Ab Wheel PAIN

So today is my day off from working out. Tomorrow is my scheduled Heavy day for C&P and Swings. Good thing too because I woke up this morning to some really nice soreness throughout my entire upper body, thanks to the ab wheel.

It has been a while since I've rolled that's why I only did 2 sets of 6 yesterday. Doesn't sound like much, but when you're not used to doing them, wow. Don't get me wrong, it is a good soreness. My entire midsection feels like its been stretched out, worked over and put back in place. I can also feel it in my upper back and traps. Nice!

And again, since it's an Off Day for me, I was able to sleep in. I didn't get up until 5:50am today - wooo hooo !! But tomorrow is Saturday, that's the day that I really get to sleep in. My wife usually lets me sleep late on Sat mornings while she hangs with our one-year old. So don't be surprised if I tell you I slept till 8am. We'll see. Just glad today is Friday and the work week is coming to a close.

Fun stuff going on this weekend. Matterhorn Nursery is having their annual autumn family weekend. Wine tasting, hay rides and activities for the kids, Halloween decorations everywhere, should be fun. There's also some Octoberfest stuff going on on Sunday, food, beer, music. I just hope the beautiful weather holds out.

That's it for today, catch you later.

TGU in the Morning

Today is Variety Day and that means we get started with Turkish Get Ups. I have bad shoulders. Separated both at different points over the past 10 years or so. Have also sprained my neck which has never been the same. I've been in physical therapy several times for all injuries. Up until 2 weeks ago, I was waking up at night due to aching in my shoulder joints - something that happens when I start to neglect my rotator cuffs. Also a first sign of possible trouble. But oh, I do hate doing all of those rubber band exercises!

Well, since I've started this ETK routine and I believe particularly since I've started performing the TGU's, the shoulder joint pain has pretty much vanished!! I love it! That's why even though I could technically blow off Variety Day, I am now even more motivated to get to it.

Warmed up with 8kg, 2SW and Halos. Then 16kg for more Halos. (I remember trying these a while back and thought my shoulders were going to pop out of their sockets when I tried.) Then on to the short, but sweet, workout for the day...

16kg TGU for 5 min

8kg Pistols - 3/3, 3/3
BW Pullups - 3, 3

OAP -1/1, 1/1
Ab Wheels - 6, 6

I notice that the muscle in my upper left shin is VERY tight. It's throwing off my left side pistols. Not sure what exercise might be causing it. Just as I get to rock bottom position it causes a tendency for me to twist by body a bit, not good. I'll have to try to get some good stretching in on it. Not too long ago, I was doing these with the 16kg and 24kg bell, with very good form. This bothers me, I'm going to have to figure out this mystery.

That's it for today. Next workout is on Saturday. I wonder if I'll decide to sleep in tomorrow...

Wednesday - Moderate ETK

Usual warmup this morning with the 8kg, 2SW and Halos, then 16kg for more Halos.

Today's C&P consisted of 3 ladders, 2 rungs each, supersetted with BW Pullups.

16kg C&P - 1/2, 1/2, 1/2
BW Pullups - 1/2, 1/2, 1/2

Then rolled the dice and came up with 10 min for Swings.

16kg 2SW - 30
16kg 1SW - 10/10
- 10/10
- 10/10
- 10/10
- 10/10
- 10/10
150 swings in total, 5280 pounds

It's only Wed, and for me it already feels like I have accomplished everything for the week! Tomorrow is my Variety day which can be as intense as I feel. I will do at least the 5 min of TGU's, but the rest is up to me. Friday is my rest day, which means I can sleep a bit later if I feel. This is a pretty good feeling!! By the time Sat gets here, I will be fresh and looking forward to my Heavy day. Mmm, mmmm, good!

Tuesday - Variety

Warmed up with the 8kg as is becoming the norm. Did 2-hand swings (2SW) and Halos. Then bumped up to the 16kg for a few more Halos.

16kg TGU for 5 min

8kg Pistols - 3/3, 3/3

BW Pullups - 3, 3

OAP - 1/1, 1/1 (I'm not going all the way down on these yet, but getting closer)

8kg Hot Potato - 20, 20
16kg Hot Potato - 6 (static hold, not tossing)

October 1st - ETK Light Day

Welcome to October!! I am so looking forward to the Fall this year. This coming weekend is already planned the annual trip to the (massive) Garden Center when they have hayrides and wine tastings and all things autumn. And this year with my one-year old, autumn, the holidays, will all seem a little more special.

With that, I awoke early today for the official start of my Enter the Kettlebell (ETK) workouts. Today was a Light day.

Warmed up with 8kg for some 2SW and Halos. Next some Halos with 16kg.

C&P - 1, 1, 1
BW Pullups - 1, 1, 1

For first workout of first week, I only performed one rung on three ladders, with a ladder of BW Pullups in between.

Next, rolled the dice and came up with 9 minutes for Snatches. These were to be done at 50% intensity.

16kg SN - 5/5 x 7 sets

Performed 5 reps each side, for 7 sets. 70 snatches in total.

And that was it. Time to get ready for work and find out what the day holds for me. Oh yeah, supposed to be meeting a friend today for lunch. You don't want to know where... ok, you got it out of me... IHOP! I loves me some buttermilk pancakes!!

Saturday Swings

Now I've officially completed my first week on my new schedule with my 'new' routine. Since 'discovering' how to correctly clean the kettlebell a few days ago, I feel great performing the Clean & Press and continue to be excited about moving forward with these.

Started out today warming up with the 8kg. This was the kb we bought for my wife to use. I started out with the 16kg. I like the way it feels warming up with the smaller bell. I feels good, is less jarring particularly when your body isn't exactly awake yet and gets things moving nicely. I think I might be investing in a 12kg to give me something just a bit heavier, while still being lighter than the 16. So the warmup was about 40 2SW and some Halos. Then performed some Halos with the 16kg.

On to the WO:
16kg C&P - 1/1, 2/2, 3/3
Only performed one ladder today, still easing in to things.

16kg 2SW - 30
16kg 1SW - 20/20
20/20
15/15
10/10

BW Pullups - 3, 3

Left shoulder started feeling a bit tired at the end. I actually started another set of the 1SW, but didn't feel strong in the joint so I ended the workout there. But all in all, after this week, I feel GREAT!! And looking forward to starting again on Monday.

In the meantime, enjoy the weekend. We're expected a beautiful one here in NY. Around 70 degrees each day and sunny. Beautiful early fall weather!

Chalk This Up to Week One

Well I did it. Week one of early rising and getting in my kettlebell workouts has been accomplished! I actually thought this would be much harder than it was. But I think my excitement at being able to go through a full kb workout each day without interruption or emergent crises (during the work day) helped fuel my motivation and assisted me in getting out of bed each morning.

So four consecutive days are now under my belt. I had two Swing Days and two Variety Days. Tomorrow will be a day off and Saturday will be another Swing Day (and the Heavy Day of the week). This really feels good though. Getting this workout under my belt has also seemed to help me with my road rage in the mornings. Knowing that I have done what I need to do for me for the day, allows me to take my time getting into the office. No thinking about getting in early enough to justify my 'sneaking out' to the gym at lunch. The psychology of it all is amazing. My wife seems to enjoy it as well, as my early rising lets me empty the dishwasher for her before she even gets out of bed! hahah

So today was Variety Day, here's what I dished up:

Warmup with 8kg some swings and halos

16kg TGU for 5 minutes

16kg Tactical Lunge - 5/5, 5/5

8kg Pistols - 3/3

OAP - 1/1, 1/1, 1/1

Pullups - 5

8kg Hot Potato - 20, 20

Amazingly, I started out the week with a lot of pain in my rotator cuffs. Sleeping was a bit uncomfortable as I like to have an arm under the pillow while I sleep. But I noticed yesterday that the last few nights have been pain-free. Could one week of this type of workout make such a difference? I sure hope so. Let's see how it goes long-term. I think that's it for today. Next post over the weekend!