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Less is More

I need to remember to do 'off-day' training, and then take a day off. When I take a day off cold turkey I never recover as well.
I listened to my body and did an 'off-day' today.

Up 5:00, train 6:40

Two Hand Swing:
16 x 10 x 10
Done in 5:00
Foci:
  • Letting the bell float as long as possible
  • Keeping the knees tracking correctly
1:00 rest

TGU:
16k, 5x1
Done in 10:00
Foci:
  • Both sit bones on the ground in tall sit on the way up
  • One sit bone on the ground in the tall sit on the way down
  • This was the smoothest combo
Although I didn't get in the work I had planned with the 32k, I'm pleased with this session. Feeling great afterwards.
 
Up 5:00 AM, train 9:30
Extended relaxation warm up

OHS:
24x10
32x10
32x10
32x10
32x10

20 breaths between sets
Foci:
  1. Staying tall via keeping the shoulders over the ankle
  2. Getting a solid hike back to start the first rep
  3. Keeping the knees tracking properly
TGU:
24 x 1
32 x 1
24 x 1
24 x 1
24 x 1

20 breaths between sets
Foci:
  1. Keeping the unloaded leg straight up to and including the tall sit
  2. Pushing out through the straight leg's heel
  3. Keeping a tall spine at all times
  4. I mixed it up between both sit bones on the ground and only one on the ground.
    • Both sit bones down is easier on the wrists
    • One sit bone down is faster
I'm going to start throwing a set of 32k TGU in the mix once in a while. Not every day, as I need to focus on the OHS. But, once in a while.
 
Up 5:00 AM
45 min walk: 6:50 AM

Did a Brettzel for the first time yesterday and went for a walk after. I felt two inches taller without my hip flexors pulling on me. Worth the price of the Kalos Sthenos for learning about that stretch.

Incredible.

No KBs; back to my scheduled Sunday & Wednesday days off. I fast 24 hours from Saturday after lunch (11am) until Sunday lunch (11am) and again Tuesday-Wednesday. I love taking a walk when the sun is rising, so I use the morning fasts to get that in. Physically and mentally I have never felt better.
 
Up 5:30 AM, train 7:35
Extended relaxation warm up

OHS:
24x10
32x10
32x10
32x10
32x10

20 breaths between sets
Foci:
  1. Staying tall via keeping the shoulders over the ankle
  2. Getting a solid hike back to start the first rep
  3. Keeping the knees tracking properly was much easier after just a few Brettzel sessions loosened up the hip flexors/quads
TGU:
16k, 5x1
15 breaths between sets
Foci:
  1. Keeping the unloaded leg straight up to and including the tall sit
  2. Pushing out through the straight leg's heel
  3. Keeping a tall spine at all times
  4. Trying to find a sweet spot between
    • the way the lats are loaded with both sit bones down + the decreased stress on the wrists
    • and the tall spine I can only maintain with one sit bone on the ground.
 
Up 5:30 AM, train 6:50
Extended relaxation warm up

OHS:
24x10
32x10
32x10
32x10
32x10

20 breaths between sets
Foci:
  1. Noticed my elbows were sore after last swing session, so today I focused on keeping loaded arm straight and tight. Big difference.
TGU:
24 x 1
32 x 1
24 x 1
24 x 1
24 x 1
20breaths between sets
Foci:
  1. I'm figuring out how to load up the lats with one sit bone on the ground
    • Pretty much just pausing a moment in the tall sit, and allowing the bell to rotate back into the lats gets me the best of both worlds

Grateful!
 
Up 5:00 AM

Brettzels, then 45 min walk: 6:50 AM.
I love being outside this early!
It was cold during my walk. Winter is coming :(


No KBs
 
Up 5:30 AM, train 6:50
Extended relaxation warm up

OHS:
24x10
32x10
32x10
32x10
32x10

20 breaths between sets
Foci:
  1. Focused on keeping loaded arm straight and tight, while making sure I 'carried' as little of the load as possible in the arm
  2. This enabled me to more easily keep the shoulders over the ankles and keep the knees tracking properly
TGU:
16k, 5x1
20breaths between sets
Foci:
  1. If I kept the straight leg's hip low from the start, it made for a better roll to elbow.

Good session
 
Up 7:00, train 8:50
Extended relaxation warm up

OHS:
24x10
32x10
32x10
32x10
32x10

20 breaths between sets
Foci:
  1. Focused on keeping loaded arm straight and tight, while making sure I 'carried' as little of the load as possible in the arm
  2. This enabled me to more easily keep the shoulders over the ankles and keep the knees tracking properly
TGU:
24k, 5x1
20breaths between sets
Foci:
  1. If I kept the straight leg's hip low from the start, it made for a better roll to elbow.
  2. Breath control
  3. Utilizing the lower abs
 
Up 7:00, train 9:50 after 24 hour fast
Took my BCAA's then went to work

Two Hand Swing:
16 x 10 x 10
Done in 5:00
Foci:
  • Letting the bell float as long as possible
  • Keeping the knees tracking correctly
1:00 rest

TGU:
16k, 5x1
Done in 10:00
Foci:
  • Focused on keeping my upper body as tight as steel to keep pressure off the wrists.
I don't usually train on fasting mornings, but I already missed two days this week. Plus, it does seem that the shoulders and wrists feel better with daily training; taking a full day off from TGU seems counter productive more often than not.
 
Day off of work
Up 7:00, train 9:50

I was planning on using the challenge bell on OHS/TGU today. However my wrists and elbows were sore and I had a stomach bug yesterday.

OHS:
24k, 10x10
10 breaths between sets
Foci:
  • Learned that part of the reason my elbows are sore is due to the way I park the bell.
    • I was trying to stop it too soon instead of just letting it naturally swing forward a bit more.
  • The reason my wrists are sore is due to the way I grip the bell
    • I was letting my ring/pinkie fingers slack a bit. This was causing a stretch under load on the outside of the wrist.
TGU:
16k, 5x1
20 breaths between sets
Foci:
  • Here the reasons my wrists are sore is due to the way I grip the bell.
    • In the Kalos Sthenos, the authors speak of holding the kettlebell so that the wrist is flexed in towards your palm 10-20 degrees. Implementing this tip made it easy to keep the bell from tipping back, and also helped to engage the ring/pinkie fingers so the wrist was overall far more stronger.
It was very satisfying to diagnose three form errors in one session!
 
Day off of work
Up 7:00, train 8:40

OHS:
24k, 10x10
10 breaths between sets
Foci:
  • Parking the bell naturally
  • Crushing the bell with my ring/pinkie fingers
  • Keeping the shoulders parked solidly over the ankles, which naturally forces the hips back
  • Hips don't lie
TGU:
16k, 5x1
15 breaths between sets
Foci:
  • Flexing the wrist in toward the palm
  • Connecting shoulder/lat/oblique/hip/glute
I love how the 24k OHS & 16k TGU are now the light weights I use for diagnosing form errors and performing trial runs with form adjustments. It's awesome when the heavy weights become the light weights.
 
Up 5:30, train 6:50

OHS:
24k, 10x10
10 breaths between sets
Foci:
  • Parking the bell naturally
  • Crushing the bell with my ring/pinkie fingers
  • Keeping the shoulders parked solidly over the ankles, which naturally forces the hips back
  • Hips don't lie
TGU:
16k, 5x1
15 breaths between sets
Foci:
  • Flexing the wrist in toward the palm
  • Connecting shoulder/lat/oblique/hip/glute

Maintenance training. Saturday I'll ride with the 32k again.
 
Up 5:00, train 6:30

OHS:
24k, 10x10
10 breaths between sets
Foci:
  • Parking the bell naturally
  • Crushing the bell with my ring/pinkie fingers
  • Keeping the shoulders parked solidly over the ankles, which naturally forces the hips back
  • Hips don't lie
TGU:
16k, 5x1
15 breaths between sets
Foci:
  • Flexing the wrist in toward the palm
  • Connecting shoulder/lat/oblique/hip/glute

Maintenance training.
 
Up 7:00, train 8:30
Extended relaxation warm up
This was even longer than normal, took me a while to prepare my mind​

OHS:
24x10
24x10
32x10
32x10
32x10
15 breaths between sets
Foci:
  • Keeping the shoulders over the ankles
  • A strong initial hike on first rep
  • Keeping loaded arm straight
  • Making my grip on the bell an immobile hook

TGU:
24k, 5x1
15 breaths between sets
Foci:
  • Flexing the loaded wrist in towards the palm
  • Alleviating the bell's pressure on the forearm by crushing the handle with pinkie/ring fingers
    • This works because it ever so slightly angles the bell
  • Making the body one piece
Grateful I was able to shorten all rest sets with challenge weights.
 
Up 6:30, train 9:40
Fasting hour 23

OHS:
24k, 10x10
10 breaths between sets
Foci:
  • Keeping the shoulders over the ankles
  • A strong initial hike on first rep
  • Keeping loaded arm straight
  • Making my grip on the bell an immobile hook
TGU:
16k, 5x1
15 breaths between sets
Foci:
  • Flexing the loaded wrist in towards the palm
  • Alleviating the bell's pressure on the forearm by crushing the handle with pinkie/ring fingers
    • This works because it ever so slightly angles the bell
  • Making the body one piece
  • Today I learned something new: keeping the unloaded shoulder tight against the deck makes keeping it packed easy

Walk:
45 minutes, right after training

Quite happy I got in a real training session and a walk at the end of my fast!
 
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