Traveling for the weekend. Slept at a buddy’s place and brought my 30-pound kettlebell along, but his place has a gym, so I took the KB along and mixed KB snatches in with some lifting.
A1. KB Snatch 20x30
A2. Smith Machine Bench Press (ramped from 10x135 to 3x245)
Ten sets overall. Ramped the bench from light stuff to a couple sets with 225 and one triple with 245.
B1. Lat Pulldowns 10x100-something (unlabeled plates)
B2. Smith Machine Bench Press 10x135
Four sets, just some light pump work after the bench-and-KB work.
Tomorrow and Sunday will not have access to the gym, as we’ll be out at a house for a bachelor party, so I’ll probably just kick off each morning with a few hundred KB snatches with that 30 pounder.
I can also report that the kettlebell will travel just fine as checked baggage, for anyone that’s crazy like me and may consider this in the future. I packed it in a bowling-ball bag with my workout clothes stuffed around it for padding and a note to potential screeners about what a KB is. I did get a note that my bag had been opened and inspected, but everything made the trip just fine
About 400 total reps with the 30 pounder. Supersetted with picking up cans and bottles in the yard, lol. 20 snatches, go pick up a bottle and put it in the garbage can, repeat about 20 times.
A1. Double KB Front Squat 3x44’s
A2. Lat Pulldown 6x150
A3. Chest Press 6x150
Seven rounds. Truth be told, most of that felt only “OK” and I thoight maybe I should bag it and live to fight another day. Instead, I looked at my 44’s sitting there and decided to see if I could redeem myself.
Finisher: KB Snatch 80x44 (PR)
Nice stepping stone (previous bests were 100x35, 60x44, 40x53) en route to my goal of 100x53 by midsummer.
This weekend I may attempt a set of 60 reps with the 53 pounder. Once I can do 60x53, I’ll drop back to the 44 pounder and work towards 100 reps, then back up to the 53 pounder and working up to 80 reps, you get the idea.
[quote]Alpha wrote:
I like reading your stuff man, it gives me ideas for my conditioning stuff[/quote]
OK…this is what I love about the pool of training logs here. Folks training for bodybuilding, powerlifting, Olympic lifting, Strongman, kettlebell, CrossFit can all post here and share ideas, and there certainly can be some crossover learning. Especially for non-specialists like Strongman, CrossFit (I honestly think there’s a lot more similarity between the two than difference; both rely on events that blend strength and conditioning for time, it’s just that CF is a bit closer to the “conditioning” end of the spectrum than Strongman), and kettlebell enthusiasts like myself.
My present goal is improving my timed kettlebell performance with the eventual goal of being proficient enough to enter a KB competition without embarrassing myself (once I can do 100-plus reps with the 53-pound bell, that will indicate I’ve at least cleared some minimum standard of proficiency). However, I definitely think that Strongman-type conditioning medleys absolutely have a place in working towards that goal. I am still debating my next toy purchase (the winds are actually blowing me more towards a 106-pound KB rather than the axle at the moment…) but once I have another toy, I may compose some fun medleys that could have some crossover.
Takeaway from tonight: the jump from 44 to 53 is where snatches get a lot harder for me. I can pop through 20 snatches with the 44 pretty easily. But 20x53 is still a pretty tough set.
[quote]ActivitiesGuy wrote:
Especially for non-specialists like Strongman, CrossFit (I honestly think there’s a lot more similarity between the two than difference; both rely on events that blend strength and conditioning for time, it’s just that CF is a bit closer to the “conditioning” end of the spectrum than Strongman), and kettlebell enthusiasts like myself.
[/quote]
I totally agree with what you said here. Lots to learn for everybody and I agree that strongman and crossfit are very closely related. In both contests you are asked to do some max effort strength stuff, some conditioning stuff and usually medleys of randomness thrown together
Six rounds plus a final set of 20 snatches. Not a ton of volume but a really good workout - I felt very strong and solid throughout and had a nice sweat going for the last few rounds.
Snatching the 44 feels very comfortable now, almost the way snatching a 30-35 did a few weeks ago.
Nothing crazy here. Just wanted to do a little fun work outside, as it’s a beautiful day.
I also got my bike out of the garage and gave it a little tuneup. With the winter over, I’ll start riding outside for both commuting and recreational purposes. Tomorrow, actually, is the Pittsburgh Marathon, and I’ll be joining 2 friends (from my running days) to ride the course on bicycles and cheer on our friends who are running.
