KBs and the outdoors

got to love it, a nice spring day, a big open field of green grass and your kettlebells. :-) Here I am, alone, no one else on this huge open field. So, I took two bells of the same size, 20kg and decide to do some circuits

Circuit 1
Bear Crawls 20 total steps to 5 Clean and Press (doubles), to 5 Snatch (singles) x3 sets

Wow, this smoked my shoulders and core.

Circuit 2
Renegade Row, push-up, clean and squat...5 reps of each

Another smoker, especially since the core and shoulders were already fatigued from the previous circuit and the fact that yesterday I did pull-ups (20) and Push-ups (80) and then the big Thursday.

Circuit 3
See-saw Press 10/side and Deck Squats 8

Popped out and total time about 20 minutes....


Good, quick, strong and conditioning emphasis.

Girivek Workout

Heavy Day

It has been a while so i controlled the volume. My goal is to come back and do the 3 P workout tomorrow and then a Moderate Snatch and CP workout Saturday. So here is how it went down. 30 minutes

Windmill for warm-up
24/5/5x1
32/5/5x3

Snatch
32/5/5x3

These felt strong and the bell whipped. This is my goal to become more technically sound and work up to sets of 10 with this and conquer the 40kg for the Heavy Day. The 40 is in the mail :-)

Clean and Press
43.5kg/1/1x3 and the second rep down with a PushPress.

This was my first attempt to do so with this weight..any of these. As Rif says it is all easy until its heavy, aint that the truth. But I got it and know the 40 I will be doing 5x5 in a ffew weeks of training...respect skill, respect technique because without you will not be able to accomplish uncommon personal feats.

2 hand Swing, Maxwell tabata style 20seconds work/10 seconds rest for 5 minutes

32/14x10

These felt strong but I need more conditioning work and that is part of my new philospohy, a mix of strength and conditioning done daily. Today was a combination...tomorrow will be a different combo with the strength of the 3 P's and the conditioning of the bear crawls and sandbag deck squats.

Live to fight strong and smart another day!

Stretch later...did some JM and Flex work this week on tuesday and Wednesday

Head for the hills

Well, today I put on the hiking shoes and the lady, myself and the dog went for a hike.

1.5 hours up the steep hills, some flats and a single track climb...beautiful weather, the loves of my lives! A great day and good for the legs

The Beast Challenge

So I am out in Minneapolis as an assistant RKC (kettlebell) instructor. This is a cool experience and a great opportunity to meet others in the industry and just network and learn an abundance of info.

Today we were presented with the opportunity to take the "Beast Challenge". the Beast is a 48kg (106 #'s) KB. An awesome display of iron. I have never touched nor seen in person this hunk of iron, until today. I took the challenge,

First up, the Pull-up. This is the exercise I know I can do. I failed by the hair on my chin. I rushed and I knew it and Rif and Monica called it...how goofy of me...bummed

Next: Pistol. Ok, I am strong in these for sure, but I failed with the 96 a few wweeks back. So, I created as much tension as possible and pulled myself down struggling to hold my position and I made it...now up and this was a struggle and I made it, although barely.

1 pass, 1 fail

Last: The Military press
This one by far is the most difficult! I have pressed the 40 but never anything heavier without a jerk! I cleaned it which was feat un too its own. A boom it was up and I was done

2 pass, 1 fail and I missed being a part of the exclusive club! But I will be back and Know I can do it and will do it

So, day one done!

20 minutes

Ok, decided to put myself through a complete workout with Kettlebells, bodyweight and my friend the snadbags. 20 minutes for an ass kicking.

KBS
Clean
24/10/10x3

superset with Presses
24/10/10x3

rested no more than 30 seconds between rounds. This rocked, the weight feels very easy but with minimal rest it adds up :-)

Bodyweight
Chinups superset with Push-ups
8 and 25 x3

again 30 seconds or less rest between rounds

Sandbags
Deck squats with (3 bags within the one)
3x3

OH my were these tough. I struggled to make it up and even gave myself a small fat lip...lol but I did it. Repeat after me abs, hips, legs and cardio blast

Love it, love the short intense bouts of great exercise. Will do this again!

something

Ok, with moving I have been lifting a lot of big boxes, etc. and that has been a majority of my working out. So, I decide to do something!

Windmill
24/5/5x3 (non stop, side to side)

Snatch
24/15/15x3

Pistol
24/2/2x3

Pull-ups
5x4

felt weak, but accomplished something :-)

Sandbag intervention, day 1

A new toy has arrived, let the games begin. I liked the training but need to learn how to use it (skill, technique), so I played and got a fantastic workout!...More to come

Circuit 1
Overhead Squat (1 arm)
3, 4, 5 (per side)

1 Arm Military Press
5x3 (per side)

Windmill
5x3 (per side)

Circuit 2
Cleans (2 hands)
10x2

1 arm swing
8x3 (per side)

Snatch ( 2hands)
3 total ( I did not feel comfortable with the displacement of the sand bags within the bag, so I decided to do some reading and talk to the master himself for tips on how not to get bonked in the head)

Circuit 3
Pistol ( bag across shoulders)
1x3 (per side)

TGU
5 (zercher style)
5 (1 arm, per side)
5 ( 1 shoulder, per side)

Deck Squat
5x3

Video workout

Ok, was going to be a day off but while doing some house cleaning/organizing I came across a great Ashtanga video. So, I said what the hay and decided to pop it in the ole VCR and give it a run.

The Ashtanga is a systematic approach to the Vinyasa class I have been doing at Yoga Source in Palo Alto. Instead of a variety of combos, the tape uses a series taht builds on each pose with a huge emphasis on breathing and flowing. I liked the system because with each rep I found improvement! This really allowe dme to focus on my strengths and weaknesses to improve each pose. However, for a good stretch and active recovery this was a great workout and vert effective for 60 minutes of good relaxation.

I can really tell how Yoga is carrying over to my KB ability. Especially notable yesterday while playing around with the overhead stots press and squat and just how much better my ROM and stability have become.

Love it all

Just a KB kinda day

Just not in the mood and a little tired from all the house stuff happening, but had to do something. So, here it goes.

Renegade Row/Guard Press
24/5/5 & 24/10/10 x5

Easy circuit and I like the gurad press, not something I would do normally but in playing around with my workouts I found this a fun break from the norm. Heck, the combo stills get the HR up and are great counterbalance exercises.

Clean and Squat
24 (2)6/6x5

Good sweat, nice and strong flow and another good HR exercise combo. No presses since my shoulders are just fatigued from painting, moving boxes (great farmers walk practice, lol), etc.

2 hand Swing
43.5/15
43.5/10x2

Just a good finish but by now I am mentally out of it! I am just glad to get something in and I have to do something light tomorrow since I flubbed today...maybe pistols and pull-ups

Yoga, deep skill

Ok, so I just dig this stuff. I like Vinyasa but the lack of continuity between classes makes learning the deeper skill more difficult so I want to try my hand at Ashtanga. I really would like to progress further with my strength and flexibility. The one skill I am getting better at is the breathing and allowing my body to flow/move with the breathe. This is very important. I do realize that some of the postures/poses are much better but some I am struggling with.

All week I have been a little on edge so it was nice to quiet the mind and body, let go and relax. With so much going on and so much inthe chute I needed to be peaceful and relaxed...achieved!

Traditional Girivek Approach

I decided to do a true Russian Girivek workout, if I read Pavels RKC book correct

Clean and Jerk (press instead) and snatch

Windmill
32/5/5x3

Nice warm-up, very strong/stable

Clean and PRess
32/5/5x5

Initial I did not think I was strong today, but no probs with this weight/workset

Now The big one, it has been a while since I did reps

Snatch
24/20/20x3

The first set no transfer but sets 2 and 3 I transfered after the 10th rep. These were strong but I felt the fatigue. I moved some furniture earlier in the day and I could tell I had done some 'farmers walks'...lol

My heart reach around 210 to 216 after the third set but dropped 60+ beats in one minutes

Janda
24/5x3

Light and Quick

10 minutes, all I had and I decided to play around with the overhead squat, KB style.

Overhead Squat
12kg/5/5x1
16/5/5x2

I figured this out. If I put my hand out infront of my body as if I am reaching out to touch somebody, I really balance myself and get into a full, stable squat and I think I can do a 24kg. Felt really, strong

Chin-ups
5x3 (bodyweight)

Simple and easy...just playing around

Active Recovery with the KBS

Just a light workout! Body is pretty tight and satisfied with the weeks training. So, active recovery day

2kb TGU
12kg/2/2x2

These felt really good especially as I progressed in reps and warmed up! I want to continue this exercise...great for movement in general, learning how to flow and move around the resistance

Superset of Renegade rows and Seesaw Press
24/5/5 & 24/8/8 x3 total sets

Overall a quick 15 minutes of good work. Have to move some furniture today and just wanted something to get me going!

Cannot wait for the sandbag