4/19/14 Saturday April 19, 2014 (interval running / pull-ups / push-ups)

Got going Saturday afternoon.  Weather was ok, pretty good running weather although it was cold and a little windy.  I took last week off of running and have been watching a very tight R hamstring and ankle, which has alleviated a bit the last few days.  Didn't feel like I had a bunch of sprints in me, particularly as after I did that two weeks ago, I had lingering tightness in the legs for quite some time.  Went back to a tried and true interval, 3 minutes of running intervals with a goal of 30 minutes of total running. Looked like this:

3 min run, SL DLs 5/5, 3 min run, 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups
x 5

Total of 30 minutes running, 25/25 SL DLs, 25 pull-ups, 50 push-ups

Over time I like the sweet spot of hitting about 25 pull-ups in these sessions, and I like sets of 5.  5 pull-ups is the SFG test, and given the vast other KB techniques I am working on, I don't see a need to push pull-up numbers up an more than this.  On the other hand I don't get much horizontal pushing in my routines and so I may start trying to move the push-up numbers a bit and see what happens as a result.  So I worked in 5 sets of 10 this week for 50 total push-ups.  Very slow, controlled, tight glutes, lats, etc and really trying to use the lats to control the movement.  Good stuff.  Pullups got hard on the last couple of reps on the last couple of sets.  This typically has happened when I do this training the day following snatching, which was the case here.  So I didn't think too much about it, just tried to go slow and keep the movement quality high.  I did get pretty close to failure, probably only had 1-2 reps in the bank max at the end, but that was fine.  I am going into an odd training week of just doing the Pavel S&S routine of 1H SW and getups for time, while taking some time off at the Oregon Coast with my kids.  Should be good and then Kevin and I meet on Friday the 25th to devise the next cycle of training which I anticipate is going to be heavy strength work.

4/18/14 Friday April 18, 2014 (24kg PPR ladders, 24 kg SN ladders)

7:15am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 45 minutes (some extra lacrosse ball work on glutes, traps)

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, 1+1
Crooked arm bar 12kg, 3+3 with press

8:15am - Training session - Focus on 24 kg Push Press (PPR) ladders, 24kg SN 3/6/9 ladders

24kg TGU , 2/2
24kg SL DL, 5/5

3x of the following ladders:

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

18 reps per arm on the PPR

24kg SN ladders, 3/3, 6/6, 9/9 x 2 sets = 72 reps.

8:45am - Complete

Notes -  Not too much to say here, deload week, I dropped the 28kg and 32kg push presses, stayed with 24kg, and dropped sets from 5 to 3.  On snatching I dropped 4 sets to 2 sets.  It was an "easy" session to say the least, bell was flying up on presses and up on the snatches very, very easily.  Talked with Kevin and we are going to have another "deload" week next week due to some timing issues, some vacation for me, etc.  Going to do Simple and Sinister, getups and 1H swings, for a week.  Should be good. Looking forward to getting back to some heavy stuff after that and ideally I will be primed and ready to go.

4/17/14 Thursday April 17, 2014 (24kg TGU / SL DLs / SW)

6:30am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 20 minutes

6:50am - 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, 1+1
Crooked arm bar with press, 12kg, 3+3

7:05am - Training session - Focus on 24kg TGU / SL DLs / SW variations

TGUs 24kg, 2/2

Superset 2x:

SL DLs 24kg, 5/5
2H SW 24kg, 10
1H SW 24kg, 10/10, set bell down, 10/10

100 total SW reps

7:35am - Complete

Notes -  Body felt surprisingly good today given the travel this week. I am pleased because I think I am getting recovered, and again, the deload week is very good timing.  The SWs with the 24kg were just so easy including the 1H which is a key indicator for me that I continue to get a lot stronger.  I remember a time where the 1H with the 24kg felt a bit heavy.  Not at all anymore.  Would be excellent to get things to the point where the 32kg 1H felt like this in my hand.  One thing I continue to watch is grip and R wrist though on the 1H SW.  It is the one movement that can cause some minor discomfort which is why several weeks ago I went to a new technique for me where I do not let go of the bell at the height on the float, but rather keep a firm grip on the bell.  This has eliminated the potential for the bell to take me for a ride or pull my arm/wrist on the re-grip, which in hindsight it may have been doing on some reps hence leading me to notice this potential wrist issue and devise a way to eliminate it (Kevin's suggest on the new technique).  It is interesting because my grip doesn't feel as "deep" on the R hand on the bell as it does on the L.  It is just not quite as "strong".  I do not notice this same issue on presses, snatches, etc.  I think some of the issue may be that I have a tighter R forearm, and shoulder position has been something I have been working with pretty hard on this R side too with mobility work, lacrosse ball etc. for several weeks.  It is all connected.  I think if I can get some of this tension released further, the grip on the R hand is going to follow on these 1H SW.  Something I am working on.

4/16/14 Wednesday April 16, 2014 (TGUs/RRs/ DB 20kg complex)

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

10:30am - Kettlebell warm up

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

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

10:45am - Training session - Focus on TGUs / Rows, DB 20kg complex

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

TGUs roll to elbow

24kg x 3/3 x 3

Renegade rows after each TGU set, 24kg, 5/5 x 3

Double 20kg complex.  Went like this

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

11:25am - Complete

Notes -  Well I had planned ahead and wanted to be able to get in a session with the KBs today after getting back from working in OKC.  Originally I thought this would be in the afternoon or late at night but got home earlier than expected, got to sleep in my bed, and got 8+ hrs of sleep.  Still, I was very tired and it showed up in a major way during the 20kg complex, which I kind of expected it would.  That was fine.  The plan this week is to deload, and although it didn't feel like much work at all today I had only planned on one set of the complex, I was able to get it done with good technique and sufficient power.  Rows were good, I actually decided to keep 3 sets of 5/5 and not drop them because I want to practice this movement and get to the point of being on two 32kg KBs and doing them that way.  Good practice.  The TGUs with the 24kg were good, particularly the last set on the L side which has been my problem. I keep experimenting with feet placement and cues to make this a more powerful and crisp movement on that side, and I think I finally settled on something a bit wider than what I have been using for the legs' positions.  I realize completely now that probably the biggest issue is my R leg coming off the ground.  That hamstring and hip are very tight, have been now for about 10 days since I did some sprinting a weekend ago, and it is causing issues with the TGUs.  I can see now that when I try to roll the hamstring, since it is tight, senses that and kind of "cramps up" and won't cooperate by staying strong to the ground.  Working that tightness out is going to be key as well as I think this wider base will help too.  R side (bell in R hand) is completely good, very strong, absolutely no issues with any part of the movement.  Always something to work on.

4/15/14 Tuesday April 15, 2014 (30 minute morning walk)

(writing this on Wed afternoon) In OKC, woke up pretty exhausted, could not adjust to the 2hr time zone difference (and didn't really want to) so went to bed late.  I took a nice brisk walk in the sunny 35 degree weather in the morning before heading to work.  I ended up changing my flights and got back to Seattle late last night to the house, 1pm local time, totally exhausted.  I was motivated to get back, sleep in my own bed, sleep in, and try to recover.

4/14/14 Monday April 14, 2014 (OS resets, long walk)

I fly to Oklahoma City today.  It was a hell of a day, out of the house at 5am PST, into OKC finally at 2pm PST, so about a 9 hr travel ordeal with a stop at Dallas / Fort Worth on the way.  I did some OS resets and then took a nice brisk 1 hr walk in sunny, windy, 50 degree weather here in OKC.  Did a few extra minutes of crawling and really appreciate how challenging crawling really is.  I really have to watch my breathing and really focus on taking deep,easy breaths because crawling really works you hard if you do it for any length of time.

4/13/14 Sunday April 13, 2014 (TGUs, TK PR 24kg, DB SW 24 kgs / PU Planks)

Unusual - training for strength on Sunday evening as I am working Oklahoma City the next couple of days.

7:30pm - Original Strength and Primal Move - 45 minutes (extra work on lacrosse ball for traps, glutes, quads, hams)

8:15pm - Kettlebell warm up

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

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

8:30pm - Training session - Focus on TGUs, TK PR 24kg, super DB SW 24 kgs / planks

TGUs (start from the top finish at the top)

16kg x 1/1

20kg x 1/1

24kg x 1/1

12kg Tall Kneeling Halos x 5/5

Deload week - dropping sets in 1/2

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

Superset 5x:

DB SW 24kgs x 10

Around the World (PU Plank) x 1/1

(down from 10x last week)

Total of 50 DB SW (100 last week)

9:15pm - Complete

Notes -  As indicated, very very unusual for me to train on a Sunday with kettlebells, might actually be the first time I have ever done this.  I am flying to OKC very early Monday morning for work, returning Wed mid day and I will pick up my 2nd strength day of the week Wed afternoon or evening.  This is a deload week after training a hard 3-week cycle, seeing Kevin on Friday.  This is all coming at a good time because that cycle was tough, particularly the Friday work with push pressing heavy followed by snatching the 24kg.  This weekend I have been tight as hell, woke up super tired both Sat and Sunday.  Feeling a bit beat up in the mornings, then I start moving the body around and I feel tons better. This training session I actually felt great, kind of refreshed.  It will be a tough week having to travel across the country and back in 3 days, time zone stuff, totally out of the comfort zone etc.  Will be training very, very light the next couple of days, just going to focus on some movement work, trying to stay limber, combat the effects of travel, probably will increase crawling the next few days and use that for strength work. No intention to hit any weights at all while in OKC, at most, I will look for a pull up bar.