7/31/14 Thursday July 31, 2014 (20kgTGU/32kgHSP, 20kg SW/SN)

6:15am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling) - 30 minutes

6:45am - 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, 2+2
Arm bar 12kg with 3 presses, 1/1

7:00am - Training session - 20kg TGU  / 32kg Hike Swing Park, 20kg SW / SN

3x:
20kg TGU, 1/1
32kg HSP, 5 singles

15 minutes of
20kg 1H SW, 5, SN 5, switch hands, SW 5, SN 5, set bell down

Got in 11 rounds in 15 minutes.  110 1H SW, 110 SN
This is up 1 round from the last week, so a 10% improvement

7:30am - Complete

Notes - I am really pleased.  Got going a little earlier, was focused, got done quicker today.  Body feels very good, very strong all around.  Technique on the snatch was markedly improved this week, that was great.  I tried to follow Kevin's tip of "snatching in a phone booth" and I was pulling harder with my traps on the ascent and keeping the bell as tight and as vertical as possible.  Definitely much, much better.  My pace was good, I was not completely and totally gassed (although 15 mins is tough), and I got in 10 more swings and 10 more snatches than last week, all with improved form and less stress on my elbow.  I am feeling ready to start messing with the 24kg again, which is exciting.  

7/30/14 Wednesday July 30, 2014 (warm up, walk)

6:45am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling) - 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, 2+2

7:45am - 30 minute walk at Greenlake

8:15am - Complete

Notes - Nice recovery day planned here, nothing too big.  Body feels very good other than I do need more sleep.  Body composition changes over the last 6 weeks are very noticeable - really leaning out quite a bit, my abs have not been this visible since probably when I was a senior in college.  The work with the double front squat, squatting in general, the bodyweight work with more emphasis on sprinting, and a clean diet is all contributing.  I am looking forward to getting back to a focus on strength here soon but I certainly am happy with these results.

7/29/14 Tuesday July 29, 2014 (TGU/BU SQ/RR, GSq/2H SW ladder)

6:30am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling) - 75 minutes including kids waking up

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, 2+2
Arm bar 12kg with 3 presses, 1/1

8:00am - Training session - TGU ladders, BU SQ, RR on box, GSq / 2H SW ladder

3x:
16kg TGU, 1/1
20kg TGU, 1/1
24kg, TGU, 1/1
16kg BU SQ, 1/1
16kg RR on box, 6/6

GSq / 2H SW ladder:
24kg GSq, 10
24kg 2H SW, 10/10
24kg GSq, 9
24kg 2H SW, 9/9
and so on until
24kg GSq, 1
24kg 2H SW, 1/1

55 reps GSq, 55 reps 2H SW

8:50am - Complete

Notes - Just irritated.  Very irritated.  Body feels great, these training sessions are going great and today was no exception.  My time management sucks right now and I have not made significant strides in this area.  Yesterday was my son's 5th birthday, spent all day with him which was great.  However that meant no work done, had to stay up late to get caught up on a bunch of things work and no work related, which means I got started later this morning, then the kids woke up, and things just drag on.  This is not a great cycle frankly but it works ok for the summer.  These longer training sessions and an additional day of the week are probably not the best overall thing for my schedule unless I can seriously dial in my time better.  It just takes me too long to get things accomplished it seems.  

7/28/14 Monday July 28, 2014 (TGU/BUP/SLDL/PR/1HSW)

700am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling) - 45 minutes (moving slowly, lots of tissue work)

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, 2+2
Arm bar 12kg with 3 presses, 1/1

8:00am - Training session - TGU ladders, BU PR, SL DLs, PR practice, 1H SW

3x:
16kg TGU, 1/1
20kg TGU, 1/1
24kg, TGU, 1/1
16kg BU PR, 1/1
24kg SL DL, 3/3

16kg TK PR, 5/5
20kg PR, 3/3, x 2
24kg PR, 2/2, x 3

24kg 1H SW, 10/10, 5 mins on the minute (100 reps)

8:50am - Complete

Notes - Well.... better than last week at least. I started out slowly, I don't think I am that well recovered from the last couple of weeks.  I need to get some sleep. With that said all of the movements felt easy, and once I got started I moved a lot quicker than last week.  Still just getting through the first part of the training up until presses took 35 minutes.  I didn't feel like I was going slowly but all of the up, down, switching bells etc. I guess just takes time.  Pressing and the 1H SW to finish went very quickly.  TGUs are feeling good and smooth, press groove felt good, focusing on pushing into the bell with my forearm, I like how that creates a good groove and it also seems to help me keep my shoulder and lat down and not shrugging which my body wants to do.  1H SW was easier than last week, grip on the R hand also improved which was a good sign.

7/26/14 Saturday July 26, 2014 (interval running / pullups and pushups)

Got going Saturday afternoon, headed to the turf soccer field at Greenlake again for sprinting.  Body felt pretty darn good.

This is how it went down. Sprint,  pistols, SL DLs, walk to pull-up bar, pull-ups, push-ups, walk back to sprint again.  5 rounds.  Reduced the sprints down to 5 from 10 last week on Kevin's advice.

Pull ups were 6,5,4,3,2 - Fighter pull up style.  Using rings.  A total of 20 pull ups, up one from last week as planned.

Push-ups were 2,3,4,5,6 - opposite rep scheme of the pull-ups.  Up one rep from last week as planned.

Sprinting felt good, powerful, about 18-19 second sprints.  Focused on trying to get my knees up and long strides.

Pistols - got 1/1 each round, pretty solid, improving from last week.  L leg is harder than the R leg, harder to get down all the way into the hole on the L, back also wants to round forward, I am trying to pull damn hard with the my lats and lock the glutes.  I will keep at it, singles are absolutely fine right now, I am going to re-read the Naked Warrior for some tips.

Pull-ups were excellent, first time going up to a first set of 6, that was tougher but felt good.  Interesting as the last round with the 2 I saw a think branch on a tree and decided to try some overhand grip pullups on that branch.  At the very top of the pull my L shoulder did not like it.  Could be a combination of the branch being thick, and also I have been doing pull-ups on rings, essentially neutral grip.  I really, really like the neutral grip and I think my body does as well.  The overhand grip and even chins, kind of wonder how I would react to those after this little experience.  It would be good to mix it up but really at this time I only have access to those rings.  Like I said though, I think my body responds better to a ring or neutral grip anyway.  Push-ups are strong.  I am going to look to try and start some regressions to build towards a 1 arm, 1 leg push up from Naked Warrior.  I can see that in my future.

7/25/14 Friday July 25, 2014 (16kg TGU, DB 20kgs SW/CL/SQ)

6:50am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling) - 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, 2+2
Arm bar 12kg with 3 presses, 1/1

7:35am - Training session - 20kg TGU  / 32kg Hike Swing Park, 20kg SW / SN

10 minutes of
16kg TGU, 1/1, pausing at every step to check form

Did 8 get-ups total

15 minutes of
DB 20kgs SW 5, CL 3, SQ 2

Got in 11 rounds in 15 minutes.  55 DB 10kgs SW, 33 DB CL, 22 DB SQ

8:10am - Complete

Notes - Good day.  Body felt good this morning yet again.  Things are going very well here, the body is responding pretty well I think to this training stimulus of more volume, lighter weights.  This is great.  Got a deep tissue massage yesterday late afternoon which helped with recovery, tighter spots etc.  Did 10 minutes of slow and measured getups with the 16kg, a lot of emphasis on lockout of the elbow in every stage of the movement.  Feeling good and confident.  The complex with DB 20kgs was tough on the grip for sure.  Day after snatching for the first time in two months, my grip was challenged particularly my R hand for some reason.  I keep trying to bury the handle of the bell deeper and deeper into my palm on my R side, take pressure off the elbow, really try to snap the hips and keep the shoulder locked in.  Pretty good results.  Felt nice to squat again with double bells, but almost felt a little out of practice as it's been a couple of weeks since I did this and had been doing a ton of DB squatting for a month.  I was pleased with the density, 11 rounds in 15 minutes was good pacing, my rest periods were short.  I was pretty on point this morning.   Did yard work today in the afternoon, then sanded a table for the backyard this evening as I sit here writing this at 11pm.  Elbows, forearms and wrists really got a workout today and this week in general.  Lacrosse ball work is in order now.

7/24/14 Thursday July 24, 2014 (20kgTGU/32kgHSP, 20kg SW/SN)

6:30am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling) - 45 minutes including kids waking 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)

16kg Roll to press (TGU start) - shoulder cam shafts, each arm

Arm bar 12 kg, 2+2
Arm bar 12kg with 3 presses, 1/1

7:30am - Training session - 20kg TGU  / 32kg Hike Swing Park, 20kg SW / SN

3x:
20kg TGU, 1/1
32kg HSP, 5 singles

15 minutes of
20kg 1H SW, 5, SN 5, switch hands, SW 5, SN 5, set bell down

Got in 10 rounds in 15 minutes.  100 1H SW, 100 SN

8:00am - Complete

Notes - Solid.  Body felt good, mobility is pretty good these days, got to keep it up.  Talking me less time to warm up and with less body parts that feel like they need extra attention, etc.  All good.  TGUs were solid, hike swing parks good with the 32kg.  Snatching - have not snatched at all in quite some time, actually it's close to 2 months at this point.  I should have expected a few challenges but honestly thought it would go a little bit better in certain ways.  Conditioning was ok, but not great.  Something to keep working on.  Technique was good on the R side for the SN, but I was frustrated with the L as I felt as I was not getting into lockout very well, and my elbow on the L I think was taking a little too much force / was having to work too hard with that arm.  Frustrating.  I just could not seem to get crisply into lockout on about 2 out of every 5 reps.  Power was not as good as I would have hoped for. I tried a deeper hinge and tried to slow down each rep, that certainly helped a bit, but it just was not clean enough.  On the other hand the R side felt crisp, not a lot of wasted motion, and the bell right up into lockout smoothly.  I am anticipating my elbow and forearm on the L will need some lacrosse ball and other myofascial release, they will likely tighten up a bit.  Snatching is a tough movement for me.  I think it brings up some of my asymmetries. It's also a movement though where I get great body composition gains and I think it helps me on other lifts as well, and its a challenge I like trying.  With that said I don't think I do well with high volume snatching.  If my technique was tighter it would probably be fine, but I need to keep getting better.  Once a week is plenty at this volume, an alternative would be to sprinkle very low volume into multiple days but Kevin and I can look to that at some future point.

7/23/14 Wednesday July 23, 2014 (warmup, walk)

7:30am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling), some OS resets - 15 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, 2+2
Arm bar 12kg with 3 presses, 1/1

8:30am - walk at Greenlake (1 1/2 miles)

9:00am - Complete

Notes - Felt good this morning but yet again to bed too late last night.  Need to improve and do it immediately starting tonight.  Snatching tomorrow, looking forward to to it.

7/22/14 Tuesday July 22, 2014 (TGU/BU SQ/RR, GSq/2H SW ladder)

6:30am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling), some OS resets - 45 minutes including kids waking 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)

16kg Roll to press (TGU start) - shoulder cam shafts, each arm

Arm bar 12 kg, 2+2
Arm bar 12kg with 3 presses, 1/1

7:30am - Training session - TGU ladders, BU SQ, RR on box, GSq / 2H SW ladder

3x:
16kg TGU, 1/1
20kg TGU, 1/1
24kg, TGU, 1/1
16kg BU SQ, 1/1
16kg RR on box, 6/6

GSq / 2H SW ladder:
24kg GSq, 10
24kg 2H SW, 10/10
24kg GSq, 9
24kg 2H SW, 9/9
and so on until
24kg GSq, 1
24kg 2H SW, 1/1

55 reps GSq, 55 reps 2H SW

8:30am - Complete

Notes - Pretty good day.  I had an s-load of work so didn't get to bed early enough, that wasn't a great start.  Got up a little earlier though and got started with mobility earlier, so that is a plus.  Have to keep working at this so I can truly get up at 5:30am and be ready to go.  Body felt good, no ill effects really from yesterday's volume training so that was good to see.  Movements felt good and strong today, TGU elbow lock continues to be a focus.  Goblets were very strong, Kevin's tip to move the bell away from my chest and really squeeze the horns, lock down those traps has been a good one, I like how that movement is feeling for sure.  2H SW is very powerful, if only with the 24kg, definitely I have a more powerful swing now.  Will be interesting to eventually get back to the big bells at some point and see what I can do with them.  Recovery and sleep tonight, brisk walk at Greenlake tomorrow morning for active recovery.

7/21/14 Monday July 21, 2014 (TGU/BUP/SLDL/PR/1HSW)

7:45am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling), some OS resets - 60 minutes (moving very slowly, lots of tissue work)

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, 2+2
Arm bar 12kg with 3 presses, 1/1

9:00am - Training session - TGU ladders, BU PR, SL DLs, PR practice, 1H SW

3x:
16kg TGU, 1/1
20kg TGU, 1/1
24kg, TGU, 1/1
16kg BU PR, 1/1
24kg SL DL, 3/3

16kg TK PR, 5/5
20kg PR, 3/3, x 2
24kg PR, 2/2, x 3

24kg 1H SW, 10/10, 5 mins on the minute (100 reps)

10:00am - Complete

Notes - Interesting day in a variety of ways.  I am tired.  No doubt about it.  Woke up late, didn't even hear my alarm.  I did sleep soundly at least.  I realized I have burned it now for a good solid week, and things are catching up with me.  Variety of things including work events, traveling to Spokane and back, then traveling to Portland over the weekend for family time.  I absolutely positively must focus on recovery and quickly for the next several days.  Extra sleep is critical.  Body actually feels good in some ways, but I am headed for an issue if I don't get properly rested.  This showed up today in the sense that I moved extremely slowly through everything.  I am mean SLOW.  Warm-ups, sets, etc.  Didn't do anything quickly.  I was using light weights which was a good thing.  This is a new cycle I have started with Kevin - lighter weights, more volume, starting to prep for SFG in November.  It makes a lot of sense what we are doing here but I need to ensure I can make progress by being properly recovered and rested for these sessions.  I was not today but at least I realize it and can make immediate adjustments.  The sprint and pull-up work yesterday may have contributed a bit as well.  It's generally better for me when I can get that work in on Saturdays instead of Sunday, but you do what you can.  

7/20/14 Sunday July 20, 2014 (interval running / pullups and pushups)

Left for Portland on Friday, back late afternoon Sunday and I made it out for some quick training.  Tons and tons of sitting the last several days in the car and otherwise.  Yuck.  Body actually feels surprisingly good despite all the sitting.  Mobility work this week will be in important.

After warming up a bit I felt good enough to try some sprinting again this week.  I decided to head to the track at Greenlake and ultimately did the sprints on the turf on the soccer field, which actually was nice and soft and felt great.

Sprints were much shorter in duration than before.  About 22-23 seconds each, the length of the soccer field.  I tried to make them very powerful given the short duration.

This is how it went down. Sprint, rest, sprint, SL DLs, walk to pull-up bar, pull-ups, push-ups, walk back to sprint again.  5 rounds.

Pull ups were 5,5,4,3,2 - Fighter pull up style.  Using rings.  A total of 19 pull ups, up one from last week as planned.

Push-ups were 2,3,4,5,5 - opposite rep scheme of the pull-ups.  Up one rep from last week as planned.

Reps on the SL DLs were 3 each time.   Why did a drop to 3?  Because I GOT BW PISTOLS ON BOTH LEGS.  Totally out of the blue.  I have not been practicing a pistol at all because I didn't think I could do it.  However I have been squatting a ton, doing SL DLs, and have gain a lot of stability and size in my legs.  My ability to generate tension is much better, in the glutes, lats, static stomp with the foot etc.  So before doing the SL DLs I thought what the hell  I will try to see if I could do pistols.  Nailed it.  Yes the technique could be better, they can definitely get deeper, but still, I felt pretty damn good with what I did and from no practice whatsoever, not even starting with simpler progressions.  Talk about a What The Hell effect from training smart with good movements.  Great day, it sure is cool to get  a PR.  A bodyweight PR is almost cooler than lifting a heavier kettlebell, doing more reps with a KB etc. because you realize you got your body to do something it had never done before.  Pretty awesome stuff.  I know this is nothing for tons of people but for me to get a BW pistol and now realize I can keep going, is a great accomplishment.

7/18/14 Friday July 18, 2014 (24kg GSq, 2H SW complex)

7:15am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling), some OS resets - 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, 2+2
Arm bar 12kg with 3 presses, 1/1

8:00am - Training session - 24kg GSq, 2H SW complex

16kg TGU, 1/1
20kg TGU, 1/1
24kg, TGU, 1/1

24kg GSq, 10
24kg 2H SW, 10
24kg GSq, 9
24kg 2H SW, 99
......
All the way down to

24kg GSq, 1
24kg 2H SW, 1

55 reps of GSq, and 2H SW

8:20am - Complete

Notes - Good stuff.  Little Friday session design by Kevin to bridge until the next cycle starting Monday.  Tougher conditioning than expected.  I liked it.  

7/17/14 Thursday July 17, 2014 (training with Kevin)

7:15am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling) - 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, 2+2
Arm bar 12kg with 3 presses, 1/1

Break

9:00am - Training with Kevin

10:15am -Finish

Notes - Good day.  We worked on TGUs in a ladder format, 16, 20, 24kg.  Lockout and really focusing on the tricep and getting long from the shoulder through the elbow and forearm is key.  We worked on some swings with the 24kg, both 2H and 1H, lots of power.  Did some pressing, again in a 16, 20, 24kg format.  Focus on getting tight, broad, pushing the forearm into the bell which engages the lat and prevents a shoulder shrug/impingement and loss of power.  Got some real good tips there from Kevin.  We did some bottoms ups pressing with the 16kg, reinforcing the same mechanics.  Also did some snatching at the end with the 20kg.

The plan is to do 2 days of strength work, working up to the work weight of 24kg, pressing and squatting.  2 days of conditioning work, swings and snatching.  Increase of volume for this period, but not the weight because there is not a real need for the SFG cert in November in Vancouver BC.  I need to get conditioned for the volume and just be very, very good with the 24kgs.  Mobility work, and a day on the weekend for sprinting, pull-ups etc. whatever I feel like.  Sounds great.  I am looking forward to focusing on technique and starting to get physically and mentally prepared for Vancouver BC.

7/16/14 Wednesday July 16, 2014 (S&S 24kg)

9:00am - 10am - walk in Riverfront park in Spokane

Travel back to Seattle

4:30pm - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling), some OS resets - 30 minutes

5:00pm - 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, 2+2
Arm bar 12kg with 3 presses, 1/1

5:15pm - Training session - S&S 24kg

24kg GSq, 5
2H 24kg Hike/Swing/Park, 3

1H 24kg, 10/10, x 5, on the minute

100 reps

24kg TGUs, 1/1, x 5, get it done in 10 minutes

10 reps - finished in 8 1/2 minutes

5:35pm - Complete

Notes - Punch it, punch the clock.  Had a nice walk in Spokane this morning after a very late night with coworkers, took it easy, was not particularly brisk.  Just very sunny and hot.  Once I got home from traveling I did some mobility work, noticed I was a bit tight on the R overhead, this is from not that great sleep and traveling.  Need to do some more focused mobility there.  All in all though pretty damn good. That 24kg bell was so damn light - which is exactly how I wanted it to feel.  Was sweating profusely because it was 85 degrees, but the weight was very light.  This is truly a a great sign of progress.  Foot and hamstring soreness from yesterday morning totally dissipated some time during yesterday, didn't notice it at all during today's training.  

7/15/14 Tuesday July 15, 2014 (mobility, 24kg TK PR, SL DLs)

7:15am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling), some OS resets - 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, 2+2
Arm bar 12kg with 3 presses, 1/1

8:00am - Training session - TK PR 24kg, SL DLs

2x:
24kg TK PR, 2/2
24kg SL DL, 5/5

8:15am - Complete

Notes - Interesting - R foot and hamstring were very, very tight.  Probably a little too much overload on the S&S 1H SW with a 28kg yesterday, body is not quite used to it yet, load maybe was a bit high.  I was thinking S&S again today with a 24kg, but dropped that idea during the warm up because it didn't make sense to me to put more stress on the foot and hamstring.  Just let it stretch out for another day.

7/14/14 Monday July 14, 2014 (S&S 28kg)

6:45am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling), some OS resets - 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, 2+2
Arm bar 12kg with 3 presses, 1/1

7:30am - Training session - S&S 28kg

28kg GSq, 5

2H 28kg Hike/Swing/Park, 3

1H 28kg, 10/10, x 5, on the minute

100 reps

28kg TGUs, 1/1, x 5, get it done in 10 minutes

10 reps - finished with 11 secs to spare

28kg waiter's walk carries, 1 minute, 1/1

8:00am - Complete

Notes - Solid day of Simple and Sinister with the 28kg.  Thought about adding things to this etc. and didn't do it.  Glad I didn't.  The swings were powerful but I was gassing at the end.  Conditioning is ok but it has been better, when I was doing more swings and snatches.  That's ok.  I have barely done swings in 6 weeks and I busted through 100 1H SW with the 28kg in 5 minutes with very good hip snap, good grip, bell was floating pretty high.  Nothing quite like pushing yourself with heavy 1H SW.  I am looking forward to slowly moving up bells over time, 32kg, 36kg, great goals to hit and make.  TGUs were pretty solid.  With the bell in my L hand, which has been my challenging side, my reps are starting to get better.  My off leg is not flying up off the ground like it used to.  I have to really concentrate on pulling hard with my off arm on the ground to set up a good initial roll to the elbow.  Really, this was good though and pleased to hit the 10 minute marker without a real issue, just nice, consistent reps.  Think I will do this with the 24kg tomorrow given this is a deload week, I am truly going to try and respect that and not overdo things.

7/12/14 Saturday July 12, 2014 (interval running / pullups and pushups)

Got training in late Saturday afternoon before having a bunch of my buddies over for a BBQ and night out on the town. I knew it was going to be a big night and I would be pretty shot Sunday and did not want to leave this for Sunday as a result:)

Got warmed up very quickly as I was pressed for time.  Realized more or less immediately that sprinting was not going to happen today.  Body did not feel quite right for sprinting.  Amazingly 6 days later after sprinting last Sunday, I was still feeling it just a little bit and my hips particularly the R hip and ankle a bit was well had been tight all week despite loosening them up each day with mobility work.  So I decided on relatively light running and a focus on the pull-up and push-up work.

2 minute run, 5 SL DLs, 2 minute run, pull-ups, push-ups - 5 rounds.

Pull ups were 5,4,4,3,2 - Fighter pull up style.  Using rings.  A total of 18 pull ups, up one from last week as planned.

Push-ups were 2,3,4,4,5 - opposite rep scheme of the pull-ups.  Up one rep from last week as planned.

20 minutes of running, 25/25 SLDLs, 18 pullups, 18 pushups.

Didn't have to do that much hanging on the rings to stretch out my lats - those felt pretty good.  It was a good session generally once I got going.  Very strong on the pull-ups, best yet in awhile.  On the last set I really got my chin up and held on to the reps for quite a while.  Getting into full lockout at the bottom of each rep, dead hang to start the next rep and pulling very hard with the lats, keeping the emphasis off of the elbows.  Felt great.

7/11/14 Friday July 11, 2014 (DB 24kg FSQ, 1H SW)

6:45 am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling), some OS resets - 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, 2+2
Arm bar 12kg with 3 presses, 1/1

7:30am - Training session - 24kg DB FSQ, 1H SW

24kg TGU, 1/1
28kg TGU, 1/1
32kg TGU, 1/1
24kg GSq, 5
16kg BU SQ, 3/3
20kg BU SQ, 2/2
24kg BU SQ, 1/1
24kg Hike/Swing/Park, 5

5x:
DB 24kgs FSQ, 5

25 reps

1H SW practice:

5x:
24kg, 10/10

100 1H SW

DB 24kg farmer's walk carries, 1 minute, 1/1
32kg waiter's walk carries, 1 minute, 1/1
28kg waiter's walk carries, 1 minute, 1/1

8:10am - Complete

Notes - Great, great day.  Woke up feeling refreshed, good mobility warm up, and felt absolutely outstanding during the working session.  Squats were deep, very strong, very good power out of the hole and a finish at the top.  1H SW, very strong, powerful.  Loved working through this session today.  Looking forward to doing some S&S next week, going to do one day with the 28kg but mainly stay with the 24kg.  Running stairs and pull-ups/push-ups at some point during the weekend.

7/10/14 Thursday July 10, 2014 (24kg TGUs / SL DL, long walk)

7:30am - FMS drills, OS resets - 30 minutes

8:00am - 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, 2+2
Arm bar 12kg with 3 presses, 1/1

8:15am - Training session - TGU practice

24kg TGU to knee, 1/1, x 2
24kg SL DL, 5/5

8:30am - Complete

8:00pm - 9:00pm - brisk walk around Greenlake (3 1/2 miles)

Notes - 

7/9/14 Wednesday July 9, 2014 (DB 24kg CL / PPR / FSQ complex, 1H SW)

7:45 am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling), some OS resets - 45 minutes

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, 2+2
Arm bar 12kg with 3 presses, 1/1

8:45am - Training session - 24kg DB CL, PPR, FSQ complex, 1H SW practice

24kg TGU, 1/1
28kg TGU, 3/3
24kg GSq, 5
24kg TK PR, 2/2
24kg Hike/Swing/Park, 5
28kg Hike/Swing/Park ,5

15 minutes:
DB 24kgs CL 2, PPR 3, FSQ, 1

Got 9 rounds done.  18 DB CL, 27 DB PR, 9 DB FSQ.

1H SW practice:

2x:
24kg, 5/5
28kg, 5/5

40 1H SW

DB 24kg farmer's walk carries, 1 minute, 1/1
28kg waiter's walk carries, 1 minute, 1/1

9:30am - Complete

Notes - Good day.  I had a taxing day yesterday and was pretty worn out physically, mentally, emotionally.  Woke up late but felt good actually.  Did my mobility work, still a little tight from sprinting on Sunday, 3 days later, which is a bit frustrating but my body is not at all used to sprinting, not that surprising really.  Overhead work felt good on the TGUs, got in several strong reps with the 28kg.  Decided to focus on the push press today in the complex.  Strong reps but I definitely was gassed, probably started hitting me at set 5 of the 9 I did in 15 mins.  I had to watch the last couple of reps and make sure I wasn't doing any leaning back and putting myself into too much extension, more straight up and down.  Tough with the push press when you are getting tired.  Still, it was a good session, technique was on point.  I practiced some 1H SW today for the first time in a very long time, it felt really good actually though I stopped it at 2 sets of the 24 and 28kg because I was just taxed.  I think this is a good sign however to be able to build back up into snatching once a week again.  For Friday I will either use DB 20kgs for the complex, or I will use DB 24kgs but drop the time from 15 to 10 mins.  Feeling like a bit of tapering or just waving the load is appropriate.  Next week I plan on doing S&S for a deload week, training with Kevin, and setting a plan out for the next cycle.

7/8/14 Tuesday July 8, 2014 (16kg TGUs / SL DL, long walk)

7:30am - FMS drills, OS resets - 30 minutes

8:00am - 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, 2+2
Arm bar 12kg with 3 presses, 1/1

8:15am - Training session - TGU practice

16kg TGU to knee, 3/3
16kg SL DL, 5/5

8:30am - Complete

8:00pm - 9:00pm - brisk walk around Greenlake (3 1/2 miles)

Notes - Good day today, in some ways, at least in terms of how my body felt in the morning.  Had to go to bed late last night due to getting materials ready for the mediation appt today with Jill, but slept ok, had to sleep in a bit though.  Hung out with the kids while I did my FMS and other mobility work.  Definitely quite tight in the quads and hips, this is from sprinting on Sunday.  The sprint work is something I am going to have to get used to.  I wonder if 10 1-minute sprints, which is what I did, is a bit much.  Certainly nothing more is needed.  I did some lacrosse ball and foam roll and certainly that helped.  Interestingly enough, I don't think the heavy volume of KB lifts on Monday had too much of a negative impact in terms of recovery, which is a great sign.  I did some light TGUs, overhead position felt very good, did a few SL DLs as those tend to be very good for my back and just sort of lining everything up, and those felt good too.  Jill and I had our mediation appt at 3pm this afternoon.  Certainly that was not easy and it has been weighing heavily on my mind leading up to today.  All things being equal, it did "go well" and we have another one in two weeks.  Just trying to keep moving forward.  I took an extra long walk around Greenlake afterwards to clear my head.  It was beautiful, and a very nice walk.  I am sitting here at 9pm and completely drained and exhausted.  Time to go to bed early.

7/7/14 Monday July 7, 2014 (DB 24kg CL / PR / FSQ complex, 2H SW ladder)

7:30 am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling), some OS resets - 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, 2+2
Arm bar 12kg with 3 presses, 1/1

8:30am - Training session - 24kg DB CL, PR, FSQ complex, 2H SW ladder

20kg TGU, 1/1
24kg TGU, 1/1
28kg TGU, 1/1
32kg TGU, 1/1
20kg BU SQ, 1/1
24kg BU SQ, 1/1 (PR)
20kg BU PR, 1/1
24kg BU PR, 1/1 (PR)
24kg GSq, 5
24kg Hike/Swing/Park, 5

15 minutes:
DB 24kgs CL 2, PR 1, FSQ, 3

Got 9 rounds done, with 30 seconds to spare, let it go for more, no time to get greedy.  18 DB CL, 9 DB PR, 27 DB FSQ.

2H SW ladder:

2x:
24kg, 10
32kg, 10
28kg, 10

60 2H SW

32kg waiter's walk carries, 1 minute, 1/1
28kg waiter's walk carries, 1 minute, 1/1
DB 24kg farmer's walk carries, 1 minute, 1/1

9:30am - Complete

Notes - Solid, solid day here particularly in light of training yesterday with sprints / pull ups and push ups. Recovery is certainly improving, though it took sleeping in this morning to get there.  Need to keep dialing in the bed time and tighten up my schedule.  With that said, I felt good this morning, did need some lacrosse ball work on the obliques, hips, quads, glutes for certain due to the sprinting.  Overhead actually felt pretty good.  I decided to take that OH and do some TGU practice and a few BU presses rather than go heavy with DB PR in the complex.  Did a solid rep on each side with the 32kg for the TGU, it did feel heavy though, no doubt about it.  Have to keep introducing that weight and get more comfortable with it again. Was pretty excited to get good reps on both the BU SQ and BU PR with the 24kg, both sides, I am definitely sure the BU SQ was a PR and if the BU PR was not, these were the best reps I have done with the 24kg.  Good stuff.   Wed may be day for a focus on MP within the complex, or maybe I will do push presses again and see if I can improve on last week's push press practice.  Finished off with some 2H SW ladders with the 24, 28, and 32kg.  All felt great, loads of power, interesting as I have not been swinging but doing double bell work for weeks.  The double bell work makes you strong all over, and seems to have improved my swings.  Was really quite surprised with the amount of hip power and ability to overspeed the bells back into the hole after the float.  It will be good to get more swings in this week, will try a little bit of 1H on Wed, I don't think I will go any heavier than a 24kg, and see how that feels.  I think the 24kg will feel pretty solid.

7/6/14 Sunday July 6, 2014 (interval running, pullups, pushups)

Busy all weekend with my kids until mid day Sunday.  Great 4th of July bbq at the house on Friday night despite the rain, with the neighbors.  A good week where I was able to take most of Tuesday and Thurs off and hang with the kids.  We did a lot of fun stuff this week.  I think all of that time has been great for my mental state, and that is helping physically a lot.  It's a good thing too as Jill and I have a mediation appt on Tuesday and we meet tomorrow to go over everything in advance of the appt.  Obviously that is on my mind, but I think it is going to turn out ok.  As far as training goes things are really coming around.  I decided to act on my instinct to further shorten the distance/time intervals for running, and really turn this into what they are generally supposed to be - sprinting, or at least the best I can muster for something that passes as sprinting:)

1 min sprint, 1 minute walk, 5 SL DLs, 1 min sprint, 1 minute walk, pull-ups, push-ups - 5 rounds.

Pull ups were 5,4,3,3,2 - Fighter pull up style.  Using rings.  A total of 17 pull ups, up one from last week as planned.

Push-ups were 2,3,3,4,5 - opposite rep scheme of the pull-ups.  Up one rep from last week as planned.

10 minutes of sprinting, 10 minutes of walking, 25/25 SLDLs, 17 pullups, 17 pushups.

Didn't need to hang on the rings as much as last week - felt much looser in the lats, not nearly as tight.  Great sign. With that said, lots of mobility planned this evening, need a fast recovery for tomorrow's KB session.

Given the sprinting today, not exactly sure what I will do with the DB 24kg CL/ PR / SQ complex tomorrow. Originally I had planned on 2/1/3 with squatting being the emphasis.  Given the pulling and sprinting today, it actually may make a little sense to go with a press emphasis tomorrow, 2/3/1.  I think I will go a little bit by feel on this and see how I am feeling with a few TGUs, goblet squats and other things to get warmed up and then make a decision.

7/4/14 July 4, 2014 (DB 24kg CL / PPR / FSQ complex)

6:30 am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling), some OS resets - 45 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, 2+2
Arm bar 12kg with 3 presses, 1/1

7:30am - Training session - 24kg DB CL, Push PR, FSQ complex

Arm hangs from the balcony

16kg TGU, 1/1
24kg TGU, 1/1
28kg TGU, 1/1
24 kg GSq, 5
16kg BU SQ, 3/3
16kg BU PR, 1/1
24kg BU CL, 1/1, hold for 10 secs
24kg TK PR, 2/2
28kg Hike/Swing/Park, 3

15 minutes:
DB 24kgs CL 2, PPR 3, FSQ, 1

Got 9 rounds done, minus 1 rep on the PPR on the last round - had to stick with 2 reps.  18 DB CL, 26 DB PPR, 9 DB FSQ.

24kg waiter's walk carries, 1 minute, 1/1
28kg waiter's walk carries, 1 minute, 1/1

8:15am - Complete

Notes - Well..... I would not have expected these kinds of results just a few weeks ago.  The healing power of the body once you get out of the way and feed it the right stuff mentally/physically/emotionally etc. is pretty cool.  I am very excited about these results and I fully realize it is all about the time outside of training that is setting up better success during training time.  Sleep, recovery, movement, mobility etc.  In any event, this was another productive day with some mobility to start, felt very good, FMS work that Kevin outlined is helping.  Definitely like starting things out with belly breathing to really engage the diaphragm.  Noticing little things like arm bars being much easier, arm bars with presses feeling very, very solid, shoulder is feeling very solid in the socket, I could even go up to 16kg from 12kg for that movement and really continue to use it to open up the t-spine.  Excellent.  Worked in the 28kg for a TGU today, felt solid, no too heavy.  Used it for hike/swing/parks, I do believe I am ready to do some swinging again and I will work in some low-volume 2H and 1H next week with the 24kg and 28kg to see how that feels after being away from swinging for a month.  Going to keep using some hike/swing/park to start, these are good and frankly I forgot about them even though I read Mark Reifkind using these all the time.  Great exercise for power development it feels.  Messed around with the a BU CL with the 24kg, very solid both sides, I think I could have pressed that no problem.  Need to talk to Kevin about BU work and how to program.  I like BU work - a lot.  Finally into the DB 24kg bells complex, the focus was on push presses and trying to make them powerful.  In large part, pretty successful.  Frankly this was harder / more taxing than perhaps I was expecting.  Much harder than the FSQ practice with DB 24kgs on Wed, which I wasn't necessarily thinking it would be.  Putting DB 24kgs over your head explosively after cleaning them a couple of times I suppose is going to get you going:)  I felt good about the technique, but something to look at with Kevin as a few reps weren't that powerful.  I was focusing on keeping the elbows very tight to my body in the rack, and on the drop keeping them almost digging into my obliques so I could use the lats to put the bells overhead powerfully.  On many reps, this was pretty successful and I felt pretty good with these as I moved through the rounds.  Getting 9 rounds in felt productive and was pretty good density I felt, in 15 minutes.  On the last round after the 2nd PPR I felt power go quite a bit, and finished my last squat and called it.  No need to get greedy, this was definitely progress and you take what you get and move on to train the next time.  For next week, I see Kevin Thursday.  I am thinking about continuing with the DB 24kg complex work on Monday and Wed, think I will emphasize strict presses one day, and squats a different day.  If I recover well this weekend and am feeling it on Monday, will go with strict presses, 2 CL, 3 PR, 1 FSQ.  Wed, 2 CL, 1 PPR, 3 FSQ, or possibly just drop the PPR and just do CL and FSQ.   Will finish the sessions with a bit of 2H and 1H swings to get a little practice, no more than 50 2H, or 1H.

7/3/14 Thursday July 3, 2014 (24kg TGUs, long walk)

7:30am - FMS drills, OS resets - 60 minutes

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, 2+2

8:45am - Training session - TGU practice

24kg TGU to knee, 1/1, x 2
24kg Hike/Swing/Park, 5 singles

8:55am - Complete

8:15pm - 9:15pm - brisk walk around Greenlake (3 1/2 miles)

Notes - Writing this on Friday morning.  Felt great on Thursday, day after a hard training session on Wed.  Great sign - recovery time is improving, this is very encouraging indeed.  Took my kids to Bainbridge Island for the morning and had fun walking and playing soccer, tag, and "monster chase" in the park and riding the ferry.  Finished the day with a brisk walk around Greenlake.  Walking is feeling powerful.  Strides are strong, I have noticeably bigger glutes and quads these days, I can literally feel it wearing pants and shorts and when walking, it is simply just much easier to walk briskly and powerfully for me than in the past.  Working out some of these movement issues, doing good mobility work, getting more rest, and taking the time to recover from harder weight sessions is really the key for me.  

7/2/14 Wednesday July 2, 2014 (DB 24kg FSQ)

7:00am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling), some OS resets - 45 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, 2+2

8:00am - Training session - Focus on DB 24kg FSQs

Arm hangs from the balcony

24kg TGU 1/1, x 5
DB 24kg DL, 5, x 2
24 kg GSq, 5
24kg SL DL, 3/3
24kg Hike/Swing/Park, 5 singles
24kg TK PR, 2/2

15 minutes:
DB 24kgs FSQ, 2, 3, 5

Got in 3 rounds, plus an additional 2, 3 for a total of  35 reps in 15 minutes

24kg waiter's walk carries, 1 minute, 1/1

Arm hangs from the balcony

8:35am - Complete

Notes - What can I say.  I can't remember where I read this, maybe it was Mark Reifkind on his blog or somewhere else, but you lay in waiting for training days like this.  I felt like a total animal on these squats.  Best squatting I have ever done, I think this may be a PR and it came just a little bit out of nowhere given the road back I have been on the last month.  Well, I do know where it came from a little bit.  Taking steps back, getting my head straight, focusing on rest, recovery, sleep, nutrition, mobility.   Notice I did not say - focusing on my training!  I am starting to realize albeit slowly here that all of these other factors are just so critical to success and progress.  It's never been an issue for me to "do the work / do the training" as I always show up.  I enjoy it.  But clearly I have not taken care of the time outside of training like I really am capable, so that I can maximize my time and make more consistent progress.  I think I had better refer to this post in the future when I get off track.  In any event, felt good this morning, did a variety of warm up movements and went by feel.  The TGUs were to get some weight overhead on a day when I wasn't focused on OH movements, just to get that groove greased.  I was very pleased with the feel on the hike/swing/parks as I have not been swinging at all for a month to let this right arm and forearm come back around.  I have to say, I think I am close now, time to do some short sets of swings and see how that feels.  Encouraging.  Also noticed on the TK PR practice that these reps went up very quickly, noticeably quick on the speed.  Interesting, and a good sign.  Really trying to press from the lat and keep that shoulder down.  As to the FSQs, just damn good for me and I am getting better.  Very solid cleans, focusing on "cleaning to the waist" so as to not overclean the bells and have the arc go too far away from me.  The cue is working.  Very solid cleans, this is excellent, particularly with DB 24kgs.  Squats were deep, strong, no where close to failure even on the sets of 5.  Honestly I could have pushed and gotten more as I finished with 30 seconds on the clock for 15 minutes, and told myself that was more than good enough for today, it's not time to get greedy.  I won't proclaim to be all the way back until I am snatching again with some authority (for me), but it feels good to get this accomplished today.  Now time to focus on rest and recovery before Friday morning's next session with a DB 24kg complex with a push press focus.

7/1/14 Tuesday July 1, 2014 (24kg TGUs, long walk)

7:30am - FMS drills, OS resets - 60 minutes

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, 2+2

8:45am - Training session - TGU practice

24kg TGU to knee, 1/1, x 2

8:50am - Complete

8:00pm - 9:00pm - brisk walk around Greenlake (3 1/2 miles)

Notes - Writing this on Wed evening.  Good day.  Felt pretty good in the morning, this was a rest day and a day mostly off work to hang out with my kids.  Did a lot of mobility work, and then did a few reps of TGUs with the 24kg for feel.  Felt a little heavy actually, but that is ok, had a pretty decent workload on Monday and I was curious how recovery would go.  Took a very nice walk around Greenlake in the evening, walking briskly in barefeet in 80 degree weather at 8pm at night.  Life is pretty good and you have to appreciate those good times.