Another 40 kg TGU and a workout 5/29/11

Ok, so I did it again.  Turns out this might be an improving skill and not just a fluke!  Another TGU with the Bulldog I like to call George.

On this day, I warmed up with Super Joints, Jumped rope for 5 minutes, did 3 sets of Overhead Squats and Pump Stretches and then settled into another set of Turkish Get Ups with an 88 pound Kettlebell.

How did it go this time?  Well I filmed it, as you can see.  This was stronger than the last one for a couple reasons.  First, I didn't rest between sides.  Last time I rested about a minute.  Next time I will do the same.  It's important to note that next time I will also pay closer attention to the decent on left side as the final portion was rushed.  In retrospect, I think my mind got in the way.  Meaning I realized what I was doing!  It's important to own each movement of the Get Up.

Next time I will also drive more from the heal in the beginning.  I feel like I have a solid grip and handle on the bell so I will devote a little more attention to the drive and get my arms more at a 45 degree angle in the beginning of the movement.  This will help with control.  I rolled up instead of drove up. 

So I got a few things to work on, but am still quite proud of this achievement.  I am looking forward to fully owning the Bulldog TGU.

The rest of the session included some Goblet squats, Windmills, Club Swings and 1 descending ladder of 24kg Snatches.  14/12/10/8/6.

Training Session from Friday 5/27

A successful session with a little minimal variety!

After a brief warm up, I launched into Double 24's.  Squat+Press+Pull Up.  20 minutes on the Gymboss.  4 Ladders up to 3 reps.  Next time, I'll shoot for all 5 ladders.  I've reduced the time by 10 minutes as I am looking to bump intensity and density.

Finished with Bulldog Swings and Push Ups.  For the pushups, I use Elite Rings and lowered them close to the ground then put my feet on a step.  This was also in an attempt to increase density and intensity.  15 minutes.  I kept the Swings at sets of 12 and for the push ups, worked to almost failure each time.  Some times I'd go slow, others at a higher pace.  It was a good 15 minutes.

How To Perform A Turkish Get With A Very Heavy Kettlebell

Wednesday 5/25/11 marked the first time this Girevik successfully handled a Turkish Get Up with The Bulldog, a 40 kg (88 pound) Kettlebell.  Mine is affectionately named George.

Oh, I have tried in the past, mind you but the last time I attempted this it seemed as if it left the actual bone in my forearm sore.  I quickly felt like I did not have enough static strength or control to manage this burden.  This was about a year or so ago and the image of my ulna and radius snapping in half under the weight enabled me to "shelve" the Bulldog TGU for a while.

So...  What's happened since?

How To TGU with a Bulldog

The answer is the same as any good "I need directions" joke.  Excuse me, how do you get to Carnegie Hall?

PRACTICE!

Step #1:  Swings, Swings, and more Swings.  Get as comfortable with this weight as humanly possible.  Until one fully owns the Swing with a given weight any other KB drill should just stay on the shelf.

Step #2:  The last several months have involved TGU practice with a 24kg bell 2 to 3 times a week.  This practice was textbook Kalos Sthenos.  From "Kettlebells From The Ground Up," I would spend the early portion of my workout practicing each progression of the TGU and doing Goblet Squats as an active rest.

Step #3:  TGU "as if."  Lift the 24 as if its 40 and see what that does.

Step #4:  Every once in a while, when you're feeling good sub in a 32 for the 24 when doing your Get Up practice.

Step #5:  GTG With COC. (Translation:  Grease the Groove with Captains of Crush Trainer)  You gotta be able to grip the snot and a few other excretions out of the horn to full command this heavy burden.  This step 5 was something of a bonus WTH effect for me.  I realized yesterday at work that working this gripper periodically through out the day has more than likely not only improved grip strength but over all strength as my "irradiation" skills improved too. 

FINAL THOUGHT:  Mind you, this was not a "perfect" TGU.  It was a bit wobbly, the high hip bridge was more of a mid-range hip bridge and backing through the last few steps was a bit rushed.  That being said, I elevated an 88 pound Kettlebell over head from a lying position, stood up and got back down under complete control because I can do a perfect TGU with a lighter weight and have treated that lighter weight with the utmost respect.  So the WTH effect is in...  effect!

This also required total concentration and certain muscles that don't normally fire, fired and fired hard.

The actual workout for that day looked like this:

• Jump Rope 5 minutes (this skill is also improving)
• Overhead Squats and Pumps 3 sets of 5
• 1+1 TGU with George
• 16kg Windmills 1+1 x 3 alternated with Club Swings movements 1-3
• Snatches 5 minutes on the Gymboss 24 kg bell.  Descending ladder 16/14/12 = 84 reps

So now what?

Well this is part of the progression of the press for me.  One of my goals this year is to press George.  I will continue to practice and perfect the TGU with the Bulldog.  I am also incorporating Bulldog Cleans into  another part of my workout so I am progressing towards a glorious press and on Wednesday, I felt closer than ever!

Training Journal for May 23

Monday 5/23 marks the day I re-introduce The Bulldog into RKC Drills other than Swings.

Super Joints to warm up
Practice Bulldog Cleans and Low Box Pistols 5 minutes on the Gymboss and 3 singles
32kg MP + Pull Ups + Box Pistols.  Ladders up to 3.  20 minutes on the Gymboss.  3 complete ladders plus 1.
Swings and Push Ups 15 minutes sets of 12 and 8 respectively, got 8 rounds.

This session was one of those sessions where I truly finished stronger!

Last Weeks Practice Training In Detail + Major Catch Up

Training for the last couple weeks has been sporadic at best.  With that in mind, sometimes the extended rest periods allow for greater recovery.

Weds 5/4/11

Jumped rope for 5 minutes
O/H Squats + Pumps 3 x 5
Goblet Squats + TGU's 3 x 5
Club Swings + Windmills 3x 15/1+1

Snatch 10+10 x 5 at  :50 work / :60 rest

Saturday 5/7/11

Warm Up with SuperJoints
Dbl Sqt + Press + Ring Pull Up  30 minutes 34 reps/rounds in ladder fassion
Push Ups and Bulldog Swings 15 minutes of 6/12 got 6 rounds

Monday 5/9/11

same warm up and prep work as 5/4
Snatch with same protocol but 7 rounds.

Wednesday 5/11/11

SuperJoints to warm up
Jumped rope for 5 minutes
1 Arm MP @ 32kg + Pullups + F2GSqts 30 minutes 72 reps, 2304 kgs pressed!
Bulldog Swings + Pushups 12/6 7 rounds in 15 minutes.

Tuesday 5/17/11

same warm up as 5/9
Snatch change of pace...
18 minutes on the clock and go...  176 reps.  Did a descending ladders 12/10/8/6/4 the headed back up...

Thursday 5/19/11

same drills just a little EDT to keep it interesting...
Dbl 24 Squat+Press+Pull Up 20 minutes 25 reps
Push Ups and Swings (40kg) 6/12 15 minutes 6 rounds

Saturday 5/21/11

same warm up and prep work
18 minutes on the clock again sideways ladders (???)
rounds:
1. 14+14 (right/left)
2. 14+14
3. 12+12
4. 12+12
5. 10+10
6. 8+8
7. 6+6
8. 6+6

Total:  164
next time will stick to the plan of 2 descending ladders starting at 14/12/10/8/6 and repeat.  get that in 18 minutes and start over with 17 on the clock...

Back at ya Monday!

Sunday Morning Snatchfest Followed By Monday Night Kettlebell Smackdown

Sunday morning was May First.  5 months into the new year.  WOW.  Climbing the ladder to 200 in 10 is proving to be some work.  100 in 5 is one thing.  Double that is something entirely different all together.

Sunday:  Warm Up with Qi Gong Recharge
              O/H Squats with 35# bar and Pump Stretch 3 x 5
              Goblet Squats @ 16kg and TGUs with 24kg KBs 3 x5/1+1
              Club Swings 15+15 with Movements 1-3 plus Windmills @ 16kg KB 1+1
              Snatch @ 24kg KB 10+10 x 8 :50work/:60 rest

Still a little windy but not nearly as bad as the dust bowl that was Saturday morning.  Wednesday I will hit this 10+10x10 mark. 

Monday:  Warm Up with Super Joints
                32kg MP+Pull Ups+F2G* Squats  30 minutes of as many ladders as possible
                (1-5 rep on the MPs and Pull Ups & 2-10 on Squats). Worked up to 2 ladders up to 5/10
                and 1 ladder up to 2 before timer went off. 
                Push Ups(6)+Pull Overs(6)+Bulldog Swings(12)  Timer at 15 minutes.  6 rounds.

Finished Stronger.  Will work for 3 ladders up to 5 in 30 minutes and then expand the clock to add volume  on the first trio and shoot for 7 on the second trio.


*Feet Together Squats

Training Journal for 4/30 Rich Man's Gym Gets Blown Away

OK, so Rich Man's Gym is open when it's hot and when it's cold.  If it rains, there's a big ass tree to keep me and my Kettlebells 85% - 95% relatively dry.  When it's night time, there are street lamps and the lights of the park to light my way.  Basically, Rich Man's Gym is very similar to the Postal Service in the fact that weather will not prevent training...  until it gets windy.  Either way, there will be no shooting.

Here in lies the down side of out door training during a wind advisory.  Rich Man's Gym get's dusty as hell.  Plus all kinds of pollen and crap gets stirred up.  Last time I trained in the wind, I had to finish early because my chest and lungs started to feel like they did pre-2002 and remind me of nights spent drinkin' and smokin' too much.  The good news there is I learned how to stop smoking without killing anyone and haven't smoked since '02. 

However, a heavy snatch workout should not leave you coughing and feeling like you just smoked a pack and half of Camels in one night.  Slightly exaggerated to emphasize a point.  Bottom line, when I hit Balboa park on Saturday morning, there was a haze of dust and pollen hanging in the air that just said, "Well, Dave, perhaps you'll fair better just going back home and trying that workout you saw last week on T-Nation."

Or at least one drill...  so here's how Saturday went down.  Was supposed to Snatch but instead...

Triceps Push Ups with Feet Elevated On A Swissball like so:

That is not me by the way...

I did 6 reps of that alternated with 6 Feet Together Squats (FTGS) working to get as low as possible and still stay on my heals.

20 minutes of that followed up by another 15 minutes of Hanging Leg Raises (6) and Home Made Single Leg Donkey Calf Raises on the stairs (6+6)

In a few minutes, I'm going to go try this Snatch workout again...

Training Journal for 4/23, 4/25 and 4/27

Every other day is the plan right now and I am alternating workouts between my quest for 200 snatches in 10 minutes and pressing the Bulldog and doing a Pistol.  Last week I felt like I had peaked in terms of training and decided to back off a bit, so...

4/23:  Warm Up Super Joints
          32 kg KB 1-Arm MP(3+3)/Pull Ups(3)+F2G Squats(6) in a circuit for 20 minutes EDT Style
          Ring Push Ups(6) and  Bulldog Swings (12) 15 minutes EDT style
          HLR with Pumps 2 x 5 

4/25:  Warm Up Jump Rope* 5 minutes
          O/H Squats (35# Bar) + Pumps 3 x 5
          Goblet Squats (16kg KB) + TGU's (24kg KB) 3 x 5/1+1
          Club Swings (Practice Movements 1-5) + Windmills (16kg KBl) 1+1
          Snatches 24kg KB 10+10 :50 work/:60 rest 7 rounds

4/27: Warm Up Super Joints
         Double Bell (24) Squat and Press/Pull Ups 20 minutes EDT Style
         Walking Lunge (25 yards) + Ring Push Ups (6) + Sprint (25 yards)**  15 minutes

Notes: 

*This whole "jump rope" thing really isn't 5 minutes of me jumping rope.  It's actually 5 minutes of my uncoordinated ass trying not to fall on my face intermingled with a few brief minutes of some movement pattern that vaguely resembles effective jump roping... 

**  This was a improvised smoker and worked out quite nicely.  Walking lunge for 25 yards up to my low hanging rings, bang out 6 push ups and then run back the 25 yards, take a real quick breather, like 10-15 seconds and repeat.  Worked out quite nicely. 

Rich Man's Gym is evolving and growing so watch out!

Training Journal for Monday 4/18 posted on 4/23

Monday night was one of those sessions where I realized that it's time to back off.  Warmed up nice.  Jumped rope for 5 minutes, a little Super Joint action and then got into the Wall Squats, the Pumps, the Goblet Squats, the TGU's, and the Windmills.  Swung the Clubs some and then as I hit the half way point in the scheduled Snatch workout, I realized I was completely gassed...  and way to soon. 

"Push yourself, but don't be stupid."
                                                     -David Whitley, Master RKC

You just can't argue with that wisdom....  so it's Saturday 4/23.  Five days later.  Feeling refreshed and invigorated.  Off to Rich Man's Gym!

Training Journal for 4/16

As posted on Facebook:  "Gloriously Smoked..."

After a nice Warm Up of Qi Gong Recharge and Super Joints we fired up the Bob Marley in the boom box and got down to it.

Double Clean, Squat, Press with Pull ups.  3 ladders of 1,2,34,5.  Totaling 45 reps with two 24kg Kettlebells.  Volume is (in pounds now) 106 x 45 = 4770 pounds squatted and pressed.  That was some some good work there.

Finished with a little EDT of Bulldog Swings and Ring Push Up.  12 Swings, 8 push ups, 8 rounds in 15 minutes.  More good work. 

Hub called "Rich Man's Gym" in the making, so keep an eye out...

Training Journal for 4/13 and 4/14

Was scheduled to Snatch on Wednesday but decided to go get reamed by my tax guy instead.   Didn't quite enjoy that pain.  And speaking of not enjoying pain, Thursday was exceptionally windy here in the San Fernando Valley so there was too much crap in the air to train outside.  What did I do?  Well the wind didn't really kick up until my workout was off and rolling.  Around my 6th set of 10+10 Snatches I noticed a dusty horizon and felt a scratch in my throat and chest.  So I pulled rank on myself and closed up shop 2 sets too soon.  My target that night was 10 rounds of :50 work and :60 rest.  I stopped short for the safety of it.  It just doesn't make since to be breathing in all that dust and pollen stirring around.  Better to call it quits and come back to fight another day.

That being said, as much as I love "Rich Man's Gym" there's something to be said for indoor training and a controlled environment.

Training Journal 4/11/11

The Rich Man's Gym

Some may call it a poor man's gym but I would beg to differ.  May I present The Rich Man's Gym! 

Tonight's training took a turn for the better as I hit a target.  3 ladders up to 5 reps in the 1-Arm-Kettlebell Military Press with a 32 kg 'Bell.  When you do the math out that's 45 reps per side, 90 total and 2,880kgs lifted (72 pounds x 90 reps is 6480 for those not with the whole metric thing)

In addition I followed each rung up with a pull up ladder and matched that with Feet Together Squats.  The only difference on that is I doubled the volume for the squats.  I'm practicing lowering myself slowly and pausing at the bottom.   The Feet Together Squat is also a great exercise for people in the jock strap business because it's a perfect example of "make sure your hammer and sickles are in the right spot before trying to bounce your ass off your calves."  Otherwise it was a great workout!

So volume is up.  Ya-Whoo!  Next time I'll see if I can get 4 rounds.

Normally I'd wrap things up with some Bulldog Swings and some kind of ring push up or pull over, but instead (and on a whim) I thought, lets do walking lunges and push ups.  Looked good on paper, but my legs were already smoked from the Feet Together Squats so I definitely earned my meat and veggies tonight.

The music was The Young Dubliners.  Always a treat and inspiration.  Get's my Celtic blood-a-pumpin.

Training Journal for 4/9/11

Today's workout was bitter sweet as April succumbs to Jack Frost's desire to stick around a little longer.  Chilly wind and blinding sun makes peeking out from the clouds makes for muscle confusion of a different sort.  And all hail the Indian Club as my shoulders continue to loosen up and increase in their range of motion!

Warmed up with some Chi Dancing or "Shaking" from Chinese Shamanic Tiger QiGong.  Believe it or not, but 5 minutes of carefree jumping and bouncing can go a long long way. 

Today's music of choice featured the whimsical soundtrack to O' Brother Where Art Thou.  So how's this for you?  I don't know about you, but there's something entertaining and enjoyable about listening to fairly eclectic music in a fairly busy park on a boom box from the '90s while doing Shaking Practice, Wall Squats, Pumps, Kettlebell Goblet Squats, Turkish Get Ups, Windmills and swinging Indian Clubs.  I don't know, maybe I just like the total "back in the day" immersion, maybe I'm an attention whore, maybe I'm John DuCane's worst PR nightmare, I don't know.  But what I do know is that it works for me and that's really all that matters!

Finished off with Snatches.  24 kg.  50 seconds of work (10 reps per hand) followed by 60 seconds of rest.  Got 8 rounds.  Probably could have hit the full 10 but decided to err on the side of caution and leave a little in the tank.  Finish stronger not weaker.  Next time this workout comes around, I'll hit all 10 rounds and then reduce the rest to 50 seconds.  Even Steven.  From there the real work begins as I begin to work longer than I rest.  200 reps in 10 minutes look out!  This "bell" tolls for you!

Training Journal for 4/7/11

This was the scene last evening... 

Elite Rings + Large Pine Branch
1 pair of 24 kg Kettlebells
1 Bulldog (88 lb Kettlebell)
1 Old School early 90's boom box
Lunasa and The Matrix Soundtrack

Here's the work:

5 minutes of Jumping Jacks, Burpees and Pumps to warm up
Double 24 Clean/Squat/Press + Ring Pull Ups  2 ladders of 1,2,3,4,5 and then 1 ladder of 1,2,3
Bulldog Swings and Ring Push Ups 15 minutes got 8 rounds of 12+12

For an April evening it was rather chilly and windy which quite frankly sucks.  However, the suck factor was acutely over ridden by the man factor of using a big old pine tree as a base to hang your rings to do pull ups and push ups from.  Toss in the Celtic music first, add wood to the fire via The Matrix Soundtrack and you got a pretty damn fine workout if I do say so myself.  Shoulders feel strong.  Looking forward to tomorrow's Snatch workout...  will try to get a photo of my "Richest Man in the Worlds Gym" soon.

Training Journal 4/6/11

After taking an extra day off, stress relief came in the form of...

Super Joints to warm up.

Wall Squats and Pumps 3 x 5
Club Swings movements 1 and 2 practice, practice, practice...

Snatch Work.  14 rounds of 30 seconds of work and 30 seconds of rest.  I wanted to experiment with that work/rest cadence as I work towards 200 in 10 minutes.  Next time out I'm shooting for 50 seconds work and 1 minute off.  10 rounds.  Should be able to get all 10 sets which is 18.33 minutes.  In another week or two, I'm going to re-test my 10 minute base line.

Finished with Hanging and Bretzels.  All's good.

Training Journal 4/1/11

I didn't do squat...

April fool!

Super Joints to warm up
Wall Squats and Pumps 3 x 5
16 kg Goblet Squats and 24kg  TGUs 3 x 5/1+1
Club Swings and 16 kg Windmills 3 x 10+10/1+1

24 kg Snatches 10+10 x 10 :50 work/1:20 rest

Notes:  Very important to loosen up the hips and back after working at the office for 8 hours.  Sitting can tighten you up.  Next time we Snatch we'll see about :50 work and 1:10 rest and shoot for 8 to 10 rounds.