11/6/13 Wednesday November 6, 2013 (DB FSQ 24kg, 1H SW 32kg, SN 24 kg ladder)

Flew back from Spokane - unusual training time in the afternoon

3:45pm - Original Strength and Primal Move - 30 minutes

4:15pm - Kettlebell warm up ("Standard")

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

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

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

Arm bar 12 kg, 1+1

4:30pm - Training session - Focus on DB FSQ 24 kgs, superset 1H SW 32 kg, finish with 24 kg SN ladder

TGU 20kg, 3/3

GSq 24kg, 10

DB DL 32 kgs, 5, 5/5 1H alt

4X superset:

DB FSQ 24 kgs, 5
1H SW 32 kgs, 10/10

Took about 12 minutes.

24 kg SN ladder, 3/3, 6/6, 9/9, 12/12 - 60 total reps.  Took 6 minutes.

5:05pm - Complete

Notes - Certainly an interesting session.  This was really to me a pretty HEAVY day when you have DB FSQ, heavy 1H SW, and then snatching with a test-sized bell.  I loved it but it is hard to measure in some ways as I trained at a very unusual time for me, late in the afternoon, because I flew over to Spokane yesterday morning and then back today in the early afternoon, for work.  It was a very busy morning with 6 meetings before 12:30pm, starting at 7:30am, and I did not sleep particularly well.  Throw in what flying does to your body and frankly I felt pretty tied and not particularly energized when warming up for this, but I wanted to get the training in today, rest tomorrow, and then snatch for time on Friday.  I will say I felt really good about the DB FSQ and the 1H SW.  Actually ended up being very strong.  I took some breaths between and shook out the tension, and did notice I was breathing pretty heavy. I had settled on 4 sets and that felt right so I left it there and had some reps in the tank.  I knew snatching was probably going to be pretty difficult.  I had gone in thinking 2 sets but after finishing the first one, and struggling with the last couple of reps on the ladder of 12, I parked the bells.  Live for another training day rather than do something stupid.  Actually the ladders of 3 and 6 felt awesome.  9 and 12 - not so much.  Just didn't have a whole lot in the tank.  It will be good to do this a week from now and work into a second set and see how that feels.  One thing I did notice afterwards is that my forearms really felt worked.  Not hurting, not even tight really, just a lot of work.  I thought about the three movements today and realized what an incredible amount of grip work it is to FSQ, 1H SW, and then snatch when you are using pretty heavy bells.  A rest day tomorrow filled with nothing more than joint mobility stuff sounds about right to me.  

11/5/13 Tuesday November 5, 2013 (SL DL, SW 24 kg)

6:25am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 30 minutes

6:55am - Kettlebell warm up ("Standard")

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

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

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

Arm bar 12 kg, 1+1

7:10am - Training session - Focus on SL DL, SW with 24kg

TGU 24kg, 2+2

SL DL 24 kg, 3/3, 2X

24 kg 1H SW, 10/10, 3X
24kg 2H SW, 20, 2X

100 total reps

7:30am - Complete

Notes -  Kind of a blah day really.  The 24kg was way too heavy for SL DLs.  I had only brought the 24kg outside and didn't want to go back in and drag out a more appropriate bell, which honestly probably is a 12kg.  This is a super awkward movement - which is why I need to practice it - I know that much.  Body did not feel good after, my right oblique was very tight, no surprise as that is an area that gets affected from time to time.  I think SL DL work, if done with lower weights at first and refined technique, can actually be a great exercise for me.  On the other hand all of the swings felt great and there seems to be no lingering effect at all on my L wrist from the one shitty clean I had during yesterdays' heavy press session.  So - there are always positives.

11/4/13 Monday November 4, 2013 (PR 32kg, 2H SW 44kg)

8:20am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 30 minutes

8:50am - Kettlebell warm up ("Standard")

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

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

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

Arm bar 12 kg, 1+1

9:05am - Training session - Focus on PR 32 kg, 2H SW 44 kg

TGU 16kg, 3/3

TK PR 16 kg, 5/5

PR 24 kg, 3/3
PR 28 kg, 2/2
PR 32 kg, 1/1 - 5X (PR for # of 32 kg reps)

 2H SW 44kg, 10, 6X (on the minute, 6 minutes) - 60 total reps

9:40am - Complete

Notes -  Good session, body felt good and relatively well recovered from running 10 miles around the lake Saturday afternoon for Seattle 1/2 marathon training.  Had one shaky clean on my 3rd single with the 32 kg, on the L hand, where I did not have a strong grip on the bell in the rack and had too much "palm" resulting in my wrist being overly stressed.  I should have adjusted the grip before pressing and regretted not doing that, but was able to get my other hand around the bell before any major issues arose.  I did some fast and loose drills to shake out the tension in that left wrist, re-tested a bit, and thought I would be fine to continue on.  I was.  I focused on very strong cleans, really gripping the bell hard and getting the forearm vertical for the press.  Aside from that one rep all of my reps were strong.  Definitely a good reminder that with a heavy, heavy bell technique must be dialed in and you can never take your eye off the ball for a second.  I did practice making sure I did an inhale on the swing and then held my breath on the clean to the rack, only starting to exhale as a I pressed the bell up.  This worked extremely well and definitely resulted in stronger presses.

The 2H SW on the 44kg felt really good, very strong.  I had more reps in the tank but I went into today decided that 6 sets would be fine, I will go 8 next time, and then 10 thereafter assuming I progress well next week.

11/2/13 Saturday November 2, 2013 (10 miles running around the lake)

More 1/2 marathon training - ran for 1 hr, 40 minutes from about 3:40 to 5:20 or so.  Felt strong, better than last week in Vancouver BC though my left arch was acting up starting around 30 minutes.  Last week in BC it was the right arch.  Both are getting used to long distances in the Vivos I think a bit and just not used to this much running.  I am going to work them much harder with the lacrosse ball throughout the week to give them some massage and release tightness.  This is going to be particularly important for the couple of days before each long run on the weekends.  Overall though, feeling fine with how things are progressing.  Honestly this is going better than I anticipated it would. I owe it to kettlebell training particularly all of the movements that have strengthened my glutes and quads, which is making my running stride more powerful.

11/1/13 Friday November 1, 2013 (training with Kevin)

Checked my training log and I last trained with Kevin on Friday October 4 - it has been 4 weeks.  8 weeks since I had a training accident to my right wrist / forearm, and after getting through that with a back off week or two, man it has been a productive run for training.

Before meeting Kevin at 6:30am I did about 5 quick minutes of my standard kettlebell warm-up minus arm bars.  Body was feeling pretty good.  I slept in and was not as warmed up as preferred but it was ok.

6:35am - Training session with Kevin.  We did some basic primal move and then got into things.

We did some TGUs, 16, 20, 24, really working on locking out the elbow.  This is something that just needs constant attention from me, primarily just due to being somewhat tight in the thorasic area, traps, etc. I am WAY less tight than in the past but with overhead pressing and other movements, and just frankly added bulk in those areas plus the shoulders, I have to keep focused on getting to lockout and keep it there.

We did a few goblet squats with the 24, and then got into 1H SWs with the 24 and then the 32 as Kevin wanted to see how I was doing.  Lots of improvement with the 32 has been experienced over the last month and it feels strong.  We worked a bit on making sure I get a deep hip hinge on each rep as snatching can tend to take some of that away and people drop into more squatty swings which you don't want.  Kevin did not think this was a big issue for me but just a reminder needed there.  Plus deep hip hinges make for snappy swings, more float, and thus stronger reps and the ability for more reps.

We then did some PR with the 24, 28, and then the 32.  Set of 3 with the 24, 2 with the 28, and then some singles with the 32.  I was getting the bell up on the 32 without major issues but it could have been more efficient.  We worked on a very useful cue for me and that was after cleaning, DO NOT let any breath out.  Keep the tension and then press the bell and get the exhale on the press.  With heavy 32 cleans Kevin noticed I was leaking a little tension by taking a breath after the clean.  After we eliminated this, the bells went up much easier and stronger.  We also worked on some cues to get the bell in a more vertical position with the forearm in the clean (a "wider" clean at the top of the shoulder so to speak), so I was in the position to press with no wasted movements.  This was a little different and I will have to groove this, but it will be a technique improvement.

I believe I may have the cue now that is going to get me to a 36 kg press, towards the ultimate goal of pressing 1/2 bodyweight, the 44.

We then worked a bit on tall kneeling presses with the 16 kg, something we are going to use to help groove that clean to press position.  Felt great, I love those, an old Ross staple.

We finished off by snatching the 24kg with some sets of 3, 6, 9 reps on each side, just practicing the snatch.  Kevin liked what he saw and the snatch will continue to be a staple of training for the next several weeks.

In between all of this we talked various training tips etc. as well as SFG vs. RKC certs.  SFG wins as expected...:)

8:00am - Finish
Great session, I feel like we covered quite a bit of ground with a lot of lifts and is was very good practice for me to get Kevin's eyes on my lifts as it always is.  Here's to more progress---

10/31/13 Thursday October 31, 2013 (TGUs, 2H SW 44kg)

6:20am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 25 minutes

6:45am - Kettlebell warm up ("Standard")

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

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

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

Arm bar 12 kg, 1+1

7:00am - Training session - Focus on TGUs, 44 kg 2H SW

TGU 24kg, 2+2
TGU 32kg, 1+1 (PR)

44 kg 2H SW, 5 4X
44kg 2H SW, 10 3X

50 total reps

7:15am - Complete

Notes -  Solid, decided to TGU with the 32 kg to see how it felt.  Damn thing felt heavy but I think that was partially due to a lot of work yesterday.  Swings with the 44kg felt great.  Just a little work, get ready to train tomorrow with Kevin.

10/30/13 Wednesday October 30, 2013 (DB SQ, DB SW 24 kgs, SN 16 kg volume)

8:00am - Original Strength, Primal Move drills - 25 minutes 

8:25am - Kettlebell warm up ("Standard")

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

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

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

8:40am - Training session -DB SQ 24 kgs, DB SW 24 kgs, 16 kg high volume SN 7 mins

Warm up -
TGU 24kg, 2+2
GSq 32 kg, 5
DB DL 32 kgs, 5, 5L/R alt
2H SW 32 kg, 10

Superset 5X:
DB SQ 24 kg, 5
DB SW 24kg, 10

This took about 13 minutes - was able to cut it down 2 mins from last week.

16 kg high volume SN, 7 minutes, 225 reps PR!!
(20/20, 20/20, 15/15, 15/15, 15/15 - 170 reps at 2:00 left, set bell down, rest 30 secs, then 10/10, 10/10, 5/5, 3/2)

Last week - 170 reps (20/20, 20/20, 15/15, 10/10 (130 reps set the bell down - 2:17 left), 10/10, 10/10) (PR by a lot - 150 was previous max)

9:20am - Complete

Notes -  Well what a day.  Sometimes you just have good days.  I did not set my alarm appropriately and woke up a little before 8am, so lots of extra rest.  Fortunately I had time today and that was not a problem.  I felt very strong with the DB SQ and DB SW work.  Just noticing little technique improvements, bells feel lighter, more powerful cleans on the SQ, more powerful and even swings on the SW, things like that.

As for snatching I am not sure what to say. I surprised myself.  After the doubles work I took probably 5 minutes of rest to gear up for the snatching and then I just hit it.  I was completely gassed at 2 minutes left but realized that for the SFG snatch test the length is 5 minutes, and I just hit 170 reps in 5 minutes.  True this is with a 16kg and you need 100 reps with a 24 kg for the SFG, but I have to say for absolutely certain I can get 100 reps with a 20kg in 5 minutes, no issue.  I did clearly notice my breathing on the snatch could use improvement.  My inhale on the backswing is not quick enough and that leads to an exhale on the snatch that is delayed until close to lockout.  I need to be getting the exhale going to help with the hip snap and ascent of the bell, so much quicker.  Something to discuss with Kevin and try to work on.  It is little things like that which will help me be efficient with a much heavier weight, the 24 kg, which is a real challenge to snatch for higher reps.