One Kettlebell Romanian Deadlift…

8x8 @ 97lbs then, 3x8 @ 125lbs and 3x3

@ 203lbs

“The Kettlebell Romanian Deadlift - often simply called a kettlebell RDL - is a hip-hinge exercise that primarily targets your hamstrings. 

While traditional deadlifts will use your quad muscles as well as your posterior chain, add kettlebell Romanian deadlifts to your workouts when you want to really focus on strengthening your glutes and hamstring muscles. Expect to feel a strong stretch throughout your hamstring when performing this exercise”. - Sweat

AVG HR - 131 BPM

MAX HR - 164 BPM

"Shoulders - 8x8”…

DB Military Press: 45lbs (90)

Shoulder Seal Row: 45lbs (90)*

Seal Row: If you want to shift the emphasis onto the upper back and rear delts: Use a wider overhand grip and pull the weight higher up, more toward your chest.

Cash Out: 

Bent-over DB Power Fly - 5x5 @ 45lbs*

Power Fly - use a heavier weight and “cheat” a bit. It’s more of a fly/row combo. 

Pike Push Ups - 5x5

AVG HR - 131 BPM

MAX HR - 152 BPM

@ Planet Fitness CP

Gironda 8x8 - Arms…

DB Curls @ 35lbs then, 3x3 @ 50lbs

DB Extensions @ 55lbs

*Iso Flex on between sets (Bis & Tris)

Cash Out: Smith Machine Biceps Curl Throw - 5x5 @ 25lb Plate

AVG HR - 119 BPM

MAX HR - 140 BPM 

*@ Planet Fitness Clifton Park

Rest Day…

Driving to Albany and back to MA today. Need a rest day. 

“Murph” (Scaled)…

20 rounds of:

5 Strict Pull Ups

10 Kettlebell Push Ups 

Justin wanted to do Murph with me. So that’s what we did. Scaled it but it still kicked his ass. He threw up after round ten but got back after it. 

In memory of Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, N.Y., who was killed in Afghanistan June 28th, 2005

RIP Lt. Michael P. Murphy - RIP 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

AVG HR - 124 BPM

MAX HR - 165 BPM

Chest/Back- 8x8…

Reverse Incline Bench Press (95)

Seal Rows (45)

Then,

Incline Bench Press - 3x5 @ 145

Seal Rows - 5x5 @ 75

Cash Out: 

Banded Push Ups - 3x5 @ Gray

Feet Banded Pull Ups: 3x5 @ Gray 

“I haven’t seen much out there by the way of banding the legs for CHIN UPS & PULL UPS. However, here’s why I think it may be a good move:

First, remember that the chains of fascia that go down the lat muscles, go across the lumbar region and go through the opposing glute and hamstrings. Why not pre-engage the glutes to reinforce this, by applying outward force ago against a bands resistance? I believe this can trigger a grater and more contracted stimulation for the target regions of the posterior chain. 

Second, doing this forces you to use stricter form. The attention to outward form forces  you from excessive kipping or otherwise “cheating”. - Coach Lee Boyce

AVG HR - 128 BPM

MAX HR - 149 BPM

Double KB Snatches.…

8x8 @ 35lbs (70) then,

5x1 @ 70lbs (140)

“The kettlebell snatch is a brilliant full-body workout, and it is full-body in the true sense of the word. First and foremost, let’s dive right into the muscle that powerlifters often overlook: your heart. According to a 2015 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, kettlebell snatch training was more effective than free weight and bodyweight circuit training at improving the maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max) of seventeen young women athletes’ maximal oxygen uptake.(1) So improving the muscle that is your heart? Check.

The swing part of kettlebell snatches is absurdly effective at activating your glutes, hamstrings, core, hip flexors, and quads, while the high pull and eventual push through at the end are spectacular for your upper lats, traps, and delts. Even your calves get in on the fun as you stabilize your body under the weight and counteract the momentum of the bell with your body’s stability.

And finally, whether you want to improve your grip strength to bring your deadlift to the next level or efficiently bring in all your grocery bags in one trip (absolutely no one is trying to make multiple grocery trips in this house), the kettlebell snatch is great for your grip strength. Your forearms will benefit — a lot — because they’ll be doing the extra work of helping you navigate exactly how to stabilize the bell through the high pull and descent that’s part and parcel of every good kettlebell snatch”. - Barbend 

AVG HR - 123 BPM

MAX HR - 148 BPM

Shoulder Barbell Complex...

6 hang snatches 

6 snatch grip presses

6 clean grip presses

6 hang cleans 

6 high pulls

*all at 45lb bar. Repeat four times for 150

total reps.  

“This shoulder complex is going to cause the lactic acid to flow like a river. Just what the delts need for hypertrophy. The shoulders need plenty of time under tension (TUT) to grow. That means longer sets with lighter weights. The main thing to focus on is stimulating as much lactate build-up in the target muscle as possible. You need to have a high pain tolerance. Lactate accumulation through muscular work is maximized when the muscle is under tension for 45-70 seconds. This complex will take care of that”. - T Nation

Cash Out: 

Band Pull Aparts - 5x5 @ Gray

Band Upright Row - 5x5 @ Gray

AVG HR - 131 BPM

MAX HR - 158 BPM

Arm Complex: Pull Up/Swiss Bar…

Two Sets of:

Swiss Bar Press - 128lbs

Close x8

Wider x8

Even Wider x8

Close x6

*Elite Bar weighs 38lbs

Two Sets of:

Pull Ups x8

Close Grip Pull Ups x8

Wide Grip Chin Up x8

Close Grip Chin Up x6

60 Pull/Chin Ups & 60 CG Presses 

Cash Out: 

Gray Band Curls - 3x5

Gray Band Dips - 3x5

Atlas Stone - stood up the 215lb stone! 

AVG HR - 134 BPM

MAX HR - 159 BPM

The Gymnast Pull-Up Routine

Here's how it works:

• Do pronated (hands facing away from you), shoulder-width pull-ups. Stop 2-3 reps short of failure. Rest 10 seconds.
• After the 10 seconds of rest, move your hands in (4-6 inches apart) and perform pronated, close-grip pull-ups. Again, stop a couple of reps shy of failure. Rest 10 seconds.
• Now switch your hands into a supinated position (hands facing you) and use a shoulder-width grip. Stop just short of failure and rest 10 seconds.
• Finally, move to the close-grip supinated position and perform reps to just short of failure.
• Rest 3 minutes and do the whole cycle again.
• After 4 weeks, perform the full cycle 3 times.

Rest Day…

Drove to Elmira yesterday and back today. 750 miles round-trip. 

Gironda 8x8 - Chest/Back...

Reverse KB Bench Press - 8x8 @ 35lbs 

Then, 3x5 @ 53lbs, Regular Grip 3x3 @ 70lbs (1 second rest-pause)

Kettlebell Seal Row 8x8 @ 35lbs 

Then, 3x5 @ 53lbs, 3x3 @ 70lbs (1 second rest-pause)

“Your goal is to reduce your rest intervals to 30 seconds or less, ultimately cutting them down to just 15-20 seconds between each set. Once your conditioning has adjusted to the demands, you’ll need just five to ten deep breaths between each set, then it’s on to the next set.

If your tempo on each exercise is 2-0-2-0 (2 second eccentric, no pauses and two second concentric), then each rep will take you four seconds. Eight reps per set means that each set will take you 32 seconds. With a 15-20 second rest interval, 24 sets will take only 18 to 21 minutes to complete and 32 sets will take 25 to 28 minutes to completed”. - Strength-OldSchool.Com

Cash Out: 

Bent-arm Planche Push Ups x3

Finger Pull Ups - 2x5

“To build your forearms and grip strength, you need to train all three grip functions: support, crushing, and pinching strength. This exercise will take care of the last two categories.

These build significant functional strength and hypertrophy throughout the entire musculature of the forearms, not to mention Herculean grip strength”. - T Nation 

AVG HR - 137 BPM

MAX HR - 168 BPM

“The Universe”…

“The Universe” Is a Brutal Double Kettlebell Fat Loss Complex.

Looking for a double kettlebell fat loss complex that will burn calories, jack up your heart rate, make your hamstrings, upper back, and grip scream, and most importantly – if you’re in a caloric deficit – burn off those unwanted lovehandles?

“The Universe” has got you covered. 

Here are the details:

(Make sure you’re using a 10 rep max for your double kettlebell snatch.)

• Double Kettlebell Swing x5
• Double Kettlebell Snatch x5
• Double Kettlebell Swing x5
• Double Kettlebell Clean x5
• Double Kettlebell Swing x5

*75 reps in 12:00 @ 20kg Kettlebells 

Active Recovery: Florence, Italy… 🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹

Spent the week in Northern Italy and did not train at all. Only walked. 

Walked 54 miles and 123k steps last week…

Engaging in at least 150 minutes per week of brisk walking was linked to a 20 percent reduction in all-cause mortality.

The point is this: If you enjoy and are able to stick to more strenuous forms of physical activity, by all means, do those. But if you find yourself frequently injured or begin to feel that you just don’t need the voluntary pain that comes with crushing yourself in the gym or on the track, there’s no need to despair. 

Most anyone anywhere can walk briskly for 30 to 45 minutes a day and achieve loads of health benefits. And if you do it regularly over the course your lifetime, there’s pretty compelling evidence that it just might be the only exercise you need.

Week in Italy - Not Training…

Day one in Florence, Italy. Taking the week off from training! Probably will end up walking 50+ miles this week. 

10x3 - Shoulders…

Strict Swiss Bar Press - 10x3 @ 131lbs*

*26lb Valor Bar

Blue Band Pull Apart - 6x6

Blue Band Face Pull - 6x6

AVG HR - 117 BPM

MAX HR - 136 BPM

@ The Trails 

Arms - 10x3…

Elite Bar CG Bench Press - 10x3 @ 178lbs*

Underhand Lat Pulldowns- 10x3 @ 180lbs then, 210x3, 220x3, 230x3

*Elite Bar weighs 38lbs

“According to the legendary Mike Mentzer, the close grip underhand pulldown is the greatest biceps exercise of all time. He says that this is better than any curl you can do. The reason for this is that this pulldown variation involves flexion of the elbow from a flexed shoulder position rather than down at your sides as they are in a typical barbell curl. This creates a greater contraction in the biceps and leads to more overall stimulation in the long run. Because you can anchor your knees under the pads, you can load up the weight here and easily overload your biceps. Just remember to initiate the pull with your elbows rather than pulling down with the lats. Try it and you will see just how much more effectively you can build your biceps with this great biceps exercise”. 

AVG HR - 125 BPM

MAX HR - 148 BPM

Rest Day…

Syracuse and Homer, NY. Then 350 mile drive home. 

10x3 Chest/Back…

Reverse LeverEdge Bench Press: 230lbs

Trap Bar Rows: 190lbs

Cash Out: 

Gironda Sternum Chin-up - 3x6 

Orange Band Dips - 3x8

*Superset

AVG HR - 122 BPM

MAX HR - 161 BPM