2/18/15 Wednesday February 18, 2015 (24/28kg circuit, SN 28kg 3/3 10 mins (PR) )

7:30am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling) - 45 minutes (a lot of extra work on the lacrosse ball and form roller)

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

8:30am - Training session - 24/28kg circuit, SN 28kg 3/3 10 minutes

3x:
24kg TGU, 1/1
24kg Renegade rows, 5/5
28kg 1H SW, 10/10

24kg SN, 3/3, very long pauses at lockout to stretch out

28kg SN, 3/3, 10 minutes, as many sets as possible

10 sets - 30/30 total or 60 reps

28kgs farmer carry, 1 minute, 1/1
24kg farmer carry, 1 minute, 1/1

9:05am - Complete

Notes - So that was interesting:)  First, I was TIGHT as hell this morning.  Damn.  Trap, lat, shoulder, mainly the right side.  Should not at all be surprised, I have a lot of new movements going on and need to ease it.  Been really busy at work, running around like an idiot, so that is probably a factor.  In any event, I did take some time on soft tissue work, mobility drills, and did get pretty well stretched out.  Renegade rows were in the warm-up, haven't done those in many months.  The movement was a little harder than I anticipated, it's probably good to get some of that work back in.  Focused on keeping everything very tight, tensing the glutes.  I did these off a box.  Snatching with a 28kg.  60 reps. So this was definitely a PR.  I have not snatched literally since I passed the SFG on November 16, other than literally a couple of random reps here or there.  So 3 months!!  Weird and a bit shocking.  I have to say I am really, really pleased with how this went.  Strong makes everything easier.  This was not hard, at all, and that was really cool.  I won't say the 28kg felt like a 24kg, but it didn't feel heavy, even on the last set.  I was really using my glutes, loading the bell on the backswing on every rep, and finishing strong at lockout, not going to fast, and just hitting every rep.  This was "practice" and I really like snatching like this, rather than racing a clock.  We'll see how I feel tonight and tomorrow.  I am anticipating that I will be tightening up and need to make sure I stay as mobile as possible.  

2/17/15 Tuesday February 17, 2015 (24kg TGUs, 2H SW)

7:00am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling) - 15 minutes

7:15:am - 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

1/2 Kneeling Windmill stretch, 5/5

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

7:30am - Training session - 24kg TGU, 24kg SH SW

1/2 Kneeling Windmill, 16kg, 5/5
1/2 Knelling Bent Press, 16kg, 5/5

24kg TGU to the knee, 1/1
24kg 2H SW, 10, x 3

7:40am - Complete

Notes - Shoulders tight today, got really tight late in the day and tried to stretch out before bed.  Lots of new movements, I need to progress slowly and not overdue anything.  I probably didn't need to do as much on this off day as I did, that is a lesson and will just do mobility and very light KB work for the Thursday recovery day this week.  I think one of the big reasons my last 6-week cycle was so successful is that I really got recovered in between sessions.  

2/16/15 Monday February 16, 2015 (PPR 32kg, DB SLDLs 24 kgs)

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

1/2 Kneeling Windmill stretch, 5/5

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

8:25am - Training session - PPR 32g, DB SL DLs 24kgs

1/2 Kneeling Windmill, 16kg, 5/5
1/2 Knelling Bent Press, 16kg, 5/5
24kg TGU, 1/1 to the knee

24kg 2H SW, 10
24kg PPR, 5/5

5x superset:

32kg PPR, 3/3
24kgs DB SLDLs, 3/3

24kgs DB farmer carries, 1 minute
32kg 2H SW, 10
32kg farmer carry, 1 minute, 1/1

8:55am - Complete

Notes - Great day here starting a new 3-week cycle that will be focused on single bell work to balance out the 6-week cycle of double bells. Going to work on athleticism, staying mobile, and probably will try and cut back just a bit on food intake (I have seriously been eating like an absolute madman).  Going to be hitting a lot of different movements in the cycle, rows, heavier snatches with the 28kg on Wed, and "kettlebell aerobics" CL / PR / SQ with a SN thrown in for Fridays.  This looks good and I am excited.  Today was a good start, working on various new movements in the mobility warm up including some 1/2 kneeling Windmill and Bent Presses.  Surprising challenging, new movements, it's going to take some time to adjust and get used to these.   On the push presses, just love that movement, I focused on engaging the lat while in the rack, and trying to keep the bell very tight on the descent and then pressing up to lockout using my legs and glutes (not the arm / shoulder).  This went well.  32kg feels heavy in the rack (compared to the 24kg), not going to lie, but I am determined to work with this bell and make it feel like the 24kg does now after so much work sets using double 24kgs. Certainly I finished the training session today feeling refreshed, not taxed at all.  Right amount of volume.

2/14/15 Saturday February 14, 2015 (pull-ups, push-ups, playing with the kids)

Got this work done late Saturday afternoon and did it with my kids the lake!  Great way to spend Valentine's Day.  They had a lot of fun and did some hanging and swinging from the pull-up rings, some push-ups, and lots of running around trees doing some chase:)  Awesome.

Hanging from bar
Hip mobility

7 pull-ups
5 push-ups (3 regular, 2 lizard for all)

6 pull-ups
5 push-ups

5 pull-ups
5 push-ups

4 pull-ups
5 push-ups

3 pull-ups
5 push-ups

Lots of helping the kids and running around the trees in between all of the above.  Probably took us 30 or 40 minutes.

Total pull-ups - 25, up 1 from last week.  25 push-ups, same as last week.  Well I was surprised and very pleased with the pull-ups, the top set of 7 was significantly easier than the last time I got to a top set of 7, this tells me I should be able to keep adding a rep so I will.  Probably the relatively light deload week with the bells helped, though I did train with Kevin and learned a bunch of new movements along with push-pressing a 32kg for a decent number of reps, but no fallout from that it seems.  Awesome.  Best thing here though is doing this with my kids, making it fun, making moving your body fun and enjoyable.  They love doing things like this and it is a proud moment for sure that I can do this with them and set this example.

2/13/15 Friday February 13, 2015 (training with Kevin)

I checked my logs and was shocked to see that the last time I trained with Kevin was Friday December 12. Wow that's 2 months!! Time flies.  It has been a really productive two months in a lot of ways.

Today, we did some cool stuff.  Got warmed up at home for 15-20 minutes and started with Kevin at 6:15am.  We caught up for a bit and then started at 6:30am.

Did some new warm-ups in the tall-kneeling position, practicing Windmills.  We used a 12kg and a 16kg.  That was really cool and I am going to like that a lot for thoracic spine mobility.

We then moved from windmills in that position to practicing Bent Presses in the tall kneeling position, again with the 16kg.  That was really cool to practice that.  Setting the bell out and letting it sink into the lat, bringing the off hand elbow all the way to the ground, like a TGU, and "getting under the bell" and not pressing it up.  I think I am really going to like these.

We then did some PR with the 24kg, and then started practicing push presses, first with the 28kg, and then with the 32kg.  I finished with about 20 or so minutes alternating between doubles of DB SL DLs with the 24kgs, something I have not practiced, and then doubles or triples of the 32kg push press.  I liked the lifts a lot and it was cool to practice so many new things today.

We are going to do a 3-week cycle that will have some focus on all of these movements, and also some heavy snatches for low reps, 28kg.  Lot of single bell work after doing doubles for so many weeks.

It is great to have such a good coach.  Thank you Kevin!

2/12/15 Thursday February 12, 2015 (24kg TGUs, SL DLs)

7:00am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling) - 15 minutes

7:15:am - 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, 1/1
Arm bar 16kg with 3 presses and rotations, 1/1

7:30am - Training session - 24kg TGU, 24kg SLDLs

2x;

24kg TGU to the knee, 1/1
24kg SLDL, 3/3

7:40am - Complete

Notes - Good stuff, body felt really good this morning.  Left knee is a little tender, as is the left ankle, noticed this Tuesday morning as well.  I think it is the getups outside on the hard ground, I have not done them outside in months and it is slightly irritating the knee I think.  I'll watch it but should not be a big deal, just keep it mobilized.  

2/11/15 Wednesday February 11, 2015 (S&S 24kg)

7:35am - FMS drills (belly breathing, soft tissue work, t-spine, 1/2 kneeling) - 30 minutes

8:05am - Kettlebell warm up

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

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

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

8:20am -Training session - S&S 24kg

24kg TGU, 1/1 to the knee

24kg GSq, 5

24kg 2H SW, 10

24kg 1H SW, 10/10, x 5, 100 swings in 5 minutes

24kg TGU, 1/1, x 5, 10 TGUs in 10 minutes

DB 24kgs farmer carry, 1 minute

8:50am - Complete

Notes - Good day.  This felt easier and better than Monday.  Swings were crisp, getups smooth, overhead position on the getups was very good.  I am pleased.  Had an extremely long day at work yesterday, like 15 hrs, but slept ok and am feeling fine.  Need some good sleep tonight.