Sunday Test Day

Saturday we had a family work day at my father-in-law's house in Aiken, SC. It was the hottest day

of the year to that point! Did lots of outdoor work.  Expected to be sore and tired on Sunday, but I wasn't! I chalk that up to the last month of Simple and Sinister training on average every other day. Since I wasn't sore or tired I went forward with my planned test: 80 one handed swings in 4 minutes or less, 1 minute break, 8 get ups in 8 minutes or less.

Movement Prep Giant Sets

1. Assisted Squats 3x5
2. Hip Bridge(Raise) 3x5 
3. Kettlebell Halo 3x5 per direction 35lbs.

Plank 30 secs, 15 secs, 15 secs

8/10 Simple and Sinister

• One Hand Swings 8x10x16kg
• Get Ups 8x1x16kg

Cool Down Stretching Super Sets

• 90/90 Stretch 3x30 seconds per side
• QL Straddle Stretch 3x30 seconds per side

Movement prep went fine. Got deep in the squats and held it. All the rest was fine. I still need to practice planks more often so I can get to a minute straight with ease. Total prep time 14:31.

On to the test. I used the 16kg kettlebell throughout. I did the swings 15 seconds on, 15 seconds off. It was HARD! I got it done though, 4 minutes 80 swings. One minute rest. Then 8 get ups in less than 8 minutes. Total time 12:47.  I was pretty well smoked after that. Plus it was HOT!

Did my normal cool down stretches. They felt good and took 7:56. Tomorrow I'm going to retest the Grunt Work session I did a couple of weeks ago, deadlifts and farmers carries.  I'll use the 20kg kettlebells again. Last time I completed 12 rounds. Wish me luck for a better score.

Getting Stronger

I almost skipped training today. Waited until late in the afternoon. I got it done.

Movement Prep Giant Sets

1. Assisted Squats 3x5
2. Hip Bridge(Raise) 3x5 
3. Kettlebell Halo 3x5 per direction 35lbs.

Plank 30 secs, 15 secs, 15 secs

8/10 Simple and Sinister

• One Hand Swings 4x10x16kg
• One Hand Swings 4x10x20kg
• Get Ups 4x1x16kg
• Get Ups 4x1x20kg

Cool Down Stretching Super Sets

• 90/90 Stretch 3x30 seconds per side
• QL Straddle Stretch 3x30 seconds per side

I was stiff today. Movement prep was challenging especially squats. But I was warm and loose afterwards. Planks are not getting easier. Prep and planks took 13:00.

The heavier sets of swings and get ups are getting easier. I feel stronger. My shirts are feeling tighter around the arms, shoulders and chest even though I'm not specifically targeting those areas. Sunday is test day, 80 swings in 4 minutes or less followed by 1 minute rest and then 8 get ups in 8 minutes or less. Total time 26:35. Next cycle is 10 sets each, I'll also shave some rest time off for each set.

Normal cool down. Felt good. Was walking better afterwards. Felt really good overall. Cool down took 8:17.

Cool Cloudy Kettlebell Practice

I didn't get a longish walk in yesterday but I did hit my target goal of 7K+ steps. Today is a kettlebell practice day. It is cool and cloudy. Quite lovely for training.

Movement Prep Giant Sets

1. Assisted Squats 3x5
2. Hip Bridge(Raise) 3x5 
3. Kettlebell Halo 3x5 per direction 35lbs.

Plank 30 secs, 15 secs, 15 secs

8/10 Simple and Sinister

• One Hand Swings 4x10x16kg
• One Hand Swings 4x10x20kg
• Get Ups 4x1x16kg
• Get Ups 4x1x20kg

Cool Down Stretching Super Sets

• 90/90 Stretch 3x30 seconds per side
• QL Straddle Stretch 3x30 seconds per side

First set of squats felt better today, especially considering my hip was bothering me by the end of the day yesterday. I think it was hurting because I was in the office yesterday where I have a standing desk. I've been working at home a lot lately where I do not have a standing desk, so my body is not conditioned for it anymore. Got to do better. Anyway, movement prep was good as usual. Followed it up with planks. I think I'm going to have to "grease the groove" daily to get better at planks and not just this every other day 1 minute accumulation. Total time for prep and planks 12:04.

I again did half of my swings and get ups with the 16kg bell and half with the 20kg bell. Still feel strong. No problems. On get ups I focused on rolling up, not crunching. Holding the bell with my left hand it is hard to go from kneeling to standing than while holding the bell with my right hand. In the former it looks like a left foot forward lunge and that is the hip that gives me trouble. It will get BETTER! Total time 26:13

Finished with normal cool down routine. Felt good. Really felt good walking around afterwards. Total time 8:20.

Heavier Kettlebell Simple and Sinister at Lunch

Yesterday, only got in about 6.1K steps which is 900 short of my 7K daily goal. Friday and Saturday were even worse. I didn't do any mobility, flexibility and stability work yesterday either.

Today, I felt good. Decided to go heavier on a few sets of swings and get ups.

Movement Prep Giant Sets

1. Assisted Squats 3x5
2. Hip Bridge(Raise) 3x5 
3. Kettlebell Halo 3x5 per direction 35lbs.

Plank 30 secs, 15 secs, 10 secs, 5 secs

8/10 Simple and Sinister

• One Hand Swings 4x10x16kg
• One Hand Swings 4x10x20kg
• Get Ups 4x1x16kg
• Get Ups 4x1x20kg

Cool Down Stretching Super Sets

• 90/90 Stretch 3x30 seconds per side
• QL Straddle Stretch 3x30 seconds per side

Movement prep and planks took 13:01. Set one of squats equals struggle bus. All the rest of movement prep was fine. I intended to accumulate 60 seconds of plank time in 1x30 seconds and 2x15 seconds. Had to break that last 15 into 10 seconds and 5 seconds. For some reason my shoulders just gave up. I'll do better next time.

As I wrote earlier I was feeling good and strong today so my initial thought was to do 1 set each on each side of swings and get ups at 20kg instead of the 16kg I have been using for the last few weeks. I ended up doing half of all my sets with the 20kg and it felt good. I'll try to repeat this on my next two training sessions. Time was 26:35, which is about twice as long as a test of 8 sets each of swings and gets up should take, 13 minutes.

Did my normal cool down routine. It took 8:01. Got to make sure I do an Original Strength reset at least on the days I don't do kettlebells. I've also been doing 30-60 seconds of the Bretzel 1.0 before bed on kettlebell days.

Lazy Saturday Kettlebell Practice

I had a hard week of work. Long hours and disrupted sleep patterns. I woke up this morning around 0400 and never really got back to sleep. Spent most of the day binge watching Game of Thrones. I did do a few minor chores around the house. Then finally got off my ass and got in my kettlebell practice. This was my first ketllebell session since Tuesday, but I did do an original strength reset on Wednesday along with a 30+ minute walk.

Movement Prep Giant Sets

1. Assisted Squats 3x5
2. Hip Bridge(Raise) 3x5 
3. Kettlebell Halo 3x5 per direction 35lbs.

Plank 30 secs, 15 secs, 15 secs

8/10 Simple and Sinister

• One Hand Swings 8x10x16kg
• Get Ups 8x1x16kg

Cool Down Stretching Super Sets

• 90/90 Stretch 3x30 seconds per side
• QL Straddle Stretch 3x30 seconds per side

Movement prep felt good. First set of squats is always a challenge, but by the end of the three giant sets I'm always loosened up and warm. Followed that with planks accumulating one minute total. All of that took 11:20.

Then with minimal rest and set up time I went into the simple and sinister routine. Swings were easy and even with the extended rest time I was breathing hard and feeling it by sixth set. Get ups felt particularly solid and fluid at the same time. My hips felt much better. Total kettlebell time 26;40.

Finished up with the recommended stretching. Again my hips felt much better than usual in the 90/90 stretch. Also I think I was able to part my legs a few extra degrees for the straddle stretch. Slow and steady wins the race. Consistency is key! Total time 8:00.

Cool Shirtless and Barefoot Kettlebell Practice

Working from home again today which let me get my kettlebell practice in around midday. It is unseasonably cool but sunny with a breeze. I almost always train barefoot or in one of my several pairs of Vibram FiveFingers. Today was barefoot. I also found a sunny spot and got shirtless to get a little extra vitamin D.

I was scheduled to do this training session yesterday, but was feeling unusually sluggish and sore still. Mostly my hip from the walk on Sunday. It pays to listen to my body, especially as I get older.

Movement Prep Giant Sets

1. Assisted Squats 3x5
2. Hip Bridge(Raise) 3x5 
3. Kettlebell Halo 3x5 per direction 35lbs.

Plank 30 secs, 15 secs, 15 secs

8/10 Simple and Sinister

• One Hand Swings 8x10x16kg
• Get Ups 8x1x16kg

Cool Down Stretching Super Sets

• 90/90 Stretch 3x30 seconds per side
• QL Straddle Stretch 3x30 seconds per side

I keep forgetting to do my planks after the kettlebell practice so I moved them to the end of movement prep. I was nice and warm after giant sets of movement prep. What was sore felt better. I was nice and loose. Ready to go. It took 11:48 including planks.

As noted I built more time into the sets of swings and get ups to make this more a practice than test. It was still enough work quickly enough to get my heart rate elevated and a good sweat. Swings felt good and powerful. Get ups were solid. Less pain in my hip. Kettlebell practice took 26:16.

Then the cooldown of S&S recommended stretches. These are the most difficult and obviously most needed part of the routine for me, these and squats. I'll start doing goblet squats soon. Need to work on ankle and hip mobility. Cool down took 8:00. Tomorrow I will do a longish walk.

80 Percent Simple and Sinister Practice One

I took two days off after the Gruntwork kettlebell deadlift and farmer carry session on May 8th. Really needed it as I was quite sore, especially my left hip and upper back. Back in the saddle today.

Movement Prep Giant Sets

1. Assisted Squats 3x5
2. Hip Bridge(Raise) 3x5 
3. Kettlebell Halo 3x5 per direction 35lbs.

8/10 Simple and Sinister

• One Hand Swings 8x10x16kg
• Get Ups 8x1x16kg

Cool Down Stretching Super Sets

• 90/90 Stretch 3x30 seconds per side
• QL Straddle Stretch 3x30 seconds per side

Felt good after the movement prep. Warm, loose and ready to go. Prep took 10:05.

Upped sets of swings and get ups to 8, thus the 80% in the title. Took my time with swings with plenty of rest in between sets as this is practice not a test. Same for get ups. Still got my heart rate up and got a good sweat going. Focused on generating power on swings and really squeezing my glutes at the top. Focused on form during get ups, keeping kettlebell arm strait, getting square, etc. Kettlebell practice took 20:35.

I forgot to do my plank practice, bummer. Guess I'll go do one now. Cooled down w/ the recommended S&S stretches. Cool down was 8:30. Everything feels better now. Tomorrow will be a longish (for me) walk. I walked 21:20 this past Thursday.

Barefoot Kettlebell Practice

I should have trained yesterday. I was tired and took a nap after work. Training is only as effective as your rest, recovery and nutrition.

Movement Prep Giant Sets

1. Assisted Squats 3x5
2. Hip Bridge(Raise) 3x5 
3. Kettlebell Halo 3x5 per direction 35lbs.

6/10 Simple and Sinister

• One Hand Swings 6x10x16kg
• Get Ups 6x1x16kg

As I was walking around outside I talked myself up to get my training in. I was thinking I might skip the movement prep and just jump right into the kettlebell practice. However, I kicked off my FiveFingers, got barefoot and did do the prep. Felt good and took 10:32.

Swings were good. Getting easier and in a little better shape, not quite as winded. Get up were a bit challenging with my left up and forward in the lunge position. My hip flexors on that side are tight and sore. Caught myself letting my "posting" shoulder slump a bit, otherwise good form I think. One more thing to be extra mindful of is to alignment in the windmill position. Total time 16:01.

More and Less Kettlebells

Probably like most modern folk I occasionally get caught up in the "more is better" trap. Such has been the case with my addition of loaded carries at the end of my Simple and Sinister practice. I was trying to do them every day or nearly every day even as I was building up my sets to get to all 10 sets of swings and all 10 turkish get ups as prescribed. Not a good idea.

Case in point my training on Saturday, I did 80% Simple and Sinister in 17 minutes then did carries for another 23 minutes! Of course there were some breaks between "sets" of carrying the kettlebells down the and back my driveway. That is a lot of extra work and I paid for it with a very painful hip on Sunday which led me to skip kettlebells as I could hardly walk. I did some active recovery by swimming instead which helped a great deal.

Today I only did simple and sinister, the entire 10 sets of swings and 10 get ups.


Warmed up with an 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 - 30 reps
• Crawling - 3 minutes

Simple and Sinister

• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 10 x 10 x 44 lbs
• Turkish Get Ups L, R, L, R, L, R, L, R, L, R x 1 x 44 lbs

So, did my normal OS Reset. No added anything. I was sweating hard when I finished crawling out in the grass under the sun. Which made me nice and warm and ready for the work to come. Total time 13:39. Oh, and I actually got started before 0800 at 0751! Maybe tomorrow I can move that start time 10 minutes earlier.

As noted above I stepped up to 10 sets of swings and 10 sets of get ups. I'm still doing the swings 2 handed for now. My hip twinged a little but it's gonna hurt whether I train or not so I might as well train as long as it's not super painful. I also felt a little twinge in the outside of my left knee on the first get up. I think it was because I didn't have my foot placed properly. Paid more attention in subsequent reps and it was okay thereafter. No extra carrying today! Total time 20:44.

Daily Muscle Top Off

One of the principle of Simple and Sinister is to do a "daily top off" of the muscles. The daily training builds resilience in the muscles. Adhering to the daily, or near daily, training schedule makes your muscles almost soreness proof. The program doesn't require max efforts but you'll also get stronger.

Warmed up with an 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

Supersets of Australian Pull Ups and Push Ups 2 x 6, 5

Simple and Sinister

• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 8 x 10 x 44 lbs
• Turkish Get Ups L, R, L, R, L, R, L, R x 1 x 44 lbs

Finisher

• Farmer's Walk with 2 44 lb Kettlebells

The warm up was good. Took my time with all the resets. Tried to really stretch my hips when rolling. Once I was done with the original strength part I did two supersets of Aussie pull ups and push ups. I increased the reps in the 2nd set from 4 to 5 as compared to last time I did these. Total time 17:25.

Once again I did 80% of the sets for S&S. My left hip was a little sore this morning when I started the swings. But by about the 4th set or so I was fine. I was a little wobbly on the 2nd left handed get up. But the rest seemed solid. The swings were EMOM. I took a little longer than the allotted 10 minutes to do the get ups. Finished S&S in 17:30. 

Having learned my lesson on trying to do the Waiter-Front Rack-Suitcase walks after the extra shoulder work of the Aussie pull ups and push ups, I skipped that series of carries today. After about a 2.5 minute rest from S&S, I just did down and back of the farmer walk, rested a minute and repeated. Kettlebell work done in 23:32.

I actually got in over 10K steps yesterday! I also completed a 24 hour fast.

Outdoor Training Is Fun(ctional)

Felt a little stiff and sore this morning, particularly the left hip as usual but put my workout clothes on as soon as I got out of bed. Did my five minutes of joint mobility and five minutes of walking while the coffee was brewing and that made me feel better. After some coffee, etc. got outside to start training around 0830.

Warmed up with an 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 5 x 10 x 44 lbs
• Turkish Get Ups L, R, L, R, L, R x 1 x 44 lbs

Finisher

• Waiter-Rack-Suitcase Carry with 44 lb Kettlebell
• Farmer's Walk with 2 44 lb Kettlebells

The OS reset felt good. When I was rolling I could feel the tightness and some pain in my left hip. The rocking and crawling helped more. Took 11:52 for the warm up.

Swings were easy. Get ups felt good. Took a little longer on the get ups. Planned to take 13 minutes for S&S, took about 14. Then took about another 9 minutes to do my carries. I decided to not do the waiter walk with the kettlebell in the bottoms up position but rather to use a heavier weight. Total kettlebell time 22.56. Got my steps in yesterday, too.

So the fun(ctional) part of outdoor training. You get fresh air. You get sunshine. You train on possible uneven surfaces. It's not climate controlled so you have to adapt to heat & humidity or cold. Once upon a time, homo sapiens spent their entire lives outside. Now we spend the majority of our lives inside with little exposure to the elements.

Barefoot Shirtless 1/2 Simple & Sinister

My hip was pretty sore yesterday. I didn't get up early enough to train before work and thought it was better once I got home with my sore hip to just wait until this morning. So that's what I did.

Warmed up with an 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 5 x 10 x 44 lbs
• Turkish Get Ups L, R, L, R, L, R x 1 x 44 lbs

As usual I worked out outside and barefoot. I got started just before 0800 and it was already hot. Once I finished my warm up I took off my shirt and did my kettlebell routine out in the driveway in the sun instead of in the shady carport. I realized I've hardly been shirtless out in the sun at all this summer and it's already July!

Anyway, the session was good. Really sweaty. Felt like I could do the whole 10 sets of swings when I finished the 5 but made myself stick with the plan. I don't want to over do it and set myself back another month. Warm up time 12:38, kettlebell time 12:50. Got all my steps in the last two days.

I forgot to add that after I stopped timing my kettlebell work I did a few carries. I took the 20 kilo bells down to the end of the driveway and back in a farmer's carry. Then I took a 12 kilo bell and did waiter walk - rack walk - suitcase carry combo with each arm. Nice little finisher. I was going to try that last bit with the 16 kilo bell but I didn't think I could stabilize the it in the bottoms up position for waiter walks. I'll have to work on that.

Armor Building EMOM

Got up this morning at about 0645 and immediately put on my workout gear. Went up to the kitchen and put on the coffee. While the coffee was brewing I did five minutes of mobility work based on Scott Sonnon's Intu-Flow. Then I walked around the driveway for about five minutes, came inside and drank a big glass of water then got my coffee.

As I was drinking my coffee I did some reading and put a load of laundry in the washing machine. I also played a bunch of games of Ruzzle and Words w/ Friends on my phone. I eventually got outside for some kettlebell practice at 0830! Got to move faster in the morning, stop playing those games!

Warmed up with an 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

Kettlebell Practice EMOM 12 with a pair of 35 pound kettlebells

• 2 reps Clean
• 1 rep Press
• 3 reps Front Squat

Warm up was good. I haven't done a full Original Strength reset in a couple of weeks. Felt even better because of the earlier mobility work I had done. Crawling got me sweating and ready for the work to come. Warm up time was 10:17.

I intended to do EMOM 20 but I got confused and thought I had an 0900 meeting this morning for work. So, set my EMOM for 12 minutes so considering my late start I could finish in time to dial into the meeting.

Man! Doing this Armor Building EMOM fashion was tough! I don't think I could have made a whole 20 minutes! At most I would have made 15 minutes. I had to lay out on the ground for a minute to catch my breath. I was really still breathing hard when I was done but I forced myself up to make my phantom meeting, LOL! So, obviously, total kettlebell time was 12 minutes.

Also, I was getting sore last night so I did some rolling on my large PVC pipe (my cheap foam rollers tend to smash down under my 240+ pound weight), stretching and mobility to alleviate the soreness. Worked like a charm. And I exceeded my current 7K step goal w/ 7915 steps.

Day 7 of Rdella Training 21 Day Turkish Getup Challenge

I missed some time due to hip pain again! Spent a week just getting up and doing five minutes of mobility everyday and just trying to walk a decent amount. This past seven days I've been doing that five minutes of mobility and then doing Scott Iardella's 21 Day Turkish Getup Challenge.

Yesterday and today I did an Original Strength reset and then on to the get ups. Today, in between the reset and the get ups I did an armbar per side and the McGill Big three.

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

1 Arm Bar per side, 1 minute each w/ 25 lbs.

McGill Big Three

• Curl Up 6x10 secs each, 4x10 secs each, 2x10 secs each
• Side Plank 6x10 secs each per side, 4x10 secs each per side, 2x10 secs each per side
• Bird Dog 6x10 secs each per side, 4x10 secs each per side, 2x10 secs each per side

Turkish Get Up R, L, R, L x 25 lbs. 

Total time was 41:34. That seems like a really long time for the amount of work I did but maybe it's right.

Cool Spring Evening Sweat Angels

I took a couple of days off because of work and family responsibilites plus my hip was hurting. I think I should probably only do two days of S&S in a row, at least for now.

Today, I didn't get up early enough to train before work. Was too hungry to train at lunch time. Decided to
train while Miles was at lacrosse practice but went down a "rabbit hole" for work and ran out of time. Once I returned from picking him up I got to it.

It was kinda' cool after all the rain of the last couple of days. Guess a cold front came through. It was still pleasant but I managed to leave a little sweat angel when I finished working out.

Performance Preparation

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

1 Arm Bar per side, 1 minute each w/ 25 lbs.

McGill Big Three

• Bird Dog
• Rolling Plank
• Curl Up

Simple and Sinister

• One Hand Kettlebell Swings R, L, R, L, R, L, R, L x 10 x 35 lbs
• Turkish Get Ups R, L, R, L, R, L, R, L x 1 x 25 lbs

Warm up was good. Nothing much changed since last time though I did do the arm bar before core work. Felt good and ready to go on to kettlebell practice. Total warm up time  21:06.

Swings were pretty good. Hip hust a little bit but not too bad. Good form. My get ups were mostly garbage. Wobbling here and there. Moving too fast at times. Not keeping my elbow locked out on the arm holding the kettlebell. Just garbage. I think I got it back together for the last two maybe. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. Total kettlebell time 16:46.

Lunchtime Mobility and Walking

My hips were hurting pretty badly yesterday even. Really everything in my pelvic region, all the hip
flexors and extensors. I spent a good deal of time stretching, mobilizing and rolling all the tissues out I could before bed. Felt a little better today but my left hip still hurts.

Therefore, I've decided not to do any kettlebell work today. I decided instead to do my normal performance preparation during lunch time and take a little walk around the building.

Performance Preparation

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

McGill Big Three

• Bird Dog
• Rolling Plank
• Curl Up

That will be all for today. If my hip feels better tomorrow I'll practice kettlebells again then.

Added a Couple of Sets Each of Swings and Get Ups

Looked back over my training log and I've done seven sessions at sixty percent of the sets prescribed in Simple and Sinister. Decided to go up to eighty percent today. It's lovely outside, 78°F w/ only 49% humidity, sunny and a nice breeze. Did a little meditation then got started.

Performance Preparation

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

McGill Big Three

• Bird Dog
• Rolling Plank
• Curl Up

1 Arm Bar per side, 1 minute each w/ 25 lbs.

Simple and Sinister

• One Hand Kettlebell Swings L, R, L, R, L, R, L, R x 10 x 35 lbs
• Turkish Get Ups L, R, L, R, L, R, L, R x 1 x 25 lbs

I added Dr. Stuart McGill's Big 3 exercises for the core to my performance prep. Was reintroduced to

them during Scott Iardella's interview with Brian Carroll, a champion powerlifter for 20 years who came back from a terrible back injury. I recognize the need to make sure I'm doing some direct core work, it's been a weakness of mine for decades. Can only get better from here! Total prep time 20:30.

Got a good sweat going with swings, a little short of breath and heart rate up. Felt good. Good form. Really tried to dial in every aspect of get ups with particular attention to shoulder position. I want to use the get up to make sure this exercise improves my shoulders. Total kettlebell time 15:55.

I also spent some time last night doing as much of the Gold Medal Bodies Hip Flexibility Sequence as I could. It's going to be a long work in progress to get to where the coach in the video is, if I ever get there considering my hip problems. Only got 6320 steps yesterday, averaged only 5492 over the last 28 days so I set my goal back down to 6500 and I'll work up again.

Train Barefoot Train Outdoors

I love training outdoors. Even when it is cold or hot, even when the pollen is awful like today.
Strengthen your feet! Train barefoot! Stay alert! Don't drop a weight on your bare feet or you'll be sorry for sure.


Performance Preparation

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

1 Arm Bar per side, 1 minute each w/ 25 lbs.

Simple and Sinister

• One Hand Kettlebell Swings R, L, R, L, R, L x 10 x 35 lbs
• Turkish Get Ups R, L, R, L, R, L x 1 x 25 lbs

Did my normal performance preparation. Felt good. I think my favorites in my Original Strength routine are rolling and crawling. Probably means I should focus more on rocking and head nods, hahaha! Total warm up time 19:17.

I actually got a little winded on the kettlebell swings even though I was only doing 10 reps every minute on the minute (EMOM) with a light weight. Wonder what's up with that? But I maintained good form and power nonetheless. Get ups were solid. Felt strong. The 25 is feeling light but in deference to my right shoulder I'll take my time and get in more sessions before going up in weight. Total kettlebell time 12:26.

Beautiful Day Kettlebell Practice

Worked from home today. Took lunch break at 1300 hours and instead of eating I got in my kettlebell practice. It was about 78°F but with low humidity and a light breeze. Perfect for an outdoor training session.

Performance Preparation

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

1 Arm Bar per side, 1 minute each w/ 25 lbs.

Simple and Sinister

• One Hand Kettlebell Swings R, L, R, L, R, L x 10 x 35 lbs
• Turkish Get Ups R, L, R, L, R, L x 1 x 25 lbs 

Got distracted and didn't finish posting this yesterday, 04/13/2017. This. It was a good training session. Warm up 16:30, kettlebell practice 12:34.

Another Short and Light Kettlebell Practice

Got started a little late considering it is weekday. Left hip didn't feel to bad this morning. I think the pain yesterday was due to all the walking I did on Saturday cutting grass combined with the training. Maybe I should skip training if I am going to cut grass? Worth an experiment.

Performance Preparation

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

1 Arm Bar per side, 1 minute each w/ 25 lbs.

Simple and Sinister

• One Hand Kettlebell Swings R, L, R, L, R, L x 10 x 35 lbs
• Turkish Get Ups R, L, R, L, R, L x 1 x 25 lbs

Nice warm morning. Normal performance preparation which took 18:18. Nicely loose and warm with a light sweat by the time I finished. Went on to shortened Simple and Sinister. Not pushing too hard as I just want to get back in the groove. Felt good. Swings got my breath going pretty good. Wish my respiratory system wasn't so clogged due all the pollen. Moved a little faster today on get ups but still focused on good positions and movement. Total kettlebell time 12:42. My right shoulder feels a little more sore post training than I would like. Think I'll do a little self-care for it tonight.