Better than expected
Sometime last week I said to myself that I wanted to have preplanned workouts rather than deciding on the spot as I tend to do. Yet, I’ve already broken that oath. None the less it went well
24K kettlebell
SOTS Press 10/10
2H swing 50
repeat
crunches 25
leg lifts 25
Plancks 3 X 20 count
16K 10 minute snatch test 200
The workout started with the question in my head of how many SOTS presses I could do with a 24K. I got to 10/10 and decided my form was breaking down enough it was time to do something else. I did the swings then did another round but slower.The abs were on the list on account of my desire to improve on the Newport workout. The snatches were a good closer to make me feel done. I kept the pace reasonably slow, sets of 10 were all I was doing. It was more about doing it than doing it fast.
Here we go again
Saturday, I didn’t train, just ran out of time.
This morning the dog got me up at 4 so at about 6 I did a workout
16K snatches 25/25
Pushup 10
Hindu Squat 25
did as a ladder circuit 25 (10), 20 (8), 15(6), 10 (4), 5 (1)
It was a nice morning workout and I occasionally had the motivation to do some thing later today but I wanted to catch some sleep to make up for the early wake up and I had plenty of stuff to do.
Lots of cooking today which was nice, Blueberry pancaked and bacon for breakfast. I attempted a recipe for blueberry muffins later in the morning. I followed it to the “T” which meant no sugar….there should have been sugar. Still they’ll make a nice something to munch on this week and they’ll just be that much lower cal. Then for lunch I did a new recipe for an “asian style” three bean salad. It was awesome. Finally Laura made beans and rice for dinner, also awesome. It was a really satisfying day.
Tomorrow the semester begins. I’m glad it’s finally here because I want to get it over with. Two more semesters and I’m all done with this school business for a long time. I can focus on what I ( and Laura) want to focus on for a while. Family, moving, cooking, gardening and training.
Oh, I ran into a guy I know from Dumbarton tonight. He’s and old bodybuilder, gotta be around 50, he looks great. I can’t help but assume he’s getting some help. He’s far more muscular than I’ve ever seen him and I’ve seen him train really hard. He looks healthy though. Not overly muscular, just the right balance. A really healthy look about him all around. It was neat to see him doing so well.
Follow up on note to self
Got it done
3:00 work followed by 2:00 rest
- 24K Clean and Jerk – Came up short of 25/25 but not by much
- 24K Goblet Squats – 50, that was tough, real tough
- Downward Dog -Dive Bomber-> Upward Dog – also real tough, I may, just may, have gotten 20
- 16K Snatch – got something like 25/25, 10/10, 5/0
- 16K Tactical Lunges – Lost count, not a lot, maybe 20/20 and some of them were real homely
- Planck – probably 60/40 work to rest ratio, not particularly good
- Barbell get up – Last minute addition I used my 2″ dumbell as the “barbell” it’s got enough room to hold it with both hands. It was loaded with a lowly 20lbs
- Pullover – another last minute addition, I was just kinda playing with these, I did them during the 2 minute rest period after the Barbell get ups. I didn’t count them, just did them for two minutes. I was on the floor so it wasn’t a full range of motion.
Time: 40:05
Max: 179
Avg: 152
After 5 minutes of rest: 107
Still cant get this foul contraption to upload the data as it’s supposed to I need to ask the Polar Tech support for help but I suspect that it’s that I’m running Vista as an OS that it won’t work.
Note to self
For a bit later:
3 minutes of work
2 minutes of rest
24K Clean and Jerk
24K Squat
Up Dog -> Down Dog
16K snatch
16K Lunge
Planck
How shall it go, we will see.
Pushed back a day
Sunday closed a bit hectic leaving Monday a bit full to make up for the trouble so I pushed my workout back to today. I did Art of Strength Newport. It’s rough. I had hopes of doing the whole thing with a 16K. I started off really strong but the program just wore away at me and my round seven I put the bell down to keep going. Round eight was just not happening, a mess of pushups. I didn’t feel like the muscles I needed to use were shot and I didn’t feel like it was a mental thing, I wanted to keep going. It was more along the lines of what I ahve heard termed energy systems. My body as a whole just couldn’t muster it’s arms to keep everything moving in the right direction.
I think I will set this program, through all 8 rounds plus the two bonus rounds as my target for this fall.
Saturday and Sunday
Saturday
24K kettlebell
Snatch 25/25
Floor Press 10/10
Flutter Kick 15/15
repeat doing 20/20, 10/10, 20/20
repeat again doing 15/15, 10/10, 15/15
I’m trying to improve my grip and wind for longer sets on snatch tests
In my mind I should have gone on but in truth I was sucking pretty bad, I didn’t think I did any of my snatch sets straight trough without shaking out my hands at least once.
Today – Kettlebell Snatchs. My best set was 3 minutes. See below:
What I’m Gonna do
I’ve got a week and a half until classes start so that time we be spent preparing myself for classes, trying to get my schedule set, making sure my ducks are in a row and so on. Other time will be spent tying up some loose ends. I’ve got a bunch of things I’d like to do in their own right but I’m just parking any major aspirations for now. Two semesters of school, then I’ll have free time.
The plan is to workout Monday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Tuesday and Thursday are class days and Friday is the big grocery day and the day I take off to do anything Laura can think of that she would like to do without worrying about time or whether I need to shower first. I’m not going to workout at school this semester (and presumably next). I decided that was just too many things too do and I tended to eat too much then which also entailed spending too much cause there was usually a trip toSubway involved. Instead I’m going to try and stop that habit by conserving a few calories on that day. I’ll use the time I was using to workout to work on class stuff, either homework or the online class. This means more free time at home some nights.
I will be working out mostly at home. I would anticipate a few tennis nights thrown in and even the occasional chrome and fern. 75% will probably be kettlebells and bodyweight though. I have two goals for the semester. Lose some pounds and work on my endurance. Examples of endurance that I’d use as markers are to complete the Freeport DVD, do a 24K 10 minute snatch test without setting the kettlebell on the ground and I ma work up a couple short circuits that I can use as a marker regarding my state as each round ends. Something like the workout I just posted an hour or two ago would work.
The other issue is mobility and flexibility. I used some yoga as a warm up tonight and had I not been lazy I should have cooled down with it. It’s just a few poses in sequence for ten of fifteen minutes, nothing special. I’ve got a few other tools in my toolbox the magnificent mobility DVD and Z-health come to mind. I’d like to start doingthe basic Z-health warmup at least once a day, three options come to mind.
- first thing in the morning
- as a break during the day
- 8pm, after walking the dog
My initial thought was 8pm but it just seemed backwards to do something that is called a “neural warm-up” at the end of my day when I need my nerves to cooldown. I would love to say I’ll do it first thing in the AM but I’ve learned time and again that with my current schedule, I’m not gonna get up earlier, I’m not gonna stick to anything I try to wedge into my current morning routine and I’m not gonna push back my drive time. It may seem like I’m being obstinate but I have reasons and I have experience on this. The during the day option seems ideal. I supposedly get two fifteen minute breaks and a 30 minute lunch per day but all I seem to do is get cups of tea or decaf coffee and eat lunch at my desk. I think I could feel ok about takeing ten or fifteen minutes for a neural warmup and maybe it could improve work performance, who knows. I’m not quite bold enough to just stand in my cubicle and start doing circles with my legs, arms and trunk, not cause I’ll be embarassed but because I get sick of explaining stuff, so I’ll take advantage of the office sized bathroom we have and go stand in there for ten minutes and wave my arms, legs and torso. People will just presume a really habitual bathroom schedule. 🙂
Last and probably least, I have considered picking up some of the additiona Z-health DVDs. I don’t get Z-health the level of magic I hear reported sometimes but it feels good and that’s an A+ in my book.
What I’ve just done
a little yoga to warm up
24K kettlebell Snatch 25/25
24K TGU 5/5
Mountain Climbers 25/25
Clap pushups (attempts anyway) 5
24K kettlebell row X 10
repeat
I did HR info with my monitor, tried to upload it but that was a huge bust.
duration 48:13
643 cal
Max HR 185
Avg HR 140
The second round of the circuit was rough, real rough and much slower.
The yoga to warm up was because for the last two or three days I have been aching to do some yoga, all the sitting I did yesterday in cars and on the plane was taking its toll, the day before I was in a car almost all day and there was a price too. I really should have done yoga a couple days ago and again last night. Not the whole 45 minute workout mind you. I did the first couple poses repeatedly just to get some mobility and movement, it felt good. I felt a heck of a lot better than the slighly over aggressive DVD I have.
Workout recover drink: half a class of cranberry pomegrante juice with half a glass of water to top it off. nummie. Then several classes of water after cause it’s crazy humid here.
Where I’ve been
MINNEAPOLIS – Whoo Hoo!
I haven’t been posting because I’ve been on vacation in fabulous Minneapolis. It was a good time. We rented a house just north of the university and it turns out we were in a great neighborhood. Tons of great restraunts within walking distance, some interesting sites as well and a park right across the street. I ate plenty and worked out little, one day only for fun. I haven’t weighed myself yet so I don’t know where I fall on that criteria but I’ll deal with it. It was fun.
stuff I’ve been up to
Preparing for some time away in the not too distant future, that’s good, very good.
Working up the stuff for the kettlebell juggling contest. I still have a lot to do. Everyone who sees it says it’s a great idea, we’ll see how many actually come and play. I’ve got three judges lined up and in the community they’re all at least recognizable names: Jeff Martone, Maureen Martone and Scott Bird. Strength folks really are nice folks. I forget that sometimes.
I’m spending some time taking advantage of the webpage to practice some skills that I’ve crudely shaped in the last few months at work and a chance to use some that I don’t get to use at work (because we have some really dumb sys admins).
Working the yoga angle. It’s good for me, I need the stretching and so forth. My shoulder mobility is utter crap, unfortunately theyoga I’ve been doing doesn’t seem too address this well. I should probably be doing Indian Club stuff but I haven’t made the time. For the yoga lovers out there, there is a pretty cool movie on netflix called Ashtanga, NY that is talking about a week long seminar lead by the current reigning guru. It’s neat.
We’ve played Tennis a couple times, I am so terribly rusty and I won’t get tuned up in time for classes to start. Ah, well.
Weighed in at 248.6 this morning. Tolerable considering I didn’t train at all this weekend and I was pretty loose with the food rules. At least now that I’m out of classes I hold steady on a bad week and drop on a good week.
Did 10 minutes of clean and jerk with the 32K bell this evening, only 80. It seems like 100 would be a servicable number. Did a few other things but nothing terribly important.
Tennis later
Anvil or Hammer 