Thursday and Saturday

Thursday was rushed rushed rushed so it was down and dirty to get in the C&P Ladders

No time for pull ups so just the C&P's. 4 ladders with 4 rungs each. then 2 rounds of 20 snatches with the 20KG. Doing more snatch practice.


Santa came and brought some heavy stuff to my house!

So Saturday it was time to play with my new OLY bar and plates.

Dead lifts-
2 warm up sets of 4-5 reps x 135lbs
3 sets of of 2-3 reps x 216lbs

then I tried windsheild wipers w/ 135lbs on the bar. NICE. Next up

Hang cleans- (never done these before, once I got it down a bit)
3 singles to get it down then
3 sets of 5 x 105lbs

I AM SORE! Today is body weight day. Yes yes yall. I've got a dead lifting program from Pavel that I printed out forever ago. It is filed at my office. Gonna get on that next week most likely.

SO sincere

MAN!

Rusty and I FUCKED IT UP at the park. We brought the ruckus...

4 rounds on the fire hose, full body hose slams (see vid below), 30 sec on/30 sec off

then 4 rounds overhead walking lunges w/ 20KG bell (5 a leg)

BACK TO THE HOSE for

2 rounds in-n-out 30 sec on/ 30 sec off and 2 rounds twists 30 sec on/30 sec off

then finish with 4 rounds 20 HARDstyle swings, focus on form, 24KG

I changed how we have been doing the hose and it made all the difference. Instead of keeping my arms tight in, I let them out and used my whole body to move the hose. FUCK ME. After the first round of 30 seconds I thought I might throw up. After the 4th round I really thought I might done with working out for the day. We pushed through though and today I can FEEL how hard we worked.

Recall

Friday was C&P ladders with pull ups

4 ladders with 4 rungs each and corresponding pull ups. 20KG bell. Doing this until I get comfy at 5 ladders with 5 rungs. Then up to the 24KG. I think it's funny now that the pull up portion of this isn't what kills me. I can do way more pull ups than presses- that's kinda cool.

Spent weekend in jail for warrants. LAME. VERY VERY LAME.

Monday I did a thank-God-I'm-Free! workout at the park. All body weight.

2 rounds 20 $ 1 round 10 nekkid warrior push ups with 10-12 second dragon flags in between push up sets. (if you're not doing your push ups nekkid warrior style- u should. they are f-ing hard! cuts my push up # in half.)

4 rounds of 10 ass-heals-hindu push ups w/ 20 bicycles in between push up rounds.

5 sets of 5 dead-hang-slow-grind pull ups with planks F, R, L planks in between rounds and then 2 rounds of alternating leg raises for the last 2 rounds

4 rounds 6 twisting push ups w/ 10 scissor legged crunches in between sets.

I get my oly bar and plates this week. OH SHIT!

4x4

warm up-
5 pull ups
10 nekked warrior push ups
15 air squats

then

4 rounds A and 4 rounds B

A-
20 32KG swings
5R/5L renegade rows

B-
10 24Kg goblet squats
3 R/L 24KG military presses

Set b only got 2 rounds and i can no longer press the 24KG on my left side- AGAIN! fuck the h1n1. I've lost it before. I'll get it back again, just annoyed.

Obviously

I haven't been doing enough body weight drills since I got over the H1N1. I know this b/c my shoulders and lats are so so so SO SORE from those push ups I did Sunday. Must endeavor to do more. Going to add a mandatory body weight day back into training and this year, it is official. I AM getting an olympic bar and plates for xmas. It's gonna be a brave new world. I want to be able to hang-clean more than my body weight eventually.
It's gonna get serious in this bitch in 2010!

Update

Friday-

Another rope workout. This time with shorter breaks.

4 rounds each undulation style. 30 seconds on/30 seconds off

R1
In-n-Out
R2
alternating
R3
horse-reigns


Sunday
Jogging and body weight circuit training

Ran 1 mile (3 laps). Each lap has equal distance points, each point has a body weight drill

Lap 1
A: 20 nekkid warrior push ups B: 10 ass-to-heals hindu push ups C: 6 twisting push ups D: 10 nekkid warrior push ups
Lap 2
A: 30 alternating leg rasies B: 10 scissor kneed sit ups C: 30 SLOW v-ups D: 30 sec each F/R/L planks
Lap 3
A: 10 SLOW nekkid warrior push ups B: 10 SLOW nekkid warrior push ups

I cut back on lap 3 as I wanted longer intervals of jogging on that one.

Did this workout in my silly-goody Vibram 5-toe shoes. I LOVE running in those things. Awesome.

Getting my ribs tattooed again today so no workouts for the next few days.

swings and presses

Thursday was as many rounds as I could do in 20 min doing
20 32KG swings
5 double 20KG military presses

I got 6 rounds. Not too bad. I usually get 7 and I haven't done a workout like this since I got the H1N1. It was also cold as fuck, i.e. 37 degrees. I'll take it.

Getting Hosed by the Hose

this was, in all honesty, my first REAL workout with the fire hose. it KILLED me. turned my arms and shoulders into jelly and made my lungs feel like i was breathing fire.

3 rounds. 4 sets each round of 30 seconds on full intensity, 1 min rest

R1
alternating

Active Rest
2 sets of 10 second dragon flags.

R2
in-n-out

Active Rest
2 sets 10 scissor leg crunches from Bullet Proof Abs

R3
Up-n_down (horse reigns)

After this- destroyed.

Th, Fri and Sat

Thursday...
was leg day. WOBBLES!
wanted 4 rounds- got 3....

20 HARDstyle 32KG swings
10 24KG goblet squats
3R/3L 32KG 1 legged suit case deadlifts
3 10second dragon flags

my dragon flags are getting better!

Friday...
was sluggish. it snowed here in Houston for EIGHT HOURS STRAIGHT! (that doesn't happen often).
wound up GTG with nekkid warrior push ups. total of 80 throughout whole day.

Saturday....
SUPER CRUNK WHAT!?!?!
3 rounds total

round 1
walking pull up drill ladder 1 rep then 2 (hands together, regular, 1Under/1Over, underhand, 1under/1Over, regular- hcanging hand positions at the bottom in a dead hang)
1R/1L 24Kg TGU
5R/5L 32Kg side bends
5 janda sit ups
30 seconds 50' alternating rope undulkations

round 2
2 rep 5 hold chin up drill
1R/1L 24Kg TGU
5R/5L 32Kg side bends
5 janda sit ups
30 second 50' rope undulations

round 3
1-5 chin up ladder. got to 4. 5-rung wasn't happening
5/R/5L 32Kg side bends (TGU's weren't happening)
5 janda sit ups
30 seconds in-and-out 50' rope undulations

finisher
30 seconds 50' rope undulations, all out sprint with 10 second intervals on each style- alternating, regular and in-and-out

SMOKED.

Wed

down and dirty 5x5

24KG snatches (haven't don't these in forever and i could tell)
double 20KG military press.

Recount

Friday-
I got serious and did
1-3 will williams pull up protocol x 5 ladders
4x4 24KG windmills
4x7/8 double 24KG chest presses
and assorted core drills from Bullet Proof Abs (dragon flags, scissor sit ups)

Saturday
5x5 of

24KG Renegade Rows
24KG KB burpees-to-suit-case-dead-lifts

PS: after reading Bulletproof Abs, my dragon flags have gotten almost decent. Expect a video showing some progress soon.

Update and Upkeep

Monday

I ran a mile in my new Vibram 5 Toe shoes. At two points on the track I would stop on do planks- F, R, L.

Got Bullet Proof Abs by Pavel. Like most of his books, once you get past some marketing, the info is amazing. The drills in that book are scary.

Thursday morning was awesome with a 5x5 workout doing

5x5 double 24KG swings
5x5 double 20KG C&P
then a different drill per round from Bulletproof Abs...
shin-to-bar leg raises(not in BPA)
dragonflags
scissor sit ups
Janda sit ups (w/ wife holding my calves, makes a HUGE difference)

Two more in

Saturday I did a little something-something- no big deal. 5x5 double MP's w/ the 20KG's.

Sunday though, was real. Sunday I did

3 sets of of 2 different Rounds.

R1 x 3
20 32KG swings
pull up routine ladder. rep ranges went 1, 2, and 2. 3 wasn't happening
(you cycle through diff pull ups w/o taking hands off bar. you change han positions at the bottom of your pull up so it goes overhand hands together, regular, one under/one over, chin up, one under/one over, regular)

R2 x 3
24KG Renegade Rows 3/3 (could have done more but haven't done these in a while and this is a serious drill I am sore from the 3x3 I did.)
5 KB burpees to suit case dead lift.


On the way back to awesome. Not there yet... But close.

REAL workout #2

Pushed the envelope a little farther Wed and got serious. \
4 rounds this time- YES!

35 seconds rope work (varying modes)
5 double 24KG chest presses
5 strict pull ups
4 R/L 24KG windmills

On as rounds went up I added a rep to the chest presses so by round 4 I was doing 8 reps.

This workout was hard but felt GOOD. Got chest X-Rays back and I don't have pneumonia or anything else. Shortness of breath has just been getting over the H1N1 so I am cleared to push myself back to a full recovery. I can honestly say that after 2 actual workouts, it is already getting easier. It's a brave new world friends!

FINALLY

I put on my big boy pants and did a real work out. I wanted 4 rounds. I got 3, but that's ok b/c I am sore today. Awesome! Haven't been sore in almost a month or maybe even longer.

3 Rounds of

20 32KG swings
5 double 20KG front squats
3R/3L 32KG 1 legged dead lifts
core work (R1= alt leg raises, R2= v-ups, R3= F, R, L planks)

My lungs HATED this. It was hard. I was sucking wind- HARD. Chest X-ray results should be here by Thursday. I am going to keep pushing it and assuming I just need to strengthen my lungs back up until a doctor tells me otherwise.

Today is going to be some rope work (w/ the firehose), some pull ups and some KB chest pressing

Sucking Air

Tuesday I did 5 rounds of
10 24KG swings/ 1 TGU L/R
rest 1 min

Then I jogged a mile. My lungs almost collapsed.

Wed I did body weight day.

3 rounds of

15 naked warrior push ups, 20 v ups, 2rep-5hold chin up drill

Killed me. Chest Xray today. Having no lung power SUCKS.

Upkeep

Friday I did 5 rounds of

10 24KG swings
1 min rest
1 20 KG TGU R/L
1 min rest

Saturday I did 2 rounds
R1
2rep-5hold chin up drill
10 alt leg raises
15 naked warrior push ups
R2
2 rounds 1-3 will williams pull up ladders
30 v-ups
15 naked warrior push ups

Sunday and Monday off. Today I am doing swings and TGU's again

I have been short of breath and these workouts have been hard. I haven't been pushing myself b/c I don't know what is wrong. I went to doc today and got a chest x-ray to make sure I don't have pneumonia. Doc said I most likely don't and it is my lungs taking a hit from the H1N1 and it will take time to recover. If that is in fact the case, I am going to step up workouts a bit and push myself more (not excessively but in a healthy way)and get my lungs back. I will find out tomorrow on the lung situation.

Couldn't Take it Anymore

I worked out yesterday. Nothing too brutal. But I figured that I needed to do something, if for nothing else to try and strengthen my lungs.

I did the filthy 50 minus the burpees so without setting down the 20KG bell
5 rounds of
5 swings L/R
5 snatches L/R
15 seconds rest
45 seconds plank (per round F, L, R, then 30 v ups)

This was only about 45% as bad as I thought it would be. I was fine until I started round 4, then my lungs started to hurt. After round 5, my lungs were really tight. I walked 1/3 of a mile to cool down.

I am going to keep doing workouts like this until I recover. Today will be heavier swings 10 sets of 10 (or 5 sets of 20, not sure) with the 24KG. I'm taking it back.

Tedious Tedium

so i'm still not 100%. don't have a lot of energy. the H1N1 flu kicked my ass hard. all i did last week was rest and eat- A LOT and i still lost two pounds! wtf!?

i did a little workout sunday, 50 push ups, 30 pull ups and 3 rounds of 10-2 twists. haven't done anything else yet b/c i don't really feel up to it yet. i am not happy about this.

This week...

I am about 90% better as of today. I finish my anti-biotics tomorrow afternoon. I have, however, decided to take this week off to fully recuperate. I still feel a little short of breath and think that my body went through a hell of a time fighting off the H1N1 virus.

SOOOOOOOO..... rest this week. Not even 1 pull up. Just resting and eating. Does anyone know how hard this is going to be for me? UGH!!!

The clock starts now...

I'm back... sort of...

Last Friday I did 5 rounds of 10 32KG swings and then 20 seconds on the 50' fire hose. I wanted to do 10 rounds but I was DYING after 5... was pretty bummed about it.

Chalked it up to not a great day and went and walked the dogs. Saturday felt a little snotty but no big deal. Wake up Sunday DESTROYED. I can tell something is wrong. Go to doc first thing Monday morning and I have the H1N1 Flu. YAY!

Today is the first time I have been off my couch for longer than 3 min at a time in 5 days. I have literally been laying down and/or sleeping since Sunday. The Tamilfu that I'm taking dopes me out like a zombie. Even know I feel pretty light headed and ehhhh but that's probably the medicine and being vertical for this long.

No workouts for a while. Probably wont try anything until Monday and even then it might not happen. This swine flu SUCKS.

conditioning day

VWC using 20KG 15/15 for 22 rounds then some jogging to cool down

got a new toy today froma friend- 100' fire hose! YES! expect to see more of that in the future.

Monday

5 rounds of

5 double 24KG swings HARDstyle. really focusing on hip snap and keeping everything tight at the top
5 double 20KG C&P
5 perfect pull ups

1 min rest. Repeat.

I wanted to get 6 or 7 rounds but I stepped up the weight on the swings in this workout and it knocked me down a notch or two. Using hte 32KG with reps of 20 I can get 7 rounds no problem, same goes with double 20KG swings with reps of 10. but the double 24's put some hitch in my giddy-up.

Recap 2

Last week I started getting sick so I backed off. I think that's partially why those cleans killed me.

Friday I did

2 rounds of
30 russian twists with the 20KG
5R/5L 20KG laying down lat presses (drill from an old AoS Mos)
4R/4L 1/2 get ups

then 2 rounds of
30 russian twists with the 20KG
10R/10L 20KG floor presses
4R/4L 1/2 get ups


Sunday to stay loose did
6x5 perfect pull ups
naked warrior push ups
alt leg raises
v-ups
standing elbow-toknee crunches a la newport.

Today I start getting serious again.

Cleans

I took Mon and Tues Off

Yesterday I did heavy cleans

4 rounds of 7R/7L with the 32KG. 1 min break between rounds. This killed me. I was done after that. I tried to do more and wound up dong 30 Russian twists w/ the 20KG and 15R/15L single leg raises a-la Newport but after that I was just smoked. Those cleans wrecked me.

Recap

Saturday-
Body weight with naked warrior push ups, bicycles, ass-to-heals hindu push ups, v ups, twisting push ups, front-left-right-walking planks

Sunday-
LEgs etc with 4 rounds
10 double 24KG swings
30 yards walking lunges
10 30 in box jumps
3R/3L 1-legged 32KG dead lifts.

Afternoon Workout

100 20KG snatches, time 9 min. I suck but it's a start. This about did me in. Cooled down with good morning stretches.

Small tear in my left hand.

Tomorrow is body weight day.

Help, Advice etc Wanted

Alright online folks. The RKC is coming up in April and I want to go this time around. I KNOW I am not ready for it and that knowledge comes from my difficulties really conquering the 24KG bell.

My question is, what's the best way to get over it? Should I just use it, no matter how low my work load drops until it stops being heavy? I really am not sure how to tackle this problem.

Have I made progress with it from a year ago? Yes I have.

Am I proficient with it? No I am not.

There is NO WAY I can pass the snatch test with that weight. It isn't a mental thing. It's a physical conditioning thing.

How to I conquer this obstacle.

I need a plan and I am not sure how to construct one.

Thanks.

Resolution II FAIL

Resolution II- sort of...

Did round 1 and 2 set of round 2

Round 1
20KG 1-3 C&P ladders x 5
5 pull ups
3R/3L 32KG 1 legged dead lifts

Got to round 2. Did set 1 of C & P, that video of it below, I mixed it up and did double instead of single. Did set 2, was hard. Set 3 I was done, got one rep out on each side.

I did 4 rounds though of the rest of the WO doing 3 more rounds of pull ups and 1 legged dead lifts

Fuck this

Lunch is for pussies. I'm going home and I'm going to put on Bad Religion's "Recipe for Hate" and I am going to destroy myself.

I took yesterday off b/c I didn't get home from office until 7PM and it was a BRUTAL day and I was sore enough from Sunday to not feel lazy. Today though- all bets are off, fuckers.

Recap

Thurs-
Was too sore from leg day wed to do anything. So I rested.

Fri-
Wound up working until 4 am Thursday nite- woke up at 8:30 to go to office. No workout Friday, not enough juice, would have been a bad idea.

Saturday-
Intervals! 5 min mobility warm up THEN-
10 min of 15 sec work/15 sec rest 20 KG snatches (alt L & R for work rounds)
4 min cool down of stretching and 3 rounds of 4R/4L 24KG windmills
10 min of 15 sec work/15 sec rest 32KG swings
4 min col down of stretching and 3 rounds 5L/5R 32KG side bends

Sunday-
BODY WEIGHT! Me and gravity
4 rounds of 3 shin-to-bar leg raises ( i'm working in descending these slower and really grinding them)

3 rounds alternating between 15 naked warrior push ups and 15 bicycles
3 rounds alternating between 10 ass-to-heals hindu push ups and 20 v-ups
4 rounds alternating between 10 twisting push ups and 1 min F, L, & R planks
1 1-3 pull up ladder will william's style. i only did one. i was done. the full pull up protocol was a bad idea.

Leg Wrecker

My entire lower body is pissed.

4 rounds of 5 double 24KG swings- Hardstyle, bells at chin height (I'm just excited I can get that much weight that high)

Then 4 rounds of

3R/3L 32Kg 1 legged dead lifts
25 yards walking lunges
5 double 20KG front squats
25 yard walking lunges back to 32KG bell

Then 4 rounds 10 box jumps onto picnic table.

ME=TOAST.

short

heavy C&P ladders along with will williams pull up protocol.
3 rounds of 3 rung ladders using the 24KG. the pull up protocol seems to be working if for no other reason that now when I am pulling myself up, the top part of my chest is clearing above the bar instead of just my throat. I was pretty surprised on that myself.

after wards did 30 bicycles, 30 v ups, 1 min front, left and right plank.

Friday

was bad. did 4 rounds of 3 shin-to-bar leg raises with slow, grinding descents.
then 5 rounds of 20 hard style swings, getting bell up to chin level
then the will williams pull up protocol. swings destroyed me. had no energy. took all weekend off minus a bike ride.

going to hit it hard today after my weekend of recovering.

Will Williams Pull Up Increase Protocol

The link I mentioned that Sandy Sommer posted on Facebook is as can be found here-

http://www.kettlebellandstrength.com/articles/2009/9/14/pull-up-programming-beyond-your-one-set-max.html

Check it out! Also, thanks to Dom for posting the link as a comment.

Get out there and fight gravity.

gravity gains

yesterday was BW day.

3 pull up ladders on new rep increase protocol*

4 sets of 3 shin-to-bar leg raises then

10 naked warrior push ups
15 bicycles
10 naked warrior push ups
15 bicycles

10 ass-to-heals hindu push ups
15 v ups
10 ass-to-heals-push ups
15 v ups

2 sets 6 twisting push ups

1 min front plank
5 alt plank push ups a la AOS newport
1 min right plank
5 alt plank push ups a la AOS newport
1 min left plank
5 alt plank push ups a la newport

*new protocol I'm on I read on Sandy Sommer's, RKC facebook post. All pull ups are done from a dead hang, full rep range with top of pull up being throat at bar.
1 rep: rest 30 seconds
2 reps: rest 45 seconds
3 reps: rest 1:30

that is ladder 1. repeat 3 times. when adding the fourth ladder, the rest time increases. i will find link and post it. i thought it looked pretty good and i'm going to give it a shot.

Tear the Roof Off...

Jonathan came over yesterday and wanted to do something short but intense. We succeeded in that by doing 5 rounds of the following with 90 seconds rest between rounds. I used to the 20Kg bells and he used the 24KG bells.

3 double swings into 3 double snatches into 3 thrusters** then drop bells and do 50 yard sprint. Walk back 50 yards to bells as rest.

This was brutal. The sprints after those thrusters was WOW. Get some.



**(Thrusters are with KB locked out overhead, descend to rack on way down to squat, from rock bottom of squat explode back up into a MP press and end with bells in overhead locked out position)

"All Fucked Up"

"Well as of late I think I've tripped and gone astray
Maybe I'm no good
Somewhere along the line I've lost my way in life
Maybe I'm no good
Waiting for a better way, waiting for the better days
I've gotta stop pissing my life away
But I can't find any shelter, maybe I'm lost forever
Maybe there's no way out
Not everybody grows up the same
Some have to deal with oppression and rage
When you know you know you've got no way out
you find a way to deal with the pain
It started as a casual fling, I'd take a drink
and everything would seem alright
But now I know I've go no way out 'cause this addiction is with me for life
I used to drink from the bottle, but now the bottle seems to drink from me
Lately when I look in the mirror it's a stranger staring back I see
I tried to find the answer at the end of a bottle while inside I was crying
but I kept on trying
you can't hurt something that's already broken
I've fought the world but now my will is gone
(crash and burn- when will I ever learn)
I've got to stop living my life all fucked up
But I just can't seem to get it right because I'm all fucked up
'Cause I've been living, living my life, living my life all fucked up
For years
I look around and see what's going down, and it's all fucked up
I gotta get out
I gotta get away
Maybe it's too late
Maybe I'm fucked"
- Blood for Blood 'All Fucked Up'

Toasty

4 rounds of 3 reps shins-to-bar leg raises for warm up, controlling grind on way down

then 4 rounds of 5R/L chest presses and 5R/5L single leg dead lifts with the 24KG. no breaks and concentrating on total body tension- that makes a huge difference!

finished with 6 rounds of 5R/5L 20Kg snatches and 5 pull ups, 1 min break between rounds.

felt toasted.

Thursday

Thursday Jonthan and I did hte swing, press, pull up workout again.

This time we did double swings and cut the reps in half. As many rounds as we could in 20 min.

I used double 20KG's.

10 swings and on 10th rep clean to rack, 5 double MP's then 5 pull ups. Then every round on the pull ups we alternated grips between overhand and underhand.

My legs are dead today- btw from those double swings. Half-ed the reps on the swings but the 30% increase on weight fucked my legs up!

PWT/FTW

yep yep. fuck the world. so instead of doing dumb shit- i run sprints.

6 rounds, 1 min break in between

65 yard sprints/10 20KG snatches, 10 yard walk
65 yard sprints/10 20 KG snatches

round 5 there was no sprinting, fast jogging. round 6 i dug deep and, while not a sprint like round 1, it was definitely a faster jogging.

Staying loose on Monday

So sore from Fri and Sun workouts. Had to do something Monday to stave off the wedding diet destruction and make myself feel better.

Body weight core drills.

4 rounds of 3 reps shins-to-the-bar hanging leg raises (i need to get video of these to see if i am doing them right)
then
2 rounds of
10 naked warrior push ups/ 15 coach maxwell approved bicyces
then
2 rounds of
5 hindu push ups w/ hip flexor stretches/15 coach maxwell approved v-ups
then
1 min front plank/ 5 alternating plank push ups a la Newport
1 min R side plank/ 5 alternating plank push ups a la Newport
1 min L side plank/ 5 alternating plank push ups a la Newport

finish with 2 rounds 5 rep L/R side bends with 32KG bell.

felt nice and clean.

Jello Shots

I named this workout Jello Shots because, well, it turned my entire body into Jello.

6 rounds total. 3 rounds of group A and then 3 rounds of group B

Group A

35 yards kimodo walk to 5 double 24KG swings
35 yards walking lunges to 5 see saw presses w/ 20KG's

Group B
5 KB burpees to double 24KG DL's
walk 35 yards to other bells and 5 double 20KG snatches

I wanted to do something ballistic to and from the kettle bells in group B but it wasn't happening. I had to walk. I took strict 1 min break between rounds. Get some.

Fuck Yea Friday

I constructed a workout with my friend Jen Bryan, RKC via google chat. I went home and did it. It was HARD.

4 rounds

5 double 24KG KB swings into
5 double 24KG front squats (i only got 3)
6 super burpees (burpee into a pull up, i alternated these reps, 1 overhand, 1 underhand)

This sucked. Hard. I took video of round 4. I will put it up soon.

Destruction commences...

in about 2 hours. I cannot wait. I am going to eat today's work out like I crash landed on a plane with it in the Andes and we are out of food.

Circuits

3 rounds

20 24KG swings
5L/5R renegade rows with push up in between each row
4R/4L 24KG windmills
3-4 double 24Kg cleans
then bicycles for R1, v ups for R2 and 1 min front, L, R planks for R3

Yes yes yall

Jonathan came over and we got serious.

We did 20 min of the following

20 swings
5 double military presses
5 pull ups

We alternated to keep a good pace. I would start my swings when Jonathan got to pull ups. We were also using some of same weights. Jonathan is a monster of a man so he was singing 32KG and pressing with the 24KGs. I was swinging the 24KG and pressing with the 20Kgs.

We got through 6 rounds in 20 min. I could have done 7, I had a 1.5 min left after round 6 and I could have blazed through one more round, running from one drill right into the next but I decided to keep it in the bank for today.

The workout felt great. Presses were strong. Pull ups even stronger. I am thinking about doing my Navy Seal Fit Deck today as I haven't done it in a while and I am of the opinon that pull ups have improved. The NSFD will be a good base line for that as that damn workout is almost ALL pull up drills. We shall see.

Body Weight

Warm up with 2 rounds of 3 shin-tp-bar leg raises

then

3 rounds of

15 naked-warrior push ups
30 bicycles
jog 30 yards
6 ass-to-heals hindu push ups
20 slow v ups
jog 30 yards
6 twisting push ups
10 janda sit ups
jog 30 yards
3R/3l single leg deck squats + 2 regular deck squats

on round 2 i did different core drills

1 min front plank, 1 min left side plank 1 min right side plank

and round 3 was just the push ups and jogging, no core drills.

finished off with 24KG bent press singles 5 a side and 3 rounds of 5 rep windmills on both sides.

a bit hodgepodge'd but fun and good nonetheless.

HOT

This summer is the hottest we have had in 11 years. It is killing me. Yesterday's workout was good but if it was about 15 degrees cooler I could have done maybe twice as much in about 1/2 the time.

I did
32KG 10 swing/1-5 burpee ladder

then 5 rounds of
5 see saw presses w/ 20KGs
5R/5L side bends with 32 KG

After this I was pouring sweat, literally it was dripping from every part of my body- fingernails included.

As soon as the high gets to something reasonable, like 85 degrees (as opposed to feeling 1ike 106-112 with the heat index) I am assaulting my body.

LAZY

only worked out once this week. Pathetic. Going home early today to get back on my game. Today, tomorrow and Sunday are all on-days now.

Who wants to donate to the cause and by me some rope to play with? I will also trade. I've got an 1050lb tractor tire I'll trade for some ropes and/or a 300lb Olympic set. If you're in Houston and reading this, get at me.

Short but hard

Hand is all fucked up from Sunday so Monday off. yesterday tried to use bells- wasn't happening yet. I was exhausted emotionally and physically and it was hot as hell but i made myself do something-

went to the monkey bars at the park and did

4 rounds of shins-to-the-bar leg raises (reps of 4)and pull ups.
R1= corn cob pull ups
R2= regular pull ups
R3= 2-rep-5-hold drill chin ups
R4= staggered grip pull ups both sides

my core is really really sore.those shin-to-the-bar leg raises are H.A.R.D.

DROP and give me 50!

Filthy 50 revisit time, only this time w/ the 24KG.

PROGRESS ladies and gentlemen. I did the filthy 50 yesterday. Haven't done it in a while. I had been suing the 20KG for it b/c the 24KG was just too much on the snatches for me ( i know i know, that's pathetic but true). Yesterday I used the 24KG and I ate it's lunch. I haven't swung a 24KG in over a month and half, all I have been using is the 32KG and comparatively, the 24KG is nothing. Swings were cheese, the snatches were a lot better too. The burpees got a little old by the 4th round but were still doable.

I was pouring sweat by the time I was done and I am really sore today. That workout doesn't look like much on paper and I know there are people who use it for a warm up but it smokes me at that weight. I also COMPLELETY ripped off my callous on the left hand during last round of snatches and now have a HUGE hole in my hand. I have to get to an RKC and work on my snatch grip. Anytime I do more than a handful of snatches with the 24KG my hands get torn to hell.

PS: the Filthy 50 =
5 rounds with 30 sec-1min rest in between
(w/o setting down the bell)
5R/5L swings
5R/5L snatches
10 burpees

Just me and Gravity

Absolutely didn't want to work out today but I pushed through anyway and did 4 rounds of the following

Push up complex (as seen below)
3R/3L single leg deck squats + 2 reg deck squats
2rep-5hold chin up drill
core work (R1= adv bicycles, R2=1 min F,L,R planks, R=3 Vups, R4=shins-to-bar leg raises)

This was fucking hard. By round 4 I only got 1 single leg DS on each leg before switching to regular 2 legged DS's- brutal.

Grip

new record w/32KG bell=

210 swings, less than 12 min.

me = totally fucked. hands, forearms, wrists = totally wrecked. other muscles got recruited to hold bell as hands failed. other places are sore. traps, lats, neck.

today will be body weight awesomeness and maybe some TGU's.

1. i really really really want some ropes to play with
2. i really really really want a punching bag again

but...
3. i am so broke, i'm not even broke i'm brok_; i cannot afford the vowel.

Magic Monday's

Jonathan and I did 3 rounds of the following

24KG 1-3 C&P + pull up ladders
push up complex (10reg-5ass2heals-5twisting0
core (R1=30 bicycles, R2=20 v ups, 10 toes-to-fingers, R3= 30 bicycles)


The 3rd rounds of this got REAL- as in really difficult. Today we swing.

Friday FAIL

Did a circuit before I left town for work. Wanted 4 rounds. Got 2. Only go 2 because guy at park started talking to me about bells and then it started raining and I just didn't have ti in me to keep going in rain (and I was tired and punked out)

Circuit went like this

32KG (w/o putting bell down) 10 swings-to-2 goblet squats x 3
1-5 pull up ladder
5 R/L 32KG side bends
5 R/5L 24KG snatched
5R/5L 24KG windmills

This was hard.

Brutal Circuit and Equipment Failure

Did a MEAN circuit yesterday. 3 rounds of the following

push up complex (10 regular, 5 ass-to-heals hindu, 5 twisting)
core work (R1= bicycles, R2=v-ups, R3= front-right-left planks)
2rep-5hold chin up drill
2 double 24KG man-makers
5R/5L renegade rows.

On last rep of the 24KG man maker the bells were not going above my ears so I dropped the bells and stepped back. When the 24KG ADER hit the ground that fucker BROKE! The handle fell right off! WTF! NOT COOL. Not just because I am out a bell, but because that bastard could have broken over my head. 53lbs of solid steel falling on my noggin sounds like a bad time.

Side note, those twisting push ups are brutal on the shoulders and my biceps are destroyed from the 2rep/5hold chin up drills. You don't need sissy-primadonna-curl exercises; two words: CHIN UPS.

Breaking Barriers

Yesterday i did it- after a week off from the ETK protocol due to being sick and then not wanting to push myself too hard after getting well- I did week 3 again with the 32KG, doign sets of 30 swings.

This time I did it, I broke the 6 set barrier and managed 7 sets in 12 min. My hands were totally fucked for the last 2.5 sets. I was actually screaming my way through finishing. I can say with all honesty that 8 sets is definitely going to be the max I can do in this time frame with this weight. I cut very little corners yesterday, maybe taking an extra 20-30 seconds total of unapproved rest time. I am going to do this for this week and next week then move on to the ever ugly sets of 40- YIKES!

Keeping Loose

To say loose and work out some kinks, Sunday I did:
4 rounds of 15 push ups using naked warrior principles- max tension everywhere.
30 v-ups
4 rounds ass-to-heels hindu pushups
1 min planks

2 sets 5 toes-to-bar leg raises. I didn't even know I could do these- I've never tried them and I just sort of did itby accident. I plan on doing a lot more of these in the near future.

FUBAR

shaking. can't type well. 108 outside with heat index. destroyed from earlier in the week.

3 rounds 30 swings w/ 32KG (1 min rest between rounds)
steve-maxwell-pull-up-protocol = 2, 5 sec 1/4 hold, 2, 5 sec 90 degree hold, 2 5 sec top position hold, 2. all reps done from dead hang.

repeat twice.

all systems totally fucked.


ps- tore left palm wide-the-hell-open. yes!

Sleepy Work Out

Was so sore from Mon and Tues that I took off Wed to rest. Wound up sleeping only 4 hours Wed nite (insomnia what?!)so when I got home yesterday I passed out for 3 hours. When I woke up I made myself do something. I did

5x10 24KG snatches (these are hard for me, real hard)
5x5 twisting/crescent push ups
5x10 secs hanging planks (don't know what to call them, apparently Coach Maxwell and Bruce Lee call them 'Dragon Flags', see pic below) on picnic tables

I've been trying to these hanging plank things for a while and while I'm getting closer, I'm still not there. Pic below of Coach Steve Maxwell doing one impeccably.

Luscious Legs (in the making...?)

Decided C&P + Pull up Ladders were not a good idea due to soreness in shoulders from the pull up dril yesterday. Opted to kill my legs instead.

5x5 double 24KG KB front squats

I did this right. Whole 5 sets of 5 took a little over 15 min. Did my set then rested and waited to get to the next one. It honestly made it harder. This was also the first time I got through all 5 sets of 5 with gas still in the tank and did the squats strong (thank you Naked Warrior principles).

Then I wanted to do 4 rounds of alternating
20 32KG swings (focusing on heighth and tension
and
5R/5L 24KG renegade rows.

I got 2 rounds of that and then 10 more swings and I had to call it quits. My thighs and hamstrings were fucking dead and my core wasn't doing too much better.

Hot as hell, sweated my ass off, and feel good about getting destroyed and no being able to finish because my will didn't tap out- my physiology did.

Monday Makeover

Got back into things yesterday with 4 rounds of a body weight session that was pretty fun and/or hard. I think part of the difficulty came from still being a little sick and it was 104-106 degrees outside with the heat index.

I found some shade and did the following

Push Up Complex
(10 strict-form push ups into 5 ass-to-heel hindu push ups into 5 twisting push ups)
Core work
(R1= 15 single leg raises a la Newport, R2= 3 sets 10-2 descending twists a la Newport, R3= 20 v-ups, R4= 30 sec each Front, L, R planks)
3R/3L single leg deck squats + 2 more regular deck squats
jog to pull up bars
Pull up drill from Coach Maxwells Blog listed on previous entry.


This was hard. The pull ups I did R1 & 2 underhand, R3 overhand, & R4 underhand. I did not do the full protocol which calls for a 10 second hang. I am not there yet. I did 5 second hangs and that was plenty.

Today will be C&P + pull up ladders with the 20KG, focusing on Naked Warrior tension principles and maybe some 24KG snatch practice.

Been Sick

I get sick too often. I think it's because I'm so stressed all the time. That's my answer at least. Got sick Wed last week and haven't been able to work out since.

I am easing back into it today with a fun fun fun body weight drill day. I can't wait to get home and change out of my monkey suit outfit and into some shorts, tennis shoes, t shirt and my serious face.

Read about a pull up drill on Coach Maxwell's blog that was pretty freaking cool- I am going to give it a go today along with some other things.

You can read about this cool pull up drill here- http://maxwellsc.blogspot.com/2009/06/coachs-great-teutonic-adventure.html

It's in the last paragraph and that's what the videos are of.

Tag Team

Jonathan came over yesterday and we got fucking serious as a heart attack.

We did 6 rounds tag teaming it. One of us would do 32KG swings while other did core drills with 24KG. It looked like this.

(the 24KG exercise #ers are mine, not Jonathan's)
30 swings
2R/2L bent press
30 swings
10 fig82H
30 swings
10R/10L rows
30 swings
5R/5L windmills
30 swings
30 sec front, R, L planks
30 swings
20 pull ups

The 20 pull up finisher was the REAL DEAL. Made the experience oh-so-much-harder and really felt it afterward.

So Fucking Hot!

And no I'm not talking about my lovely wife. I am talking about the weather. Good God!

I make it a point to workout outside whenever possible. I got out this morning early-ish around 10am to get it done without having a heat stroke- that was misplaced logic.

I had planned 4 rounds of A and 4 rounds of B going all the way through A and then B.

Didn't happen. I don't quit often and when it do it really stings me but today I quit. I did 4 rounds of A and 2.5 rounds of B. Then i had to go in. I literally thought my insides were cooking.

A:
5 strict coach Maxwell push ups, 5 leg-loaded Hindu push ups (see Steve Maxwell's 300 BW challenge DVD) 5 twisting/crescent push ups. these were done straight through each other, no break up off the deck. javascript:void(0)
8 R/L side bends with the 32KG

B:
3R/3L single leg deck squats then 2 more regular deck squats
5R/5L 24KG snatches

I got 2 full rounds of B and the 1 more round of deck squats and I had to quit.

Pressure

Read the Naked Warrior. Working on full body tension and pressure in abdomen. Did 1-5 pressing ladder yesterday with pull ups.

Did it with the 20KG. I can usually do 5 ladders w/ 5 rungs each. Yesterday I think I FINALLY started to really understand the dynamics using the Naked Warrior principles. The bell really did seem to go up on its own. However, the rest of my body wasn't ready for that stress. I got through 3 ladders of 5 rungs and was sweating bullets and my legs couldn't take any more. They are sore sore sore today and so is my deep, inner core. AWESOME! I love it.

Movin on Up

Stepped up to sets of 30 swings in ETK yesterday. Still using the 32KG. I made it through 6 sets and then 1 set of 20 for a total of 200 reps in 12 min. That's about 50-60 more than I have been doing in the sets of 20.

Exactly what I thought would happen did- my forearms and wrists gave out before my legs or my lungs did. My legs and my lungs felt it a little more but my forearms and wrists were on FIRE after set 3. I didn't do the active rests in between sets. Instead I paced around and stretched out my wrists and hands. I took about 30 seconds total more rest than what is called for in the protocol- mostly to let my arms/wrists recharge. That's going to be a long battle getting them used to that.

Gonna keep it going, next time for this week I am shooting for 7-8 and next week 8-9. The first time I can hit 8 twice in a row I move to sets of 40. ICK!

Din Da Da....

Saturday I did heavy

4 rounds of

5R/5L 32Kg cleans
3R/3L 24KG presses (fuck u, these are still heavy for me)
6R/6L 32KG send bends
3R/3L 32KG windmills

this was HARD.

after round 4 I did 1-5 pull up ladder focusing on *perfect* form. this made this much harder. i can usually crank out 30 pretty easy. this 15 hurt.

got back from vegas today. was there for work. need rest then i am attacking this week w/ puritanical fire.

So much for Next Modnay

Went home today and tried a workout I saw on the AoS forums that Ms. Denise-the-machine-Degracia did. This woman is 56(or 54? Sorry Denise) and weighs 124lbs and did 300 swings w/ the 32KG in less than 30 min.

I decided to try the same. Today on my porch in blazing sun I got 300 swings in 28 min and it was fucking awful. I am still shaking in my legs about 2 hours later.

Get some.

Update

My foot definitely isn't broken. Feel much better today. Should be back to the bells Monday next week at the latest. Taking time this week to read the Naked Warrior by Pavel and practice my body weight drills.

Just when you're getting ahead....

FUCK. I set the 32KG down on the top of my foot yesterday, rather hard. Didn't drop it, per se but I am about 90% positive I broke my fucking foot... dammit!

I can't really walk on it too well and wearing shoes sucks. I can still workout but no swings and no TGU's.

It's going to be get-up sit ups, seated and hanging ab work, pull ups, one footed push ups, floor presses, seated presses, russian twists and I think that's all I can do. If you can think of any other bell exercises that I can do without standing on my right foot, I would appreciate it.

Just got done...

ETK again with the 32KG. Did 8 full sets in 12 min. It is time to move to week 2. My forearms are NOT excited at all about this. I am predicting my grip going out before anything else when I move to the sets of 30.

Problems

Wed was a scheduled rest day. Didn't workout Thursday b/c I was sick all day. Friday drove to Austin so wife could get ready for oral exam for her licensure as a clinical psychologist in the State of TX.

Dropped her off Saturday morning then went and met up with Nia Kelly in Austin to workout out at her gym. It was great to see her and her new set up- its read and I'm jealous. She had an AoS rope that I have been dying to try. I got on it and it fucked me up royally. I wanted to do some other drills but the rope really took it out on me.

I am getting a rope this week. I cannot wait to use it. Today is ETK again.

Sandy Sommer, RKC mentioned to me that the snatch test has changed and based on the new protocol I feel bit better towards actually completing it. I have a LONG way to train towards it but it seems more realistic to me now.

Cold & Dead

Gains after the day after workout hell

Monday I hot home and got serious on ETK.

I might not have felt strong at all Sunday and the WO I did felt like a war even though it was only supposed to be a training exercise BUT- yesterday I beat my reps again in the 12 min. Every time I do the protocol with the 32KG I improve.

This time I got 8 full rounds of 20 swings and 1 min active rest and 1 more round of swings for a total of 180 swings and 8 min of active rest. As per the ETK protocol, I think that I am getting close to the max amount of work I can do in that time frame with 20 swings. I am going to do it again this week and if I stay at 9 sets of swings twice in a row I am strongly considering moving up to to week II and sets of 30.

Today is TGU day. After the 5 min round I am going to do some pull ups and leg raises. I will probably take some video of my new idea on mixing the two that I did last week (which is what I am pretty sure got my mid-section sooooooooo sore.

Lots of Updates

Last weeks run down-

Wed= OFF

Thursday= push ups @ job #2, lots of them

Friday= Impromptu park workout while at job#2.
Done twice through
5 pull ups w/ leg raises after each rep, 4 pull ups w/ knee raises after each rep, 3 super burpees, 2 L-seat pull ups, 1 pull up 15 bicycles, 30 leg raises

Saturday-
hindu push ups
hindu push ups w/ leg drop variation
twisting push ups (aka half-moon pushups)
not sure on # but i think this is what got my midsection SUPER sore.

Sunday-
This was FUCKING HARD. everything felt really really heavy. thought i was going to die. was just supposed to be a little loosen-the-muscles deal. turned into a war to get it done.
3 rounds of
32KG windmills 2R/2L
32 KG bent over rows 3R/3L (round 3 did 4 per side)
24KG TUG's 2R/2L

My body wasn't feeling it and I had to do something so I did this. I knew it was going to be not fun but I wasn't ready for it to be a battle to the death to make it through. It was 107 degrees outside but I was in the shade so it was only like 100 or so. Still, this humbled me.

I got off schedule this week w/ ETK but w/ job #2 I worked almost 96 hours this week!!!! Fuck that noise. I quit. So no more job #2 which means I can get back on a SERIOUS workout schedule where I get no excuses. To be honest I am proud of myself that I was able to dedicate as much time as I was while working job #2.

Expect awesomeness in hte near future.

PS: I talked with someone from the AoS forum who lives here in town who is a beast and gives me more credit than I deserve. He is going to start training for the RKC which is something I have wanted to do forever. I asked him if he wanted a training partner and he seemed excited about the prospect so I am going to go for it! The only thing that REALLY scares me is that damned snatch test. I could eat it alive with the 20KG. But Pavel doesn't adjust for weight so I have to use the 24KG for the test even though I weigh 145lbs. Sure my reps go down but still.... There is no way, right now, that I can snatch that fucker 38 times total. Getting to that # is going to be hard hard hard work.

Monday and Tuesday- MOVING ON UP

Monday-

ETK swing day. Did it with 32KG. It was only 106 degrees outside. I got in 8 rounds of swing and 7 rounds of active rests so almost 8 full rounds in 12 min. That is 1 round of swings better than last week.

Tuesday-
ETK TGU day. I attacked this w/ a vengance. Yesterday was brutal. Job #1 is trying to kick my ass. I had to take a break, go home, and workout to get my head back on straight. TGU's got it done.
Using the 24KG got 7R/6L- that is one total rep better than last time I did TGU day.

I am pretty excited about the progress I am making. I am suprised at how fast it is coming. That makes me think I was playing around for a little too long and the arrival of the 32KG showed me how much more I could have been doing....

Today will be playtime with the 32KG and some super burpee's (super burpee = burpee+pull up)

GET UP YA SONOFABITCH!...

'cuz Mikey loves ya!

Woke up in AM and did 10 pull ups (I've been doing 30 pull ups every saturday morning before I go to job #2 but this Saturday I only got 10)

While at job #2 I did 100 hindu squats and 12 assisted pistols per leg.

When I got home I did not sit down but instead went straight out to the park for ETK.
IT was 5 min of TGU singles with the 24KG. Got 1 more per side this time than I did on Tuesday so 6R/6L in 5 min.

I attacked this like it killed me my mom. Felt DEAD afterwards

ETK heavy style W1D4

Did ETK program min again yesterday afternoon.

Got 1 more round of swings in this time using the 32KG.

Gonna keep at it. Felt strong, that makes me happy.

ETK W1D2

Did day 2 this afternoon.

After the warmup tried the TGU w/ the 32KG. I got 1 on the right side and ZERO on the left. So I decided to use the 24KG.

In 5 min I did 5R/5L TGU's. They were clean. I took my time and used good form. If I got sloppy could have cranked in 1 more on each side.

I tried doing ETK 2-3 years ago w/ the 24KG on the TGU's and got 3R/2L so I would say this is progress considering I am about 12-15 pounds lighter this time around.

Finished up w/ 3 rounds of
10 leg raises into 20 bicycles (10R/10L) into 10 v-ups.

Felt good and strong!

Redo

I decided to redo ETK with the 32KG.

Yesterday I did W1D1. Got through 7 rounds of 20 swings w/ the active rests in 12 min. Not too bad. I was expecting worse.

Today as per the protocol is TGU day. I am going to try the 32KG but I would say there is a good chance that it wont happen. If it doesn't I will either do 1/2 get ups or use the 24KG for the TGU's this time.

This is gonna be fun.

The Rundown- Weekend Wrap Up Edition

Friday-

Got home early and grabbed the 32KG to get in a workout before job #2. Went to the park to do 1-10 swing and burpee ladders but this time with the super-burpee (add a pull up in after the jump). I got to round round 5 (total of 50 swings and 15 super-burpees) and I had to stop. It was 108 degrees outside and I couldn't go on. Later that night at job #2 I did 200 push ups and some bicycles.

Saturday-
At job #2 did 100 push ups and 100 hindu squats

Sunday-
Clean and press + pull up ladders w/ the 24KG
3 ladders w/ 3 rungs each.
I did this pretty much as soon as I woke up b/c of Father's Day obligations. I hate working out in the morning. I suck at it. My body doesn't want to work so heavy C&P at the time was aweful but I got it done.

Ladders

Jonathan came over. I introduced him to ym new friends- the 32KG comp bell and the BTB.

We did C&P ladders w/ pull ups.

I used the 24KG and he used the 32KG.

3 rounds of 3 ladders
1R/1L/1PU - 3R/3L/3PU

Did bycicles and planks between rounds.

I am excited because I could not have done that previously w/ the 24KG as pressing that bitch has been the bane of my existence forever. After palying with the 32KG, it feels lighter.

Proving It

Two videos
1. I did it. I can snatch the 32KG on my right side, haven't tried left yet. But I did it on the right. that is 2.5 lbs shy of 1/2 of my body weight.



2. 32KG circuit below. Did 4 rounds of these 5 excercises- swings, bent over rows, windmills, floor presses, side bends.

ugh

didn't do shit sunday or yesterday.

i did however, workout at job #2 all night Friday and all day/night saturday

Friday night-
GTG w/ 24KG C&P. lost count but over about 8 hours I did somewhere between 25-35. I'm good with that b/c its more than I could do w/ that weight on that drill in a given session.

Saturday/night
total of about 100-130 swings w/ the 32KG
20R/L bent over rows
a handful of windmills and some between the leg passes.

that fucker is still heavy with a capital H.

i plan on playing with the 32KG again today.

God said to Abraham "kill me a son"
Abe said "man you must be puttin me on"
God said "no",
Abe said "what?"
God say "you can do what you wanna but the next time you see me comin you better run..."
Well Abe said "where dyou want this killin done?"
God said "out on highway 61"

My New Friend

Is orange and weighs 32KG. That is 2.5 pounds away from being 1/2 of my body weight.

My competition bell was dropped off to my porch yesterday from someone off of the AoS forum and I got one hell of a deal on it.

I got home from work at 8:30 last nite and despite having had a cocktail earlier at a meeting, I had to play with it.

Changed clothes, went outside.

Upon picking it up to go to the park I realized- "wow, this thing is heavy".

It is officially the heaviest bell I have ever used. I was a little nervous about it b/c I wasn't sure what I could do with it. Instead of trying a 'workout', I just played with it. It was so much fun!! Very different doing that much weight. Dynamics totally different.

I wound up doing
3 rounds of 10 swings
3 rounds of 3 windmills R/L
3 rounds of slingshots
3 rounds of btwn the leg passes
3 rounds of 3 cleans R/L
2 rounds of 3 push presses R/L
2 rounds of single rack squats R/L (HARD)
3 rounds of 3 bent over rows R/L
3 rounds of 5 side bends R/L

Then I TRIED to snatch it- not even close. Maybe fresh I would get closer but I dont think I can.

I am going to go old school with this weight and my 24KG. I am going to start doing pressing ladders again with my 24KG. they will be small but I can get 3-5 reps a side with it and that's way more than I could do last year at this time. I can do enoguh with the 24KG to start laddering my pressing.

With the 32Kg its going to be all swings and TGU's.

I will reforge myself born-again-hard with this weight.

By this time next year I want to be doing double 32KG drills. That will be damn near 100% of my bodyweight with bells.

BTB is TFA!

got out the Bulgarian Training Bag again (BTB) and my 24KG bell.

Did 4 rounds of the following circuit

Pick up BTB and without putting it down- 3 around the torso revolutions, 5 swings btwn the legs up and over behind back, 5 jumping squats, jog over to pull up bar, 1 weighted pull up, jog back to bells. Drop BTB, 5R/5L chest presses, 4R/4L windmills.

1 min break

Repeat.

Finished off walking 1/3 mile alternating between bag resting on my shoulders and locked out above my head in both hands. Back, arms, shoulders were on fire!

That bag is the devil. I am SORE all over. Look at the video a few posts back and make one. It really fun to use and it WILL rearrange your world.

FINALLY!

FINALLY got through the 8-rounds-in-30-min-barrier I have had on AoS Resolution I.

as many rounds in 30 min as you can of
30 swings
5 double military presses

sounds easy. nope. i have not been able to get passed 8 rounds for about 1.5 months now. i've been using the 24KG for the swings and 20KG's for the double MP's.

Today I FINALLY got 9 rounds in, finally. When I get to 10 rounds, I will move on to Resolution II (which I've done here and there but have decided to back off until I can get 10 rounds on Res I at least twice in a row).

That workout hurts.

Carrying the Weight...

So yesterday I came up with this idea to incorporate my new toy- th ehomade bulgarian sand bag (BSB) into my workout without repeating the drills I did yesterday.

I did the following
4 rounds alteranting between these two drills

R1- BSB around neck approx 35lbs, suitcase DL two 24KG bells into farmers carry for 30 yards, set down, 10 squats, suitase DL farmers carry 35 yards, 5 R/L lunges, suitcase deadlift to farmers carry 35 yards set down 10 squats, suitcase deadlift to farmers carry 30 yards to finsih. takes approx 3-4min.

R2- rack walk two 24KG bells 30 yards, 1 min front plank, rack walks bells 35 yards, 30 v-up crunches, rack walk 35 yards, 30 seconds R side plank, 30 second L side plank, rack walk to finish.

I repeated R1 & R2 twice. Then I jogged about 1/4-1/3 of a mile with the BSB around my neck. Took it off and ran 4 rounds of 65 yard sprints. Then i was DONE.

Some thoughts:
I tried to do the rack walks with the BSB around my neck. I couldn't clean to the two 24KG's with it around me. Partially because it got in the way and also b/c it may have been too heavy. I know i could clean two 65lb bells. But with the extra 35lbs around my neck, pushing down on me- it was a very different experience and it wasn't quite happening.

Let me tell you this- this workout was fucking hard. Carrying that weight like that is draining. even when you drop the bells that BSB is still around your neck and for little-ol-me, that 35lbs gets OLD after a while. It was a great workout and a great conditioning/stregnth builder. Working under that weight for that long zaps you.

DIY Awesomeness

Saw this on Zach Even Esh's blog today (its the underground strength link to the right). It is a bulgarian sandbag and I made one just like one in video today for $28 bucks. See video below of me showing it off and attempting to do drills I saw Matty in the youtube video doing.



I did the round in the video + 2 more to practice then did a circuit of 4 rounds
BSB circuit
6 double 24KG chest presses
5 R/L 24KG RR's
1 R/L bent press
1 min rest
repeat x4

This was brutal. That BSB is the SHIT. It wrecked my back and shoulders and arms, not to mention my lungs.

Hot

It was hot today, 101 with the ehat index. Trying to get back into the habit of being able to handle the heat. Did AoS Strength in Motion and almost managed to use only the 15 second rest periods for most of it. The heat slowed me down a bit and there 3-4 times during the workout that i pushed the rest to 20-30 seconds. Considering it was my hottest day so far to workout, I'll take it as progress.

So I'm going to write this down as a more concrete thought. I feel like my diet choice as a vegetarian makes it harder for me to gain strength and eat healthy. Part of that might be an excuse I make to myself but I feel like so much of what I eat as a veegetarian is processed- by nature of being what it is its processed. If I ate meat, would I eat better? Probably not. Nutrition and I are odd. Do I eat well? Do I not? I have no idea. The matter is that sometimes I think if I ate grilled or baked lean meats it would do something for me that I am lacking. Who knows.

Opinions?

Field Day

Jonathan brought his friend over yesterday and we had a field day- literally.

Flipped the 550 pound tire to other end of field for warm up- 65 yards.


KB's @ other end of the field and body weight station in the middle so this was a "V" as opposed to our traditional "W" set up (Jonathan's friend is a little out of shape and was his first time out- we wanted him to come back)


3 rounds

R1- 30 swings w/ 24KG, 10 push ups, 24 R/L 18lb sledge hits, 65 yrd sprint back
R2- 5 C&Push Presses, double 24KG's, 30 bycicles & 15 sec plank, 24 R/L 18lb sledge hits, 65 yrd sprint back
R3- 5 snacthes to 5 fig8 to holds R/L, 10 advancved dive thru push ups, 24 R/L 18lb sledge hits, 65 yrd sprint back


It was a good workout. Also Jonathan brought his 40lb XVest that I jogged with for a little while and tried some pull ups- I got 4.5.

Update.

Got to Vegas Sunday.

Worked out in hotel gym Monday- body weight drills. HILARIOUS! People stared, a lot. One -roided out guy started talking shit on my pull ups. I was on number 47 of 50 and they were getting hard. He was pulling down the full stack on the lat pull down machine. I invited him to do a pull up. He olbiged and after 3 failed attempts stormed off and I finished my set of 50 and moved on to burpees. I asked how all that weight he was pulling was treating him if he ever had to pull himself up from a cliff ro a ledge- he responded with a heart-felt 'fuck you'. I guess he wasnt amused.

Tuesday back in gym, deadlift time. I worked up to 5 sets of 4 pulling 220 or 230- I can't remember. @ 147lbs I am happy with that.

Wed-Th I did nothing.

Started back to work Th night at 2nd job. Came home, crashed. Fri- Sat I did bodyweight drills @ 2nd job lots and lots of push ups, burpees, planks and ab drills on Friday. Saturdayt was assisted pistols. I did 30 on each leg throughout the day. At that pace I am hoping to be able to do them on my own by end of summer- which was a goal I had set. Yay.

Monday was first KB workout in a while. Used 24KG. Warmed up with mowing yard w/ push mower then on to 4 rounds of
R/L
5 swings
5 snatches
5 windmills
5 squat-to-push-press

each drill on both sides then on to the next one without setting down the bell. The 24KG is heavy. I hate it. My shoulders are sore today.

Sick

Fuck being sick. Felt so tired this week, Mon Tues Wed... Then Th I wake up and get going and I start to feel like hell and I realize I'm not tired, I'm getting sick. I leave for Vegas today so I immediately dropped everything and got on the couch and didnt move for two days. Drank tons of water, airborn, theraflu, etc.

Feel better. Leave today at 6PM. Plan on doing the hotel workout all week. Burpees, deck squats, pistols, push ups, et al.

Resolved

Did Resolution I yesterday. 30 Min. Got 8 rounds. I can honestly say I probbaly could have gotten 9 or all 10 in the 30 min if I would have done it inside. Yesterday was the hottest day so far in Houston for the year- only 93 (and humid. It's gonna get worse for sure but that's the hottest its been in about 8 months or so and my body needs to get used to the heat again- which is why I worked out outside even though I knew it was going to put the hurt on me.

It did put the hurt on me. I felt like I was cooking. Summer is going to be fun fun fun.

15/15 of 6

Did VWC workout yesterday. Made it through 42 sets of 6 on the 15/15protocol. Last time I got 46 I believe. This was only third time I've done the workout. The first time I got 40.

It was hard yesterday. I coulnd't have pressed past 42. I'm not dissapointed in that or feel liked I failed. Getting to 42 on that bastard was victory enough.

Today will either be SiM or Resolution II - ALSO slight possibility I will try my Navy Seal FitDeck again. Decisions, Decisions.

Weekend

Friday at work I did more push ups and Saturday I did planks all day. 1 min intervals. Did about 18-22 of them. Lost track somewhere.

Today is viking warrior protocol day! YAY!

With this new schedule I am going to HAVE to workout Mon-Th b/c the Th nite thru Sat nite extra work schedule leaves me way too tired to workout. Mon-Th and sat all bw practice at work could be a good schedule.

220

Did 220 push ups last nite at work. Its what I could get done.

Happy about SOMETHING

Got serious.

4 rounds of

2R/L Bent Press w/ 24KG
5R/L RR w/ 24KG
10 front squat w/ 24KG
3 full body attack with double 24Kgs

I am excited I could do the double 24KG full body attacks. I cut about 3 pounds from not really drinking as of late. I am down to 148lbs. At that weight, the 24KG full body attack has me moving 72% of my body weight. I can be happy with that.

HAHAHAHAHAHA

So despite hell breathing down my neck and high water at my chest, I did AoS Resolution II yesterday.

I got my portable IPod dock and my workbook and my bells and walked out to the park. I did some good morning stretches w/ the 24KG and got ready. I looked at the workbook and read the workout to remind myself and I had an "AH HA!" moment where I realized that last time I did the workout, I didn't just miss it a bit but in fact I did it TOTALLY WRONG!

Last time I did rounds 1-5 Laddering from 1-5, 1-4, 1-3, 1-3, 1-3.
WRONG!

It is supposed to be a 1-3 ladder 5 times, 4 times, 3 times, etc...
Yea A LOT FUCKING HARDER!

I got to round 3 w/ the push ups and the deadlifts (using two 24KG's) in the 30 min alotted and I was dying. C&P is one of my weaker excercises actually so I am pretty excited it got to round 3 doing it correctly as at that point I had 180 reps done. That is a lot fo grinding. I will def keep doing this one as it will really improve my C&P strength. The volume on this WO is ridiculous!

I am sore sore sore today.

PS: i'm reading the warrior diet right now and I'm really not sure what I think about it. Some people I highly respect follow it so I cannot discredit it but I am not sure my lifestyle will permit me to do it correctly and it seems like a diet that if you do it, you HAVE to do it right or you could get into serious trouble.

Loser?

I didn't work out yesterday. I went to bed @ 7:30PM last nite. I guess I can't beat myself up too much b/c for some reason I was exhausted and when you need sleep like that- you should sleep.

Resolution II will happen today though come hell or highwater.

Push Ups- All Day

I had to work all day and night Saturday. Having worked all night Friday I knew a Sat AM workout wasn't happening so I did push ups all day through the day on Saturday. I lost count but I think I did somewhere between 140-160 push ups- either coach maxwell approved dive-thrus (advanced version) or coach maxwell approved strict form push ups. My arms are still sore.

Today is AoS Resolution II.

ps: Lola, if you read this email me @ acalleo@gmail.com. I cannot email you b/c your blogger profile is set to private. I have something I want to email you regarding KB training.

To all of you Pitbull Haters out there...

So on a unrelated-to-fitness-note-

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090424114315.htm

I have two gorgeous and amazing pit bulls. They are my family's best friends and protectors. I don't own a shotgun b/c I have burke- the big guy below


His little sister mamma dog is tuff stuff too



That being said- ask any of our friends who come over and they will tell you they are the biggest, goofiest, most loveably stupid lap dogs ever.

You get what you raise. Behavior is truth. There is no such thing as a "BAD BREED". Assholes. Don't make bullshit laws that try and take my dogs away because you're too fucking ignorant and lazy to actually do your homework and or actually meet some pitbulls that arent owned by low life peices of shit that have no business having a dog in the first place.
Red about Michael Vick's (i hope they feed you to hyenas you fuck) dogs that were rescued by loving families. See how those dogs are doing. They arent eating kids. NOPE. They are just like my lap dogs.

Consider yourselves educated.

Redemption

i had to get in something fast yesterday. didnt have time for an AoS workout.

i tried my hand again at the 1-10 burpee ladder with 10 swings in between each rung.

last time i did it was the first time and i was still smoking. i had planned to do 1-10/10-1. it took me almost 30 min to get through 1-10 and i was dead. pathetic. i felt like a loser.

yesterday i tried it again, this time i haven't smoked in over 4 months. i only did 1-10 BUT i finished that motherfucker in 13 MIN!!

thats right. AND i had something left in the tank. I did 2 sets of 3 windmills R/L alternated between 30 coach maxwell approved bicycles.

i felt GOOD when I was done. not sure what i'm going to have time for today. gonnahve to be another quickie. david whitley sent out an email for a double KB workout that i might run through.

AoS 1200- sort of

Jonathan and I did the 1200 yesterday. He brought his stop watch. We did it on beginner which is 1 round through for 440 reps. My first time was 45+min. Last time was a *little* better. Yesterday I did it in 36.27. Not bad. A sub 40 time. I'm still not sure who in the hell goes through all 6 rounds 3 times for a total of 1200 reps BUT it was a great workout.

Sunday=Funday

I took sat off. I got out the push mower and soon as I got up and did the front and back yard. IT. FUCKING. SUCKED. For some reasons unknown, the yard gave me hell this time. In turn, my shoulders where on fire by the time I was done. The ditch in the front was EXTRA special.

Unless you've got acreage, buy a pushmower. It's better for the environment, cheaper/easier to fix when it breaks and its one hell of a shoulder, lower back and cardio workout.

When I was done I felt like I had to get my WO for the day in so I did 5 rounds of heavy C&P's 3 reps R/L with the 24KG. I am actually getting better at it considering I havent tried it in a while. My left side usually sucks and it stayed strong throughout. Round 5 on reps 2 & 3 it thought about not cooperating but I focused on my total-body-tension and up it went.

After that I rounded it out with 60 coach-maxwell-approved bicycles and 30 coach-maxwell-approved v-ups.

That felt like enough as I got a 35 min cardio, back/shoulder session with the mower.

Today, either AoS 1200, Aos SIM, or AoS Resolution (since i did heavy pressingf yesterday I'm thinking 1200)

Sweating Blood

I took Wed and Th off. I fucked up this week. Got super bummed. Drank too much Wed. Didnt sleep at all Wed nite so no work out Th. I took my head out of my ass yesterday and did the 15/15 6 rep cadence VO2MAX snatch protocol with the 16KG. This time I remembered to protect my hands and I got through 50 of the 80 reps. Thats 8 more that I got last time (my first attempt).

It was fucking hard. Again I was pouring sweat and sucking wind by the time I was done. My lungs probably had 6-10 sets left in me but my lower back was done. It was fatigued and getting tight so I felt like it was time to throw in the towel. I will do it again next week and see if I can get 56-60 sets. 60 would make me happy b/c honestly I think if I could hit 60, I would push on through to 80 if at all possible.

Afternoon Bodyweight Quickie

Have a dinner meeting tonite. Wanted to get something in.

Went home and did a 1-10 ladder alternating between burpees and deck squats. 55 of each. Took a little under 18 min. Not too bad.

Deck squats are brutal on the lower abs. I am not having a good self-esteem day today. Need to work through that. Feel like what I did wasn't good for anything but I'm pretty sure that's not true and even if it is, at least I didn't just sit on my ass- and to be honest, that second statement sounds like a veiled excuse. I have mental problems.

Resolved- AGAIN

I did AoS Resolution yesterday and I did part II of the workout. I got 5 rounds in 30 min and it was hard as hell. Lots of ladder-ing. C&P ladders, pull up laddres and DL ladders.

The pull ups were the easiest part of the work out (that made me happy as pull ups used to be hard).

I wish I had a bar and plates so I could have done the DL's as prescribed. Instead I had to do double suitcase dl's with my 24KGs. I can DL WAY more than 106lbs so that part felt like I wasn't really pushing myself but you work with what you've got.

The C&P ladders killed me. On the first part of Resolution I got the advanced level the first time I did it. Resolution II, not even close. I got to 5 rounds and that was it and I barely made that. I like a challenge...

Pushing the Earth

4 rounds

R1-
30 swings
10 dive-thru push ups a-la-coach maxwell (w/ knees to ankles before going thru)
15 v-ups

R2-
30 swings
15 regular coach maxwell push ups (elbows tight in, shoulders packed)
30 seconds of planks, front, right, left, front straight through

R3-
30 swings
10 coach maxwell weight-shifting push ups (down, weight to R hand, L hand, back up)
60 coach maxwell approved bicycles (SM's version of these are HARD)

R4-
30 swings
10 twisting aka half-moon push ups
30 leg raises

This was hard. Those are not regular, old-fashioned push ups. Anyone who says you can't fuck yourself up without a gym is WRONG.

Torn

The tears in my hand are bad- they are directly in the creases in my palms and I can't open my hands all the way or they crack back open. NOT TO SELF: Remember to use gloves.

I'm going to do something today, just not sure what given the condition of my manos. I can probably pull off some push up variations, core work, and deck squats. That's what I'm thinking at least.

My plunge into the MaxV02 Snatch Workout

So everyone is talking about this protocol. It showed up about a year or so ago as the brain child of Kenneth Jay, Sr. RCK. It caught on, quick. I *tried* it a few times but I did a bastardized version of it b/c I was too lazy to do the base line test and I didn't have gym boss to keep me my intervals exactly timed.
I wont try and explain what MaxV02 is (http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/VO2max.html)or how the MaxV02 protocol works, b/c I can't. if you've been living under a fitness rock for a year go here - http://www.dragondoor.com/dv049.html - to see KJ's new book on it. Even despite all the usual DD hype-selling, it WILL fuck you up and remake you.

I decided to give it a try again when someone on the DD forum put up this link to MP3 files he made mimicking the cadences for the 15/15 protocol (that's 15 seconds on 15 seconds off). He has diff cadences too, 5 reps in the 15 secs up to 8 reps in the 15 secs.

I DL'd all the files (they are FREE. GET THEM BEFORE THEY DISAPPEAR!) and tried the 15/15 6 rep version yesterday. The whole drill takes 39min and change and goes for 80 rounds. I got through 42 rounds before I tapped out. I *probably* could have done 5-8 more but my left side was getting a little wonky and i have awesome tears in both palms that happened around rounds 20 or 21. I was starting to have a hard time pushing through the tears 20 rounds later.

I was sweating like a whore in church by the time I was done but I felt great. Then 3 hours later I felt like I had run a marathon. I was just zapped. I LOVE it. It's replacing one of my AoS days during the week. I alternate out whatever AoS drill I don't do one week for another I do the next. I cannot wait to tackle this bad boy again, this time with proper hand care to see how far I can get.

Also, the MP3 cadences REALLY do help. Download them. Go here for it.... http://kbforum.dragondoor.com/kettlebells-strength-conditioning-forum/134079-vwc-mvo2-mp3-timers.html

Seriously download them.

Heavy is as Heavy Does

yesterday i was going to take off. then my friend mentioned she had a weight bench witha bunch of weight and i could use it if i helped her move it. i've been wanting to do some heavy Dl's for a while so i jumped on it.

we couldnt find the weights.

when i got back home i was amped about lifting heavy i did a 5x5 with double 24KGs.

alternated between push presses and front squats. push presses were easier than i thought until i got to the end of R4. then they got a little more challenging. the front squats destroyed my lower abs- both of those 24KG bells in the front rack position felt brutally heavy at the bottom. my squat form has gotten much better so i can really bottom out the way you're supposed to- probably the first time i've been able to use good form with that much weight on front. at 151lbs thats 70% of my BW that my core and trunk is holding up. awesome.

then i finished off with core work from SM300 DVD and AoS Newport.
leg raises
hardcore bicycles.

Bright eyed and bushy tailed

Have TONS of stuff today. So had to get the workout in as soon as I woke up. That's always kind of hard on me.

I'm still super sore from the 1200 Friday so Coach doesn't get his shot at me this week. Instead this morning I did all BW HOC.

Ran a little over a mile with a pull up station on one side of the lap and a push up station on the other side.
Ran 3 laps.
I did 5 pull ups each lap and 10 push ups each lap. All push ups from Steve Maxwell's 300 DVD.
L1= regular, elbow tucked in
L2= dive-thrus
L3= Twisting/half-moon push ups

I did this in 9 min. Not bad adding in the time it takes to do the pull ups and push ups. Not gonna lie, my shoulders were furious at me after the push up variations. Still really sore and tight. Everything else was great, legs and lungs were fine.

I felt like that wasnt enough but I'm short on time so I threw in some core drills. 30 bicycles from SM
30 v-ups from SM (forgot what he calls them)
30 seconds plank

Then had to go in and shower and shave. Off to all sorts of stuff today.

Tomorrow I will do a less lame workout.

1200- HA! more like 400...

Seriously who the fuck does AoS 1200 on advanced and gets the 1200 reps done? Cuz it sure as hell isn't me.

Did it again today. FUCK.

I will say this. I felt like I was dying and being a baby. Then I realized I was on a pace to cut almost 10 min off of my previous (first) attempt at the workout. That made me feel better. Also, today was the first day of it being warm (not hot just warm). It was about 85 and I did the wo around 1:30PM, the hottest part of the day, very intelligent on my part. I wound up finishing the wo in 46min. I got off track b/c some high school kids at the park come over to ask me about the bells and i HAD to preach some gospel and show them some basics (swings and cleans). That slowed me down a bit. Without that I'm going to say I think I could have finished today in around 33-35 min. MUCH better than last time.

Although when I went in I thought I might pass out. I jumped in the shower with no hot water and stayed there for about 12 min, shaking from exhaustion. Awesome.

Resolved

I did hte first part of AoS Resolution yesterday.

30 Min

5 double bell pressses using 20KKs
30 swings using hte 24KG

As many sets of that as you can do in the time alotted.

Looks not so bad.

Was HARD.

1-4: Beginner
5-7: Intermediate
8-10: Advanced

I got 8. My forearms were PISSED from the swings. I could press more weight but not much. I cant double press the 2 24KG's for 5 reps so it stays at the 20KG's for now.

The New Regime

So I think I've got my new training schedule shored up in my head. Im going to go between AoS workouts and Steve Maxwell's 300 BW Challendge.

I'm going to be doing Strength in Motion, 1200, and Resolution and then the SM 300.

I'm never one to schedule schedule things as, like Wu-Tang says, life is hectic. What I am aiming for is

Monday - SIM
Wed- Resolution
F- SM 300
and then Saturday or Sunday do 1200 depending on how I'm feeling from the SM 300. On one of the days that I am off I will probably end up running,

Today is Resolution, which I am still trying to figure out how to use exactly- more on that after I'm done today.

Goobye black lung....

That's right motherfuckers... my lungs have officially returned in FULL FORCE.. posibly improved!

Since I quit smnoking, I have been working them back up. Today was V-Day and I have empirical proof!

I was doing (more like trying to do) AoS Strength in Motion before I quit. I was on week 1 and taking a pathetic 60 seconds between each drill AND in between each round and even then I was barely making it through. All of week 1 was taking me almost 45 min (sometimes more). Pathetic.

Today I tried week 1 again. This time I did the bare min break between each drill- 15seconds for the entire workout (excepot where it mandates 60 seconds). I tok 30 seconds or less between the three rounds. I did the entire workout in 29 min. On week 1 protocol, the fastest I think it COULD be done would be in about 27:00-27:30.

Best of all, all my reps went up for the 30 sec cardio drills except on 1 dril- the dreaded alt clean and afterwards I wasn't dying. I could feel it but I wasn't totally destroyed either.

It is going to be ON this summer. When it comes time for me to get up to MA and take the AoS CERT, I am going to destroy it Texas style.

Doubling down...

Went on a 2.25 mile run this morning. Got it done in about 15-16 min. Went home, showered, and go lazy for most of the day. I felt really zapped from that run and just sort of vegged.

About 4pm though, I started getting edgy for some KB action. Sometimes the idea of just doing some swings or some snatches gets in my head and it won't get out until I go out and do them. I decided to get the timer and see how many times I could go through this circuit in 20 min using the 20KG bell-
5 of each without putting down the bell
swings, snatches, MP's, squats
start on L side, switch in air, repeat on R side

Got through this 6 times in 20 min (12 total counting L/R).

My shoulders got a little fatigued from not setting the bell down- the truth be told I felt it more in my shoulders than I did in my lungs or in my chest.

All in all not bad b/c I got in a good run AND a decent bell drill AND got them both on what i thought would be a *lazy* Sunday.

Trimming the fat

Did the steve maxwell 30 workout again yesterday. Got it done this time in 31.32 min! I was on pace to finish it in 28.33 but I just couldn't keep going through the burpees and the mountain climbers. My friend John Hancock, ex-Marine extraordinaire got it done in 28.33. I was close but I lost steam at the end. Either way, still got my time down 2 min AND i did the 15 of the 30 squats as deck squats this time. Nice.

5x5 Push and pull

Yesterday I did 5x5 with 24Kg push presses and double 20KG front squats.

As mentioned earlier- video of round 3 of the 5.

Missed my lunch time appointment with the dominatrix so....

....I just did AoS 1200 when I got home. It was my first time giving it a shot so I went through the work out on beginner. Doing it that way you actually get in 404 total reps (I did the snatches on sets of 12x12 as oppossed to laddering up to 20x20 which would have given me 440 total reps.)

FUCK THAT! Took me 49 min on the beginner level. I am DEAD. It was bad. I used a 20KG for most drills and a 16KG for all the snatches. Threw up 3 times.

Going to be doing that one pretty regularly. Feel like hell right now. Need to die.

If you hate yourself and you need more masochistic action in your workouts and can't afford bi-weekly dominatrix sessions- grab the Art of Strength 1200 workout. You can find the link to their store on the right hand side of my blog.

Get some.

Maintenance

Today I ran 2.25 miles. Rant first 1.25 at a fast jog. Did it in 7:05. Stopped for a few seconds, stretched, then started jogging back. After first blocl I alternated between fast jog and sprinting for the remaining mile back.

Then went on a picnic and walked another mile or so.

Then took dogs to a park and walked another 2 miles.

My legs are done.

4 rounds with The Bear

Wow.

Felt the need to work out today. Wanted to get in at least 4 days this week and was scared I'd vag-out on tomorrow. Got the inspiration to do a tire workout.

Did 4 rounds of
5R/L 24KG snatches then 3 flips then 20 24KG swings

This was hard and I tried to keep a strong pace with only 1.5 min break between rounds. That worked until round 4- during round 4 I met the bear... I hate the bear, but I finished round 4.

This was harder b/c of the 300 workout yesterday, I know this for sure. I took a vid of round 1, its below. The first tire rep is awesome b/c I wasn't fully committed yet and when you're not committed to the tire, well- let's just say it doesn't cooperate as you'll see below....

Aftermath

We did teh SM 300 challenge yesterday.

Last week when I did it for the first time I completed it in 38:49.

This time I completed it in 33:15!!!!! I think its time to start doing the deck squats instead of the plain BW squats.

I started taking a supplament called Black Powder- its a pre-workout supplament and it works pretty well. I am attributing a lot of my 5-min-shave-off to it.

You can read about it here-

http://www.supplementgiant.com/mri-black-powder-item.html

Reviews of it here-

http://www.supplementcritic.com/reviews/mri_black_powder_reviews

(I like it, tastes ok, seems to work well and I seem to recover faster and be less sore next day)

Countdown...

Didnt work out yesterday b/c I'm doing the Steve Maxwell 300 challenge again today and I wanted to be fresh and readyfor it. Jonathan is joining me in the self-flagellation. I cant wait!

"I feel hopeless when I just wish I....

...could feel a little less"
- Blacklisted

Fuck today. I came home and got serious b/c I wasn't feeling good in the head.

5x5 across the boards 5 rounds of 5 24kg snatches into 5 double 20k long cycle C&Ps



then

5 rounds of 5 steve-maxwell style burpees into 5 hindu push ups

Back in Black

So from all the drinking and smoking that occured over the last year, I've been working since January to get back to what I lost and today I can honestly say I'm getting there.

I did a circuit today with the 24's. I've been doing that on Mondays and I've been doing 3 rounds b/c the 24's got heavy and the weight just zaps my stamina. Well today I went and did it again and I'm stoked b/c

1. I did 4 rounds instead of 3 with 5 excercises a round instead of 4

2. I BLAZED through them, about 3:30 or so to get through the 5 excercises

3. I took 30 second breaks between rounds 1 and 2 and rounds 3-4. Took 2 min between round 2-3

4. Excercises felt strong.

Here is video of round 2.


(thats 20 swings, 2 bent press L/R, 5 renegade rows L/R, 5 alt floor presses & 10 deck squats for 4 rounds, total time btwn 16-17 min)<

I was so sore form the Steve Maxwell 300 workout Friday I just did cardio this weekend. Friday evening after the workout I did a short 5-7 mile bike ride.

Saturday morning I went on a 2 mile jog saturday. Did hte first mile in 6:38 (im not too upset with that, taking my lungs back from smoking) and then on way back my knee got aggravated to I had to walk.

Sunday went on a 10-12 mile bike ride around town.

Today is either SiM fun, Firepower, or heavy bells- haven't decided yet.

a great reckoning...

i tried it today- steve maxwell's 300 bw DVD challenge. goal is to complete 30 reps each of 10 different BW drills. there are 3 levels- beginner, intermediate, and advanced (the real workout is the advanced workout).

today for my first try i did a mix of the beginner and intermediate workouts- mostly beginner but a few advanced. the goal is to get it done in under 40 min. steve maxwell gets the advanced done on the DVD in 36 min or so.

i got mine done in 38:49!!!!! i didn't think i'd finish at all but i got it done in time. i then threw up a total of 5 times. it was REALLY hard. the advanced version is beyond my comprehension.

the specifics of the WO looked like this (drills are paired off going through reps between one and the other for pacing reasons, then a little water and shake-it-out-break before going on to the next pair)
1. pull ups
2. push ups
3. bw squats
4. v sit ups
5. bw rows
6. dive bombers (this was terrible!)
7. bw sumo squats (my hip flexibility blows mountain goats)
8. bicycles (steve maxwells bicycles are disgusting)
9. mountain climbers (FULL leg extensions w. hips locked out)
10. burpees (real ones, look up steve maxwell's version of the burpee)

This workout was terrible and tempestuous as the sea. i'm hooked. at least once a week maybe, MAYBE twice a week.

Recap

Wed I did Strengh in Motion and actually did really well with it. For the firt time ever I actually pulled off the alternating clean. I didn't get 30 full seconds of it but I did it and got the mechanics of it for about 1/2 the time called for so I'll take it as a victory. Yesterday I took off. I'll be back on today, Sat & Sun to get in my five days this week.

20 min of hell

I warmed up with some of the drills from steve maxwells 300 challenge dvd. I did some of the modified hindu push ups and some deck squats.

Then I got to business and did the 1-10 burpee ladder w/ 10 swings before each ladder. I set the timer to 20 min w/ the goal of going through 1-10-10-1 in that time frame. Not even close. I got through 1-10 w/ about 1.5 min remaining and I was done. That shit KILLED me. I'm sort of bummed I was so far off from my goal but the good news is when my heart dropped back into my chest I tried some of the single leg deck squats from the 300 DVD and I could do them! I did 5 a leg and called it a day.

Today is going to be KB day.

Day off- sort of

I took the day off to rest, it was hard but I felt like I needed it b/c I'm really sore. I can never tell when I need to take a day or not and when I do I always feel guilty like I'm being lazy.

I watched the Steve Maxwell 300 BW DVD. Steve Maxwell is a beast- I think he survives on a diet of other people's fears and the tears of small children. The beginner version of the challenge is enough to make me want to puke. I can't wait to try it- think I might give it a go tonite.

Yesterday I screwed around with some pull ups and push ups, working on my form based on the instruction of Mr. Maxwell. I even tried some of the advanced variations form the DVD- the twisting or half-moon push up. That shit is NO JOKE. SM makes it look effortless but it is anything and everything that is not effortless. I'm sure my form blew goats and it was still hard as hell.

I am realyl excited about this 300BW DVD. If you're into BW training at all I HIGHLY recommend it. You can find it here-
http://www.groundfighter.com/details/prodid/211.html

"Depression's got a hold of me, depression! I gotta break free..." - Black Flag

last nite i got super depressed out of nowhere. i could physically feel it like a hole in my chest. so i decided to go outside around 10:30 and try and work it out.

I did 5 rounds of
3 double 20KG snatches-to 17 yards rack walk-to 3 double 20KG squats-to 17 yards rack walk back to start.

5 rounds of 8 double 20KG wide-leg deadlifts, really focusing on form and keeping core tight.

5 rounds of 20 fig8toH

My lower back was super tight and I was done. Didn't feel like breathing was a challenge anymore so it worked.

cold and rainy, totally unmotivated workout

Yesterday I wasnt feeling it at all but I made myself do something. I wound up with 5 rounds of 5 reps each (except BPS) w/ the 24KG doing

BP singles R/L
cleans
windmills

then
descending twists
leg raises
L-seat pull ups

I am sore today.

Resolution-ish

I watched the MoS on AoS Resolution again. I decided to a version of it. I say version b/c i don't have the workout. I just went by the protocol Anthony D layed out on the video.

I took heaviest bell I can swing for sets of 30 which is 24KG. I might able to do more but I dont have a bell heavier right now (and I'm not sure I could anyways) and the heaviest bells I can press for 5 reps- the two 20Kgs.

I did as many sets of 30 swings and 5 double C&P's I could do in 30 min. I got 6.5 sets, almost intermediate. I was pretty ok with that. Felt like a pretty strong workout. Gonna try it again with some more fervor next time. Going to do some BW stuff today along with some GTG BP's and maybe some snatches.

Yesterday

I did 3 rounds w/ the 24KGs of

5 alt chest presses
5 RR

65-70 yards walking lunges w/ squats (lung R, lunge L, bw squat)

Then I did 3 rounds of GTG singles w/ the 24KG bent press

FInished off with ab work from AoS Newport- descending twists, single leg raises, double leg raises and planks (F, R, L, F)straight thru=, 30 seconds per position.

Adding those squats in with the lunges was brutal. I am really getting back into BW excercise and am thinking about doing more of it and focusing my bell work on maybe 3-5 key excercises i.e. swings, C&P, snatch, & TGU (i really like the BP and the 2HA so i feel like they should make the cut, that and the windmill).d I dont know... I was reading steve maxwell's blog and hes a HUGE BW culture proponent. And hes a monster. I just need to think about it more.

Up keep

Monday I worked late and went to see Austin Lucas play and yesterday I had hte ebst migraine for about 10 hours so... I haven't done shit in the last 2 days. Feel lame about it.

That changes this afternoon though. Gonna get serious with the 24's.

Breaking through

Jenn B tried my burpee in 10 min workout and she doesnt really do them ever. She got 59 in 10 min, 75 in 14. I had to step it up. I said I was too sore to do it yesterday and that I would get on it today. She called me out. So I went homne, grabbed the kitchen timer, set it to 10 min and got to business.

I GOT 85 DONE IN 10 MIN! HA! amazing what a little motivation can do. That tells me when I am by myself I am not training hard enough. 85 is so close to 100. I am amped. I am going to have to redo my goal for the end of summer on this burpee challenge I have made to myself.

After 10 min I thought I might die. I caught my breath in a bout 3 min and felt like I needed to do more b/c I only worked for 10 min.

SO I planned 6 rounds of 35 yards of walking lunges with an AoS Newport ab drill before each one. I got 3 ab drills and 2 rounds of lunges. My legs were dead from the burpee jumps. On the ab work i got F,L,R,F planks 30 sec each straight thru, alternating leg raises and descending twists.

I hurt.

75 in 17

I drank a lot TH. The rule is, if I drink a lot the night before, the next day I have to work out, regardless of shitty I feel. I got home, wife was at a pyschology dinner work funciton thing. I walked the dogs and then I got down to it. I couldnt decide what I wanted to do and hoenstly, my ass is so sore from those walking lunges I did Th during the day, there wasnt a lot I could do so I decided it was time for an all burpee workout (esp with my new revelation on burpee form).

I just went for it with sets of 5, 10 second breaks and back on it. Eventually the monatany got to me and I threw in a few 1-5 ladders w/ breaths between sets matching the reps. I did a total of 75 in 17min. I'm pretty sure that sucks donkey dick BUT last time I tried to do 100 burpees I did them all but the last 40 or so looked like hammered dog shit and it took me damn well near 45 min to do them. SO I will take 75 CLEAN burpees in 17 min as porgress. My goal is to get 100 done in under 10 min. Work to do friends, work to do.

PS. I am REALLY sore from those 75 I did last nite. My nerves are sailing on seas of lactic acid.