1/8/16 Friday January 8, 2016 (Training with Kevin - 36kg one arm press, PR, L/R)

6:40am - Training with Kevin

Had a terrible night's sleep.  Got to bed around 2am.  Woman issues.  Not great stuff.  Can't live with them, can't live without them.  Woke up tired, somehow actually woke up at 6:27am without hearing my alarm, and scrambled around to get to Kevin 10 minutes late at 6:40am.

We started with some foam rolling, and then into light get-ups with the 16kg.  TK PR with the 20kg.  Started mixing in some 1H SW with the 24kg.  Then press with the 24kg,  1H SW, then press with the 28kg.  Then 1H SW with the 28kg.  Things feeling good.  Moved on and pressed the 32kg.  Bell popping up.  Mixed in some 1H SW with the 32kg.  Everything feeling very good.  Press groove really solid, Kevin was really liking what he was seeing it is clear that there have been some real improvements in technique and in strength over the last several months. 

At this point we looked at each and it's like - let's try to press the 36kg.  That would be a PR for me, hands down, I tried to press that bell at my SFG1 certification in November 2014 and after the clean the bell really didn't go anywhere at all.  Today, I cleaned and pressed that baby like it was nobody's business with my right arm, and then went and immediately did the same thing with the left.  Very solid technique, Kevin really loved it.  No back bends, side bends, etc. just a strong press right through the sticking point.  Both sides the same.

Man that was one hell of a feeling.  I don't really go for maxes really ever in my training, it's not my style, but every once in awhile it is cool to test and see where you are at.  I told Kevin earlier today that I really felt like I could press the 36kg based on how training is going, but saying you can and actually doing it are two different things.  This was one of my most exciting accomplishments ever for strength training, beyond obviously actually becoming an SFG.  I am excited to keep progressing at an appopriate pace, see if I can get a 40kg here at some point in the not too distant future.  Kevin thinks it is right there based on what he saw today.

Finished with some snatches, 20kg. 

This next training cycle is going to have some double bell work, some 1H SW work building up to a heavy 1H SW bell, and some snatching with the 20kg for shoulder mobility and to put the shoulder in a different postion than pressing it up.  We agreed that we will start working on programming geared toward the SFG2 for August in Dallas.  Obvious tough thing there is going to be the half body weight press for me.  It's going to be the beast at 48kg unless I lose a couple of pounds.  I am at about 208 lbs and you need to be at 203 lbs or under to use the 44kg. 

1/7/16 Thursday January 7, 2016 (16kg TGUs, 16kg SLDLs)

7:15am - belly breathing, Primal Move practice, lacrosse ball release - 30 minutes

7:45am - Break

3:00pm- 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)

Arm bar 16kg, 1+1, x 2

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

quadruped shoulder rotations against the wall

3:15pm- Training session - 16kg TGUs, 16kg SLDLs

2x:
16kg TGUs, 1/1
16kg SLDL, 5/5

3:25pm - Complete

Notes -  Spent most of the day painting a hallway and the laundry room, looks outstanding, really happy with the work.  Did some mobility work to start the day and then during a break near the end of painting, did some very light KB work as a diversion and to stretch out a bit.  Feeling very good all around.

1/6/16 Wednesday January 6, 2016 (KB aerobics 24kg 30 mins)

1:25pm - belly breathing, Primal Move practice, lacrosse ball release, foam roll   - 30 minutes

1:55pm - 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)

Arm bar 16kg, 1+1, x 2

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

2:10pm- Training session - KB aerobics 24kg 30 mins

2x:
16kg half TGU, 1/1
16kg GSq, 5

KB aerobics 24kg 30 minutes

24kg CL, PR, FSQ, SW, SN, rest, switch hands - 1 set

Did 19 total sets in 30 mins

24kg 2H SW, 10

2:50pm - Complete

Notes - Great training session, this felt awesome, I really got in a nice rhythm.  I did not want to snatch out of the clean position coming out of the FSQ, so I incorporated a 1H SW to get some bell moment and then snatched.  So got a little bit of swing practice in this training session as well.  All movements feeling very strong indeed.  Good pace, about 2/3 work and 1/3 rest as I was doing about 2 sets every 3 minutes.  Very solid, not rushed, very even pacing.  Really looking forward to training with Kevin on Friday and beginning to map out a plan to achieve SFG2 this year.  Dallas in August - the 6 and 7th - looks like the best bet.  

1/5/16 Tuesday January 5, 2016 (24kg TGUs, 24kg SLDLs)

8:45am - belly breathing, Primal Move practice, lacrosse ball release  - 30 minutes

9:15am - 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)

Arm bar 16kg, 1+1, x 2

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

quadruped shoulder rotations against the wall

9:30am- Training session - 24kg TGUs, 24kg SLDLs

2x:
24kg TGUs, 1/1
24kg SLDL, 3/3

9:40am - Complete

Notes - Feeling very. very good today.  Great sign.  Well rested.  

1/4/16 Monday January 4, 2016 (Moving Target Complex DB 20kgs)

9:50am - belly breathing, Primal Move practice, lacrosse ball release, foam roll   - 45 minutes (needing a lot of soft tissue work)

10:35am - 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)

Arm bar 16kg, 1+1, x 2

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

10:50am- Training session - Moving Target Complex DB 20kgs

2x:
16kg half TGU, 1/1
16kg GSq, 5

Moving Target Complex
2x of the following (rest after each set):

20kg DB CL 1, PR 2, FSQ 1
20kg DB CL 1, PR 3, FSQ 1

20kg DB CL 1, PR 5, FSQ 1

20kg DB CL 1, PR 1, FSQ 2

20kg DB CL 1, PR 1, FSQ 3

20kg DB CL 1, PR 1, FSQ 5

20kg DB CL 2, PR 1, FSQ 1

20kg DB CL 3, PR 1, FSQ 1

20kg DB CL 5, PR 1, FSQ 1

32 DB CL / PR /. FSQ

20kg 2H SW, 10

11:30am - Complete

Notes - Great to get back into doubles work. Felt very strong today.  Had some issues with foot placement (moving feet around too much and not in as coordinated a manner as I would have liked - to wide on some of the squats in particular), depth on some of the cleans in terms of getting the bells into the hole on the descent was not as good as I would like, but not surprising to have a few technique issues as I have not worked with doubles too much at all for months.  The good points were feeling strong on the presses, getting a good root into the ground and a very solid base to press from, and the front squats felt very strong.  

1/2/16 Saturday January 2, 2016 (20kg 1H SW, DB 20kgs FSQ)

Did this work on Saturday afternoon at home and Greenlake

2:45pm - belly breathing, Primal Move practice, lacrosse ball release   - 45 minutes (extra work on the lacrosse ball)

3:30pm - 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 16kg, 1+1, x 2

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

3:45pm- Training session - 20kg 1H SW, DB 20kg FSQ

2x:
16kg TGU to windmill, 1/1
16kg GSq, 5

Head to Greenlake

Stretch out shoulders on the pull-up bars

5x:
20kg 1H SW, 5/5
DB 20kg FSQ, 5

4:15pm - Finish

40 minute walk

Notes - This was a great training session.  Had several hours to myself and given the light week of travel / rest with back off training, I felt like doing a bit of work but nothing taxing.  Just the perfect amount of load, and then finished with a very brisk walk in 39 degree weather at the lake as the sun was coming down.  I really noticed how well my gait was when walking, very smooth, very strong, significant glute contraction as well.  This is a big deal.  I can really tell that training has been very on point because I am moving well AND getting stronger, been adding size too.  The focus on the hip hinge, lots of swings, snatches is really good for me.  The emphasis on building from the bottom up (legs feed the wolf) is really key for me.  I have to continue to manage overhead volume because then I go too heavy or too much frequency on overhead without even balance for the base, things get off. In any event this was a great day. 

1/1/16 Friday January 1, 2016 (TGU ladder, 20kg KB aerobics)

8:15am - belly breathing, Primal Move practice, lacrosse ball release   - 30 minutes

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 16kg, 1+1, x 2

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

9:00am- Training session - TGU ladder, 20kg KB aerobics

16kg TGU to windmill, 1/1
20kg TGU to windmill, 1/1
24kg TGU to windmill, 1/1

20kg KB aerobics, CL 3, PR 3, FSQ 3, SN 3, set down, switch hands, keep going

20 minutes

ended up doing 6 full sets per arm, then 2 more sets of CL 3 / PR 3 / FSQ 3 (dropped the SN 3)

so that's 24 CL / PR / FSQ and 18 SN per arm in 20 mins

2H SW 20kg, 5

9:30am - Finish

Notes - Nice training session and a great way to start 2016!  Feeling good.  Snatches were tougher than I expected, the bell gets heavier after you have cleaned, pressed, and front squatted before trying to snatch.  Good stuff here though and just what the doctor ordered.