Thursday, January 31, 2013

Almost a repeat...

Training today:
Prep - Foam Roller and Primal Move

1 arm 1 leg push-up x 1 x 2 sets
Pistols x 1+1 x 2 sets
superset

Get-up weight ladder
24 kg x 1+1
44 kg x 1+1
32 kg x 1+1
40 kg x 1+1

Pull-ups x 10, 10
HSPU x 6, 5

32 kg snatch x 5 min
5+5 at the top of each minute - density style

Ab Wheel (face to floor from knees) x 3, 3

2# Indian Clubs x #1 x 10 , #2 x 10, #3 x 10+10

the last workout was so much fun I had to have a "repeat" with some variety of course
32 kg Snatches - fun

Tuesday, January 29, 2013


If you are going to do a lot, you have to do a little...

Which I am sure will result a similar look to what one of my cats gives me all the time - HUH?

Basically if you are going to do a variety of movements you can only do a little of each one - hopefully that helps remove the head tilt.

Training today:
Prep - Foam Roller and Primal Move

1 arm 1 leg push-up x 1 x 3 sets
Pistols x 1+1 x 3 sets
superset

Get-up weight ladder
24 kg x 1+1
44 kg x 1+1
32 kg x 1+1
40 kg x 1+1

Chins x 10, 10
HSPU x 6, 6

16 kg snatch x 6 min
25 L + 25 R +25 L + 25 R + 20 L + 20 R = 140 total

Ab Wheel (face to floor from knees) x 3, 3

Indian Clubs x 10 of each movement (each direction)
#1 x 10 , #2 x 10, #3 x 10+10, #4 x 20, #5 x 20, #6 x 20

1 arm 1 leg push-ups and pistols felt great but so did the chins and HSPU and the Get-ups felt solid etc....
a good training day


Friday, January 25, 2013

My final HKC is in the books....

Got busy last week with travel and work so I haven't posted in a few days

I taught my final HKC this past Saturday - bittersweet.

I did train between Mon the 14th and Wednesday
Tuesday was about 45 minutes of Primal Move and I am always working on Handstands etc...
but then travel Friday and teaching Saturday.

Training Monday

Prep - Foam Roller and Primal Move

28 kg Get-up + bridge at elbow and Hand x 1+1

28 kg MP ladders
(R+L) 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5  x 3 ladders

16 kg KB on Foot Pull-ups x 5 x 3 sets

100# (50# DB in each hand) RFESS x 5+5 x 3 sets

28 kg one arm swings - density style
x 4 min (20 L + 20 R + 20 L + 20 R)

Since then I have been cranking away practicing Handstands etc... and will get some pressing in today or tomorrow


Monday, January 14, 2013

ETK easy day...

prep - Foam Roller, Primal Move

28 kg Get-up + arm bar and bridge at elbow and hand x 1+1

28 kg MP laddders
(R+L) 1 - 2 - 3  x 5 ladders

pull-up + 24 kg Kb on foot x 4 x three sets (x2 for one set) = 4 sets

RFESS + 28 kg contralateral x 8+8 x 3 sets

28 kg One Arm Swing Density style x 6 min
20 L - 20 R - 20 L - 20 R - 20 L - 20 R
(reps at top of the minute - rest till start of next minute)

Stretch and PM

Saturday, January 12, 2013

A training tip and today's training....

Training
prep - primal move
28 kg MP ladders
(R+L) 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 x 3 ladders
(R+L) 1 - 2 - 3 - 4  x 2 ladders

28 kg Goblet Squats x 10 x 4 sets (between ladders)

Primal move finish


This training tip appeared in the Strong First newsletter:

What does porridge have to do with training?
or
Don’t set Minimums

Brett Jones Master SFG, CSCS, CK-FMS

   
    “Too hot, too cold and then just right...” or so goes the bowls of porridge from the children’s story Goldilocks.  Now what exactly this has to do with training will become clear in a bit but just roll that around in your head for a minute and try to put your training volume, and intensity (whether total volume of reps or % of 1 rm volume”) into those categories.

    I’ll give you minute....

“Too Hot” might indicate days where the high volume of work left you “trashed or destroyed” on a snatch session or a pressing session where you actually failed on a few sets (failing to hit the goal reps or technical failure)

“Too Cold” might indicate training days that were easy maybe due to limited training time or different equipment etc... but the training was “easily” accomplished with minimal fatigue.

“Just Right” might indicate training days where everything fell into place with great technical execution and hitting the goal reps on each set with a couple left in the tank and after the session you actually felt better than when you started.

    So now go back through your training logs and see which training days were too hot, too cold or just right.

    I am willing to bet that the Too Hot column is winning out with hardly any Too Cold days and a smattering of Just Right days in there.

    Guess what?  Most of your training days should fall into the Too Cold or Just Right categories.  I’ll pause for a moment to let you digest this....

    While digesting let me ask you a couple of questions.  Have you used the ROP from ETK or the programming from RTK?  (If you have to ask what those abbreviations mean than you haven’t and you have some reading to do)  Did you listen to the programming for the “easy” days and the rest days?  You know those 50% or so volume and intensity days.  I am willing to bet that the idea of doing “less than” you are capable of didn’t “seem” right so you added a bit of volume.  After all who wants to do “less than”???

    Unfortunately those days where you failed to do the “less than” are also days where you consciously or subconsciously set a MINIMUM. 
You know where you thought you were “honoring” some imagined level you will not allow yourself to go under.  “I am capable of doing 5 ladders of presses with X weight or hitting ____ snatches in 7 minutes with X weight so I will not do less than that because that is my new “baseline”, my new minimum.”

    Don’t set minimums!  And be careful setting “maximums” unless you have peaked for the event. 

    Now can you see how those conscious or subconscious minimums lead to having too many “too hot” training days?

    Your training should live in the “too cold” or “just right” categories because this is where you will recover best, where you will have the best technical execution and (dare I say it) where you will have the most fun training.  That’s right training is supposed to be fun.

    Required reading to get your head wrapped around this is:
Power to the People (info on cycling your intensity)
Enter the Kettlebell
Return of the Kettlebell
and finally Easy Strength
(ES is the best guide to programming your training around and the Easy strength program will make the porridge analogy make even more sense)

    So there you have it a training tip designed to adjust your thinking to your programming.  Too Hot, Too Cold, Just Right and looking out for those conscious or subconscious minimums.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Quick but heavy training today:

Prep - foam roller, primal move

44 kg Get-up x 1+1 x 2 sets

44 kg 2 arm swing x 6 min - Density Training (reps at top of minute - rest till start of next minute)
20 - 20 - 15 - 15 - 10 - 10
90 total reps

Primal move finish
A bit of training and a bit of research...

Research first -

http://sportsmedresearch.blogspot.com/2011/02/improving-ankle-range-of-motion-may-be_14.html

Despite the stories of strengthening the quads being the key to RGIII knee rehab, there is a LOT more to rehabbing a knee and this research highlights just one of those factors.
Ankle Mobility!

Training - an Easy>Medium Day on the ROP pressing

Prep - Foam Roller, Primal Move

28 kg Get-up + arm bar + bridge at elbow and hand x 1+1

28 kg MP ladders
(R+L) 1 - 2 - 3 - 4  x 3 ladders
Chins +90# x 2 x 2 sets
Double 28 kg FS x 10 x 2 sets

Stir the pot on the Stability ball - McGill exercise

Monday, January 07, 2013

Keeping the ETK ROP MP going...

prep - Foam Roller, Primal Move

28 kg Get-up + arm bar + bridge at elbow and hand x 1+1

28 kg MP ladders (R+L) x 1 - 2 - 3 x 5 ladders
Pull-up +45# x 3 x 4 sets
RFESS +28kg contralateral x 5+5 x 4 sets

PM cool down

Sunday, January 06, 2013

Why is my right lower leg circled in this photo?

The answer to that question coming soon...

Training

Prep - Primal Move
24 kg One arm Swings x 20 x 8 sets Density Style
Fast and Loose drills to finish

one arm swings looked like this:
top of the minute - 20 Left - rest till top of next minute - 20 Right etc... x 8 sets

Starting with the 28 kg easy day tomorrow for the MP

Why is my leg circled in the pic above?  Let's just say that I've has some imaging done that answers that question for me once and for all.

Oh and I went ice skating for the second time in my life today at the Rink at PPG Place in Pittsburgh - fun times with the family!

Saturday, January 05, 2013


I am now a Primal Move Fundamentals Instructor -
Thank you to Albert Adolf the instructor at my course and Peter Lakatos -founder of PM.

Training today:

Prep - Foam Roller, Primal Move

24 kg MP ladders
R+L x 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 x 5 ladders
(no rest between rungs - lots between ladders)
24 kg Goblet squat x 10 x 4 sets (sets were in between ladders)

Primal move to finish

Good progress - only completed 2 ladders to 5 last week and hit a full 5 ladders of 5 rungs today

Wednesday, January 02, 2013

More Pressing.... That is how you kick off 2013!

prep - Foam roller, Primal move

24 kg Get-up + arm bar + bridge at elbow and hand x 1+1

24 kg MP ladders
1+1 - 2+2 - 3+3 - 4+4 x 5 ladders

Chins + 70# x 3 x 4 sets

RFESS + double 24 kg KBs x 5+5 x 4 sets

chins and rfess in between MP ladders

Happy new year

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Personal Trainer and Strength Enthusiast Email: appliedstrength@gmail.com

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