In an untimed match this morning, between Howie and the 24kg kettlebell, by unanimous decision, we have a new volume PR for 1-Handed Swings at 11,722 lbs!! [The crowd is on their feet. The applause is deafening. The arena is shaking. Howie steps up to the mic...] "Uh... thank you. I couldn't have done it without each one of you out there. And I'd like to thank my opponent, the 24kg kb." [Howie bows out and disappears into the sea of fans.]
Yeap, that was pretty much how it went down this morning. [Cough, cough] OK, maybe not exactly like that. Let's think back...
2-Hand Swings: 16kg - 30, 24kg - 10
Windmill: 24kg - 5/5
1-Hand Swings: 24kg "Pyramid Style"
5/5
6/6
7/7
8/8
9/9
10/10
11/11
10/10
9/9
8/8
7/7
6/6
5/5
4/4
3/3
2/2
1/1
For a total of 222 swings equalling 11,722 lbs!
And here I wasn't even going to get up this morning!! I was a bit tired from yesterday. But I wanted to get back onto my regular schedule so that Friday can be 32kg swings before the weekend. So I dragged my butt up and never would have imagined I would have/could have put up those numbers this morning. But I did! Excellent!!
So Friday is 32kg swing day. So far, things are looking good to attend Steve Freides' workshop on Sunday. Following that, I think next week is going to be a taper week. Last one of those was right after Christmas. Of course I have been sick pretty much since then and probably not training at max capacity, but it has been a while, so I think I'm due. Plus, with these new PRs the last few days, it's either step back or fall off the cliff (props to Rif on that one).
That's it for today. Swing 'em high!
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12 comments:
nice work man. its always those days that you dont want to train that you have great ones. the days you are totally rested and ready to go never quite work out that way.ladders rock. do LOTS of swings in prep for the cert my man.
oh yeah, and prep for the numbers above your weight class for the snatch test.
Nice PR, Howie. You can drop the 16kg from your swings now. Warmup is two hands with the 24, and even that will go by the wayside before long.
Thanks guys. In the short term I will be focusing on lots of swings while I give the elbows some rest.
And funny you should mention the 16kg Aaron, because lately as I pick it up, I have to double check that it's not the 12kg. It is starting to feel rather small in my hands. But then again, at 5am the body is still a bit creaky. I guess I'll save them for future VO2Max sessions.
Congratulations on the new PR!
Your training regimen is very nicely structured and the results are bearing it out. Keep this up and I'm sure the cert will be very challenging yet doable.
About 2 weeks ago as a tool to help me train my will per Rif's blog, I started logging every workout and everything I consume including on rest days. Seeing it in black and white has had a unexpected effect on me. The results have been very positive, especially with nutrition and diet, that today I finally had the courage to take a first step towards creating a training blog by making my dragondoor training log public on the forum (user: Herma48852).
It has gradually morphed into more of a diary and in particular is grossly verbose ... still feeling my way around with this type of tool.
And finally, your encouragement and support is so greatly appreciated ... this is the 1st time I have been injury free in training for so long (3 weeks I'm embarrassed to admit).
Good going Franklin! I'm going to go look for your training log. Writing things down definitely helps one be more objective about things. And being strong enough to share them with people, is a great step. It is definitely an example of self confidence in yourself and that which you do. I've found that by blogging and sharing with others of similar goals and ideals has been nothing but a great experience. It helps keep me motivated and focused. Surround yourself with like minded, positive people and you'll be on your way to positive changes. Don't worry about being too verbose. I don't. I'm not sure people want to hear all that I ramble on about, but hey, that's just me. I'm thinking of taking tomorrow morning off and moving my usual Fri workout to Sat, just to get a little extra needed sleep. So keep watching. Next workout will be with the 32kg and I'll see if my 1-hand swings have improved.
Franklin, can't see you listed in the Training Logs section of Dragon Door.
Sorry Howie, I had erred. It should now be working. Go the DragonDoor's Kettlebells, S&C Forum and do a user search for:
Herma48852
From there just click on my found user name and you can then select the training log. Let me know if there is still a problem.
I found you there Franklin. Keep up the good work. Your consistency seems to be paying off. I would definitely suggest you get some more protein into your diet. You're definitely eating healthy, but seems mostly carb-based. I liked when I saw the whey and salmon, but not enough on a regular basis. I drink a whey protein shake every morning. In the winter now I combine it with kefir. For whey powder, I use Solgar's Whey To Go. No artificial sweeteners and the chocolate tastes great.
Hey, thanks for taking a the time to look at my training log .. the great feedback is really appreciated!
I agree I need to up the protein. I almost depend exclusively on the yellow moong dal beans in the kitchari .. it has a high protein content for a bean but nothing like a piece of salmon or whey protein shake.
Thanks for the pointer about Solgar Whey products. When I ordered Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Protein Gold Standard it was marketed as having no Sucrolose or added sugars. I was very annoyed to discover it when it arrived it contained a different chemical sweetener called Acesulfame Potassium that I had never heard of.
Following your recommendation, I am going to switch to the Solgar product .. I don't want to ingest anymore artificial crap. I am also very intrigued about kefir and want to try it. Please recommend how to make or where to purchase it .. thanks!
We switched to Whey To Go when my wife was pregnant. We didn't want anything artificial included. It is also lower in cholesterol than most other powders, about 10mg per serving versus the typical 30mg.
I pick up kefir either in a local health food store or the Stop & Shop supermarket chain.
If you have a Mrs Greens up by you, you can probably get both there. They actually carry the whey at a lower price than Vitamin Shop.
Hey Franklin, (I don't know how else to reach you, so hoping you're still reading this thread). Didn't mean to mislead you on the Solgar Whey To Go, it is sweetened with fructose. Not a lot relative to the protein, but there is some sugar in it. I prefer to have some sugar rather than anything artificial. With regard to Stevia, it leaves an after taste in my mouth, so even though it's 'natural' I don't personally stay away.
Something else came to mind as well. I haven't seen anyone performing swings while going up on the toes. Not sure if that's such a good idea. All I've read and seen, you would want to stay rooted and flat footed while performing these. There are better ways of teaching the hips to activate. Also not sure if your knees are still bothering you... might be caused by the hindu squats you were doing, assuming you are performing them on the balls of your feet. Also my want to switch to flat footed body weight, rock bottom squats. Just a thought.
No problem .. I had "email follow-up comments" enabled and got new comment .. again your valuable feedback is much appreciated!
Also, I'm in agreement that its better to just have a little fructose in a whey protein powder than anything artificial. I made some calls around and one Natural food store claims to carry a chocolate whey powder with no sweeteners of any kind .. they also carry the kefir.
As far as your concern about about picking up my toes during swings, I currently only do this for one or two reps in a set or so to make help make me focus back on my pushing off my heels. You are correct in advocating avoiding doing all my reps that way.
Hey, my knees are feeling great! I have cut back on Hindu squats but still do them. For some reason they are much more comfortable than BW front squats which bother my lower back if I don't do them extremely carefully. On the other hand the Prisoner Lunges seem to be really easy on all the joints. I'll be monitoring any side effects with these as well.
BTW, if it wasn't a 4 hour drive in the winter, I would drive down and participate in Steve Freides ' YMCA KB workshops. The spring looks much more promising. And yow! Steve is a mutant ... check out his suspended split photos at his website.
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