Last one for 2006

KB #70 swing combo two hand, darc, and 1 hand circuit

run 2 miles

med ball #20 abs

Quick and simple. Nice way to wrap up the year. Hope you all have a great new year!

Training Today

Skipping as warm up

Sandbag cleans #55 10 x 2
DB Push press #40 5 x 2

Band presses (2 yell. + 1 mag.) 5 x 5
Tire flips 5 x 5

Finger curls (behind back) #55 10 x 1
#75 5 x 2

Todays fun

High Pull #50 10 x 2

Bench press #135 13 x 2; #155 13 x 2; 1 KB #50 15 x 1
Chins BW 5 x 5

Zhan Zhoung 15 mins

Todays training

After a couple of rest days it was great to get back into it:)

Club #15 pendulums 10 x 1

Rolling Thunder #80 5 x 1
#120 15 x 2
BW Chins 5 x 2

Windmill #70 3 x 1

Great day for a run

Did a nice 3 mile run with a friend this morning. Nothing
too fast but good fun. Haven't run in a while and although
I don't love to run it was good to get out.

Later
KB MP #60 5 x 2 (10l+10r)
rest 30 secs
KB MP #60 5 x 3 (15l+15r)

This was way harder than I thought it was going to be.

Blob deads #30 5 x 1
Still feeling a bit of pain in the right elbow but it is getting better.

Todays Training

Z-Health

10 mins Zhan Zhuang

Trained in a gym today

One of my clients took me along to his gym today.
Not really my cup of tea but still was good fun.
The Govenator was there working out but didn't
see him. Anyways:

Kettlebell Swings 2 hand #70 10, 5

Deadlift
#135 X 5
#225 X 5
#295 X 5
#345 X 3
#395 X 2

Kettlbell Long Cycle #60 x 3,6,9

Zhan Zhuang x 5 mins

Todays training

Skipping

1 hand Kettlebell swings #50 10 x 2

Rolling thunder #75 x 5
#95 x 5
#125 10 x 2

Later

Kettlebell MP #88 1 x 3

Kettlebell cleans #106 3 x 3 no rest

Planks front x 30 secs, side x 30 secs, front x 30 secs & side x 30 secs

Zhan Zhuang

Chi Kung (pronounced 'chee-gung') is an ancient Chinese exercise
system combining meditation and slow, gentle movements to
promote health and relaxation. Standing like a tree (Zhan Zhuang
pronounced Jan Jong or Jam Jong) is a series of standing positions unique to Chi Kung.
It is an opportunity to pay careful attention to the tensions in your body and your nervous system. There are nine basic positions of which at the moment I am doing the second one (holding the ball).

Here is a quick rundown on the first and second positions.

Position One (Wu Chi):

Stand in a relaxed position with your feet shoulder width apart and feet pointing straight ahead. You should feel stable and centered.
Let your arms hang loosely at your sides and relax your shoulders as well.
Slightly bend your knees, tuck your pelvis under but don’t stick your belly out.
Keep your back straight and lengthened.
You should keep your eyes open and looking forward.
Breathe deeply with a focus on the exhalation. Do not hold tension in any part of the body. If you have tension it will not take long for you to find it. Try to relax it as much as possible.

Position Two:

Bend your knees slightly more than the first position.
Hold your arms in a circle in front of you. Imagine you a holding a large ball in front of you.
If your shoulders get tired you can lower the arms.
Keep your fingers spread.








Start by doing position one for five minutes a day and build up to ten and then introduce the second position. Start off in the first position and then raise the arms. When you finish relax in the first position and then shake your arms and legs.

When I first started it was hard for me to do five minutes but yesterday I did fifteen for the first time. My friend that introduced it to me told me there a people who stand for six hours straight!
It is a very challenging but keep at it and you will see many benefits from doing it.


For more information on Chi Kung visit: http://www.chi-kung.org/chikung-e/sifu.htm
I have a couple of his excellent books.

Todays training

Z health

zhan zhuang (Standing like a tree) 15 mins

I am really enjoying this phase of my training.
Starting to see the benefit of doing Z health on a regular basis and looking forward to next years cert.
Zhan Zhuang is very intense but an enjoyable learning experience. When I first started 5 mins wasn't within my grasp.

Worked out with the class

Worked out with the class tonight! They are a huge inspiration to me.

Joint Mobility

Halo 3 x 3
Sumo Deads 6 x 3

Windmill3 x 2
Squats 6 x 2

12 mins of:
See Saw Press #50’s 5 x 11
Alternating Row #50’s 5 x 11

Rest 4 mins

12 mins of:
Double Swings #50’s 5 x 7
Double Squats #50’s 5 x 7

Ribbon 6 x 2
Rengegade Lunges 6 x 2

Todays training

z-health

Dead KB snatches #60 5r+l x 5

Alt cleans (1 beat) #50's 20 x 2

Double KB High pull #88's 5 x 2

Farmers walk #88's 220 feet

Have a little bit of right elbow fun going on at the moment so grip training is being kept to a minimum at the moment.

Dragging fun

Z-health

2 hand swings #70 x 10
1 hand swings #70 x 10
High pull #70 x 10

Sled drag 70 feet up & pull back 70 x 5
Med ball #60 x 10 MPress & 10 PPress (except set four only 5 + 5)

Nice little smoker.

Couple of days training

Well it was great some friends over but now back to training alone!

Monday
Z Health - R phase

Zhan Zhuang 10 mins

Today

Z Health R phase

DBL KB squats #50's 10 x 5

Supermans 10 x 2

Got forearms?

No Stone left Unturned

Joe Sarti and his friend Mike made the trip up today for some fun. Pete Diaz and big Corey also stopped by. Some heavy weights got lifted and we got owned by some but it was a great day.

Clubs, rolling thunder, blobs, tire, heavy med balls, fatbar and even a little sledge levering.

I can't remeber exact weights but I will go from my bad memory(chime in if you can remember guys)

Rolling thunder up to #150 or 160?
Blobs up to #35(big jump in my blob weights from there to a purely evil #45)
Tire flips were for singles or doubles undercover cause of the rain
Med ball #150 overhead & #200 shouldered
Fatbar up to #230 or 240

I was too into the workout to take too many pics but got off a couple

Pete on the #150 MB, Mike on the #200, Big Corey on the Fatbar

It was a great day and just wanted to thank the boys for dropping by. I am sure they will remember it well tommorow;)

Todays quickie

Z-health

Played around with the clubs for a bit

I am enjoying the z-health and am looking forward to going to the cert. I can see this being a valuable asset.

Clubs as always fun:)

I was talking to Tom Shook about the last time he was down and was reminded that we didn't even pick up a kettlebell the whole time! That was a great workout.

Hmm in retrospect here is Tom with the beast;)

Wednesdays training

I have been doing a lot of z health in preparation for next years cert so the workout volume is lower at the moment. Only so many hours in the day;)

Tire flip 6 x 5
1 1/2 min breaks inbetween

Simple and brutal.

Mondays training

R-Phase(z-health)
Zhan zhoung x 10mins *

Windmill #70 x 3

Mil. Press 1,2,3 x 3 rest at top of ladder for 1 min

Bag 1 min work/ 30 secs rest x 5

Scorpions x 20

*first time done for 10mins without looking at time.

New articles

Sara Cheatham doing an overhead squat

Couple of new articles up on my site:

How Women Can Get the Most Out of Their Workouts by Sara Cheatham M.S. RKC

How to generate power for hand strength by Chuck Halbakken RKC

The Other Side of Strength

Saturdays training

Clubs #15
Double pendulums 20 x 2
double swipe w/press 20 x 1
behind head circles 20 x 1

Couple of days training

Thursday

z-health
meditation (Zhan Zhuang/standing like a tree)

Friday

Skipping as warm up

2 hand swings #88 x 10

1 arm high pull #88 x 10
#106 x 10,8,6,4,2

Bagwork 4 x 1 min rounds

Todays training

Changing from my regular joint mobility to z-health.

BU press #60 KB 3 x 3
Chins on rings #50 KB 2 x 3

Blob passing from hand to hand #30 20 x 2

Bagwork 2.54, 3.50

Will do some extensor work later.

kettlebell hot potato variations

kettlebell hot potato variations

Todays training

Windmill #70 3 x 2

Club #15 Pendulum x 10 both directions
Swipe with press x 10
Behind head circles x 10 both directions

Sled #145 Pull 70 feet + Pull 70 feet x 4 - 9mins 25 secs

The sled absolutely kicked my ass. Felt great after I recovered but it was a killer. Dragging it accross grass makes it way harder.
Windmills feeling really good. Glad that I started them back up.

Mondays training

BU cleans #88 3 x 3
Chins on rings BW 3 x 3

Rolling Thunder #125 x 1
#150 1 x 6

Hand extensor 20 x 3

Felt good doing BU cleans with the #88 as haven't done it for a bit. Had good carryover to RT and the grip felt good and primed.

Saturdays training

Skipping as warm up

Windmill + overhead squat KB#50 3 x 1

High Pull KB#50 10 x 5 (3 mins 20 secs)

Chins on rings BW 3 x 5

Blob deads #50 1 x 5 assisted

Played around on punch bag

Later did some hand extensor work 10 x 7

Training with the class tonight

Trained with the class tonight! Lots of sweat and fun before the feasting tommorow;)

Did some clubs in the morning pedulums and swipe with press

Clean & Press #30 KB 1,2,3,4,5 x 7

Sumo deads 6 x 2
Windmill 2 x 2

Plank regular x 1 min
side x 1 min/side

Don't get to play with the class very often. Always great fun when I do.

Have a great Thanksgiving.

Tuesday's Training

Feeling much better after the little session yesterday. Still I will try my best to take it easy this week and it is a good opportunity to play around a bit;)

Double Kb Mil. Press #50's 1,2,3 2,3,4 3,4,5
BW dips on rings 1,2,3 rest 2,3,4 rest 3,4,5
Did press then dips and rest was approx 2 mins

Rolling Thunder #100 10 secs x 3 (l+R)

Bag work couple of rounds 3 mins & 2 1/2 mins rest approx same time

Presses & dips felt great. Haven't done double presses for a while so it was a good change.
Bag is good fun. Is a nice addition to the training.

It feels great to sweat.

This is the first day back and I gotta say that there is something special and unique about sweating! I feel so much better physically and mentally. Just what the doctor ordered. Took it easy and got a new toy:)

Body Snatcher from Ringside.com

Anyway here is the workout:

Swings 16,24,32,24,16 x 5
Squat 16,24,32,24,16 x 5
Mil. Press 16,24,32,24,16 x 5
High Pull 16,24,32,24,16 x 5

Took approx 3-5 mins between exercises and a couple of short rests on the squats and MP.
Then played around on the bag for a bit! Good times.

Absence from the Blog

Body decided it was time for me to take it easy for a bit so decided to give me a cold. Feeling a lot better today and will be back to posting again this week. Hope you all had a great weekend.

Thursday's training

KB Floor press #50 10 x 3

Gripper BBSA 5 x 5
Finger extensor 5 x 5

Wednesday's training

BU press #60 KB 3 x 4
Ring chins #20 KB 3 x 4

Finger extensor using band 10 x 5

Tuesday

Club #15 Pendulum 6 x 3
Swipe with press 6 x 3

Finger extensor 10 x 4

Fatbar deads #145 x 5, #195 3 x 3
Ring dips BW x 5, #50 kb 3 x 3

Front lever #10 sledge 1 x 3

Blobs

Monday training

Rolling thunder #100 5 x 5
1 arm pushups(assisting with thumb) 5 x 5

Plate curls #20(2 x 10's) 5 x 2

Saturday training

Bu press #50 5 x 3
BW ring chins 5 x 3

Blob deads #35 5 x 2

Todays training

Skipping as warm up

DARC swing #40 100 x 1

Blob dead lift by face #30 1 x 5 (most slipped out before lockout)

Later
BU presses #70 2 x 3
chins on rings w/#70 2 x 3

Extensor band 5 x 5

Kettlebell Ribbon

Bad name good exercise:)

Nice little circuit

This one left me pretty smoked!

Rolling thunder #75 X 5
Double KB front squat#50'S X 5
KB snatch #60 x 5
Sled drag #100 70 feet and drag back 70 feet

Five times through in 16mins 20 secs

Todays training

Rope climb ( 1 1/2" rope) 1 x 3
Renegade rows #70's 3 x 3
Sandbag zercher squats #55 6 x 3

BBSA gripper 3 x 10
Extensor 6 x 10

Rope climbing really hit the finger grip nice! Good times;)

Awesome Seminar

The naked warrior seminar was incredible. There was an excellent camaraderie and the instruction was top notch. Pavel and Steve did a first class job. It was definitely one of the best seminars I have been to.

It was also great to catch up with and meet new people.

Didn't get back till late last night/early morning and the drive was fatiguing so training was on the easy side today.

Circuit (5 times)
BU press #50 x 3
Chins BW x 3
Rolling thunder #100 x 3

Naked Warrior Seminar

I am off to the Seminar this weekend so taking a couple of days off. Catch up with you all next week.

Wednesday training

Halos #50 5 x 2
Dislocates 10 x 2

Bu press #70 1 x 6 Groove felt nice and strong today

Rolling thunder #125 x 3
#150 3 x 3
#125 1 x 10 second holds

Extensor work later

Todays training

High pulls #70 10 x 3

BBSA gripper 5 x 5
Extensor band 5 x 5

Monday

BU press #50 3 x 1 #60 3 x 3
BW chins 3 x 4

Rolling thunder #140 4 x 3

Thumb gripper 5 x 3 (homemade, not full closes)

Friday & Todays training

Friday

BU Press # 50 4 x 2
#60 2 x 2

Extensor band 10 x 20 l+r

Today

DARC swings #50 20 x 2

Tire flipping 1, 3, 4 x 2, 6 x 2, 22 x 1
Did some sandbag stuff inbetween at the start but dropped it after a couple of sets

Extensor work later

And today is?

Some weeks are that busy you forget which day it is. This week has been one fo them. A few things out of the ordinary and my balance is thrown off!

Skipping warm up
Club #15 pendulum 10 x 3

BU cleans #70 5 x 3

Later
Sled #90 push(70) & pull(70) 140 feet
Med ball 1/4 squat throw #40
4 times through in 9.45

Life is good

It has been at least a couple of months since my last visit to the Academy. Man they have made a lot of progress! They are a a lot stronger physicaly and as a unit. It is great to see.

It is also great to see how different things are out there from the very first time I went a few years ago. I am sure that they are in a lot better position both physicaly and mentaly by the time they leave. They have a great bunch of instructors out there. Willing to try different things out. Tires, kettlebells, car pushing all sorts of fun times. The finale was a tug of war!
Pete has a very cool video he made(not from today). Inspiring to say the least. Throw it up on Youtube Pete;)

Racked squats #50's 5 x 3
Pullups on rings 5 x 3

High pull #50 10 x 5 (100 reps total) switching w/no rest

Will do some grippers and extensor work later

Refueling week

Met up with Joe Sarti again today. No training but always good to see him.

Clubs #15 Pendulums x 10 (From clean position swinging club in front of body both directions)
Behind back circles x 10 (same as above but with an extra circle behind the back)

Later
Blobs #35 Deads 1 x 3
Cleans tried about 3 times but kept losing it near the top
#30 Cleans 1 x 2
Deads by face r x 1; l x just enough to get air under it

Monday

BU press #50 2 x 2
#70 1 x 5
#40 10 x 1

Later
Rolling thunder
#110 x 3
#130 x 2
#150 x 1
#160 x 1
#170 x 1 + couple of fails

Tire flipping

H2H swings #50 x 20
Sandbag highpulls 10 x 2

Tire flips 4 x 4; 8 x 1
Much better than the meazly 1 rep from the last vid;)

Quick Friday

Just a quick one today. The sled dragging took more out of me than I thought;)

BU press #50 5 x 5
Blob Deads #35 5 x 5

More sledwork

Played around with the clubs and #10 sledges

#25 club pendulum 5 x 2
Double club swipe w/ press 5 x 2

Later

Sled #100 forwards x 70 feet and backwards x 70 feet
Sledge tire #10 x 15/side

Did 6 rounds in 14.55

Wednesday practice/workout

AM

BU press
#50 2 x 3
#60 2 x 3

PM

rolling thunder
#75 x 3
#110 x 2
#135 1 x 10

Dbl KB squat #88's 3 x 3

1 arm rollouts
5 feet from wall 3 x 2
6 feet from wall 1 x 1 ( assisted w/non-working arm)

Sledwork!

AM

Clubs #15's pendulums 10 x 3
1 club shield casts 5 x 3
swipe with press 5 x 3
Behind head circles 5 x 3

PM

Dragged the sled out after quite sometime. #165 kicked my ass big time!
Did circuits of presses, rows, straight arm forward walk, & backward walk pull
approx 85 feet of each one accross front lawn
#90, #115, #140, #165

self portrait

AM

BU press 28kg 3 x3

Chins on rings w/16kg KB 3 x 3

PM

Rolling thunder

#100 3 x 5

#110 2 x 3

#120 x 1

#130 1 x 2

Not phototshop

This is a picture my parents took recently. I have never seen or heard anything like it before!

Kettlebell Seminar tommorow...

So took the day off from training. Did some videoing for upcoming newsletters :) If you haven't signed up for my free newsletter you can do so at my site. Next one will be out at the first of the month. Have a great weekend.

Good fun

Been hitting a few double workouts. Fun and it fits into myschedule better at the moment. Anywyas onto the fun:

AM
#36 KB one handed swings x 10 (l+r)
#36 DARC swings x 50

Club #15 pendulums, swipes presses & behind the head circles

Dbl Kb front squat #36's x 5 w/10 second pause in bottom position

Dbl M/P #36's x 10

PM
Circuit

Tire sledge #8 x 40
Sandbag zercher #60 x 10
Med ball slams #10 x 20
KB dead cleans x 10
Hanging leg raises x 5
Farmers walk w/2 #36 KB's 510 feet

Five times through with no rest 27 mins 56 secs

Todays training

Am
Deadlifts #236 x 3; #276 3 x 2; #321 2 x 2 (all done overhand grip)
Rope climb x 6 (3l+3r) 8 x 3 (4l+r)
*hand over hand is one rep

GHR 5 x 3

PM
Played around with olympic bar cleans

M/press #88 2 x 2; 1 x 1

Do some bands later (stretching & mobility)

Tuesday

Did some band work late last night.

Today

Clubs # 25's Swipe w/ press 5 x 3

Sledge levering #12 1 x 2
Played around with the #8 a bit also

1 arm rollouts @ 5 feet from wall 3 x 2

#30 blob
face deadlift 1 x 3
reg deadlift 10 x 1 (l+r)
Holds r x 25 secs l x 20 secs

Will do some bands later

Monday's training

Fat bar deads #120 x 3; #170 3 x 3
Chins BW x 3; #36 KB 3 x 3

Double KB racked squats #70's 5 x 3
Leg raises 3 x 2

Walks w/2 #50 KB
Overhead 255 feet
Racked x 255 feet
Farmers x 510 feet

Fridays fun

Did two workouts today which is a nice change:)
AM
Club #15 approx 8 mins of various things. Shield casts, pendulums, swipe with press ...

PM
Bottom up Kettlebell presses
#50 2 x 2
#60 1 x 2
#70 1 x 3

Mil. press #80 1 x 1

All walks for 500 feet and didn't put bell/s down till all were completed

Double overhead KB walk w/#16's
DBL rack walk w/#16's
DBL farmers walk w/#16's
Single Overhead KB walk #16 (swap halfway)
Single rack walk #16 (swap halfway)
Single farmers walk #16 (swap halfway)

Extreme Strength

Found this on youtube. Pretty damn amazing.



Has some other vids on his site also:
http://dominiclacasse.com/domlacasse.html

Already thinking about a heavier tire:)

But not for some time and I don't know if I have the room!

Double kettlebell squat w/50's 3 x 3

Tire flips 3 x 3
#200 blob cleans 3 x 3

The tire groove is getting better but it is still damn tough.

last two days training

Tuesday 2nd

Push ups 10 x 2

Clubs #25's swipe w/press 3 x 3

Blob tosses #30 8 x 3

Later
bbsa x 3, 4
extensor band 6 x 2
2 bands 6 x 2 (partials)

Wednesday 3rd

Rolling thunder
#75 x 5
# 95 x 5
#105 x 3
#115 3 x 3; 4 x 3; 5 x 4

Plate curls #20 (2 x 10's) 5 x 2

Video from newsletter #1
Sign up for my free monthly newsletter at
http://www.theothersideofstrength.com/

Today's kitty litter workout

Rolling thunder #75 x 5
#110 x 3
#135 3 x 2; 1 x 1

Med ball clean & press #100 5 x 3
Bw chins 5 x 3

Evil wheel rollouts 5 x 2

Later did extensor work 10 x 4

tire flip PR

I am pretty happy about the tire flipping! I wish I knew how much it weighed!

Tire flips 4 x 2

#200 blob cleans 4 x 2

Felt real strong today.

Pavel is in town tommorow so will be great seeing him:)

Todays training

DB mobility

Ren. rows w/pushup #45 5 x 3

BW rows on rings 5 x 3

Clubs #1's behind head circles 100 each way

Todays fun

Mil. press #72 3 x 5

Chins on rings BW 3 x 5

R/thunder #100 3 x 5

Hack squats #72 5 x 5


Circuit 30 secs each exercise and three times through

Sledge chopping on tire #8
Two hand swings #72
Sledge
Dbell snatches #45
Sledge
Med ball shouldering #60

Tuesday training

Clubs #15's

Snatch to crucifix
Swipe to crucifix
swipe to overhead press
done in circuit 5,4,3,2,1 with breaks between steps

gripper BBSA 3 x 3
band extensor 10 x 3

Updates

Assisted at the Mahler/Cotter workshop over the weekend. In short it rocked! I had a great time learning and hanging out with them. Also got to see Franz and Yoana from Revolution LaJolla. They are just two of the best people in the industry! Also caught up with some and met some really good people.


Sumo deads w/24's 5 x 1

Swings w/24's 5 x 1

Squats (24's) 5 x 4
Rolling thunder on blocks #100 5 x 4

Nice easy day but feels good to be doing something. Even better the teeth didn't give me any problems!

Training update

Training has been on the back burner since the teeth mauling;) I overdid it and have been taking it easy doing some Indian clubs, kettlebells and few other things. I don't like the feeling of not being able to train hard and it is certainly frustrating but necessary. I am feelling that next week will be a lot better.

I have been lax in posting the workouts also but I'll be back to it soon.

First workout since tooth fairy came

Corey's 1.5" #172 dumbell

Played around with the #172 a bit got some solid reps but it is still not owned. No photographer today so it was hard to get a good pic!

Kb presses #50's 5 x 3
Bw chins 5 x 3

Blob #20's long cycle 10 x 3

Felt great to be back doing something. Going to let the mouth heal up a bit before I push it again.

The lay off has given me a chance to reflect on training:)

Cool KB article

For whom the bell swings

Posted on dragondoor.

Training update

I got my wisdom teeth pulled yesterday so the training will be easy for a little bit! Anyways:

Wednesday

Played around with Corey's #172 bell! got a solid one right but left has a bit to go. just fun nothing serious.

BU presses #50 x 2
#60 x 2
#70 x 2; 1; 2

Fatbar deads #135 x 3
#185 3 x 2; 2 x 2

Squats (#50's) 5 x 2
Chins (BW) x 5; #30 x 5

Later
1 arm rollouts 3 x 2
supermans on bosu 10 secs x 5

Thursday

Played around with Joe doing a lot of different things mainly with sandbag and med ball.
First visit to Rif gym. Has a great feel to it. Lifted his stone. Good fun:)

Friday

Rolling thunder holds #90 10 secs, 20 secs & 30 secs

"The goal of life is living in agreement with nature" Zeno

Indian clubs #15's

Swipes x 10
Pendulums x 10

Swipe w/crucifix 5 x 4
Swipe w/press 5 x 4

Tempo runs 110 x 10

Extensor work

If only school was like this now...

http://memory.loc.gov/mbrs/awal/0097.mpg

So many facets of our lives would be better off.

"I have no fear of losing my life - if I have to save a koala or a crocodile or a kangaroo or a snake, mate, I will save it." Steve Irwin

Steve Irwin dies
Got bumbed this morning when I heard this news. I went to his zoo couple of times . First time it was a shack and a few snakes and lizards. I went back there about ten years later and it was totally different. He really poured all his money back into it and revamped it totally. Feel for his family. He did a lot furthering the causes he believed in. A real shit of a way to go.


Todays workout
Played around with the bands on squats & deads

Dbl KB clean 88's 1 x 1

Bu press 24kg KB 5 x 2

Dbl BU press 24's 5 x 1; 4 x 2
BW ring pullups 5 x 1; 4 x 2

Dbl KB snatch w/squat 24's 5 x 3 (1st set overhead squat, 2nd & 3rd racked)

Overhead squat w/PVC

Extensor work
Band mobility

Haven't done the double snatch in too long! Excellent exercise and coupled with the squat made it even more brutal!

training updates

Friday

BU press #60 KB 3 x 1
#70 KB 1 x 3
#88 1 x 2 miss

Played around with grippers and some extensor work

Saturday

Tempo runs 10 x 110m
pushups 10 x 10

Cool sunset

The Blob family (they love da chalk)

Indian clubs # 15 cleans x 10
Pendulums x 10
Behind head circles x 10
Press from clean postiton x 10

Blobs #35 1 x 5
#45 1 x 2 assisted
#50 1 x 1 assisted

At this rate I think that I am going to get the #50 as it has rougher edges. Th #45 has a mean angle on it and just slips out of the grip! One day I will nail it.

Todays training

Self portrait of sledge levering #10

Sots press #50 3 x 3

Sledge levering #10 1 x 3

1 arm roll outs 4 feet from wall x 1
5 feet from wall 1 x 3

Farmers walk #155 x 278 feet in 1 min 8 seconds

You wouldn't be dead for quids

Quids is dollars for those of you that don't know.
I have read some of his books. Good laugh. Very Australian so you may need a translator;) Most of his books I have read are about a bouncer working in King's Cross, Sydney.
You can read a bit about him here: http://www.harpercollins.com.au/robertgbarrett/index.html




Went out to the nearby track. Gotta love being outdoors when the weather is this good! I can't imagine being cooped up inside all day long, just doesn't seem natural (I am lucky;)

Tempo runs 110 x 10
Pushups 10 x 10

Came home and played around with the #15 Indian club
Pendulums x 10
cleans x 10
swipes x 10

New website

My new website is up and running. Be sure to check it out and let me know what you think.

http://www.theothersideofstrength.com/

Sign up for the newsletter;)

Ken

Last few days of training

I should have tested my time in the 110 meter before I judged what I though was 60 - 70 %! I have been running the tempo runs way to quick so I have slowed them doen to the right pace. Much better. No wonder I felt burnt out. Anyways I will treat this as a back off week and pick up where I left off.

Friday

BU presses #60 3 x 5 sets

Extensor work

Saturday

Tempo runs (correct pace!) 110 x 10
pushups 10 x 10

Sunday

Played around on a kids climbing wall. Not really training but a nice way to test if what I have been doing is working. Good fun and tough!

Monday

Bu press #50 x 3
#60 3 x 3

Tire flips after a few attempts was able to get four singles! Humbling to say the least.

It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult. Seneca

Thanks to friends like Pete I inherited this tire over a week ago. It has been sitting there taunting me. I don't know how much it weighs but it is heavy for me:) Got it for a couple of singles but couldn't go the double yet! the movement at the start is getting the hand placement. I will be using a wider grip from now on as this was too narrow. Coach is not amused;)

Todays training

Joint mobility

Clubbells #25

pendulums 6 x 1
swipe with press 6 x 1

2 club work
pendulums holding one in cleaned position 3 x 2
swipe with press 4 x 3; 6 x 2

extensor work

farmers walk #88's 530 feet

Tuesday & Wednesday

Tuesday

Tempo runs 6 x 110 m

Later
Clubbell #15
Pendulums 10 x 1
behind head circles 10 x 1
Swipe w/press 10 x 1

Wednesday

BU press #50 3 x 3
BU cleans #88 3 x 3

DBL Kb front squats 88's 3 x 3
Ren. Rows 88's 3 x 3

Blob deads #35 5 x 1

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm" Winston Churchill

I am a ways off from doing this but that just makes
me more determined to achieve it.

Sunday

Easy jog with the wife approx 20 mins

Today

Joint mobility

Windmill #50 KB 3 x 1

BU press #60 KB 4 x 2, 5 x 3

Ring pullups w/#50 KB 3 x 2

Rolling thunder on blocks #100 5 x 1

Rollouts 1 arm 1 x 2 (not all the way down)
2 arm 1 x 1

Last few days workouts

Wednesday

Joint Mobility

Dumbbell workout #45

Swings 10 x 3

M/P 1, 2, 3 x 3

Snatch 5 x 5

Burpee w/deadlift 1 min x 2
Burpee w/snatch 1 min x 1

Renegade row x 3
Plank x 30 secs
Twice through with 30 sec rests

It was good to play around with the dumbbells. Nice change.

Thursday

Spent the day with Joe Sarti. Played around with kettlebells, sandbags and med balls. I got no idea of how much and how many. Suffice to say I got a good sweat going. It was good to go with the flow and not worry too much about the reps and sets.

Friday

Joint mobility

Band presses (2 yellow & 1 magenta) 5 x 5

Saturday

Hit a smoker at the park with Pete!

BU cleans # 50 1,2,3,4,5
Pullups 1,2,3,4,5

BU presses #50 1,2,3,4,5
Rows (upside down) 1,2,3,4,5

Circuit
Jumps onto & off step
KB slams w/step back #20 (changed to these after 2nd round)
Med ball squat throw #20
Snatches #50
Jog approx 110 meters

Reps
jumps 3, 6 change to KB slams 18, 24, 6, 12, 18, 6, 12, 6
Med ball throw 3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3 = 30 reps
Snatches 3,6,9,12,3,6,9,3,6,3 = 60 reps/arm
Jog 110 m x 10

Got a good sweat going! KB slams may be a bit tough on the lower back for this high reps but we shall see tommorow;) None the less it is a great posterior deceleration exercise.

When I got home stretched out with the bands.

Tuesday tempo runs

10 x 100 metres

Alternating Chins x 5 and pushups x 10 after each run

Getting to like this although I prefer other conditioning but it is serving it's purpose. Although I prefer working out alone this would be a good one to with a training partner.

Great workout

When the plan you set out starts falling into place then things always seem better. Today's workouts was one of those days. Everything fell into place and the plan is going smoothly. Presses & cleans felt strong:)

Joint mobility

BU presses # 60 x 2, 4 x 3, 5 x 2

Ren rows #88's 5 x 3
Bw dips on rings 5 x 3

BU cleans #88 3 x 3

Farmers walk #88's 530 feet w/no stops

Extensor work 20 x 3

Pete in local newspaper!

Pete's workout from the Sac bee

My workout

Who: Pete Diaz, 38, Sacramento police officer. Lives in Citrus Heights.
Equipment: Kettlebells, cast-iron weights that resemble cannonballs with a handle. Kettlebells were first used by Russian strongmen about 300 years ago.
"Back in the day, in the early 1900s, the old health gyms had things like kettlebells, parallel bars and rings," says Diaz. "Today's machines make exercise easier, which attracts more people and gyms make more money."
Routine: Four to five workouts a week that can last from 15 minutes to an hour. He owns 16 kettlebells; the heaviest is 88 pounds.
Motivation: Tired of commercial gyms, Diaz says he discovered kettlebells in a muscle magazine. He then attended a kettlebell seminar at the Learning Exchange.
"It's kind of like weighted tai chi -- you get very fluid with your movements," says Diaz. "What I like about kettlebells is you can take it outdoors, take it to the river or your backyard. It takes you back to a different time, before people began moving a machine.”

Saturday tempo runs

Joint mobility & KB warm up done at class

Tempo runs

10 x 100 meters
alternating pushups x 10 and dips x 10 after each one

Short and sweet

Bottom up cleaned the beast

Took me a few goes to get it locked in but managed to do it. Left is a ways from doing it;)




Joint mobility

KB warm up approx 5 mins

BU cleans #70 3 x 1

BU presses #60 4 x 3; 3 x 1

BU cleans #88 3 x 2
#100 Right only 1 x 6; did same reps with #88 on left

Sometimes you just want to get run over!

This was the messed up zercher carry & tire dragging! I was hoping toward the end a car would run me over and put me out of my misery;)
It was damn tough!!! Way harder than yesterdays farmers walk.





Clubbell #15

Pendulum x 10
swipe w/press x 10
Shield cast reclean each time x 5
shield cast x 5
behind head circle x 5

Double KB squats #70's (5 x 5)
onto box 15 3/4 inches' 5 x 1
12 3/4 inches 5 x 2
No box 5 x 2

Sanbag zercher #98 (2 bags) & tire drag 514 feet took a short break halfway

Swim

Wednesdays training

Farmers walk and tire dragging

Joint mobility
Black ribbons #36 x 20

Turkish get up (squat style) #70 3 x 1

BU cleans #70 3 x 1
BU presses #60 3 x 3; 2 x 2

BU clean #88 x 3 ; #70 3 x 2
Ring chins BW x 6; 6 x 2

Sledge lever #8 1+1+1

Farmers walk w/tire drag #72's 514 feet

Extensor band 50 x 1

Fri, Sat, Mon & Todays training

Rolling thunder w/#100

Friday

Tempo runs 115 meters x 10
Alternating chins x 5 and push ups x 10 each time

Saturday

Blobs
#30 x 5
#35 x 3; 2L 1+1R; 2

Baseball
#35 5 x 2

one finger lifts (ring too small need to get a thicker one)
#30 1 x 2

Towel roll ups
#5 x 1

Monday

Bu press #60
1,2,3 1,2,3 1,2,3R 1+1+1L

BU cleans #70 2 x 3
BW chins 2 x 3
Excellent superset combination. Chins flew up.

Rolling thunder #100
3 x 3

Extensor 10 x 5

Later
dexterity balls x 25

Tuesday

Tempo runs 100 meters x 10
Alternating w/Chins x 5 & pushups x 10

Band work

Todays training

Joint mobility

Clubbells #25 Pendulum 5 x 2
Swipe w/press 5 x 2
#15 Behind head circles 5 x 2
Shield casts 5 x 2

Swimming

Extensor work 60 reps

Back off week!

Windmill w/beast #105 Great exercise for mobility, flexibility and strength.

Everything things needs to be flexible! Hasn't been the best back off week but I am feeling recharged. I am understanding my body and what it needs more everyday and so the learning continues.

Monday
Joint mobility

BU presses #36 x 3 reps
#40 2r 1l 1r 1l 1l
#36 3 x 2 sets

BU clean #70 3 x 2 sets

Roling Thunder #95 3 x 3 sets

Sledge levering #8 1 x 2 sets

Haven't done the sledge levering for quite sometime. Groove wasn't there.

Tuesday
At the Academy
Did a kettlebell demo.
Flipped a few small tires.

Pm
BBSA gripper 3 x 3 sets
Extensor 6 x 3 sets

Wednesday
Played around with kettlebell warm up, rope waves and clubs.

Kb dragging #32 & # 24 (tied on half way) 150' x 2
Sled sprinting approx 400'
Rope waves 50 reps w/100'

Med ball explosive throws approx 250' w/#40

With the guys from Shamrock's
Kb racked walk #24's
Drag sled approx 25' then rope pull it 100'
Kb explosive throws/shot put
Kb racked duck and weaves

*This was time based off the guy dragging the sled.

PM
Extensor work 10 x 5 sets

I have the best job in the world

Tuesday got to train the with Pete (Pete's blog) at the Academy. 50 students and some very talented athletes. Played around with the kettlebells and then got into some tire flipping! I think Pete has better pics than I but here is one of the group.



Wednesday Made the trip down to San Jose to see my good friend and kick ass coach Joe Sarti (Joe's blog) We shared a lot of ideas and got some training in. Then a few of the boys from Frank Shamrock's gym came down to do some training. The boys all trained like warriors! Here is some of the things they did:
Thick rope sled pulling approx 100'
Thin rope kettlebell pulling 150'
Sled sprints/bear crawls
Rope waves with 100'
KB one hand explosive throws/shot puts #36
med ball two hand explosive front throws #40
2 Kb racked shuffling/duck and weave
Sandbag zercher squats
Sandbag shouldering
Farmers walks

Joe and I joined in for some at the end. It was a great day as well as a great week.



Also big kudos to my kettlebell class participants! You guys are awesome! You continue to up the ante and inspire me in so many ways.

It has been a great week!

kettlebell bottom up press

Unexpected PR!

Thursday & Fridays training

Thursday

Joint mobility

Halos #36 6 x 2 sets

Windmill #60 2 x 2 sets

Clubs #1's circles to rear x 50 both ways

Shoulders were feeling very fatigued from yesterday.

PM
Swim

Bandwork

Friday

Tempo runs approx 75 meters
10 times through with med ball slams x 20 or push ups x 20 after each run

This is the first time I have tried the tempo runs. I got the idea from my friend Franz of RevolutionLaJolla Thanks Franz.

After did a double bottom up press for a big PR (vid in above post)

Training update

Monday

Joint mobility

Rolling thunder (extended range)
#105; #115; #125 3 x 3 sets (except #125 2 reps on last #125)

BU presses #40 3 x 2 sets
# 50 3 x 2 sets

Ab band curls Blue x 30 reps

Tuesday

Joint mobility

Clubbell #15
pendulum 5 x 3 sets
shield casts 5 x 3 sets
Swipe w/press 5 x 3 sets

Wednesday

Joint mobility

BU press #50
1,2,3,4
1,2,3,4
1,2,3,4,5
1,2,3,4,5
1,2,3,4,5right 4 + 1 left
= 65 reps/arm PR

Swim

Extensor work 10 x 5 sets

Pavel's blog

Here is a recent post from Pavel's blog featuring yours truly:
A crisper and more powerful swing

The RKC system of kettlebell training is known for its subtle martial arts techniques for amplifying power: power breathing, rooting, etc.
Com. Ken Black, RKC has another internal strength technique your kettlebell swing technique:
“Let us take the focus away from the hips for the moment. With your feet shoulder width apart stand with your legs straight so that they are locked. Now imagine the focal point being your knee. From the knee down press into the ground and from the knee up pull your thighs up. Contract your glutes so that the legs and core are solid and you have a strong connection through you feet to the ground. Make sure that your eyes are forward at all times.
“Remember the feeling of this action. Next do it in motion imitating a swing without a kettlebell. Start by doing it slowly and build up the speed till you are doing it at the same pace as your swing. Now go back to your swings and replicate this imagery for a more powerful swing.”

Ain't no excuse

I have a cold but not that bad. Still no reason not to train! You will always find a reason not to train. I hate not being able to train but at the same time it is hard to listen to your body and not push it too far. It is a fine line for me sometimes. Anyways.....

Thursday
Joint mobility & dislocates
Halos #30 6 x 2 sets
Bott. up press #30 5 reps

Friday
Rolling thunder # 103 3 x 3

BU press #50 3 x 3
Ring dips BW 3 x 3

BU clean #70 3, 2, 1

Saturday
Workout at park (with Pete & Bob)

Chins1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3
Dips 5 x 3 sets
Push presses with #40 1,2,4,8,16,36,16,8,4,2,1

Back from Japan

Well I am back for Japan. Had a very good time.

Trained a little kb's with a guy from Tokyo. He said he will be going to RKC next year so he will be the first RKC in Japan.

Training was all bodyweight and band work. Nothing fancy. Some gripper work also.

Training update

Training lately has been bottoms up presses with the kettlebells, band work, blobs, chins, grippers, and other stuff. I trained with Joe Sarti last week also which was awesome. Made some real nice attempts at one arm wheel rollouts!
Also got to meet Mark Reifkind from the bay area at a powerlifting meet. Here is a couple of vids of his training protege:
Squat
Bench
Deadlift

Good fun all round. Next ten days I won't have computer access so the training will be updated when I get back. Be well and look forward to catching up with you then.

Joe Sarti doing alt snatches



















Me, Pete & Rif

Hope you all have a great day. Here is a video from last year of me sots pressing the #70 kettlebells.


Great help from the training partner:)

Lazy Sunday

Lazy Sunday training:)

Sacramento newest Certified kettlebell instructor Pete Diaz dropped by for a quick workout today. I have known Pete for quite some time now. He is very easy going and strong guy. He is not the type of person to do things by halves! Anyways here is the training that went down and a couple of pics:
Softball deadlifts:
Overgrip
#38 x 1
#48 x 1
#58 x 0
Sidegrip
#58 x 4

Rolling thunder
#83 x 5
#108 x 3

Med ball Push presses
#150 x 1, 2

Pete jerking the beast

#115 on the rolling thunder

Join the party

I took this pic after today's workout. I thought it was cool but the wife wasn't really feeling it;)

Thursday

Went for a run with the better half about 2 miles . I bought some of those nike free and they are really good.

Clubbells #15
pendulum 10 x 2 sets
shield cast 10 x 2 sets
swipe w/press 10 x 2 sets

PM did some hand health and grip work

Friday

Made a new toy for lower arm fun. Played around with it and called it a day.

Saturday

Joint mobility, dislocates and halos

Band presses (3 yellow) 3, 4, 5, 3, 4, 3
Chins on rings w/#36 3, 4, 5, 3, 4, 3

Practiced bottom up cleans

Man maker snatches w/ #50 kettlebell & 490' runs

5, run, 10, run, 15, run, 20, run, 5, run, 10, run, 15, run, 5, run, 10, run, 5 = 100 snatches/arm
Total time 21:49 Result:

Will do some hand work later on today.

Don't Just Do It

If you are laying on your back bench pressing thinking "What am I going to do for dinner", "How do I look" or anything to that effect, then you are "Just doing it". If the weight is that light or the exercise is that easy, do you really think you are going to achieve any real benefit from it?

I don't know about you but if you are at work and thinking about dinner or how you look you will be much less productive than if you focus on the task at hand. It is very easy to just go with the flow and let your mind drift off while you are training.

I always talk about hamster fitness at my workshops and classes. Now I don't have anything against hamsters and I believe they truly are fit little critters but they just run on the wheel to nowhere. Next time you drift away whether it be on the treadmill or pressing your dumbells think and get a feel of what you are doing. Don't be a hamster.

Using your mind to focus your power and energy is a very powerful tool that you can use. So don't just do it, feel and think it. Most of all enjoy the reward that you have done your best and put your heart, mind and soul into the workout. The distinction between fitness, health and life I believe is closer than most people think.

Push/Pull with grip emphasis

Bottom up press w/#50 kb 4 x 3 sets; 5 x 2 sets

Rolling thunder #125 3 x 3 sets

Extensor work

Short and sweet but excellent grip workout