Midday Kettlebell Practice

I slept poorly last night. Woke up around 0330 and had to go to the toilet. Couldn't go back to sleep. Read for an hour then just as I was starting to fall asleep I got paged for an "emergency" at work. Grrr...Was up until about 0600 before I went back to bed. Slept for another 2.5 hours so I got in 7+ hours total. Trying to stick to a deal with myself that I'll only train kettlebells or do other intense exercise if I get at least 7 hours of sleep the night before. My heart rate was slightly elevated to 80 this morning, too.

Warm Up Original Strength Reset

• Cross Crawl - 20 per side
• Crocodile Breathing - 2 minutes
• Head Nods - 20 reps
• Rolling - 4 reps left and right first leading w/ legs then arms
• Rocking - 20 reps
• Crawling - 2.5 minutes

Wide Leg Founder 1

Simple and Sinister 

• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 1 x 10 x 44 lbs
• One Hand Kettlebell Swings 1 x 5L, 5R x 44 lbs
• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 1 x 10 x 53 lbs
• One Hand Kettlebell Swings 1 x 5L, 5R x 53 lbs
• One Hand Kettlebell Swings 4 x 10L, 10R x 53 lbs
• One Hand Kettlebell Swings 2 x 5L, 5R x 53 lbs
• Turkish Get Ups 5 x 1 x 44 lbs per side

My warm up felt good. Left me feeling mobile, warm and ready to go. I should probably start working goblet squats back into the warm up routine in the near future. Total warm up time was 17:08.

Changed up the set and rep scheme just a little bit compared to yesterday. Only did 1 set of two hand swings with the 53 lb kettlebell and followed that with one set switching hands half way through. I wanted to get my percentage of one hand swings back up to 80. Other than that the routine was the same. Got to focus on staying square on the one hand swings. On get ups I let myself plop back down to the kneeling position a couple of times. Got to stay focused and control that descent. Total kettlebell time was 17:21! Blazing fast!

By the way, the temperature was 91°F and felt like only 92°F because of the relatively low 35% humidity. Worked up a good sweat despite having a fan outside with me in the carport where I train.

I Felt Like Batman

I loved reading comic books as a kid. One of my all time favorites is Batman. This is because he didn't have super powers, he trained hard and used his brain and developed gadgets and tools to be a hero. For some reason when training today I felt like Batman!

Warm Up Original Strength Reset

• Cross Crawl - 20 per side
• Crocodile Breathing - 2 minutes
• Head Nods - 20 reps
• Rolling - 4 reps left and right first leading w/ arms then legs
• Rocking - 20 reps
• Crawling - 2.5 minutes

Wide Leg Founder 1

Simple and Sinister 

• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 1 x 10 x 44 lbs
• One Hand Kettlebell Swings 1 x 5L, 5R x 44 lbs
• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 2 x 10 x 53 lbs
• One Hand Kettlebell Swings 4 x 10L, 10R x 53 lbs
• One Hand Kettlebell Swings 2 x 5L, 5R x 53 lbs
• Turkish Get Ups 5 x 1 x 44 lbs per side

I changed things up a bit. Only 20% of swings at 44lbs, upped to 80% at 53 lbs. Also, did four of the sets at 53 lbs w/o switching hands in the middle of the set. Overall good training session. Warm up took 14:59. Kettlebell session took 18:02, just 6 seconds longer than last time.

BTW, it was 74F and 91% humidity this morning. I think I'm getting stronger with get ups. I was tempted to try the 53 for a set or two, but decided to wait until at least next week. I'll reward myself with that attempt if I do all 5 kettlebell practice sessions this week.

I didn't train at all yesterday as I slept poorly the night before and woke up with an elevated heart rate. Oh, and since you can't out train a bad diet, especially once you pass 50 years of age, here is a picture of today's lunch.

Three Straight Days of Simple and Sinister

Warm Up Original Strength Reset

• Cross Crawl - 20 per side
• Crocodile Breathing - 2 minutes
• Head Nods - 20 reps
• Rolling - 4 reps left and right first leading w/ legs then arms
• Rocking - 20 reps
• Crawling - 2 minutes

Simple and Sinister 

• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 1 x 10 x 44 lbs.
• One Hand Kettlebell Swings 10L,  10R x 44lbs
• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 1 x 10 x 53 lbs.
• One Hand Kettlebell Swings 2 x 5L, 5R x 53lbs
• One Hand Kettlebell Swings 10L, 10R x 53lbs
• One Hand Kettlebell Swings 2 x 5L, 5R x 53lbs
• Turkish Get Ups 5 x 1 x 44 lbs. per side

I forgot to do the Founder at the end of my warm up. Warm up took just 11:51. Still got an adequate warm up. Only crawled for two minutes today. The original strength reset really makes me feel good. It still surprises me how much crawling engages and works the core.

I changed up my kettlebell swings just a little bit. On set 2 I did 10 straight reps with my left hand followed on set 3 with 10 straight reps with my right hand. Moved up to 53 lbs on set 4 as normal and used two hands. Switched hands after 5 reps on sets 5 & 6. Again 10 straight with left and right on sets 7 and 8. Back to switching hands after 5 reps on sets 9 and 10.

Get ups were good. I'm feeling more and more confident, stronger and stronger with the 44 lb. bell. I'm trying to be a little conservative about adding weight, but I'm chomping at the bit to use the 53 lb bell for all my swings and to start incorporating it into my get ups. I finished my kettlebell work in 17:56 which was 44 seconds slower than yesterday. 

My goal is to train with kettlebells on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I want to be certified as both RKC Level 1 and SFG Level 1. Both of those certs are done over Friday through Sunday. A number of articles I've read about training for those certs advocate the Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday training pattern. Let's see if I can get all five days of kettlebell training next week.

Hot Fast Afternoon Kettlebell Practice

Warm Up Original Strength Reset

• Cross Crawl - 20 per side
• Crocodile Breathing - 2 minutes
• Head Nods - 20 reps
• Rolling - 4 reps left and right first leading w/ legs then arms
• Rocking - 20 reps
• Crawling - 3 minutes

Wide Leg Founder 1

Simple and Sinister 

• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 1 x 10 x 44 lbs.
• One Hand Kettlebell Swings 2 x 5L, 5R x 44lbs
• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 1 x 10 x 53 lbs.
• One Hand Kettlebell Swings 4 x 5L, 5R x 53lbs
• One Hand Kettlebell Swings 1 x 10L x 53lbs
• One Hand Kettlebell Swings 1 x 10R x 53lbs
• Turkish Get Ups 5 x 1 x 44 lbs. per side

I slept in the this morning. Then took my time getting started with my training. Same routine, sets and reps as yesterday. It was 90°F and felt like 92°F. Warm up took 12:17. Moved on to the kettlebells and went really fast 17:12 nearly a minute faster than yesterday. Maybe I'm stronger in the afternoon than the morning. I was really cranking through the get ups but even so I paid close attention to my form. 

And this is what I look like after completing 100  kettlbell swings and 5 sets of turkish get ups per side in just over 17 minutes. 

Barefoot and Shirtless Simple and Sinister

Warm Up Original Strength Reset

• Cross Crawl - 20 per side
• Crocodile Breathing - 2 minutes
• Head Nods - 20 reps
• Rolling - 4 reps left and right first leading w/ arms then legs
• Rocking - 20 reps
• Crawling - 3 minutes

Wide Leg Founder 1

Simple and Sinister 

• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 1 x 10 x 44 lbs.
• One Hand Kettlebells Swings 2 x 5L, 5R x 44lbs
• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 1 x 10 x 53 lbs.
• One Hand Kettlebells Swings 4 x 5L, 5R x 53lbs
• One Hand Kettlebells Swings 1 x 10L x 53lbs
• One Hand Kettlebells Swings 1 x 10R x 53lbs
• Turkish Get Ups 5 x 1 x 44 lbs. per side

Not much to say. It was HOT! On the last two sets of swings I 10 reps without switching hands in the middle of the set. My right shoulder was a little wobbly on a couple of get ups. My left wrist still hurts. Warm up time 14:21. Kettlebell time 18:10. I am seeing a good training effect with regard to my heart rate. Even though I'm working faster, with a heavier weight I'm spending more time in the lower fat burning zone of heart rate than the higher cardio zone. Plus my resting heart rate has been trending down.

Even so look how sweaty less than 20 minutes of kettlebell training left me!

Original Strength and Tai Chi in the Morning

Warm Up Original Strength Reset

• Cross Crawl - 20 per side
• Crocodile Breathing - 2 minutes
• Head Nods - 20 reps
• Rolling - 4 reps left and right first leading w/ arms then legs
• Rocking - 20 reps
• Crawling - 3 minutes

Wide Leg Founder 1

Qigong and Tai Chi Chuan both Chen and Yang Style.

The OS Reset warm up took 17:20. I spent 19 minutes doing Chi Gong joint opening and then going over the begining moves of Chen and Yang style tai chi.

Hot Morning Simple and Sinister

Warm Up Original Strength Reset

• Cross Crawl - 20 per side
• Crocodile Breathing - 2 minutes
• Head Nods - 20 reps
• Rolling - 4 reps left and right first leading w/ arms then legs
• Rocking - 20 reps
• Crawling - 3 minutes

Wide Leg Founder 1

Simple and Sinister 

• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 1 x 10 x 44 lbs.
• One Hand Kettlebells Swings 2 x 5L, 5R x 44lbs
• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 1 x 10 x 53 lbs.
• One Hand Kettlebells Swings 6 x 5L, 5R x 53lbs
• Turkish Get Ups 5 x 1 x 44 lbs. per side

Warm up took 14 minutes. It was already a hot morning over 80°F by 0818 when I started training. I decided to do more of my swings w/ the 53 lb kettlebell. Previously I had been doing 50% of the swings with 44 lbs and 50% with 53 lbs. Today I did 70% of my swings with 53 lbs. I also did all of my get ups with 44 lbs. Strong on! The kettlebell practice took 18 minutes so I was moving fast despite the heat. Also, because it was so hot I did my kettlebell practice shirtless and got a little more sun than I would ordinarily. I always train barefoot or at most in my Vibram FiveFingers.

Midmorning Kettlebell Practice

Warm Up Original Strength Reset

• Cross Crawl - 20 per side
• Crocodile Breathing - 2 minutes
• Head Nods - 20 reps
• Rolling - 4 reps left and right first leading w/ arms then legs
• Rocking - 20 reps
• Crawling - 4 minutes

Wide Leg Founder 1

Simple and Sinister 

• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 1 x 10 x 44 lbs.
• One Hand Kettlebells Swings 4 x 5L, 5R x 44lbs
• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 1 x 10 x 53 lbs.
• One Hand Kettlebells Swings 4 x 5L, 5R x 53lbs
• Turkish Get Ups 1 x 1 x 35 lbs. per side
• Turkish Get Ups 4 x 1 x 44 lbs. per side

Same routine as yesterday. My left wrist is really giving me some trouble, quite painful. Not sure what the problem is. Warm up was 17:39. Kettlebell practice was 18:57. I actually did this on Sunday 19 June 2016. I got distracted and didn't log yesterday.

Cool Morning Kettlebell Practice

After sleeping in and relaxing in the cool morning air over a couple of cups of coffee I got down to a quick kettlebell practice session.

Warm Up Original Strength Reset

• Cross Crawl - 20 per side
• Crocodile Breathing - 2 minutes
• Head Nods - 20 reps
• Rolling - 3 reps left and right first leading w/ arms then legs
• Rocking - 20 reps
• Crawling - 3 minutes

Wide Leg Founder 1

Simple and Sinister 

• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 1 x 10 x 44 lbs.
• One Hand Kettlebells Swings 4 x 5L, 5R x 44lbs
• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 1 x 10 x 53 lbs.
• One Hand Kettlebells Swings 4 x 5L, 5R x 53lbs
• Turkish Get Ups 1 x 1 x 35 lbs. per side
• Turkish Get Ups 4 x 1 x 44 lbs. per side

The warm up took 11:29. Felt good. Moved on to kettlebells. Followed same set and rep scheme as last time. Felt really good when I was finished. Kettlebell practice took 19:08. Pretty speedy. Repeat tomorrow. I think I'll be ordering some heavier kettlebells by the end of the year, say a pair of 62s and a pair of 70s. I really like my Rogue kettlebells.

Tai Chi and Kettlebells

Yesterday was an active recovery day. Before work I did an Original Strength reset and a Founder. I felt good, but on my way to the office started feeling light headed and a bad headache. Think my BP was up. Went home and slept. Woke up feeling better and went to a 1.5 hour evening Yang style Tai Chi class.

Today feeling pretty good. Got up and did my normal kettlebell routine.

Warm Up Original Strength Reset

• Cross Crawl - 20 per side
• Crocodile Breathing - 2 minutes
• Head Nods - 20 reps
• Rolling - 4 reps left and right first leading w/ arms then legs
• Rocking - 20 reps
• Crawling - 3 minutes

Wide Leg Founder 1

Simple and Sinister 

• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 1 x 10 x 44 lbs.
• One Hand Kettlebells Swings 4 x 5L, 5R x 44lbs
• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 1 x 10 x 53 lbs.
• One Hand Kettlebells Swings 4 x 5L, 5R x 53lbs
• Turkish Get Ups 1 x 1 x 35 lbs. per side
• Turkish Get Ups 4 x 1 x 44 lbs. per side

Warm up 17:05. Kettlebells 20:09. It was warm this morning. I was slow on my get ups after the quicker sets of swings. I'm getting stronger though.

This evening another Tai Chi class, this time Chen style only an hour.

Hot Simple and Sinister Kettlebell Practice

It is hot! It is 88°F and feels like 90°F. I'm sweating profusely even though I brought a fan outside to my carport.

Warm Up Original Strength Reset

• Cross Crawl - 20 per side
• Crocodile Breathing - 2 minutes
• Head Nods - 20 reps
• Rolling - 4 reps left and right first leading w/ arms then legs
• Rocking - 20 reps
• Crawling - 3 minutes

Wide Leg Founder 1

Push up test: 15 reps :-(

Simple and Sinister 

• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 1 x 10 x 44 lbs.
• One Hand Kettlebells Swings 4 x 5L, 5R x 44lbs
• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 1 x 10 x 53 lbs.
• One Hand Kettlebells Swings 4 x 5L, 5R x 53lbs
• Turkish Get Ups 1 x 1 x 35 lbs. per side
• Turkish Get Ups 4 x 1 x 44 lbs. per side

My warm up took 16:56. Disappointed with my push up test. Only got 15 reps, just one more than my last test. I should have been able to crank out a couple more, but I let the burn stop me.

Did many more one hand swings than last time. Did my first five sets of swings with 44 lbs (20 kg), very first set with two hands and next four with one hands switching hands at 5 reps. Moved up to 53 lbs (24 kg) for last five sets of swings. Same proportion of 1 and 2 hand swings. Get ups started with 1 set at 35 lbs (16 kg) then last four sets with 44 lbs (20kg). Finished kettlebells in 18:37.

Another Morning Kettlebell Practice Session

Warm Up Original Strength Reset

• Cross Crawl - 20 per side
• Crocodile Breathing - 2 minutes
• Head Nods - 20 reps
• Rolling - 3 reps left and right first leading w/ arms then legs
• Rocking - 20 reps
• Crawling - 3 minutes

Wide Leg Founder 1

Simple and Sinister 

• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 2 x 10 x 44 lbs.
• One Hand Kettlebells Swings 3 x 5L, 5R x 44lbs
• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 2 x 10 x 53 lbs.
• One Hand Kettlebells Swings 2 x 5L, 5R x 53lbs
• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 1 x 10 x 53 lbs.
• Turkish Get Ups 1 x 1 x 35 lbs. per side
• Turkish Get Ups 4 x 1 x 44 lbs. per side

I really felt good after this session. Warm up took 15:22, exactly the same as yesterday but I didn't crawl as much. Must have wasted time in between movements.

Kettlebell swings were great. I even did two sets at 53 pounds 1 handed! I think I need to start writing my sets, reps weights down on the sidewalk w/ chalk again to make sure I'm tracking properly as I change things up. Total S&S time 19:22.

Next time I'll reduce the time between sets of swings from 45 seconds to 35 seconds. Also, I'll start out with only 1 set of 2 hand swings at both 44 lbs and 53 lbs. So 2-hand 1x10x44; 1-hand 4x10x44 and 2-hand 1x10x53; 1-hand 3x10x53; 2-hand 1x10x53.

I cranked through the get ups. However, I did try to pay more attention to the elbow to hand transition. I'm almost to doing all my sets with 44 lbs. If I feel good after the swings I'll do all the get ups with 44lbs.

So, I got up 15 minutes earlier again, 0600 rather than 0615. But I started my workout at about the same time. Got to work about the same time. Need to organize myself better. I ended yesterday with 9501 steps. So 5 of the last 6 days were over 8K steps, three of them over 9K!

Got Up Earlier for Kettlebell Practice

Proud of myself. I only watched the first half of the NBA Finals so I could go to bed early enough to get up early enough to practice kettlebells. Got up at 0615. Was still late for work. Got to do a little better.

Warm Up Original Strength Reset

• Cross Crawl - 20 per side
• Crocodile Breathing - 2 minutes
• Head Nods - 20 reps
• Rolling - 3 reps left and right first leading w/ arms then legs
• Rocking - 20 reps
• Crawling - 4 minutes

Wide Leg Founder 1

Simple and Sinister 

• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 2 x 10 x 44 lbs.
• One Hand Kettlebells Swings 3 x 5L, 5R x 44lbs
• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 5 x 10 x 53 lbs.
• Turkish Get Ups 1 x 1 x 35 lbs. per side
• Turkish Get Ups 3 x 1 x 44 lbs. per side
• Turkish Get Ups 1 x 1 x 35 lbs. per side

The OS Reset warm up plus the founder exercise took 15:22. Kettlebell practice took just 18:19! I was really cranking through the get ups as I kept same pace for swings. I one more set of one hand swings than last time. I also did one more set of get ups at 44lbs than before.

BTW, I went to my first Tai Chi class in a very long time on Tuesday. Yesterday I did 80 push ups, grease the groove style, during my work day. Today I topped out at 84. This is my 4th day in a row topping 8K steps, and 5th day of the last 7. In fact I've actually gotten over 9K steps 3 times in the last 7 days, once over 10K!

Morning Kettlebell Training Is Great

Warm Up Original Strength Reset

• Cross Crawl - 20 per side
• Crocodile Breathing - 2 minutes
• Head Nods - 20 reps
• Rolling - 3 reps left and right first leading w/ arms then legs
• Rocking - 20 reps
• Crawling - 3 minutes

Simple and Sinister 

• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 3 x 10 x 44 lbs.
• One Hand Kettlebells Swings 2 x 5L, 5R x 44lbs
• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 5 x 10 x 53 lbs.
• Turkish Get Ups 2 x 1 x 35 lbs. per side
• Turkish Get Ups 2 x 1 x 44 lbs. per side
• Turkish Get Ups 1 x 1 x 35 lbs. per side

It feels much better to train in the morning. I need to get up a little bit earlier, say 0600 instead of 0630. Discipline, Charles, discipline!

The OS Reset warm up took 12:09. These simple, developmental movements really make me feel good. Kettlebell practice took 20:01, about 1.5 minutes less than yesterday. I did the same sets, reps and weights as yesterday. Just set up my equipment better and moved faster.

Warm Morning Kettlebell Training

Warm Up Original Strength Reset

• Cross Crawl - 20 per side
• Crocodile Breathing - 2 minutes
• Head Nods - 20 reps
• Rolling - 3 reps left and right first leading w/ legs then arms
• Rocking - 20 reps
• Crawling - 3 minutes

Simple and Sinister 

• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 3 x 10 x 44 lbs.
• One Hand Kettlebells Swings 2 x 5L, 5R x 44lbs
• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 5 x 10 x 53 lbs.
• Turkish Get Ups 2 x 1 x 35 lbs. per side
• Turkish Get Ups 2 x 1 x 44 lbs. per side
• Turkish Get Ups 1 x 1 x 35 lbs. per side

After not training for 5 days due to some swelling and tendonitis in my right knee I got back to business this morning at 0746. I intended to get started earlier but stayed in bed until around 0630. It is safer for me to be up and moving around for 30-60 minutes to warm up my back before training than to jump right into it.

Anyway, I did my normal Original Strength based warm up then proceeded with Simple and Sinister. I kinda' lost track of my time despite my interval timer and took a little more than the prescribed 1 minute rest between swings and get ups as I had not moved my weights around during the initial 1 minute rest. I felt good once I was done. I really got my heart rate elevated and got very sweaty despite the early morning hour. My max heart rate during kettlebell training was 146 bpm at about 8 minutes into my session. During getups my heart rate w/ around in the 117 bpm range. My kettlebell session took 21:32.