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.

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.

Slow One Hour Walk

For now I'm practicing Kettlebell Simple and Sinister every other day. So, on the days I'm not practicing kettlebells I am going to take a longish walk. I've not been doing such walks as of late, just lots of short walks every hour from 0700 to 2100.

Today I set out for a 2 mile walk. I thought I would finish in about 40-45 minutes. It took me an hour. My cardiovascular conditioning was not the limiting factor, but rather my hip and back. After about 35-40 minutes of my walk, my speed fell off precipitously as I had to pause often to stretch my hips and back.

I think I'll limit myself to 40 minutes maximum walking time for a while and see how my hip and back do. It was challenging to get home today. It might be better to just go out for 10 minutes and back 10 minutes, twice so I'm not too far from home if my hip and back give me trouble. I'll try that on Tuesday. BTW, I did my walk in a fasted state.

Another Barefoot and Shirtless Kettlebell Session

Trained on schedule, as in only one day off since last session. This is my sixth session since I started this program on 20 April 2019. Should have been my 7th. On Monday I'm going to try to do my swings in 3 minutes or less and my get ups in 6 minutes or less. Today I trained fasted, barefoot and shirtless in the nice sunshine. It's already 84°F!

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

Hardstyle Plank 1x30 seconds

Cool Down Stretching Giant Sets

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

Less assistance on my squats. I hang out in the bottom for about 5 seconds per rep. Really focused on getting hips high on bridges. Did halo in tall kneeling position. Warm up took 10:39,

Swings went well. Starting to feel light but I'm not going to go up in weight until I'm doing the full ten sets of swings and get ups in the prescribed 5 minutes and 10 minutes respectively. Get ups felt good, too. Left hip felt better today than Thursday. Focused on keeping the elbow of the arm holding the kettlebell straight at all times. Other focus points opening hips and staying square. S&S took 16:00.

After S&S I did 1 set of the hardstyle plank for as long as I could, 30 seconds. Added in the recommended cool down stretching. I really need to work on opening my hips and stretching out my hamstrings. The abs and flexibility/mobility of my lower body are weak points. Total time 9:17.

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.

Cloudy Cool Summer Morning Simple and Sinister

I ate three good meals and a snack yesterday. I went to bed early again, like 2115 or so. I did not get
in all my steps yesterday but more than I have for the last several days.

I got up this morning around 0630 but didn't get started training until just after 0800. This morning was partly cloudy and cool but with high humidity.











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 53 lbs
• Turkish Get Ups R, L, R, L, R, L, R, L, R, L x 1 x 53 lbs

Good warm up session. Consistent original strength resets seem to be helping my hip. It hurts some but not nearly as much as it was a couple of weeks ago. Warm up time was 14:37.

Kettlebell swings were crisp and strong. Felt really good today. I need to do a little more practice with one hand swings. Maybe the next 3 day cycle I'll drop back down to 44lbs and do all one hand swings for that 3 day cycle. Get ups were strong and solid w/ a couple of wobbles here and there but nothing major. I tell you what though, holding the 53 in full straight arm extension really works the triceps! My triceps were on fire by the 3rd or 4th pair of reps. Total kettlebell time 21:19. 

Back Home Simple and Sinister

Took yesterday off from my kettlebell practice. We cleaned the beach house, packed the Toyota Sequoia and drove home from Isle of Palms, SC to Greenville, SC. Once we got home we of course had to unpack the SUV. I walked as much as I could at rest stops and during the above mentioned process but only got in 6244 steps.

Did my morning mobility (did it yesterday, too) but took a long time to get outside and get to my training. The weather is really nice. The humidity is only 35% here at home versus 64% at IoP. Yesterday it was 76% humidity on IoP! The temperature is only 83°F! That's crazy comfortable conditions for July 30th! But despite the nice weather I still made a sweat angel after I finished my practice session. As usual I trained barefoot and shirtless.

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 - 40 reps
• Crawling - 3 minutes

Simple and Sinister

• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings  10 x 10 x 53 lbs
• Turkish Get Ups L, R, L, R, L, R, L, R, L, R x 1 x 53 lbs

Normal warm up. Nothing special to say, except my left hip and glute felt a little achy. Maybe the glute medius? Not sure. Need to get myself an anatomy book. Total warm up time was 13:01.

After six straight and solid sessions using the 44 lb kettlebell at the beach in much hotter and more humid conditions I felt like going up to the 53 lb (24 kg) bell today. I put the  44 lb (20 kg) bell in easy reach in case I needed to use a lighter weight. But I didn't need it.

I cranked out my 10 sets of 10 swings. The first couple of reps of the swings took me a little by surprise as the weight was a little more than I expected. Felt heavier but it made me focus and every rep thereafter was solid. Felt good once I was done.

I was a little more uncertain about using the 53 for the getups. I was a little wobbly in the beginning but got more solid as the reps went on. I did take 11 minutes to get them done rather than the allotted 10 minutes. Felt great, nice challenge. I know I'm getting stronger. total kettlebell time 22:02.

BTW, I haven't eaten since dinner yesterday. I weighed 245 before we left on vacation last Saturday, today I weighed in at 250.4. That's the wrong direction and far outside of where I should be by my plan. At this point I should be between 229 and 240.59. If I was right on target I would be at 234.79. So, I'm nearly 10 pounds over what my maximum weight should be at this point, and about 15 pounds over my target. 

I'm not going to beat myself up though, because I'm still 12 pounds down from the beginning of the year. I do need to get serious about my nutrition. So, I'm gonna see if I can kick this week off w/ a 72 hour fast. After that I need to keep my carbs low and limit consumption of calorie laden beverages like beer and alcohol. Back on track I will be!

Kayaking and Kettlebells

Got up a little later this morning. Did my morning mobility routine. Then after breakfast we went kayaking on Shem Creek. When we started out I quickly realized just how pre-exhausted my hands, forearms and shoulders were from my daily kettlebell routine. But once I got going, got warmed up everything felt okay. We spent about two hours on the water. It was fun. We saw lots of water birds and a dolphin. Unfortunately we didn't see any manatees this time. I drank about 1.2 liters of water while we were out.

After we got back to the beach house I drank a couple of small Gatorades and more water and headed to the beach carrying my kettlebell, a chair, towel and my string bag w/ a book and my electronics.

It was early afternoon and getting hotter but there was still some good cloud cover. After sitting and watching the waves for a while I got started with my Original Strength warm up and kettlebell practice.

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 - 40 reps
• Crawling - 3 minutes

Simple and Sinister

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

Finisher

• Waiter Walk - Rack Carry - Suitcase Carry 30 secs, 30 secs, 1 minute, rest 30 secs, repeat series w/ other hand

I did my warm up. Felt good. Of course I was covered in sand by the time I was done rolling and crawling. Nobody came up and asked me what I was doing like they did on Tuesday, though of course I drew funny looks. Total warm up time was 12:46.

Today was a 60% Simple and Sinister day. I decided to do all my swings today one handed. It worked well even though my arms, shoulders and lats had been worked thoroughly by the kayaking. In fact the swings felt really good. Screwed my feet into the sand and no hip or knee pain. The getups we solid. No wobbling, no stumbling, no slipping even though I was in the sand. After I completed the getups, I was so hot and sand covered that I stopped my timer and went into the ocean for a few minutes. Total time was 12:41.

After I got out of the water, I dried off and sat and watched people and waves for a few minutes. Then I did my loaded carries. I started with my left hand and walked away from my chair for 30 seconds in the waiter position, dropped down to front rack for 30 seconds, then suitcase carry for 60 seconds. I rested for 30 seconds, picked up the bell with my right hand then walked back to my chair using the same sequence of positions. I sat and rested for about 2 minutes or so, then did another series left hand then right hand. I didn't make it quite as far down the beach the second time, but I was close. Total time for the carrying was about 11 minutes.

Then I jumped back into the water! The water was nice. The tide was way out, the waves were gentle. I just floated and swam and floated and swam. Wonderful way to end my training.

Rainy Day Kettlebells

Well it rained most of the morning. I didn't make it down to the beach before the rain started. Sat around a while waiting for it to stop, but it didn't. So, I went under the beach house again for my kettlebell practice.

Brian Friedman's: Kettlebell Technique Yoga Flow

• Mountain
• Extended Arms Mountain
• Half Forward Bend
• High Push Up Position
• Locust
• Downward Dog
• Half Forward Bend
• Mountain

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

Repeated Yoga Flow

Again, not being a fan of crawling on concrete I opted to warm up with Yoga like I did a couple of days ago. Three rounds of the flow got a gentle sweat going and elevated my heart rate a bit. Loosened things up a bit more. I had done my 5+ minutes of mobility several hours prior, so I was nicely loose already but I always try to warm up prior to my kettlebell practice to stave off further injuries. Total warm up time 10:49.

On to the kettlebells. My left hip and the outside of my left knee twinged a bit during initial sets of swings. I got my foot position right and gripped the floor with my toes and that alleviated the hip and knee pain. I was breathing hard and sweating profusely when I finished my swings. I did them all two handed today.

The get ups were solid. No wavering and stumbling. Easier to do them on a flat, stable surface rather than a slightly sloped beach with sand shifting underfoot. The heat and humidity slowed me down a bit though, total kettlebell time was 22:01, a minute over my allotted 21 minutes. I lost that minute in the get ups, but I don't have to hit the time goals every attempt.

I cooled down with another three rounds of the yoga flow for kettlebells. Felt good. Got to make sure I'm mobile, flexible, stable and strong! The combination of kettlebells and yoga (and Original Strength) fits the bill. The cool down last 09:52, about a minute less than warm ups. I guess I was rushing a bit as I just wanted to be done and hit the shower.

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.

Swimming and Hip Pain

My left hip is still giving me trouble. I did extra mobility and flexibility stuff last night. I did more this morning. But still walking was painful all day. I was paying extra attention to using good posture and foot position but still very painful. I wanted to work out with kettlebells again today, but decided it was better to give the hip a rest.

I did however go swimming. I swam laps for 10 minutes. Then an hour later swam laps for 15 minutes. An hour after that, I swam laps for another 10 minutes. Not really a lot for you diehard swimmers out there but this is only my second time swimming all summer. And the laps were broken up that way because our community pool has 15 minutes every hour where the kids are cleared out and adults can have the pool to ourselves. But all in all 35 minutes of laps ( backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle) is pretty good.

The ability to swim for 10 or 15 minutes continuously when this is only the second time I've swum this year is definitely another kettlebell "what the hell" effect! Kettlebell swings helped improve my aerobic capacity. I haven't been running, rowing or biking either. No running due to the hip, no rowing or biking because I have neither a rower nor a bike.

Oh, and my hip felt much better after swimming. Not nearly as painful. Only hurts a little bit.

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.

Half Simple and Sinister

After our trip to Virginia last month, and my last real training session, my hip was so sore for the entire following week that I did nothing other than some mobility stuff in the mornings. Frankly, I was really scared by the pain. I really didn't want to go into that feeling and so I just avoided working out. I got up and put my workout clothes on each of the last 3 days and just got myself to do a workout today.

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

Felt good. My hip was a little sore when I finished. And then we had to drive to Charlotte, NC and back to pick up my eldest son from the airport. Now my hip hurts more but not nearly as badly as after the Virginia trip. The swings were easy, I could probably use my 53 lb. bell. I surprised myself with the get ups at 44 lbs., they were easier than I expected. All in all a good session. I'm glad I cut the total sets of swings in half and the sets of get ups by 40%. Hopefully I'll be able to train again tomorrow before work. Got my goal number of steps, too.

Hotel Parking Lot Simple and Sinister

So, I've had two days off since my Armor Building EMOM. My hip was super sore the next day, Thursday. Yesterday we drove to Richmond, VA for the funeral of my wife's uncle which is today. I brought my 20kg (44lb) kettlebell with me though! So, got up this morning and got my training done.

Went down to the lobby, had a couple of cups of coffee. Then walked around the parking lot a bit and went to my Sequoia. Took out my exercise mat and kettlebell and got down to business! Started with 9 minutes of the yoga flow for kettlebells by Brian Friedman. Then on to the main practice.

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

Felt pretty good. My hip was only bothered me a little bit. Got some good sweat going, got the heart rate up. Swings were solid, did sets of 10 EMOM. Get ups got smoother as the sets progressed, but felt strong for all sets. Didn't rush the get ups and finished S&S in 21:48.  Took a few minutes to do a few stretches: floor scorpion, Bretzel 1 and 2, some shin box switches. I felt really good when I was done, feel even better now after a shower.

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.