E11 k-bells [#00042] Kettlebell Sport (LCC&J & Jump Squats)

We are into the last 3 days of training now so its getting down to the wire. At this point I am always a little nervous about doing too much, but also don't want to loose my feel so I am also aware that I need to do a little bit of work...

Kettlebell Sport

LCC&J @ 2x 24kg's

-4 mins @ 7 rpm (28 reps)

-6 mins @ 6 rpm (36 reps)

*Both sets felt decent today, plus I is just amazing how much slower 6 rpm feels after hitting a set at 7 rpm, even under fatigue. It's a great mind trick!

Jump Squats @ 170# 

-3x 50 reps w/ 60 seconds recovery b/w rounds

*And another day is in the books, we are getting down to the wire now...

E11 k-bells [#00040] Kettlebell Sport (LCC&J-PR!)

Big day today! I decided to test myself today. Its just over a week until the Arnold and I wanted to see where I'm at at this point...

Kettlebell Sport

LCC&J @ 2x 24kg's

-10 minutes @ 6 rpm (60 reps, PR! And enough reps to unofficially give me the WKC rank IV!)

*The set felt Ok on the whole, but not the best i've ever performed. I still have a small tear on my hand which I was worried about, but I managed to escape unscathed thankfully. The Jerk feels effortless after using the 32kg bell so I just have to refine my clean over the next couple of days and then I'm good to go! If I can repeat this performance on the 7th i'll be happy and any additional reps will be a bonus...

Jump Squats @ 165#

-3x 50 reps w/ 60 recovery b/w rounds.

E11 k-bells [#00038] Kettlebell Sport (LCC&J & Jump Squats)

Back on track today! My hand finally healed so I decided today was d-day for LC. My goal was to hit 6 minutes @ 7 rpm and based on how it felt decided whether I would train this pace up to the Arnold or drop back to 6 rpm. 

Kettlebell Sport

LCC&J @ 2x 24kg's

-6 minutes @ 7 rpm (42 reps, PR for this duration!)

*I reverted back to my old technique on the clean and rack position today and everything clicked right back into place. I was foolish to try and make changes this close to a meet, I won't make that mistake again! It scared the crap out of me, I thought I was going backwards for a while there. After today my confidence is back and I know I can hit my primary goals in Columbus. However, even though I was successful at 7 rpm to 6 minutes today I have decided to drop back and focus on 6 rpm for the meet. 7 rpm is a hellashious pace and I don't want to risk burning out before I hit the 59 reps I need for my ranking.

LCC&J @ 2x 24kg's

-5 minutes @ 6 rpm (30 reps)

*This pace feels so much better for me! Even though I was pretty fatigued from my first set I was able to move through this one smoothly so I'm happy again. I think 70 reps is a good goal for me for LC, but with the injuries and setbacks that have slowed my progress this goal proved a little beyond my reach at the moment. 59 reps is all that really matters right now and thats my focus for the next 2 weeks...

Jump Squats @ 155#

-3x 50 reps w/ 60 sec recovery b/w rounds

*Meant to go with 165# today, but got distracted and forgot to put the 5's on the bar. Next time...

E11 k-bells [#00037] Kettlebell Sport (Jerks,1 Arm Swings,GUSU & Jump Squats)

My hands were still a little tender today and I have a slight tear on my right palm so no LC or cleans today. Feel like I need to be hitting LC more often than I am, but I can't risk my hand health this close to the meet so I'll lay off for a couple of days...

Kettlebell Sport

Jerk @ 2x 24kg's

-6 minutes @ 8 rpm (48 reps)

*Nothing feels great right now, but at least I hit my goal on this set and it is actually a 6 minutes PR for me on the Jerk. 

1 Arm Swings @ 32kg's

3 rounds of 2 minutes w/ 1 hand switch, resting 60sec b/w rounds.

1.] 30/30 reps

2.] 30/30 reps

3.] 30/30 reps

*This was my first time swinging for time with the 32kg bell, but it felt comfortable. I think this is a lift I need to include more often and build on.

1 Arm Get-Up Sit-Ups

3 rounds:

-5/5 reps @ 16kg/35#

-5/5 reps @ 24kg/53#

-1/1 reps @ 32kg/70# (PR!)

Jump Squats

3 rounds of 50 reps:

-50 reps @ 155#

-50 reps @ 155#

-50 reps @ 155#

*Just building the weight on these gradually because I don't want to revisit my knee injury, but right now they feel pretty good...

E11 k-bells [#00035] EdgeFIT K-bells (BU Military Press, Pull-Ups, Assisted 1 Arm Push-Ups, Swings)

I know I stated in my last post I was only going to hit kettlebell sport workouts from now until the Arnold, but that got scrapped today. After my tough (tough in the fact it didn't feel that great) LC workout yesterday I felt the need to shake things up a little today. Check it...

EdgeFIT K-bells 

Perform 22, 16, & 10 reps of:

-1 Arm Bottoms-Up Military Press @ 12kg/26# (split reps b/w right and left arm)

-Weighted Pull-Ups @ 8kg/18#

-Assisted 1 Arm K-bell Push-Ups (split reps b/w right and left arm)

-2 Arm Side-to-Side Swings @ 53#

*This was a pretty fatiguing workout, but it wasn't that bad, I could go up in weight on each of the exercises. I didn't time the workout today, but still pushed through as quickly as I could. 

Combo Lift

2x 10 reps of:

-Double Snatch-Double Clean-Double Press @ 2x 12kg/2x 26#

*Haven't done a lift like this in a while so I threw it in for fun. It's surprising how difficult these combo lifts become once your in the mixer! Got a little hand tear for my troubles too...which was nice...

Jump Squats

3x 50 reps @ 145#

E11 k-bells [#00029] Kettlebell Sport (1 Arm Jerk, Swings)

This past weekend was The Edge Fitness Center's first kettlebell lifting seminar with special guest coach Marty Farrell. The event was a great success. Fun was had by all, and everyone worked hard and learned a lot! I will be posting a more detailed write up of the event on my other blog as soon as I get the opportunity, so stay tuned. I will say a big thank you to Marty, you are legend mate! We really appreciate you coming down sharing your knowledge and expertise with us. 

As a side note, Marty and I will soon be offering some male modeling seminars. We are both just so natural in front of the camera, it just has to be done! Check out this action shot...

I did lift quite a bit over the weekend, however I failed to record any of my numbers on paper. I do have all the lifts on video however, so I will review the footage and then post what I did. 

Here's today's workout...

Kettlebell Sport

1 Arm Jerk @ 32kg's

-3 sets of 2 minutes with 1 hand switch and 60 seconds rest between sets...

1.] 10/10

2.] 12/11

3.] 12/12

*This felt really good today, the 32 is feeling lighter and lighter to me. I was experimenting with my rack position a bit today. After talking to my good friend Marty I decided to start working on rotating my palm forward while in the rack (Fedorenko style) and it actually clicked pretty well today. The first set was a little strange, but then my elbow started slotting right on my hip in this position and it felt good. Also, the jerk feels way more powerful from this position, it feels like you get more drive from the hip this way. Cheer's Marty, just got to work on getting in this position in the double rack now.

1 Arm Swing @ 24kg's

-3 sets of 2 minutes with 1 hand switch and 30 seconds rest between sets...

1.] 31/31

2.] 31/31

3.] 30/30

*Haven't done swings in a while so this worked me pretty good!

Jump Squats @ 135#

-3 sets of 50 reps

E11 k-bells [#00011] Rostov Program (D2) & Timed Set (LCC&J)

I decided to combine day 2 of the Rostov Program with a timed set of LCC&J today. This may not be ideal in most cases as the Rostov workouts are demanding enough that you don't really need to do much else, however I am still in the early stages of the program so the sets are still short. Down the line I will use the Rostov protocol as its own entity, but for today I wanted to hit it and then perform my usual timed set to see how I faired while pre-fatigued. Here's how it went...

The Workout

Rostov Program (D2), LCC&J

-2x 24kg's / 20 / 2:30 

-2x 16kg's / 42 / 3:30

*I successfully completed the allocated reps for both sets, but this was far more taxing than day 1. It's going to get rough from here on out! I am noticing my technique improve perhaps surprising during these faster sets. Prior to this I would during my sets I would rest for a few seconds in the rack both following the clean and jerk portion because my rack feels so solid, but this slows me down. Working this way has forced me to only pause following my clean, to set up the jerk, following the jerk I am now dropping the bells and transitioning straight into my next clean, much faster and more efficient...

LCC&J @ 2x 24kg's

-6 minutes @ 5 rpm (30 reps)

*This set was a lot tougher than the last time I hit 6 minutes at this rep rate as I expected, but I was able to keep in together and stay the course. 

Jump Squats

-2x 50 reps @ 2x 16kg's

-1x 50 reps @ 2x 24kg's

*Went a little lighter on these today, just wanted to test out my knee and see how it felt and I had no immediate problems so I was pleased. 

I feel like this was my first real training day in preparation for the Arnold it hasn't been to promising up to this point, but I hope I turned the corner here today. Only time will tell I guess...