"And in those simple beautiful movements I remembered what was really important in training; that consistency trumps intensity; all the time. That intensity is born from consistency. That one cannot force it, one has to lay in wait for it, patiently, instinctively, calmly and be ready to grab it when Grace lays it down in front of you."
Tough one. Pushed the pace the whole time although legs were pretty tired from yesterdays heavy swings. Nothing hurt or tweaked just 'used', so it felt like a slog even though the pace was decent. Hot and humid never helps but it's part of the training so I pushed through. First hour was strong, second hour was a slog
Gait technique feels good; back to the 'chi' running forward lean more than I have been and it definitely helps keep speed up.
Good day today. All systems go and felt strong throughout. No body issues to speak of. Bell handle was a but slippery for some reason for the first 3 sets but overchalked the handle and that helped. Weird. Nick said I was rocking back and forth on my foot more than usual and I think I was not keeping my big toe planted as usual as I was hinging more than usual
One I re planted the big toe the balance came back
One arm swings 16 kg x 5/5 x 2 20 kg x 5/5 24 kg x 5/5 28 kg x 5/5 32 kg x 5/5 40 kg x 5/5 48 kg x 5/5
did fives for all warmups as opposed to my usual 4s or 3s as I wanted more work. Also, next time no skipping the 44 kg
Decided to put the new plan into action and went with 205 as the start weight. Monday it will be 215 and if it goes like today I'll be at 220 the next week.
This really proved productive as even though the first four sets were good the details didn't emerge until the last two sets, as well as all the cues
sets 5 and 6
This is turning out to incorporate ALL the different techniques/ ideas I have had over the years, especially the last 2
1) Lock the knees
2) Hip forward ( load the bow)
3) Squeeze the glutes ( but only after moving hips forward)
4) Drive
5) Re drive hips to lockout
This seems to work better in this sequence. If I squeeze the glutes and then , or at the same time, shift the hips forward then don't load as well. Hips forward then squeeze seems to lock them in place and still leave me room to move as I drive into the press
sets 2 and 4 were ok but I wasn't squeezing glutes
this is very good especially only one day after heavy max press
wt v pushups bw x 10 53 x 10 x 3
One arm laterals, bent laterals 3 x 8,9,10 on each with 20s
This should have been better despite having to train alone. Good sleep and enough,light workload and plenty of prep time mentally. Went into the gym very calm actually, focusing on not thinking, just moving through it and doing it when I had to not before
It worked well for the most part but it turns out from the videos I was moving too much in the knees and not enough in the hips
And because it was just a little bit from the knees there wasn't enough force put on the bar to get through the sticking point and I stalled
I stalled at a decent place but there was no going further. Have to learn to load that hip better, load the bow better. I felt it from the warmups, they were strong but not fast and when I lead from the knees the bar goes forward. Again, because it wasn't too much leaking it didn't go too forward, but just enough to slow things down and again, that won't go with 225.
195 and 205
215 ok just not enough hipthe first attempt with 225 which turned out to be my best attempt. with just a little more hip this would have gone. the overall technique and positions were finethe second one I leaned back at the sticking point and the third was not too bad, actually. pretty tired now but a good fight set 2 of 4 downset with 205, couldnt have done another set. triceps very tired but symmetrically
I think I'm going to go back to triple progression now, with singles. work up to 5 x 1 with 215, then the same with 220 then go back to 225. I think I need more heavier volume. 215 is 95% of 225
Can't hurt to give it a try
V pushups bw x 10, 15, 17 20 no way to load weight on back
Way late getting this posted. this was a good one. very fast. Much better than expected after Sat heavy swings. Legs and glutes were tired but not cooked. legs just seemed to turn over easily. Not cool but not too hot nor humid
This went great. I'm loving fives! Power out put and locking in at the top are the focus not just trying to do as much power as I can WHILE surviving the 16 or 20 reps, These feels like the perfect thing to be doing now. Height on these, as it was with the 40 is much better it seems
Last month's 44 kg for sets of 8/8
Ended up with 12 set which seemed perfect as the hands just started to feel a bit crispy after 12. I'll stay here as long as it seems right. The extra power output definitely takes more out of me
One arm swings 44 kg 12 sets of 5/5
Pistol practice 3 sets of 5/5
these felt great, and I tried to go deeper after seeing how high last week's reps were
Ok this was a tough hot one. Not as easy as last weeks but still strong mentally. It was a bit hotter ( 83) with no breeze and direct laser beam sun on me. Legs and lungs felt good but with no breeze I can really smell the nastiness of the park's denizens ( dogs, homeless, garbage cans) and that makes it all that much more fun
Man this was the best workout ever! The timing was spot on,literally could not be better. THIS IS IT. Now to just be able to do exactly this with 225 on the bar. No shit, Just do this
1) Lock in and pause after unracking. Locked knees. LOCKED. Come to a dead stop pause before
2) Hip drive then press almost at the same time
3) Redrive hips at sticking point. Do not press to lockout, hip drive under it
This is just what it should feel like and move like
175 x 2 x 5 sets FAST and STRAIGHT! Elbows were in as well
185 x 2 x 4 sets equally as fast elbows still in place190 x 2 x 1 just to check if it held under a bit heavier load. It did perfectly could be happier with this. This is as good as I can do this lift
I thought the wrist thing was going to work ( as usual) . It didn't and went back to reflex position but not letting it bend all the way back. But it was making me overfocus and other things went wrong
Knee flex on 195 and pushed it right away. Haven't missed that in ages so it didn't bode well
Repeat was fine but definitely not feeling 'connected' yet 205 x 1 Hip drive and bar speed ok but elbows flared and slowed it down at top
215 x 1 Not quite sure what went wrong here. Knees were pretty locked elbows flared but not too early. Second hip drive was ok ( perhaps loose) but the whole thing was leakingFirst 225 miss. the good news is that all these attempts were decent, the groove was basically correct, I could fight at the sticking point BUT I was fighting with my arms and NOT my hips for second locked leg hip drive. I didn't figure it out until the 3rd 205 down set. Made all the difference ( would have too)
Why does it always seem to take me to the end of the workout to figure out the groove of the day? ARGHHH! Way too much knee flex here.
205 x 1 x 5 down sets
wt v pushups on paralletes bw x 10 53 x 10 85 x 10 x 2 strong.
one arm laterals 3 x 10/10 20s bent laterals 3 x 10 20s
Shit sleep last night ( again the freakin' cat) but the legs were strong and loose as Thursday and speed was decent. Spent too much time fuckin around on my phone so it slowed the total time down but it was good all things considered
Cool and crisp though unseasonably so and that's always such a gift. overcast too. even better
45lb ruck 12 laps 5 squat stretches 2:10 total 13,284 steps
Today was the first workout of the new protocol. Five sets of five reps on all weights as I cycle them each week. This worked better than I expected with power output ( bell height) dramatically higher. Not thinking about saving your energy for what you know will be a death march for the last 5-6 reps of the second arm made a big difference
today's set
last months
Like I said, dramatically better Plus MUCH less mental stress
Fifteen sets was no problem but I could tell hands were starting to start to heat up. I will increase this volume very slowly to 20.Eventually but it could take months
No hurry
One Arm swings 16 kg x 5/5 x 2 20 kg x 5/5 24 kg x 5/5 28 kg x 5/5 32 kg x 5/5 40 kg x 5/5 x 15 sets
150 reps 13,200 lbs Nice!
Also, and could be an important point, I found myself going back to the "baboom" technique of the athletic hinge today almost by accident but it felt right so I went with it hinge first then squat down. I've been breaking at the knee then hinging back of late but this just happened today.We'll see if it's an anomaly
Pistol Practice 3 x 5/5 Shifted my weight ( head over foot) to get my COM over my base and it felt good. But it's different and my depth was way off. Couldn't even feel it but the video doesn't. Will concentrate on it next week. Also, will start on right leg to get the Rec Fem pre activated before the left leg pistols as it needs ore work
Man today was excellent. the best thursday ruck I've had in over a year, no doubt. From start to finish I was strong, fast and did not feel the heat even though it was high 80s. It just didn't bother me and my legs were loose and kept moving.
Perhaps the heat tolerance is coming. That would be very very good.Plus my mind was strong which has been very rare of late.
Did all 6 laps ( 3.6 miles ) in 50 minutes or so and it was solid. A little under 14 min miles! That would be great if this is the start of a strong heat summer season
Another potentially HUGE piece of the puzzle today, the wrist angle! My wrist has been bugging a bit of late from a variety of things but the Onyz wrist wrap seems to be hurting more than helping so I went without today.
Realized that I've been letting the wrist bend back more than before and while it wasn't necessarily hurting I was leaking in that position and potentially helping to push the bar forward at the sticking point, as I push over the top a bit
SO I adopted the kb wrist position of "no wrists" and really loaded the bar LOW on the heel of my hand during the set up and man it help keep my elbows in by itself!
Plus it irradiated tension all through my body on the setup. Excellent and felt natural , 'right' and strong all at the same time
Let me pause longer too and get tighter which I think might be important too. The longer I pause the tighter I get (as long as I don't shift weight back to heels) today worked great.
Hopefully this is the last big piece of the puzzle
set 5I can even see in this thumbnail my elbows are in a much better under the bar position!
Press 65 85 105 x 2 135 x 2 155 x 2 175 x 2 x 11 sets
24 kg swings
5 x 8/8
band triceps extenions Green band 4 sets of 15 I think this will work. I like that it's peak contraction at full extension
Well this went well today even though, as usual, I fix one thing and forget to focus on the other. This means I kept my knees locked pretty well today but did not keep my elbows from flaring enough. But I made the lifts despite this, even though it made me work way harder than necessary
It's a big leap though as after a very rough 215 I still made 225 with the 10 lb jump,even though the lockout wasn't great.
I thought offsetting my right hand grip just a tad would fix that but it fixed the soft right elbow lock but didn't keep my elbows in. Can't pinch them in at the start as it always causes me to drop the elbows or flex the T spine so I guess it has to be elbow in at MID PRESS
Good news is that I'm strong and technique issues are minimal
I almost made BOTH the 225 misses as well
205 and a rough 215
then onto the 225 makethen the two strong misses at 225
and then a strong 3rd downset with 205 had some soft knees and a miss on the second attempt going too far back trying to correct the elbow flare
wt pushups horiz parallel bar BW x 10 53 x 10 85 x 8 x 2 this was good
One arm laterals 3 x 10/10 with 20 bent lateral 3 x 10 with 20
Solid one. Not too hot early yesterday and that was nice. Legs and back and lungs all behaved as well. Not a fast pace but not slow either. Took it up a notch the last 1.2 miles ( two laps) and brought it in under 16 minutes.
Decent especially these days, getting used to sweating again
Glenn needed to use the 48 kg today so I decided to join him. Dropping down to the 32 kg just didn't sound interesting at all. And since we've decided to stick with 5s across the board it shouldn't have been a problem, and wasn't. In fact it was a great day
Height was better today than ever I thought and power output was excellent. Weight felt light and all parts felt strong. Lungs, of course, no problem
16 kg x 5/5 x 2 20 kg x 4/4 24 kg x 4/4 28 kg x 4/4 32 kg x 4/4 36 kg x 4/4 40 kg x 4/4 48 kg x 5/5 x 10
Left leg pistol and left leg lunge combo 3 sets of 5,6,7 each leg
I realized the other day I have to shift my center of mass over to the working leg just as I do when I walk/ruck. head of foot and all that. it actually worked fantastic! made a big difference
This went perfectly, all but literally ONE rep were exactly the same( second rep 9th set I believe) but everything else was locked in and timing was spot on
Felt so good
The image
After unracking, the body is literally a CONCRET statue. Concrete doesn't move and and for some reason this really worked well. Locked knees and concrete stillness
Also took my right hand out about 1/4" and that helped the overhead lockout as much as I had hoped it might. That shoulder is so much tighter than my left and this seemed to make a difference
Plus, by doing this I don't think my left elbow flared as much but it's light and we'll know more on Monday when its heavy
But I do know every time I tried to pinch or squeeze my elbows in the bar and my torso dropped a bit and can't have that
CONCRETE
Press
65 85 105 x 2 135 x 2 155 x 2 175 x 1 x 10 sets
24 kg swings 5 x 8/9
Ring leaning triecep extension
Give these a tri (pun intended) instead of rep pushdown. Really loathing the idea of them now and that'a cue :)
This worked out WAY better than expected lol. Pretty beat up by the last week(s) and did not have very big expectations about today, But because I was so tired I really relaxed about getting the numbers and just did my best
It all went well. After I made 225 I decided to take my win and go down and not take a chance on a miss. I wanted to end on a win and I did
Standing Press 65 85 105 x 2 135 x 1 155 x 1 175 x 1 195 x 1 FAST
205 x 1 215 x 1
This went "ok" as trying to 'pinch' my elbows tight before the press made them drop down a bit and made it much harder than it should have been I realized the problem this time AT the Time and corrected for the next lift 225 Thought about taking it over but I thought if I make the correction I'll make 225 but if I waste it on 215 I might not have the juice to do two plates
SO I took the risk and it paid off. this felt great. still need a better lockout and more especially on the right arm but I'LL TAKE IT!! 225 x 1
205 x 1 x 5 sets These went perfectly I just have to make sure to keep my LEFT elbow in as I start and DON'T drop anything trying to get tight. this 205 is technically perfect for me. Elbows don't move down at all before I press
Wt horiz parallette pushups BW x 10 53 x 10 X 3 done slowly with elbows in.locked knees and pauses at the top of each rep. This is actually turning into an ideal assistance exercise for my press
Wow this was hard. Not too hot but more beat up from the Big Bells yesterday than I expected. All was good just slow and hard. Time actually wasn't bad; Tracy joined in for half the laps and I always walk faster when she's there so that was good and it made it harder, lol ( faster)
45 lb Ruck 12 laps 10 squat stretches 1:50 for the 12 laps ( not counting to and from park)
It's gonna take awhile, as usual, to get heat adapted. And it's just starting
Solid heavy day today although it was harder than I expected. It's been stinking HOT here lately andd there's a whole lot of heavy sweating going on all day the last three days. Hydration has been good but it's hard to get it perfect. Been sleeping well too
Bodyweight is down 3 pounds too! But it went well but it was hard. Power and height were decent
One arm swings 16 kg x 5/5 x 2 20 kg x 4/4 24 kg x 4/4 28 kg x 4/4 32 kg x 4/4 40 kg x 4/4 44kg x 4/4 48 kg x 4/4 60 x 5/5 x 8 sets These were solid but hard. Bodyparts felt ok grip was decent but not optimal 68 kg x 5/5 x 2
Actually planned on NOT using this bell today and doing all 10 sets with the 60. I felt just a bit scared something might 'go'. Hips have been feeling a little tight and things have been more stressful than normal not even counting the heat. But I decided to do just two sets instead of three as I warmed up well with the 60 and everything held together just fine
Glad I did
Pistol/ lunge practice 4 set of 5/5 left leg only. Left leg has looked to have lost some mass so I have to up the volume a bit on that side
A solid 93 degress out at 12:30 when I started with a glaring no cloud sky. But my body felt good and my mind was as solid as it's been in ages and it was a very strong effort. Fast even
Finished the six laps in a bout 50 minutes even with rest stops. Not bad at all and legs and lungs felt good. It was freakin hot as hell though especially on the left side of the park where there was no shade and direct sun on the face
This went very very well. Good thing I decided to go light all sets today as I was pretty sore when I got under the bar. All morning though I was great. Warmed up well just a bit creaky at the start
Determined to really keep my knees lock and drive the bar to my face. It worked very well and then after the fourth set I realized I had to fix my elbow flare as well. Decided to try the cure "pinch" as in "pinch my elbows in" before I pressed and it worked perfectly!!!
Just light the 'lock' cue it triggered a nice domino effect of creating the bar drive to my face without having to think about each thing separately
this was the fourth set before figuring out the pinch cue
Pretty good but not as good as later sets! Very pleased with this
10 sets of 2 with 175
Tried used band unracking to isometrically tighten the leg lock but all I felt was arm work so I scrapped that idea
Gettin better. Just being able to take the jump from 215 right to 225 is a massive confidence booster as it doesn't freak me out like it did. Didn't quite make the 225 but it was right there and just lost balance at the top. Again losing knee lock was the issue but it's getting better. and the 215 was solid as hell. the first 225 attempt I pushed too far towards my face but it jumped off my chest!
Press
65 85 105 x 2 135 x 2 155 x 1 175 x 1 195 x 1 fast! 205 x 1!
Knees were a bit soft on this actually
215 x 1 strong, this is getting very solid and consistent great knee lockout at first and second push
225 miss first attempt pushed back too far. weird! strange thing here was that my knees were locked perfectly the entire time. Should have made this one!225 attempt second very close to locking but knees leaked just enough to cost me the lockout. If the knees break I can't lockout205 x 1 x 5 sets ( this is last rep)
wt v pushups bw x 10 53 x 10 x 3 slow with hold at lockout
One arm laterals 3 x 8/8 w 20 Bent laterals 3 x 10 with 20
Started off pretty well, not cool but not hot, but humid. A portent of things to come. Good from 7-8 but from 8-9 it got hot and more humid and let me know just what's in store for me for the next few months.
Time to get in heat shape again
Lost 3+ pounds in two hours on a sunday am ruck lol. Lots of sweat
45 lb ruck
12 laps
1:55 min
7.2 miles
8 squat stretches
I was beat at the end. Slow but steady pace. Legs and hips were much more fatigued than expected from yesterdays 48 kg work.
Another shitty nights sleep ( cat problems again) and both training partners bailed at the last minute. Good thing it wasn't a heavy workout- oh yea it was
BUT
It's low reps and I can deal with that
I swear I should just do nothing but sets of 5/5 and adjust volume by sets. that would be heaven, actually
I think I'm actually going to think about it
40 kg - 20 sets of 5/5 44 kg 15 sets of 5/5 48 kg 10 sets of 5/5 60 kg 10 sets of 5/5 32 kg 20 sets of 5/5
that might actually work ,lol
Very StrongEndurance type training
Regardless today went better than I expected when I walked in the gym
One Arm swings
16 kg x 5/5 x 2 20 kg x 5/5 24 kg x 4/4 32 kg x 4/4 36 kg x 4/4 40 kg x 4/4 44 kg x 4/4 48 kg x 5/5 x 10
5/5 seemed much more palatable than 6/6 for some reason
Pistols 4 sets of 5/5 from top down each side this worked very well especially on right side
Red band pullaparts
4 x 30 front and angled
behind head pullapart 3 x 10
BW 177.6 BF 14.1 BF 57.2 ( after bath!) dehydrated it seems have to fix that
Really decent one again. Lungs felt surprisingly open early and legs felt loose and strong! So nice. I thought strong and easy ruck days were over and it would all be a struggle but I guess I did have some allergy thing going on.
Was a very solid day today despite being fairly tired ( still have this car at night problem, not great sleep) and a bit sore from Monday heavy work. I've wanted to go heavier on Wed lately to test the new technique but I'm pretty confident that it's right now and will probably back off to 185 and work better speed and longer overhead holds. Today was tough as muscularly things were fatigued
In a good way but in a way nonetheless
Press
65 85 105 x 2 135 x 2 155 x 2 175 x 2 185 x 2 195 x 2 x 8 sets!
these felt great. Seems I have to focus on KEEPING the knees locked at the sticking point as much as locking them prior to the start so the cues
LOCK FACE LOCK
if I keep them locked right after the drive to the face then I can stay under the bar as I fight in the lockout If they leak at all it's very hard to maintain leverage
This feels very natural to me and easiest yet to remember and not 'gap' during the activation
24 kg swing
5 sets of 8/8 no problem
floor pushups 2 sets of 50 done. everythings toasty
This was a great day. All the reps were spot on until the 225 attempts but even those were solid. Still let my knee unlock a bit and it cost me at the lockout BUT the line was correct and the miss was strength, not technique, which is what I've been aiming for
Plus it's only the second heavy day with this technique and the first time in forever I've jumped from 215 right to 225. This is gonna work
65 85 105 x 2 135 x 2 155 x 1 175 x 1 195 x 1 FAST! 205 x 1 fast
215 x 1 the best ever in terms of technique and line225 first attempt let knees soften just bit too much225 second attempt better but triceps were a bit cooked from the previous grind. very close tho205 x 1 x 5 sets these all went greatNo complaints. Really felt confident with the technique just need more time with it and it will be autopilot
wt parallette pushups bw x10 53 x 10 x 3 hold lockout
one arm laterals 3 x8/8 20s bent laterals 3 x 10 20s bar rev curls 3 x 10 with 25 lbs
Got a nice surprise this morning; instead of a heat wave continuance we got a nice crisp blast complete with a cool breeze as well. What a difference, so refreshing instead of stifling
Must have been why my legs and lungs both cooperated today and the ruck was brisk and quit and I started and finished strong again. It's been a good two weeks
45 lb ruck
12 laps
1:50
8 squat stretches ( helped bring the time down) instead of 10
7.2 miles
Actually forgot to weigh for the first time in forever
Pretty decent one today. Eights are NOT tens, and thank g-d for that. Good sleep., body less sore than yesterday and legs felt decently strong. Not crazy strong. Still have to increase recovery ability as that has definitely decreased slightly of late. No bueno
It's weird to be trying NOT to get a glute pump too early,lol. THAT'S never been an issue before.High quality problem
44 kg One arm swing 16 kg x 5/5/ x 2 20 kg x 5/5 24 kg x 4/4 28 kg x 4/4 32 kg x 4/4 36 kg x 4/4 44 kg x 8/8 x 10 160 reps 15,520 lbs
Pistol practice first set concentric only alternating legs 4 reps each second set concentric first then 4 reps alternating third set top down same leg 4 reps each
decent
side raises/ bent laterals/ double hammer curls 3 x 8/8/9 15s
The first really hot one yesterday. 12:30 is in the direct heat and man I felt it. But my mind was good, surprisingly, and I was fine. I literally embraced the heat, didn't fight it, and it was so much easier. Actually starting to look forward to the heat rucks and getting back into real shape
We'll see as it progresses but for now, I'm happy with my mindset
Man did this go great! perfectly, in fact! Every rep of each of the eight sets went just bout perfectly. This is NO knee bending and bar paths all went back over face. Some of the fastest reps I've done. Just LOCK THE KNEES! LOCK THE KNEES! LOCK YOUR DAMN KNEES! ( with apologies to bikram lol)
It just worked. with the knees locked and remaining locked the entire lower body just was solid as hell and no power was leaked. Hence, every ounce of energy I put into the vertical push of the bar went into the bar and bar speed was excellent!
Here are the fourth and eighth set with 195 for doubles ( which is a huge pr)
Could not be happier. Finally felt in control of this press
24 kg swings 5 sets of 8/8
Floor pushups
3 sets of 50 really kept elbows IN tight to mimic and strengthen rack position at start
4 pm band reverse curls ( forgot to add these in so) red band 3 sets of 20, 15, 10
palms up curls band too
2 set of 10
feels good to do these again.. Arms look big but biceps are puny. I stopped training biceps after my tears from snatching and didn't want to load them too much as I was still snatching and cleaning but I keep my elbow locked on my swings so this should be fine
Plus I have an imbalance now and need stronger elbow flexors
Great freaking day! FINALLY!~! Realized a big thing, that in order to keep my knees locked at the start of the press and to keep them from unlocking as I press I have to focus on the knees and NOT the quads.
Literally just getting bone lock of the knee
I thought about that cue during warmups and man it worked great. The only reason I missed the 225 was that I didn't hold the lock as I pressed but all the reps I did with locked knees went well. Plus I have no isometric strength in that position so all things considered
Also key is pushing bar to face. On my first 225 attempt I was so focused on knee locked that I pushed up instead of back and the bar went out in front.
But I am pumped as I now feel I really know how to keep the base solid . this 220 lbs press was probably the fastest I've ever done it. I'll check but it was fast. Faster than the 215 right before it
Press 65 85 105 x 2 135 x 2 155 x1 175 x 1 FAST! 195 x 1 best ever 205 x 1 ( pushed UP a little too much)
but went ahead to 215 and while too far up instead of back too it was solid
this is the next fastest 220 I've done I think back in march 2020
then 225 x miss then this second 225 attempt. this is where the knees really loosened
then 205 x 1 x 4 setswt pushups bw x 10 53 x 10 x 3 hold at lockout each rep. I really like pausing at the top now here, makes total sense Plus really keep elbows in to target triceps
one arm laterals 3 x 10/10 with 20 bent laterals 3 x10 with 20
Not bad considering the volume of yesterday. Legs felt great until the last three laps, then they just got tired. But finished strong. Mind is stronger of late so that's good. This workout is, really, the most important one I do all week. For my legs, my back, my lungs and especially my heart. I've got to re focus on that. This is the real key to my health and longevity. The press is just vanity.
Rucking and swings, the real foundation of my strength, health, longevity and overall long term health
45 lb ruck 12 laps 1:50 min 7.2 mph
10 squat stretches. Getting used to these again and they feel good and give me a short break each lap
This went well and could have been bad. Too much neck flexion last week put some strain on my C7-T 1/2 discs and my traps have been tight all week. Not terrible but certainly not 'right' either. I was worried whether I could swing the 40 kg at all without making it worse. Felt decent yesterday and pretty much fine this morning but you never know til you pick up the bell
Of course once I could swing it safely I still had to do 200 high powered reps and that's always hard. But it got done and power output stayed high for most of the ten sets and 20 reps
one arm swings 16 kg x 5/5 20kg x 5/5 24 kg x 4/4 28 kg x 4/4 32 kg x 4/4 40 kg x 10/10 x 10
Not super hot but definitely in the hot category and happy to say it was pretty decent. Mainly as I re set my mindset and accepted and embraced the heat, which is key. Actually to any suffering. The more you fight it the worse it gets.
Embrace the sweat, embrace the heat. Get in great shape for the heat season
Really solid one. All the techniques worked great. Also learned I have to focus more on leg( quad) tightness as much or more than glutes and keep tension in the arms after the unracking before I press the rest worked great
135 x 2 155 x 1 175 x 2 x 2 ( really sore from monday) 185 x 4 sets ( above)
195 x 2 x 4 sets ( sets 2 and 4 below)
after I unrack get motionless, tighten the quads and arms and keep the head looking at X on ceiling but don't overarch Then, drive bar back into face and hips do their thing reflexively All good!
24 kg swings 5 x 8/8
upper t spine still wonky from Saturday better but not perfect
Despite having about 4.5 hours sleep ( stupid cat) this went well. MUCH better than expected. Made some mistakes in the beginning sets( losing tightness as I started the push). I hit 215 for two singles ( not great but close enough to lockout to please me) and 3 attempts at 220 , the second one I almost locked out ( and we lost to video error) and then 4 decent down sets with 205 very fast , especially when I realized I have to keep the glutes tight as I push to face
I must have been relaxing just as I initiated the press BUT pushing first to the chin/face definitely is a keeper
65 85 105 x 2 135 x 2 155 x 1 fast 175 x 1 fast 195 x 1 loose knees
205 x 1then 215 for two singles. not perfect but hadn't started focusing enough on keeping tight glutes AS I pushed to face set one, let my glutes relax and knees flexed. then my 220 three attempts. first just too loose in hips, second I actually MADE but the video got cut out and this was my third. The second attempt wasn't pretty but I got it locked out as much as the 215then 4 sets of 205 solid overall very happy with today's training. this approach seems very doable, and leaves me wiggle room for adjusting on the fly. Key Cues 1) come to complete stop after unracking 2) flex glutes and legs 3) drive bar to face and KEEP glutes tight
wt pushups on parallettes
bw x 10 53 x 10 x 3 hold at lockout need to start doing this and pausing longer at the lockout.
Solid practice today, Felt like doing a bit more work to get ready for the swing power instructional dvd I'm going to film soon so I bumped the reps from 8 to 10 per side. No problem, hard as usual but a good thing, Next week however, with the 40kg doing this will suck of course
One arm swings
16 kg x 5/5 x 2 20 kg x 5//5 24 kg x 4/4 32 kg x 10/10 x 10 200 reps 14,000 lbs work
Pistol/lunge practice 3 rounds of this
just doing the pistol on the left side is working out very well. still need more left leg quad development
this went great. much better, but again, it is light. Mainly my focus was on not letting bar drift horizontally after the unrack and to keep my knees tight
turns out I also have to purposely drive the bar back at the start. used a relatively high bar rack. easy set up
65 85 105 x 2 135 x 1 155 x 2 175 x 2 x 5 sets
185 x 2 x 4 sets205 lb press x 1 x 2 sets
these went great! the fact I could do a strong 205 at the end and after monday's marathon session says a lot about my positions.
Solo again , at the last minute which did not help my mindset. Training alone is one thing; being stood up on heavy day is another.Took me awhile to pull my head out of my ass and even when I did nothing went right: my weight shifted( didn't feel it at all), elbows flared( even at 195) and generally I had no groove.
Went up in weight , back down, then back up again trying to find the groove. Even wrapped my thumbs at the very end, desperate to make the bar move faster, and it was better but I know it's not the way
so
Press 65 85 105 x 2 135 x 2 155 x 1 175 x 1 195 x 1 -elbow flare
205 x 1 ugly more horiz weight shift205 again better but not right215 x 1 best rep of the whole day220 miss two times 210 miss ACK!!! Elbows flared here too205 x 1 decent195 x 1 wrapped thumbs205 x 1 wrapped thumbs 210 attempt. didn't make it but surprisingly given how much grinding I did 210 again
Decent one today. Did my ten sets of squat stretches each lap and , as before, it seemed to help my lap speed and my overall time was decent as well. My favorite weather, cool and overcast with a nice light breeze. perfect
Solo training today and I was tempted to skip these bells and wait a week until my partners got back in town. But then I had to ask myself why? Just not wanting to do it was not enough of an answer. It's always hard, with partner energy or just myself so I decided to do the right thing and do the damn session.
It went fine. Never as easy as with the boys but strong enough and the bell height, especially on the 60 kg was much better than it felt as I was doing it
One arm swings
16 kg x 5/5 x 2 20 kg x 4/4 24 kg x 4/4 32 kg x 3/3 36 kg x 3/3 40 kg x 4/4 44 kg x 4/4 48 kg x 3/3 60 kg x 5/5 x 7 68 kg x 5/5 x 3
This was the second set. I actually messed up the transfer on the first set and didn't swing through. No reason taking any chance but this went fine, as did the third set
Pistol/Lunges 4 sets of 5/5 ( left leg pistol and then lunge)
this worked great as it did last week
Band ( red) pullapart 4 sets of 30
I think I'm going to sub this in instead of light laterals. I really like them and miss them
Great day! technique held perfectly and timing was spot on. Couldn't be happier. Of course it's light but timing can go bad even on light days
the cue list gets shorter all the time
* Low bar rack setup
1) unrack- lock glutes
2) lack back
3) press straight up
the hardest part is laying back enough at the start BEFORE , but just right before I initiate the press. If I press too soon, OR don't layback enough, the bar goes forwards
Also, I don't have to push my hips forwards as much as just flex the glutes tight and the hips lock in. Almost no knee leaking today which can happen regardless of the weight
175 lbs x 2 third set- decided to not do two singles but a regular double. worked great
Fifth set185 lbs x 2 third setfifth setCouldn't be happier. I think that no matter how Monday max effort goes this is the setup and technique. I don't think I can do it any better given my shoulder limitations
Another good point; my shoulders were not sore at all after monday's work. usually I'd be sore as hell
This went very well. Not perfectly but I'm happy with the overall result. By the end of the workout all the little technical details were falling into place. for the first half of the workout I got the hip position right then at the down set time I got the layback involved and all worked perfectly
ready to put it all together. again lol
65 85 105 x 3 135 x 1 155 x 1 175 x 1 195 x 1 fast!
then 205 x 1 decent but no enough layback ( which I didn't remember until later)215 x 1 x 5 attempts( made 3 and 3 were 3/4 locked out) and one dump ( I didn't count)
then 5 downsets with 205, the last were the best after I realized I had to set the hips then layback then press! "the only thing harder than figuring it out is remembering to do it!"
the cues seem to be:
1) hips forward after unracking ( FORWARD NOT DOWN- HIPS NOT KNEES)
2) Layback then press
if I don't layback enough I have to drive the bar back. If I DO then I can press straight.Most of my misses behind today were because I was driving the bar to compensate for lack of layback,then when I started to layback the push backward took the bar out of the groove
wt pushups
bw x 10 53 x 10 x 3 hold lockout, easy
one arm laterals 3 x 8/8 w20s bent laterals 3 x 10 with 20s
Solid one. Found out that one lap is precisely .6 mile instead of the .5 I thought so that means my 12 laps is 7.2 mile. Most excellent, Which means I'm doing even better than I thought. Legs felt good although it took more than a few laps for the lungs to open up
This went very well. Strong and solid all the way around. Body felt great, grip strong and power high. Love heavy low rep days!
One arm swings 16 kg x 5/5 x 2 20 kg x 5/5 24 kg x 4/4 28 kg x 4/4 32 kg x 4/4 36 kg x 4/4 40 kg x 4/4 48 kg x 6/6 x 10 sets
Pistol/Lunge combo right knee still tender in the very bottom on pistol ( need to release calf more) but I do these mainly for left leg development so I put the rear lunge in instead for right leg worked so well I might keep it like this
Decided to start over. Or, actually, go back. I used this 'low bar ' technique to press 225 with two plates the first time ever so it can work. After so much problem with the other technique I'm ready to try something different. It worked pretty well, with some bugs of course but still I think it will at least be a strong base position
Lowered the heels with the adidas 1/2 powerlifter shoe , took my stance out and, most importantly held the bar mid chest. the hard part is finding the right place and not letting it shift up too much as I unrack. I need to load the hips better to not leak through my knees. If my knees don't 'kick' and my hips do drive the it seems to work
If my knees flex it's over
warmups felt good up to 195
then up to 205
timing still not right and missed it the second time. didn't want bar to roll up so didn't get enough arm tension. then down to 200 for 3 sets which were solidthen to 185 for three more sets which moved great definitely has promise and and hopefully it will be more simple to just 'drive' from
I have to make sure to get my hips forward, in front of the bar and not just lean back. The old LOAD THE BOW!
24 kg swings
5 x 8/8
floor pushups
3 sets of 50 last set hard but good power all the way through
Well today just sucked. and for no good reason. Everything should have been at least solid but I missed 195 in the warmups which is NOT a good sign. then, all over the place
205 miss then make but slow and not easy. then 215 miss, then make, again not easy or good. then 220 miss three times. all kinds of mistakes. Nothing was on. Elbows flaring, not loading my hips, all over the place
Not really sure what to do now. This is the most frustrated I've been ever with this.
One thing the slowmo shows is the bar too high on my chest and that could explain a lot but, really? that delicate a groove? Still?
65 85 105 x 2 135 x 1 155 x 1 ok but not fast 175 x 1 same 195 x miss 195 x 1 205 x miss 205 x1
215 x miss
215 x 1220 x miss x 3 205 x 1 x 3 205 x miss 205 x 1 x 2
ack
floor pushups on pbar bw x 10 53 x 10 x 3 strong
one arm laterals 3 x 8/8 20s bent laterals 3 x 8 20s
BW 176.4 ( lightest I've been on Monday for weeks but I can't blame that) BF 14.8
Surprisingly good today, not hip or leg tightness from yesterday and I felt pretty recovered. A far cry from what's been going on the last few weeks but who knows? Maybe I was fighting something off and turned a corner
Eitherway today was good. Got distracted talking to some regulars about rucking and kbs' and lost too much time and just got 11 laps but it's fine. On my feet for two hours is key, too
Also kept the squats back in and they feel great to do again. Legs are looser and per lap time is faster
Strong one today, especially considering how hard last weeks work was. We were going about every two minutes for the first five sets then shifted to 3 min for the last but far easier than last time
One thing that's for certain, having good training partners always makes the work easier. Also when the bells lighter you accelerate harder creating, at times, a lot more force. the 40 kg is in that sweet spot where it's just light and heavy enough to really let me kick my own ass for 200 reps.
Today even though heavier is always easier
Still plenty hard but not a puker like last time last months set
Hard to believe just 4 reps per set can make that big a difference; just under 7 seconds more work. But, HARD work
One arm swings 16 kg x 5/5 x 2 20 kg x 5/5 24 kg x 5/5 28 kg x 4/4 32 kg x 4/4 36 kg x 4/4 44 kg x 8/8 x 10 sets
160 reps
Pistols
set one, two down one up twice x 3 rounds 6 reps per leg
set two up and down for two reps each leg 3 times 6 reps per leg
set three 5 continuous reps each side
Left leg good right knee tight from patella no problem though
.jpg)