German Volume Traininng with KB's 3/5/10

Yesterday was a GVT day.  After warming up with a little joint mobility, I did 10 sets of 4 with 2 minutes rest.  The exercises in question was a superset of Double Front Squats and Renegade Rows with a pair of 24kg Kettlebells.  Last week I did 10 x 3 and next week I'll shoot for 10 x 5, but with a 3:30 rest and then I'll start compressing the rest times.

This combo of pain came to me in a lucid dream disguised as an interview between Geoff Neupert and the Iron Tamer David Whitley.  The suggestion was to superset Kettlebell Front Squats with Renegade Rows.  This interview was months ago, but I stored it in the recesses of my mind for later use.  I also wrote it down because things tend to get lost in the dark recesses of my mind.

Yesterday the focus was on the Squat (as always).  For me the Kettlebell Front Squat is one of the best "ab" exercises you can do.  Couple that with the Renegade Row and you got a complete full body workout.

For me the Squat has 3 major parts.  Pull, Pry, and Drive.  You want to actively pull yourself down into the squat.  Then pry the knees out so you can, as Dan John puts it, squat between your feet.  From there, drive up from your heals and finish with the Hardstyle Lock.  The core needs tension at all times during this drill.  That was the focus and it felt pretty solid yesterday.  Sometimes I'm not all that confident in my squat, but at Pura Vida Kettlebells, we will show the building of true strength of the body will lead to strength of the heart.  Perfect practice make perfect and builds self-confidence.

The Renegade Row worked as a great compliment to the Squat.  Continuing with the strong core theme, maintaining a straight spine and tight midsection are the two prime factors of this drill.  From there it's about generating enough whole body tension to be a tripod long enough to lift one bell and set it down.  The real benefit in the exercise is in switching sides.  This is good for getting to know the body and how it moves and also how to move your own body.  Who would have thought that a drill called a row could have such tremendous benefit for shoulder stability?  Keeping the ball in it's socket, the lats tight, glutes and abs tight.

After that, I went and did some hanging leg raises, stretched out a bit; hip flexor, cobra, Brettzels and went on with my day all the while cursing and praising David Whitley for this evil suggestion...