Fast & Furious & Misc...

I got the following training from Ross Enamait's book - Infinite Intensity -(http://www.rosstraining.com/) . It blends strength and conditioning work with explosive bodyweight exercise. After building fatigue with pull ups and swings, you must explode with plyometric push ups and knee tucks. I did three rounds and then mixed in some other bodyweight and core exercises.

My training looked like this:

Pull Ups - 10 reps
Dumbbell Swings - 35lbs - 10 reps each arm
Plyometric Push Ups - 10 reps
Knee Tucks - 10 reps

I did the above 3 times

Then I did:

Medicine Ball Push Ups- 60 reps
Pull Ups - 30 Reps
Spiderman Planks - 3 reps
Dumbbell Windmills - 35lbs - 15 reps per arm

I am planning on taking today and tomorrow off and resuming training on Sunday when I get home.

DB & Bodyweight Circuit...

I am at a hotel and do not have access to a kettlebell so I did a circuit using dumbbells and bodyweight exercises.

My training looked like this:

Incline Flys - 50lbs - 30 reps
Pull Ups - 30 reps
Iron Cross - 35lbs - 30 reps
DB Snatches - 35lbs - 30 reps per arm
Incline Hammer Curls - 35lbs - 30 reps per arm

I finished with:

Push Ups - 50 reps

January 2009 Snatch #'s....

I am in California until Sunday February, 1 for work and do not have access to a kettlebell so I thought I would post my January snatch numbers.

At the end of October I decided to start snatching more and counting my snatches on a daily basis. I found a website that makes my job easier in a effort to reach 50,000 snatches.

It is - http://www.personaltrainingmanager.com/sc.asp

According to the website: "We have added Snatch Challenge to the menu. This is a temporary add-on feature supporting a current 50,000 snatch challenge. The feature will display a list of all participants complete with their total number of snatches and total number of points. In addition, you will be able to view details for each daily entry (what date, how many snatches, which kettlebell and notes)."

As of yesterday I completed 4,220 snatches in the month of January and feel great. My snatch total is 16,661.

I believe that alternating light (16kg) and heavier (24kg, 28kg or 32kg) snatches allows me train both strength-endurance and strength while not over doing it poundage wise and getting injured. I am also trying to make sure I am ready for the RKC in April 2009.

My 40th Birthday is next Tuesday Feb. 3rd and I may try to do 125 sets of 8 using the MVO2 protocol for a total of 1000 reps. Seems like a great birthday present to myself and puts things in perspective in terms of my physical transformation since 5 years ago I couldn't do 10 snatches per arm without feeling like a truck hit me! I feel better @ 40 than I did @ 20. Good times!

MVo2 - Snatches: 40 sets of 8

I did timed snatches with the 16kg bell today. I did sets of 8 with each arm with approximately 15 second rest between hand switch. I did 40 sets of 8 in 19 minutes and 45 seconds.

Snatch - 16kg bell - 40 sets of 8 -320 reps

Then I finished with:

Walking Presses - 20kg bells - 4 sets of 8 reps @ 150 feet each - 32 reps total
Hanging Pikes - 25 reps

Fast & Furious - 300 Reps!

I got the following training from Ross Enamait's book - Infinite Intensity -(http://www.rosstraining.com/) . It blends strength and conditioning work with explosive bodyweight exercise. After building fatigue with pull ups and kettlebell snatches (he did swings but I substituted snatches), you must explode with plyometric push ups and knee tucks.

My training looked like this:

Pull Ups - 10 reps
Snatch - 16kg bell - 10 reps each arm
Plyometric Push Ups - 10 reps
Knee Tucks - 10 reps

I did the above 6 times in 19 minutes for a total of 300 reps!

"Magic 50" & Snatches...

I got the following training from Ross Enamait's book - Infinite Intensity. It is a great strength endurance workout is takes around 15 minutes to complete.

I performed 5 circuits of the following:

5 snatches left -16kg bell
5 snatches right - 16 kg bell
5 swings left - 16 kg bell
5 swings right - 16kg bell
10 burpees

Rest 60 seconds and repeat!

The total is 50 snatches, 50 swings and 50 burpees....thus the Magic 50.

Then I did:

Snatch - 16kg bell - 150 reps

I finished with:

Burpee - 20 reps
Hanging Leg Raises - 20 reps

MV02 - Snatches: 70 sets of 8

I did timed snatches with the 16kg bell today. I did sets of 8 with each arm with approximately 15 second rest between hand switch. I did 70 sets of 8 in 34 minutes and 45 seconds.

Snatch - 16kg bell - 70 sets of 8 -560 reps

I felt strong for not doing this in about a month. Next time I will shoot for 50 minutes and 800 reps with an eventual goal of 1000 reps in 1:02:15!

Then I finished with:

Farmers Walks - 40kg bells - 6 reps of 150 feet each
Hanging Pikes - 50 reps

500 Plus Reps...

I decided to get back to some high volume snatching while mixing in other exercises to hit my whole body.

My training looked like this:

Snatch - 16kg bell - 15 sets of 10/10 - 300 reps
Dips - 120 reps
Overhead Walk/Press - 16kg bells - 6 sets of 150 feet with 10 presses per set - 60 presses

• These are great for the core because of the stabilization needed while pressing and walking and fried my shoulders after the snatches & dips!

I finished with:

Shrugs - 360lbs - 50 reps

"Pick Your Passion"...

Below is a great article by Ross Enamait about passion.

http://www.rosstraining.com/articles/pickyourpassion.html

He states -"Once you determine the power of passion, it isn’t something that you’ll ever want to lose. My passion towards life drives me forward. It is a burning desire to constantly improve. Great things are fueled by passion so why settle for anything less? If you want to stand out in life, you’d better be passionate. Find your passion and pursue it relentlessly".


This article really articulates what separates all of us in terms of performance and results. Good stuff! Thanks Ross.

Fast & Furious...

I got the following training from Ross Enamait's book - Infinite Intensity. It blends stength and conditioning work with explosive bodyweight exercise. After building fatigue with pull ups and kettlebell snatches (he did swings but I substituted snatches), you must explode with plyometric push ups and knee tucks.

My training looked like this:

Pull Ups - 10 reps
Snatch - 16kg bell - 10 reps each arm
Plyometric Push Ups - 10 reps
Knee Tucks - 10 reps

Rest 1 minute and repeat

I did the above 5 times in 17 minutes and was wiped out!

Day Off...

I took my first day off from training today in 2 weeks.

Russian and raw: New England patriots running back Heath Evans gained strength and lost fat with Russian kettlebells and a raw diet

Below is a link to a great article about New England Patiots' running back Heath Evans and and his experience with kettlebells.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1608/is_/ai_n31043894?tag=artBody;col1


Heath said that kettlebells have "ADVANTAGES OVER "TRADITIONAL" TRAINING"-

"Even on a day with an upper-body focus, where you're doing the military press and lateral snatches, taking this big ball of iron overhead and punching through with it, your lower body is still getting a major workout. Cardiowise, you're constantly being conditioned."

The Magic 50!

I got the following training from Ross Enamait's book - Infinite Intensity. It is a great strength endurance workout is takes around 15 minutes to complete.

I performed 5 circuits of the following:

5 snatches left -16kg bell
5 snatches right - 16 kg bell
5 swings left - 16 kg bell
5 swings right - 16kg bell
10 burpees

Rest 60 seconds and repeat!

The total is 50 snatches, 50 swings and 50 burpees....thus the Magic 50.

Continuous Squat Jump & Gorilla Pull Up, Explosive Clap Push Ups, Snatches & Core...

I wanted to keep my training simple while getting a cardio workout and some core training as well so I tried a new exercise I got from muscle and fitness called the "Continuous Squat Jump & Gorilla Pull Up".

The exercise is done like this:

• Find a pull up bar
• Standing underneath the bar, squat down until your thighs are parallel to the the floor and jump to grasp the bar with a wider-than-shoulder-width grip
• Immediately perform a pull up while simultaneously doing a knee raise, bringing your knees as high as possible toward your chest
• Lower your body under control, drop to the floor, squat and repeat with no rest in between reps
• Try to make the motion as smooth and fluid as possible by landing on the balls of our feet
  In addition to being a great strength and core exercise if done for reps with not stopping it is a great cardio exercise!
• I did 10 sets of 5 reps today for 50 total reps.

The rest of my training looked like this:

Explosive Clap Push Up - 25 reps

Snatches - 16kg bell - 100 reps

Spiderman Plank - 5 sets

Hanging Leg Raises - 30 reps

Supine Plank - 3 sets of 1 minute

Kettlebells Put To The Test....

Below is a link to a good article from T-Nation about kettlebells. The author had never used them before and tries them for an 8 week period and is happy with the results.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/kettlebells_put_to_the_test

He says -"So what do I have to show for two months of serious training with kettlebells? First, I've improved my conditioning in a pretty dramatic way. I ran the M two more times, and finished in less than 11 minutes the final time.
But I've gained more than endurance. My shoulders and upper arms look more muscular than ever, my deadlift has increased by 15 pounds (thanks to all the swings, I'm guessing), and I've picked up a new style of training that will keep me entertained and progressing for years to come".

"Would I recommend buying some kettlebells and learning a few drills? Absolutely. I think they're great to incorporate into a traditional training program, and they also provide a fun and useful way to recover on your off days. But would I train exclusively with kettlebells? Never. For pure strength and hypertrophy, nothing can replace barbells and dumbbells".

"Thanks to the kettlebells, I have another tool in the toolbox, another skill acquired, and another goal reached. And for me, that's good enough".

Training for the RKC in April...

I decided to test myself for the 5 minute snatch test using the 24kg bell today. I did 40 in 2 minutes - took about 45 seconds off and finished with 40 more before the 5 minute time limit - 80 total with a good rest in the middle. I will really need to step it up if I want to eventually get the SSST done (200 reps in 10 minutes).

Then I did 120 more snatches with the 16kg bell just because...

I finished with some overhead walk & press with the 16kg bells. I used a 150 foot area down the middle of the gym and pressed the bells approximately every 15 feet - 10 presses per set. I ended up doing 10 sets of the walk/press which totaled 100 presses with the 16kg bells. Needless to say my back, arms and shoulders were fried when I was done. Good times!

My training looked like this:

Snatch - 24kg bell - 80 reps in 5 minutes
Snatch - 16kg bell - 120 reps
Overhead Walk/Press - 10 sets of 150 feet with 10 presses per set - 100 presses

Core & Snatches...

My training looked like this today:

Windmills - 24kg bell - 30 reps
Turkish Get Ups - 24kg bells - 12 reps
High Plank - 3 reps of 60 seconds
Supine Plank - 3 reps of 60 seconds
Gladiator - 16kg bell - 3 reps of 3o seconds each side
Hanging Pikes - 50 reps
Snatch - 16kg bell - 150 reps

I finished with:
Rope Hammer Curls - 120lbs - 30 reps

Snatches & Swings....

My training looked like this today:

Snatches - 24kg bell - 100 reps
Snatches - 16kg bell - 100 reps
Handed Swings - 24kg bell - 50 reps

EDT...

My training looked like this:

PR One: 10 Minutes
Double High Pull - 16kg bells - 50 reps
Swiss Ball Incline Press - 24kg bells - 50 reps

3 Minute Rest

PR Two: 5 Minutes
Chin Ups - 50 reps
Dips - 50 reps

I finished with:
Snatches - 16kg bell - 50 reps

200 reps in 15 minutes work was tough. I was spent at the end and the snatches really finished me off!

PM Training - Snatches...

I did some more snatches in the basement. 150 reps with the 16kg bell.

Extreme KB Cardio Workout & Snatches...

I wanted to ease off a bit today and use a lighter bell than I have been so I did the first 2 rounds of the Extreme KB Cardio Workout with the 16kg bell. There were 260 total reps plus 100 snatches.

My training looked like this:

• The Manmaker - 100 reps
• Upper Body Blast - 160

I finished with:

Snatches - 16kg bell - 100 reps

Core...

I took it easy today and just worked my core. I may do some snatches tonight after work.

My training looked like this today:

Windmills - 24kg bell - 40 reps
Plank - 4 reps of 60 seconds
Hanging Leg Raise - 30 reps
Hanging Pikes - 30 reps

"Providence"...

I did AOS "Providence" this morning for 2 minute rounds with the 16kg bell. I kept my rest at one minute. I finished with 100 snatches.

"300"...

I kept it pretty simple today. Just some pulls.

My training looked like this:

Snatch - 16kg bell - 250 reps
Shrugs - 260lbs - 30 reps
Double High Pulls - 20 reps

300 total reps

Triples & Snatches...

I felt strong after two days off and going back to carbs last night. The snatches felt good and really worked my grip with the 1/2 sock on my palm. It really forces you to use your hip snap, focus on driving with your legs and using your forearm/grip strength to hold the bell.

My training looked like this today:

Smith Machine Incline Press - 275lbs - 3x3 - 9 reps
Renegade Rows - 40kg bells - 3x3 -9 reps
Iron Cross - 24kg bells - 3x3 - 9 reps
Double High Pull - 24kg bells - 3x3 - 9 reps
Goblet Squat - 40kg bell - 3x3 - 9 reps
Two Hand Curl - 40kg bell - 3x3 - 9 reps

I finished with:

Snatches - 24kg bell - 50 reps

"300" - Swings & Snatches...

My training looked like this today:

Snatches - 16kg bell - 150 reps
Snatches - 24kg bell - 50 reps
Two Handed Swings - 32kg bell - 50 reps
Two Handed Swings - 24kg bell - 50 reps

My hands feel a lot better after using the 1/2 sock while snatching that Riff recommends on www.dragondoor.com. I have to go to Baltimore for 2 days for work and plan to take those two days off from training I have not taken a day off in almost two weeks and need it bad.

The swings felt great as a compliment to all the snatching I have been doing. I may increase the number of swings I do as a way to make sure my breathing/cardio is up to snuff as I get closer to the RKC in April.

"Providence" - Short...

I did AOS "Providence" this morning for 1 minute rounds with the 16kg bell. I kept my rest at 30 seconds. I finished with 100 snatches.

PM Training: C & P/Snatch Ladders

This afternoon I went back to the gym again and did ladders with the 24kg bell on the C & P and snatches. I did 2 ladders with 5 rungs on each ladder.

The 2 ladders looked like this:

C & P - L & R then Snatch
1 x 1 1 rep
1 x 2 2 reps
1 x 3 3 reps
1 x 4 4 reps
1 x 5 5 reps

I did the above 2 times.

There were 15 reps each ladder for a total of:

30 C & P reps left
30 C & P reps right
60 total C & P reps

30 Snatch reps left
30 Snatch reps right
60 total Snatch reps

I finished with:
Snatches - 16kg bell - 150 reps

My callouses are starting to tear and are killing me!! I am going to have to try to manage them and ease off the snatching a bit.

Snatches....

I did not have much time this morning so I just pumped out some snatches.

Snatches - 16kg bell - 100 reps

I finished with:

Double High Pulls - 16kg bells - 20 reps

Core & Snatches...

My training looked like this today:

Snatch - 16kg bell - 150 reps
Windmills' 16kg bell - 30 reps
Pullovers - 16kg bell - 30 reps
Gladiator - 16kg bell - 3 reps of 30 seconds each side
Plank - 3 reps of 60 seconds
Hanging Leg Raise - 30 reps
Overhead Squats - 30 reps
Overhead Lunge - 30 reps

I finished with:
Farmers Walks - 32kg bells - 10 reps of 150ft each

"300" Plus Some More Snatches...

My training looked like this:

Snatch - 24kg bell - 100 reps
Push Ups - 100 reps
Double C & P - 20kg bells - 30 reps
Face Pulls - 100lbs - 30 reps
Bottoms Ups hammer Curls - 16kg bells - 20 reps per arm - 40 reps

I finished with:

Snatches - 16kg bell - 50 reps

PM Training - Snatches...

I did some more snatches in the basement. 100 reps with the 16kg bell. My 5 year old triplets were trying to snatch my wife's 12kg bell while watching me. Good stuff!

Heavy Triples...

My training looked like this today:

Smith Machine Incline Press - 255lbs - 3x3 - 9 reps
One Arm Clean - 48kg bell - 3x3 each arm -9 reps each arm
One Arm Row - 48kg bell - 3x3 each arm - 9 reps each arm
Sumo Squat - 48kg bell - 3x3 - 9 reps
Double C & P - 32kg bells - 3x3 - 9 reps

I finished with:
Snatches - 24kg bell - 100 reps

After the heavy triples the 24kg snatches felt light. It was strange because sometimes the 16kg snatches feel heavy. Whatever..... Must be the carbs? I started my 36 hour carb up yesterday at noon and went overboard but it definitely helps in the strength department. I will continue though tonight and go off carbs after my last meal.

2009 Training Goals...

Here are my 2009 training goals:

• 200 Snatches with the 24kg bell in 10 minutes (SSST)
• 100 Sntaches with the 24kg bell with just one hand switch
• 1000 snatches with the 16kg bell in one workout
• Press 48kg bell
• Snatch 48kg bell
• 50,000 total snatches (I am @ 12,500 right now and figure 4,000 a month will get me there by the end of 2009
• Complete RKC

800 Reps....

I did the 5 rounds of the Extreme KB Cardio Workout (all except the TGU's & Core) with the 16kg bell. It was pretty tough. There were 690 total reps.

My training looked like this:

• The Manmaker - 100 reps
• Upper Body Blast - 160 reps
• Leg Burner - 120 reps
• Swing Workout - 180 reps
• Slingshot - 130 reps

I finished with 110 snatches with the 16kg bell (continuous) for a total of 800 reps. There were 40 snatches in the "EKCW" so my snatch total was 150