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.

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.

Yoga and Kettlebells

Since I wasn't too sore today, I decided to restart my Simple and Sinister training today. I messed around and didn't train until early evening. I warmed up with Brian Friedman's yoga flow for kettlebells. Then got right into the kettlebell training.


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

I did the swings EMOM fashion. After not doing swings for a month or better, doing 10 swings in 15

seconds and taking 45 seconds rest got me me breathing hard and got a good sweat going. Felt good overall. Then on to the get ups after a full minute of rest.

I had to remind myself that I don't need to make the time requirements for Simple and Sinister every workout. For swings that is 100 swings in five minutes. I clearly didn't do that since I did 10 swings every minute. But I usually push myself to complete the 10 total get ups in 10 minutes as required. Today I let myself breathe more between reps so it took me 11:23 to complete the get ups. Warm up time was 10:49 to go through the yoga flow three times. Total kettlebell time 22:23.

Armor Building Grease the Groove

After I finished 21 days of get ups, I took a couple of days off which turned into a week. As I've been watching the Crossfit Games Regional competitions this weekend I figured I should get back to my own fitness and not just watch other people displaying their fitness. So, yesterday, as I was grilling I decided to do a version of Dan John's Armor Building kettlebell complex. Basically every time I walked out to the grill to check on the meat I was smoking I did one or two rounds of the following with a pair of 35 pound kettlebells.

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

By the time I finished grilling I had accumulated 20 rounds! That's a total of 40 cleans, 20 presses and 60 squats. Pretty good considering I had never done this complex before. I figured I would be extremely sore today since I haven't done those movements in forever. However, I was pleasantly surprised that I was hardly sore at all. I attribute the lack of soreness to those 21 days of get ups.

The Grease the Groove part is that I did all this work in little segments spread over many hours. I got this concept from Pavel Tsatsouline. The next time I do Armor Building I think I'll do it Every Minute On the Minute (EMOM) for 15 or 20 minutes. If I can do 20 minutes with good form, I think I'll then try to see how many rounds I can do without putting the kettlebell down at all. 

21 Days of Turkish Get Ups with Rdella Training

One of my favorite podcasts is the Rdella Training Podcast by Scott Iardella. Back in April he announced a 21 day training program consisting of daily Turkish Get Ups. I signed up and began the program on 1 May 2017 along w/ Scott and many of his other listeners.

Everyday for 21 straight days I did the prescribed number of getups. I usually did them in the morning after five minutes of mobility work ala Max Shank's 5 Minute Flow. Occasionally I did my get ups in the evening but probably only 3 or 4 times out of twenty one days. Oh sometimes I warmed up with a Yoga Flow by Brian Friedman. My other go to morning mobility was inspired by either Scott Sonnon's Intu-Flow or Original Strength Resets.

The first week I used a 25 pound kettlebell. Total reps for the week were 36. The second week I used a 35 pound bell. Total reps for the week were 44. On the third and final week I used a 44 pound bell, which I hadn't used for getups since last summer. The rep total for the week was 52. I also successfully tested with the 53 pound kettlebell on the last day! So every week I increased both volume and weight. Good stuff.

I regained strength and improved both technique and mobility. Soreness was minimal. I'm proud of myself for finishing the program without skipping a day even though I was tempted to skip a day or do "naked get ups" instead of using a weight. Overall a great challenge to get me ready for taking on Simple and Sinister again.

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.