Friday's Training

More gains this week. Biofeedback Rocks! I anticipate every training session to see my progress from the previous week. Every week I move more weight, either more sets, more reps, or more weight. My mobility keeps improving as well.

Circuit 1 - 6 Rounds
Dbl Deadlift - two 24 kg bells - 8 reps
Push Press - 16 kg - 6 reps
RPE - 8
-The deadlifts were solid.
-The push presses got better with every set. I really focused on the squat and it made a huge difference.

Circuit 2 - 6 Rounds
Snatches - 16 kg - 8 L, R
Rest 20 seconds
Double Swings - two 12 kgs - 10 reps
Rest 30 seconds
RPE - 7
-This took me 9:45 to complete. I tried a wider stance for the snatches today to see how my hips would respond. Thumbs up.

Wednesday's Training

Pretty straight-forward training today. The one thing I noticed was how free my hips felt during all the drills. I've finally got mobility in those joints. Now, to keep them moving and getting stronger.

Circuit #1 - 6 Rounds
Stiff Leg Deadlifts - 28 kg - 8 reps
Dbl Jerks - 16 kgs - 6 reps
Rest 20 seconds between drills
RPE - 7
-The stiff leg DLs tested well and were effortless. I need to get a larger bell. The 28 kg (62 lbs) is my largest bell.

Circuit #2 - 5 Rounds
Mountain Climbers - 60 reps
Burpees - 15 reps
Swings - 28 kgs - 15 reps
Back-to-back
Rest 20 seconds between rounds
RPE - 8
-This is good for what ails yah! Gets the blood pumping.

Guess What?

I'm home again because of a winter storm. Shocking, isn't it? What is this, the third week in a row that the college has been closed due to weather? Sheesh! Well, at least I can still do my training. The bonus? I'm getting over my disdain for training at home.

To begin, I tested the drills I was scheduled to do today: Double cleans, double clean and press, double squats. They all test very well.

Circuit - 6 rounds
A-Dbl Clean - two 16 kg bells - 8 reps
B-Dbl Clean & Press - two 12 kg bells - 6 reps
C -Dbl Squat - two 12 kg bells - 5 reps
Rest 20 seconds between drills, 1 min. between rounds
RPE - 7
-I am very satisfied with this circuit. Last week I only did 5 rounds and the C&P was a challenge. This week - whoosh! I tested my drills with the toe touch after each one and each tested well throughout.

Snatches - 12 kg - 15 x 12 L, R
20 seconds rest between sets
RPE - 8
-Whew! It's too hot in the house for this many snatches. My hands were sweating something fierce, which made it a challenge to keep the callouses from blistering. I survived though. I've been taught well about how to grip, or not grip, the bell.

Can't wait to heat up my chili, make a cup of tea, and snuggle in for the evening. What's on tv tonight?

Biofeedback Feedback

I've been using biofeedback this week to guide my training. Here's my feedback from today's biofeedback training. :)

Double KB Deadlifts tested well. I had no hip issues during the deadlift portion of my training. It was amazing. I pulled with ease.

For pressing, I first tested push presses. No good. I then tested double military presses. Good.

Circuit 1 - 6 Rounds
Double KB DLs - two 24 kgs - 6 reps
Double KB MP - two 12 kgs - 6 reps
RPE - 7

I finished my session with a snatch and swing circuit. My training plan had me resting 30 seconds between snatches and swings, but that didn't seem challenging enough, so I adjusted the rest time to increase intensity. I gotta get my 20 calories/minute burn!!!

(See the ACE study regarding VO2 Max snatches if you don't know what I'm talking about.) Here's the link: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/01/prweb3486484.htm

Circuit 2 - 5 rounds
Snatches - 16 kg - 8 L, R
rest 10 seconds
Double Swings - two 12 kgs - 10 reps
rest 25 seconds
RPE - 7

I am blown away by how good my hips have felt this week, especially today. Usually, they get pretty jacked during training. Between my Zscription and the biofeedback training, I think I'm making some progress.

PS - 2 weeks to Grip-n-Rip!!!!

Improvising

My heavy artillery (meaning my 24 and 28 kg bells) are locked up at the gym in Sheldon where I work. However, I am not driving 20 miles to train when the roads are ice covered. Soooooooo

I made do! And, if I may say so myself, I made do quite well.

Circuit - 6 Rounds
A-Stiff Leg Deadlifts - two 12 kgs - 10 reps
B -Jerks - two 12 kgs - 10 reps
20 seconds rest between drills
RPE - 6
- I was supposed to use a 28 kg for the deadlifts and do fewer reps. The two 12 kg bells felt good for more reps.

Circuit - 5 Rounds
A-Mountain Climbers - 60 reps
B-Burpees - 15 reps
C-Swings - two 12 kgs - 15 reps
No rest between drills, 20 seconds between rounds
RPE - 8
-Doing the drills back to back cranked up the RPE. Love it!

Crazy Good

My training today was crazy good. I'm seeing gains from last week. It's mind boggling!

Doubles Circuit - 5 Rounds
Dbl Cleans - 16 kgs - 8 reps
Dbl Clean and Press - 12 kgs - 6 reps
Dbl Squat - 12 kgs - 5 reps
Rest 1 minute between rounds
RPE - 7
-When I finished, I looked at last Monday's log and saw that I wrote the following: "5th rep of double clean & press was weak." Well today, all 6 reps were strong. I can feel the difference in one week. Crazy!

Snatches - 12 kg -12 x 12 L, R
Rest 20 seconds between sets
RPE - 8
-Sweaty, sweaty, but oh so good.

Hello Hamstrings

It's been too long since we've hooked up. Back to deadlifts this week, so I'm feeling the hammies. That's a good thing, actually.

Double KB Deadlift - 24 kgs - 6 reps
Push Press - 16 kg L, 20 kg R - 6 reps
5 rounds
RPE - 7
-I was scheduled to do the push presses with the 20 kg on both sides. I did the first round on the left and knew it was too much, so I switched over to the 16 on the left. That didn't sit well with me. I'm ticked that I couldn't handle the 20 on the left. Fuel for my fire.

I've got a fever and the only prescription is more kettlebell! Paging Dr. Nelson. Dr. Brad Nelson. I need a script. Z-script.

Snatches - 16 kg - 8 L, R
Double Swings - 12 kgs - 10 reps
5 rounds
30 seconds rest between drills
RPE - 7
-This was fun and made me sweat!

Dead Jerks

I mean deadlifts and jerks, the lifts:

Stiff Leg Deadlifts - 28 kg - 8 reps
Jerks - two 12 kg - 8 reps
5 rounds, rest 20 seconds between drills
RPE - 6

Mountain Climbers - 50 reps
Burpees - 10 reps
Swings - 24 kg - 15 reps
5 rounds - 10 seconds rest between drills
RPE - 6

On the first set of drills, I kept testing my biofeedback and it kept getting better. My body was loving the deadlifts. I am feeling them today, too!

I am happy to report that the jerks went down without incident (no black eye)! (:

I was supposed to rest 20 seconds between drills on the second set of drills, but I lessened it to push myself. Unfortunately, I never did break a sweat. (Shhhhhh! Don't tell Brad!)

Doubles Circuit

Today I had the pleasure of using doubles:

Double Clean - 16 kgs - 5 reps
rest 20 seconds
Double Clean & Press - 12 kgs - 5 reps
rest 20 seconds
Double Snatch - 12 kgs - 5 reps
rest 20 seconds
5 Rounds
RPE - 6
-Everything felt relatively easy except for the presses. Three weeks to Grip n Rip to get some major overhauling of my pressing technique. Something's off in my movement pattern and it has been for a long time. I should be able to press two 12 kg bells up like they're gallons of milk. Seriously.

I finished off my training with some snatches - 192 to be exact.

Snatches - 12 kg - 12 x 8 L, R
rest 20 seconds between sets
RPE - 7
-This took me 9:50 to complete. Not bad.

My hips feel better every day. On Sunday I was able to practice many R-Phase drills as well as my Zscription. I still have some practice to do tonight. Love the Z!!!

Hip Journey

I'm still on my journey to healing my hips so I can get stronger. This morning I had a daunting task ahead of me - 25 rounds of double kb clean, squat, push press. Monday I did 20 rounds. How was I going to do this?

Step one: Zscription
Step two: Quiet my negative thoughts and think positively
Step three: Biofeedback baseline ROM
Step four: Plan Z drills for the journey
Step five: Commence

For me, it's a lot about the brain. Having the mental preparation was key today.

Dbl KB Clean, Squat, Push Press - 12 kg bells
2 reps/minute for 25 rounds
RPE - 8
-There were tough rounds in there, but I did not give up. I stuck to my plan. In fact, the reps at the end felt better than the first ones.

Snatches - 16 kg - 10 x 7 L, R
30 seconds rest between sets
RPE - 6
-This took me a hair over 10 minutes. I suppose I need to speed up a bit so that I am below 10 minutes for 140 snatches. I'm not going to stress though. I need to ensure my reps are perfect and that I'm engaging my hips appropriately.

Time for some protein and a shower. It's -25 degrees this morning. I think I'll stay inside until it gets closer to 0!

A Blizzard of Training

So far in the new year, I've been at my job for 4 hours. (To be fair, Wednesday was my first day back after Christmas break.) The college closed at noon Wednesday and is closed today. Maybe tomorrow I'll get to work. Oh well, I'm getting a lot accomplished at home. That includes my training, biofeedback, and Zscription.

Unfortunately, I've also got a sinus infection that is giving me the mopes. Think basset hound eyes and droopy ears. That's how I feel. What did I do about it? Train, of course!

Mini Circuit #1 - 8 Rounds
Mountain Climbers - 60 reps
Swings - 24 kg (53 lbs) - 20 reps
20 seconds rest
RPE - 5
-Obviously this circuit was good for me since I did 8 rounds even though I was only scheduled for 5.

Mini Circuit #2 - 5 Rounds
Burpees - 15 reps
High Pulls - 12kg (26 lbs) - 12 L, R
20 seconds rest
RPE - 6

TGUs - 16 kg (35 lbs) - 5 x 3 L, R
RPE - 7
-These took me a little longer than usual. My hips were "jacking up" a bit by the third rep. I did Z between sets which helped. Now I'm sitting here with twitchy hips. That's about the only way I know how to describe what's going on when a joint is jacked. I have a sensation of twitchiness inside the joint. It doesn't hurt; it just feels like butterflies fluttering. Weird, huh?

Monday's Training

Double Clean, Squat, Push Press - 12 kg bells
2/minute for 20 minutes
RPE - 6
-This gave me plenty of rest. Dare I say too much? I've been having trouble with the third rep jacking my hips. Doing two kept my reps perfect. I checked my ROM often and found it consistent throughout.

Snatches - 12 kg - 12 x 8 L, R
20 seconds rest between sets
RPE - 6

I did more of my Zscription and I can really feel an improvement, especially when I train. I wish I could explain what Z Health does for a person, but it is one of those things that you have to experience to understand, I guess.

First Session of 2010

My first training of the new year felt amazing.

Mini Circuit #1 -5 Rounds
Mountain Climbers - 60 reps
Swings - 24 kg - 20 reps
Rest 20 seconds
RPE - 5

Mini Circuit #2 - 5 Rounds
Burpees - 12 reps
High Pulls - 12 kg - 12 L, R
Rest 20 seconds
RPE - 5

TGUs - 16 kg - 5 x 3 L, R
RPE - 7

I can't wait to see what this week brings in my training. My hips feel so much better already. They didn't even get jacked during this workout. Usually they do. Progress!