11/30/14 Sunday November 30, 2014 (walking, pull-ups, push-ups)

Writing this late Sunday night.  Got back down to the lake for some body weight work and walking after driving back from being in Portland with my family and kids the last couple of days.  Damn it wasn't 30 degrees outside, just cold as balls.  I wanted to clear my head though and was perfectly fine dealing with the inclement weather.  Tried to move quickly.  Started around 4:45pm before it got dark, finishing in the dark with my headlamp on:).  Did I say it was cold as balls?

Wanted to keep the reps low, did 18 pull-ups (3 more than last week) and 25 push-ups.  Shit I just realized I did more work than I intended to do, whoops.  Definitely had one extra set in there at the end by accident.  Pull-ups were harder than I expected them to be.  Interesting.  Not sure what to make of that other than I was driving all day and am under some real stress.  Need to be mindful right now.

Walking
5 pull-ups
5 push-ups

Walking
4 pull-ups
5 push-ups

Walking
4 pull-ups
5 push-ups

Walking
3 pull-ups
5 push-ups

Walking
2 pull-ups
5 push-ups

Longer walk to finish (30 minutes)

Did a ton of hanging from the rings as well, really trying to stretch the R arm pit, same as it has been for a week.  This helps so much, really does, and walking seems to reset things as well.  I felt really good after doing this training, much better than when I started.  Time to get some rest and hit some Moving Target Complex in the morning in 30 degree weather:)

11/28/14 Friday November 28, 2014 (1H PR 28kg, DB SW 24kg)

7:30am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling) - 60 minutes (some interruptions for kids)

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
Arm bar 16kg with 3 presses and rotations, 1/1

8:45am - Training session - 1H PR 28kg, DB SW 24kg

16kg TGU, 1/1

16kg BUP, 1/1

24kg TGU, 1/1

24kg BU CL, 1/1 (was not going to be able to press this)

1H Press Ladders 28kg

28kg, 1, 2, 3, x 3 each arm

18 presses each arm

DB SW 24kg, 10, x 3

9:15am - Complete

Notes - Writing this on Sunday evening.  Interesting day Friday was.  Back into 1H PR.  Damn if it always gives me some issues when I start to go heavier.  During the session itself, things went well.  I was employing some techniques honed at the SFG weekend and damn if that 28kg wasn't popping up out of the rack on the presses.  That was cool.  I was staying pretty tight everywhere though I think I can keep my abs tighter, if I was loosing tension anywhere it was in the abs.  But I didn't get close to failure and these were pretty strong presses.  Left side was actually better than the right side which is where it gets interesting.  Damn if that right shoulder / arm pit and lat is still tight, though getting better (well was getting better) with arm bars etc.  So the left side presses were feeling better and on one particular press on the R side I felt some tension in my neck and scapula on the R side (think it was the 3rd rep on my second set).  Sent tension to the wrong spot, need to keep it in the glutes, feet, keep it out of my face and neck.  I was frustrated but that's an old tight spot for me and just something that comes up from time to time.  It was pretty minor, and I was doing fast and loose after every set and felt fine.  Finished the presses, did double swings, those felt great, no issues at all.  Well frustratingly it stayed tight that afternoon and I have been working on it over the weekend.  Nothing major, lacrosse ball helps a ton as does various mobility work.  Something I am going to watch very carefully this week, keep up the mobility work, I am getting a deep tissue massage on Tuesday as well.  I know this is very well related to stress too because that is where I tend to carry stress and well to be blunt my divorce is being finalized on Monday (tomorrow).  You think I might be under some stress right now???  Damn you have to laugh a little or you'll cry.  It's going to be ok. This too shall pass.  Now is certainly not the time to be dumb and try to set some PRs and be superman.  I'll be moderating things and watching how I am feeling closely.

11/27/14 Thursday November 27, 2014 (16kg TGUs, SL DLs) (Thanksgiving)

7:30am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling) - 30 minutes

Break

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)

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

Arm bar 12 kg, 2+2
Arm bar 16kg with 3 presses and rotations, 1/1

10:15am - Training session - 16kg TGU, 16kg SLDLs

2x

16kg TGU to the knee, 1/1

16kg SLDL, 3/3

10:30am - Complete

Notes - Writing this on Sunday evening after a nice holiday break for Thanksgiving.  I got the kids in the morning and we played soccer and ran around at the park in the rain - it was a lot of fun:)  Did a bit of mobility work and a few reps with the 16kg before heading down to Vashon Island for Thanksgiving with Jill's family.  It was a nice time and I appreciated being able to do that given our circumstances.  Monday (tomorrow) we go to the courthouse and our divorce is final in the eyes of Washington state.  It's certainly been on my mind all holiday long.  With that said, Thanksgiving is a time for gratitude and I know that my life could be a whole lot more difficult than it is.  It's all a matter of perspective and finding that place and space to be grateful for what you do have and the blessings that have come your way is very important.

11/26/14 Wednesday November 26, 2014 (TGUs, 2H SW ladder)

7:30am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling) - 60 minutes (some interruptions for kids)

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
Arm bar 16kg with 3 presses and rotations, 1/1

8:45am - Training session - TGUs, 2H SW ladder

24kg TGU, 1/1

24kg SL DL, 3/3

28kg TGU, 1/1, x 2

28kg SL DL, 3/3

5x:

2H SW 28kg, 10
2H SW 32kg, 10
2H SW 36kg, 10

Suitcase carries
36kg, 1/1
28kg, 1/1
32kg, 1/1
24kg, 1/1

9:30am - Complete

Notes - Cool training day today.  I enjoyed it very much.  Did some TGUs with the 28kg, overhead position felt good, best it has felt in weeks and this is with a heavier weight than I have used for TGUs in quite some time (it has been months since I used anything above a 24kg).  I was extremely pleased, the arm bars and other thoracic work I think are helping slowly but surely.  The movement was strong as well from improved technique I honed at the SFG weekend.  This is good.  2H SW ladders were great.  That bell was really moving - my swing technique has definitely improved.  Using the lats better, better extension and finishing with the hips at the top of each rep, letting the bell float.  I surprised myself here a bit because every bell felt nearly the same - the 36kg was almost as powerful and as crisp as the 28kg.  Despite a 30% increase in weight.  That's pretty cool.  The finish with suitcase carries was good.  I like mixing 2H movements or double bell movements with 1H or 1 bell work in the same session.  

11/25/14 Tuesday November 25, 2014 (24kg TGUs, SL DLs)

7:30am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling) - 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 16kg with 3 presses and rotations, 1/1

8:15am - Training session - 24kg TGU, 24kg SLDLs

2x

24kg TGU to the knee, 1/1

24kg SLDL, 3/3

8:30am - Complete

Notes - Feeling good.  Overslept for sure but suppose that is ok.  No ill effects at all it seems from yesterday's training, getting back into things.  I think I am fully recovered from the SFG weekend and ready to keep moving forward.  The arm bars are absolutely helping, doing these more correctly for my body in terms of what I need - I am really spending time letting that arm sink into my shoulder, getting a ton of twitching and the bell is moving all over as my shoulder works to stabilize, bit of a pec stretch too.  These are really, really good and it's very beneficial to pick up some cues from SFG weekend that get me into a better position to make this effective than what I was doing before.  I think I should literally do these every single day.

11/24/14 Monday November 24, 2014 (DB 24kg Moving Target Complex, 1H SW 28kg)

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, 1+1
Arm bar 16kg with 3 presses and rotations, 1/1

7:30am - Training session - DB 24kg Moving Target Complex, 1H SW 28kg

16kg TGU, 1/1

24kg GSq, 5

24kg TGU, 1/1

2H SW 24kg, 10

DB 24kg Moving Target Complex – for time

2, 3, 5

DB CL, DB PR x 2, DB SQ

DB CL, DB PR, DB SQ x2

DB CL x 2, DB PR, DB SQ

DB CL, DB PR x 3, DB SQ

DB CL, DB PR, DB SQ x3

DB CL x 3, DB PR, DB SQ

DB CL, DB PR x 5, DB SQ

DB CL, DB PR, DB SQ x5

DB CL x 5, DB PR, DB SQ

Totals 16 DB CL, 16 DB PR, 16 DB SQ

Took just under 15 minutes

1H SW 28kg, 5/5, x 5

50 1H SW

8:00am - Complete

Notes - Great day.  Kind of fun to program a little bit as Kevin encouraged me to do that for a couple of weeks, so over the weekend I set out a 3-week training cycle, progressively adding a little bit each session from the previous week's session. M/W/F.  Monday - strength focus.  Wed - heavy swings.  Friday - 1H Press practice.  Good start today.  I thought to myself "I can do more" but this was exactly the right volume.  Not too much, too fast coming back into things from the SFG.  Body felt good, good rest this weekend.  Mobility work between now and Wed.  Really focused on those arm bars, opening up the thoracic spine.  

11/22/14 Saturday November 22, 2014 (walking, pull-ups, push-ups)

Got back down to the lake for some body weight work, started around 4pm before it got dark, finishing walking in the dark.  Cool air, felt just awesome, I was walking very briskly.

Wanted to keep the reps low, did 15 pull-ups and 15 push-ups.  First set of 5 on the pull-ups was definitely not easy.  I am still recovering from the SFG weekend clearly.

Walking
5 pull-ups
3 push-ups

Walking
4 pull-ups
3 push-ups

Walking
3 pull-ups
3 push-ups

Walking
3 pull-ups
3 push-ups

Longer walk to finish (45 minutes)

Did a ton of hanging from the rings as well, really trying to stretch the R bicep, below, lat - it's tight and all connected.  Elbow is a bit irritated again.  Mobility work tonight and more lacrosse ball trigger point work to try and work on this.  As I write this late Sunday night, body feels great except the elbow.  Walking is really, really good, it ties everything together with my gait, both sides of the body, etc.  I have definitely noticed that when I can get in some good walks, things just seem to improve.  I think in Original Strength they say that walking is the most basic "reset" for the body.  It really does seem to be that way for me.

11/21/14 Friday November 21, 2014 (TK PR, 2H SW, FSq)

6:30am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling) - 25 minutes

Break - breakfast with Kevin

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
Arm bar 16kg with 3 presses and rotations, 1/1

8:30am - Training session - TK PR practice, 24kg 2H SW, 16kg TGUs

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

24kg 2H SW, 10
24kg GSq, 5

24kg FSq, 5/5, x 5

24kg 2H SW, 10

9:00am - Complete

Notes - Good day - after having breakfast with Kevin I just felt like getting a little bit of training in.  We had a great breakfast, and I will be doing some freestyle training for a few weeks, doing my own programming.  I want to step back and put something together that I can follow for a few weeks, should be fun to do.  For today I wanted to do some very slow, controlled movements to ease back into things and also just to watch my left shoulder a bit as it slowly unwinds from the heavy volume of the SFG weekend.  So no cleans (did cheat cleans with both hands), and no 1H SW (only 2H).  This all felt good.  Writing this in the afternoon, I am surprising a little bit tight.  Didn't think this was all that much volume but perhaps I should have gone a little lighter. Mobility this weekend.

11/20/14 Thursday November 19, 2014 (2H SW, TGUs)

7:15am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling) - 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

Break

8:45am - Training session - 24kg 2H SW, 16kg TGUs

Arm bar 16kg with 3 presses and rotations, 1/1

1H SW 24kg, 5/5 (whoa left arm)

5x

24kg 2H SW, 20
100 total reps

2x
16kg TGU to the knee and down, 1/1

9:00am - Complete

Notes - Very interesting day.  I felt like doing some swings, just to see how it felt.  Discovered that my outer left shoulder, tricep, is pretty damn tight. Felt it on the very first 1H SW, surprised me as this is not something I had really noticed the last few days.  Not a huge deal.  I rolled it out a little with the lacrosse ball and the decided I would do some 2H SW to see how that felt, using the arms really to steer and just focusing on getting my hips to pop and letting them do the work.  That was fine.  I did a couple of slow, light TGUs to the knee to finish.  Will be rolling out that left shoulder a lot the next couple of days.  This is my older injury cropping up in a very small way - got a tremendous amount of work over the weekend, it's simply tired.  Will keep up with the mobility and not do anything stupid.

11/19/14 Wednesday November 19, 2014 (TGU,, SLDL, long walk)

7:30am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling) - 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 16kg with 3 presses and rotations, 1/1

8:15am - Training session - 16kg TGU, 16kg SLDLs

2x

16kg TGU, 1/1

16kg SLDL, 3/3

8:30am - Complete

Walk around Greenlake - 8:45 - 9:30am

Notes - Good day, just getting back into things very, very slowly.  My second long walk of the week, did one on Monday as well.  Feeling pretty good.  Feels a little odd to be doing so little this week but it is definitely the right thing to do.  Need plenty of recovery.

11/18/14 Tuesday November 18, 2014 (mobility, KB warm up, TGU)

9:30am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling) - 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)

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

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

10:00am - Training session - 12kg TGU

2x

12kg TGU, 1/1

10:10am - Complete

Notes - Very, very light mobility and a few TGUs today. Arm bars were really good, I have some improved technique there from the SFG weekend and I think will be doing a better job of opening up the thoracic area in a more effective way.  

11/14/14 - 11/16/14 Friday-Sunday November 14-16, 2014 - SFG1 in Vancouver, BC

This is a milestone post for me.  First things first, I completed the SFG1 in Vancouver BC and am now a certified kettlebell instructor under the Strong First organization.  It is a proud, very proud moment and significant accomplishment for me.

What a weekend.  I arrived late Thursday pm to my friends' house and enjoyed a nice meal and hit the sack for some rest.  Friday morning came and I was nervous but excited.  I got warmed up at the house and then headed out.  The training facility at It's Time for Results Fitness was just 10 minutes from my friends' house - very nice.  I arrived early at just after 8am, got checked in, and after signing in and doing a couple of hangs from the pull-up bar I quickly passed the pull-up test - 5 pull-ups.  It was super easy and I thought to myself this is a good start.  I had rested most of the week per Kevin's training plans, and I immediately realized how smart that had been.

I started meeting some of the other candidates and could tell there were some really good people at this certification.  The instructors started us out at 9am and we did a bunch of intros.  The cert was led by master instructors Jon Engum and Doc Hartle.  Very impressive individuals.  The trainers at the facility that were assisting in the cert seemed very good too.

The skills we practiced on Friday, Day 1, were the Swing, both 2H and 1H, and then the Double Swing.  I picked up a few nuances on the swing that were useful, but I do have reasonably good swing technique.  Throughout the day we definitely did a shitload of mainly 2H SW with the 24kg for men (snatch size bell).  Hundreds of them.  Felt pretty good though.

We then practiced Cleans, but mainly Double Cleans.  Eventually I did pick up on a very key pointer on my cleans, to basically squeeze my armpits on the descent out of the rack and imagine I had a phone in each armpit and couldn't drop it.  The idea is to keep the elbows from flaring, very critical when the weight gets heavy not to have this, and for efficiently in motion.  That was a great technique cue and I was able to implement it immediately and improve.

We did a lot of Pressing in the afternoon and evening and practiced a number of different tension techniques on the 1H PR.  A bunch of people ended up doing PRs in the 1H PR which was cool to watch.  I have not been pressing heavy for some time - been doing 24kgs in everything for months.  I cleaned a 36kg a couple of times and tried to press it once, didn't get it past the sticking point.  Instead of really grinding on it, I decided to step back and try and conserve my energy.   That was a good call.

I got back to the house that evening and soaked my elbows and forearms in ice, and then a hot shower,  My right elbow was acting up from all of the 1H pressing we did (we ended up doing it all basically on one side of the body because we were trying to practice these tension techniques and didn't have time to do both sides).  I knew coming into this cert that I was tight in the shoulders and it was impacting my elbow a bit.  I really started to realize on this first day how critical it is that I improve my Thoracic Mobility - and that would really come into play on Day 2.

I woke up Saturday morning and was feeling a bit sore and tired, though I did sleep well and all of the ice, hot shower, and a lot of mobility work and soft tissue work with the lacrosse ball and foam roller that I did on Friday night had really helped.  I had focused on mobilizing the thoracic area as much as possible and the tension on my R elbow had eased off.  I was honestly a little surprised but pleasantly so.

Saturday, Day 2, started off with a bang as we went right into a workout to start the day after doing a mobility warm up from 8 to 8:30, of double cleans and presses with the 24kgs.  Metallica was blasting, and it was pretty cool I have to say.  I was like shit, this day is going to mean business.  Body was responding well though and I was feeling like ok, this is going to be fine.

We spent a lot of time on the Turkish Get Up on Day 2.  A lot of time.  The number of technique tips I learned in the Get-Up was pretty amazing.  For me, the key thing though is screwing in the shoulder going up from the elbow, and above all, keeping the elbow locked.  I had one hell of time locking my elbow in the Get-Up - all day long.  We did Arm Bars though and that immediately started opening up my thoracic area a lot.  I learned some cues in the Arm Bar that are really going to help me do it more effectively in a manner that will help me quite a bit.  Working on the Get-Up and truly realizing the issues I have with Thoracic Mobility was an eye-opener and probably the biggest takeaway for me from the weekend.  This is something I really need to sit down and discuss with Kevin and learn how to turn this weakness into a strength.  I have it in my mind to be doing long-cycle clean and jerks in the future, but if I don't improve this issue, it's not going to happen.

We spent a lot of time learning the Goblet Squat and then also did some double front squats.  Squatting is something I am pretty good at, and that was feeling very good.  We did an absolutely brutal workout combined with 2H SW and Goblets that was in the format 10 2H SW, 1 GSq, 9 2H SW, 2 GSq and so on until 1 2H SW, 10 GSq - WITHOUT SETTING THE BELL DOWN.  One of the hardest things I have ever done and I had to set the bell down a couple of times because I was worried about the degradation in my technique from fatigue.  Forearms were absolutely shot.

We did light Snatching practice on Day 2 as well.  Practiced first with High Pulls which is an exercise I really don't enjoy much.  I didn't get a ton of cues from this work, all it did was get my nerves up a bit for the Snatch test that I knew was coming first thing on Day 3.

The day ended with an absolutely brutal workout called the Deep 6.  All of the 6 basic movements, practiced in succession, first in a series of shorter complexes (supersets of 2 of each), but then 4 and 2, and then all 6.  I was using a single 16 and absolutely was shot at the end.  Doing a TGU with the 16kg was pushing me close to failure.  My forearms and wrist were so tired, just shot.  Man it was a lot of overhead work on this day.

We all went out to dinner at a Greek place on Saturday night which was nice.  No one stayed too late.  I again did a treatment of ice, hot shower, a ton of mobility and soft tissue work back at the house.  This was a hard day - they put us through the paces on Day 2.  There was quite a bit of upper body and overhead work and I was seriously wondering how I was going to pull off the testing on Day 3.

Day 3, testing, Sunday.  We started at 8am, got warmed up, and bang snatch test right off the bat.  I actually was one of the last participants to go.  I didn't feel too nervous, I was bouncing around doing Fast and Loose drills (also something useful I learned) and trying to get focused.  The test itself was a blur.  I nearly executed my plan flawlessly. Did 10 L, 10 R, set the bell down, quick reset, 10/10 10/10, set the bell down - 60 reps,  Little longer rest but not much, picked it up and did 10/10 - 80 reps.  I had an SFG nearly in my face saying "Come on Chris, how bad do you want this!!!" and hear the time ticking away.  The last 20 reps, particularly the last 10 which I finished on my strong side, R side, as planned all along, were just a complete blur.  People told me my last 20 reps looked to be my strongest, which I can say certainly was not the case for most participants.  I finished with 10 or so seconds to spare I think.  Eventually the SFG came over and said my breathing was great, great pace, good job but he was overlooking that I didn't get lockout on every rep.  He wasn't going to fail me for it but said some instructors would have been more critical and potentially called some no counts.  I felt like it was fair that I passed, I definitely did an acceptable job, but understood what he was saying.  I already knew at this point that lockout was an issue on some things due to my thoracic mobility challenges.  I knew my hardest skill then was going to be hitting the TGU later during testing.

We then took the written test, and did quite a bit of practicing skills and troubleshooting individually and in the larger group, which was pretty fun.  It was an opportunity for teaching skills practice. Frankly it was also an opportunity to rest.

We had lunch and then came back at 1:30 and started skills testing with the 24kgs.

DB SW - 10 reps
DB CL - 5 reps
DB PR - 5 reps
TGU  - 1/1
DB SQ - 5 reps
SN - 5/5, with swing switch

I felt I had nailed everything.  On the SN I overly emphasized lockout on each rep.  My team leader came up to me at the very end as people were wrapping up and told me everything was great but they wanted to give me the chance to re-test on the TGU as they felt I had not locked out the elbows at each step.  The pressure was on, and most of the room was watching.  I told them I wanted the opportunity to prove I could do it.  I got down and did 2 beautiful Get-Ups and fought like hell to lock those elbows out.  I thought I had done enough to pass.

Some time elapsed as we rested and then did the Grad Workout, which as 2 DB CL, 1 DB PR, 3 DB SQ - we did 23 total rounds!  The first 8 or so were 24kgs and then we got swapped out for 20s.  I think I was showing signs of fatigue on not staying tight enough on the presses.  It would have been cool to complete that with the 24s but at that point I just wanted to survive and was somewhat grateful for the 20s being swapped in.

We wrapped up and then everyone met with their team leader.  I went nearly last and when Coach Cole Summers told me that I was an SFG, man, what a great feeling.  Tremendous personal accomplishment and I believe this is one step in what I hope is a long journey on the road of strength.  I learned a lot about myself this weekend, met some truly great people which made a tremendous impression on me.  What an environment, it was so invigorating and inspiring.  I am excited to meet with Kevin, share the stories, highlight my weak points that I need to turn into strengths, and figure out the next step to take in training to continue progressing, learning, improving, getting better every day.

11/13/14 Thursday November 13, 2014 (mobility, KB warm up, TGU, SLDL)

7:30am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling) - 30 minutes

8:00am - Break

11:50am - 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 16kg with 3 presses and rotations, 1/1

12:05pm - Training session - 16kg TGU, SLDL

2x

16kg TGU, 1/1
16kg SLDL, 3/3

12:20pm - Complete

Notes - My daughter stayed home from school sick and we got to spend some time together.  Did a little mobility and a few TGUs and SLDLs.  Dropped her off and then headed to Vancouver BC in the late afternoon for SFG1.

11/12/14 Wednesday November 12, 2014 (S&S)

11:25am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling) - 30 minutes

11:55am - 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 16kg with 3 presses with rotations, 1/1

12:10am - Training session - S&S, 16kg 1H SW, 16kg TGUs

16kg GSq, 10
16kg 1H SW, 10/10, x 5
100 reps

16kg TGU, 1/1, x 5
10 reps

12:30am - Complete

Notes - Weird day but in a good way.  I slept in again, and met Kevin for breakfast at 7am at the Dish.  Had a great time talking to him and we both shared some very personal things that I think gave a deeper level and meaning to our budding friendship.  It was very meaningful for me, and was an experience I will not forget.  I am very grateful to him for all of the things he has taught me since we first started training together in March 2013.  I feel lucky to have his tutelage and his friendship. I got home and worked all morning and then got in a very quick session of mobility work and S&S with the 16kg bell.  Extremely light, almost a joke though I used the time to move slowing, with precision, and focus on form.  That bell is almost like a tonic for me.  Body felt great.  Didn't bother to time anything but I was moving relatively quickly, not really taking any rest periods between sets on the swings or reps on the TGUs.  Getting very excited to drive to Vancouver BC tomorrow for SFG1.

11/11/14 Tuesday November 11, 2014 (mobility, KB warm up, TGU, SLDL)

7:30am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling) - 30 minutes

8:00am - Break

8:50am - 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 16kg with 3 presses and rotations, 1/1

9:05am - Training session - 16kg TGU, SLDL

2x

16kg TGU, 1/1
16kg SLDL, 3/3

9:15am - Complete

Notes - Writing this Wed evening.  Slept in Tuesday morning.  Needing it these days, it's ok, have to be well rested for the SFG1 in Vancouver BC this weekend.  I suspect my body is subconsciously telling me this.  Got a little mobility in and a few TGUs and SLDLs, very light.  Best part about yesterday was a deep tissue massage from my masseuse in the late evening.  Man that was huge, just what the doctor ordered.  I was about asleep on the table near the end.  He worked some very tight spots in my armpits (lats, I think the supraspinatus too) that were seriously "hot" spots, particularly one on my R side.  I have had a hell of a time getting that to stretch out and calm down lately and I felt like my shoulder was slightly being pulled out of place, and it was affecting the R hip as well.  This work really got that whole area to settle and calm down.  I felt great yesterday evening and very good today as well.  That was big time and glad I planned this right before leaving for the SFG.  I was thinking ahead for once.

11/10/14 Monday November 10, 2014 (S&S)

9:25am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling) - 30 minutes

9:55am - 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 16kg with 3 presses with rotations, 1/1

10:10am - Training session - S&S, 24kg 1H SW, 20kg TGUs

24kg GSq, 10
24kg 2H SW, 10

24kg 1H SW, 10/10, on the minute for 5 minutes
100 reps

1 minute rest

20kg TGU, 1/1, x 5, 10 minute goal
10 reps, finished at 9:20

10:30am - Complete

Notes - Very unusual start to the week.  My son had trouble breathing late last night and I had to rush him to the ER.  Fortunately he is ok - this has happened before so I wasn't shocked - a viral thing that affects little kids called "croup".  He handled it like a champ but it is scary to not be able to breath well, that is for sure.  We got home in the wee hours, I turned off my alarm for the morning and let us both sleep in until he woke up.  Got some training in, dropped a bell size on S&S as Kevin suggested.  Feeling fine other than annoyed that my R lat, trap and pec is definitely a little tight, and my R elbow is involved though it is because of the shoulder not the elbow being the issue - been something I have been dealing with lately, the soft tissue worked helped a ton but it has tightened up a just a bit.  I didn't get much mobility work in this weekend and did do some pull-ups on Saturday.  Simply going to work the mobility well the next few days, I also have a deep tissue massage scheduled for tomorrow evening which is perfect. Will be fine.  

11/7/14 Friday November 7, 2014 (24kg SN - snatch test passed)

7:10am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling) - 30 minutes

7:40am - 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 16kg with 3 presses and rotations, 1/1

7:55am - Training session - 24kg SN

2x:
24kg TGU, 1/1
24kg SLDL, 3/3
24kg H2H SW, 5/5 (10 switches)

24kg SN, 10/10, very quick rest, 10/10 10/10, rest 10/10 10/10 - 100 reps in 4:45 (snatch test passed!!), rest, 10/10

120 reps - took me about 7 minutes total since I celebrated and rested a bit after hitting 100

8:25am - Complete

Notes - Well what else is there to say other than I finally passed the snatch test in practice training - 100 reps with the 24kg in 4:45.  Crushed my previous PR of 97 reps in 5 minutes.  I am feeling great about this breakthrough, I have the SFG in Vancouver next weekend and this is really going to give me the confidence that I can push through on day 3 and pass this test.  I will say the approach above of the 10/10, very quick rest, and then two sets of 40 with a rest between them is going to be the way I try to approach things on testing day.  I am excited.  A lot of the success today was probably attributable to better sleep.  Rest and recovery is really key.

11/6/14 Thursday November 6, 2014 (mobility, KB warm up, TGU, SLDL)

7:00am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling) - 30 minutes

7:30am - Break

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 16kg with 3 presses and rotations, 1/1

9:00am - Training session - 24kg TGU, SLDL

2x

24kg TGU, 1/1
24kg SLDL, 3/3

9:15am - Complete

Notes - Tired this morning.  Way too tired.  Feeling under the weather and beaten up.  I definitely need to get some rest to kick this head and chest mini cold.  My sleeping patterns suck right now and is something I seriously need to improve.

11/5/14 Wednesday November 5, 2014 (DB 24kg circuit)

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
Arm bar 16kg with 3 presses with rotation, 1/1

7:30am - Training session - DB 24kg circuit

24kg TGU to knee, 2/2
24kg GSq, 5
24kg 2H SW, 10

DB 24kg CL 2, set down
DB 24kg PR 2, set down
DB 24kg SQ 2

DB 24kg CL 3, set down
DB 24kg PR 3, set down
DB 24kg SQ 3

DB 24kg CL 5, set down
DB 24kg PR 5, set down
DB 24kg SQ 5

10 total reps of each movement

DB 24kg SW, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 (5 sets, 30 total reps)

7:50am - Complete

Notes - Good day, very good really.  I don't feel like I am doing much work at all these days, this is all pretty easy stuff actually.  I guess that is a good thing because I suppose in the past DB 24kgs would have felt much more challenging.  While I am certainly looking forward to getting back and working more with the heavier kettlebells, all of this time with the 24kg (single and doubles) I think has been very productive.

11/4/14 Tuesday November 4, 2014 (mobility, KB warm up, TGU, SLDL)

7:00am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling) - 15 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 16kg with 3 presses and rotations, 1/1

7:30am - Training session - 16kg TGU, SLDL

16kg TGU, 2/2
16kg SLDL, 5/5

7:45am - Complete

Notes - Tired this morning, body is trying to adjust to the time change over the weekend.  Felt pretty good all around though.  Want to be getting to bed earlier and getting up earlier, I need to man up and start setting a better habit on this.  Some mobility work today, kept it simple, double 24kgs tomorrow.  Looking forward to moving some weight.

11/3/14 Monday November 3, 2014 (S&S)

7:45am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling) - 30 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 16kg with 3 presses with rotations, 1/1

8:30am - Training session - S&S, 28kg 1H SW, 24kg TGUs

24kg GSq, 10
24kg 2H SW, 20

28kg 1H SW, 10/10, on the minute for 5 minutes
100 reps

1 minute rest

24kg TGU, 1/1, x 5, 10 minute goal
10 reps, finished at 9:50

8:50am - Complete

Notes - Feeling good today, slept in, well rested the last couple of days which is a good recharge.  The swings were easier today, good hip snap, better wind too not as taxing.  Getups were solid, overhead position felt good.  I am encouraged.

11/1/14 Saturday November 1, 2014 (walking, pull-ups, planks)

My body is in a much different place a week later - which is a good thing.  The body work and chiro this week are definitely helping re-set some things.  Woke up this morning feeling good despite the hard snatch training session that I had just completed the previous afternoon.  Good sign.  I did notice the L shoulder as a bit tight as I got down to the lake around 5pm.  I did quite a bit of hanging from the rings to stretch the lats and shoulders, really helped tremendously.  Man I would love to have a pair of rings to hang from at home.  Would really be useful.

Based on Kevin's instructions, I am dropping pistols and push-ups in favor of walking, and keeping pull-ups.  So this is what I did:

Walking
5 pull-ups
Plank (hold for about 60-90 seconds)

Walking
4 pull-ups
Plank

Walking
4 pull-ups
Plank

Walking
3 pull-ups
Plank

Walking
2 pull-ups
Plank

I ended up walking over an hour, which was great.  When I was dealing with nagging health / body issues back in June, I used long walks around Greenlake to keep up my conditioning and help me get things back together, and those walks were really tremendous.  I continued to use them in July and August with nice weather, but in September and October I didn't get much walking in at all due to working, start of school for the kids, coaching soccer, and poor weather.  I was thinking about it and realized that simply adding in more walking is the best thing I can probably do right now.  So this was perfect.  The first set of 5 pull-ups definitely reminded me that I had just snatched 24 hrs earlier, but I banged those out ok, and things got progressively easier from there.  Came home, did some foam roll and a few mobility exercises on the shoulders, things are feeling good.