"And in those simple beautiful movements I remembered what was really important in training; that consistency trumps intensity; all the time. That intensity is born from consistency. That one cannot force it, one has to lay in wait for it, patiently, instinctively, calmly and be ready to grab it when Grace lays it down in front of you."
Man, I love having done this workout but HATE having to do it. Oh yea, and DOING it. sucks too. LOL. It's actually not that bad but it's just not my cup of tea.
Did a ton of crawling yesterday and came through with NO issues save a slightly touchy left adductor that said hello in the middle of the snatch set(s) but no big deal.The crawling felt great and was very easy but I still have to be very careful not to overdo.
The KStar/Diane Fu Shoulder mob worked better than I could have ever expected and the constant ache in my right shoulder was completely GONE all day today. It's unbelievable how much more energy is immediately available when one doesn't have to deal with managing pain. Crazy.
It's almost impossible to imagine not having to manage SOME pain everyday; it's been that way for so many years. But I can see the end, actually. Haven't been so close to square, plumb and neutral since I was 17 and before my first injury.
SISU baby SISU. Never give up :)
Snatch Vo2 16 kg 15:15 32 sets of 7 224 reps 8064 lbs
not too bad at all . cooler today so we didn't sweat our asses off and that helps. Next week up to 36 or 40 and then onto the 20kg and some sets of 10/10. Not going to do Max indefinitely, that's for sure. Hate it too much:))
A cycle of Max, then some 20 kg 10's then the 24 kg for 5-7 and some volume and repeat the micro cycle. Sounds like a plan.
Sled Drag 5 laps of 200 feet.
these felt great. bumped the weight up 5lbs as well.
Triceps pushdowns with band 5 sets of 20 reps for fun datsit. Sisu/
Right shoulder was wonky all weekend although the cupping did help. But it wasn't until I got a full overhead stretchout hanging on the chin bar in all three grip variations did it settle down. Doing it again this morning plus adding in this first rib mob from KStarput the icing on the cake and it felt better in the AM than it has in quite awhile.
When the shoulder is not in the right place it 'aches'. Not a 'pain' per se, just a dull ache and messed up movement. This set the first rib and then taking the Supernova to the wrist flexors and getting the elbow to sit right made it all betta'.
When you have tight muscles and loose joints shit moves around all the time and it's a pain getting the tensions right. Especially if you want to do something more than change the channel on the TV:)
Press day today and while I thought originally about just doing 24 kg for LOTS of single I decided to try stacked presses again. last time I did them my forearms didn't like the grip and I haven't played with them in over a year. Today went well
Stacked press 1 10 kg 1 8kg ( 18 kg) x 5/5 2 20 kg x 3/3 ( 20 kg) 1 10 kg 14 kg ( 24kg ) 2/2 2 14 kg x 1/1 PR!
2 16kg x 1/1 L and R Miss! ack! 1 14+ 1 16 kg x 1/1 ( 30 kg ) x miss 1 14 kg + 1 16 kg( 30 kg) x 1/1 PR!!!
1 10 kg + 1 14 ( 24 kg ) x 5/5
whew! glad I went back and tried again, even then I missed the second attempt on the right arm. But I knew it was technical miss and went right back to it. I can get the double 16's next for sure. Most of the miss was just lack of confidence and familiarity with the movement. I was just "feeling" it out, not really going for it.
Still very happy with the day.Shoulder felt fine :)) so strange how fast things come and go these days.
Two Kb swings 2 16 kg x 10 x 8 sets
these felt great! so light now and the groove was fast and powerful.
Belt squats 40 kg x 25 x 4 sets
these were great and I was barely out of breath. Love these , they have been so consistent for me, and my knee.
Joe has been on my WSB style press program for about 8 weeks now and he was ready for his first attempt at his goal weight, a 52 kg KB Military press! He has killed all this max effort special exercises, his speed work is going great and his strength is up. Time to peak!
He pressed the Beast with both arms for the first time a few weeks ago, a pr, and had even bought a specially made 52 kg bell just for the attempt.( you can get one here for only $75 if you are so inclined) from Hammertone Bells. The thing is a monster as you can see from the photo, and the handle is THICK! 5.68 inches!
And the bell is taller than the Beast but the top of the bell is LOWER which gives it a much lower center of gravity than the DD 48 kg Joe was actually pressing from a deficit position :)) If we had taped weight to the bottom of the DD bell I believe he would have made the press easily.
He just missed it . Badly on his first attempt at it and very well on his second attempt.Missing weights well, like professional ,as Pavel woud say, is critical. One gets maximally strong using maximal weights which necessitates knowing how to miss strongly ;without hurting yourself in the process, squirreling around under the weight or using weird body english just to finish the lift.
Anything else is just panic. Not the time to panic.
It was a weird day as Joe had to just jet in, try the lift and leave, he had other business so it wasn't a 'normal' day but he did great.
I had a weird day as well. My right shoulder was moving around all day yesterday and most of the night. Didn't really get it set before the workout even though I got a solid stretch/mobility session in first.
The biceps felt tight as well so I went slowly on the warmups. Didn't really have a goal weight after last weeks Beast work; something heavy but not too heavy.
One arm swings 16 kg x 5/5 x 2 20 kg x 5/5 24 kg x 5/5 x 2 ( this is where I first felt the right elbow/biceps. Just didn't set up well I think but it made me sit up and pay attention) 28 kg x 5/5 32 kg x 5/5 36 kg x 5/5 40 kg x 5/5 x 2 32 kg x 10/10 x 3 sets
this worked out great! started all the sets above 24 kg with the left arm and the right felt better every set. Left hand grip wasn't great again at start. but got better. I'm used to starting heavy one arm work with my right side and this was definitely different.
Two hand swing
32 kg x 10
36 kg x 10
40 kg x 10
48 kg x 10
52 kg x 10 x 2 !!! Yes!
these felt great! As nasty as this bell looks for single arm work it actually is great for two hand. The handle is wider so both hands fit in easily, the thicker handle actually made for a better grip and the lower center of gravity made it feel lighter in the swing than the 48 ! Fun.:)
Two Hand CB Arm Cast 20 x 10/10 25 x 10/10 35 x 10/10 45 x 8/8 !!!
Nice! Haven't handled the 45 lber in months. Sweet!
Snatch Holds 14 kg x 30 sec 16 kg x 30 sec x 2
these felt surprisingly great! Even on the right arm. Weird . Could it have been my new toys?
My super cool Kelley Starrett designed mobilty toys in the mail yesterday from Rogue and just flat out love them.The Ball AKA Super Nova is just incredible for almost every part; the thing is dense and heavy and stays put. The nubs on the surface just grab the shear the skin/fascia just incredibly well and adheres to the skin without irritating it.
Glutes, calves hammies, hip flexors psoas are easy to get. Even the traps, scalenes and first rib areas are easy to get into with this. same for right under the armpit and the lats, teres and external rotators.
It's not comfy but you can also get it between the spine and the scapula and get some serious movement in there.
ALSO great for releasing the forearm and wrist flexors as you roll them across the top of the ball while it's one the dinner table( as mine is now :)
This thing is amazing. Right up there with as good an advancement in myofascial self release as the rumble roller was.
The Gemini is pretty cool too obviously not as overall useful but I think it's going to be magic for the T spine in a way I can't even comprehend yet. I haven't spent much time opening that area but now I think my overhead restrictions have more to do with that than the lats or pec minor. I just spent a few minutes with it horizontally and vertically between the spine and the scap and my snatch holds today felt crazy different!
Excellent.Also, Joe brought over his cupping kit and I got some serious work on all the nasty tight bits.I bought my own set today and this is going to be a very interesting experiment. It creates some nasty bruises but really gets some serious blood flow to the area and it seems to feel and move better right away!
This wasn't so bad as I expected, which is usually the case. Energy was good throughout the morning and rolled right into the workout.
I loathe these met con workouts though; they are always hard no matter how good I get at them, and when I'm out of shape for them, as I am now, they just plain suck. Good thing i have the sense to not extend this over 20 minutes and 40 sets. I used to want to go to 80 sets and that's just nuts. Protocol be damned, 20 minutes is more than enough
these went ok. for some reason I always take my shirt off to do this workout, pretty much the only time. I can't stand to have it on when I'm sweating like this and never have. If you look at my oldest videos of this protocol I have my shirt off, even in the winter,lol.
Forgot I had the kinesiotape on. Didn't plan on doing video as I started this alone( Glenn showed up midway through, missed signals there) and forgot about it. Taping the collarbone has made a big difference in the right side which has been acting up.
I know the lockouts are ugly. I'm working on it but the point of this training is moving as fast as possible and getting my HR up as much as possible. Still need to get the left side back further but again, I'm not worried.
Sled Drags 200 ft x 5 laps = 1000ft
these were easier today as well and really leaned into the last lap moving as fast as I have in a long time. that felt great! Been forever since I could run at all :(
Bodyblade laterals 3 x 10/10 Tricep extensions / bands 3 x 20 these didn't affect the shoulder as they did. Nice. datsit. Sisu/
It's been quite awhile since I could press strongly with my left arm without something screwing up but it seems to be behaving for now.Almost scared to say it, lest I jinx it, but I haven't 'clunked' on my left side in the rack position OR the press for a awhile now, although it seems I am always 'waiting' for it when I clean and press.
Last weeks six singles with the 28 gave me some confidence though and the heavy one arm , two arm and two hand swings have gotten me stronger it seems. The 28 just didn't feel that heavy , nor did the 32 kg today, when I racked it to press it.
Not happy with the technique, for sure. I did 3 sets of singles and the first set was the worst, with the arm spinning out way too early, BUT , no clunking and it was still strong. My press groove is certainly rusty too and I have more than a few options of how to press so it's a little confused as well ( me too :) .The second set was better and the third set, the one I video'd was the strongest although it still externally rotated too much.
But no pain and it motored up well so I'll take it :)
Clean and Press 16 kg x 5/5 x 2 20 kg x 3/3 24 kg x 1/1 28 kg x 1/1 32 kg x 1/1 x 3 sets 28 kg x 1/1 x 3 sets
kept feeling stronger each set but didn't want to push it any further but needed more groove practice so I went back to the 28. Wow, that moved great and the groove was much improved. I think that as my shoulder stays stable and the groove gets patterned better it will be a much nicer press. It was loose technique too, a bit of a heave but hey, right now I don't care at all.
Two KB swings 2 16's x 10 x 2 2 20's x 10 x 2 2 24's x 8 x 2 2 28's x 6 x 2
This was another surprise.I just felt strong and was ready to pick it up and run with today.Grace doesn't shine very often and one needs to be ready when it does. I SO enjoy focusing on strength rather than endurance I can't tell you. It makes it so much easier to focus in when the weight is heavy than when I am facing tens or hundreds of reps. Just my nature but I am glad I get to play like this again. SO grateful !
Belt squats 40 kg x 20 x 25 x 30 x 25
these were great as usual. Even better as I can now hold a squat bar on my shoulders again after 5+ years of not being able to! That's just craziness! Played around with this morning at work after discovering I could do it with Nick yesterday during his squats. What do you know? If you don't quit great things happen.
Perhaps I can barbell squat a bit again too. But this time I will use a high bar rack, olympic lifting shoes and squat the way I discovered at the end, when it was too late to help me. Maybe a little bit now?
Handstands against wall three sets and MAN these sucked. Haven't done any HS in months and months and tight would be a very complimentary way to describe how these felt. Have to work them back into the program again.
solid day and I am enjoying every degree of the heat and the sweat. So happy not to be frozen anymore.
Well this was a surprise! A very nice one at that. Pretty stressful day yesterday and I went into the workout not expecting much. But certainly open to the possibilities of swinging the Beast,either this week or next. I would see how I felt, as always.
And the warmups didn't feel that good,lol. So I planned on a 5-10 rep ladder with the 36 kg , the next logical progression after last weeks 32 kg work. But each set got better and after I did this set of 8/8 with the 36 I decided to give the Beast a go.
Very very happy with the workout over all, that's for sure. Haven't felt this strong in eons. especially at 157 lbs :) The most surprising part was how solid my grip was. I remember the first time I swung the 36 kg one arm a few months ago and it was my left hand grip that was the weakest link! No problem at all today on the Beast or any of the other bells. Love having my grip strength back!
One arm swings 16 kg x 5/5 x 2 20 kg x 5/5 24 kg x 5/5 28 kg x 5/5 32 kg x 5/5 36 kg x 5/5 x 6/6 x 7/7 x 8/8 40 kg x 5/5 48 kg x 5/5 All time PR!!!! 36 kg x 10/10 Two Hand Swings 36 kg x 8 40 kg x 8 48 kg x 8 x 2 rounds
Wow these weights felt so light when I got to use both hands ,lol. Very good bell speed on all reps as well and that's always a good size of power,
Two Hand Clubbell Capt America Casts 20 x 16 25 x 16 x 2 36 x 12 wow, not much volume but I was cooked. Joe and Nick were snatching the 36 and 40 kg bells and everybody was working hard, for low heavy reps. Nice! Nick even snatched the Beast with his right hand and had a awesome bailout on his left! Datsit Sisu/
A weird day today, like the Moon was in Uranus :) Nothing felt 'right'. Nothing really bad but just 'off' a bit. Oh well, if I waited until I felt great to train I would never train:) I got the news I was solo today this morning as well and Max Vo2 was on the menu. Lovely. Hate this workout and doing it alone is JUST that much more fun.
But it is also character building and I know that. Time to saddle and focus harder.You HAVE to be able to train alone or else it's never really YOURS. You're dependent on someone else to help you through the workout and that never lasts.The extra help from a good training partner is great, and it's amazing what more one can get out of oneself with a great training partner but the bottom, bottom line is you have to train when it's scheduled and that's that. No matter what.
Especially if you don't want to :) Do something.
It's so nice now that's it's finally warm again and my joints are definitely defrosting . I pledge to NEVER bitch about the heat, no matter what.Being cold is SO much harder on me it's not even close I don't mind the heat nor sweating; it's just sweat, but I do need some wrist bands or the hardest part of the workout won't be the sets and reps but not losing my grip in my own water.
Snatch Vo 2 16 kg 15:15 35 sets of 7 245 reps 8820 lbs
I hate doing this but I love having done it :) Nothing works me harder than this and going fast on something feels so good.
Not bad for a 56 year old guy if I say so myself.
The heavier swings are definitely making this feels as light as it should
Sled drag 60 lbs x 300 ft x 3 laps x 200 ft x 1 lap 1100 ft . these were extra special fun after snatch vo2:) Not much rest in between sets as without Glenn there to pace it I couldn't tell. It was like a continuation of the snatch workout, breathing( or not breathing) wise.
Bodyblade laterals 4 x 10/10 need to take these more seriously again for supraspinitus work.
Band rear delts 3 x 20 3 Direction arm circles 2 rounds
shoulders are cooked!
datsit. Sisu/
Karen and Mike Rossler's AWESOME logo for their company SisuStrength .
