ROP w/pullups

2, 3 ,3 ,4 ,5 reps each side Kettlebell Clean & Press w/ 18 kg bell.
5, 4, 3, 3, 2 reps wide-grip palms out pullups

Not happy with my cleans.  It also feels like I need to make more of an effort to create the typical Hardstyle locks.  Maybe I'm getting lazy?  Something to work on next time.

I also did 3 practice reps with the 24 kg bell to see what it felt like.

Training like the old-time strongmen

I have been busy with my new puppy lately so I forced to squeeze in workouts when I can get em.  Last night I did the clean and presses from the ROP, this morning I did a restart of the fighter pullup proram and this afternoon I did kettlbell getups. 

I'm on the 2nd day of the ROP using the 18 kg bell.  I wonder if this was too small of a starting weight because even the 5th set felt moderately easy.  I don't want to underestimate how hard it may be to do 5 sets of 5 reps (each side) with this bell so I figured I would stick with the program and slowly work up to it.  Today I did 2,2,3,4,5 reps.  Remember, a rep is a full clean and press and I do the same number of reps each side.  I closed that session with 3 reps using the 24 kg bell to see what it felt like.  Not too bad but still something of a rock.



Restarting a fighter pullup program as I took 2 weeks off pullups to nurse my fucked up elbow.  It's feeling about 80-90% so I figured I'm ready.  Today I did 5,4,3,2,2, reps

Rite of Passage Day #1

I've been doing the Program Minimum (swings and getups) for the past 3 months and am ready to switch things up a little. I plan on coming back to the PM sometime soon because I think it is the best method in creating strength throughout the entire body. I'm interested in improving my clean technique and pressing strength so today I did the first day of the Rite of Passage (ROP).

The ROP as described in Enter the Kettlebell is typically an escalating ladder of clean and presses. You have the option of doing pullups in between sets but I plan on doing my pullups at a different time. I figure this is the best way to focus on strength training as opposed to conditioning.

Today I did 5 sets of 1,2,3,4,5 reps of clean and presses. To be clear, each rep is a clean and a press. A ladder of 5 reps is actually 10 cleans + 10 presses so doing 5 sets of 5 is a pretty big workload. Looking forward to slowly working my way through the ROP :) I need to take the twisting out of my cleans and get more hip drive. I only have a small amount of clean training in my history. It's way harder than it looks.
I also re-started my pullup ladder using a palms-out wider than shoulder width grip.  My right elbow was bothering me for a couple of weeks so I couldn't do any pullups comfortably.  A few hours after doing the ROP I did 5,4,3,2,1, reps of pullups. 

Just enough training

I'm very interested in hormesis.  The definition of hormesis is to get a  generally favorable biological responses to low exposures of stressors.  I first learned about hormesis when reading about food, particularly vegetables.   There are plenty of scientists who have written about how little vegetables you need to sustain a healthy body.  The basic idea is that a small portion of vegetables eaten on a regular basis will give you the same positive result as stuffing yourself with vegetables all day.  There is no value to eating more than this small amount of vegetables.  There are no superfoods and no, eating broccoli will not stop you from getting cancer if you are genetically predisposed and eating a bunch of other crap.   

Applying the idea of hormesis to my training is an exciting idea.  Why should I train one second longer than I have to in order to get the results I am looking for?  It's been my experience this past couple of years that the less time I devote to training the quicker my strength increases. You still need to train regularly for this type of training to work.  As a matter of fact consistency is everything when applying hormesis to our training.

One of my favorite quotes, one that I read almost every day is at the top of Rifs blog, "Consistency trumps intensity; all the time." http://www.rifsblog.blogspot.com/

Blogging about this  because my new puppy Ripley is demanding every second of my free time.  This seems to be the ideal time to apply hormesis to my training and see how little work I can get away with and still get results.

Instead of doing 10 sets of hi-pulls today in 2 rounds of 5 I did 7 sets on-the-minute.   I typically like to do 5 sets with longer rests for strength training and 5 rounds with shorter rests for conditioning.  My right arm is still hurting a little bit, about a 5/10 on the pain scale so I used the 16 kg bell for all 7 sets on my right side and managed to use the 24 kg bell for the last 5 sets. 

I also did 4 kettlebell getups using the 12kg, 18, 24, 24-left, 24+9 bells for a PR on my right side, finished off with another round using the  24. 

Getup PR - 5 sets both side 24 kg + Hi-pulls

Got my training done even with the new puppy howling in the background. I am sure she will get used to watching me train.   I want  her to be able to sit quietly in the room with me while I train. Today I leashed her to a kettlebell and she yelped for about half the session but was quiet for the 2nd half.  A serious test of focus doing getups with all that shrieking.

I'm in the 4th week of what would typically be a 4 week cycle but I am going to do one additional week of this hi-pull/getup routine. Dealing with a few minor injuries slowed me down a little and I want to catch up next week. My right arm is much better but I didn't want to push too hard it today so I did 16 kg 1-arm swings on my right arm for all 10 sets. As usual I did 5 sets on the 2nd minute and 5 sets on the minute. With my left side I used the 24 kg bell for all sets except for the very last set which I used my 18 kg bell. I am definitely feeling stronger in the backswing (even after dropping the bell last week lol) which is why I started substituting hi-pulls for 1-arm swings.  I want to start doing 1-arm swings with a 28 kg bell but I will need to buy one first :(

I also PR'd Getups - 5 sets both sides with the 24 kg bell. I rested for 90 seconds or less between sets. I didn't want to rush the rest periods but I wanted to make sure this was a legit 5 sets and I wasn't taking "stay fresh" too far.

10 sets 9/9 reps Hi-pulls and a Getup PR

Had a good session today despite dealing with my fucked up right elbow.  I seem to be able to do getups safely on the right side but when I bend the arm for the hi-pull it's about 7/10 on the pain scale.  I still want to train my right side so I'm sticking to my routine and again reducing the weight I use 40-50%.  My theory is that if I continue training my right side all of the elbows supporting muscles will maintain their strength and hopefully "pull" my elbow into a healthy state. 

Hi-pulls - 5 sets of 9/9 on the 2nd minute and on the minute.  I used the 16 kg bell on the right side for the first round of 5 sets and the 12 kg bell for the faster paced 2nd round.  I used the following weights for my left side: 1st round of 5 sets -  16 kg, 24, 24, 24, 24, 2nd round of 5 sets 16 kg, 18, 24, 24, 24.

Getups - I did 5 rounds using the following weights: 16 kg bell, 24, 24, 24, 24.  4 rounds with the 24 kg bell on both sides is a nice PR.

dropping the bell Hi-pulls, getups - more training with small injuries

My lower back issue is almost 100% better only a week after I first noticed it.  Unfortunately my right elbow started hurting pretty badly about 5 days ago.  I am pretty sure this is a repetitive use issue, not from kettlebell training but instead from my many years as a professional online poker player.    I had terrible problems with my hands and elbows after playing over 3-4 million online poker hands over the course of about 7-8 years.  These pains went away within a year of me leaving poker (well, kicked out is more like it) but out of nowhere my right elbow is quite sore.  It hurts when I squeeze my right hand into a fist so that leads me to believe it is referred pain from my hand.  I'm going to have to back off when training my right side.  Instead of not training the right side at all I'm going to go about 50% lower training weight and see what happens.

Today I did Kettlebell Getups and Hi-pulls. I typically do hi-pulls first but I wanted to go for a PR on my left side and thought it would be best to do it fresher than if I did it after hi-pulls.  I trained with my girlfriend Grace who is doing the ROP.  We alternated me doing getups and her doing her clean and press ladder.  It made for a nice pace as we are trying to stay fresh with this type of training. 

I did 5 getups with the 16 kg , 18, 24, 24+4 left and 24 right, 24 kg bell.  Pretty amazing thing doing a 28 kg getup on my left side!  3-4 months ago I could not do a getup on my left side with the 16 kg bell.  Feels pretty good :)

Grace and I are both doing hi-pulls so we alternated doing 8/8 reps for 5 sets on the 2nd minute and 5 sets on the minute.  I used the 12 or 16 kg bell on my right side so as not to aggravate my elbow.  On the left side I used the 12, 16, 18, 24, 24 kg bells for both rounds of 5 sets.    We'll see how the elbow feels tomorrow.  I must remind myself to ice this thing!

Oh yeah, while doing hi-pulls I dropped the 24 kg bell on the backswing for the first time since training with it!  It was getting hot as hell with both Grace and I training and my hands got too sweaty.  Wow it made a tremendous thud!  I'm glad it happened because now I know it is not the end of the world if I have to let go of the bell for whatever reason. 

Training through minor injuries - more Hi-pulls and Getups

I've never injured myself training.  My injuries always come from doing something I would consider stupid in hindsight.  My last long-lasting injury happened while I was vacuuming.  I made the mistake of trying to pick up the vacuum cleaner with my arms extended.  Way too much pressure for my upper back I guess and I was out of action for about 3-4 months. 

Another typical way I injure myself is moving shit around, particularly heavy training equipment.  So yeah, I hurt my lower back last weekend from loading and unloading the car one too many times for bootcamp and another class I taught at my friends martial arts school.   I believe it is the combination of extending my arms with heavy weights and twisting into unorthodox positions that is fucking me up.

So I'm just a little bit injured.  Not too much but enough to know I have to pull back at least a little.  Lucky for me I am only in the 2nd week of a 4 week training program.  If you've paid attention to my blog you know I train 3 weeks forward, 1 week back when it comes to volume and intensity.  Last week I went very light and this week I plan on adding only a little volume and weight.  No videos today but here's the routine:

5 minute warmup

Kettlebell Hi-Pulls - 5 sets on the 2nd minute and 5 sets on the minute.  I did the same rep scheme and weights for each 5 set round.  16 kg, 18, 24, 24, 24 kg bell. 

Kettlebell Getups - 4 total rounds each side using the 16, 18, 24, 24 kg bell.

I barely noticed my little back problem while training. 

Light hi-pulls, getups and some pistol work

1-arm hi-pulls  - 5 sets on the 2nd minute followed by 5 sets on the minute using the 12 kg, 16, 18, 24, 24 kg bell for both 5 set rounds. 

Getups 1 round each side with 12 kg, 16 and 24 kg bell.

Decided to start some Pistol Squat progressions since I do no squatting at the moment and these shouldn't take too much from my recovery ability.  If I thought I was strong practicing these exercises proved otherwise.  I tried to do 3 sets of 5 of following variations but the last variation I could barely get 3 sets of 2.  Long way to go!

Fighter pullup program 5, 4, 4, 3, 3

Wide grip, palms out.  Not too thrilled about my lower-body movement but happy about my lockouts.
Today was 5, 4, 4, 3, 3 reps.  I'm enjoying this work because I can do it at any time and it takes less than 10 minutes.  I'm going to do the same thing with pistol squats and 1-arm pushup progressions and see where it takes me!