Finished the rite of passage program

Achieved my 5x5 ladders with the 24kg. Thats something like 70 clean and presses with each arm. Did this in exactly 40mins.
Was supposed to do swings afterwards but decided I would rather do some car pushing. Never done it before, but I will be doing it again. You get a serious burn in the quads and go all jelly afterwards; feels like it burns an immense amount of energy, still burning now.

My ball handling skills have increased immensely due to kettlebelling. I hypothesise that this is due to the cleans and snatches where the bell is literally dropped and recaught. Juggling and 1-hand swings with a hand switch also. It teaches hand-eye coordination. After kettlebelling last summer the most noticeable thing was my lack of any dropped balls (haha), this leads to massively increased confidence which has a direct impact on the game. IMO this is the most useful attribute of kettlebells for rugby players.

Brutal boxing day

I wrote a list last night of all the bits of equipment and things I have immediate access too:
- a few kettlebells
- 55kg barbell
- rope
- bike
- countryside and hills
- rugby ball

Off the top of my head I scribbled something down on the same piece of paper the following workout:

8 x3 burpees
10 front squats with 55kg
run around cherkley court ~2.5km up and down hills
then 2 rounds of:
farmers walk down end of drive and back with 24kg and 32kg bells
8 zercher squats with 55kg
8 front squats with 55kg
8 back squats with 55kg

When one is strapped for ideas, write everything down. Make a plan without too much thought then do it! Doing it is the most important part of this lesson.

light and medium days done, a few swings and snatches here and there

A quick note, expanding on the previous post.

Power Clean to Front Squat
Power Clean to Press
Power Snatch to Overhead Squat

Done in a M-W-F heavy-heavy-heavy format this could make an excellent cycle (ladders perhaps). Would leave plenty of room for additonal running, or whatever.

Penultimate heavy day

The clean, crisp like a punch.

5 ladders 4 rungs of clean and press
mashed this all together in under 20mins

finished with one hand swings
10L 10R x 3

all done with the 24kg bell

Resistance exercises that develop optimum human function:

The must do's:
A deep knee bend (squat variants: zercher, front, overhead, back, goblet... lets choose front)
Press
Clean

The deep knee bend of squat builds lower body strength, the press likewise for upper body.
The clean developes power in the entire body. Bill Starr wrote that athletes need only use the 'big three' exercises: back squat, power clean and bench press.

Condensing this:
Clean & Press
Front Squat
Get good at these and everything in life will be easier. These two exercises seem to have carry-over into everything.

Bryce at www.ironsports.tv advocates what's been branded the 50/20 method. Train 4 days a week (eg mon, tu, th,fr). Select a lift or two (clean and press, front squat). Put some weight on the bar and set a timer for 20mins. Do 50 reps or more. If you manage 50, put more weight on next time. If you get less, keep the same weight and try again next time. Alternate the exercises so you end up clean and pressing twice a week and front squatting twice a week.

Let us expand on this list:
Swing
Deadlift

The swing done properly provides all the work the hamstrings ever need, do 10 heavy swings then see how springy you feel.

The deadlift is in my opinion a safety exercise, it builds the back musculature like nothing else. Heavy deadlift loading strengthens the entire skeletal system. Being killed is much more difficult if you deadlift. A strong lower back is useful in rugby, many people ruck with rounded backs which is weak. This does not happen if you have a strong back.

Pullups and Farmers Walks
Deserve a mention as completeness exercises. Do them whenever. Farmers are best done with a friend.

55.5kg barbell back squat 30 reps, got 40+ in me.
(clean and press to get it there, and reverse movement at the end)

Variety day

24kg + 32kg

row
3 sets of 5

clean
3 sets of 5

romanian deadlift
3 sets of 5

It's weird all the things I naturally want to do, as in when I run out of ideas... are predominantly back movements... or pulls. I love pulling.

Now that tiger woods has been dethroned, I believe he needs a successor.

Practicing my drive in the snow, on snowballs. It's getting more fluid already and the finishing turn is smooth-as.

Rite of Passage medium day today
24kg
C+P 5 ladders 2 rungs each ladder, blitzed through.
swings: powerful with overspeed excentrics 15 on the min for 6 mins, meant to do 7 but tore a hole in the side of my finger on the 6th min.

Yeah that was hard. Will drop the weight to 24kg and hopefully speed up the sprint a little. A hill sprint instead would be a good thing to try next week.
Sprinted down the drive today, flat and about 100 yards.

Tomorrows workout

Task: Litvinovs
Condition: 30 swings with the 32kg then sprint!
do this 3 times - recover inbetween

Snowy snatches

Everything is heightened in the cold...

The heavens opened today and god poured some white crap over everyone.

Today is the light day of the RoP. So I did the following in the snow with the 24kg:
Clean and press: 5 ladders 1 rung per ladder = 20 total = 480kg
Snatches: 5 each hand on the minute for 10mins = 100 snatches = 2400kg

I wholeheartedly encourage anyone who gets snow to go outside and put some work in, and to have fun while doing it.

I'm eating less during the day and eating more at night, absolutly loving it.

Rite of Passage Week 1 heavy day

A handshake to be remembered...

24kg clean and press (clean before each press)
5 ladders - 3 rungs per ladder (worth noting the rest period between each ladder was no more than a couple of mins, no rest between rungs)
30 reps each arm
60 total
60*24=1440kg

32kg swings
20 on the minute for 5mins (really challenging on the grip)
100 total
32kg*100=3200kg

Bull... shit!

Got chased by a herd of about 20 young bulls while crossing a big field. I managed to outpace them in a 70m dash to the exit. This was on a random run I went on, lasted about 50mins to an hour and I was running for at least 90% of it.

Also yesterday I broke my own rule and went to the gym, although twas with my mum. Here is what I did:
Front squats supersetted with pullups (bare minimum rest).
5 40kg front squats
3 pullups
5 50kg front squats
3 pullups
3 60kg front squats
3 pullups
3 70kg front squats (my FS form has become much better - even though I havn't done these for about 5 weeks - it's a flexibility thing)

2 sets of 42kg goblet squats 8 reps each set

clean and press with a 20kg dumbell: 3 sets of 5 (a clean before each press, minimum rest)

1000m row on level 7 in something like 4:30

I'm quite good at improvising!

Today did 10mins of the 15/15 vo2max thing with the 16kg @ 8 reps cadence.
Yesterday played rugby won 21-0.
Monday went for a great old school run in the evening rain.

Party Manifesto

So I've slightly changed my apoproach to this programming over xmas. Swallowing my pride and listening to the words of the text is going to trump here. Pavel states that to use this program select a bell size that can be clean and pressed 5-8 times. 24kg: So with my left hand I (with a clean before each press) did this for 8 reps, with maybe one or two left if the tank.
Now, I can only manage 1 rep with the 32kg and a couple with my right hand.
Therefore it would benefit me to just use the 24kg for ladders. Dunno why this wasn't obvious to me in the first place.. pride perhaps.
I will start and end with 5 ladders, 3 rungs in the first week, 4 in the second, and the full 5x5 in the 3rd. Hopefully by the 4th week the 32kg will be owned. I believe that this is possible. If not then I'll just program minimum it.
Some intelligent use of the variety days will be useful. In the meantime I will use the 32kg for swings and getups.

shit that i've got up to

just wrote out a nice long post then lost it all so can't be assed now

deadlift friday 1s
125kg x 5
140kg x 3
155kg x 3
hanging leg raise 10 x3

32kg kettlebell arrived
managed a single on the left and a double on the right in C+P

saturday
20 swings on the min for 5mins

sunday
12 min manmaker
10 swings on min with pump stretrch for 'recovery' - q.intense

good stretch for hips i've been doing:
deep squat holding ontop something heavy for balance like a sofa. start with close stance and slowly edge feet out into a wider stance, should feel a stretch build (keep knees out). go wider until into discomfort zone, squeeze knees out with elbows - massive stretch in hips. hold this for 20 deep breaths (extreme discomfort), then collapse. voila looser hips. top this of with hip flexor stretch.

Good workout: bench 3s and more

Power clean
40kg x 5
50kg x 5
55kg x 5
60kg x 4
then i found a pair of straps and tried cleans with them
60 flew up
so did 70
straps make a big difference.. but i'll be okay without them.

I'd love to clean more weight, maybe focus on it more after xmas.

Bench
50kg x 3
55kg x 3
62.5kg x 11 (maybe 12 lost count)

Rugby boys came in, taught 3 of them how to power clean.
Ended up doing:
power clean and press
40kg x 10 (x2)
40kg x 15 followed by 10 push presses with no rest (SMOKER)

2mins run incline 8 speed 8 nothing fancy just a small finished. the room was full of girls it's always a little embarrasing coming off the treadmill after 2mins and looking wiped out.

Training over xmas

If there's something i've learned the last 8 weeks, as I draw close to my second complete cycle of Wendlers 531, it's that following shit with a certain degree of disciplin and faith works. Of course it's got to be good shit, but sifting through the sand to find the gems is half the fun anyway.
I had this plan of buying a barbell and just doing olympic lifts solidly over xmas, with some hill sprints, farmers walks, kettlebells and biking thrown into the mix. Simple and fun.
Could I simplify this even further?? A barbell is bloody expensive with a set of plates too.
How about, yes. Kettlebells, and a little program called the Rite of Passage. This consists of a pull... and a press. Simple. Fun? I'll just add in farmers walks, hill sprints, biking and running. Get in.
I'll be following this for the 4 weeks - to the letter, which is actually much easier than fucking around with it.. something that adds baggage to the mind, and just labels you ADHD.

RoP for Xmas:
mon: light clean and press and snatches
tues: whatever the hell I want to do
wed: medium C+P and swings
thurs: rest
fri: heavy C+P and to-limit swings
sat: rest
sun: whatever
Increase each week. Going to attempt C+P with a 32kg.

Presses to be done in 'ladders'... swings to be timed.

So yeah, I'm excited because it's too simple to be true.

The game on wednesday...

went great. Won 48-7. No tries for me, but a tonne of dangerous runs. Was playing 14. Could have been a wee bit faster, I blame the boots.

Today and yesterday 5/3/1 and training and squash

Today
Biking
Deadlift 3s
Was having a bit of a less than stella day so knocked off:
115 x 3
130 x 3
150 x 3
went home

Friday
Press 5s in the morning
37.5kg x 5
42.5kg x 5
50kg x ...6 need to be a little more awake next time

afternoon squash game lost 4-0 but each game was good
rugby training for 2 hours - second half was brutal (strained bicep + quad)

Bench day 5s

45 x 5
52.5 x 5
60 x 13
40 x 10 (x2)


Lots of sprinting in training. Lots of ball handling @no.12 - solid.

Deadlift day 5s (friday)

Still have acute back soreness 2 days later...

Deadlift
105kg x 5
125kg x 5
140kg x 12 PR

3 varied sets of rows @60kg about 8reps

Press day 5s

warmup - empty barbell:
power snatch x 8
overhead squat x 8
back squat x 8
good morning x 8
row x 8
deadlift x 8

press
37.5kg x 5
42.5 kg x 5
50kg x 7
40kg x 8 superset 3 pullups (x3)

3 sets of 20sec hanging knee raise holds

Learned how to front/goblet squat better

Activated hip flexors, focusing on pulling down into hole. Huge difference in form.

Today did 20 swings and 40 swings.
This evening did standing bent over 1 arm rows with 24kg.
20,20
15,15
10,10
5,5

Bench day 5s yesterday

Bench (close grip)
45 x 5
50 x 5
60 x 13 PR
40 x 10 (x3)


Rugby training in the evening

Can't be assed to post much

Finished first cycle of 5/3/1 including deload. All went dandy.
Beginning second cycle tomorrow, omitting the squat. Should leave me with more energy for rugby while still thoroughly working the upper body.

Good weekend. 71 straight swings with the 24kg.
Gym today, 3 sets of pullups, 5x5 clean and press with 20kg, 5x100kg deadlift (x2), 60kg zercher squat x 5, 80kg zercher squat x5, 5min run on treadmill incline lvl 8 speed lvl 8. fun fun.

Morning run

My 2k trail. Good run, this is the perfect distance for me.

Press day 1s

45kg x 5
50kg x 3
52.5kg x 5

30kg x 10
immediately followed with 3 pullups
(x5)

done

Deadlift day 1s

Some cleans to warm up

Deadlift
120 x 5
140 x 3
155 x 3

Some trap bar shrugs
may use trap bar deadlifts in next cycle

A few sets of kettlebell snatches with the 16kg, nothing much, form was good though.

5-3-1 madness!

Today
Bench day 1s
Bench
50kg x 5
57.5kg x 3
65kg x 10 (PR)

Incline Bench
40kg x 10

Pullups
5 (x2)

Sunday

Squat day 1s
Power Clean
60kg x 3 (x2)
65kg x 3 (x2)

Squat
87.5kg x 5
100kg x 3
112.5 x 5

Some hanging leg raises (high feet - negatives)

Friday
Press day 3s
40kg x 3
45kg x 3
50kg x 8 (big PR)
30kg x 10 (x5)

Chins
5
Pullups - wide
5 (x2)

Thursday
Deadlift Day 3s
Power Cleans
no more than 60kg for a triple

Deadlift
115kg x 3
130kg x 3
147.5kg x 5

Dumbell row
34kg x 20 each hand

Bench day 3s

Bench Press (close grip)
47.5kg x 5 (meant to do 3 but forgot, looks like i'm going to hell)
55kg x 3
60kg x 11
making good progress, upper body is feeling stronger

Dumbell Incline ~30 degrees
20kg x 10
18kg x 10
16kg x 10
14kg x 10
12kg x 10
less than 2mins rest between sets

Towel Chins
5
4
4
4
may be getting a little tendonitis or something similar in a couple of fingers

in and out of the gym in around 40mins. love 531

Squat day 3s

Squat
82.5kg x 3
95kg x 3
105kg x 8


Hill sprints
5 x ~15sec

Press day 5s

Press
35kg x 5
42.5kg x 5
47.5kg x 10 very very happy with this
30kg x 10 (x5) these absolutely flew up

Chins
5 x 5


Rugby training in the evening for 2 hours

Deadlift day 5s

I was not feeling it today, combination of early start, cold and rugby match yesterday. So I dropped the assistance exercises and felt good the rest of the day because of it.

PowerClean
40kg x 5 (x2)
60kg x 3

Deadlift
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
105kg x 5
122.5kg x 5
140kg x 6

Nice stretching session afterwards, lots of work on the calves and hip flexors.

Bench day 5s

Biked to gym

30 situps

Close-grip bench
45kg x 5
50kg x 5
57.5kg x 10

Incline bench (close grip)
40kg x 10 (x5)

Chins/Pullups
5 (x3)

Rode home

5/3/1

I have begun the 5/3/1, which is overdue imo. Some chaps on the Catalyst Athletics forum advised me to start this at the beginning of the summer, advice I should have taken. Reading the manual last night set me up for my first session.

As I am currently in-season with rugby I'll be following the standard 5/3/1 progression except it will vary from 2-4 times a week depending on how energised I feel. The 4 deload sessions will be used.

Today:
Squat day 5s
Warmed up with powercleans and situps
some pressing, a little front squatting no more than 40kg
Squat
77.5kg x 5
87.5kg x 5
100kg x 10

Assistance
Squats 60kg x 10 (x3)
Hanging Leg raises 8 (x3)

Slightly sore hip towards end of squat assistance hence 3 sets instead of prescribed 5.

Bench day tomorrow, hopefully.

Back from holiday

Back from Lake Garda - Italy. Was awesome.

Cycled up the alps the day before yesterday and followed it with about 5 hours sleep, and not v.much food. This caused cramping in an otherwise good session:

Squats LBBS
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 5
90kg x 5
100kg x 5
105kg x 5

Parallel grip pullups
5,5,5,5

Solid form situps on roman chair
30

BMF brutal minimalist fitness

Great gaming detox:
the one from David Whitley's BMF article...
50 swings then 10 hindu squats
40 swings then 20 hindu squats
etc until
10 swings then 50 hindu squats

time: 9:50 under 10mins v.happy with this
all done with 24kg

Morning 1.2 mile run

Afternoon gym
complex warmup PC, MP & FS @ 40kg 5 x3
zercher squat, from knees
80kg 5 x5
pullup 5 x2
6 dips, then decided that I was fried

The last few days

Today
Rest
Felt shitty and sore so went for a walk and did 3 getups per arm with the 16k, felt much better.

Saturday
Gym early morning
LBBS - v.good, tight form
80kg x 5
90kg x 10
100kg x 5
105kg x 5
These were v.hard, and i'm sure squats havn't regressed THAT much so this is a signal to rest.
Rack pull from knee
180kg x 3
190kg x 4
Some hanging ab work
then 5x5 situps with 5kg behind head. short rest period.

Friday
2 hour biking in the morning
1 hour badminton match in afternoon

Thursday
Morning
10min warmup of goblet squats, pumps and halos
10mins of kettlebell juggling/playing with 16kg
Ran hard for 2.2 miles

Evening
30mins of SOLID squash. went through 4 games no rest and I got obliterated. All my shots were terrible and landed in middle of court, occasional fightback but I seriously need to up the game. I was dead by the end of 30mins and my partner was hardly breaking a sweat.

Today
GYM
complex warmup 3x3 power clean, press and front squat 40kg

rack pull from knee
180kg x 3
190kg x 3

4 sets of 5 pullups
2 or 3 sets of hanging leg raises and holds

Yesterday
6 Hill sprints on mein fuhrer
tomorrow (thursday) is 7, or more...

Deadlift switch up

Since rack pulling that 200kg - and recieving a nice sharp pain diagonally along the back i've decided to switch my grip up. Whether the pain was related to mixed grip or whatever it doesn't matter, because from now on I shall be employing the hook grip once again. Straps will be used for the heavy sets. Hook grip for the singles and warmup.

The last few days training

Today
Bike ride for a couple of hours.

10min warmup goblet squat, pump, halo switching exercise on the minute with 16kg.
3 getups per arm with 24kg

Sunday
1.1 mile run in eve
5mins of 15/15 v02max at 8reps 16kg

Saturday
the 60kg bar in the garage got some work
squats and cleans to warmup
then 50 deadlifts
the bar is really low to the ground and this felt like a good workout, back was sore all over the following day

The last week

Sunday
V02 max 15/15 @ 7reps
40 sets with 16kg

can't remember much else...

tuesday
gym...front squats 60kg: 10reps 15reps 15reps

wednesday
did 8 flat sprints

thursday
warmed up with 40kg cleans, presses and front squats
did some military press and push presses with 50kg and 60kg
deadlifted 157.5kg x 3
snatch grip RDL 100kg 10 x2

today: rest

Went to the gym instead of a jog
rack pull from knee
180kg (easy)
200kg (wasn't too challenging although I felt some pain in upper back)

chin ups + 10kg 3,3
pullups +10kg 2

stretch

Those rack pulls have really given me the confidence to now attack a 180kg deaflift.

Last night: Put all the weight i own onto the 1 inch barbell. 60kg total.
From now on this will be known as the bar in the garage.
Did some clean and presses with it.
10 front squat reps
20 back squat reps.

going for a jog tonight

note: bike ride tomorrow, V02max sunday, gym monday (thinking front squats @60kg, sets of 20 or one max set).

New kettlebell

My 16kg arrived from Intense Fitness today. 10 out of 10 for build quality and British blue suits it well. I have named him Frodo.

Did the V02max test and got 31 reps with some form issues along the way.
Condensing this into 15seconds gives 7.75. Considering my form was not perfect and this was done with my good hand i'll round it down to 7 reps. The minimum - good.

V02max 16kg
15:15 @7
28 sets

My form got much much better almost right at the beginning.
At 28 sets I did 6 by accident,lower back was feeling a bit tight and the hands were suffering so I called it a day then and there. A good start methinks. 35 or 40 sets next.

Finished with a nice cool down of 5mins getups with the same bell.

Goals

180kg deadlift
80kg Front Squat x 15

I feel amazing.

practised 24kg kettlebell swing for 12mins, with jogging for recovery.

then went for a 15-20min run in the countryside.
My run was graceful, calming and hard - yet seemed effortless and enjoyble. It finished with a really fast ~0.5km downhill on wet grass.
But best of all, I ran PAIN FREE! No shin splints, no apprehension, no tightness - just awesomeness. That was real running, if only for a short period.

All my efforts the last year have finally collaborated and paid off.

Yesterday @ the gym

Squats built up to 110kg x 5
Dumbell bench built up to 30kg x 5
1 arm bent over rows (standing, not on a bench)
32.5kg x 10,10 x2
45kg x 10,10
weighted situps 5 hard sets of 5


Monday
kettlebell swings 24kg - 20 swings on the minute for 6 mins
farmers walk with 2 x 24kgs for multiple intervals. fried grip.
random clean and press double 24kg bells x 5

Hill sprints on 'Mein Fuhrer'

6 sprints - wingate style... yeah buddy!

First throw

Threw 8kg kettlebell 8.84m

Today
Short but hard bike ride 15-20mins
5x5 presses with 24kg

Yesderday
Deadlift
152.5kg x 5
150kg x 5

hung from a pullup bar for a while and did a couple of pullups in the process

Tuesday
Medium session
LBBS 60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 3
90kg x 2
100kg x 2 x2

Deadlift
60kg x 5
100kg x 2
140kg x 2 x2


Sunday
LBBS worked up to a 120kg single with v.good form
military press 50kg x 4,3

deadlift - felt really in the zone for a PR but accidently loaded 170kg on the bar - flew up with no hesitation. only realised afterwards and then did the same thing again but put 190kg on which i got about 4 inches off the floor. reckon if 180 was on there the first time round i would have had it no problem.

in rage over the deadlifts i gave the core a beasting with hanging leg raises, cable crunches, 1 set of weighted situps and 3 sets per side of suitcase deadlifts with 50kg.

4 plates.. 180kg... WILL happen before the rugby season

Brutal Minimalist Fitness

So today instead of the 12mins of PM swings I did:

50 swings
10 hindu squats
40 swings
20 hs
30 sw
30 hs
20 sw
40 hs
10 sw
50 hs

Didn't time this, and also forgot to do getups before.
But what a great workout, i'm still like jelly. Some of the later squats turned into regular squats because i kept losing balance. Rest periods were very brief, so I was impressed with my performance. All done with 24kg.

Today

Some squats to warm up including one v.easy 90kg single.

Deadlift 155kg x 2 x4

Some random pullups and ab work.

Tuesday
Hill sprints on Zeus
5 sprints

Monday
deadlift 140kg x 2
150kg x 2 x4

front squat 90kg single

chin ups 3 sets of 5

Bike ride. Ate wild blueberries. I am a survivor.

Mickelham hill sprints

8 sprints with walk to bottom inbetween

note: more exhausted than i should have been, although these were strong sprints

Back from holiday and straight on...

The program minimum!
24kg kb
12mins of swings and planks
then
5mins of getups

Get ups

just now:
5mins with 8kg bell
5mins with 24kg bell

final workout before my 2 week holiday

Thursday
AM
Gym:
Chin ups/Pull ups sets of 3 to total of ~24 reps
Deadlift 150kg x2, 160kg x1 blind
Military press 50kg x3 55kg x2

PM
24kg bell 12mins of swings with planks in between sets of swings

Wednesday
biked the 3 peaks
took 3-4 hours with some nice downhill variation

Today - Gym
warmup, rower, front squat

pullups 4 sets of 5reps

DB bench 37.5kgs fail
35kg x2

deadlift
150kg x2


yesterday
12mins 24kg kettlebell swings with planks

Good day today

AM
getups - 5min - 24kg

PM
10 mickelham hill sprints
followed by walk to the top, it makes a big difference focusing on not bobbing or swaying the hips when walking.

warmup on bike and goblet squats

front squat
90kg x 2
95kg x 2

dumbell bench
32.5kgs x 5, 4, 3 lost a rep from last time - time to rest

deadlift
120 x 3 snatch grip

towel chins
5, 5 then 5 pullups

timed bike sprint from bottom of cherkley court to top
2:36

asthma kicked in, should beat this time in the future no problem. it's nice to have a benchmark though.

Just to keep reminding myself...

(copy pasted from Dan John's forum, posted by the man himself (what a legend by the way))

Goblet squat
Swing
Get Up

Plank

Deadlift
Press

Pullup


Play and have fun.

Connect.

Make a difference.


Today
warmup - GS, halos, swings, pumps
25kg bell 5mins of Get-Ups.. i counted 4 each arm.

happy with this

took dog for a walk/run up a big hill for about half an hour

TODAY
umm a nice warmup:
5min bike then
5mins of 1-arm dumbell clean and press, snatches and pumps

then rode up to 'easy' squats:
85kg x 5
87.5kg x 5 x2
hip was feeling sore... not good. bad squats.

dumbell bench
32.5s x 5 x2
these really grind out and i'm developing some great control - none of this bouncing i used to do. pure tension instead. love that word: tension.

tension deadlifts:
170kg x 2 second one a real grind.. fried my back muscles


YESTERDAY
walk up mickelham with dog

friday
front squat
82.5 x 5 x3

dumbell bench
1 set of 5 @ 32.5kg bit of a grind

row
60kg x 5 x2

saturday
took dog for exercise (note: not walk, but exercise... she needs it!)
little bit of hill running

12mins of swings with 24kg program minimum style

... i really want a 16kg bell from intense fitness

front squat
77.5kg x 5
80kg x 5 x2

DB bench
32.5kg x 3, 5, 4


later that day...

swings with 8kg and 24kg bells
7/7 x3

then immediately biked to mickelham in 11:38 - 20 seconds faster than last :)

thursday 8th
dumbell bench 30kg x 5 x3

max row 500m, 1min rest, 500m
5min bike ride heartrate 150
short run and stretch

saturday 10th
front squat 77.5kg x 5 x3
dumbell bench 32.5kg x 3 x3
stiff leg DL 160kg x1

today
deadlift
9 singles with 160kg - back death

beasted it today

in the morning
10mins getups with 8kg (focusing on hips high technique)

in the evening
24kg KB
12mins, each minute: 20reps swings
missed the 9th interval for extra rest - so punished self with 10 high out-of-hand swings

heart rate hit the 190s for last 3 intervals
(20reps = ~40seconds)

today:
front squats
75kg x 5 x3
standing dumbell press
20kg x 5 x2
22.5kg x 5
deadlift
130kg x 5
150kg x 3
160kg x 3

swim on sunday

last friday:
some back squats...
some front squats 70kg x5
dumbell bench
30kg x 5 x3
deadlift
140kg x 3

it's so hot this week

20mins of getups with 8kg kb

rode to mickelham common in... 11min56sec
new goal to get that sub 10min

monday
mish mash of exercises:
rowing and cleans for warmup
snatch grip deadlift 120kg x3
zercher squat from floor 70kg x 3 90kg x 5
towel chin ups

tuesday
lots of goblet squats and overhead squats
back squat 90kg x 5 110kg x 5 120kg x 1 132.5kg fail
5mins fast running followed by 3mins all out cycling followed by 2mins all out rowing

wednesday
played with 24kg kettlebell - swings and snatches

Just back from a tiring previous few days, squeezed in
3 sets of 8 reps press each arm with 24kg
played with swings and snatches

24kg swings
1min intervals for 10
each interval: 20 swings rest until next

200 total and a pair of very tired hands

Goals

Ah ha...Well:

primary goals:
180kg deadlift (5kg off)

secondary goals:
15 chin ups
140kg squat
80kg push press

tertiary goals:
incorporate conditioning

it would be really useful to go to a track and measure some 100 or 200m times and try to improve on them... this shall happen soon - hey there's another goal:
go to a track and get times

Hill sprints rule all

Medium incline, long sprint ~20 seconds
Rest just over 3 mins
x5

24kg bell press
5/5 x 7

Warmed up by working up to 70k power clean
also worked up to deadlift 170 x1 (crisp) held for 10 seconds
pulled 180kg about an inch off the floor
some towel chin ups

Swapped presses this evening for Guinness which should increase my strength.

After the neural warmup did 3 ketups per arm with the 24k, it's really woken me up

Z-Health

Started on the z-health 'neural warmup level 1' yesterday and did my second session today. I'm aiming to do this every day. Hopefully it will turn out well :)

Off for a short evening bike ride now as i've been indoors basically all day.

5mins of getups with 24k, swapping hands each rep, RKC program minimum style. i realise this is too heavy, but then again this isn't an ideal world.

24kg kb 1 arm press
5/5 x 6

later, post exam, had a little walk/run in the woods

My hands felt v.weak today...

deadlift
120kg x5
140kg x2
150kg x 2
160kg x 2

chin ups
8 then 8 leg raises
6 then 5 leg raises
5

military press 24kg bell
5/5 x 5

24kg bell
warmup 30 swings + halos + pumps
all out
20 reps ~20sec rest x8 160total
really working on keeping the lats and core tight and the hip snap snappy

Today
cycled to gym
practiced clean technique with 40kg

press
50kgx3 which was a poor effort, then couldn't be assed

deadlift
140x3 5xverticle jumps
150x2 5xVJs
160x2 5xVJs
160x2 5xVJs
i actually really enjoy deadlifting

towel chins
5xclose grip
5x wide grip
3/2 x over-under

cycled home

24kg kb

swings 25 reps 25 sec rest 5 sets
push press 5/5 x 5

Front squats
50kg x 5
60kg x 4
70kg x 3
80kg x 2
90kg x 1
80kg x 2 - 3 sets

towel chin ups
standard x 5
over under 3/3
close grip 3

deadlift (blind)
120kg x 5

24kg KB
swings - 20reps 20sec break x 5
press - 5/5 reps x 3

KB arrived!

It is here. In all my wisdom I just tried a one arm snatch and practically broke my forearm. The KB is so different to training with the dumbell, and I haven't even started yet. Certainly there is plenty of technique to be learned, but bring on 200 snatches with the 24...

Deadlift
60x5
110x5
140x5
160x3
(eyes closed) 150x3 these were harder than i thought

Towel chins
over-under 4/3
standard 6
close grip 4
standard 4

Went biking - found the best trail i've been on on the South Downs.

Kettlebells

24kg or '1.5-pood' is arriving in the post sometime (should have been today grrr). I have never had exerience with kettlebells so this will be a new adventure...

How to win

1. Evaluate what your primary goal is.
2. Create sub-goals which will assist your final goal.
3. Go.


Remember also: squatting big weights and getting strong by squatting are not the same thing.

Steve Ilg... and little things

I bloody love Steve Ilg. All of his philosophy is spot on. I originally heard of him on Dan Johns forum and subsequently bought his most recent book (Total Body Transformation) for an absolute bargain on amazon. Buy this book.

Yoga is a central point to Ilgs fitness philosophy, now im not exactly a massive yoga follower (I get a little practice in here and there) but there is so much more to it than just 'practicing' yoga. Testing out this path leads to so many improvements: Little things like meditation, keeping your posture in check, nasal breathing and yoga itself. Although perhaps the most important thing is maintaining a balance...

So what, who cares about balance? I can squat and bench a gazillion kilos...

Whats the point in squatting a shit load of weight if you can't run more than 200m without dying?
Whats the point in having such a good bench is you can't do a single pullup, or do 30 pressups?
Why have the ability to sprint really fast without being able to repeat your efforts? Or have the ability to put the brakes on when necessary?

There are generally 9 components of fitness:
Strength
Power
Agility
Balance
Flexibility
Local muscular endurance
Cardiovascular endurance
Strength endurance
Co-ordination

As an athlete, don't neglect the above 9. Of course there are priorities.

For example if you're going through a strength cycle, as pretty much everyone has to do at one stage or another. DONT JUST SQUAT AND DEADLIFT AND PRESS or whatever. You have to maintain your essentials too. Maintaining a movement like running requires "proficiency of that movement can be maintained with around 1 exposure per week". Thats it. Just don't forget these little things that all add up to make YOU.

The body is one piece remember.

(ps a good read on running faster http://www.higher-faster-sports.com/speedtraining.html)

max effort hill sprints today
10 sprints, some involving sharp bends some straight, all involving leaping over a big log at the top.
roughly 20-30secs rest between each

picked up a big log

Felt good after today

1500m row warmup

deadlift
150kg x 2 / 5 box jumps
160kg x 1 / 5 box jumps
150kg x 2 / 5 bj
150kg x 2 / 5bj
150kg x 2 / 10bj

5 pullups
5 chins
3/3 one and a half hand pullups with towel
5 close grip towel pullups
5 standard grip towel pullups
3/3 one and a half hand pullups with towel

fried my fingers big time

yesterday:
dumbell 1-arm side press
24kg 2/2 x 2
22kg 5/5 x 2

chin up - focusing on tension
5reps x 3

1 set of pikes

2 planks @ 1min20sec each


swam twice in the freezing brighton sea.. i think that's why i'm so tired today

A day of development

My girlfriend came along to the gym today for some 'education' and we both did the dumbell circuit from infinite intensity 3 rounds total. Decided by the end she definitely needed a strength foundation.

Considering she's pretty much never done strength training... I started by teaching her how to squat. Beginning with the bodyweight squat, keeping weight on the heels, shoving the knees out and achieving proper depth by sitting 'back' rather than straight down. A good starter. It's always fun watching people do this for the first time. Then it was on to the goblet squat for lots of reps with the 10kg then lots with the 16kg, all good. I think the goblet squat is the best way to learn proper squat dynamics as fast as poss (a little gem from Dan John), opening the hips and sitting between the legs. None of this bend the knee only partial squatting shit you see everywhere. That was enough full squatting.

Potato sack squat next with the 20kg for a few reps. Then I taught her the deadlift. She worked up to 40kg on her first day! 3 sets of 5 at that. Top draw. I think she'll be sore tomorrow.. but the important thing is she enjoyed it.

As for me:

snatch grip deadlift off (~4in) box, each set followed by 3 circles of 4 side box plyometrics
70kg x 3
120kg x 3
120kg x 3
130kg x 3
140kg x 3

First post...

Is actually a prequel to my 2nd post, which will be tomorrow. I'm going to to do a squat workout followed by a little dumbell complex outlined in Ross Enamaits book Infinite Intensity:

3-4 sets 1-arm lifts
5 x snatch
3 x clean and press
8 x swing

60 sec rest between exercises ~90sec rest between sets.