24 kg kb press, 40 kg belt squats, floor pushups, crawls, kb laterals

decided to go with kb today and see two things;
1) if I could still do them as I did last week
2) if I didn't wake up with impingement the next day

SO for one for one. We'll see how things are tomorrow but today went well
Took my time and warmed up slowly and really concentrated on playing with this new technique

1) arm across chest bell sits  directly over hip in rack. thumb to collarbone
2) initiate with elbow lift then drive into the bell. keeps bell over hip in initial drive
3) maintain ab brace during entire lift. abs and glutes to maximize tspine extension and minimize rib flare and lumbar arch.


worked pretty well I feel. shoulder and t spine mobility work continues and shoulder pain is negligible. this will take some time but I like it so far. feels like I can work from here.

KB press
12 kg x 5/5
14 kg x 5/5
16 kg x 3/3
20 kg x 3/3
24 kg x 3/3 x 5 sets

 Belt squats
40 kg x 12 x 4 sets

crossed arms on shoulders trying to keep chest up. worked very well. like a mock bb 'er front squat

floor pushup
3 sets of 20
1 x 18 shoulder clunked. new rule is, once it cluncks set's over

Crawls
3 sets of 50 feet

getting better

back on track and happy about the kb press. I do like the barbell but it definitely encourages my default bad shoulder mechanics. I might try it again just focused on the ab bracing.that might change things a lot. we'll see

KB lateral
hold the kb in the rack position and lift elbow. this is from pavel's original RKC book. not bad, actually
12 kg x 12
14 kg x 12
16 kg x 10

got in a solid one hour full stretchout. love when I have the full hour to get the whole body unlocked!

datsit
neverquit

53 lb Ruck

Bumped the weight up a few pounds today and was grateful I didn't go more. Hamstrings and thighs were just a bit tired after all those swings but it finished fine. Just getting back to full loading after a little break. Got stronger each lap until 11 then I got tired
Also only did 5 sets of iso squats. My right hip flexor is getting tighter than the left and I think all the squatting I do everyday is catching up so I backed off these a bit. The original purpose of these squats was to gain ROM and that's been done.
Doing five sets was perfect to loosen up the hips and thighs after a couple laps but I don't think I need ten anymore.

2 hour ruck
53 lbs
12 laps
5 isometric hold squats 30 sec
10th lap = 8:05 ( pretty fast, actually )

KB Presses tomorrow I think

datsit
neverquit

40 kg One Arm Swings, 28 kg Front squats, horiz bar pushups, side delts

these went well. I felt surprisingly strong as soon as I gripped the bell. Power and wind were better than expected too.
My old pr was 172 reps with 5 sets of 9/9 and  5 sets of 5/5 so I just went back a little and kept them all at 8's. Good choice

One Arm Swings
16 kg x 5/5 x 2
20 kg x 5/5
24 kg x 5/5
32 kg x 5/5

40 kg x 8/8 x 10
160 reps
14,080 lbs

Long cycle clean and squat
20 kg x 3/3
24 kg x 3/3
28 kg x 3/3 x 2 sets


these were good but harder to hold in the rack than expected.Not much direct leg work but overall good total body work

Horiz pushups
4 sets of 15

tougher than expected

Side laterals
3 x 12 with 12's

ok big ruck tomorrow
BW 163.4

datsit
neverquit

Fast ruck

Solid one today. Fitness coming back it seems. No problems from yesterday's training and early morning energy good

Lowered pack weight to 42.5lb  Felt empty :)

6 laps with my honey
60 min
5th lap = 8:05

legs back and shoulders feel great. day off tomorrow then 40 kg swings on Sat

datsit
neverquit

24 kg Speed Swings, 17 min,walking lunges,parallel bar pushups, rear delts

Glenn was sick and didn't train but he was healthy enough to come over and support me . Now that's a real training partner. It also meant that I could get some footage of the swing sets. Usually he and I are going at the same time so- no video. Just wanted to have it on record.

Still not up to full power so this was tough but steady. The total time wasn't so bad  it's just hard to keep as much power output as I want on the later sets. I did my best. which is the key to progress.

24 kg Speed swings
17 min
340 reps
18,020 lbs

why that does add up quickly. Still hot enough here for me to want some sweatbands not wear a shirt AND have the fan on me. I can do long but I overheat fast and sweat like a pig

Walking lunges
4 laps of 40 steps

these were WAY tough today. Quads were still lit up from mondays belt squat.

Parallel bar pushups
20
18
15
13

66 reps

triceps death. they started tired

db rear delts
3 sets of 12 with 12 lbs

ruck up tomorrow! almost back to full strength

datsit
neverquit

24 kg KB Snatch, 24 kg KB Press, headstands, 32 kg belt squat, floor pushups, side delt

Since Glenn was still out of town I decided to play a bit and check to see how my kb snatch and press were going. After my shitty handstand attempts on Saturday I wasn't expecting much, but I wasn't in the mood for presses especially after a cert. It still really torques me I can't kb press or snatch regularly so, like I did with my two hand swing for years, I will test it occasionally to see what's up.

What's up is that is is the best it's been in years! Caught me totally by surprise. Left arm looked normal and right was damn decent for  me.

The biggest change is really working upper t spine mobility by doing extensions over the roller WITH the abs braced. It must be doing something as this felt decent!Haven't been doing as much hanging as that didn't seem to really help.

While not jetlagged a bit fatigued from jumping right back into full work and training mode
 this was the 20 kg set preceding the 24


Snatch
10 kg x 5/5
12 kg x 5/5
16 kg x 5/5
20 kg x 5/5 x 2
24 kg x 5/5 x 2

KB press
that this felt good was even more surprising than the snatch!
 16 kg x 3/3 x 2
20 kg x 3/3 x 2
24 kg x 3/3 x 2 !!


Definitely noticed on video that my right elbow does not come as deep into contact with the ribs as my left. Looks like I am not flexing the lat enough. will fix that.

Also, after watching the video a few times I notice that my right arm is not coming across the body as it does in the left.It's staying too externally rotated. Never saw that.Plus the clean ends too high on the ribs.
 Also , it looks like the side laterals I am doing are helping the press as well as the first move almost mimics that position and the shoulder is holding.Interesting.

Headstands
3 sets of practice headstand from straddle stand. Surprisingly this was waaay tougher than the lasst time I did it!! Even this. It must be something with the TKR as my weight distribution upper to lower has totally changed ,as well as left to right. even my hamstring flexibility is much different ( worse) than before. very weird.

anyway, managed to get it done. I had thoughts of being able to press up but that's a long way off for now.this will be a good thing to do if it doesn't throat punch me tomorrow :) It should help re acquaint my body with the hips over shoulder position ( stacking)

belt squat
32 kg x
12
14
16
18
20

this was TOUGH. deep squats and great leg isolation. it was good conditioning as well

Floor pushups
20
18
15
15
68 reps

side laterals
 3 x 12 with 12 lbs

not sure if I'm going to continue using the kb or go back to the barbell.I am definitely stronger because of the bar even though the weight( total) is not anymore than a 24 kg bell. I will sleep on it.
While definitely cool to be able to do again it does look like what I am doing is making the shoulder overhead ROM better so perhaps I will stick with it

But maybe not. And, we'll see if I can comb my hair tomorrow.
Oh was supposed to do craws but was too tired, laterals are easy

datsit
neverquit

Sunday Ruck. Digging back in

Things caught up a little by this morning; it's only been a week since we've been home and jumping back to basically full training loads after a week off made itself known,
Nothing terrible at all, just tired and sore overall.

Made the pack a bit lighter, 51 lbs and we're off
Starting to cool off a bit which I love so that made it easier
Still a slow start. Every lap after 5 I felt better. The first 5 were not pretty.

51 lb Ruck
12 laps
10 sets of iso squats 30 seconds ( strong and deep)
5th lap =8:15
12 lap the same
2 hours even.

BW 163

36 kg One Arm Swings, PR tie,Handstand practice, rack lunges, pushups

Surprisingly strong today. Bell felt light up the whole time, which was not expected, but after set 6 it was nothing but work. I was fine on the first arm's ten reps but after 5 on the second hand it was uphill all the way.

I hung tough and the power didn't go down too much, but like Wednesday I did it but it wasn't that strong.
But the doing of it will make me that much stronger. that's just how it works

One arm swings
16 kg x5/5 x2
20 kg x 5/5
24 kg x 5/5
28 kg x 4/4
36 kg x 10/10 x 10 PR tie

Hanstand practice
worked this with Joe as I thought I might be able to do it but no go. About 5 sets of attempts and I have to say that they were better in that I didn't feel like I was going to collapse as I kicked up- like last time!:)
So more strength but still not enough proprioception of where my hips are and still a lot of muscular restriction from ribs and lats

Lunges double bells in rack
2 12s x 5/5
2 16s x 5/5 x 4 sets

these were tough but good. using the front squat rack position forces me to stay more upright but doesn't seem to overload the shoulders as much as the 2 kb front squat does.
it's all good but these 5's are not easy on the second side so that is good. have lots to improve. starting with right leg to work the ROM on the left first and then finish with it in front for strengthening.

Parallel bar pushups
4 sets of 15

playing around with scapula mechanics with Joe

Assisted stretching overhead.

took advance of having Joe stretch out my shoulders. Oddly enough with passive stretch and a active partner my right shoulder ROM was 170 degrees! can't do that with out help but it wasn't that bad overhead!
The mystery continues

datsit
neverquit

Thursday ruck; cruising back in

The one thing that gets worked the most when I travel are my legs. I carry my ruck as my luggage so even though it's much lighter than my rucking weight it's still about 20 + lbs and it adds up over lots of airport and other walking.

So today it wasn't that much of a shock at all putting on my 47 lb ruck and getting back to the rhythm.
Still want to break back in slowly

47 lb ruck
6 laps
55 minutes
 5th lap time: 8:15

a bit slow but the whole system is a bit tired so I didn't push it at all
 a full day off then 36 kg swings

datsit
neverquit

Back in the mix

Fresh back from the first ever StrengthMatters SMK certification in the UK and I still had to make my workout.
I wrote a full debrief of the cert for another blog so this is just about getting back on the horse while my body thinks it time to go to sleep again
Actually the jet lap in either direction wasn't too bad this time and the travel was exceptionally easy. Plus I had plenty of energy and my body behaved well . I dont' think i got on a full roller all weekend but I did get a lot of stretching and demo type training in.
that was good.

So today was easy and I would have rather not started back with swing vo2 but there it was.

Speed swings
24 kg
12 minutes
15;15
10 reps /set
240 reps
12, 720 reps

this was not strong but it wasn't hard either. Just tired and hungry. But it got done and it made me just that much stronger for next time

Walking lunges
3 laps of 40
tough here, starting to run out of gas.
Legs got the most work this weekend/

Horiz bar pushups
20
15
15

trying to hold on now :)

DB side laterals
3 sets of 12 with 12's

about 60 minutes total. not bad considering. back to ruck tomorrow, that should be easier

bw after trip 161.8 pretty much exactly the same as when I left :)

datsit
neverquit

90 lb Military press,36 kg belt squat,floor pushups, leopard crawls, rear delts

last day before I leave to teach the first ever StrengthMatters Kettlebell certification. Very excited but wanted to make sure I left with no new dings so I backed off and it worked out perfectly

Military press
stick x 5
bar x 5 x 2
65 x 5
75 x 5
90 x 5 x 6 sets

these were the best presses I have done since I started pressing with a barbell again early this year. Moving my grip in ( right at the edge of the knurling) has made a HUGE difference. I can really  angle my hand on the bar and actually get some torque into my shoulders and arms

I was really  having trouble squeezing the bar( even though I was trying hard to) with the old grip. Plus I am pulling my elbows underneath me right at the start. Plus , after the initial drive I am letting my elbows flare as they want. with this narrow of a grip it won't be much

my shoulders aren't achy at the start, not getting ANY left tricep bite like I was before and the overhead position feels much better. Need less arch at the top

Interesting to see this with my shirt off and my scaps go through their paces. They are not as bad as I expected although I can really see where my scoliosis kicks in around T11-12. Right erector is still smaller than the left but the scaps are moving pretty well together . Lockout was even decent

Belt squat
36 kg x 12, 14, 16

wanted to do another set so I stopped :)

Floor pushups
3 sets of 20

same here

Crawls
3 sets of 50 ft

much stronger than last time
 db rear delts
3 sets of 12 with 12's


ok wheels up tomorrow going to make some kb instructors

datsit
neverquit

Hard ruck

Yesterdays lunges took a toll on my legs today during the ruck. I could really feel my quads working harder than normal; a good sign :) It will take a bit to adapt but it's exactly what I want-more quad work.

Fast one too though, second lap was 8:10 and last lap was 7:45! After two hours and 10 iso squats
PLUS I got the ruck selfie I told Morgan I was going to attempt. Easier to do than i thought but harder to take the damn picture.

Tried it for three laps before I got one and Tracy took this selfie photobomb :)

12 lap ruck
55 lbs
1 hr 55 min
10 isosquats

32 kg One Arm Swings, 12's, 28 kg double cleans,kb lunges, horiz pushups, side delts

Solid solid workout. I knew it was going to be good the second I hiked the 32 kg back and it felt light in my hand. Always a good sign.
It was tougher cardio wise then I expected but I think that's because I was trying to, and able, to really accelerate each and every rep as hard as I could. The second half of the second hand was always tough but getting this power out is the idea.
Maximize power and speed on heavy day and try to do the same on speed and volume day when it is lighter. It's so much easier for me to deal with being out of breath and still trying to keep acceleration of the bell high when I know I get a decent rest after the set :)

One arm swings
16 kg x 5/5 x 2
20 kg x 5/5
24 kg x 5/5
32 kg x 12/12 x 10 sets
240 reps
16,800 lbs work

this was the most consistent power output I have ever done with this weight for this many reps. and that is the goal, 12' are tough though,lol. Anything over 7 reps per arm is freakin' long
each set took about 35-40 seconds and rest/ sets about 90 seconds ( two man crew today)

Double cleans
2 20s x 5
2 24's x 5
2 28s x 5 PR


these were HARD. especially the 28''s which I think my previous best was triples. Just didn't have a lot of gas in the tank at this point. But, they got done! Need to bend my knees more on the backswing. next time

KB Lunge


these were still tough! but they really are good. I can remember when I tried to do these in the first year of my TKR recovery and could not at all so this is good progress and that's what counts

Horiz Pushups
20
20
15

55 total reps.

beat.

db side laterals
3 x 12 with 12 lbs

these are getting better and right shoulder mechanics are virtually identical to right

big ruck tomorrow. last one for ten days or more

datsit
neverquit

Fast Ruck

 Another good one today. Didn't feel any side effect at all from yesterdays 20 min swing session. Adapting very well to the workload.
Today's ruck as loose and fast too with lots of energy. Nice.
Setting up well for the week off at the cert.

47 lb ruck
6 laps
55 min( fast)

nice that the weather was 15 degrees cooler than it's been too. that helped.

ok day off then 32 kg swings.Finally heavy day isn't too heavy!

datsit
neverquit

Speed swings, 20 min,walking lunges,parallel pushups, kb rows

Slept well and after thinking just a bit about it with Glenn, decided to shoot for the full twenty minutes of speed swings. At this point it's not that big a deal how long we go. Which is precisely the level I wanted to get to.
Now it's about trying to maximize acceleration on each and every rep of every set for however minutes the set takes, The base is there, the foundation solid.This is what we've trained for. Pretty soon we should take the 32kg swing test again.  But I have a cert to do first.

Speed Swings
15:15 10 reps per set
40 sets
20 minutes
400 reps
21,200 lbs
10.6 tons

Still stayed with the head up in the bottom position. Seemed what my body wanted to do. I did use double breathing after 11-12 minute. again my body said yes so I went with it.

Walking lunges
4 laps of 40 feet

this was tough from the start as it usually is after 20 minute sets. On the last round I was taking break after the first 20 reps!

Parallel pushups
20
20
18
16
 74 total

these were very strong and no shoulder clunks at all

KB row
24 kg x 8/8 x 3 sets

solid day. ruck up tomorrow glad I did the 20 minutes now I don't have that waiting for me when I get back :)

datsit
neverquit

115 lb Military press,40 kg belt squat, floor pushups, leopard crawls, side delt

Well this was a better workout than I thought it was! Just looking back at my numbers for this and my 5x5 pr is with 110 lbs and with 120 lbs I've done 4 sets of 2. Today I did 5 sets of 3 with 115 and it was strong! Definitely could have done 4's for sure.
Made a great technique discovery too- brought my grip in about 1/2 inch closer and really worked to get and keep my elbows IN more in the rack and what a difference it made! Way more torque in the shoulder and hand

I've been struggling trying to squeeze the bar harder because it really helps strength but I just have felt like I didn't have a great grip connection- well bringing the hands in just that much made the bar fit so much better in the hand I could really crush it.

Crazy such a small thing makes such a huge difference but it can.

It also helps that my shoulders have been feeling much better of late

Military press
 stick x 5
bar x 5
65 x 5
     x 3
85 x 3
105 x 3
115 x 3 x 5 sets! PR


Belt squats
4 sets of 15 with 40 kg
VERY strong. Love these shoes

Floor pushups
4 sets of 21
84 reps

use the same thing here. closer hand spacing and more shoulder torque. NO clunking even at the later sets and reps!

Leopard crawls
3 sets of 40 50 and 60 ft

db side delts
12 lbs x 3 sets of 12

just getting back to it but man these were strong! having a strong day :)

ok day off tomorrow then speed swings!

datsit
neverquit

Long Ruck

After having to miss last week because of the workshop this weeks 2 hour session, especially after the 48kg swings yesterday was just a wee bit hard! Plus a little too much wine and food last night and it was 'you play you pay"

So I payed. Not that bad really, the weather was cooler and overcast and that helped. Nothing hurt I was just feeling tired and my legs weren't as loose. I could definitely feel the lunges I did yesterday too.

It's funny how one miss can make a difference in "feel" of effort but it does. I can still perform but it takes more to do so.

Ruck
55 lb pack
12 laps
1 hr 55 min ( fast!)
last lap time 8;03 (fast too!)
10 iso squats ( one each lap)

bw at start 163 .6
after 160.6  lol just a bit of sweating going on

presses tomorrow!

datsit
neverquit

48 kg One Arm Swing ( PR),20 kg double cleans,Wt lunges,horiz pushups

This was tough but good. I was a bit worried after the first set when I found the left hand grip not so strong for all 8 reps! Not a good sign. I really had to grip it tight to reinforce it and then I was concerned about tearing.
No  tears but this was some serious work.
All four of us agreed but in silence. When it's this tough all the chatter stops and people are just trying to survive. And not lose focus.Everyone was working
It seems that when the reps get over seven per hand with heavy loads it really gets tough.Especially on the second hand but hey, this was PR territory.
That means I've never done it so it should be expected to be a bit tough.
But my body felt great, I slept well and was mentally ready. I should have expected a tough one :)

One arm swing
16 kg x 5/5 x 2
20 kg x 5/5
24 kg x 5/5
28 kg x 4/4
32 kg x 4/4
40 kg x 3/3
48 kg x 8/8 (pr) x 10
160 reps ( ties pr)
16,960 lbs
8.48 tons

nice. and the pace was quick even with four of us rotating through. Getting close to 200 rep goal( 10 x 10/10) but it that will be a muther!
Also swing height is still lower than I want so even as I approach 200 I will have to recycle and rebuild to get more power and height in the swing.
No worries, I'll be working on something in either case

Double cleans
2 20's x 6,7,8

these were great. wanted something light after the beast work. Getting back to cleans and may play around with single cleans for reps, as a snatch substitute :)

Weighted Lunges( split squat)
2 16's x 5/5 x 5 sets

these worked perfectly. I want to give pistols a rest as it is bothering my right rectus femoris and locking the right hip a lot. I went to them to isolate the left leg for size but I think the simultaneous stretch on the right back leg might be a good thing to keep things balanced. If the right is a little bigger than the left it won't kill me
But these felt good, hard in a very good way.
some kickstand squats too but not much.

Will work those in to my daily squat/mobility work

Horiz Pushups
3 sets of 20

easy

datsit
neverquit

long ruck tomorrow.

Hot ruck

It twas a bit warm this afternoon. Close to 100 degrees at 1 pm but we kicked it into gear anyway. It's just an hour > just six laps. No worries.

Ruck
47 lbs
58 minutes
4th lap= 8:10

right hip is fine since I really unlocked that right rectus femoris

ok dats it
neverquit

Beast swings for 9/9 on saturday!

24 kg speed swings 15 min, walking lunges,parallel bar pushups, kb rows

Hardly any sleep last night but a solidly good workout today. Just didn't think about it much and it all went well. Definitely getting into the best shape in forever with this speed swing work. 15 minutes today was easy and went by like a breeze. Power and acceleration were the best ever as well.
One thing this type of training does, like it's counterpart in snatch vo2 is make you very efficient at going fast. and fast is power and high forces. 

Just what I'm going for. But it's really cleaned up my swing groove too and let  me really find my power spot better than ever. Today again. I kept my head up on the descent. Didn't think about it much I just went where the stroke felt fastest and tightest.

Don't seem to be able to do that much with the over 40 kg bells but I'm sure I'll get there.It's more of a pure hip hinge and less back but at those weights I'm not quite ready for that groove.Need all the help for power I can get

Speed swings

15:15

24 kg x 10 rep/set

30 sets

300 reps

15,900 lbs

7.95 tons

Didn't even look up til five minutes in and it seemed like two:) Just stayed with my ritual and focused on the breath.No double breathing the entire time. Didn't need it

Walking lunges

4 sets of 40 steps

changed my stride a bit. taking a longer step then really letting the knee hinge forward more rather than sharing the load more with the hip. Feels great and really puts the torch on my quads

Parallel bar pushups

 20

20

18

15

73 reps

easy. shoulder was fine

kb row

24 kg x 8/8 x 3

solid

ok ruck up tomorrow. going to be in triple digits! heat conditioning! yea :)

datsit

neverquit