Saturday, March 8, 2008

Saturday Makeup Session















Here's a glimpse of what my workout area looks like. See that black mat on the floor? That's my area. I perform all my current movements right on that mat. One doesn't need a lot of space to get an awesome workout with kettlebells! There's an elliptical machine there on the right which has been collecting dust for about a year now. Who needs boring cardio when you can swing kettlebells??!!

On the workout bench you can see some of my daily tools. Polar heart rate monitor, Gymboss timer, small notebook to log in all my sessions with kb size, sets and reps, Super Joints to get me moving on rusty days and a copy of Brett Jones' article on how to prepare for the RKC Cert. On the floor a few small dumbbells that I'm currently using to strengthen my forearms/elbows along with my 'hammer' - the one side weighted dumbbell also used for the forearms. And of course my cement blocks that I'm using for pushups and L sits these days. You can also just barely make out the ab wheel (yellow) jutting out from behind the front of the elliptical. I need to start using that regularly again. So many toys, so little time!

Anyway, here's today's session, a makeup since I missed yesterday.

Getups: 20kg - 5/5 (this might have been 6/6 as I lost count somewhere along the way)

1-Legged Deadlift: 32kg - 3/3

1-Legged Row: 16kg - 5/5

Tactical Lunge: 16kg - 5/5

I felt like a little experimentation with these, just for fun.

1-Hand Swings: 32kg - 5/5, 8/8, 5/5 for 4 more sets (6 sets in total)

These 1-handed swings felt really good today! My grip felt strong up until the very last set (which is why I stopped when I did). I focused on solid form the whole way through. Brought the bell up to chest level. I was very surprised at how good these felt. So that's all for today. More on Monday. Have a great weekend.

7 comments:

Aaron Friday said...

Are you always neat with your workout space, or did you spruce it up for the picture? I see your taiji sword there up on the shelf. I've got one of those somewhere, too.

Excellent job swinging that 2-pood.

Howie B said...

I'm pretty neat. I did remove the pair of workout pants that I had hanging off of the elliptical machine for the pic though. And yes, my taiji sword made it into the pic. Too bad I never finished learning that Yang style sword form...

Franklin said...

I have to agree with Aaron here .. your workspace photo could appear on the cover of Architectural Digest! Seriously its very cool!

Your TGU work is very impressive .. these recently have come back to workouts .. they kick butt!

Yes, real nice job with heavy swinging. Keep it up and over time I bet that 24kb bell will soon feel like the 16kg one.

Taikei Matsushita said...

Man, I don't even think about lining up kettlebells into a single file.

Howie, speaking of RKC, bring a back pack to certification field. A size just enough for water bottle(they provide RKC bottle) and a file of documents. For other belongings, they will notify.

Along, get used to carry three kettlebells and walk for 100 yards. Trust me on this one.

Howie B said...

Taikei, the bells are usually lined up except that the 24kg and 32kg are usually sitting at the corners of my mat, since they are now used most often.

I'll be sure to bring a backpack. And thanks for the tip about carrying kbs. Now that its getting warmer outside, I had planned to start doing some Overhead and Farmers Walks in addition to my current training. Spring can't get here soon enough!

Take One Stripper Pole said...

Love your space! Can I ask what brand bells you use? Also pretty interesting info from Taikei. Can't wait to hear about your adventure in August!

Howie B said...

Thanks TOSP. I've gotten my kb's from Perform Better. Their link is on my page. I think they are pretty good kb's if you're a beginner and you don't want to make too great an investment. Here in NY, they were also the most economical in terms of shipping costs. Not sure if that would apply out in CA. For future purposes, I will most probably be ordering from Dragon Door, as I've now started noticing some imperfections in the bells, such as the handle being slightly off center.