It’s A Heat Wave!

I’m not gonna lie.  Tuesday’s variety kicked my butt.  And my wife’s butt. 

You know how you do a workout, and the next day you’re so sore you can’t move your arms and legs properly?  You feel like you’ve aged 20 years, and you walk like a shuffling 80-year-old?  That was Wednesday. 

And no, we didn’t bother torturing ourselves on Wednesday, either.  Add the soreness to the first 90 degree day of the year and that added up to “day off“.

So we did Wednesday’s workout today.  It’s very nearly a repeat of Monday’s workout with the exception of substituting swings for snatches.  And not easy swings either.

The roll of the dice gave us six minutes to do 25-rep swing sets with 10 second rest periods between them.  And today was hotter than yesterday, even at 6:00 p.m.

We hammered through our clean and presses and pull-ups, with Val using the 12 KG for all her sets this time, and then went to the swing sets.  Our first two rest periods were right on the money at 10 seconds, but the rest were when we could catch our breath.  Cameron and I did 6 sets total, while Val did 5 before she had to run out the door and pick up our youngest from Karate. 

Cameron used the 16 KG while I stayed with my 24 KG.  I did my swings right-handed, left-handed, two handed, right-handed, left-handed, two-handed.  While we didn’t reach our goal of 200-230 swings, we still felt smoked and jumped in the pool for an after workout cool-down.

Friday is an off-day, then heavy day for Saturday.  Get ready to rock!

Tuesday is “Variety Day”

Which is AOS code for “kick your ass”.  Today, we’re going to perform a variety of exercises in a relaxed and easy manner…

Yeah, right.

The AOS ETK workbook called for doing rounds 2-6 of AOS Providence, 2 times.  Now, if you haven’t ever done the Providence or Newport workouts, you would be advised to start slowly, because the exercises and pace catch you off guard at first.  Val and I last did the Providence workout during the Winter/Spring of ‘07.

Here’s a rundown of the exercises we did:

Warm-up with 3 circuits of wall squats, halos and pumps.

16 KG bell for me, 9 KG bell for Val.

Clean - R5, L5, R4, L4, R3, L3, R2, L2, R1, L1, then R5, L5, R4, L4, R3, L3, R2, L2, R1, L1

Rest 1 minute

Floor press - R5, L5, R4, L4, R3, L3, R2, L2, R1, L1, then R5, L5, R4, L4, R3, L3, R2, L2, R1, L1

Rest 1 minute

Squat and Sumo Deadlift - Right side 30 seconds squat, 30 seconds sumo deadlift; Left side 30 seconds squat, 30 seconds sumo deadlift

Rest 1 minute

Single leg deadlift - R 5, L5 alternating for two minutes

Rest 1 minute

Windmill/overhead squat - Starting on the right side, one windmill followed by one overhead squat.  Right side for one minute, Left side for one minute.

Rest for a few minutes then do the circuit again.

Finish with 20 janda sit-ups, 10 straight-leg sit-ups, and stretching for the hamstrings and lower back.

Next:  Wednesday is medium day!!! 

Monday - Day 1, Rite of Passage

As explained in the last post, we’re starting the Enter The Kettlebell (ETK) Rite of Passage workouts.  I used the 24 KG bell while my wife used her 12 KG bell for presses and 8 KG bell for snatches.

Our presses went fairly easily.  Val used one of my Ironwoody bands for assistance in the pull-ups.  We did our 3 ladders and moved onto the snatches.

We did 10 R and 10 L, followed by a minute rest for 5 times (total 100 reps).  The workbook only calls for 50-60 reps, so we got a bit carried away.  Val was having difficulty with the snatch, but after I explained the trick of “punching through” the bell, the movement became more fluid for her and we ended up doing an even 100.

We both remarked that the workout felt easy, however after about an hour, we were sore.  I haven’t snatched for a while and my shoulders and upper back felt it!

Tomorrow (Tuesday) is a variety day.  The workbook calls for rounds 2-6 of AOS Providence.  We have the workout on an MP3 file (sold on the Art Of Strength website - AOS Online Store), so we’ll play it tomorrow and follow along with Anthony for those rounds and do it twice.

These workouts will really get your heart rate up and are a great fitness tool to test your endurance. Here’s an example of the AOS Providence DVD:

Program Minimum Complete - Happy Mother’s Day!

On to the Rite of passage!

We’re right on schedule with our program.  Thursday we did our second 200-rep swing workout.  While not easy, we were mentally prepared and finished our 4 sets 24 seconds faster than the first time we did it.  For my wife and son, it was a heck of a milestone and very satisfying to watch them hit all their reps.

Friday was an easy Turkish Get-Up workout like Tuesday’s.

Starting with week 5, we’re going to be working with the kettlebell clean and press, pullups, snatches and swings.  There’s no slacking off now, as our work days will change too. 

We’ll be using ladders to do our work sets of the clean and press (C&P) and pullups.  Now, for those who don’t know, a ladder is another way to spread out the sets and reps.  Here’s an example:

Rung 1:  C&P Left - 1, C&P Right - 1, 1 pullup

Rung 2:   C&P Left - 2, C&P Right - 2, 2 pullups

Rung 3:   C&P Left - 3, C&P Right - 3, 3 pullup

Rest 1-2 minutes, then move to ladder 2, rest again then ladder 3.  As we progress through the weeks, we’ll adjust the number of rungs and ladders up and down as directed in our workbook.

On Monday, we’ll be doing our ladders followed by 5 minutes of snatches.  We’ll be doing 10 reps right then 10 reps left, rest for a minute or less then 10 and 10 again until we reach 5 minutes.  Here’s a few video examples to get us started:

First the clean -

Then the press -

And the snatch -

 

 

Determination + Focus = Success

Yesterday is over.  Yeah, it was a tough workout.  But let’s not dwell on what’s past.  It’s over and done with.  I don’t know if I was tired from painting all day or what, but I was disappointed with the effort I needed to get through the workout. 

As I thought about it last night, I realized that I spent a good portion of the day thinking about how tough 50 reps was going to be.  I knew I could do them, but I knew they were going to hurt, too.  So even though not succeeding was not an option, there was still this little voice, my saboteur, as my wife, the life coach says, trying his best to defeat me.  The saboteur doesn’t like change.  His (or her) job is to make sure that nothing changes, everything remains the status quo.  So why venture into the unknown?

The saboteur says:

“Why try to succeed?  You’ll probably fail, and even if you do succeed, it won’t matter anyway.”

“C’mon, you can take tonight off and relax.  Think about it tomorrow.  What’s the rush?”

“If you try to get 50 reps and only get 44, you’ve failed.  Do you want to be a failure?  If you don’t try, you won’t fail!  Therefore, you’ve succeeded!” 

Succeeded?  Not quite.  Maybe by the saboteur’s standards.  But remember, the status quo is a known quantity.  Moving beyond the status quo, outside the comfort zone, well that’s an unknown quantity and that’s a scary place…for the saboteur.

So what’s the answer?  Confront the saboteur.  Ask yourself, what’s the worse thing that could happen if I try this? And then ask yourself if you’re strong enough to try it anyway.

For instance:  If I try to get 50 swings and only get 44, what have I lost?  If I hadn’t done any, I’d have none of the benefits of the exercise at all, zero, nada.

But if I try and get 44, then I’ve still got the benefits of having hit 4 more than last week’s 40.  And maybe if I get to 44 and notice my son struggling as well, I try harder to get to 45, because I want him to develop a “don’t quit” attitude and I want to lead by example.  And then maybe I find that if I readjust my grip at the top of the swing, I can hang on for another rep and hit 46.  And, hold on, that might just work, 47.  Hell, I’m almost at 50!  I can get three more!  Then you do the same thing and shout out “Two more!” as you hit 48.  Your saboteur is nowhere to be found now.  You are outside of your head and focused on making those last two reps…49, 50!  That’s it!  That’s success! 

So what does this have to do with Tuesday’s Turkish Get-Up workout?  When I woke up today, I heard that little saboteur voice starting to creep back in.  Thursday’s coming.  50 reps again.  Remember how hard it was before?  I’m not sure you can do that again.

Really?  B.S.!  I’m not thinking about Thursday.  That’s two days away.  Today’s for get-ups.  I can smoke those.  In fact, after getting a test single with my 32 KG in the get-up the other day, I decided I’d use my 28 KG for get-ups today.  That’s only an 8 lb. jump.  I know I can get 5-6 with the 24 KG, and maybe even 7 if I really push myself.  But I figured the 28 KG would provide a little more resistance and help build my strength, rather than force myself to work faster and possibly see my form deteriorate.

I spent most of the day thinking about how I was going to use the 28 for my get-ups.  As I went through the motions of my workday, I saw myself going through the different phases of the lift and saw myself completing at least 5 reps.

When I got home, I couldn’t wait to grab the bell and get started.  As soon as I picked up the bell, however, guess who showed up?  Whoa, that’s a little heavier than I remember.  Isn’t that grip thicker than your other bells too?  Can you really get 5?  5’s a lot.  Maybe you should stay on the safe side and stick with the 24.  You know you can do the 24 for 5 reps.

Hold up.  Negative thinking produces negative results.  I can do this.  What’s the big deal if I only get 3 or 4?  I’ve still succeeded by moving up in weight and practicing good form.  So shut-up already and get to it!

We went five rounds for our warm-ups, rested about 2 minutes then hit the get-ups.  My son, C., hit 10 reps R and 9 reps L with his 16 KG.  My wife, V., hit 8 reps per side with her 9 KG.  And I got 6 reps per side with my 28 KG.  Once I got on the floor and got the bell in position I was in the groove.  It wasn’t easy by any means.  And I was drenched in sweat when I was done.  But that little voice was nowhere to heard.

50 rep sets on Thursday again?  I’m ready! 

Have you got a kettlebell yet?  Need another?  Maybe one a little heavier because you’re stronger in one exercise versus another?  Well now’s the time to get one or two more with your tax “rebate”. Dragondoor and AOS both offer great kettlebells to use for your fitness goals!

AOS Online Store

Week Four - Building Endurance

Week four calls for 50 rep sets.  I thought 40 taxed my grip, but 50 really challenged both my grip and my wind.  And I wasn’t the only one.  My wife and son joined me and were both beat up by the time we finished our fourth set.

I used my 24 KG again, while my boy used the 16 KG and Mrs. used her 12 KG.

If you’ve been reading along, you know that we do our 10-minute warm-up followed by our “work” sets. Sets one (R) and two (L) went pretty well.  Set three was my first warning that things were not going as well as I though they might.  At rep 48, my grip was starting to open up and I had to readjust on the top of each swing.  Son No. 1 had to readjust at the bottom.  Mrs. switched to two-handed swings for the last two sets. With the three of us working together though, we hit sets 3 and 4 and lived to tell the tale.  We were all breathing like we just ran several miles.

Having someone to work out with really makes a difference and I find that we help to motivate each other as we swing through our sets.  In addition, just having someone to push you to work out when you get home after a long day makes a difference and helps to establish and maintain your exercise ritual.  This in turn helps you to achieve your fitness goals.

Having a program to follow is nice too.  So tomorrow we’ll do a TGU workout, take a day off, then hit our last 50 rep swing workout. 

Just for grins I tried a 32 KG get-up after reading about someone doing their first on the Dragondoor forum. I got it but it requires a lot of focus and concentration on technique. 

Time for bed.

Got Stimulus? ETK Stimulus?

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Pavel’s Enter the Kettlebell! book gives you the theory, detailed instructions and superb photography to ensure you know exactly what you are doing.

Pavel’s Enter the Kettlebell! DVD supplies that crucial ingredient that you simply can’t expect to get from a book alone—the three-dimensional movement that fully illustrates the correct trajectories and other key elements that only film can communicate.

The best weight for a man of reasonable strength to begin with is our 16kg or 35-pound kettlebell . So, Pavel has put together a quick-start kit that incorporates all three of these resources—and saves you $10.00 over the investment if you paid for these items individually.

Saturday Morning Mayhem

OK, I’ve come to the realization that I am not a morning exercise person. We got up at 7:30 and did our Turkish get-up workout. Talk about creaky bodies! Last Saturday’s workout was just as bad. After completing 5 circuits of our warm-up we got to our get-ups.

After 5 reps, I was done. I had a hard time concentrating and did not feel like pushing it. And why bother? I’m not trying to impress anyone.

For the TGUs, we need to focus on form not on reps. Although I will say that last week’s TGU workout in the afternoon was much stronger than this one.

Ah well, on to week 4. 50 rep swing sets!

Here’s a neat video of Steve Cotter doing some unreal things with kettlebells and his own body weight. The man is a machine!

Swinger’s Ball

No, not that kind of swinger!  But I got your attention didn’t I?

My son ducked out tonight so it was just me and the Mrs.  We hit 5 rounds of warm-ups and then went into swings.  The goal was 40 reps and we hit 40 for 4 “sets” or rounds for a total of 160 reps.

Mrs. used her 12 KG while I used the 24 KG.  I finished with 20 janda sit-ups and some stretching.  Then it was time to fold laundry and get dinner going.

Tomorrow I have to drive 5 hours after work to get my other kids and take my oldest to his mother, so our TGU workout will be done on Saturday.

Enjoy your Friday!

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Enter The Kettlebell-Week 3…The Reps Add Up

Well Monday came and went. 40 rep swings were a joy!

I checked our reps for weeks 1 and 2 and found that we started with 140 swings per workout, then went to 150 for week 2 (one workout) and did 160 on Monday. These are not impossible. But if you haven’t trained extended reps, your grip will let you know it.

We moved Tuesday’s workout to today as I had a union meeting to attend to last night.

Today we had a lot of energy and really worked the Turkish Get-Ups. My son got 9-R and 8-L with a goal of 10 on each side for 5 minutes with the 16 KG.

My wife and I hit 8-R and 7-L. She was using a 9 KG and I used the 24 KG. We definitely worked it hard. However, we both agreed that today’s workout was better than Saturday morning’s workout. Even though we moved more weight today, we felt better when we were done.

Swings again tomorrow, 40 reps getting ready for 50 reps in week 4!