28 kg press, 36 kg belt squat, sled drag

I only missed two days of real training but it feels very odd. My SFG Kettlebell user course in Modesto this weekend went great, but 10 hours of teaching and demo'ing is not the same as training and adding in 3 hours of driving and I was a tired puppy at the end of Saturday night. So no ruck walk on Sunday and I settled for a hot bath, a long stretchout and a bunch of movies.

Just what the doctor ordered. Had to climb back on the saddle today despite all kinds of snafu's that came in a nice organized blast, one after another, that tried to conspire to keep me out of the gym  but I knew I had to get in there. Sure enough it was a slow start but a strong finish

KB press
16 kg x 3/3 x 2
20 kg x 3/3
24 kg x 2/2
28 kg x 1/1 x 8 sets

man this took forever to get grooved, but by the last few sets there were feeling great. and moving great too. I had had plans to do 32 kg cleans also but got a very late start so I skipped them. Next time. the bell felt light and moved fast. On both sides  even. My teres major release with the S hook massage tool has been doing the trick and releases all kinds of tightness simultaneously! about time I found the button for this/

Belt squat
36 kg x 10, 10, 10 , 12

very good and very deep. the last two sets all the reps the bell touched the floor. Got a decent stretchout this morning too and that helped a ton

sled drags
92 lbs x 250 ft x 4 laps

in the cold and driving down rain! lol. ran and bounced in place waiting my turn to keep warm and it was easy! good stuff coming.

wanted to test out handstands today but again. no time but for the meat. potatoes next week too :)

datsit.
neverquit

20 kg snatch,pullups, lunges and crawls

Wow. didn't expect to feel this good today. slept weirdly ( in two hour, deep bursts,then awake then back to deep sleep, about four time :) and Monday was tough. But the shoulders been holding together very well and my recovery seems better all the time.

Lots of stretchout time as well and that always helps. Spend most of the workday today in squat position or standing, hardly any sitting on ball and it was strong too. Rest squat keeps getting better as well.

Taught a student how to jump rope today which included a lot of demo for walking and running in place and even some jumping and it was no problem. have to go VERY slowly here and be very careful but it was so weird to be doing that again. Cool, too.

The bell felt light, wind felt easy, groove felt solid and my shoulders did not feel like coming out of the sockets and I could really apply myself. Mind set was solid as well.

Snatch
16 kg x 5/5 x 2
20 kg x 10/10 x 7 sets
140 reps
6160 lbs

this was as good as it's been for me in years.no hesitation. no fear. it was grand.

Pullups with purple band
4 sets of 6,5,5,5

opened my grip up a little wider than shoulder width on the second set and what a difference! MUCH easier and less restriction in the right shoulder.and less work on the elbow flexors too. Keeper. Could have done sets of 8-10 no problem> Overgrip thumbless is back too

Rear step lunges
4 sets of 10/10 foot on 35 lb plate.bodyweight

as the PT from Revolutions showed me this was great. doing them off the step was perfect and in front of the mirror to maintain alignment. will weight them after 5 sets of 15 each

crawls
3 passes of 60 feet
1 pass of 100 feet

even these felt strong. good day today. Going to teach my first ever SFG kettlebell course in Modesto this weekend so will skip Saturday's training in lieu of 9 hours of teaching and demo'ing. No worries. Will ruck on sunday though

datsit
neverquit.

Another attempt at stacked 16 kg press, another miss :)

It don't always go and learning to miss a max lift safely is an important part of the game.I thought after last weeks miss I would be able to give this a better go but it didn't turn out that way. I had a different strategy: use the 16 kg as the base for all the warmups and just change the top weight. I thought the extra thickness of two 16 kg handles threw me off last week but it was just too heavy.
Just not strong enough. Yet.

But the warmup attempts were much stronger with better grooves so I am happy. I did 30 kg again with both hands this time on first attempts and that's better. Plus they were easier and gave me a lot of confidence that I could do double 16's but it didn't happen.

Stacked double press
16 kg x 3/3
16+8 x 3/3 24 kg
16 + 10 x 3/3 26 kg
16 +14 x 1/1 30 kg ( VERY strong and easy on left two attempts on right to find groove)
16 + 16 miss/ no attempt right.( didn't want to risk shoulder )

Single kb press
24 x 2/2

double kb press


wanted to give these a try and it was fun. not that good but fun. The good news is that both arms went up pretty evenly. the bad news is that my overhead position isn't really any better. But this incline type attempt was strong for me.

it was this way in powerlifting; my body didn't want to do things a certain way so I had to find another. I once made  my third and last attempt at bench press to stay in the meet by switching from regular grip bench to reverse grip.My shoulders were much happier but no one else was doing it way( well, almost no one- Anthony Clark bench 700+ in reverse grip) but I didn't care. Nor do I now. There is more than one way to press anything legitimately. And safely.

2 16's x 3
2 20's x 3
2 24's x 3
2 20's x 3

Tug of war Belt squat
32 kg x 12,12, 10, 10

these went great and the bell touched the floor on the last set for the last 4 reps :) Very cool

Sled drag
92 lbs x 250 ft x 4 laps

very strong, got up on my toes and really 'faked' sprinted on some pieces on the last pass :) After three very tough leg days already it's nice to still have some legs in me. Getting where I want to be.

datsit
Neverquit

Sunday ruck: if you can't go fast, go long.

So I did, even just a little. For some reason  I woke up pretty damn stiff and sore today and the walk started off pretty slow. and stayed that way :) I didn't sleep all that well and slept in a bit more than usual to make up for it and didn't stretch out before the walk.
Not sure it would have made a difference. the legs felt heavy and even though the pack didn't feel heavy it I was about 20 seconds slower per lap than last week.

So I just settled in and just focused on gait mechanics, breathing and made sure interesting discoveries about foot strike position for me as well as posture. Another reason I like walking laps is that there is nothing to do but focus on the body and the movement, not distracted by new interesting scenery.

As much as possible I choose to 'associate' rather than 'disassociate' when doing endurance work, makes it much easier to figure things out as they occur rather than later.Or never.But the extra running in place, recumbent work and static squat work I did on friday, along with the heavy swings yesterday took their toll and I just settled in for the slog

So it was a good time to add another half lap into the mix and another five minutes to the walk. Not much but it does add up

10.5 laps
1 hour 52 minutes
30 lb ruck

now I have some serious stretching to do,as well as a very hot bath.

44 kg One arm swings, 28 kg double bell swings

More strong. Slept good, woke good and stretched out easy. The warmups felt light and strong and I took big jumps. When I got to the 44 it felt strong in my hand. Not light but strong. Grip felt solid as a rock and I remember so well when the 36 for triples tested my left hand grip big time.
All this heavy swing work is paying off; my grip feels like it did when I deadlifted and rowed heavy.
'Bout time.

One arm swings
16 kg x 5/5 x 2
20 kg x 5/5
24 kg x 4/4
32 kg x 3/3
36 kg x 3/3
44 kg x 5/5 x 5 sets
         x 6/6 x 3 sets
         x 10/10 x 1 set
106 reps  ( new pr)
10,282 lbs of work

very happy with this

Double bell swing
2 20's x 10
2 24s x 8
2 28's x 7 x 3 sets
            10 x 1 set
these felt light til I got to the 10 rep set. that got me :) but overall very happy with this load.

db shoulder complex
bent laterals
thumb down side raises
4 x 15/15 x 4 sets

left out the front raises as I didn't feel they were helping my overhead position or scap strength. the rear and side delt work is good though.

big ruck tomorrow and feeling good! Had a very very solid full one hour stretch out yesterday getting both lower and upper body as well as ten solid minutes of recumbent bike work up to level 7, running in place! ( getting ready to jump rope) and some 10-15 full trotting throughout as well. this is very encouraging!

Plus the usual rolling, squat stance holds, couch series and ring/ stick overhead work as well.
Shoulders are feeling the best in many many moons.Freaking AWESOME! the myo release work on the forearms( flexor pollicus longus especially, as well as flexor digitalis) is keeping things square. That and the straight arm ring work is making a huge difference
It's always about finding that ONE key that unlocks all the doors.
It's tough but once I do it really pays dividends and makes repair and maintenance that much more efficient


datsit
neverquit

24 kg snatches, front squat, chinups and crawls

The day started out rough but ended very well with the 24 kg snatch feeling very strong and my overhead position the best it's been in ages. The combination of the ring stretches and really digging into my very tight forearms with the lacrosse ball seems to have made a big difference in my overhead lockout. the shoulders felt the best the they have in forever. I almost forgot what it felt like NOT to have them ache.

Not much stretchout time this morning but I got enough in in the breaks

Snatch
16 kg x 5/5 x 2
20 kg x 5/5
24 kg x 6/6 x 10 sets
120 reps
6360 lbs

didn't have to warmup much, made big jumps and had no problem at all with the weight or the reps. I even thought about doing 12/12 on the last two set but decided not to push it.But I could have done it no problem. cardio was strong too .

2 kb front squat
2 16 x 5
2 20 x 5
2 24 x 5 x 2
2 20 x 3 paused


these were "OK" Depth wasn't that good and  the main load was on the arms and shoulders and abs, not the legs. it's ok but it's certainly not my leg move of choice. it's good to keep the skill up and the 24's were not hard except in the arm sense.
No heavier I need depth more than weight.
Tried a wider stance as I can get deeper that way with no weight but not with the bells yet.

chinups purple band
4 sets of 4

these went great! first time trying the underhand chin grip and it was perfect. fits very well with the arched back, bodybuilder style I am using and now and I think my shoulders will like it much better too. we'll see tomorrow. the reps were easy.

crawls
4 passes of 70 feet.

strongest yet. didn't feel like throwing up at all :)

datsit.
neverquit

30 kg stacked press, 32 kg belt squats and sled pull

this went well and although the video above was in May 2013 the attempts today went about the same.I tried, and missed , double 16's( 32 kg) but it felt strong. I think the extra sized handles of both bells made a difference( harder). It definitely helped me establish a good press groove and this time it didn't jack up my forearms like it did the last time I tried them.

Interestingly, the groove required much less rotation than my normal press and the start position was  more  vertical forearm and less 'lay across the chest, then turn into it " and press than I thought. but it showed me a good groove.

Lots of misses and retakes than were made. all in all a very good session. Will do it again next week. and perhaps actually train some bottoms up presses soon as well

Stacked press
10+8( 18) x 3/3
10+10 ( 20 kg) x 2/2
12+12( 24 kg ) x 2/2
14+12 ( 26 kg) x 1/1  missed first one left, I think, remade it on second
14+14( 28 kg) x 1/1 miss right. made on second
14+14 x 1/1 miss made right first this time and then 2 attempts for  second
16+14( 30 kg ) x miss left, made right
                       x made left miss right, then make it  :)
                       x 1/1
32 kg x miss/ miss

actually surprised I missed the 32 kg but I think the added thickness of the handle size just threw me off enough.Have to press like a GS or bottoms up press as well. can't go "out" at all. this was a great learning session

belt squats ( tug of war style)
32 kg x 10 x 4 sets

best ever! really focused on  shifting the weight to the toes instead of the heels  as I broke parallel and it made all the difference ( thanks Geoff Neupert!) Also turned my toes out 5-7 degrees and than made the shift to the ball of the foot much more natural. great quad work too

Sled pull
92 lbs x 250 ft x 4 laps

strong! much better than crawls for this day.

forgot to do pullups though! DOH!

but had a SOLID hour stretchout this morning, really concentrating on upper body but getting plenty of  quad and hip flexor stretching in as well. started using starretts' couch stretch series for the hip flexor/quads and it worked great


get pullups in on Wednesday. recovered great from this weekend

datsit
neverquit

Sunday ruck and a brief supported squat tutorial

As I expected ( and hoped) I woke up fine from yesterday's training, ready to go on my walk. Pack weight stayed the same ( 30 lbs) and did 10 laps again. Tracy walked the first five with me as well as she gets into the prep for a Grand Canyon hike ( at some point in the future :) )

Total hike time : 1:45 . Dead at the end, as usual. I really bonk hard after the last lap and the 5 min walk home seems uber slow. :)

Stopped each lap to do my supported squat stretches and the above is a good example of what I do, except I vary the stance width each set.

datsit
Neverquit.

I love it when strong shows up. 36 kg one arm swings and 24 kg doubles

Ah it's so nice to feel strong. Strong showed up today, quite unexpected, but so welcome nonetheless. Slept well, stretched out well and just "felt it" today. Another goal of mine besides the back of iron and legs that never quit is to be able to do heavier than ever workloads and not feel anything. that day or tomorrow.

We'll see about tomorrow but today was a big pr and it felt easy peasy.
I'm betting I'm fine tomorrow too. Hitting a new stride.

One arm swings
16 kg x 5/5 x 2
20 kg x 5/5
24 kg x 5/5
32 kg x 3/3
36 kg x 8/8 x 8 sets
         x 16/16! x 1 set
160 reps
12,640 lbs

I remember quite well how hard the 36 kg was, especially for my left hand grip, for many many months, and how I struggled with it. This was awesome. Even the last set of 16/16 was not hard.

Double KB swings
2 20's x 8
2 24's x 8 x 4
         x 10

these two felt light and easy. BW is up 159.4 today, but bodyfat is low, I feel bigger and less fat so I guess I'm putting on some muscle. Hey I could put 5 pounds on that left leg/glute and not change anything else so it has to go somewhere :)

DB shoulder complex with 8's
bent laterals
thumb down lateral
alt front raises
4 rounds of 12 each

datsit!

heavy ruck tomorrow and we'll see if I can get another half lap in and get closer to 2 hours :)

never quit.

22 kg snatch, kb front squats and sled and a recumbent bike surprise.

SO weird. My shoulders keep trading back and forth which one is more restricted and tight. For a few weeks it was my right side and now it's back to the left. I did as desired, spent my open hour this am stretching and mobilizing the upper body in prep for the snatch workout today and things felt very good.
Especially after one of the PT's at No Excuses worked on the right side, which is the truly more injured side for a bit today. And my right shoulder had much better ROM at snatch workout than the left, which was way worse than it felt.

that's one of the reasons I love having video of my training; what I feel is going on in the body is rarely what actually is going on. seeing is believing, if not disturbing.It wasn't long ago my left overhead position was awesome ( this is on 2008 I believe) with NO actual incidents or injuries in the interim. It was deteriorated despite working on it all the time. Of course I am 57 years old and that, any way you cut it , is old athletically. Especially with the hard miles I have on this chassis but I don't care. I will figure it out.

Snatch workout
16 kg x 5/5 x 2
20 kg x 5/5
22 kg x 7/7 x 10 sets



they actually felt stronger than they have in forever and my wind was solid, pace fast(  just glen and I alternating I go you go, and the strength definitively UP. The bell felt like and nothing hurt.
Except looking at that left arm lockout ( sortof- PAINFUL :)


Prying goblet squat
 20 kg x 1
24 kg x 1 x 2

these weren't as helpful as I had thought they would be, or as is supported prying squats that I do earlier. Just really works the biceps and arms too much for the benefit.

2 kb front squat
2 16s x 5
2 20's x 5 x 5!!


these were strong as well, although I see that I am sitting back on my heels still. didn't feel that as much doing them as it shows, and, I thought I was deeper. I was looking in the mirror too. Ok  lots more work to do BUT they felt springy in the bottom and strong out of it and the knee was FINE! No pain at all, just need more ROM

which btw I have now in the recumbent bike,which I rode easily today for 15 minutes with ZERO problems in rotations and at level 5. Felt great. Haven't even tried in months

sled drag
95 lbs x 250 x 4 laps

these went great. legs strong and wind solid although I still wanted to throw up :) just tired now and hungry.


datsit.
neverquit

28 kg press, 36 kg belt squat and I hate daylight saving time

I hate it. I get up every morning at 3:45 am and that's just as early as I ever want to do it. When the clock springs forward, like it did this morning it's really 2:45 and that's not early morning, it's the freakin' MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT and it was NO fun at all today, despite getting to bed on time and having a good night's sleep ( until I woke up too early).

Felt just like jet lag and that was not fun.So when I got to the gym today I was glad it was just presses and not snatches for volume.

Had a solid shoulder stretchout mob session today and that helped.


One arm swing warmup as usual
KB press
16 kg x 5/5
         x 3/3
20 kg x 3/3
24 kg x 2/2
28 kg x 1/1, 2/2 x 7 rounds

these went very well and I think I found a missing piece of the puzzle. I didn't 'spin out' on my left side until  the fifth set when I realized I had not really gotten the hand through the kb window all the way. basically it was sitting shallow in the grip and that's when the bell spun out early.

on the next set when I got the hand cinched in deep( I think false grip) it was fine. the 28 kg is becoming a regular training weight again and that's great.Shoulders are still feeling fine and the presses didn't aggravate them either. the heavier bell and lower reps are doing their job- keeping the move strong but not too much volume.

Band pullups
5 sets of 5 purple band

 these were easy. time to move to black mini band. still: thumbless grip, medium width, bar to chest. did switch standing in band to left leg instead of right and that helped keep my even more square at the top. never did that before

belt squat- partner supported
basically a tug of war squat position
36 kg x 8 x 5 sets

these went great! bell is almost hitting the floor. medium close stance and really focusing on looking up and keeping t spine extended.

crawls
4 passes of 60 feet.

these always kick my ass. great finisher.

datsit. finally a day off
neverquit.

Sunday Ruck 30 lb pack

" A back of iron and legs that never quit".

That was, and is my main training/life goal, and has been ever since I read it in Pavel's original classic the Russian Kettlebell Challenge.

At the time I was suffering greatly from a lumbar disc herniation and my knee was, well my knee and barely worked at all. So it was a dream more than a goal. But now it is coming to pass, thanks to a Czech manual therapist named Vladimir Janda and my amazing knee surgeon. Janda's work, which I learned of through Paul Chek taught me about length tension relationships, and inbalances, and helped me rehab my back through proper stretching and strengthening.
My surgeon replaced my arthritic knee was metal and high grade plastic and that has made all the difference.
I don't care for doctors much but I love me some surgeons! :)

Bumped up the ruck weight to 30.4 lbs and could immediately tell the difference when I started walking! My legs lit up very fast and it was slow,literally, start.I wondered if I could do all ten laps and made peace with the idea I might have bit off too much and would have to cut back to eight or so laps instead.

Daylight savings time didn't help either but I like walking in the dark :)

The first five laps were a slog with lap times down 10-15 seconds a lap ( from 8 min to 8:15-20). I still stopped each lap for a minute of squat stretches as well. The second half of the walked was much better; I loosened up, my groove appeared and my per lap pace picked up. I am a seriously slow warmer upper :)

According to the pedometer:
8,781 steps
3.7 miles
2.7 average speed
1:44 minutes

this didn't account well for the 10 stops but it gave me the gist of what I did.

My stats
30.4 lb pack
1 hour 45 min time
ten laps
10 min long squat stretches
bw at start 159
bw at finish 157 :)

going to keep this pack weight for a good while. It's heavy enough.

datsit
neverquit/

28 kg One arm swings, 22 kg two bell swings;

Start of a new cycle and I had a great idea. Instead of just cycling the 24, 32, 40 and 48 kg bells I will do TWO different cycles. the one above and these bells: 28,36,44 and 48. this will give me 8 different intensities, volumes and pr's work with. I like it already.

So today started with the 28 kg and sets of 8/8. Could have done sets of 10/10 but there is no hurry. Shoulders are still intact and responding well to the ring mobs!  Still need more teres major and subscap release, as I found out afterward when Joe Sarti worked with me as to why my overhead position has deteriorated so much and those tight buggers seem to be the answer. Need to spend more specific SMR time on them as well as having him release them professionally.

One arm swings
16 kg x 5/5/ x 3
20 kg x 5/5
24 kg x 4/4
28 kg x 8/8 x 10 sets
160 reps
10,080 lbs

two kb swings
2 16's x 8
2 20's x 8
2 22's x 8 x 5 sets

these went great as well. I will alternated two hand swings with these, every other month. the cycle for two bells will be 22, 24, 38, 32 kg for a variety of reps.
for two hand swings the loads will be pyramided each week for strength work from 40 -68 kg.

DB shoulder complex
bent laterals
infraspinitus laterals
alternate front raises 3 x 10 each with 8's

easier and stronger than last week. definitely need these

Rope triceps extensions
4 sets of 15-10

solid session not too hard but not easy either. with just Joe and me there the pace was very fast.  lots of fun
Big ruck tomorrow, adding in another 2 lbs should bring it up to 30 lbs total. weigh it before I start :)

datsit
neverquit

20 kg snatch, goblet squat, 2 kb front squat,sled

Good training day. Had a full hour to stretch and mobilize the legs today and that helps so much. Really need to do this everyday, if I can just get up earlier :) Also  lots of trx shoulder work, definitely digging that.

Snatch
16 kg x 5/5 x 3
20 kg x 5/5
         x 7/7
          x 10/10 x 6
144 reps
6336 lbs

as good as my shoulders felt all day that's how tight they were when I tried to go overhead! But, I didn't do very much overhead stretching as per usual today. No behind the back stick dislocates OR bar hanging OR t spine shoulder mobs. I guess it makes a difference
when my shoulders finally opened up ( around 50 reps) it wasn't bad and my wind for the sets of 20 wasn't bad at all especially considering it turned into a swamp here today. Literally hot and muggy!

Goblet squats
16 kg x 2
20 kg x 2
24 kg x 2

these felt great and the weight is insignificant but it really lets me sit back against it. So much progress yet so far to go :) still have that old sit back pattern, have to teach myself to sit up and in  at the halfway point and not reach back with the glutes. More knee ROM necessary too.

2 kb front squat
2 16 x 3
        x 4
2 20 x 5 x 2

these were surprisingly strong and solid. no pause just reps

sled drag
95 lb x 250 ft x 4 laps

very strong. legs feel very strong and solid.


two days off then back to the base of swings, the 24 kg bell

datsit
neverquit

31 kg KB Press, arched back pullups, belt squats and crawls

Interesting day. Right hamstring was tight all morning and I'm not sure what it was. Didn't feel a thing all day yesterday but this am is was tight. Not pulled but not normal. The combination of all those crazy swings with the ruck walk yesterday I'm sure overloaded it. Nothing more stretching and some light work won't fix.

We decided to change today to press day and snatch on wednesdays and it makes sense. We do all those heavy swings on saturday and then turn around and try to do the same basic hip hinge for volume again today. Makes more sense to get in some low volume presses and let the hinge rest up for wednesday. We were thinking of adding snatch vo2 back in but regardless if we snatch wednesday will be more rested.

Shoulder is STILL feeling great and that's a miracle too! So going into press today I was confident. I thought about taping a 5 lb plate to the 28 kg if the 28 felt good so make an intermediate jump. It's 68 lbs and the 32 kg is 70 lbs so it SHOULDN'T make any real difference but it seemed to. Go figure.

The form wasn't great but I was very distracted by the plate rumbling around as I cleaned it and tht didn't help at all. next time I'll just use the 32 but it was a fun experiment. It also showed me that I am more confident in my press than I have been in a long time. That groove is holding too, and, while not perfect( the above set was the worst of five sets) it doesn't hurt and I feel I have leverage.
I just don't have enough patience on my left side yet not to spin out so fast :( Soon though, I can feel it coming

one arm swing warmup 16 kg x 5/5 x 3

Press
16 kg x 5/5
         x 3/3
20 kg x 2/2
24 x 2/2
28 kg x 1/1 x 3
31 kg x 1/1 x 5 sets
28 kg x 1/1 x 3 sets

HAVE to stay tighter, and longer, in the rack to zip everything up on these heavier presses. I lose the tightness trying to get more speed into the rep and it costs me. Everytime. BUT the weights felt medium light, which is very good.

band pullups( arched back, bodybuilder style)
3 sets of 4 with purple band

these felt easier and better. only did three sets to assess any issues tomorrow before I load it more.

belt squats ( supported- held onto Glenn to lean back against. really worked good.)
32 kg x 15,10,10, 10
these worked GREAT and I was as deep as ever. quads really took the load. perfect.Still need more ankle mobility to be able to do these without holding onto something.
want to include both goblets and double front squats for form but don't have the space to put them in right now and they both load my arms and shoulders more than my legs so they have to take a back seat, for now.
Knee flexion and leg strength take priority.

crawls
3 sets of  40 feet
taking it easy to see how the shoulders react. good to do them again, they are always hard!


need to stretch and roll out my hammie tonight. Finally a days rest., well that means just stretching and mobs but that's fine :)

datsit.
neverquit

LATS the Super Muscles :)

Sunday Ruck pr

After yesterdays big one arm swing test I was a bit worried about how my back and legs would feel today. I shouldn't have been. Today was great! Not only did I up the weight a kilo ( 26.4 lbs) but I finished the ten laps in 3 minutes less time, 1 hour 40 minutes on the nose. Nice. Tracy came with me for the first hour and  that was excellent. Legs felt strong and loose and the pack light. Not like the Bataan Death march that was last week :)

The fact that my shoulder was in place, and has been for the last week made a huge difference too. The video above is a demo on the mobilization I've been doing that has helped so much. A few people requested it so here it is.

The key thing for me is getting the arms behind me and holding the stretch until the tight pecs and biceps release.This seems to place the head of the humerus in the right place in the socket and it makes life so much nicer :)

The weather was perfect too; 54 degrees overcast with a light drizzle. Cool and warm at the same time :)

ok, that's it. More Birthday pie to eat :)

datsit.
neverquit

Testing my Spirit on my Birthday: 36 kg One arm swing test/five minutes

I had decided I was going to retest the five minute one arm swing with the 36 kg after I did it with the 32 kg last time and thought March 1, my 57th birthday, would be the right time. Well that was today and I was really thinking I hadn't had decided that.

I knew for sure I could finish it although I didn't know how strong it would be, or how heavy the bell would feel but I also knew that it would suck. It was, after all, only five minutes, but five minutes can be a very long time under the wrong circumstances:)

And I didn't have to do it. No one was making me, nor expecting me to, except for Joe and Glenn, of course. But I knew I was going to so the task at hand was to mentally focus and get my shit squared away; block out any thoughts except those that would help me get the job done.
Not think too much at all, actually, just breathe, focus and warmup

Very happy with the results. Big thanks to Joe and Glenn for keeping me on pace; I got a little slack at first and got behind but Joe pulled me back. I hate doing this stuff. It's just no fun but:

One arm swings
16 kg x 5/5 x 3
20 kg  x 5/5
24 kg x 4/4
28 kg x 4/4
32 kg x 4/4

36 kg x 5/5 x 10 sets in 4:55  PR :)

Power swings
40 kg x 5 x 5 sets

Two hand swings
32 kg x 10 x 5 sets

Db shoulder complex
4 rounds
bent laterals
infraspinatus laterals
front raises, alternating

this was enough. the only redeeming value to this was that it was over with fast. I don't see myself doing this again for a long time. I did it to prove to  myself that I still can and now that is done, but to training, not testing.

time to eat :)

datsit
neverquit.