20 Min Swing Vo2 , Walking Lunges, parallel bar pushups, kb rows

yeow! Did this one for Glenn, who was out last week and needed to get his 20 min test in. Not horrible but doing it after those 48 kg swings on saturday definitely made it harder. BUT as last time, when I got to ten minutes and realized that was the time limit for the test and it had been easy I felt much better.

Those last ten minutes though ....
This is as much a mental game as it is physical and the key for me is to stay calm, focused on one rep one set at a time. and not look up to the top of the hill I'm climbing. Just at the next step ahead. Using the momentum, going as fast and hard as I can but staying smooth

Smooth is strong. It wasn't that bad at all and I didn't even come close to missing my time intervals

Swing Vo2
24 kg
40 sets of 10
400 reps
21,200 lbs  TEN TONS+!!

Walking lunges
4 laps of 40 steps

again, this now almost a break. Quads burn but the cardio is not even close

Parallel bar pushups
20
20
13
10

73 total reps

shoulders and upper back are toasty :)

KB rows
22 kg x 8/8
             9/9
             10/10

done done de dun done!

Next week is de load to 13 min should be a breeze but the goal will be to keep power output as high as possible the entire time

datsit
neverquit

110 lb Military press 3x3 pr!, 24 kg goblet squat, floor pushup( 73) pr, sled

I knew this was what I was going to do today and it went just fine. Actually got another set of 3 that I hadn't planned on! Shoulders felt good although just because my right was feeling so fine my left biceps tendon had to get a little attention and slowed things down on the fourth set a bit. No worries the fifth was the strongest!

Military Press
stick x 5 x 2
45 x 5
65 x 3
85 x 3 ( big jump!)
95 x 1
110 x 3 x 3
       x 2
       x 3 !!!

Except for a few setups where the left  bicep tendon was weird the weight felt light and the setup good

Goblet squat
20 kg x 8
24 kg x 8 x 4 sets



this felt downright light and easy. nice

Floor pushups
20
20
18
15!!

73 total rep

5 sets of 20 sounds great and then i will try a one set max reps 50 sounds about right :)

Hip sled
105 x 250 x 3 laps

new hip  belt setup made these feel MUCH harder. That and that we haven't done these in a over 3 weeks. Glad they are back in the mix,I was just being lazy with Glenn out

One db rear delts
15 lbs x 10 x 4 sets

boring but necessary

ok day off tomorrow lots of roll and stretch
BW 161.4

datsit
neverquit!

Sunday ruck heavy and slow

It had to come to an end at some point. I was definitely feeling the effects of yesterdays swing workout in my legs and overall body. No pain; not even much stiffness, just overall fatigue.
No surprises there, actually.

Pack weight back up to  50.4 lbs, the first six laps were just slow and I was ok with that. Just made my way through them.Then, surprisingly the pace picked up as my legs loosened up very nicely. I probably should have stopped at 11 laps as the 12th was one too many but it got done.
A very nice lesson in mental tenacity too. Just breathe and take one step at a time

Overall time : 2 hours 3 minutes
12 laps  14,665 steps
11 iso squats

 Time to stretch and roll and eat up to prepare for tomorrow's presses. Hopefully 110 lbs for triples

either way

datsit
neverquit

48kg One Arm Swings, 5,6,7 Ladder 158 reps( pr), 48 kg belts squat, horiz pushups ( pr)

STRONG day! This is the best these have ever felt and this first time ever I could transfer from right to left on all sets!
Total Pr  and I've never used this ladder approach with the 48 so it was new as well. Worked great. Energy was solid all the way to the end. Grip no problem at all.

One arm swings
16 kg x 5x5 x 2
20 kg x 5/5
24 kg  x 5/5
28 kg x 4/4
32 kg x 3/3
36 kg x 3/3
40 kg x 2/2
48 kg x 5,6,7 x four rungs
           x 7/7
158 reps PR
16,748 lbs !!

everything felt great the whole time. Glenn too, strongest either of us have ever been in the swings

Belt squats
48 kg x 10,12, 14,15

these were strong as well

Horizontal bar pushups
20 (pr)
18
16
15

69 total reps pr as well :)

One kb row
16 kg x 10
20 kg x 10
24 kg x 10

whew! I'm done,was going to crawl but that is enough work for today.
Heavy ruck tomorrow, can't wait.
Feel great now too

datsit
neverquit

Thursday Ruck, light and fast

Took one too many books out of the ruck today and ended up with a 38 lb pack. No wonder we went so fast! Last lap was timed at 8 minutes and each was as fast as that or faster.
Nice to have a groove on this now, especially after yesterday's workload( which I did not feel at all today)
This is my definition of fit. Do more work than ever and not even feel it the next day

38 lb pack
6 laps
55 minutes

No worries. And no wonder it felt so light. It was.
But I can still remember my first ruck walk with 10 lbs in the pack. and I was as excited I could be just to be able to walk again. As I am now. When 38 lbs in the pack for a fast hour walk is 'nothing' I have fulfilled a dream I never thought I would- to be able to have strong functioning legs again. Every day is a holiday :)

datsit
neverquit

a day's rest then a meeting with a 48 kg kettlebell on Saturday

Swing Vo2: 20 min Pr 24 kg,walking lunges, parallel pushups/ rear delts

Man I was dreading this a bit. Glenn is out working and it was solo time again. I hoped that the last two weeks adaptations would hold but I wasn't sure.
Turned out they did.
The first ten minutes was almost easy.
My left lumbar area was a bit twingy for some reason, probably the combo of barbell back squats on Monday and a bunch of demo's yesterday on soft mats and running shoes. Oh well. It was distracting for a five minutes or so but settled down for the last five.
All in all a very good session.

One arm Swing Vo2
24 kg
40 sets of 10
400 reps
21,200 lbs

Now we start the cycles proper 13 min, the 16, 18 and 20 again. Next week should seem like a breeze

Walking lunges
4 laps of 40 steps

these were downright easy today. perhaps start weighting these soon

Parallel bar pushups
20,18, 15, 12
 65 reps!

One arm rear delt lateral
4 sets of 15 12 lbs

cable curls/ cable kickbacks
2 sets 15 reps

 very very happy with all of it. Mental side is coming along well too now. Didn't get ahead of myself mentally at all during the set. In fact I didn't even look at the clicker, just the clock. One rep at a time one set at a time.
In for the duration

ruck tomorrow

datsit
nevequit

100 lb Military Press 5x5 PR!, back squats,floor pushups PR/kb row/ crawls

I knew this was going to go. My all time best with 100 lbs is 5 sets of 3 and I knew 5 x 5 would be there and it was.
It wasn't that easy but not that hard, either. Bar felt med heavy in the hands and the shoulders felt great again! the adjustments that Mark made are holding well and my entire shoulder girdle and T spine feel like they are oscillating back towards neutral.

It seems that the "event" that caused me to lose my overhead position almost overnight a few years ago was the shoulder subluxing to some degree and never getting set back correctly.
Score another big one for good chiropractic!

My most painful injury of all time, a sacral subluxation was completely fixed by Tore Gufstason in ONE adjustment. This is close.
My old ability to press feels like it is returning.

Barbell Military press
stick x 5  x 2
45 x 5
65 x 5
75 x 3
90 x 2
100 x 5 x 5! PR
All time weight and volume best

Barbell squats
65 x 10
85 x8 x 4 sets
Barbell Hacks
55 lbs x 20 ( heels up on one inch /oly shoes)

lol this was fun,and easy. it's crazy that I have NEVER squatted a barbell with two bending knee's it's fun. BUT I think my quads are worked better with the barbell hack so it's back to that next week. Also putting my heels up an inch more was good too. Very low on the quads

Floor Pushups
20 PR!
17
15
12

54 total reps! shoulders felt great. the 20 was strong, too

2 kb row
2 16'kg x 10 x 4 sets

really focused on geting the rear delt and mid traps here

Leopard Crawl
3 laps 50 feet

Need to do these. HATE to do these

Ring Tricep extensions/ bodyweight
2 x 12

adding these back in

ok day off tomorrow. Forgot got a full hour stretchout this morning. Love it!

datsit
neverquit

Sunday ruck steady and fast

Another great one. No stiffness or soreness from yesterdays' workout, exactly what I had hoped. Got a brief stretchout this morning than two hours with 50 lbs in the ruck
Last laps was timed at 7:53 and was not that much faster than the others. Cool and crisp this morning which is always helpful

 12 laps
11 iso squats
50 lbs
13, 750 steps ( must be taking longer strides :) )
BW 162 lbs

tomorrow is 100 lb military press for hopefully  5 x 5 for  a big pr

datsit
neverquit

44 kg One arm swings (pr), 44 kg belt squats, horiz pushups

Another very solid workout again, just steadily climbing up the ladder rungs, one at a time.It's not much of a pr with the 44 kg bell because it has not been in the rotation much at all- the last time I did this was in Nov '14 and I did 100 reps of 5/5

But, today's workout was strong and the bell didn't feel heavy.

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 3/3
44 kg x 6/6 x 12 sets pr
144 reps
13,968 lbs!

Belt squats
44 kg x 12 x 4 sets

this was harder than I thought it would be. Legs felt tired, strangely. I expected it to feel light.

Horiz pushups

15, 15, 15, 13
58 pushups highest total to date , I think. time to start keeping track of total pushup numbers too. Don't know why I missed that. shoulders almost didn't clunk at all!

datsit, everyone had to cut our early so I will do more rows and curls  on monday. time to bring back crawls  too just have to decide where to put  them

ok ruck tomorrow

datsit
neverquit!

Thursday Ruck light and fast

Another solid one.

40 pound ruck
55 minutes
6 laps  last lap time 7;45
3 miles

a good day off then 44 kg swings on Saturday

datsit
neverquit

Interview with Marino Basic in Zagreb Croatia

did this interview last year with Marino, can't wait to go back

24 kg Swing Vo2, 18 min, walking lunges, parallel pushups, kb rows

Another very solid workout today and the extra minutes/ 20 reps was no problem at all. As I wrote last week this swing version takes more time to elicit the adaptation than snatch vo2 but it is here at  last

Didn't feel much drop off in power per rep even at the end,although there was some. Double breathing started at 15 minutes this time instead of 14 but I only did it for a minute or so and reverted back to single breath for 2 minutes Had to finish with double for the last minute.

19 min next week then into a 13, 16, 18 and 20 min cycle. I believe this will work. 10 minutes just doesn't seem that long anymore :)
Shoulder still holding up very well

Swing vo2
24 kg
10 reps per 30 seconds
36 sets
360 reps
19, 040 lbs!

Walking lunges
4 laps of 38 steps ( stride lengthening)

these are easy now ,lol especially after the swing work

Parallel pushups
15, 15, 15 ,12

best rep ever

Kb row
16 kg x 10
20 kg x 8
24 x 6
 getting stronger too.

cable curls
2 x 15

datsit!  lighter ruck tomorrow. can't wait!

neverquit

90 Lb Military press, barbell back squats (!), belt squats, pushups, and misc

Wow. didn't expect this to happen. My shoulder felt great today and didn't hurt at all during the press. Usually it takes a million warmup reps with a stick to start feeling like I can even press at all but today it was ONE stick warmup and I made decent jumps.

Glenn was out today so a weird angle on the press but man it felt so much better than it has in years! almost normal. I've been getting shoulder adjustments by the PT at our studio and it's making a HUGE difference. I knew the shoulder was out but could not get it to settle by myself. Mark McMahan from Revolutions did the trick . Wow is all I can say. SO much better


Military press
 stick x 10
45 x 5
65 x 5
75 x 5
90 x 5 x 6
not a pr but  I'm gotten to this weight sooner in the cycle than before and that is good. Plus it felt great in the rack and going up. Definitely could have done way more today.

Barbell back squats
45 x 5 x 2
65 x 6 x 3

lol, One big indicator my shoulder is better is that I can get under the squat bar again. I haven't been able to for YEARS! Once it went back in I realized I could and today was the best
Just some light high bar squats and they felt excellent! Just being able to hold the bar on the back was amazing! It really stretches the pecs and delts out just the way I need them too.

Belt squats
 32 kg x 15 x 4 sets
solid burn and pump

floor pushups
18, 13, 12, 10 PR!

One db rear delt
12 lbs x 4 x 12
cable curls
cable tri ext

skipped sled today and did the little stuff instead. the rows and rear delts are helping the shoulder too.

ok, day off tomorrow then 18min of swing vo2 on wednesday!

I'm very glad i didn't stop trying to get the shoulder to act more normal.Sometimes it takes longer than others but you won't know if you can do it if you quit.

NeverQuit!

Sunday Ruck, "legs that never quit"

" A back of iron and legs that never quit"

Those were the words from Pavel's Power to the People book that inspired me then and still do to this day. It was the description of a general about what a fighting man needed most. At the time I was tore up from the floor up and could barely stand or walk and I new I needed a different path. The kettlebell provided that path and got my back squared away. And the knee replacement  which allowed me to first walk and now Ruck is taking me to the next level.

Upped the pack weight to a solid 50 lbs and it felt a bit heavy  getting started. Mainly in my calves, as I didn't stretch out much before I left. But they loosened up quickly and the load felt fine. My legs settled right into the pace and it was strong and easy, as it has been the last two walks.

So much of endurance training is just getting the  miles in your legs at a pace that is relatively easy for you.  At some point your legs just adapt and loosen up and that's what it felt like today. I didn't even feel ANY fatigue until the 11th lap! Timed that at 8:15 which is very very good for the extra weight.

Wore the Lowa's again and they actually felt great. The combat boots are more comfy but I know, under these loads that the lowas give more support and are a better choice.

2 hour Ruck
50 lbs
15,000 steps
11 iso squats 30 second long

datsit
neverquit

40 kg One Arm Swings,Pr,Goblet squat Pr,horiz pushups, one arm kb rows

Really really solid work today. 13 sets of 7/7 with the 40 kg and it was strong. Even at the end. This is exactly what I was hoping for and the momentum is finally going in the right direction.

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 7/7 x 13 sets PR
182 reps
16,016 lbs

pretty fast paced,Glenn out and Nick's back was iffy so it was just Joe and me at the end. Cardio was fine.

Goblet squat


this was also a pr just a one rep pr but it was much easier than the last time I did two reps with it. I just barely survived that. this I could have done 5's
Going to go back to belt squats next week as this really doesn't work the legs like they do but I haven't done them in awhile so it was good.

Horiz pushups
15, 13, 12, 10
these were harder than expected. Left shoulder  a little clunky of course, as the right is feeling better than ever!

KB Rows
16 kg x 10
20 kg x 8
24 kg x 5 x 2

Cable curls 1 x 20
Cable extensions 1 x 20

great great session! now to get ready for tomorrows 50 lb Ruck walk!

datsit
neverquit

Thursday Ruck. still strong

One of my major goals was accomplished today. to do more work than I've ever done in a workout and feel NOTHING the next day. Pretty much describes how I felt today. No stiffness, no soreness no aching anything. And yesterday was strong

Took ten pounds off the ruck and did my normal 6 laps 60 minutes with Tracy.
Strong ruck and things felt good before and after

38 lb ruck
6 laps
60 minutes

Full body stretchout upper and lower this AM
60 minutes

now a days rest and 40 kg one arms on saturday

datsit
neverquit

RIP Bill Starr

24 kg Swing Vo2, 17 min 340 reps, walking lunge, horiz pushups, Kb rows

Wow, very strong day.. Very strong. Glenn was out of town so I had to do this solo so I made Tracy come in and yell at me. It helped. But I still felt like I have turned a corner with this training. It takes longer than it does with snatch vo2 but I feel like my cardio is finally adapting.

10 minutes was no problem and didn't start double breathing until 14 min out! 11 minutes last week. Definitely improvement and way more power the whole way. The sets above were 20-26.

Swing test training
24 kg
10 reps/ 30 seconds
17 min
340 reps
18,020 lbs of work ( 9 tons!)

tracy playing with the slo mo function :)


Walking lunges
4 laps of 40 steps and this was easy too! and a relief as usual from the speed swings

Horiz pushups alternate with kb rows
 15 / 16 kg x 10
13/ 20 kg x 8
11/ 24 kg x 6
10 / 24 kg x 5

the rows felt fine this time and they were weak! which really shows I need them. Definitely seems like a good thing for the shoulder. I will give crawls a break for now. I'm doing A LOT of volume and I need the peripheral muscle work more

band curls
2 sets of 12

ok light ruck tomorrow with Tracy

datsit
neverquit

80lb Military press 5x5, barbell hacks, floor pushup, hip sled

Weird one today. Was uber tired all day though I really took it easy yesterday and got good sleep. My shoulder was good at the start but had  a solid stretchout both upper and lower and somehow it got out of place again.

At the start of the workout I could barely press the stick but the heavier it got the better it felt. I must have knocked it back in :) 3 hours later it feels good again. That's life with super lax joints and decent muscle mass/

Military Press
stick x million
45 x 5 x 2
65 x 5
75 x 5
80 x 5 x 5

took a bit but it warmed up well, especially at the end. really focused on keeping the glutes tight as possible and this made the bar go up easier. I also felt and look more upright than I have in the past. Plus the bar got closer to my  chest earlier and easier than before. All good signs. You have to pay attention to the details.

Barbell Hacks
55 x 12
75 x 15 x 4

these were solid and the new boots felt excellent. slowly breaking in.

Floor pushups
15, 15, 15, 14

very good progress here. I stop when the shoulder ( left of all things!) starts to clunk, If it didn't I feel like I could pushup forever
But it starts later and later all the time. that means it's not only getting stronger but more stable at the same time

Hip sled
105 x 250 x 3 laps

legs are done.

started like shit ended like dessert. I'll take that versus the other way around

datsit
neverquit

Sunday Ruck ; a walk in the park

Another very strong ruck today, which means I will have to add 2 lbs or so to the ruck next week bringing it up to a very nice 50 lbs even. Super happy with this as I am that much closer to the 55 lbs I will need to ruck for the GoRuck Ft Bragg Challenge IF they ever get it posted!

It was nice and cool this morning which made it much easier. I definitely do better in the cool weather as I tend to run hot as it is and am NOT heat adapted at all right now. Soon that will change but for now I appreciate the colder weather for a two hour straight walk

I also like the simplicity of just walking laps; easy to keep track and to really monitor gait, breathing pace and effort. Plus it's nice hard packed sand which is much better for my feet and knee as well.

One thing I did notice today; as I was walking I started to move from my shoulders instead of swinging just the arms and it made a BIG difference! I immediately felt the connection from my shoulder to the opposite side glute! Which is how it is supposed to work but I guess I haven't been moving my shoulders enough.

It wasn't easy and will take some effort to really 'get' in the pattern but I definitely feel it is the right thing to do.It seemed to increase my speed and decrease my effort but will take some time to be able to do it naturally. Good discovery though

ok
48.6 lb pack
2 hours
13,700 steps
11 iso squat holds varied stances

not bad at all

heavy presses tomorrow

datsit
neverquit

36 kg One arm swings, 36 kg belt squats, parallel pushups, crawls

 This was a strong one. I decided to lengthen the cycle from four to five weeks since I've eliminated the 24 kg on this day. So the cycle will go 32, 36, 40,44 and then 48 kg Saturdays. Wednesday is speed day and this is heavy day.
Plus I get to set new records with the 36 and 44 kg bells which I wasn't using before :)
 Breaking the new Risto's in and they felt great today. Like my feet were nailed to the platform! Definitely helped power production.
This was the lightest the 36 kg has ever felt and I felt like I could tens no problem

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
36 kg x 8/8 x 12 sets
192 reps PR
15,360 lbs work

Solid day ,everything felt strong and the bell felt light.

Belt squats
36 kg x 15 x 4 sets
same here, legs felt excellent!

Parallel bar pushups
15 15 15 12

best effort ever. shoulder solid

Leopard crawls
3 laps of 60 feet

better but still hate these. They always are hard!

ok  let see if tomorrows ruck is strong again too! If so, next week the weight goes up 2.5 lbs closing in on 50 lbs :)

datsit
neverquit

Thursday Ruck

 65 minute Ruck with Tracy today. Strong but calves and legs were a bit tired ? strange
Wore the lowas which still are losing to my combat boots but I wore the wrong socks too and that didn't help

Ruck weight was 38 lbs, non stop walk and pace was fast.

I had a pair of these vasque hikers for years. Wish I still had 'em

datsit
neverquit

Swing Vo2 training, 16 min 24 kg, walking lunges, parallel pushups,crawls

Very good workout today, MUCH easier than last week although I went another minute more. 20 more reps, that's about 7.5 % jump in volume, plenty. It was strong too. I remember looking up at the clock at 10:26 seconds in and thinking I had already done the swing test and I wasn't feeling too bad

Wore my new Risto boots too and they were SO much more stable than my old adidas but super super stiff. I have a lot of breaking in to do but that's fine they rock.

Very happy to feel like my cardio is finally getting better> it's been tough for seeming ever!

24 kg Swing Vo2
10 reps/30 sec
32 sets
320 reps
14,960 lbs work

this is also making my swing form very efficient! Head is up and the stroke is as short as I can make it and still generate the power I need. LOTS of leg and glutes at the same time and my lower back is not feeling it AT ALL. The heel helps me stay in lordotic curve much better than flat foot and that is very good.
Didn't have to start double breathing until past 11 minutes. Last week it was at 8 minutes and I was howling like a wounded water buffalo :)

Walking lunges
 4 laps of 40 steps

after the swing torture this was almost easy! plus it loads the quads giving the very tired glutes and hams a much needed break. Will have to put a light back pack on for this soon. :)

Parallel bar pushups
15, 15, 14, 12

solid really starting to like this variation again. shoulders feel good. Found a variation of an overhead stretch I can do all day long and it's starting to make a  difference. Waiting out the tension works here as well. just had to find the right version to do it in

Leopard crawls
3 laps of 60 feet.

even this felt strong!

ok ruck walk tomorrow. great session
body weight 162

datsit
neverquit