Warm up: 3 rounds of: 5 prying 16 kg KB goblet squats with three curls at bottom position, 5 16 kg KB halos, and 5 bridges with three second holds.
Workout:
100 1-arm KB swings with 28 kg bell. (5x10e)
28 kg get ups, 5x1e arm.
Extra work
OHP: 5 x 8 @ 105 lbs
SS with ring rows, 5x10
Total time = ~47 min, including the warm up.
Notes:. Just as I was thinking “Gee, these get ups sure have gotten easier”, I almost failed on my last one. A reminder to stay focused and not take reps for granted. This is the first day I have done 100 1-arm swings and 10 get ups with the heavier bell of 28 kg (62 lbs). Slowly will work toward the timed test with this week, but for now not worrying about time and resting as needed between sets.
Warm up: 3 rounds of: 5 prying 16 kg KB goblet squats with three curls at bottom position, 5 16 kg KB halos, and 5 bridges with three second holds.
KB practice
100 1-arm KB swings with 28 kg bell. (5x10e arm)
28 kg get ups, 5x1e arm.
Extra work
Bench Press in sets of 10: 95 lbs 135 lbs, 185 lbs, 225 lbs
30 dead hang pull ups interspersed between sets.
Total time = ~45 min.
Notes: Still looking for the balance of the right amount of “extra” work to keep my upper body strength. This worked well. The BP set up is from Dan John’s Minimalist program, where you start light and keep making big jumps until your fourth set is about your 10 rep max. I could have grinded out a couple more, but wanted to end strong.
Also, I’ve been trying some new techniques with pull ups. Rather than just going for volume, I am trying to keep the reps lower but return to a dead hang after each rep, and get my neck to the bar (or rings).
Warm up: 3 rounds of: 5 prying 16 kg KB goblet squats with three curls at bottom position, 5 16 kg KB halos, and 5 bridges with three second holds.
KB practice
100 2-arm KB swings with 28 kg bell. (10x10e arm)
16 kg get ups, 5x1e arm.
Extra work
1-2-3 Clean and press with 28 KG bell, each arm. Match with that number of dead hang pull ups. 3 rounds
Total time = ~35 min.
Notes: Was going to do a “challenge” today, like a mile run for time or something, but didn’t sleep as well as I’d have liked so did this instead. Kept the get ups light so I could handle the clean and press. The press part is not easy for me as the reps progress, equating to ~62 lb one arm shoulder press. Doable, but challenging.
Notes: It’s funny because I thought I’d be chomping at the bit to skip a KB day, but I actually had to really motivate myself to get to the track. It was a nice change, and I felt good. Probably the most normal my foot has felt since the injury.
Warm up: 3 rounds of: 5 prying 16 kg KB goblet squats with three curls at bottom position, 5-each-direction KB halos, and 5 bridges with three second holds.
KB practice
100 1-arm KB swings with 28 kg bell. (5x10e arm)
28 kg get ups, 5x1e arm.
Notes: Despite taking yesterday off, today’s workout was a bit tougher than usual. I wonder if I am falling in the trap of “adding too much stuff” to the program. I’ll see how I feel the rest of the week, and adjust next week if needed.
Warm up: 3 rounds of: 5 prying 16 kg KB goblet squats with three curls at bottom position, 5 16 kg KB halos, and 5 bridges with three second holds.
KB practice
100 2-arm KB swings with 28 kg bell. (10x10e arm)
28 kg get ups, 5x1e arm.
Extra work
2, 4, 6, 8, 10 1-arm presses with 16 KG KB. Match on second arm without putting bell down. Light, but really burns by the end.
2x8 KB rows with 28 KG bell
Total time = ~50 min.
Notes: I’m proctoring an exam on zoom, so I turned off my camera and did this in my living room. An advantage of KB workouts. A bit more leisurely of a pace due to checking in on the class, but also no real need to rush.
My new bells are coming today: a 36 KG and 22 KG bell. I won’t use them until Christmas since they’re my present. Looking forward to seeing just how much heavier the 36 KG bell feels compared to the 28 I’ve been using. While I be able to get a turkish get up right away? I don’t know. The 22 KG bell will fill a gap for snatches, presses, and lighter get ups and swings.
Warm up: 3 rounds of: 5 prying 16 kg KB goblet squats with three curls at bottom position, 5-each-direction KB halos, and 5 bridges with three second holds.
KB practice
100 1-arm KB swings with 28 kg bell. (5x10e arm)
28 kg get ups, 5x1e arm.
Time ~32 min.
No extra work during workout. I’ve been doing a bit of “grease the groove” or whatever term you use for sporadic quick sets of push ups and pull ups. Keeping the reps low (like 4x4, taking only 2-3 minutes) just to break up the sitting during the day.
I was getting a bit over-confident with the get ups, thinking it was getting pretty light and easy. But occasionally I’ll have an ugly rep while I flail to get into the first position (bell overhead, and roll to my elbow). I even had to reset a rep because I titled the bell to far to one side and nearly lost it.
I’m thinking of finishing this week (Sunday is the end of my “week”) and taking next week as a chance to do something different. I haven’t decided what exactly, though, but something to give myself a mental break.
Warm up: 3 rounds of: 5 prying 16 kg KB goblet squats with three curls at bottom position, 5-each-direction KB halos, and 5 bridges with three second holds.
Barbell work
3x5 OHP with 115 lbs
SS with 3x5 weighted pull ups (+25 lbs)
KB practice
100 1-arm KB swings with 28 kg bell. (5x10e arm)
28 kg get ups, 5x1e arm.
Time ~48 min.
Notes: I got a copy of Tactical Barbell, which has programs designed for those doing other training or conditioning programs. I was a bit disappointed in that it’s essentially a barebones 531 program with lots of leeway. That said, I’m giving it a try. They recommend choosing clusters of exercises (bench press, squat, weighted pull ups, and deadlift are the basics, but youo can also choose others if you’d rather). The idea is to keep/build base strength while leaving plenty of energy and time for other athletic endeavors.
Preface: I’ll be winding this log down at the end of the year, and starting (who knows how long) a program built around Tactical Barbell and Kettlebells. I’m starting some of the workouts now, but will start another log at the New Year since my nerve injury is no longer hindering me.
Warm up: 5 minutes Airdyne, 3 rounds of: 5 prying 16 kg KB goblet squats with three curls at bottom position, 5-each-direction KB halos, and 5 bridges with three second holds.
2 KB get ups with 8 then 16 KG bells.
Workout:
Tactical barbell session choosing SQ, BP, and weighted pull ups.
3x5 SQ @ 227.5 lbs
4x5 BP @ 207.5 lbs
4x5 WPUs on rings with +25 lbs
Kettlebell work immediately after: 100 swings (10x10) with 28KG bell.
Warm up: 3 rounds of: 5 prying 16 kg KB goblet squats with three curls at bottom position, 5 16 kg KB halos, and 5 bridges with three second holds.
Workout
With a 28 KG bell, repeat 5 times:
10 KB swings Left, 10 KB swings right, 50 yard sprint
10 KB gets (5x1e arm) with 28 KG bell
Notes:. Did this one at the local track. The swings and get ups are getting easier with the 28 KG bell, so I’m looking forward to adding the 36 KG bell into the mix.
Strength/Endurance:
Do the two exercises, then rest 1 minute and move to next pair. Do three rounds of the six exercises, with 2 min rest between the rounds. Everything done in sets of 10:
OHP 95 lbs / ring pull ups
28 KG KB swings / HLR
28 KG goblet squats / SLDL with same bell
Total time = 47 min
Notes:. There seems to be a lot of leeway with this programming, so hopefully this one is okay. The maximal strength work is over pretty quick (~20 min) and has lots of dead time with 2 min between all sets, so felt like the S/E session was needed. This was pretty fun, and seemed to cover all the bases.
I stick with 70% for the first week, so the strength portion will be the same next workout and I’ll change up the S/E work.
Warm up: 3 rounds of: 5 prying 16 kg KB goblet squats with three curls at bottom position, 5-each-direction KB halos, and 5 bridges with three second holds.
KB practice
100 1-arm KB swings with 28 kg bell. (5x10e arm)
28 kg get ups, 5x1e arm.
Time ~32 min.
Keeping it simple with just the basic KB work today. I’m quite sore from my return to barbell training this week, and I have another session of that tomorrow so I’ll save myself for that.
So, today I did the Simple timed challenge from Simple and Sinister (by Pavel). I used the 28 KG bell, the heaviest I currently have. Completed it without too much of a problem. I could feel fatigue in my grip and lower back on the swings, but nothing too brutal.
The challenge:
100 1-arm KB swings hard-style (explosive, up to chest) in 5 minutes. Done 10R, 10L, etc… to get to 100 total swings (50 each arm). Started each set at the 30 sec mark, leaving about 12 seconds of rest between them.
Take a 1 minute break.
10 KB get ups in 10 minutes. Using the 28 KG bell, do 5 on the left, 5 on the right (alternating like the swings). This is actually much easier to do against the clock, and I could have done it much faster if needed, but the idea is to be consistent and controlled.
Extra work: 5x5 OHP with 115 lbs, SS with 5x10 rings pull ups
Notes: I am planning on setting aside the dedicated KB practice after today, and instead use KBs as part of the conditioning work in Tactical Barbell. My plan is to start that on Tuesday after taking Monday as my day of rest. Also, I plan to drop this log and start another. This will coincide with the TN challenge, and also will mark the end of my “healing” and back to normalcy (fingers crossed) and more structured training.