"Hunting for your business"

That's what I was doing yesterday morning at 5:45 am. I am so pumped up by the 10 degrees increase in ROM in my left knee after using KStars Thai Squat foot position and squat technique that I am into my stretching and mobility drills like never before.Not to mention dropping into a squat all throughout the day. SO nice to NOT have my knee hurt when I try to bend it and to see it bending more and more and more everyday.

10 degrees increase in 3 weeks or so is pretty good. If I can get the knee to 120 degrees I might be able to avoid a knee replacement!

Starretts approach to self myofascial release , PNF stretching and the "dig it out of the muscle" approach to trigger points and 'glued down' muscles is exactly how I feel about deep tissue work and mobility/flexbility work. I thought I was going down the right path and I now I KNOW I am.

I love his " camp out there" approach to stretching. Yeah, find the tight spot, hunt the corners of the movement for the tightness/pain AND JUST STAY THERE.

That'd be my approach too. And has been. I was doing Starrett before he was :))

The idea that the pain of deep tissue work, foam rolling pain, "digging out the pain" in adhered,glued down, tight restricted muscles was BAD for them and was to be avoid with ONLY attempts at restoring movement with just movement made ZERO sense to me and still does.It negates the entire HISTORY of the health benefits of massage as well.

That dog won't hunt, no matter what the "science" is.

What the science is today. Wait a sec, science will change it's mind. Again. It always does. Me, I'll go with what seems to work. I don't know how my computer works but I can still use it. Same with my car and many other things.

I might not be able to explain, to anyone's contentment, why what I do for my training or recovery works but I KNOW when my body is going in the right direction and when it's not.

I just not be able to explain it to you to your satisfaction. You're in charge of the direction your body is going in as well.I can't do it for you. No one else can either.

Stretching might be "passe" in the fitness industry now but that doesn't mean it doesn't work. It just means it's not in fashion. Oh well, I've never been that fashionable :))

Things get simple very fast when you have chronic pain. You can either move and BE without pain or you cannot. Things either make your pain and movement and performance better and with less pain or they make it worse. Simple stuff.

You learn to listen and learn from your body or you do not. And NOT usually hurts more so you change your direction.

SO I went into Girya 75 minutes early this am to hunt out my business and stay ahead of the curve.Here's what I did:

1) back bend over stability ball

2) rumble roller foam roller

3) up dogs

4) down dogs( camped out here for 3-4 minutes x 2- best thing for my knee extension)

5) thai squat stretch,palms on floor

6)straddle stretches

7)side splits

8) hamstring stretch with strap

9) ham stretch crossover

10 ) bretzell

11) rifs brettzel with straight leg

12) RKC hip flexor stretch v 2.0

13) squat stretch against wall ( as in video above)

14) supported thai squat

15) overhead stick stretch

16) behind back stick stretch both grips

17) terminal knee extension lockouts with monster mini band

datsit .lol

Swipes and Speed Snatches, one day early.

Yesterday's short cycle press workout showed me just how much difference there is between a 5-10 long cycle ladder and a 5-10 rep short cycle one,lol. Without the intervening clean there is no break on the delts, upper back and triceps and the load adds up quickly.

What I'm trying to say is that I was already a bit sore when I got up this morning and when the time came to do my workouts this morning at 9 am I could tell it was just settling in.

But I was determined to try to get through the workout today, one day earlier than normal to give myself enough rest so I am NOT sore on Saturday for heavy swings and snatches. Can't do it all simultaneously so I sacrificed a bit in todays wipes and snatches and I could tell the difference.

Every thing felt heavy, even the 10 lb clubs,lol. I wanted to do a 20 lb club swipe workout and build up my top end so I can get 200 reps with the 15's soon. Multiple sets of lower reps and focus on a big total number. Then increase the reps and decrease the total sets. Basic Density Training( thank you Ethan Reeve!). But the 20's felt WAY harder than expected and I realized I had used way too lose of a grip as well. These bad boys were nothing to mess around with. Grip those handles!

I wanted to do set of 10 but thought better of that after the first set. I warmed up well and could have finished with 10's but decided not to be greedy.

30 minute stretch and mobility, then:

Clubbell Swings

2/10's x 20 x 2

2/15's x 15 x2

2/20's x10/x 2

these got to me more than I thought and my grip was seriously pumped. Next time right to swipes

Clubbell Swipes

10's x 10

15's x 10

20's x 8x 10 sets

ouch. That wasn't that much fun.; I was using the same grip technique I would use if the weight was "light" but the 20's aren't light and my elbows didn't like the first set. So I tightened up and treated the weight with some respect and things got fine after that. As usual the more sets I did the better I felt

Speed snatches

16 kg

8 rep sets

20 sets

160 snatches

5760 lbs

can't call these snatch vo2 as they were all off the clock as I knew right away I wouldn't be able to hold that pace. So I focused on doing each rep as fast as I could and resting as little as necessary to feel ready for the next set.

Went back to my speed form that I used in 2007 and it worked well here too although it took me a few sets to get the bugs out; like breaking late instead of early and not getting to far back on my heels at the end of each rep.

30 min stretch and mobility/ foam roll

not an optimal performance give the lack of rest but it should set me up for Saturdays workout. We'll see how this goes

datsit.

Samurai Rogue

I love a good hardcore, badass t shirt. I used to have a serious collection when I was powerlifting but it has dwindled pretty badly since then. Besides most of them were XL's and that don't fit me any more. Mediums are just fine now and that's just fine.

I have always liked to wear the same clothes for specific workouts once I have figured out what makes me feel the best for that workout since my bodybuilding days. Scott Wilson did that and I soon caught on. Sounds weird but it works. I would even have different colors I wore for specific bodyparts or lifts. Something either made me feel strong and fit or it did not. I didn't have to think about it, I either liked it or not.

I wear different gear for snatches than I do for presses or for swings. Not dramatically but it's gotta to fit the mood and promote the mood.What mood? For strength and courage, of course.

And that's how I felt when I came across this company called Rogue Fitness from KStars Mobility website.It's a company that specializes in outfitting Crossfit strength boxes( as they're called) but that doesn't bother me. I know hardcore when I see it and this place is seriously hardcore.

If you carry WSB Power racks,bumper plates, Atlas stones, glute ham raise machines and wood( not plastic) gymnastics rings you are hardcore and know quality.This place does. They need to upgrade their kettlebell brand but that's another story.

Anyway, they carry a collection of T shirts that got to me right away. One is an American flag on a black background called the Disposable Heroes Project whose proceeds go 100% to wounded veterans. That was my first purchase.

Next was this crazy ass skull and meat cleaver shirt which would have been perfect for squat day.Unfortunately it has lame stripes on the arm but otherwise is very cool. Next was this one, the Samurai Rogue which is what I was wearing in the video above.

The new shirts reflect my new attitude which is a very good one. Being confident of being able to do more than just rehab now has re sparked my mojo.Strong is good and these shirts are perfect to strengthen my mood and power.Rogue Strength is my last purchase for awhile and fits right in too. It's nice how they name the shirts after the athletes that inspired the art.

Now the workouts.

first up, 6-7 am full stretchout and mobility.

as has been the case this is going very well and I can't believe the progress my left knee is making in actually bending as well as my ability to squat. squat training is next up on the agenda and it will be happening sooner rather than later!

I never miss stretching out in the am now, no matter how tired I am as I can really see the difference it is making in my total body tension levels as well as my ability to move well.Priority ONE!

Short Cycle Mil Press

warmup

one arm swings

16 kg x5/5/5/5 x3

cleans

16 kg x5/5 x2

short cycle press

16 kg x5/5

20 kg x3/3

24 kg x5/5

x6/6

x7/7

x8/8

x10/10

x9/9

45 presses per arm and 90 total! PR

I much prefer long cycle presses these days, much to my surprise but I figured it was time to throw in some sheer shoulder work. It would help the long cycle and I didn't want to do it so enough said.

I skipped 9/9 because I wasn't sure I could do that AND get my last set of 10/10 and I really wanted to get the 10's. No problem and I went back and did 9/9 right after. Should've trusted my ability more.I will next time. as well as have more patience.

I also played around with my technique a bit, going back to my original teshnik of watching the bell as it ascends. this worked great on my right arm but turned out not to be better with my ( non injured) left so I split the difference and did it the old way on the left and the new on the right. I ain't even close to symmetrical so why should my techniques be?

One of the beauties of only having to do one side at a time no? With this technique my shoulder doesn't lock out any better but my elbow sure does and Man do I have good leverage in this position. Tracy asked me if I was doing speed presses and that's what they felt like.Crazy strong and like I could keep going.

Two Hand Arm Casts

20 lbs x10/10

25 lbs x10/10

35 lbs x 10/10

Two hand Shield Casts

20 lbs x8/8

25 lbs x8/8

35/lbs x5/5

man my shoulders and upper back were toast by now but the 35 lb shield cast was a pr. Never used that weight for that move before so I was happy :))

Scapula Tactical Pullups

3 sets of 8-10

really need to add these in and get my pullups back in shape for teaching it at Level 2 in Hungary. These went very well and I really focused on locking into the hollow position with my body as well as really torqueing the arms into external rotation before I began the movement. Also made sure to dorsiflex the ankles to prepare for holding weight this way.

This is SO different than my old style of bodybuilding pullups but right back where I began in my gymnastics hollow technique. Like riding a bike;)) Also made sure to activate from scapula depression first and then engage teres and lats. this is going to work. Next up: handstands.

Bodyblade laterals

3x10/10 to finish off delts

good one and the chest wound is fully healed.Another great workout with my Valkerie Warrior Woman by my side:) Tracy is getting her presses to a whole nother level too.

datsit.

Speed work.

It's official now, I can't get away with doing snatch Vo2 on Thursday and come back and swing or snatch heavy on Saturdays. My arms just don't seem to recover fast enough to do Saturday, which is supposed to be the centerpiece of the week, justice.

Perhaps I can adapt to it but I don't think I need to. I'll just turn Thursdays into my clubbell swipe day and snatch or do lots of one arm swings on Saturday. Trying to get two snatch workouts in a week was just a bit greedy.

I could train snatch vo2 on Wednesdays but that would mean no swipe workout so I have to choose. I chose to work on my swipes and sacrifice snatch vo2, for now anyway. I can always snatch vo21 on saturdays but I will have tough road to hoe convincing Nick but he travels a lot anyway ;-))

After watching my snippet of Wednesdays snatch workout I looked back to when I was really rocking the snatch vo2 ( back in 2007) and looked at that form. MAN I was moving fast! Way faster than recently but my form is well, mine.

Ironically it looks like I am going through a bigger ROM but moving much faster. Here's a sample:

Back then I was also swinging for A LOT more volume, having pr's of 600 reps with the 32 kg and 600 with the 24kg using the same form; lots more hip and back and not trying to use my legs at all. Just enough of a knee bend to keep the glutes involved.

Just like my old barbell deadlift form which everyone , including me, tried to correct until I realized it was my strongest position.

So I decided to do my swing workout today with that old snatch/swing form and it worked like a charm again allowing me to go much faster and have more power for lots of sets.

Since my foot/ankle/knee mobility is gaining ground by leaps and bounds I fully expect to be squatting again soon( at least bodyweight) and don't have to try to turn my swing snatch from a hinge/pull pattern into anything else.

7-8 am

flexibilty/mobility stretchout. LOTS of ankle foot and squat pattern work.

8 am

One arm swings

16 kg x 5/5/5/5 x 3 ( arms were TIGHT! hence the kinesiotape)

20 kg x5/5

24 kg x10/10 x 10 sets

200 reps

10,800 lbs

not a bad start.

Two hand swings 24 kg

10 sets of 10

100 reps

5300 lbs

I go you go with Nick. Fast pace with emphasis on eccentric overload and FAST ascents. felt great! The hike swing park drills carry over very well.

One arm clubbell Shield casts

10lbs x 10/10 x 2

15 lbs x 8/8

x10/10

These went well as well. Slept great last night and had lots of energy and strength today. 'Bout time.

So it looks like

Saturday

One arm swings or snatches

two hand swings ( ballistic or power version)

one arm clubs

Tuesday

KB press

two hand arm casts

pullup practice

Thursday

CB swipes

handstand practice

body weight squats

If I can get away with doing bodyweight squats, handstands and pullups in addition to all the other great stuff I can now do again it will truly be a miracle. Not to mention if I can figure out how to get my knee to bend another 20-30 degrees! I won't quit trying to figure it out until they put me in the ground.

And as I found with Kelly Starrett's foot and ankle drill just ONE small thing can make ALL the difference in your direction and that's all I need. Just one right thing to point the way

datsit.

Swipes/ Snatches Double split, more ankle/squat revelations.

Now that I am stitch free and got the okay to train for real I was itching to get going this AM.Had a 3o min break so I decided to split up todays workout again and do my swipes early.

I didn't want to just test( done enough of that) but actually train the swipe but knew I had to start out light and ramp back up slowly. I figured a moderate rep ladder was in order.

5:30 am

30 min stretch and mobility work. lots of thai squats and downward dogs held for 1-2 minutes at a time."camping out" as K Star would say. I love this technique and was going in that direction myself for cueing as trying to teach people to actually stretch with PNF or other techniques had been proving SO fruitless.

Teaching people to breath and stretch simultaneously is near impossible for me it seems. And for most students. Why? I just don't know but people had a harder time learning how to stretch and breathe into the stretch more than any other technique I teach. So I really really like the cue to 'camp out' in a position when you find the tightness and STAY THERE for 2-3 minutes.

That'll teach you to relax in the stretched position ,lol.

This whole thing with pointing the feet straight, externally rotating the foot( and hence the tibia) and pushing the knees out as you squat down has been revelatory for me. I had just about given up on figuring out how to get my left knee to bend properly, hell, at ALL, and I thought, although I didnt' KNOW ,that much of the problem was in my ankle( didn't think about the foot).

When my ankle wasn't sitting properly my knee hurt more than and bent less than, normal. Little did I know it was my foot setting the stage improperly to not allow the knee to bend correctly.

I've been testing it with almost all my clients and am having almost 100% success with people squatting deeper, with straighter spines, more upright,in closer stances and with no knee pain or even sensation. The torque places all the stress through the lateral side of the leg and into the hip/glute and it's an amazing feeling for someone like me that never quite grokked how to squat correctly.

Now I can't stop squatting( still supported ) all throughout the day and I can feel my knee opening up more and more everyday. I KNEW IT! Setting it up right, getting the popliteus to work right and open up the knee and SUPPORT it as I descend makes all the difference when you are missing almost all of the supportive ligaments in a joint, lol.

Can't imagine how powerful this would be with two knees that bent all the way.

9:30 am

2 CB Swipes

10 lbs x 20

x30

x40

x50

140 reps

15 lb CB swipes

x 10 x 5 sets

total =190 reps.

this was easy and hard at the same time. need this type of work to build a bigger base for endurance as well as the lower rep per set work to clean up technique.

2 pm Snatch Vo2

OK, this was tough, lol. Nothing gets me in cardio shape faster than snatch Vo2 but nothing gets tougher faster after you haven't done it, for even a few weeks than snatch Vo2! My form was ALL over the place and I couldn't get comfortable at all.

I finally opened up my stance a bit and that was a little better but what I should have done was some higher rep, slower sets and let my groove settle. Trying to move fast when you're not sure of how to move is never a good idea.

The 90 freakin' degrees in the garage didn't help at all. Time to bring the fans out. Hard to believe just last week I was freezing,lol.

Snatch vo2

16 kg

15:15

35 sets of 7

245 reps

8820 lbs

One so nice thing about max training is that the pounds add up so quickly.

Very COLD Shower. The longest one yet. This is going to be a great thing this summer.

datsit.

Yesterday's presses

28 and 32 kg Long Cycle presses

Get my stitches out tomorrow and since I was on schedule to press the 32 kg last week and couldn't ,I figured it would be nice to get as close to it as I could today without feeling like I was taking any risk of ripping something out just before I got to the Docs.

Didn't plan on being so strong,lol. As I love to say you just have to be ready to grab it when it shows up and it showed it's face today. I grabbed and caught :))

Got my normal hour of stretching and mobilizing this morning and that always helps but it's also nice when I actually feel good DURING the stretchout and can make real progress as opposed to just getting myself out of pain and or super stiffness.

Been spending tons of time in my ( approximation of) a thai squat using the foot position advocated by Kelly Starrett and it's working consistently as my knees feel fine and i'm getting deeper and deeper, albeit it millimeter by millimeter.Also lots of rkc hip flexor stretch v 2.0 has really been helpful as well.

The next addition to the training schedule will be bodyweight squats for reps. I can't wait to be able to train the squat again,in whatever fashion. Also time to get back to pullup training and hanging leg raises as the level 2 cert is looming closer every day.

I got some good video of my 28 kg press AND my 32 kg press but left the camera at the studio so here's the last decent 32 kg press I did for more than 1 rep. Done Jan 17 of this year

I'll get todays press up tomorrow:))

8:30

one arm swings

16kg x 5/5/5 x3

16 kg cleans 5/5 x2

long cycle clean and press

16 kg x5/5

x3/3

20 kg x3/3

24 kg x2/2

28 kg x2/2

x3/3

x4/4

x2/2

x3/3

32 kg x3/3

x2/2

LOL! that's crazy! I was feeling so strong this morning( whenever I can make decent weight jumps I feel strong) that although I had decided to do the 2/3/4 ladder twice I grabbed the 32 kg and press that instead.

I had done singles a few weeks ago and wanted at least a double.

But after the clean went so well I rushed the first rep a bit,didn't fully engage my lat enough and the internal rotation won vs external and my arm didn't stay vertical at the lockout. No biggie, it still motored up but I was pissed. It felt so light.

SO instead of doing two I did two more reps for a triple which I can't remember when I've done. My right side motored too! Doing more than a few sets and reps with lighter weights really warms me and greases the groove.

Kind of like Russian Powerlifting coach Boris Sheyko's protocols which might have the athlete pressing for 3x5 with 75 %, 2x3 with 80% before going to 2x2 or 3 with 90%. LOTS of volume and it worked well today. I'm old. I need a lot of warming up ;}}

I wanted to make amends for the crappy first rep so I did enough set ,2x2 and it was solid,. Nice

I felt so good I made Tracy try a 20 kg press for her first time ever and she made it! She was surprised but I wasn't . That will be a regular weight for her very soon. Just to be safe I 'mind spotted' her but she did it strongly.

That video will go up tomorrow too.

Two hand clubbell arm cast

20 x10/10

25 x10/10

35 x10/10 pr

35 x8/8

One arm shield cast

15 lbs x10/10 x 3

bodyblade laterals

3x10/10

these all went great and I even was going fast enough to add in the one arm shields. two hands on sat, singles on tues.

pretty soon the 32 kg will be my day to day long cycle weight.

datsit:))

Heavy day

Just like when I powerlifted I like Saturday's to be the heaviest and hardest workout of the week. That I get the rest of the weekend to recuperate is part of it but it's just been a tradition and habit since I started powerlifting back in 1990 and it's the way I like it.

It's so nice to get up and have nothing else to focus on except the workout that's imminent. For many years now though it's been pretty tough going because my "heavy" day meant more about more rehab than hard, heavy or intense training. A half a foot on the gas and both feet slammed on the breaks is not exactly motivating stuff.

But I persevered, as I do, and now I get to play, I mean work, hard again. Nothing I like to do more, actually(well almost ;)

I wasn't sure I was going to snatch today as even though I put the bell overhead on Tuesday with presses I didn't know if the increased speed of snatches might pull a bit on the stitches but it worked out well.

As did the rest of the workout too. Almost like a regular day, not a recovery workout.

6-7 am stretchout

One arm swings

16 kg x5/5/5 x 2

20 kg x5/5/5

24 kg x5/5/5

28 kg x5/5

32kg x5/5

x6/6

x7/7

x8/8

that's it. bell speed was good, as was height of the swing( chin level for most). Nice too that it did not feel heavy in the hands or on the back and my forearms were fine, despite all those 15 lb clubbell swipes two days ago.

Power snatch

16 kgx5/5

20 kg x 5/5

24 kg x5/5

easy money. stitches were fine.

Power swing two hands

24 kg x8

28 kg x7

32 kg x6

40 kg x 5

ok the 40 caught me off balance a bit on the first rep but it was also the first time I've ever done this drill with that weight. felt great after I adjusted my balance.

Two hand Clubbell Shield Casts

15 x8/8

20 x8/8

25 x 8/8

35 x 8/8

these were the real test of the stitches as the shield casts involve more of the pecs, through the biggest ROM as well as the shoulder/arm of anything I've done since they cut. No problem. Stitches come out on Wednesday, can't wait.

datsit.

I so needed to see this today.

My calf and left ankle have been talking to me. this is just what I needed to see

Five min swipe test pr and swing Vo2

2 clubbell Swipes

15's

5 minutes

96 reps

I haven't done any swipes since the Doc's visit last week but I wanted to give it a go today and see if it tugged on the stitches at all. I knew I wouldn't be doing kb snatches yet, just because that would be too silly even for me, but I didn't think the bent elbow, pullover position the swipes put me in would be a problem.

It seemed to be ok but as I finished a long day my energy was flagging so I decided again just to do a five minute test at Girya before heading home to do some swing Vo2 work in the garage. I don't know why I can do this so easily with clubbells and not kbs but I can.

I just did a few reps with the tens and a few with the fifteens to make sure nothing was tugging or pulling wrong and then I just went for it with the fifteens.

Last time I did 200 with the 10's in 10 minutes I knew my next outing would be with the 15's and I would go for 100 reps. I have done 150 continuous back in 2007 but I don't know how long that took and it was in another life anyway

I should always have someone count for me as I got mixed up here many times and thought I got 100 at first but on video recount, it's only 96.I need to have someone count from now on.

I was just really surprised at just how much this taxed my grip. and so early . My grip was talking to me at 30 reps and I really had to concentrate a lot not to let it get the best of me. I also needed more chalk right away and because I was being tentative in the movement itself( I wanted 100 reps but I wanted not to tear anything open even more) it made the grip even harder.

Looking at the video I can tell just how sloppy the form was in many respects but it is a recent pr and I'll take it. Especially after this last 10 days :))

Most reps I've done with the 15's in recent days was 25 so this is pretty good effort.

Swing Vo2

15:15

16 kg

40 sets of 9

360 reps

12,950 lbs

not a bad workload, lol. I am always surprised to see how much work can get done with these light weights. I could have done tens but didn't want to push here too.Snatches are almost easier to do than one hand swings and I was tempted to see but knew better.

Will be back to snatching next week.

not a bad week for an "off" week,lol.

datsit.

20 kg Long cycle presses.10's

Didn't miss a beat, knife wound or not :)) Got a good stretchout this AM at 6 and figured the stitches could handle some low intensity presses with the 20 kg. No problem. Healing is going well with no inflammation, swelling or redness. All good signs.

6-7 am Stretchout

lots of focus on thai squat and ankle mobility drills as well as the usual hamstring,ab and shoulder static stretches. Spent some serious time in downward dog, perhaps the most important stretch I do for opening up my knee, ankle and hamstring.This new foot position and technique is working so well. I finally grok how my knee is supposed to bend. Crazy it's taken this long but better late than never.

Went into overhead hangs and overhead stick stretches gingerly but everything held up well and it felt so good to get my arms over my head again. It's amazing how even just a few short days with my arms by my sides tightened up my lats and therefore my lower back. Crazy. I've got to be able to move as much as possible to keep myself out of pain. Any restrictions immediately lock up the whole kit and kaboodle.

No wonder I was in so much pain before. All that seriously crazy heavy lifting and hardly any mobility/flexibility work really locked me into place. A bad place. I was crazy strong but crazy immobile as well. Not good and not my future either.

8:30 am

Long Cycle clean and press

warmup

one arm swings

16 kg x 5/5 3

cleans

16 kg x5/5 x2

Clean and press

16 kg x5/5

20 kg x5/5

x6/6

x7/7

x8/8

x10/10

Since I dare not go heavy I thought some reps might be in order; but after 8 and 8 I realized the intensity was creeping up so I though I better just go for the goal set of 10/10 as I didn't know if I had the 9/9 and 10/10 set in me. I probably did, but just pressing overhead at all was risky enough.

Don't be (t00) greedy :))

CB two arm cast

15 lbs x 10/10

20 lbs x 10/10 x 3

This felt good but also a but stretchy on the chest so I cut it short

Bodyblade laterals

3 x10/10

only to 90 deg. enough

stretchout/ roller 10 min

Training is my source and my privilege. I love to move better and be stronger.People are always looking for a reason to get out of training. I always look for a way to be ABLE to train, no matter what.

datsit :))

" Two weeks- no training"

Flying is good.I love this photo
Yup, that is what the doc said on wednesday as he stitched up the four inch long incision across my chest. I had some weird spot removed and he decided to make me look like I had been in a knife fight.

"Uh, I don't know how that is going to happen doc", I said.

" You just don't want to tear open the stitches. Just do lower body".

I count swings as lower body so that's what I did today; although I wasn't really sure I would be able to do anything after waking up on Thursday, taking a look at the wound and realizing he wasn't kidding about the knife fight comment. He may be a surgeon but he wasn't a plastic surgeon. Luckily chicks dig scars, I'm told. At least my wife does,lol.

For the first 36 hours even reaching my arms behind me tugged on the stitches so I was a bit hesitant about todays training but I'm a fast healer and I was back to mild overhead stretching this AM and one arm swings felt fine. No pull at all on the wound.

Most excellent. Two weeks/ three days, it's about the same, right?

7:30-8 am

Joint mobility and stretchout. really working my thai squat position ala Kstar and it is amazing how this little detail in my foot position works it's way right up through my knee into my hip in the best way.

For so long I've had very strange knee mechanics due to many factors but I've always felt that my ankle and shin position were as much to blame for my knee pain of late than the crappy architecture inside the knee. Now I know I'm right.

Getting the ankle into subtalar neutral allows the popliteus to do it's job instead of being locked into an overstretched position and torqueing my knee in the wrong direction making what little knee flexion I do have even worse. Not to mention painful.

Dropping down into the thai squat and doing 5-8 pulses really re sets the ankle just like Brett and Jeff 's ck fms arch creating drills do, but allows me to work my squat pattern and hip mobility similtaneously.

Cool

One arm swings

12 kg x10/10 x2

14 kg x10/10

16 kg x10/10x 2

20 kg x10/10 x 5 sets

24 kg x8/8 x 5 sets

Tracy told me to cool it and not overdue and I was so happy that I could train I probably would have done just that. So I stopped there with the kbs, although I was amazed how strong I felt and how light the bells felt. It's been a pretty hectic week the last two and I thought I would be beat down but just the opposite.

Being able to train without wrecking the Docs work made me very happy. I have to be able to move or nothing works.

I need to be able to bend and twist and push and and pull and reach and squat and stretch and walk. If I don't do so I get so tight my asymmetries turn me into twisted knot of muscle and pain. Not good.

I need to get on the floor on a regular basis. I need to be able to stretch my arms overhead a lot during the day. My job as a trainer is pretty physical( as opposed to sitting at a computer all day not real work) and it's very obvious to me how much it is when something happens and I can't move well, or lift much.

And the more I work my body the more I have to open it up or it locks up tight.

Sitting is actually injurious to me. I can only sit so long before I HAVE to get up and stretch in a variety of ways. Another reason travel is so tough on me. Sitting in one position for hours is virtually torture for me.

SO even not being able to put my arms out to the side,let along overhead for 48 hours was already taking it's toll on my back and I knew this two weeks thing was just not going to happen. I would just have to be careful and go slowly.

It's not about the loads or the intensities but just being able to move without pain that is so vital to my well being. On so many levels.

Felt great to swing and my groove was solid.

2 KB deadlifts

2 16's x8

2 20'2 x 8

2 24's x 8 x 2

With my arms completely by my side I figured this was pretty safe move. It was and it was strong too.

CB rockits

10's x 20 x 3 sets

wanted to do more but thought better.

datsit.more Tuesday although I don't think I'll go overhead until they take the stitches.

Ten minutes of swipes.

Had two cancellations this morning and took the time to rearrange the mats at Girya, get a full stretchout in , and do a ten minute swipe test with the ten pounders. Wasn't sure I was going to do the swipes but I wasn't sore( surprisingly) from the press workout and I was going to the Docs today to get a chunk of skin cut out of my mid chest and I knew they were going to tell me not to train for awhile.

I thought I better get something in while the getting was good :)) I was right. I'm off upper body for at least a week and damn near everything you do with a kettlebell gets the pecs involved( surprisingly as well)

This will be an interesting opportunity to play with my new found squat pattern and stretches. They told me 'just lower body". OK :))

But I still stalled til the last minute, re setting the mats, stretching out, stretching some more,lol Then at 15 minutes to the next client I decided to turn the camera on and go for it.

"It" was ten minutes of swipes and I wanted 200. Of course the first time in two years I did 100 was three weeks ago and a 100% jump is reasonable right? lol. These are the tens though and that is different for me.

AND, the swipe is the most natural bell move I do. I can totally relax during it. I just wish kb's were that easy.

I did love this though and felt the hairs on the back of my neck standing up mid way when the music was rocking, I was feeling strong, in the Zone( where I love to be more than anyplace than next to my love) knowing I was going to get my goal, knowing it would be a strong performance and that I was in control.How nice to have nothing hurt.

And being able to go faster and faster as the time passed.

Strong is so good.

next swipe test is 15's for 100 reps.

datsit.

28 kg long cycle press ladder: 2-5 reps.

It's amazing how far my press has come. From it being a throwaway cradle gift I took for granted for so many years as I concentrated on my less developed and talented lower body, to not being able to do it at ALL for over two years due to injury to the last two years of buildup from this workout.

It was a great start, with 3x3 short cycle with the 28 kg, just on a lark and intuition, to being able to train and progress it all this time with the 28 now feeling like a regular work weight and nothing special.

But MAN I am tight in the shoulders these days from all the volume and this was true today even after a solid one hour stretchout. Of course the stretchout was followed by an hour and a half of coaching but you would think more of the gained mobility would carry over. Ah, no.

At least not until I had done another half hour of pressing,lol. Then I was warm. It's so much fun to get old :))

ANd, as usual I had no idea of how heavy it would feel in my hands and the 20 kg warmup that felt heavy was not a good start.

It was not a good start with only one instead of two days rest after our weekend party but that's the way the cards were dealt so they were the one's I played. Didn't turn out so bad at all.

6-7 am

stretch and mobility work. playing with bands and hip tractioning,lots of squat pattern stretching and overhead work as well

8:30 Clean and press, long cycle

one arm swings

16 kg x 5/5 x2

cleans

16 kg x 5/5 x2

long cycle c& p

16 kg x5/5

x3/3

20 kg x3/3

x2/2

24 kg x3/3 ( this felt strong, first set that did)

28 kg x 2/2

x3/3

x4/4

x5/5

x3/3

x2/2

19 reps per side, 38 total

not bad at all. arms were just very sore and had to go more cautiously than I wanted to.

Two Hand CB arm cast

20 lbs x5/5

25 lbx5/5

35 lbs x 6/6

x7/7

x8/8

two hand shield casts

20 lbs x8/8

25 lbs x8/8 x 2 sets

bodyblade

3 x8 reps

these all felt great. definitely helped traction the tight elbows and forearms

datsit. tomorrow some cb swings

Gotta show up.

If it's Sunday I'm not supposed to be training but we planned on doing Saturday's workout today as we knew it was going to be a very late night,especially for us, on Friday and didn't want to risk anything trying to train on very little sleep and too much wine ;).

Still it felt very weird going to Girya this morning but as I always say, it's consistency that crucial to keeping one's training momentum, not so much the intensity.It's a VERY slippery slope when one decides to start missing workouts and the more you do the weaker your mind gets and the more easy it is to miss the next one.

Until one morning you wake up and it's been weeks or even months and you're totally deconditioned and weak as a kitten. Starting over is way harder for me than just keeping going so that's what I did today. As is usually the case, you never know when you are going to pull a good workout out of the hat and today was a solid one. Go figure .

Plus, I never feel better from not training, just weaker, stiffer and older.And even though I stretched out and did tons of mobility drills yesterday it's just not the same as swinging those freaking cannonballs around. Swinging bells is just hard. But I feel so much better when I'm done.

I also did what I was supposed to do and got there early and spent a solid 30 minutes doing stretches and mobility work.

Played with the jump stretch bands tractioning my hips and shoulders ala Kelly's stuff and it was good. I did lots of what I called scap trap distractions( one arm stretch then straight arm retraction) and retractions when I first started getting into my shoulder rehab but I haven't for awhile. It's good stuff.

Never tractioned my hips before and I still have to play around with it and study more vids as it didnt feel quite right. Did do starretts couch stretch for my quads and hip flexors yesterday and got a surprising release on that area which let my hips open up even more. Nice.

When I went to bed last night I knew I was going to snatch the 24kg today instead of volume or heavy swings first. The message was sent and knew I should listen.Turned out well.

Snatch

12 kg x8/8

16 kg x6/6 x2

20 kg x5/5

24 kgx5/5 x 5 sets

x6/6

x7/7

x8/8

x10/10

112 reps

5936 lbs

I did feel a bit rusty as I haven't snatched the 24 much of late even though my snatch volume is way up since I've started snatch vo2 again.The 16 is just not the same as the 24 and it took a few ( 5) sets before it didn't feel a bit heavy.

Technique, however( from the max day) felt great and bell speed was very good as well as overall total body coordination.

I did start running out of gas though and skipped set 9/9 as I wanted to do a 10 rep set per arm and didn't think I had both sets in me.

One arm swings

24 kg x5/5

28kg x5/5

32 kg x5/5

36 kg x5/5!!!

Nice. I also knew last night that I should not worry so much about one arm swing volume and focus on it as an assistant exercise for my snatches and cleans and get it as strong as I can. this was the first time I've one armed the 36 kg. Left grip was a bit dodgy, actually, and strangely( perhaps more chalk) but the right arm was solid.

Five is definitely my favorite rep number in anything,lol.

Hike swing park

24 kg x 1 x 10 reps

28 kg uphill ladder

1x1

1x2

1x3

1x4

1x5 x 3 sets

what this means is that I would do one hike pass, then an extra swing,then park the bell. then one hike, two swings then park again,Up to five, which was way harder than I thought. Sixth rep would have been slow and that's a no-no. No slow ballistics.

Did it three times and it was killer, especially at the end.

Two clubbell swipes

(2) 10 lbs x 25

(2) 15 x 20

x15

x10

grip was going at the end so I stopped. solid though. Strange how I prefer to do one-two longer sets with this exercise and not "train" it. just the opposite of how I feel about kb swing and snatch work.

post stretch

lots of foam roll, ankle mobility, hamstring stretches and overhead hangs. Finishing with a solid stretchout has really reduced post workout stiffness and DOMS. Nice.

datsit. back on schedule

Looks like the same position.

Looks like my grandaughter Sofi is a squat master already! I'll make sure she doesn't lose this vital skill.

Snatch VO2 37 sets of 7

Continuing with this weeks theme of STEP BACK, I did not use my 8 am cancellation to train myself more with a double split but instead worked on my stretching HARD focusing on deeping my squat stretch position.

Having spent the last five days obsessing over Kelly Starret's mobility project on youtube I started playing with the foot position in my squat stretches and had great responses. More stable, deeper squat position and, most importantly, Less knee pain. In fact, almost none, except for the fact that my knee was bending more than it had done in quite some time:))

Most important was my now having a new motor pattern in my squat that actually seemed to work. At least it did all day today and that is great.The load was on my hips and glutes, not my knee, and the ankle stayed stable all day. Which is not normally the case.

Plenty of time spent on hip mobilization stretches as well as the usual overhead work. This was just what I needed.

2 pm

Snatch Vo2

16 kg

15:15 7 rep sets

37 sets

259 reps

9324 lbs

It was a long day today and did not feel very energetic going in but my groove was solid and the pace was fast. No problems with wind at all and the 37 sets just flex by. Would have done 40 easy but knew I was supposed to take it easy and was running out of fuel anyway.

Clubbell mills

10 lb club x 10/10 x 5 sets

easy 100 reps and haven't done this move in eons either. perfect for wednesdays when I start with snatches as I only have a 10 and 15 lb cb at Stones. When I can do 100 each arm with the 15 I will get a a 20 or another set of 15 for swipes as well :))

Cold water shower

wow. this is weird. It sucks when it's happening but i consistently get a very strange 'warm glow' that lasts at least 30 minutes after each dowsing session.perfect after snatch vo2 and on warm days. can't wait til it's hot everyday and I can do this more regularly.

datsit

24 kg Long cycle clean and press, the ramp back up.

Definitely been sorer this week than I have in eons. Not sure the tgu's are going to be that helpful to my shoulder as they really made my pecs work and that's what I've been working on releasing all these years of rehab! We'll see but the volume definitely had an effect.

Tight pecs and lats do not help my shoulder ROM so it will be interesting to see whether my stretching and mobility protocols can overcome just a smidgeon of technique work on the move. After last weeks 32 kg training I pushed the re set button for a three week minicycle alternating the 32, then the 24 then the 28 kg before resetting again with the 24.

Today was the start and I was hoping the 24 was going to feel as light as it should. Luckily it did and it definitely helped to get my full one hour stretchout going early at just slightly before 6 am. I needed the extra time, that's for sure.

Especially when I had a bunch of new things to try out that I got of Kelly Starretts Youtube channel :))

6 am -7 am stretchout

usual stretches plus the pec minor release with tennis ball as well as 1st rib mobilization and shoulder tractioning and external rotation work with jump stretch bands. Also squat stretch on back against wall, coffee table hip rotator work. RKC level 2.o hip flexor stretch and lOTS of ankle mobility work as well as big toe extension work.

2-3 minute overhead shoulder stretch holds, 3 ways and the usual bretzells and their variations.

8:30

warmup

one arm swings 3 x5/5/5 16 kg

one arm cleans 2 x 5/5 16 kg

long cycle clean and press

16 kg x4/4

20 kg x3/3

x2/2

24 kg x5/5 x 5 sets

The video clip above shows the last set and I was finally getting warmed up by then! My shoulders were way tight, lats too but they finally opened up a bit. the weight felt light and moved fast but things were creaky.

Two hard arm cast

25 lb clubbell x 10/10 x 4 sets

these felt great. thought about the 35 but wanted to stay light

one arm shield cast

10lbs x 10/10

15 lbs x 8/8

x10/10

was ahead of schedule and threw it in. good balance for shoulder as it turned out.

two hand shield cast

20 lbs x 10/10

25 lbs x 10/10

It was the first time Tracy and I wore the same shirt to train in,lol. Too funny.

Tracy wanted to do more so we finished with these. SO cool to train with my woman on Tuesdays, just she and me.Her presses are getting so much better all the time,and her shoulder development is keeping up with her form and strength.Go figure.

Bodyblade laterals

3x10/10

man these are way harder than they should be. laterals delts are just tired, lol.great finisher.

Barbell Deadlifts(!)

135 x 1 x 10 sets

drove home and walked right to the bar and pulled 10 singles with about 10 seconds rest between them. double overgrip and it felt so weird and yet so familiar to pull again. Like riding a bike and I wanted to put more weight on the bar but definitely knew better.We will definitely have to wait and see about adding this in the mix.

Stepping back.

It's been a great ramp up but today I knew it was definitely time to scale down the load and the intensity. No worries, it felt right. My arms ,especially my forearms, were pretty dang toasty from all those heavy swipes and fast snatches.

Volume or intensity, both wear you down, just in different ways, and require different types of recovery. There is also the synergy of fatigue that occurs when you mix them together in a training cycle as well.

Today felt like the right time to up the stretching part of my training for the next week and downplay the loading.

7-8 am

full hour stretchout. got some great new shoulder mobility ideas from Matt Schinabecks blog NorthWest Kettlebells. I really got on the pec minor with the tennis ball and it got right to the point,lol. Great new stuff. I also put the tennis ball behind the first rib and did shoulder mobility work as well.

MY right shoulder flexibility and movement is SO much better than ever but it still has SO long to go to where it is really normal. Oh well, what's the alternative?

Used the high density rumble roller as well and this thing is intense. just great on the messed up adhesions in and around my knee, calf and hammy.You can really manipulate the prongs to get right inside individual sections of each muscle; very much like the thumbs of a serious deep tissue worker. I now see I need the full size one as well. Too much trouble to manipulate the little guy for everyday use.

For travel it will rock.Just like my little netbook,lol.great for travel , not so much for home.

TGU to straight arm support.

body weight x 3 x3 ( just working the rolling pattern)

10 kg x3/3/

12 kg x3/3

16 kg x3/3 x 3 sets

For some reason I can now do these on my right side and my shoulder is fine! ? This is very odd because ever since coming home from my RKC In 2005 I had to give up on the right side tgu because my right shoulder wouldn't tolerate it and I didn't want to overwork my already overworked left shoulder.

But teaching it so much these days for HKC's, RKC re certs and preparing students for all of the above I do the bodyweight version a lot and now it seems I can put some weight overhead as well. Nice.

Left side is actually weaker at the 16kg because my left leg/hip doesn't want to play nice in that position and the left rectus/oblique/tfl and rolling pattern is weaker.

Power Swings( 2 hand)

16kg x 10

20 kg x10

24kg x20

32 kg x5/5

x6/6

x7/7

x8/8

x9/9

x10/10

90 reps

1,1460 pounds

Since my arms were cooked the idea of one arms to start was not fun.Plus it was time to lighten the load so I started with these. good idea. it went very well and 10 reps with the 32 was not easy at all to keep the speed up for every part of every rep. Precisely the idea :))

One arm swings

16 kg x5/5+5 transfers x 2

20 kg x5//+5 trn

24 kg x 5/5

x6/6

x7/7

x8/8

x9/9

x10/10

These started tough and finished well. MY tight forearms reminded me not to grip too tight.

KB arm bar

16 kg x3 x 5 sec holds

20 kg x3 x 5 sec holds

actually too tired to do anything else and should have called it but decided to see how these felt. they were ok but I could feel more fatigue in the pecs shoulders and upper and decided enough...

of those but then

Hanging leg raises

3 sets of 6 reps

ok, now I'm really done. 20 minutes of stretching and then into some food and rest.

datsit.:))

Swipes and Snatches, Volume/ double split

I had a 6 am opening today and thought it might be 'fun' to do my swipe workout first thing, then do snatch vo2 when I got home today at 2pm. In the world of bodybuilding, and, strangely enough, Olympic Weightlifting, splitting up workouts to increase intensity as well as increase recovery is a well established method among the hardcore.

I know that ,especially because they are both high rep workouts, that whatever gets done first will have the most energy, and the most intensity as well. But even though swipes are MUCH easier on my body than snatches 6 am is about as early as I can even think of doing anything but stretching.

I also had to decide whether to just train first or to stretch first and then train. I only had 75 total minutes to get it all done and ready for work so I had to decide. I chose to train first and stretch after as I was feeling pretty 'spry' when I got to Girya and Tracy, of course, jumped right into her million rep swing workout with no warmup :))

That wasn't the right choice but no harm no foul, just the realization that I always need to stretchout before the first workout:))

6 am

warmup:

two clubbell rockits/swings:

10's x 30 seconds x 3 sets

15's x 30 seconds x 2 sets

20's x 20 seconds x 2 sets

Swipes

10's x 10 x 2

15's x 10 x2

20's x 10 x 5 sets

15's x 20 x 3 sets

OUCH! this was NOT easy at all. The warm ups went great but five sets of 10 with two 20's was seriously tough: on my grip! My forearms and wrist are tired and this challenged then well. the move felt strong and it was the most volume I have done with the 20's.

The 3 sets of 20 with the 15's were tough on the grip as well after about 10 reps.

One CB Shield cast

10 lbs x 100 reps continuous. Switching arms every 10 reps.

This was a bonus. Had some time and decided to do these light and just kept going. Very strong.

6:40 - 7 am

stretchout and TGU practice with 12 kg

left hammy was tight as a drum and needed some extra attention. actually practiced my tgu on BOTH side up to the high bridge position and couldn't believe how good the right side felt! I haven't had this much ROM in that shoulder in that movement EVER!

3-4 sets of 3 reps each in the half tgu.

It's a good thing stretching doesn't work ;}}

2 pm Snatch Vo2

15:15

16 kg

35 sets of 7

245 reps

8,820 lbs

this was so strong and easy. and fast, despite my tight forearms. Nice that it was cool out today so the sweat wasn't a factor. that won't last long but it was good today! really brought my stance in today and it felt better.Everything felt strong and fast. I want to work up to 50 sets and cycle from 35 to 50 sets every 4 weeks. When 50 sets of 7 are easy start in on 8's.

Deadlifts

135 x 5 singles.

I can't believe it,lol. I've set up the deadlift bar in my garage now so it's always loaded to 135 and thought I would start pulling again a bit and see how it felt. Hey, first presses then two hand swings, and now pullups and tgu's? why not deadlifts too? Start easy and do just a few singles. If can work up to 5 singles or so with 300 everything else would start to feel very light indeed. Why not?

It felt very very odd indeed though, setting up against a deadlift bar. It's been a long long time.

Cold Shower : longer than a minute this time,lol. This sucks during but I feel SO good after, for quite awhile, strangely enough. I can feel the physical reaction in my skin as well as my core. Can't wait for the real heat, I will be cold water dowsing all over the place.

Datsit :))

32 kg Presses

It's always when you least expect it. Both good and bad, it seems. I've been on a roll of late, a good one but yesterday I felt like I had been beat up by someone with a baseball bat and a bad day. Everything was sore; in a good way sore, muscle sore not joint or tweaked sore but sore nonetheless.

I figured I was do after the nonstop weekend last week and then extra workouts, very high rep sets on new movments followed by more but heavier hi rep sets and then some really heavy stuff on Saturday. My idea of great fun but I was reminded, over and over in my head of numerous things.

1) Don't be greedy

2) The next step off a peak is always down, step back or fall off.

3) My "tough guy" periodization schedule ' heavy, heavier , heavier, injured, light, light, heavier, etc.

4)You have to balance intensity with recovery efforts and

5) Don't increase loads more than 5% a week at best.

I don't where I was but it was more than 5% of the week before, that I knew.

But I also knew that I hadn't felt this good in years. Really, years. Maybe 15 or more and I was like a kid with a new toy, I wanted to take it for a ride and play with it. I was almost giddy with being able to put some weight on the gas pedal for a change and seemingly take my foot completely off the brake for awhile too.

But rules # 1 and 2 were yelling at me and I didn't really know where the peak was this time, which is always the problem.

Hence, Rule #1.

Travel and teaching always impacts my training, as it has to, and it should because my priority these days is not any meeting on a platform,nor training personal bests or looking to find my limits but staying steady, increasing my function and work capacity and being able to do my job as best I can as often as I can and maximized THAT potential.

Oh and yeah. Stay the hell out of pain. Yeah that.

I haven't pressed the 32 kg since Jan 18 and I've been itching too but I couldn't rush the schedule at all and take a risk of tweaking something so I was really looking forwards to playing with it today, on schedule after a real weekend of training and recovery. Not teaching and airports.

So when I got home from work and gotten progressively more beat up through the afternoon I thought for sure it was the end of the run and really time to back off and lighten up today.

But I woke up feeling pretty damn good, recovered even, with very little muscle soreness stiff ness or joint pain. Wow. Naps and good sleep and great food can do that it seems.Nice

But I knew I still wouldn't know til after the 24 or maybe even the 28 kg was in my hands. Sometimes it's a light gravity day and sometimes gravity is pissed off. Today gravity was on a personal day.

6 am-7 am full stretchout with emphasis on overhead stretches and prepping the lats for later. Full body stretch though. Everything relaxed on cue.

8:30am

one arm swings+ transfers warmup

16 kg x5/5/5 x3

cleans

16 kg x5/5 x2

Clean and press Short cycle

16 kg x4/4

x3/3

20 kg x3/3

24 kg x3/3

x2/2

28kg x 1/1

32 kg x 1/1 x 5 sets!

Strong! I knew I was good when although I was planning on taking two low rep warmups with the 28 I knew I didn't need more than one. The 32 felt light in my hand, on the backswing and and in the rack. EXACTLY how it's supposed to feel. I also knew I could have done multiple reps with it but that was the not being greedy part.

I probably shouldn't have even been pressing it today but it was great! As I was lowering the first rep of the first set with the 32 I actually thought;'this is going to be a regular weight soon and the 36 kg is next.

Almost forgot how good strong feels.

Also here's little video tutorial I made during the warmups on how I use the lats for the press; how I can pull the elbow down to get a good front delt prestretch and a lat contraction at the same time OR JUST flex the lats and still get a good launch with no downward motion of the arm at all after the clean.

Personally, with my shoulder history I'm all for using the safest technique I can and that's pulling the elbow down a bit and flaring the lats at the start. If I need to be tested I can do it but I'm not training like that.

Two hand clubbell arm casts

15lbs x 5/5

25 lbs x5/5

35 lbs x 10/10 x 3 sets PR!!

wow this was strong too! Crazy hard though. The second arm fatigues way more than you expect after how strong the first side is.I probably should do each side as a separate set and just change grips after a decent rest. second side always gets gipped ;))

Bodyblade laterals

3 sets of 8/8

shoulders cooked and done.

Now that I've gotten back and have some down time for awhile perhaps I can cycle my presses like this

week one 24 kg

week two 28 kg

week three 32 kg

repeat cycle then on week seven 20 kg for reps or a special press exercise( stacked press, bottoms up etc)

I can determine the sets and reps for that load that day and based on the previous weeks training. Being able to use the 32 every third week will really set me up for the 36.

The Power Swing.

The background for my new business cards :))

I talked a little about this new method of training the swing and snatch that Tracy and I developed during an HKC trying to troubleshoot a candidate that could not reset his hips very well after the first rep. He could do so well at the start of the hike pass but then would stay too upright for the his subsequent swings.

I fixed that by having him replace the bell on the ground for each and every rep after that, as a muscle memory drill and it worked. I just thought of it as another good cue to use with a student but Tracy took the ball and ran with it creating all kinds of new ways to program it for her classes.

Being a powerlifter at heart I quickly realized that here was a way that I could get away without doing so many reps per set, lift even heavier AND not only keep the speed and power levels up but INCREASE them.

This was a way to train the swing for SINGLES and make it even harder than rep sets. The pure essence of Hardstyle, if you will.

" We choose Power over efficiency. Striving for max acceleration in the quick lifts and max tension in the grinds".

This IS the definition of RKC Hardstyle and here was way to really train the swing and snatch for max acceleration.

Tracy called the technique simply : Hike, Swing, Park" as it describes what to do perfectly. But the more I have trained them the more I want to call them Power Swings, as this perfectly describes the intent of each and every rep.

It immediately reminded me of training box squats WSB style. The reason WSB squats onto boxes instead of free squats is that sitting on the box deactivates the stretch reflex, which really helps one coming out of the bottom of a squat strongly.

The same reason touch and go benches are easier than paused benches is that the pause (somewhat) diminishes the stretch reflex and makes the lift harder. Pausing on a box before standing up requires one to overcome way more inertia and teaches one how to increase their starting strength, rate of force development as well as speed strength.

AND you can use less weight and get more results. Nice.

The Power swing does basically the same thing for the kettlebell swings BUT I've found I can actually use MORE weight in each set, although for significantly less reps. Getting more with less, sounds good.

Because I get to re set up before each rep and make sure I am in the perfect start position it feels very safe as well.

I talked to Pavel about this and he said he guessed it would require 35 % more energy to do the same work than if done with the stretch reflex engaged! That's a lot. PLUS you get the extra benefit of all that static strength in the bottom position.

This is detailed in our new DVD that Dragon Door is producing on Master the Hardstyle Kettlebell Swing but here's what it looks like:

You can apply the same techniques to the snatch as well. Here is my last set of 5's with the 24 kg:

The DVD should be out before we know it.We've seen the rough cut and man we are proud already !!

Starting each set from a dead stop is NO JOKE.
Enjoy

The workout:

7:30-8 am stretchout( REALLY needed this. Got serious Multiple DOMS from the tues, wed and thursday workouts,lol) Plus I did not stretch out as seriously as I needed to afterwards and things are tightening up fast. Especially the lats with all those swipes.

No worries just have to stretch them out but my stretch work is a workout many times holding poses for 3 minutes plus!

I'm not always in the mood :))

8am

One arm swings

16kg x5/5+5 transers x 2 sets

20 kg x5/5/5

24 kg x5/5/5

28 kg x5/5/5 x 5 sets

32 kg x 5/5 x 3 sets

This went very well and the weights felt light even though my arms were still a bit sore and tight.Nice to play with the two pood again.

Power snatch

16 kg x5/5

20 kg x5/5

24 kg x5/5

man there is not much volume there but it kicked my ass! and nicks too.it just makes it so easy to try to accelerate each and every rep maximally ( concentrically). I make sure to keep the one arms using the stretch reflex to train that too.

I plan on moving the lifts around on this day to make sure I don't favor one form of ballistic development over the other. it will create a natural periodization. I almost started with the two hand swing but tried to "stay on schedule", i.e. what I wrote down earlier. Mixing it up according to what is most fatigued makes more sense.

Power Swings

24 kg x10

28kg x8

32 kg x6

36 kg x 5

40 kg (!) x 5

Nice! this was the first time I have swung the 40 in ages and it was strong. I stopped there from either doing another or more sets or going up because the bell speed was slowing down at the end of the set and that's the cue your power output is going down. Plus I was tired,lol

Tactical Pullups

3,3,3,3

12 kg on foot x 1/2

wow.I've been working with a client that's going to Level 2 in Hungary with Tracy and I and I will be teaching the tactical pullup at the cert and have been thinking that since I can press again perhaps I can do pullups again without locking up my shoulder.

This day seemed like a good day to put them and they were easy. I really focused on my hollow position with toe flexion and pulled with the elbows in touching the neck at the top. Still need way more shoulder extension to get to the collarbone but it's a good start.

Put the 12 kg bell on my toe just to see how it felt and it felt hard! Man, I could feel every flexor muscle in the front of my body tighten up as I pulled. Half way is a good enough start and I want to workout up to 5x 5 before I start adding more weight.

This getting better stuff is FUN! It's 12:34 now as I write this and I already feel way recovered. Nice.

datsit;))

The beat rolls on.

No ill effects from yesterday's impromptu swipe test so I decided to train as planned today; more swipes with the 15 lb clubs and snatch Vo2 in the garage.

As per usual in California it decided to switch from winter to summer in one day so it was pretty steamy in the garage( 86 deg) and I remembered well the problems I had before when trying to do snatch vo2 into high sets: TOO MUCH SWEATING all over everything,lol.

I resorted to double sweat bands, head bands,multiple bells ( to switch out when I sweated on them) and it didn't help much. I've decided if I have to take a break to towel off no biggie. I want to battle my conditioning not the sweat.

Today wasn't too bad but I can see where it's going.

5:30-6 am stretchout

1pm two clubbell swipe test with 15 lbers

one warmup set of 10 with the 10's then right to it!

Despite having done 100 yesterday these felt good from the start and I knew I could get my fifty as soon as I got going. definitely I have to make sure not to get greedy and push things too fast across the board. Especially now as I have some non travel down time and want to make some solid progress in my training.

Make Haste Slowly :))

2pm Stones Gym San Jose

Snatch Vo2 15:15

one warmup set with 14 kg for 5/5 then into it too

16kg x 32 sets of 7 reps

224 reps

8064 lbs

16 min work

these felt alright but I could feel the fatigue in my arms from yesterday's and today's high reps swipes. the bell speed stayed fine but I didn't want to do more.

I will have to alternate which exercise goes first from now on so I don't overtrain either the swipes or the snatches.The arms feel heavy now,lol.

( ...pumped :))

Wind was very good and teshnik felt solid also. I finally feel like I have a solid bottom position in this move to be able to both shock absorb and rebound out of. That's one of the things that makes Tracy able to snatch so fast and with such power is that she really can reverse and produce force out of the bottom of her swing AND her kb snatch.

It's taken me forever to find it, as usual.

Oh yes, I took my first ice shower today in ages. Just about 60 seconds but at least I could make myself do it. When I read Tim Ferris's book I knew I wanted to get back into some cold water immersion but just couldn't even CONCEIVE of it this winter, where I froze my ass off :))

But I also knew that I would love it when this city starts to cook and it was great although the speed of which it raises your heart rate is shocking.

Definitely cooled me off quickly though!

Recover is everything. You can only train as hard as you can recover from on a regular basis so this will be a new focus for me now.

Now that I can actually "train" a bit again. Nutrition, mental prep, peacefulness, mind control, and continuing to keep stretching and making sure I keep working towards my foundation goal of square, plump and neutral all over and stay injury free.

Well at least as much as this old frame can be:))

Rest and some serious stretching tonite and tomorrow and then lots of swings on saturday!

datsit :))

Five Minute Swipe Test

Had an unexpected cancellation this morning and what to do with the time? Normally I would just stretch out but I have been thinking about doing a five minute clubbell swipe test since I did such an easy 50 reps last week and stopped myself.

I was going to do it tomorrow but felt so good I figured I could do the test and still have plenty of time to stretch out. I've done 300 continuous with this light weight but that was eons ago.

I decided to do it cold, no warmup at all and I forgot chalk but really didn't need it. It was very easy for me; I wish the five minute snatch test, even with the 16 kg was this easy,lol. But this is a very natural move for me. I even got a nice sprint in to the finish. Just like old times :))

Tomorrow I will shoot for 50 with the 15's and then work up to 100 with the 15's again before doing the same with the 20's.

Not too long ago two days after returning from being on my feet for 12 plus hours three days straight would have meant no training at all for a week and being in serious physical pain the whole time.

This is much better.:))

Back in the saddle

Man it's been a very busy three months! So much has happened so fast and we have been all over the place for so long it's hard to imagine that it's pretty much done- for now. At least the traveling that is,lol. At least until August and we get to go to Hungary again. But that's a way's off and now I can settle into a stable schedule again and let my training really take off.

After this last weekend's whirlwind of RKC Re Certs, HKC and seminar and too many 13 + hour days I knew today would be a tough one and it was.I didn't taper for the weekend work as I usually would but I was just feeling too good to back off and it was no problem.

Except for being super sore today, lol. Before I started training. But I was also anxious to get back to regular training and today is my favorite day: I get to train with my wife and it's my favorite workout of the week- long cycle clean and presses.

6 am stretchout;

usual suspects with most emphasis on opening up very tight hamstrings, hip flexors and most especially LATS ,lol. Go figure.Shoulders were nice and creaky.

8:30am

warmup:

one arm swings+ transfers 16kg x 5/5/5 x 3

cleans -5/5/ x2

Long cycle clean and press

16 kg x5/5

20 kg x 4/4

x2/2

24 kg x5/5 x 4 sets

not bad at all and at the end I was finally starting to warmup but I knew I didn't need any more overhead work today.The bell moved well and felt light

Two clubbell Swings

10 lbs x 20 x2

15 lbs x 15 x2

20 lbs x 15 x1

really felt I needed these to help traction my elbows and activate my rotator cuff. Just what I needed felt very solid after

One CB arm casts

20 lbs x 10/10

25 lbs x10/10 x 3

wow, I was starting to gas.time to step down. Sr RKC Peter Lakatos equates traveling and the state of being overtrained. I think he's right on. Of course Hungary to US is not San Jose to Seattle but it's still a small version of the same phenomenon.

Bodyblade laterals

3 sets of 7 each arm

Datsit. Back in the saddle :))

" This is what un injured people must feel like."

I blew out my knee in a tumbling accident at age 17 and have had to deal with that and other serious injuries ever since. I am 54. That is a long time to have such a physical career and life and figure out how to work around joints that never worked right.

Looking back now things really weren't too bad until I was 33 and started powerlifting. As much as I learned from that extensive study of the world of extreme and absolute strength it cost me. Having to make my asymmetrical body conform to the rules of a sport it wasn't built for is what pushed me over the line. Squatting below 90 degrees with a knee that only bent 85 on a good day put way too much load on the spine.

Add in all the crazy ass round back lifting we did to get stronger also put crazy loads on my spine. Oh, and the crazy ass heavy loads we lifted just in the classical lifts were the icing on the cake :))

orthopedic-ally speaking.

So it's been along time since I could just go in the gym, train hard and not expect to pay some heavy duty price for the privilege of trying to get stronger and more enduring.

But lately it's been just the opposite. I did a great heavy workout yesterday and woke up this morning ready to go again, Even at the crazy 6 am hour which is the earliest I have 'trained' inn forever.Besides stretching that is.

So, back to back days, early morning training AND a double split workout with snatch vo2 at the end today!

Woo Hoo. And, nothing felt like it was going to tear or fall off afterwards either.

It was a gamble considering I have to fly to Seattle tomorrow for three straight days of non stop Hardstyle KB teaching and training. But it seemed like a good bet and I still think I'm right.

My body just feels differently these days. I just need a new knee( pun intended) and that will make the final difference.

SO;

6 am 30 minute stretchout then

Two Clubbell rockits

10's x 40 reps x 3 sets

15's x 30 reps x 3 sets

20's x 20 reps x 2 sets

Two Clubbell Swings

10's x 15, 20

15's x 12, 15

20's x 10,100

Two Clubbell swipes

10's x 50 reps 2:30 sec

These went great and I kept the rest periods down.Serious quad burner with the rockits. These moves are so much easier for me than kbs that's for sure. I did the 50 reps no problem and was seriously going to do 100 when my brain kicked in and remembered what I had to do this weekend and what I did yesterday. But 100 will fall very soon and then with the 15's as well.

Man, I LOVE being able to write that :)) I love feeling, even just a little bit, like the old me. All these years of stretching and correctives and searching for square, plumb and neutral is finally paying off.

And damn, I earned it.

2 pm

Snatch Vo2

15:15

16 kg

28 sets of 7 reps

196 reps

7056 lbs

Really didn't want to do this one as I was beat from the early start and training and then seven consecutive privates. And it was cold and rainy but there was really no reason not too but laziness so out to Stones gym and it went great. Hey it was barely 15 minutes.

Last week I did 25 sets of 6 and 7 sets of 7. Today ALL sevens and it was no problem. Taking some time off max vo2 obviously did some good. I like to go hard and fast and that's exactly what Snatch Vo2 is all about

Tomorrow off to Seattle and a SERIOUS Hardstyle weekend! Can't wait.

datsit.