Tuesday 4/14 (PM)
KB Clean-N-Press 2x88
Fifteen rounds. Quick workout, heading to baseball game with some friends. Felt surprisingly strong though, as I had really felt run down this morning. Go figure.
[quote]ActivitiesGuy wrote:
I am planning to save money for a few weeks and then buy a Stubbly Axle from Rogue Fitness[/quote]
Don’t forget to make sure you have collars. Normal collars won’t work on that, so you’ll want either the red Rogue HGs, or something else. It’s a 1.9" outside diameter on that bar versus the standard 2" olympic collar.
Wednesday 4/15 (AM)
Spinning Bike (16 Minutes)
Wednesday 4/15 (PM)
KB Clean-N-Press 2x88
Twenty rounds.
Just for the record, I really didn’t care if you went the DIY route or not. My post was more an attempt to be comprehensive than persuasive, given that I’ve gone down that path a couple times now. And the collar thing, well, that’s annoying since my quick-lock ones don’t work.
But to be honest, I was kind of hoping you went the keg route… it sounds like fun. I was in some German bar a few days ago, and they stored their empty kegs in the bathrooms. Just for the hell of it, I clean and pressed one of them [I was in there alone]. Kinda want one myself, but I have absolutely no reason for it.
Interested in how you get on with the axle though. It’s definitely fun to play with.
One of the things I miss about kettlebell training is how each weight is kind of a stepping stone. It’s not like you can easily grade up from one to the next (or at least, you couldn’t in the past), so you had to pretty much figure out how to use the lighter one to train for the heavy one. Taught me a lot about how to use lighter weights to get stronger (and how to use partials and negatives with the heavier one.)
It’s neat to watch how you and furo are approaching things.
Thursday 4/16 (AM)
A1. Lat Pulldown 10x110
A2. Chest Press 10x110
Ten sets of each, EMOM, so 20 total sets in 20 minutes. Brutal. I haven’t done much high-volume pump work (like this, anyway) for a while. But this was definitely a nice little session, after lots of grinding away with heavy KB clean and pressing.
Thursday 4/16 (PM)
KB Clean-N-Press 2x88
Twenty rounds EMOM.
Friday 4/17 (AM)
Warmup: goblet squats and some clean-and-presses with the 53 pounder
Workout
KB Clean-N-Press 2x88
KB Clean-N-Press 2x88
KB Clean-N-Press 2x88
KB Clean-N-Press 2x88
KB Clean-N-Press 2x88
KB Clean-N-Press 10x88 (PR)
Friday 4/17 (PM)
KB Clean-N-Press 2x88
Seventeen rounds.
Saturday 4/18
Kettlebell Medley (30 Minutes)
My GF and I took the 35 and 44 pounders outside and just did an unstructured medley of stuff. I did a few goblet squats and swings to warm up and then a whole bunch of snatches, probably about 300 total snatch reps, I would guess, mostly with the 44 pounder once I was warmed up.
Sunday 4/19 (AM)
Bikram Yoga Class (90 Minutes)
Sunday 4/19 (PM)
A1. KB Clean-N-Press 2x88
A2. Lat Pulldown 6x150
Ten rounds.
Monday 4/20 (AM)
KB Medley (15 Minutes)
Quick assortment of goblet squats, snatches, double-clean-squat-presses, and a few single clean and presses. Just something to get up and moving before work.
Monday 4/20 (PM)
A1. KB Clean-N-Press 2x88
A2. Lat Pulldown 6x150
Ten rounds.
Tuesday 4/21 (AM)
KB Medley (20 Minutes)
Goblet Squat 10x26
KB Snatch 20x26
Goblet Squat 10x35
KB Snatch 20x35
Goblet Squat 10x44
KB Snatch 20x44
Goblet Squat 10x53
KB Snatch 20x53
Goblet Squat 10x44
KB Snatch 20x44
Goblet Squat 10x35
KB Snatch 20x35
Goblet Squat 10x26
KB Snatch 20x26
KB Clean-N-Press 2x88
KB Clean-N-Press 2x88
Hey bud, I actually went ahead and did the challenge today! Just about to post the details in my log.
Tuesday 4/21 (PM)
A1. KB Clean-N-Press 2x88
A2. Lat Pulldown 6x150
A3. Chest Press 6x150
Seven rounds.
Furo: OK! I have a tough day at work tomorrow - must be in early and stay late - but since I’ll be working 14 hours tomorrow I’ve been given permission to come in late on Thursday, so maybe I will do it on Thursday morning!
Wednesday 4/22 (AM)
Spinning Bike (21 Minutes)
Thursday 4/23
CLEAN AND PRESS CHALLENGE
Dedicated readers (ha!) will know that furo and I set out parameters for a friendly challenge a few months back: take a 40-kilogram (88-pound) kettlebell from the floor to the overhead position as many times as possible in 5 minutes. Rules were that the bell must start from the floor for each rep, there must be a one-count pause in the racked position after the clean and a one-count pause in the racked position overhead after the press/jerk. Leg drive was allowed.
26 reps (13 right hand, 13 left hand)
Figuring out a pacing strategy was hard. I thought about just doing 6 reps EMOM, but wasn’t sure that would hold up, so instead I did a big set of 10 at the start, then three sets of 4, and a final set of 2 just before time ran out. Not sure if I would have squeezed out more reps with a different strategy. Maybe I should have pushed my luck further on that first set of 10, but I’m afraid that would have taken me to failure and I would have really struggled to do any more after that without way too much rest.
I did a few sets of swings to warm up, and then after the timer went off, I took a few minutes to catch my breath and I did a few more clean and presses (no timer) to reach 40 total reps to round out the workout.
I took a video, but unfortunately it seems to be too large for my phone to send (question for any techie nerds: if you have a big video file saved on your iPhone, what’s the easiest way to get it to a computer?)
Takeaways:
-
strangely enough, this made me really appreciate the stamina that strongman competitors must have. My heart was absolutely beating out of my chest from 10 reps onward. I know merely lifting an 88-pound kettlebell is much different from the type of events they’re doing, but I have to imagine that things like a yoke walk, keg carries, etc require tremendous CV fitness after experiencing this.
-
this was a super fun challenge. Also, if anyone is seeking a program to stay in OK shape in just 10 minutes a day, it would really be this simple: buy a heavy kettlebell and clean-and-press it as many times as possible in 10 minutes every day. You’re welcome.
Great job on getting the 26 reps with the 88 pounder! As I was watching Furo’s video of his challenge yesterday, reading your thoughts on pace, and also my own struggles, it definitely goes to show that pacing in regards to kettlebell lifting is tough! I am taking a break from KB lifting for a while (for various reasons) but once I get back in the swing of things (no pun intended) I may give that type of challenge a try with my 80# bell. Granted you guys are using eight pounds more than I am and I will be lucky to get 25 reps total! Good job on the lifting!
Great job ActivitiesGuy, it’s been an honour :).