply rolling to the elbow, my weakest part of the movement.  I am starting to learn to really drive that hip up and over and drive that foot into the ground (same side as the bell).  Doing multiple reps with heavier bells was actually a bit tough, I really noticed it with the 32kg and decided not to even mess with repping with the 36kg because I am not confident with that bell yet.  I did finally today get some good roll to elbows with the 36kg though, which was encouraging.  The hip drive and digging in the foot definitely are helpful cues.  Also I really like doing rows, this is a great movement to teach getting tight and with reps - staying tight.  That was good.  Finally, the complex.  I don't touch my 20kgs that much.  Given all the work I have done with the 24kg, I went into this thinking that the 20kgs would be pretty easy.  Holy shit I was wrong.  I failed to recognize that 1) cleans will smoke you and 2) squats after cleans will really smoke you.  My breathing could have been better in the first set and I was trying to find a groove with the cleans, and didn't really find it until the end of the first set and into the 2nd set.  I did not force reps, didn't try to be a hero, didn't do anything dumb - I parked the bells when I felt like the form was about to go.   I wanted to get in the entire prescribed volume Kevin outlined because I did want my body to feel that amount of volume so I can try and adapt to it.  I can tell you my forearms and in particular my R forearm, which I have been watching closely this week, was really taxed out.  The R forearm is a little taxed I think due to some care and caution I have been putting on the R wrist, and I suspect there is just a little compensation in particular from learning how to swing without letting go of the bell on the float.  Release with the lacrosse ball really helps.  Really overall I have to be pretty pleased with this and will look to see if I can improve the density and not set the bells down as much next week.  Lastly I have continued my focused chiropractic work that goes for 12 weeks (I am around week 9) and today was the first day that everything checked out, no adjustments needed at all, just went straight into traction.  The chiro was very pleased.  I will say that I am feeling pretty strong right now, the deload week was very helpful, the work we are doing is something my body seems to be responding well to (in particular the Planks from Monday I think were a really good movement for me).

3/25/14 Tuesday March 25, 2014 (28kg SW variations)

7:15am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 15 minutes

7:30am - Kettlebell warm up

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

16kg Roll to press (TGU start) - shoulder cam shafts, each arm
Arm bar 12 kg, 1+1
Crooked arm bar with press, 12kg, 3+3

Break

8:45am - Training session - Focus on 28kg SW variations

2H SW 28kg, 10, 2x
1H SW 28kg, 10/10
2H SW 28kg, 10, 2x
1H SW 28kg, 10/10
2H SW 28kg, 10, 2x

100 total SW reps

9:00am - Complete

Notes -  Didn't sleep well, recovery day, not too much work here although I did decide to bump up to a 28kg and see how that went.  Dropped H2H SW, didn't want to mess with anything that might stress the R wrist at all. No problems with it, just want to watch it and keep practicing the new SW technique of not letting go of the bell on the float.  Forearms are a bit toasted, particularly the R side.  I needed to do some lacrosse ball release and didn't get it done.  Have to focus on that this evening.  

3/24/14 Monday March 24, 2014 (TGUs, TK PR 24kg, DB SW 24 kgs / PU Planks)

6:45am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 50 minutes (extra work on lacrosse ball for traps, glutes, quads, hams)

7:35am - Kettlebell warm up

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

16kg Roll to press (TGU start) - shoulder cam shafts, each arm
Arm bar 12 kg, 1+1
Crooked arm bar 12kg, 3+3 with press

7:50am - Training session - Focus on TGUs, TK PR 24kg, super DB SW 24 kgs / planks

TGUs (start from the top finish at the top)

16kg x 1/1

20kg x 1/1

24kg x 1/1

12kg Tall Kneeling Halos x 5/5

24kg TK PR x 3/3 x 5 sets

(15 minute break during the presses for kids)

Superset 8x:

DB SW 24kgs x 10

Around the World (PU Plank) x 1/1

Total of 80 DB SW

9:05am - Complete

Notes -  Pretty cool training session.  We are in a “power” cycle now for 3 weeks, then a deload week. Everything about this was pretty different than what I have been doing for some time and the experience was interesting.  First, on the TGUs, by overhead lockout on both sides was the best it has felt in quite some time.  I am not completely sure what to attribute this to other than I will say the deload week last week probably came at exactly the right time.  Really starting to appreciate the value of the deload weeks and the natural cycle of ramping up to reach a max week, and then backing off, in a 4-week cycle.  This is really working for me.  The TK PR are very good in that they teach or at least help reinforce the benefits of a vertical forearm and staying absolutely tight and vertical with the bell, efficient motion.  I am hoping this can really translate back to my 1 arm presses.  I don't think the groove is quite the same when double pressing, but this groove really would help me with 1 arm presses because I don't think I get vertical enough on some presses, bring the bell too far into the rack / too close to my chest on the descent and rack on military presses.  Good stuff.  Then the best part of the session was experimenting with a new swing technique that Kevin strongly encouraged me to employ, which is not letting go of the bells at the top of the swing on the float, but keeping a grip on them.  I have been letting go of the bells for a long time, which I think can actually be very beneficial, but at the same time now that I have been going up with heavier bells, doing this can potentially pull the wrists/arms if flawless technique is not followed.  And I noticed a weird thing with my R wrist during the last session on Friday, and there is absolutely no way I want to mess with that whatsoever.  So I have had it adjusted by my chiro a couple of times now (no pain whatsoever) and think it is fine, but this new technique of not letting go of the bells really seemed to be good today, no issues whatsoever with the wrist.  It is very, very demanding on grip though and toasted my forearms. Going to need to do more release with the lacrosse balls on my forearms and wrists until I can get used to this.  I do think this is a better technique for me though and I am going to keep at it.  Also noticed a ton of power with the DB SW, really was engaging the lats and hips, totally felt easy, wasn't using my arms to drive.  That was cool.  All of the lat work, rows, pull ups, etc etc. has really helped me a lot and it shows up in movements like this.  I liked the supersets with planks.  I am not sure how this occurred but prior to today my R oblique and psoas had been very tight, for weeks, couldn't seem to get it stretched out.  I realized at the end of the day today that it had been totally feeling good today, all day, after this session.  I suspect the planks were pretty useful in isolating some muscles in the same way that SL DLs seem to be so good for my back, balancing some asymmetries out of the system.  Great stuff.

3/22/14 Saturday March 22, 2014 (interval running , pullups, pushups)

Good day.  Did not get started until pretty late, 630pm.  The weather was unusually nice which was very cool.  Started with various bar hangs to try and stretch out the lats, decompress the back, get the biceps a little stretched out too.  Felt good.

Switched things up a bit this time and went with 3 minute running intervals, a total of 5 sets, which ended up being 30 minutes of running.

Run 3 minutes, SL DLs 5/5, run 3 minutes, pullups 5, pushups 5
x 5

30 minutes running, 25 SL DLs per leg, 25 pullups, 25 pushups

That is the sweet spot I think for me as it gets in about 3 miles, which is perfectly fine, and a shorter interval like 3 minutes allows for a bit more of a sprint.  I might even drop it to 2 minute intervals and see how that goes.  I think that would actually be pretty hard.  This is the strongest I have felt running in a long, long time.  My stride feels so much more powerful, really getting the glutes, hamstrings involved and it is taking a lot of pressure off of the feet and ankles I think to have a more powerful stride.  Strides are longer too.  I think the squatting work lately has been really, really helpful too and definitely want to keep exploring the squat and improving and strengthening it.  I have noticed a little bit of size in the legs as well but not too much.

3/21/14 Friday March 21, 2014 (training with Kevin)

Checked my training log and I last trained with Kevin on Wed Feb 19- about a month ago.

Slept in more than I intended, didn't warm up enough, but did warm up some.

6:35am - Training session with Kevin.  We did some primal move to get warmed up.

As usual this was a good session.  We warmed up with some mobility, bar hangs, learned some t-spine drills, and then practiced crooked arm bars with presses and got some improved technique which was good.  Worked on some TGUs, rolling to elbow only, and various cues to really drive that foot into the ground, drive the hip over, pull with the arm etc.  I think those will continue to help and I will keep refining that TGU to the point where I can nail reps with the 36kg on the L side which has been giving me trouble.

We trained some double front squat with the 24kgs, everything looked good there, Kevin was pleased.  We played a little with keeping my toes pointing out slightly instead of right straight ahead.  Also getting to parallel but not going to far into the hole.

We trained some double swings with the 24kg, felt weird as my R wrist was clicking on the reps, parked the bells and tried to work that out.  Very strange indeed though I noticed this one early this week on a rep doing 1H SW on Tuesday.  I think some things are a little off there.  After this session I had my chiropractor adjust the wrist which seemed to help.  I need to keep releasing the tight spots in the traps, biceps, forearms etc. because I just think everything is a bit tight and the wrist is responding.  Also Kevin advised me to hold on the bell on all swings and not let go at the float which I do on every single rep.  He pointed out that can pull on the wrist, and for now I need to practice keeping a hold of the bell.  It might tax my grip but this will be improved for the wrist on swings.  I am going to follow that advice for certain.

We did a variety of tall kneeling presses with the 24kg, which were good.  These are going to come back into the training plan again.  This is a good movement and deceptively challenging.

Lastly we did some push-presses with the 24kg and then the 32kg for practice, to try and get this movement back. I thought that was good and look forward to sets of these with the 32kg.

7:50am -  Good stuff.  The wrist clicking surprised me but I don't think this is anything as long as I address it, follow Kevin's advice on swings, etc.  I did not notice anything whatsoever on cleans, squats, presses.  Probably a great idea to keep a hold of the bell for all reps and not do the grip / let go / regrip that I have been doing, though that will be a little bit of a habit to break.

3/20/14 Thursday October 20, 2014 (OS PM KB warm up)

9:30am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 30 minutes

9:45am - Kettlebell warm up

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

1/2K pullover - 16 kg, 5X each leg
16kg Roll to press (TGU start) - shoulder cam shafts, each arm
Arm bar 12 kg, 1+1
Crooked arm bar 12kg, 3+3 presses

10:00am - Complete

Notes -  Slept in this morning after doing the odd late night training session last night.  Body felt ok, pretty tight oblique and hip on the R side, something I have been battling for awhile.  Pretty tight in the overhead position, really trying to work on stretching things out using the arm bars.  Time to see Kevin tomorrow and do an overall check in.  Deload week again is coming at just the right time.

3/20/14 Wednesday March 20, 2014 (DB 24kg total tension complex)

8:15am - 75 minute walk in Spokane around Riverpark Square downtown and Gonzaga Campus

9:30am - finish

Break

8:35pm - Original Strength and Primal Move - 30 minutes

9:05pm - Kettlebell warm up

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

16kg Roll to press (TGU start) - shoulder cam shafts, each arm
Arm bar 12 kg, 1+1
Crooked arm bar 12kg, 3+3 with press

9:20pm - Training session - DB 24kg total tension complex, focus on squats (deload)

24kg TGU, 2/2
24kg G Sq, 10
24kg 2H SW, 5, 10, 15, 20 (50 reps)

"Total tension complex" from Pavel, emphasis on squats, using a ladder format as follows:

24 kgs DB CL, DB PR, DB SQ, singles of the CL and PR and went sets of 1,2,3,4,3,2,1 for the squats.

After each set, a Renegade Row with the off hand on a box, using the 24kg, 1/1 (7 total sets)

Total of 7 DB CL, DB PR, and 16 reps of the DB SQ with the 24kgs - this is a deload from using DB 28kg and going up to a top ladder of 6

Finisher - 1 minute rack walk with the DB 24kgs (that was a bitch)

9:50pm - Complete

Notes -  Obviously a very unusual day for me, was in Spokane working and consciously decided to wait to train until getting home which had me training very late at night, since I do not have good access to KBs in Spokane.  I could have used the commercial gym in the morning and done all sorts of stuff, but I was very curious how a deload on the total tension complex would feel and did not want to miss training with the bells.  I was just simply stunned because these DB 24kgs felt LIGHT.  The first clean flew up so quick I actually had to stop the bells from nearly going over my shoulders.  Wow.  What am awesome feeling to move weights like this on a "deload" week that definitely in the not that distant past were challenging.  I remember doing DB 24kg squats for sets of 5 and just being blasted.  Not so anymore.  So cool.  Looking forward to training with Kevin on Friday, I think we might do a snatch test.....

3/18/14 Tuesday March 18, 2014 (24kg SL DL, SW variations)

6:45am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 30 minutes

7:15am - Kettlebell warm up

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

16kg Roll to press (TGU start) - shoulder cam shafts, each arm
Arm bar 12 kg, 1+1
Crooked arm bar with press, 12kg, 3+3

7:30am - Training session - Focus on 24kg SL DLs, TGUs, SW combos

24kg SL DLs, 5/5

2H SW 24kg, 10
1H SW 24kg, 10/10
H2H SW 24kg, 10/10

24kg SL DLs, 5/5

H2H SW 24kg, 10/10
1H SW 24kg, 10/10

2H SW 24kg, 10

100 total SW reps

7:45am - Complete

Notes -  Good day.  Body is feeling pretty good.   The deload week is a good thing.  Flying to Spokane today, flying back tomorrow.  Going to try and take some nice long walks.  Going to train at an odd time, late in the evening tomorrow, DB 24 kg total tension complex, cut down on the sets of ladders so not much volume.  Will be interesting to see how that feels, I think it will be pretty easy given that I will be warmed up from the whole day and dropping the weight and sets from what I have been doing.

3/17/14 Monday March 17, 2014 (BUP 20kg, PR 24kg, 1H SW ladders)

7:30am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 60 minutes (lots of foam roll, lacrosse ball work on legs)

8:30am - Kettlebell warm up

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

16kg Roll to press (TGU start) - shoulder cam shafts, each arm
Arm bar 12 kg, 1+1
Crooked arm bar 12kg, 3+3 with press

8:45am - Training session - Focus on superset BU PR 20kg / PR 28kg, finish with heavy 1H SW ladder

TGU 20kg, 1+1 including marching in place, about 30 seconds per arm

3X of the following superset:
BU PR 20kg, 1/1
PR 24kg, 5/5
Dead hang from front front porch (modified pull-up bar hang essentially)

Total of 3 BU PR with the 20kg per arm, and 15 PR with the 24kg per arm

1H SW ladders, 3x as follows:
24kg, 10/10
32kg, 5/5
28kg, 5/5

120 swings total 60 per arm

9:15am - Complete

Notes -  This is a deload week as planned, leading up to a training session with Kevin this Friday.  3 weeks on, 1 deload week follows.  Good cycle.  In response on the PR I dropped from the 28kg to the 24kg and dropped to 3 sets of 5. On the 1H SW ladder I dropped the 36kg bell but kept the number of reps the same.  Essentially dropped a bell size on the ladder.  Kept the BU PR at 20kg but only did 3 total reps.  I was pretty damn tight this morning, took forever to warm up, the deload week is definitely coming at the right time.  I always have a desire to do more/more/more but this time the deload is welcome and I absolutely understand its place.  Frankly the 24kg felt light as hell and so did the swings taking out the 36kg.  That is a great feeling, and I know I have really made some progress on overall strength.

3/15/14 Saturday March 15, 2014 (interval running / pull-ups / push ups)

Good day.  Did not get started until pretty late, 630pm, and it was raining.  Finished up in the dark, but it felt good to get the work done on Sat to allow for a long sleep Sat night and more recovery Sunday.  Body is certainly feeling a lot better one week later, some of the hanging done each day to help stretch out the lats and decompress the spine is really helping  I think.  Lockout position overhead on the L side is noticeably more comfortable than a week ago.  Noticed some stiffness the last couple of days on my R side low neck / upper lat which is an old problem area.  Things keep bouncing around I guess but bottom line have to just keep working on mobility consistently.

I continued again with the interval work in a ladder format this week.  Did a 2 minute warm up followed by 2 pull-ups and 2 push-ups, then did the following:

I also decided to mix up the interval work.  I actually did the following:

3 minutes running,  body weight SL DLs 3/3, 3 minutes running, 3 pull ups, 3 push-ups
4... 4/4.... 4, 4, 4
5...5/5.... 5, 5, 5
4...4/4.... 4, 4, 4
3....3/3....3, 3, 3

Total running time was 38 minutes, with 19 SL DLs each side, 21 pull ups, 21 push ups. I dropped this down just a bit from last week, didn't feel the need to do quite as much work today, keeping things between 30 and 40 minutes of running is just fine.

3/14/14 Friday March 14, 2014 (heavy TGUs, SN 24kg 9/9 7 mins)

6:40am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 30 minutes

7:20am - Kettlebell warm up

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

16kg Roll to press (TGU start) - shoulder cam shafts, each arm
Arm bar 12 kg, 1+1
Crooked arm bar 12 kg, 3+3

7:35am - Training session - Focus on TGUs, SN the 24kg 9/9 for 7 minutes

TGU 24kg, 1+1
TGU 32kg, 1+1
TGU 28kg, 1+1
TGU 36kg, 1+1 (shaky rep on the L side)

SL DL 24kg, 5/5 (bell from the ground)

SN 24kg 9/9 for 7 minutes - 126 total reps (last week 8/8, 112 total reps)

Didn't make 7 mins - needed an extra 50 seconds to finish the last set, so more like 8 minutes.

8:10am - Complete

Notes -  Pretty strong day.  Still not a great rep on the TGU with the 36kg on the L side, can't keep feet planted and bell was pulling my wrist, but it was better than last week.  32kg is strong both sides.  36kg is strong on the R side.  Just have to keep working at it. I keep saying more reps with the 32kg is the way to go or at least I just need to practice the roll to elbow with the 36kg.  I think next time I am going to work in some roll to elbow reps.  Snatching went pretty well in hindsight.  On a 10 minute timed interval I could have hit about 160 reps at the pace I was going, which works out to 8/8 for 10 minutes.  That is solid, doesn't represent a huge improvement from the last cycle but then again this cycle has had a very heavy strength component and not as focused on conditioning.  I felt I did lose a little wind today at about the 5 minute mark, which caused me to use the extra minute to get in all the reps.  But the reps were strong, kept the power up after taking the additional rest time, and I feel good about where I am at right now.  Lockout position on the L side has improved greatly this week, a lot less tension, that is outstanding.  Doing some hangs from my porch (modified bar hang) has definitely been helping.  Going to keep focused on those, it really helps loosen up the lats and just pulls everything into place.

3/13/14 Thursday March 13, 2014 (24kg partial TGU, SL DLs)

6:45am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 15 minutes

7:00am - 15 minute break (kids woke up)

7:15am - Kettlebell warm up

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

1/2K pullover - 16 kg, 5X each leg
16kg Roll to press (TGU start) - shoulder cam shafts, each arm
Arm bar 12 kg, 1+1
Crooked arm bar 12kg, 1/1, press x 3 on each side

7:30am - break

10:00am - Training session - Focus on partial 24kg TGUs, 24kg SL DLs

Superset 2X:
TGU 24kg roll to elbow, up to knee, back down, 1/1
24kg SL DLs, 5/5 (contra lateral, bell from the floor)

10:45am - Complete

Notes -  Body feels good.  SL DLs from the ground for the first time - no problem.  ROM has improved, going to start doing these all from the ground.  May be time to throw in the 28kg for some reps.

3/12/14 Wednesday March 12, 2014 (DB 28kg total tension complex)

7:05am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 60 minutes (some extra work on foam roll and lacrosse ball for lats, traps, arms, glutes)

8:05am - Kettlebell warm up

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

16kg Roll to press (TGU start) - shoulder cam shafts, each arm
Arm bar 12 kg, 1+1
Crooked arm bar 12kg, 3+3 with press

8:20am - Training session - Focus on the Total Tension Complex with the DB 28kgs, squat emphasis

24kg TGU, 2/2

24kg G Sq, 10

24kg 2H SW, 5, 10, 15, 20 (50 reps)

"Total tension complex" from Pavel, emphasis on squats, using a ladder format as follows:

28 kgs DB CL, DB PR, DB SQ, singles of the CL and PR and went sets of 1,2,3,4,5,6,5,4,3,2,1 for the squats.  (same as last week)

After each set, Renegade Row with off hand on a box, 1/1 with the 28g (24kg last week)

Total of 11 DB CL, DB PR, and 36 reps of the DB SQ with the 28kgs (same last week)

Active rest between several of the sets - hanging from my porch (modified bar hang)

9:10 - Complete

Notes -  Very good training today, I am pleased.  I moved essentially the same weight as last week in the complex, hitting a top ladder of 6 squats, and appropriately determined that was going to be the top set today.  Sleep was ok, but I am still working through some tightness in various spots, noticeably this morning the lats, obliques, hamstrings, and glutes, and want to continue to dial in the techniques.  This is a heavy weight session for me so simply being able to do it, and improve the quality of the work in a week in the circumstances is very important.  I did bump up the weight in the rows to 28kg, which was absolutely fine, I would have no issue doing 32kg off the box, I may be getting closer to being able to have two 32kgs on the ground and then practice rowing one at a time.  We'll see.  I like that movement quite a bit.  Need some good solid recovery before snatching on Friday.  Hands are a little bit beaten up, need to treat those the next couple of days.  Nothing major but time to stay vigilant. 

3/11/14 Tuesday March 11, 2014 (24kg SL DLs, SW variations)

6:30am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 30 minutes

7:00am - Kettlebell warm up

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

16kg Roll to press (TGU start) - shoulder cam shafts, each arm
Arm bar 12 kg, 1+1
Crooked arm bar with press, 12kg, 3+3

Kids woke up - 15 min interruption

7:30am - Training session - Focus on 24kg SL DLs, TGUs, SW combos

16kg TGU to knee, 2/2, holding for 30 seconds in lockout at the knee position
24kg SL DLs, 5/5

Break

8:45am -

2H SW 24kg, 10
1H SW 24kg, 10/10
H2H SW 24kg, 10/10

24kg SL DLs, 5/5

H2H SW 24kg, 10/10
1H SW 24kg, 10/10

2H SW 24kg, 10

100 total SW reps

9:00am - Complete

Notes -  Good day.  Body felt good.  The work put in to stretch out the lats and the pecs is helping quite a bit.  Will continue to keep doing hangs from my porch every day to decompress the spine and get some of these stretching benefits.  I think this is going to be big for me.  Body work later today from my acupuncturist for some soft tissue help as well which will be good.

3/10/14 Monday March 10, 2014 (BU PR 20kg, PR 28kg, heavy 1H SW ladder)

6:00am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 35 minutes

6:35am - Kettlebell warm up

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

16kg Roll to press (TGU start) - shoulder cam shafts, each arm
Arm bar 12 kg, 1+1
Crooked arm bar 12kg, 3+3 with press

6:50am - Training session - Focus on superset BU PR 20kg / PR 28kg, finish with heavy 1H SW ladder

TGU 20kg, 1+1 including marching in place, about 30 seconds per arm

2X of the following superset:
BU PR 20kg, 1/1 (last week same)
PR 28kg, 5/5
Dead hang from front front porch (modified pull-up bar hang essentially)

3X of the following superset:
BU PR 20kg, 1/1 (last week same)
PR 28kg, 3/3
Dead hang from front front porch (modified pull-up bar hang essentially)

Total of 5 BU PR with the 20kg per arm, and 19 PR with the 28kg per arm

1H SW ladders, 3x as follows:
28kg, 10/10
36kg, 5/5
32kg, 5/5

120 swings total 60 per arm

7:30am - Complete

Notes -  Interesting day. A few things to note.  As per my training notes yesterday I felt I had to figure out a way to incorporate some modified pull up bar hangs into my routine, particularly pressing days, because of the benefits of the spine decompression and stretching out my lats.  My lats have tightened up quite a bit from doing heavier pressing, renegade rows, pull-ups, push-ups..... that has been a lot to take on.  Getting them stronger and having more awareness of the lats has been tremendously beneficial but this can be overdone and I must find a way to release them.  I really think the dead hangs are going to do it.  I realized I can walk outside my basement door and hang from the porch leading up to the front door.  It is very grip intensive as it is basically a fingertip grip to do the hangs, nothing to hold on to really since this is the edge of the porch, but I can do it, and after trying it last night as part of my mobility work I realized this was going to be money and determined that doing 1 hang after each set of presses is going to be my "active rest" movement.  I did this with great benefit today, and I am very pleased.  Should have thought of this earlier but I have never been the most creative guy, most CPAs are not.... Anyway I did not have too much time today as I was flying to Spokane at 9am, and and also given that I finished up yesterday's interval session pretty late in the day, and I have been doing a lot of overhead work, I consciously told myself if I needed to back off the volume from last week's press effort, which was a big PR, that I should do it.  On the 3rd set today it became clear to me that I should not continue with 5/5 and thus I settled for an "easy" 3/3 and just tried to get great cleans and great reps.  I am very pleased I did this, it was absolutely the right call.  It is not about trying to set a PR every day out, it was way more important today to get in quality reps and save myself because I have been beat up a bit, and I need to get that sorted out before trying to go crazy busting PRs.  I actually was more interested today in making the 20kg BUPs feel tighter and better, which I achieved, and I also wanted better quality heavy swings because I felt like last week I just tried to survive them after the pressing PR.  The swings were WAY better today, I was really focused, keeping the bell very tight when loading it on the descent, controlled float at the top of each rep.  The 36kg felt better than it ever has and I decided before hand I was going to park it instead of doing hand switches because that didn't feel right last week. So I parked it between each set for each arm, picked it right back up and kept going and this was another good move.  I think I got a little bit smarter today, mentally stronger, and that leads to physical strength too.

3/9/14 Sunday March 9, 2014 (interval running / pull ups / push ups)

It was an interesting weekend.  Most of last week and through the weekend I was feeling tightness in my pecs, primarily L side, and the L bicep tendon.  Nothing too severe, but enough to notice and go "what brought this on, and what can I do to improve this?" Several years ago I had a couple of bad falls on ice and one in particular did a number of my L shoulder.  Kettlebell lifting has been incredible for it, really dramatically improved the stability of that shoulder, range of motion, nd overall strength is just through the roof.  it has been awesome.  With that said once a body part is injured once, at least in my experience, things come up from time to time (ie a tweak more easily re occurs).  So on Friday and Sat I did a decent amount of lacrosse ball release and that really helped, but I kept thinking to myself that "hangs" from a pull up bar or the equivalent would be really good to stretch out the lats which I suspected were a root cause of the bicep tendon tightness.  Hangs would also decompress my spine from all of the pressing I have been doing, and I think would also help the biceps tendon directly.

So I got down to the lake late Sunday evening and did 10-15 minutes of hangs.  I was absolutely shocked how immediately my body responded and very positively.  It is very, very clear to me that I HAVE to keep incorporating these very regularly, possibly even daily with mobility warm ups, similar to the benefits I have seen from more frequent SL DL practice with a KB.

I also decided to mix up the interval work.  I actually did the following:

2 minutes running,  body weight SL DLs 2/2, 2 minutes running, 2 pull ups, 2 push-ups
3... 3/3.... 3, 3 , 3
4... 4/4.... 4, 4, 4
5...5/5.... 5, 5, 5
4...4/4.... 4, 4, 4
3....3/3....3, 3, 3
2....2/2....2, 2, 2

Essentially I "laddered" everything.  I liked it.  Total running time was 46 minutes, with 23 SL DLs each side, 23 pull ups, 23 push ups. This is actually more work than I had been doing, which was not necessarily my intention as did my math wrong.  Next time I will probably drop the ladders of 2 and just  do 3, 4, 5, 4, 3.  Felt really good though and this was a great way to end the weekend after quite a bit of frustration with how my body was feeling up to this point.  The hangs were really a godsend.

3/7/14 Friday March 7, 2014 (heavy TGUs, SN 24kg 8/8 for 7 mins)

8:00am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 60 minutes (extra time today)

9:00am - Kettlebell warm up

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

16kg Roll to press (TGU start) - shoulder cam shafts, each arm
Arm bar 12 kg, 1+1
Crooked arm bar 12 kg, 3+3

9:15am - Training session - Focus on TGUs, SN the 24kg 8/8 for 7 minutes

TGU 24kg, 1+1
TGU 32kg, 1+1
TGU 28kg, 1+1
TGU 36kg, 1+1 (shaky rep on the L side)

SL DL 24kg, 5/5

SN 24kg 8/8 for 7 minutes - 112 total reps (last week 7/7, 98 total reps)

Didn't make 7 mins - needed 20 extra seconds to finish the last set

9:45am - Complete

Notes -  Interesting day.  It has been somewhat of a long week, being out of commission Monday evening, all of Tuesday with either food poisoning or some sort of stomach bug has thrown things off.  PRs in the press with the DB 28kgs on Monday, PRs in the squat DB 28kgs on Wed, you would not expect some sort of PR in the snatch today and that definitely was not the case.  I lost wind at about 5 minutes in.  I did not want to reduce power or have bad reps and I was determined to focus on that and not the clock.  So I took extra time to finish the last set but did so with good technique and maintaining power. I cannot have snatches that are bad reps, a poor lockout or loss of power really can cause me problems with the elbow, shoulder etc.  It's just critical that I do not chase reps with the snatch, I just will not do it anymore unless it is a "true" timed SFG test to re-establish baselines (which I will not be doing that frequently).  On a macro level, this was a good session and I got better - that's what matters.  I also did have a shaky rep with the 36kg on the L side, roll to elbow still causing issues, can't keep my feet planted and this time it was both feet.  Was able to steady the bell very well, good thing I have solid shoulder stabilization, and was not in jeopardy of missing the lift but was still pissed off.  I really need to work on this side and doing it with more reps of the 32kg makes more sense probably than doing 36kgs.  Just a little bit off on that side.  All in all, good week of training, now rest and recovery for the weekend.

3/6/14 Thursday March 6, 2014 (24kg SL DLs, SW variations)

6:30am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 30 minutes

7:00am - Kettlebell warm up

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

16kg Roll to press (TGU start) - shoulder cam shafts, each arm
Arm bar 12 kg, 1+1
Crooked arm bar with press, 12kg, 3+3

Kids woke up - 15 min interruption

7:30am - Training session - Focus on 24kg SL DLs, TGUs, SW combos

The following  2x:

24kg SL DLs, 3/3

Break

9:30am -

2H SW 24kg, 10
1H SW 24kg, 10/10
H2H SW 24kg, 10/10

100 total SW reps

9:45am - Complete

Notes -  Good day.  Nothing big to say here, just got a few things done.  Need to keep working the lacrosse ball on my triceps, biceps, left trap and left pec near the clavicle.  Left side is still tender in the lockout position just a little bit, I think some soft tissue work and continuing to work on that lockout position will continue improving things.  All in all, things are fine, better than fine, just little stuff to keep an eye on and keep working on.

3/5/14 Wednesday March 5, 2014 (DB 28kg total tension complex)

7:20am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 50 minutes (some extra work on foam roll and lacrosse ball for lats, traps)

8:10am - Kettlebell warm up

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

16kg Roll to press (TGU start) - shoulder cam shafts, each arm
Arm bar 12 kg, 1+1
Crooked arm bar 12kg, 3+3 with press

8:25am - Training session - Focus on the Total Tension Complex with the DB 28kgs, squat emphasis

24kg TGU, 2/2

24kg G Sq, 10

24kg 2H SW, 5, 10, 15, 20 (50 reps)

"Total tension complex" from Pavel, emphasis on squats, using a ladder format as follows:

28 kgs DB CL, DB PR, DB SQ, singles of the CL and PR and went sets of 1,2,3,4,5,6,5,4,3,2,1 for the squats.  (last week top ladder 5) (PR for squats)

After each set, Renegade Row with off hand on a box, 1/1 with the 24kg (forgot to do these last week)

Total of 11 DB CL, DB PR, and 36 reps of the DB SQ with the 28kgs (9 and 25 last week)

9:15 - Complete

Notes -  What the hell.  I am not even sure what to say other than I learned something important today.  As my training notes from yesterday explain, on Monday night I came down with a nasty case of food poisoning, around 9pm.  From then until after training this morning, the only thing I put in my body was water, some gatorade, a cup of coffee, and last night for dinner, some corn chips and a bowl of vegetable soup.  So in about 36 hrs I had next to no nourishment, no appetite.  However I slept last night for nearly 10 hrs, forced myself to go down to bed at 9pm, totally exhausted.  Decided to sleep in until 7am and really get rested.  So what would happen with training?  A PR in double squats with the 28kgs, by a mile, I was able to add a 6th rung, which gave me an additional 5th rung in the ladder scheme to get to 36 reps with the 28kgs.  Today I really respected the weights.  I was totally dialed in on my technique, from the start of the clean, into the rack, tension for the presses, back to the rack, and then tension and good reps for the squats.  Same with the rows, really concentrating on locking down the lats, glutes, quads etc. to create a really stable base.  This is one of my favorite training sessions ever and one I will not forget given the circumstances.  Bottom line I think if I really want to take my training to another level, I must do a better job at recovery and that starts with sleeping more.  I am simply not getting the job done in that area and it was perfectly obvious to me today what I might be capable of if I improved in that area.  Given my lifestyle and commitments that is not going to be easy to improve but certainly I know the only person who can do something about it is me.

3/4/14 Tuesday March 4, 2014 (OS, PM, KB warm up)

9:45am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 15 minutes

10:00am - Kettlebell warm up

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

1/2K pullover - 16 kg, 5X each leg
16kg Roll to press (TGU start) - shoulder cam shafts, each arm
Arm bar 12 kg, 1+1

10:15am - Complete

Notes -  I am writing this now on Tuesday night.  So Monday night was one of the worst nights of my life - food poisoning.  Something I ate at dinner I think, some pastrami - tainted meat.  I suppose it could have been a stomach bug but I had no signs of something like that coming on.  I ate dinner and then immediately felt sick, stomach really bloated, and I knew something was probably wrong.  I was literally up all night getting sick.  It was awful.  Somehow I got the kids to school in the morning and then was contemplating just not doing anything at all, including going to work, but I had a couple of very important meetings at 11am and 3pm and I did not want to miss those.  After dropping the kids off at school I felt a little better moving around, so I did some mobility work, a few KB warm ups, and called it a day.  I had no idea if I was going to feel better and be able to train normally on Wed.  You will have to read the Wed blog to find out....

3/3/14 Monday March 3, 2014 (BU PR 20kg, PR 28kg, heavy 1H SW ladder)

7:00am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 65 minutes (ridiculous amount of extra time on the foam roller, lacrosse ball, lots of trigger point release work, long OS resets etc)

8:05am - Kettlebell warm up

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

16kg Roll to press (TGU start) - shoulder cam shafts, each arm
Arm bar 12 kg, 1+1
Crooked arm bar 12kg, 3+3 with press

8:20am - Training session - Focus on superset BU PR 20kg / PR 28kg, finish with heavy 1H SW ladder

TGU 20kg, 1+1 including marching in place, about 30 seconds per arm

5X of the following superset:
BU PR 20kg, 1/1 (last week 16kg 2/2)
PR 28kg, 5/5 (PR) (last week 4/4)

Total of 5 BU PR with the 20kg per arm, and 25 PR with the 28kg per arm (PR)

1H SW ladders, 3x as follows:
28kg, 10/10
36kg, 5/5
32kg, 5/5

120 swings total 60 per arm

9:05am - Complete

Notes -  I have an extremely long warm-up again due to trying to get loose from the interval running / pull ups and push ups from yesterday evening.  Definitely took a long time to warm up, but felt good when starting the main training.  I decided to bump up the BUP to a 20kg from a 16kg last week, but drop the double and do singles, and focus on the main event which was trying to go 5 sets of 5/5 on the one-arm PR with the 28kg.  I did it, I nailed all reps, very strong, this is a real solid PR for me.  I am very pleased with the technique improvements and overall strength on the one-arm PR, though I do feel I need to get a little tighter in the core area and try to stand up just a bit straighter on some reps, a little stricter press.  With that said the bell was shooting up most reps and I was staying pretty tight.  Great stuff.  I wanted to also up the heavy swings from 3 sets last week to 4 sets, but after starting I decided not to overdo it having gone up quite a bit on pressing, no need to try and do it all at once.  And these heavy swings are a challenge at the end of this session.  With that said, the 28kg feels like a 24kg, that is awesome, and the 32kg is very crisp and powerful.  The 36kg is still feeling very heavy and I need more time with it, but the reps are good, focused on really trying to hinge back to help with the power output, not worrying about how high the bell was floating but just trying to keep it solid and controlled.

3/2/14 Sunday March 2, 2014 (interval running / pull ups / push ups)

Got going late Sunday afternoon in the absolute pouring rain.  Just terrible weather.  That is 3 or 4 weeks in a row of terrible weather for this weekend training.  Oh well, rain or shine - get shit done.  Ended up doing 4 intervals of the following:

Run 5 minutes, body weight SL DLs 5/5, run 5 minutes, 5 pull-ups on rings followed by 10 push-ups on an elevated bench.  40 minutes of running, 20/20 SL DLs, 20 pull ups and 40 push ups.

Only felt ok today to be honest.  The weather was quite awful.  I wanted to feel the glutes kick in more on the running and they just never seemed to oddly enough.  Legs did feel fine, put just didn't seem to have a lot of pep in the step.  Last couple of nights of sleep were frustratingly cut short by the kids waking up oddly early, probably just a change in sleep cycles as daylight savings time is around the corner.  I have a feeling tomorrow's training could be a challenge unless I can get some decent recovery for sleep tonight.  28kg press ladders and some heavy 1-arm swings, got a big morning in front of me and I want to be ready for it.