Monday, January 28, 2013

Double 22 kg swings and KB front squats



These are really coming along and today I made a great little technique discovery that will make things even that much easier. I decided that instead of trying to keep the handle above the knees I would let it go as low as I wanted to find more space in the groove.My arms are seriously long and my back is very short so keeping them up tight makes for very little reach back and a resulting less powerful up swing.


By reaching down more it really let me feel a bigger ROM and the swing felt great. Height was no problem and the 22's felt like 16's or less. Most excellent. Another example of how my form is almost never "standard". But I can get it done as long as I listen to my body and the resulting outcome of strength and power

Double kb swings
2 16's x 5 x 2
2 20's x 5
2 22's x 5
          x 6
          x 7
          x 8 x 3 rounds
78 reps
7550 lbs

nice thing about double work is that the pounds add up fast! Using  four different weights is really letting me dial in my strength speed and endurance in a variety of ways, and each contributes to the other and builds the other.

Double KB Front squat
2 16's x 3,4
2 20's x 5

In my Quest to 'restore my lost physical functions' as JDC put it so well, I decided to restart kb front squats. Now that my shoulder is stable( it used to sublux when holding the bells in the rack position ) and my back is stable enough as well to tolerate the ab loading squats give, AND the belt squats have been working so well I thought I needed another day of leg work I would give them a whirl.

Since I can't do them to SFG standards with a close stance and rock bottom I decided I would do them in the way that I can, power squat style, with a wide stance, vertical shin and pushing hips back. Your basic hinge.

While I am embarrassed to put up this video with such shallow depth I wanted to record where I started back so here it is:


the key things: my shoulder stayed in place, my knee and back felt fine, and I could really feel my glutes working. All good. I will get better depth as I relearn how to do this. I haven't done a loaded squat in many years( belt squats recently aside)

I am very happy with this start.

Belt squats
40 kg x 20 x 3 sets
         x 30 x 1 !!! Burn in the quads! Burn in the squats. NICE! very close stance and a high tempo.Love these

Floor pushups
3 sets of 7 reps with pause on floor.

WOO HOO! Real pushups again with no destabilization at all! Killer! Ring dips are next.

datsit tired and cold
Sisu/


When I say kettlebell I mean strength. When I say strength I mean kettlebell. 

5 comments:

Joe Sarti said...

Awesome! Love the front squats. question regarding elbow position: I notice as you squat that the elbow/forearm does not stay perpendicular to the floor. I assume this is due to the shoulder. I can only imagine how damn strong you are to hold this position! Nice work per usual :-)

Mark Reifkind said...

it's actually about my knee Joe. I have to sit back to do this and I have to raise the elbow to counterbalance. If I could stay more upright I would be able to keep them more perpindicular.

Of course with a barbell front squat they lift up as well

Diana said...

Mark,
Question in regards to the double swings....
I seen a video that was floating around FB of a gentleman who did a 20 minute KB workout that was incredible..he was 60+years old. When he did the dbl swings, he swung the bells on the outside of his legs instead of the usual way inside. Kind of like swinging 2 suitcases. His hip snap looked great, it looked good to me, but just wondering if that's an okay alternative.....

Squats look good. Mine are the same-I hope to progress and get farther down at some point-all in due time!

Thanks!

Joe Sarti said...

Makes sense, this would force you to push the elbow up which is what I would suspect. ;)

brucedalai said...

Hi Mark,
great to see you are doing squat's!! Good work!

For me it was a long way to get back the mobility to perform a deep squat. I know how difficult this way is. I wish you all the best for the next step's to get back the natural squat position!

Take care &
best regards,
Sascha

195 x 1 x 11 , 20 kg swings 5 x 8/8, floor pushups 35, 25

  Not great sleep and a bit sore ( no aspirin for last three days) so all in all it was a strong day . Just definitely not 'fresh'  ...