2013 Kettlebell Lifting Update

So what's been going on? Well, lots.

Well as of late I have been once again bitten by the Kettlebell Lifting bug. I attribute it largely to the great group of people that I have been providing coaching to online. They are a very dedicated group. They like to have fun. And they share stories of their training and accomplishments with one another in a small private forum that I created on Facebook. Their accomplishments and enthusiasm have motivated me to jump back into the Kettlebell Lifting scene with both feet.

I have been training Long Cycle. I have started dedicating four days a week to lifting and have begun complimenting my lifting with additional (traditional) cardio work.

Yesterday was the first day that I attempted a Long Cycle set with the 24kg bells. I was able to complete a 4 minute set for 24 reps. It felt heavy, but I was able.

My plan is to compete next month at the IKSFA NY Open with the 16kg bells and achieve Rank I. The following month is the IUKL/AKA White Oak Open where I'll see how far my 24kg lifting has progressed.

Here is the vid of yesterday's lifting...

Upcoming World Kettlebell Club Fitness Trainer Certifications

Between now and the end of the year, I will be teaching two more WKC Kettlebell Trainer certification courses. This course is the prerequisite for anyone that wishes to attend the Coaching Certification with Valery Fedorenko.

The two venues are:


Saturday, November 13th @ Rhode Island Fitness & Martial Arts, Smithfield, RI


Saturday, December 4th @ The Claude Robillard Sports Center, Montreal, Canada


This course covers the single kettlebell foundational lifts - swing, clean, press, push press, jerk, snatch and half snatch. We also review the long cycle variations as well as the bottoms up variations. Everyone who attends will also receive a copy of the WKC's Fitness Protocol, which will also be reviewed and discussed in the course.

If anyone is interested in attending either of these dates or if you are interested in hosting a course yourself, please let me know.

Lifting Update

It's been a little while since my last update. Things are still moving forward and I'm loving it.

For the most part I am now concentrating on the Olympic lifts. I'm training them Mon-Wed-Fri. Weekdays in between I have not been doing much aside from recuperating. Weekends are spent running around with the kids, although I have recently picked up a 50' rope and have been playing a bit with it in the backyard ala Battling Ropes.

My OL training has been consisting of Cleans, from both the power position and from the floor, snatch pulls, jerks (from the rack) and back squats. I'm becoming technically more comfortable with these movements and have slowly been increasing the weight used.

I have been laying off the kettlebells during this time as my body is still getting used to the barbell work, but I hope to start introducing some lighter, longer sets again next week on my in-between days.

That's about it. Tonight I'll be visiting the Institute for Heavy Training. I'm looking forward to hitting it hard and getting the necessary refinements from my coach. Let's rock!

Easy Day before USAW Certification Weekend

I made sure today was an easy day as this weekend I will be attending the USA Weightlifting Sports Performance Coaching Certification. It will be two full days of Olympic weightlifting. So today's was meant to just keep the blood pumping.

Jump Rope: 5 rounds of 2 min on / 1 min off

Kettlebell Snatch: 24kg - 3 min @ 14 rpm, rest, 2 min @ 14 rpm

That's it and that's all.

Some of this and some of that

Mostly Olympic lifts today, with a bit of fun at the end...

Power Clean: 45/5, 65/3, 95/3, 115/1, 135/1

Power Snatch: 45/2, 65/3, 95/2, 115/NL

Power Jerk: 65/5, 85/5, 105/3

Front Squat: 95/5, 115/5, 135/5

Pistols (bodyweight): 5L/5R, 3L/3R

KB Swing: 24kg - 30/30

I'm tired.... =)

Biathlon Bells

Trained the bells today. I can see that my endurance has dropped a bit since I have started focusing on the Olympic lifts. It's ok, nothing that I couldn't pick back up with some focused bell training when the time comes. So I'll consider today's session a maintenance session.

Kettlebell Jerk: 2 x 24kg
4 minutes @ 8 rpm
1 minute @ 10 rpm
1 minute @ 12 rpm

Kettlebell Snatch: 24kg
3 minutes @ 14 rpm
2 minutes @ 16 rpm

That's it and that's all!

Jerks and Snatches and Jerks and Snatches

Today was the first time I've really tried to integrate both the Olympic lifts and my kettlebell lifts into one session. Needless to say, each was a bit shorter than I would have trained if it were only one or the other.

With the Olympic lifts, up till now the power cleans and power snatches have all been from above the knee. Today I started going below the knee on some of the reps.

Here's the play by play...

Power Clean: 45/5, 65/3, 95/5, 115/1, 115/1

Power Snatch: 45/5, 65/5, 80/3

Overhead Squat: 65/5, 75/2, 75/5

KB Jerk: 2 x 24kg - 3 minutes @ 8 rpm

KB Snatch: 24kg - 2 minutes @ 18 rpm

That's it and that's enough!

Eye Opener

Back to the gym today after a two day layoff. I played with the barbell and the kettlebells today.

I have to admit, I thought my wrists were in pretty good shape from training with the kettlebells, but after a few 'light' sets of the Olympic lifts with a barbell, my wrists were shot! I also need to start keeping better notes when I'm training these lifts. There's more activity now and I can't wait until the end to jot it all down like I can do with the kettlebells.

So what did today consist of?

Olympic Lifts
Power Clean - 45/5, 65/5, 95/5 (lbs/reps)

Power Snatch - 45/5, 65/3, 95/2

Push Press - 95/5, 65/5

Power Jerk - 65/5

Overhead Squat - 65/5, 65/5

Kettlebells
Long Cycle: 2 x 16kg - 6 minutes @ 6 rpm


I'm really looking forward to the USAW weekend. Right now, I'm training based on what I've read and what I've watched in video. I solid weekend of instruction will be a good thing. Only two weeks away.

Hook Grip 1 and Hook Grip 2

Today I started working in some Olympic lifting in conjunction with my kettlebells. I'm practicing with the bar at the moment as I let me body learn some new movement patterns. I have some flexibility issues with my wrists as well as the overhead snatch position, but I'm confident these will come quickly.

I like the way both the Olympic lifts have one hook grip while the kettlebells have another. And they are opposite of one another. To hold the barbell, the first and second finger overlap the thumb. To hold the kettlebell, the thumb overlaps the first finger. Cool stuff, no?

So this was today...

Front Squat: 5 5 5

Power Clean: 5 5

Overhead Squat: 5 5 5

Pressing Snatch Balance: 5 5 5

Power Snatch: 5 5

Kettlebell Snatch: 20kg - 6 minutes @ 12 rpm


Formal instruction on the Olympic lifts will be coming in three weeks. Until then I will be doing my best to get comfortable with moving a barbell again. I think I'm going to like this.

Happy Friday!

It's a beautiful Friday afternoon and training in a place where you can see the daylight and feel the air blowing is awesome! (I'm getting spoiled, ain't I?) Today I warmed up with some light barbell squatting - nothing serious, just an empty bar and then hit some bells.

Warmup: Empty Bar - Front Squat & Overhead Squat - 3 sets of 5 reps for each lift

Snatch: 24kg - 5 minutes @ 12 rpm

One Arm Jerk: 32kg - 4 minutes @ 10 rpm

That's it and that's all.

Training alongside the Fighters

So I've now begun to train my kettlebells in the local MMA. It's quite a change from the parking garage! First of all, there is actually air circulating and light to see. That alone is a big improvement. Today while I trained, there was a boxer working out next to me and a crew of jiu jitsu practitioners working on the mat. Having other dedicated individuals around you while training is definitely a great motivator. In a sense, it also makes me feel somewhat primitive, just pumping out reps while they engage in higher order activities. But we all do what we do, right? =)

So here's today's session...

Jerk: 2 x 24kg - 5 minutes @ 8 rpm

Jump Rope: 5 rounds of 2 minutes on / 1 minute off

Snatch: 24kg - 4 minutes @ 12 rpm

Even taking the jump rope 'break' didn't help much with the fatigue from the jerks. The first few snatches in particular were shaky. They firmed up but two minutes per side was it for today. All in all, a good training day!

Mix It Up Monday

I've decided to mix things up a bit. You know, keep it fresh. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not going to be straying far. I've built up a nice foundation with my lifting and am not looking to have it all go down the drain for the sake of variety. Here's today's fun...

Snatch: 20kg - 6 minutes @ 12 rpm

One Arm Jerk: 24kg - 6 minutes @ 12 rpm

Swing: 24kg - 25/25

Snatches felt good. I need to concentrate on not overdoing it with these. With the heat and humidity, my hands have been taking a bit of a beating. The heavier OAJs following were tough. After they were over, I looked at the bells again knowing that I wanted to swing and I got a sick feeling in my stomach. So I rested a bit more, then did what I could.

Jerks

Not too much happening lately.

On Wednesday I did some snatching and treadmill running.
Yesterday was a day off.

Today was training in a potential new location. A MMA gym opened up recently near the office so I hopped over there to train. Much better than the parking garage!! I'm going to try it out for a month, so we'll see how it works out.

Jerk: 2 x 24kg
5 minutes @ 7 rpm
1 minute @ 10 rpm
1 minute @ 10 rpm

Swing: 24kg - 25/25


Jerks went well although for some reason they felt heavy. The one minute sets were icing on the cake. I just wanted to squeeze in a few more sets are a quicker pace. I had intended to go 30/30 in the swings, but couldn't manage it today.

(My) Snatches Suck

Still struggling with grip issues. Maybe it's the high humidity that I've been training in, I'm not really sure. But I will be focusing a lot more on swings to try to help bring this aspect of my lifting up.

Snatch: 20kg - 6 minutes @ 12 rpm

One Arm Jerk: 32kg - 15/15

Swing: 28kg - 30/30

That's all for today.

Swings Suck

Had a good weekend. This made today's session not-so-good.

Jerk: 2 x 24kg - 5 minutes @ 7 rpm

Swing: 24kg - 30/30, 30/30


Jerks were pretty tough today. It was hot and the air was super heavy. Snatching would have been brutal. So I swung. This is the first time I've attempted two sets. They were brutal, but I got them done. How do I reward myself? Use the 28kg for the next session!

Weekly Update

I'm getting bad at keeping this up to date...

Tuesday:

Jerk: 2 x 24kg - 5 minutes @ 7 rpm

Snatch: 24kg - 4 minutes @ 12 rpm


Thursday:

Jerk: 2 x 24kg - 5 minutes @ 7 rpm

Snatch: 20kg - 5 minutes @ 14 rpm


Friday:

Snatch: 24kg - 5 minutes @ 12 rpm

One Arm Jerk: 24kg - 3 minutes @ 12 rpm

Jump Rope: 4 rounds of 2-1/2 min on / 1 min off


It's been a very busy week at work, so I am glad that I got in as much training as I did. On top of it, the heat and humidity have been off the charts. Not a pleasant environment to train in for any extended period of time. Hopefully, one of these weeks, things will let up a bit. In the meantime, keep moving as best as possible.

Monday!

My second attempt at Split Day Training was a success!

AM
Snatch: 20kg - 8 minutes @ 12 rpm

PM
Jerk: 2 x 24kg - 5 minutes @ 7 rpm

Swing: 24kg - 30/30

Jump Rope: 5 rounds of 2 min on / 1 min off

Feels good to be getting good sets of both jerk and snatch in again!

Split Routine

Sorry, have been a bit negligent in keeping up with my posting. I'm not going to try to catch up with what's past but start fresh with today.

Today I experimented with a split routine. It worked well and am going to try to keep it up. Not sure how easy that will be. It went like this...

AM
Snatch: 20kg - 6 minutes @ 12 rpm

PM
Jerk: 2 x 20kg - 5 minutes @ 8 rpm

Swing: 24kg - 30/30

Jump Rope: 5 rounds of 2 min on / 1 min off

Since this was my first day I went easy on myself. The super heat and humidity was also a factor. It's really brutal training when it's this hot and damp. But we must try, mustn't we?!!

Catch Up

Haven't posted in a little while, but have been busy training. Let's see if I can catch you up...

Thursday, June 24th
Jerk: 2 x 24kg - 5 minutes @ 8 rpm
Jump Rope: 5 rounds, 2 min on/1 min off
Snatch: 24kg - 2 minutes @ 12 rpm

Friday, June 25th
Snatch: 20kg - 8 minutes @ 12 rpm
Jerk: 2 x 24kg - 4 minutes @ 6 rpm
One Arm Jerk: 24kg - 4 minutes @ 12 rpm

Monday, June 28th
Snatch: 20kg - 8 minutes @ 12 rpm
Jerk: 2 x 24kg - 3 minutes @ 6 rpm
One Arm Jerk: 32kg - 8/8

Tuesday, June 29th
Snatch: 20kg - 8 minutes @ 12 rpm
One Arm Jerk: 28kg - 6 minutes @ 6 rpm
Treadmill: 20 minutes, 1.5 miles

Whew! That's about it. All caught up now!!

Snatchcentricity

Today's training was focused on snatches. Thus it was a snatch-centric day. My snatches have been lagging my jerks and I need to start devoting some more time to them. Here's how I attacked the snatch today...

Snatch: 20kg - 8 minutes @ 12 rpm

One Arm Jerk: 32kg - 4 minutes (2 mph) @ 6 rpm (12/12)

Swing: 20kg - 30/30

This might not look like much, but completing this in a relatively short time frame, I was exhausted - in a good way!