12/11/13 Wednesday December 11, 2013 (C&P 28 kg, DB SW 24 kgs)

7:45am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 45 minutes (extra time to work out some tightness in traps, R side hip, glutes)

8:30am - 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

8:45am - Training session - Focus on 28 kg C&P ladders, DB SW 24 kgs

TGU 24kg, 2+2

GSq 24kg, 10

28 kg C&P ladders, 1, 2, 3, 4 R/L - 3X (30 total reps each arm) (about 29 minutes to finish)

DB SW 24 kgs, 10, 5X (50 reps) (7 minutes)

9:30am - Complete

Notes - There is some real beauty to the way Kevin has set up programming.  If you look purely at my log from a week ago when I did this same training session, it would seem as if I did nearly the same thing, with a little more volume on the DB SW.  Wrong.  The devil is in the details.  The technique on the C&P this week was much tighter.  I was using the acceleration of the clean and redirecting that force right into the press.  The bell was flying up today.  I have never pressed the 28kg like this before.  I was using hand switches and not setting the bell down, and still getting all of the reps, tight.  I did not get the very last rep on my last set/ladder of 4, hit a sticking point on the R side but I missed the lift the right way.  Set the bell down and got the last rep immediately.  I realized I was leaking some tightness on the glute on the bell side.  So I need to focus on really squeezing the glutes.  Had I been focusing on that, I would have gotten that last rep.  My focus today was on tight cleans and breathing, so improved those parts of the C&P,.  Next week, glutes.  I did focus on the glutes during the DB SW and that was cool, got really good hip snap, very powerful, keep the lats locked down, felt like I had a lot of control of the bells.

12/10/13 Tuesday December 10, 2013 (2H SW ladder)

6:35am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 15 minutes

6:50am - 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

7:05am - Training session - Focus on 2H SW ladders

TGU 20kg, 1+1

2H SW ladder:

32kg, 20 kg, 28 kg, 24 kg - 5/5/5/5
32kg, 20 kg, 28 kg, 24 kg - 10/10/10/10
32kg, 20 kg, 28 kg, 24 kg - 15/15/15/15
32kg, 20 kg, 28 kg, 24 kg - 20/20/20/20

200 reps.  Finished in about 11 minutes.

7:20am - Complete

Notes -  Felt fine, sort of a punch the clock day.  I don't really love these as much as swinging really heavy bells, but it's good. I wasn't very happy with my snap on the R hip, it just didn't feel completely there today.  I probably could have benefited from a hip flexor stretch.  Just seemed a little bit off and I did not feel as rooted as I would have liked on the R side as result.  But all in all, fine.

12/9/13 Monday December 9, 2013 (32 kg chain SW/CL/FSq)

6:45am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 30 minutes

6:15am - 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

6:30am - Training session - Focus on TGUs, 32 kg chain SW, CL, FSq

TGU 24kg, 1+1
TGU 28kg, 1+1
TGU 32kg, 1+1

DB DL 32kgs, 5

GSq 32kg, 5

Chain with 32 kg:

5X:
SW, CL, Fsq - 3 / 3

(15 reps total of each movement) (this took about 15 minutes)

Farmer carry with DB 32 kgs to finish, 1 minute walking.

7:00am - Complete

Notes -  This was good today.  Body felt well rested, I got plenty of sleep this weekend and decent sleep last night.  It has been unbelievably cold - for some reason I have not been mentioning that in my blogs but each morning for a week it has been sub 30 degrees, around 25 this morning.  Getups were strong, technique on the chain was improved from last week.  I like the difference in doing a swing and then having to transition and control the bell into a tight clean, and then into a squat.  It is good stuff.  I had a lot left in the tank this morning but no need to go above and beyond every time out for training.  Looking forward to pressing the 28 kg on Wed and seeing how that goes compared with last week.

12/8/13 Sunday December 8, 2013 (3 mile run)

Ran around Greenlake for one loop in about 30 degree weather - damn that was cold.  Feet did not feel very good, I need to keep working on them particularly the R arch.  All in all, not bad though.

12/6/13 Friday December 6, 2013 (TGU/SL DL, DB SQ, SN for 12 mins)

6:50am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 30 minutes

7:20am - 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

7:35am - Training session - Focus on 16kg TGUs superset SL DLs, DB FSq 24 kgs, SN 24 kg for 12 minutes using 3/3, 6/6 ladders

3X superset:
TGU 16 kg, 1/1
SL DL 16 kg, 5/5

Took 20 minutes.  I was quite surprised about how long that took.  I didn't really feel like I was wasting time or resting too much, just being very controlled with the movements and trying to practice really good technique.

DB FSq 24 kgs, 2, 3, 5, 10

Took about 10 minutes or so to do these DB FSq.

SN 24 kg, 3/3, rest, 6/6, rest (1 round), total of 6 rounds in 12 minutes = 18 reps x 6 = 108 reps in 12 minutes (doesn't compare that well to a recent week's 6/6 snatching for 10 minutes, or 7/7 for 8 minutes that I was able to complete)

Farmer carry DB 24 kgs, 1 minute to finish

8:20am - Complete

Notes - I felt good today.  Rest was ok, though I did go to bed pretty late.  I did feel ready to go, got warmed up well.  TGUs and SL DLs went well, noticed some interesting synergies after doing a SL DL and then getting back down to a TGU - TGUs were easier, body felt more "put together".  The SL DLs continue to be an important exercise for me.  DB FSq felt good.  I have never done a set of 10 with DB 24s - I felt I maintained good form throughout.  Took some extra time on the last couple of reps, took an extra breath or two in the rack, tried to stay very tight.  I did notice my jeans are feeling loose in the waist but tight in the ass and thighs - definitely getting bigger glutes etc etc and the squats are definitely part of the gain:)  As to snatching as per my comments above, I could be a little disappointed with the numbers but honestly I felt good doing these.  Technique was good, power good, yes I needed some more rest than perhaps I was hoping for (a big accomplishment would be tracking 6/6 for 12 minutes, which would be 144 reps, so I was WAY off of that kind of pace).  I looked at my logs and it has been 2 full weeks since I last snatched, after getting a callous tear, so that probably is a pretty big factor.  But lockout felt strong, was trying to keep the bell close to me on the drop and throw it down to my navel, felt a lot of power doing that. I have 2 weeks until we do a 5 minute snatch test with Kevin.  My goal next week is to get at least 7 rounds which would be 126 reps.  8 rounds would be 144 or the 6/6 pace I was able to maintain for 10 minutes several weeks ago.  That means 8 rounds is within my capabilities but probably is too big a jump from this performance.  We'll see what I can get to.  

12/5/13 Thursday December 5, 2013 (SL DLs, TGUs to knee with PR)

6:35am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 30 minutes

7:05am - 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

7:20am - Training session - Focus on SL DLs, TGUs to knee, with PR

16 kg SL DL, 3/3

16 kg TGU to knee, PR 3 - L then R, 2X (4 TGUs, 12 PR)

7:35am - Complete

Notes -  Good day.  The arm bars with the extra ROM to put my head on the ground have just been awesome.  I am feeling a lot less tension than just 5-6 days ago in my neck, right trap.  The stretch is incredibly intense, I really feel it into the R bicep, down the back.  I just really breath into that stretch and let it go for as long as possible.  Man I am glad Kevin suggest that additional ROM on the arm bar.  I did not do a ton of work today, but later in the afternoon and evening my body felt really, really good, very strong.  Doing hard work and then following it up with a very light day of mostly mobility with a few KB movements is really working well.  Great stuff.

12/4/13 Wednesday December 4, 2013 (28kg C&P ladders, DB SW 24kgs)

6:55am - Original Strength and Primal Move - 15 minutes

7:10am - 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

7:25am - Training session - Focus on 28 kg C&P ladders, DB SW 24 kgs

TGU 24kg, 2+2

GSq 24kg, 10

28 kg C&P ladders, 1, 2, 3, 4 R/L - 3X (30 total reps each arm)

DB SW 24 kgs, 10, 10, 5 (25 total reps)

8:05am - Complete

Notes - Good session.  Body felt good, I was pressed for time and had to do everything pretty quick.  On the C&P ladders with the 28kg, on the first set I did MPs instead of C&P (cleaning between every press).  The final ladder with 4 reps of MP with the 28kg was tough.  I paused and checked Kevin's notes and realized that this was actually supposed to be C&P so for sets 2 and 3 I cleaned between every press.  I knew this was going to actually make my presses a little easier because I have dialed in my clean technique quite a bit, and the momentum and energy of a good clean can really help get a press going.  That is exactly what happened.  On my final ladder of 4 on the L I missed the lift on the last rep, but that was due to a bad clean during the set that I ended up just recleaning again instead of trying to press (the bell was not in my hand in the rack in a way I wanted to press).  The reclean was the right move but I think it threw me off enough to cause a little too much fatigue and I missed that last rep.  Set the bell down, rested for a few second, shook it out and then got the final rep.  Do need to work with Kevin on breathing techniques on the C&P for higher reps.  I was doing fine, concentrating on getting the inhale on each clean and trying to hold the exhale until pressing up, which was fine.  The bigger challenge was in between breaths on the descent from the press, re-rack, and then into the clean.  Double swings were very strong and I wanted 5 sets of 10 but I had to cut it short due to time, stopping with 25 reps total.  I will get 50 next week.