Which of these is NOT like the others?

LOL.

I took and passed my HKC.  I was not the most well conditioned athlete.  But I was VERY strong on technique.  Everyone else was young, smiley, stylish, and a professional trainer with one other exception.  I, however, was the ONLY one using the rack with the heavy bells. 

God bless Andrea for getting me ready!

February 2015 (Month 87)

February 3 - Swings, 32 kg; 5 x 10/10 and TGUs, 32 kg; 5 x 1/1
February 6 - Swings, 32 kg; 5 x 10/10 and TGUs, 32 kg; 5 x 1/1
February 7 - Swings, 36 kg; 5 x 10/10
February 8 - Swings, 32 kg; 10 x 10/10
February 9 - Rowing; 20 minutes, 3,000 meters

January 21

Swings, 28 kg; 5 x 10/10 and TGUs, 28 kg; 5 x 1/1

Heart Graph App..five stars!

I did the swings at the top of the minute, waited a minute and continued with the get ups on the top of the minute, and after that I rested for three minutes before rowing 1,000 meters to cool down.

Test Day - January 17, 2015

Concept 2 Rower

I am probably not ready for this as the machine, it's controls, and the movement are new to me.  So this is really a baseline.

The test is a 2,000 meter test.
Flywheel Setting: 4
Time: 10:24
Max Watts: 274
Average Watts: 93
Average stroke / minute: 25-27

Heart Rate
Avg Heart Rate: 140
Max Heart Rate: 161
Max: 0:0 (?!)
Hard: 2:04
Moderate: 7:47

Dropping off the light and very light because of the fiddling I had to do.

This effort was telling...

I had to take a video to capture the average strokes and max watts...just shy of the two minute mark I can hear myself say "Oh, geez".

Let's just say I won't be sprinting into any burning apartment buildings and up three flights of stairs to save some stupid cat.  There is work to be done here.

Why the rower?  Because I am concerned about the weight I am carrying and my heart health.  It's a definite add to the programming.

Products:

Rogue Fitness: 5 stars.  Excellent delivery, packaging, and service.

Concept2 Rower: 4 stars.  Lots of plastic for the price and the flywheel catch is nine to twelve inches behind where it should be.  I'm missing a good portion of my stroke.

PM5: 2 stars.  I'm assuming PM stands for performance monitor. I also am assuming a good portion of the rower price was for this gadget.  They make a big deal about it in the sales information.  I like that it measures my workout in watts. But it failed to read my Bluetooth heart rate monitor.

Polar H7 heart rate monitor: 3 stars.  It does allow for a battery replacement by the user....a first after decades.  Too little too late.  It is over priced and has a single one size fits all strap.

Polar Beat App: 1 star.  I am supremely disappointed in the app which has fewer functions then some of the free apps out there.  The basic app is free...as any worthless app should be, but even the overpriced add ones are limited. One would think that the "industry leader" would be more sophisticated.

January 2015 (Month 88)

January 1 - Swings, 28 kg; 5 x 10/10 and TGUs, 28 kg; 5 x 1/1
January 3 - Swings, 32 kg; 5 x 10/10 and TGUs, 28 kg; 5 x 1/1
January 4 - Swings, 28 kg; 5 x 10/10 and TGUs, 28 kg; 5 x 1/1
January 14 - Swings, 28 kg; 5 x 10/10 and TGUs, 28 kg; 5 x 1/1
January 17 - Row test
January 21 - Swings, 28 kg; 5 x 10/10 and TGUs, 28 kg; 5 x 1/1
January 25 - Swings, 28 kg; 5 x 10/10 and TGUs, 28 kg; 5 x 1/1
January 26 - Rower; 20 minutes easy
January 27 - Swings, 28 kg; 5 x 10/10 and TGUs, 28 kg; 5 x 1/1
January 28 - Rower; 20 minutes easy (Gave blood today.)
January 31 - Row; 30 minutes, 3,709 meters, avg 24 watts, mean heart rate - 103

December 2014 (Month 89)

December 1 - Swings, 28 kg; 5 x 10/10 and TGUs, 28 kg; 5 x 1/1

The TGU's were done in 10 minutes, so I earned that promotion.

December 4 - Swings, 32 kg; 5 x 10/10 and TGUs, 32 kg; 5 x 1/1

December 5 - Swings, 32 kg; 5 x 10/10 and TGUs, 32 kg; 5 x 1/1

December 7 - Swings, 32 kg; 5 x 10/10 and TGUs, 32 kg; 5 x 1/1

December 24 - Swings, 24 kg; 5 x 10/10 and TGUs, 24 kg; 5 x 1/1

In The Moment

Num

I am a dreamer.  I still have my whole life ahead of me...or so I think.  Often.   So much I want to try. So much I want to do.  I am captivated by beautiful things.  So shiny.  I am enthralled by people who live life passionately.

This video of Danny Macaskill amazed me.  He is a genius...and I wanted to do that too.

Uffda!

It is so exciting.  I am not.  

This week I read an article over at T-nation: Lessons of Peyton Manning.  It highlights the concept that focusing on the end result you hope to accomplish takes away from what you need to focus on today.

That is soo me...I wanna do this.  I wanna do that.  I want to win a Tactical Strength Challenge.  I want to press two beasts.  I want to hurry through my current program, hit my simple goals and leap frog to the sinister goals.

I could climb mountains, ski mountains, do a goruck selection, do trail riding...so many things.

But yesterday I had a revelation.  Guys that are good at those things are only good at those things.  Thats a lot of energy AND focus.  But what is important to me?  Helping my brother move his wife's stoopid effing treadmill.  Helping a friend crawl under his snowmobile while I hoist it up so he can fix the bugger.  And...farmer carry 100 lbs:

Yesterday I also set another Personal Best.  It stretched me a little.  But it was not me riding down a mountain, it's just me taking a small step.  Putting pennies in the strength bank for who knows what.  Not getting injured doing something stupid that is too far down the road.  It's just me.  Right here.  There's plenty of time for what's to come.  Mean while, I'm gonna stop and smell the bacon.

November 2014 (Month 90)

November 1 - Swings, 24 kg;  5 x 5/5/5/5 and TGUs, 20 kg x 2 x 1/1; 24 kg x 3 x 1/1
November 2 - Swings, 24 kg;  5 x 5/5/5/5
November 3 - Swings, 24 kg;  10 x 5/5 and TGUs, 24 kg x 5 x 1/1
November 4 - Swings, 24 kg;  5 x 5/5/5/5

November 6 - Swings, 24 kg;  5 x 5/5/5/5
November 7 - Swings, 24 kg;  10 x 5/5 and TGUs, 24 kg x 5 x 1/1
November 8 - Swings, 28 kg;  10 x 5/5 and TGUs, 28 kg; 5 x 1/1
November 9 - Swings, 28 kg;  10 x 5/5 and TGUs, 28 kg; 5 x 1/1
November 10 - Swings, 28 kg;  10 x 5/5 and TGUs, 28 kg; 5 x 1/1
November 11 - Swings, 28 kg;  10 x 5/5 and TGUs, 28 kg; 5 x 1/1
November 12 - Swings, 28 kg(4), 32 kg(1) x 5/5/5/5; and TGUs, 28 kg(4), 32 kg(1) x 1/1
November 13 - Swings, 28 kg(3), 32 kg(2) x 5/5/5/5; and TGUs, 28 kg(3), 32 kg(2) x 1/1

November 17 - Swings, 28 kg(3), 32 kg(2) x 5/5/5/5; and TGUs, 28 kg(3), 32 kg(2) x 1/1

November 20 - Swings, 32 kg; 10 x 5/5
November 21 - Swings, 32 kg; 10 x 5/5 and TGUs, 32 kg; 5 x 1/1
November 22 - Swings, 32 kg; 10 x 5/5 and TGUs, 32 kg; 5 x 1/1
November 23 - Swings, 32 kg; 5 x 10/10 and TGUs, 32 kg; 5 x 1/1
November 24 - Swings, 32 kg; 5 x 10/10 and TGUs, 32 kg; 5 x 1/1

November 26 - Swings, 32 kg; 5 x 10/10 and TGUs, 32 kg; 5 x 1/1

November 28 - Swings, 32 kg; 5 x 10/10 and TGUs, 32 kg; 5 x 1/1


November 29 - Swings, 36 kg; 5 x 10/10 and TGUs, 36 kg; 5 x 1/1
- Dang!  Just wanted to see if I could. Could I? Yes. Did I? Yes. Should I?  Probably not again for a little while.  This really tested my grip!

Leveled up three times this month, but these are far from "owned".  I need to spend some time at this level focusing on the details.  I guess they call that "practicing".

October 2014

Attempting to get back on track I am using Pavel's Simple and Sinister program.

Breaking in slowly I started with swings.  I used a grease the grove method - 20 swings every half our or so.  This is a great way to focus on the strength of the move as well as breaking out of the inertial rut I've been in.

October 7 - Swings, 20 kg;  4 x 10/10
October 8 - Swings, 20 kg;  5 x 5/5/5/5

October 10 - Swings, 20 kg;  4 x 5/5/5/5

October 16 - Swings, 20 kg;  4 x 5/5/5/5
October 17 - Swings, 20 kg;  5 x 5/5/5/5
October 18 - Swings, 20 kg;  5 x 5/5/5/5

October 21 - Swings, 24 kg;  5 x 5/5/5/5
October 22 - Swings, 24 kg;  4 x 5/5/5/5


October 25 - Swings, 24 kg;  5 x 5/5/5/5 and TGUs, 20 kg; 5 x 1/1
October 26 - Swings, 24 kg;  5 x 5/5/5/5 and TGUs, 20 kg; 5 x 1/1
October 27 - Swings, 24 kg;  5 x 5/5/5/5 and TGUs, 20 kg; 5 x 1/1
October 28 - Swings, 24 kg;  5 x 5/5/5/5

October 31 - Swings, 24 kg;  5 x 5/5/5/5 and TGUs, 20 kg; 5 x 1/1


Thirteen days of swings with the 20 kg or 24 kg for 1,220 reps.
Four days of Turkish Get Up's with the 20 kg bell for 40 total reps.
No test days this month.

Feeling Halloween

Kettlebell Sport Manifesto

Interesting .....

Kettlebell Sport Manifesto

Good luck Mr. Fedorenko.  I would like to see this an Olympic Sport as well.

July 7, 2014

One armed swings - 24kg, 5 x 5/5/5/5
TGU's - 24kg, 5 x 1/1
Clean & Press - 24kg/24kg, 3 x 3

Very Simple......



Ala ...Simple and Sinister

June 4, 2013

 Australian Pull-ups 3 x 7

Hanging Knee Raises 3 x 7
Clean and Presses - 28kg/28kg, 3 x 5
Front Squats - 28kg/28kg, 3 x 5
Bottoms up squat to presses 20kg, 3 x 3 x 1/1

 
Upped the bottoms up work.

June 2, 2113

Australian Pull-ups 3 x 7
Hanging Knee Raises 3 x 7
Presses - 28kg/28kg, 3 x 5
Front Squats - 28kg/28kg, 3 x 5
Bottoms up squat to presses 16kg, 3 x 3/3

May 28, 2013

Australian Pull-ups 3 x 5

Hanging Knee Raises 3 x 8

Presses - 28kg/28kg, 3 x 5

Front Squats - 28kg/28kg, 3 x 5

May 27, 2013

May 26 2013

Australian Pull-ups 3 x 5

Hanging Knee Raises 3 x 5

Presses - 28kg/28kg, 3 x 5

Front Squats - 28kg/28kg, 3 x 5

Bottoms up squat to presses 16kg, 2 x 3/3

May 23, 2013

Australian Pull-ups 3 x 5

Hanging Knee Raises 3 x 5

Presses - 28kg/28kg, 3 x 5

Front Squats - 28kg/28kg, 3 x 5

 

May 21, 2013

Presses - 24kg/24kg, 3 x 5

Front Squats - 24kg/24kg, 3 x 5

Hanging Knee Raises 3 x 5

Bottoms up squat to presses 16kg, 2 x 3/3

May 19, 2013

Swings 20kg; 10 x 20

Hanging knee raises 3 x 5

Pushups 3 x 5

May 7, 2013

Complex

Three rounds; 24kg/24kg, 24kg/24kg, 28kg/28kg

Swings – 5
Presses – 5
Front Squats – 5
Clean, Front Squat to Press – 5

For a total of 15 swings, 15 cleans, 30 presses, and 30 squats.

May 5, 2013

Complex

24kg; three rounds

Swings – 5

Presses – 5
Front Squats – 5
Front Squat to Press – 5

For a total of 15 swings, 30 presses, and 30 squats.

May 4, 2013

 

Complex

16kg, 20kg, 24kg, 24kg i.e. four sets

Swings – 5

Presses – 5
Front Squats – 5
Front Squat to Press – 5

For a total of 20 swings, 40 presses, and 40 squats. Done strength style vs ballistic style...still sweated up a storm

April 2013

April 19, 2013

Zercher Squats

145 lbs
5, 3, 2

TGU’s

16kg
3 x 3/3

Figured a workaround.

April 18, 2013

Zercher Squats
135 lbs
5, 3,

I have a cut on my left foot.  Trying the get ups pulled on the scab too tightly.

 April 16, 2013

Third day in a row.  I can tell that the Zercher’s are hitting the gut.

Zercher Squats

135 lbs

5, 3, 2

TGU’s

16kg
3 x 3/3

April 15, 2013

Bloody Nose.  You try lifting with a Kleenex shoved up one nostril.

Zercher Squats
125 lbs
5, 3, 2

TGU’s

16kg
3 x 3/3

April 14, 2013

Starting way at the bottom in a very easy fashion.  I feel so out of it.  Fatigued from hard work, stress, lack of good sleep, and poor diet.  The best way to dig myself deeper is to overdo it, so I’ll start in the hole.

Zercher Squats

115 lbs
5, 3, 2

TGU’s

16kg
3 x 3/3