Tactical Strength Challenge
Things went pretty well. Not super but well.
Deadlift
475 – I got some good advice after this one. I need to focus on a point on the ceiling, my head shales and I tend to look down.
495 – still feeling things out
520 bomb – I got greedy. I should have gone for 510 or maybe 515 but I starting thinking PR and got greedy. So I didn’t get a 500+ on the books, ah well.
As a group the pulls came in from the mid 400s to the low 600s. The lightest and littlest guy pulled the most.
Pullup – 1
Only got one, kinda lame. I did a chin touch on two which was not counted (and rightly so). Yes that is pathetic and yes I will work on it. Pretty muc everyone else was in the teens.
5 minute snatch test (24K kettlebell) – 104
I’m pretty happy with this. I said I would do 100 and I did with change. I kinda pushed the puke barrier a bit which is good for me. The real break through came at the very last minute when I decdided to do 20 per hand on the first set. That got a lot of reps out of the way fast.
So like I said, I’m pretty happy with this outcome. I need to work on my pullups, obviously. I’d like to compete in the Elite division next time. You use a 32K kettlebell and you have to do pullups with 22 lbs around your waste. The latter being my only issue.
I’m also really thinking about a 32K kettlebell. I just hate to drop $150- $200 on a weight.
Anvil or Hammer 
on March 3, 2007 on 8:44 pm
Not a bad result – especially with the snatches. Congrats.
How much of a break do you get between the deadlifting and the pullups? I imagine that a few deadlifts of around 500lb would knock you around a bit. I’m also curious about the ‘looking down’. Depending on your lifting style, this doesn’t sound like a bad thing to me. I guess it depends whether it was simply your eyes, or your head pointing down.
With the 32kg bell purchase, you can do a lot of exercises with two bells together (in the same hand) – especially if you have fairly large hands. I noticed that in the last MoS newsletter, Anthony was doing a bent press using two bells in the video.
on March 3, 2007 on 11:55 pm
Thanks Scott. The break was decent. I think we took 15 to 20 minutes from the last deadlift to the first pull up not to mention that the guy who went first on the did lifts did so on the pull ups. Most the guys hit low double digits which seems respectable to me. I can’t possibly blame the deadlifts for my poor pull up performance. I’m bad at them. I have always neglected them to some degree and when I have trained them it has done little good. I think I have just been impatient. You;re quit the pullup meister, I’d take any tips. I’d like to hit 10 by a year from now.
The 32k bell is something I have debated for a long time. Those things are expensive. $200 all told. I basically get a 32K kettlebell or a nintendo Wii. There is a lot of fun I could hav doing some of the sports games on a Wii, I have been hearing a lot of weight loss reports on those. i have access to a 32K kettlebell when I visit the university on Tuesdays but it would be nice to have at home. I just have to convince myself to part with the cash.
The double kettlebell lifts (both in the same hand) seem to be gaining popularity, I’ve seen Dan do them too. It seem like a good way to progess in weight without breaking the bank on bells. I’m not much of one for strength routines with kettlebells though.
on March 4, 2007 on 6:28 am
10 pull-ups in 12 months sounds quite achievable. I’d actually be aiming a little higher than that, but it’s certainly not a bad start 🙂
How many pull-ups can you do at the start of a workout? Do you do negatives at all (just using a chair or something to get to the top position, and slowly lowering yourself)?
The basic idea (mine, anyway) to increase the numbers seems to be training low-rep sets (say triples), and gradually shortening the rest breaks, increasing the weight and increasing the number of sets. The timeframe really depends on your starting point, and what other training you’re doing.
$200 is a lot for a kettlebell, but it’ll last a lifetime. Still, a Wii is extremely tempting – I’m not really into video games, but i’ve been giving that one second glances. The answer – convince Dan to buy the kettlebell, use it frequently and buy a Wii 🙂
on March 4, 2007 on 8:59 am
Great numbers on the deadlift and snatches.
I have yet to see a Wii available for sale at retail price online or at a store, so I’d go with the KB. Maybe you can get a less expensive option than the dragon door ones? Mike Mahler endorses these lifeline kettlebells:
https://www.lifeline-usa.com/products.cfm?cd=361&categoryid=4&productid=129
$125 for the 32k delivered.
on March 4, 2007 on 10:36 am
$125 is the cheapest I’ve seen. I may go with that one. Dan’s got a couple of this weight I just don’t get over there very often.
I don’t really understand the new marketing where they pimp something for a year but never have any to offer. Seems selfdestructive. I assumed they had gotten past that point by now, guess not. I’d like to get a little of the Wii track and field and tennis action on.
As far my pull ups, I can do two on a really good day. In an effort to get some more, I have been trying to hit 5 – 10 singles whenever I go to the gym although I haven’t been as religious about that as I should be. I’ve tried to do some negative but I seem to have almost 0 control when I do those, I move slowly away from the bar for about 6 inches and then I pretty much just fall.
on March 5, 2007 on 8:33 pm
Strong pull, you should be proud of those weights. Some good practice on pullups will help you out, I enjoy the ladder method which seems to work well. Good job.
on March 5, 2007 on 8:43 pm
Thanks Jason. Other than the pullups, I was and I’ve already started working on those.