Road to Atlanta (Day 10 & 11)

Thursday 4th December

Training Log [day 10]

No k-bells today, decided to just hit some conditioning. Wanted to avoid any pressing movements to rest my shoulders, so I just performed two short workouts.

Workout #1

5 rounds of:

-10x alternating lunges with 1 50# dumbbell

-15x overhead dumbbell swings @ 50#

*My time was 3:35

Workout #2

5 rounds of:

-10x med-ball power cleans @ 20#

-25x jump rope double unders

*My time was 7:41

Friday 5th December

I was joined for my workout today by one of my clients/students Dianna, who I feel deserves a mention for all the hard work she has done in preparation for her first k-bell meet. Dianna has only been using the international size (12kg) k-bell for a couple of weeks and has already hit a couple of 10 minute sets, including today where she got another PR in the jerk going 10 minutes @ 6 rpm's (60 reps)! Congrats Dianna, you're going to do great things in Atlanta! I'm proud of you!

While I on the subject of congratulating people I would also like to mention my mention my beautiful wife Sarah who will also be competing for the first time in Atlanta. Sarah has also just begun lifting with the 12kg and this week hit here first 10 minute set in the jerk @ 5 rpm's (50 reps). Congratulations sweetheart, you never fail to amaze me! It's so awesome being able to share this with you, I love you.  

Training Log [day 11]

Huge Breakthrough Today!! I completed my first ever 10 minute set with the 24's today, and even more satisfying than that, it was Long Cycle! 

The Workout: Long Cycle @ 2x 24kg's

- 10 mins @ 4 rpm (40 reps!)

*Note my previous best long cycle was 6:17 and 28 reps back in Michigan in August. I am a pretty happy camper right now! Along with my joy however comes the conundrum. Should I now focus on the LC in Atlanta and perhaps go for a VI (45) or V (51) Rank? Or do I still compete in the jerk/snatch traditional event prior to the LC and go for my VII Rank in both in light of my less than impressive recent snatch lifts? With which comes the risk of hand tears before I get to my strongest lift, the LC. What to do.....

Snatch @ 24kg's

-5:30 mins @ approximately 12rpm (35/28)

*Felt a little better today, which was surprising following a LC set. I just wanted to see what I could get in terms of reps. The right hand was comfortable and I could have gotten at least 40, but I was aiming for 35 per arm so I switched there. The left felt a lot better than it has, but I still had to set it at 28 because I could feel myself gripping the bell too much and didn't want to tear my hand. So the verdict on this one is better, but not great. 

I think I shall hit a couple more snatch sets in the next 4 or 5 days and base my final decision on competing in the traditional lifts on how those sets go.

Jump Squats @ 2x 24kg's

-3x 60 reps

Road to Atlanta (Day 5)

Friday 28th November

Felt pretty good today after spending yesterday in recovery mode. My wife informed me that today was apparently what they call "black friday", which to those of us who are not honorary members of the national women's bargain shopping league (NWBSL), is apparently the biggest shopping day of the year! Great news for mum's and wives on the hunt for sale price holiday gifts, bad news for us husbands and dads who will by the end of the day undoubtedly here that famous sentence our female counterparts love to through at us, "I saved you so much money today, everything was on sale!" Only a woman can rationalize a sentence like this, saving money by spending a bunch of it! 

Women... can't understand em, can't reason with em, can't control em, can't curb their spending, can't shoot em, and they pee standing up, but regardless of all this us blokes just can't seem to live without these beautiful creatures and so on we go on together through this wonderful adventure called life!

And so my son Brayden an eye were left to fend for ourselves while my beautiful wife and her lovely mother put their skills to the test in an all out onslaught on my and my father-in-laws checking accounts at the local mall! 

Following completion of a set number of chores affectionately known here in the south as a "hunny-do-list" which included a trip to the local Walmart. Bray and I spent the better part of an hour wading through the hoards of "crazies" before we finally made it to our temple of salvation and seclusion from shoppamania, The Edge Fitness Center. We remained closed today for the holiday and so Bray was free to run wild and perform his own person exercise routine consisting of swinging on the rings, punching the heavy bag, bouncing on the bosu, and performing shuttle sprint the length of the gym with and ab wheel! He loves it, definitely a chip off the old block!

Training Log [day 5]

Just a short work out, wanted to focus solely on the jerk for today. 

Warm-Up

-5 mins of joint mobility

-3 mins on summit trainer

-2 arm oh swings @ 16kg (20)

-2 arm swings @ 24kg (20)

-2 arm swings @ 32kg (20)

Workout: The Jerk @ 2x 24kg's

-6 mins @ 5rpm (30)

-4 mins @ 5rpm (20)

*The 6 minute set felt really good. My rack feels solid, I believe in addition to my weight loss lower lumbar flexibility has improved because I'm now able to hold the k-bells lower, with my elbows securely on my hips with legs completely locked out and it feels pretty effortless. I feel I could have gone on for at least another minute or two  today, but I'm sticking to the program. 

**I feel good about the jerk right now, which is usually difficult for me as the Michigan meet highlighted. But it's first week of training and I'm only a couple of minutes and 14 reps away from my all time best jerk set. Keeping in mind that my primary focus is still to go the whole 10 minutes for the first time. 

Jump Squats @ 2x 24kg's

-3x 50 reps

*A brief, but productive workout today, just gotta keep it rolling! 

Signed up myself, my wife Sarah and one of my students, Dianna for the meet today. No turning back now, it's on!

Road to Atlanta (Day 3)

Wednesday 26th November

Training Log [day 3]

Feeling pretty sore all over from the past two days today so I think I may take tomorrow off completely. After all it is thanksgiving! 

Warm-Up

-10 minutes of joint mobility

-3 minutes on the summit trainer 

-2 arm OH swing @ 16kg (20)

-2 arm swing @ 24kg (20)

-2 arm swing @ 32kg (20)

Workout: 

Long Cycle @ 2x 24kg's

-5 mins @ 4rpm (20)

-3 mins @ 4rpm (12)

-2 mins @ 4rpm (8)

*LC felt good, my new rack position feels solid. It took me a little while getting backing in to a rhythm with my clean, but that was to be expected since this was the first time I have hit the 24's on the LC since I competed in Michigan last August. 5 minutes first day in, I'm happy!

Snatch @ 24kg

-4 mins @ 12rpm (24/24)

*Just the one set for today to keep the feel for the snatch. It wasn't fun! My hands were a little tender by this point from the LC sets, but it's another 4 minutes in the bank so i'll take it!

Jump Squats @ 2x 24kg's

-3 sets of 50 reps

*Another step closer to Atlanta. I surprised at how well this week has gone so far. I wasn't expecting to hit 5 minutes on anything quite yet so it's all good. Still a long way to go though, I know it'll only get harder from here on out. 

A happy thanksgiving to all!!

Road to Atlanta (Training Log, Day 1)

Monday 24th November

Training Log [Day 1]

Initial Goals for Atlanta: 

-To achieve VII Rank in the 75kg weight class [150 reps for jerk/snatch and 35 reps for long cycle]

-Jerk [2x 24kg, 5 rpm (50) for 10mins]

-Snatch [1x 24kg, 12rpm (120) for 10 mins]

-Long Cycle [2x 24kg, 4 rpm (40) for 10 mins]

Warm-Up

2 Arm Swings:

-20x OH Swing @ 16kg

-20x Swing @ 24kg

-20x Swing @ 32kg (first time using my 32kg bell)

Jerk

-2x 24kg, 5 mins @ 5rpm (25)

-2x 24kg, 3 mins @ 5rpm (15)

-2x 24kg, 2 mins @ 5rpm (10)

*Just wanted to ease back into this one today and figured 10 minutes under the bells wouldn't be a bad place to start. I rested about 3 minutes between sets. 

**My rack position was immediately different from when I competed in Michigan. I was able to find a comfortable position with the bells overlapping as usual, but today I was able to keep the bells closer than previously and was able to overlap one hand over the other which made the rack feel a lot tighter and more secure. I had attempted this before with little joy. However, since I last competed I have dropped a few pounds, I'm down from 183# to about 168#, so I think this may be a contributing factor with regard to my rack.

Snatch

1x 24kg, 4 mins @ 12rpm (24/24, with 1 hand switch)

1x 24kg, 3 mins @ 12rpm (18/18, with 1 hand switch)

1x 24kg, 3 mins @ 12rpm (18/18, with 1 hand switch)

*I rested about 3 mins between sets.

**First set felt the best, second wasn't good technique felt sloppy, third set was a little better. I need to put in some quality time on this one. Definitely the toughest lift for me.

Jump Squats

-2x 24kg, 3 sets of 50reps

1 Arm Swings

-1x 32kg, 20/20reps

I'm fairly happy with today's workout, if nothing else it's a starting point to work from.

From NC to NYC Certified!

Fun, Games & Timed Sets in the Big Smoke!

This past weekend was spent in New York where I attended the IKFF Certified Kettlebell Trainer Course with Steve Cotter & Ken Blackburn.

Firstly, I would like to extend my gratitude to Steve and Ken for creating such a wonderful learning experience, those guys are just a class act! I feel privileged to have been given the opportunity to take part in this wonderful event. 

Initially just meeting Steve was a surreal moment for me, he has been a source of inspiration ever since I popped in his encyclopedia 1 DVD and hit play.  And that was just the beginning.... next came the opportunity to learn his teaching's first hand and perform timed sets with the kettlebell legend, it was just awesome!

After everyone settled in and introductions were made it was down to business. Steve and Ken provided a fast moving, effective hands on learning experience. During the weekend they continually switched roles on different aspects of the course with one taking the lead and the other roaming through the crowd of participants offering personal attention, invaluable guidance and advice, it was genius! 

Following a thorough section on dynamic warm up and some joint mobility (which were workouts in their own right) it was time to chalk up get amongst it. On each lift we were instructed in great detail on all technical elements of each movement and no question or query was left unanswered. Once all the talking was done and we had all satisfied Steve and Ken with our techniques during a number of practice periods, it was time to go to work! The Fun part, at least for us crazies, who enjoy the mental torture and unparalleled physical burn and fatigue that can only be brought on by a timed kettlebell set!.... Man you just can't beat it, it's AWESOME!!

The thrill of the timed sets was heightened even more so at this event because it wasn't just you alone trying to push and make that 5 or 8 or 10 minutes. It was all of us, in it together! No one for a second contemplating putting their bell down until all the time in the set had elapsed. And this was quite an accomplishment for all of us considering the intensity of some of the sets performed, I mean an 18 minute set of cleans is no walk in the park, the 8 minute set of heavy military's-no picnic I can tell you especially being followed by a 12 minute jerk set (have to give Steve big props on this one as I egged him on to use the 32, which of course he did and he owned it!), and finally the 3 consecutive sets of OH squats finishing with a total of 12 minutes was pretty hellashious for us all, except Steve of course who decide to throw some duck walking into the sets just for fun, the man's just a haas mongrel!! 

It was a grueling, grinding, crushing two days of hard work, but everyone was feeding off one another's energy and having fun, which created the most relaxed, yet pumped atmosphere. I for one stepped out of DD Fitness on Sunday feeling exhilarated, energized and Im loving life right now!

I have to give a shout out to all who attended the certification, I feel privileged to have been amongst such a passionate and gifted group of people, thanks to each and everyone of you for being so welcoming, hitting every set hard, and making this such a wonderfully memorable chapter of my life.

IKFF Certification, NYC class of 2008

Check out Me, Brian & Ken giving it large with the B-Boy Style!

Special Thanks to...

Steve, for your commitment to excellence and for being so down to earth and approachable to us mere mortals even though you're a superstar!

Ken, for taking Brian and I under your wing and feeding us with your vast knowledge of kettlebell sport and training so that we may continue to strive to be the best we can be. Also, for being just an all round cool guy!

John, for your great attitude and demeanor and for taking the time to talk at length with me and answer so many questions I had regarding this business and how you made your way to the point you are now. I appreciate it big guy and I wont forget it.

Terri, Dean & Jennifer, our gracious hosts. You have a beautiful facility and it served perfectly as a venue for this most wonderful event. 

Brian, my training partner, biggest rival and friend. Thanks, for your support and drive, for challenging me, keeping me honest and making this experience fun times!

My good friend Dean, for giving Brian & I a place to stay and showing us how to survive and move around in the big apple. Wouldn't have been there if it wasn't for you bro, your a true friend. Also, for dragging us around NYC for sightseeing when we were completely exhausted!

Finally, to my wife Sarah and my son Brayden, who couldn't make the trip, but played a huge part in getting me there, you guys are the light of my life.