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Less is More

Anna C said:
New things are noticed when variables are reduced
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Heh I did not think of that. The real reason is: my body weight has stabilized. I went from a 205# fat-strong-always-hurting-powerlifter at the end of December to a 178# lean(ish)-always-feels-awesome-mobile-strong-girevik. I feel and perform better than I have in years.

So now I will cut back on the eat-stop-eat style fasting: twice a week 24hr fasting periods. Will either do one 24hr fast or two 20hr fasts, haven't decided yet.

The focus will be on:
  • Maintenance or reduction in body weight
  • Acquisition of Awesome Abs aka AAA {triple A}
    • (continued reduction in waist measurement)
  • Earning the Simple Goal
 
Day 2/7
Up 7:30, train 9:30
Extended relaxation warm up
Felt a little off today from not sleeping the greatest and trying to compensate by sleeping in. Should of just got out of bed at the regular 4:30.

OHS:
24x10
24x10
32x10
32x10
24x10
10 breaths between sets
  • These moved so fast I could hear the wind getting out of my way
  • Getting better at keeping the torso straight and narrow

TGU:
24k,5x1
20 breaths between sets
  • I can tell I'm using the obliques/abs a lot more on the swing - the hinge back on the down phase is feeling the pre-fatigue here on the TGU
  • So I compensated by moving a bit slower through that whole phase
 
Day 3/7
Up 4:30, train 6:40
Extended relaxation warm up
Felt a little off today from not sleeping the greatest.

OHS:
24x10
24x10
32x10
32x10
24x10
10 breaths between sets

TGU:
24k,5x1
20 breaths between sets

Great training session, but geesh, my joints were noisy today. Snap, crackle, pop.

Really need to figure out why my sleep has been relatively poor lately.
 
Day 4/7
Up 4:30, train 7:00
Extended relaxation warm up

I really, really wanted to be lazy today.

OHS:
24x10
24x10
32x10
32x10
24x10
10 breaths between sets
  • Realized that these are so challenging because I am truly cramping the abs to control the rotation.
  • The pressure on the diaphragm makes it even more important to perform the two sharp intakes of breath via the nose on the way down.

TGU:
24k,5x1
20 breaths between sets
  • Realized that smooth aggression is the key to a good 'to elbow'

I am particularly pleased with this session; I wanted to take it easy but I stuck to the plan.
 
Day 5/7
Up 5:00, train 7:00
Extended relaxation warm up

Called an audible; easy day today.
Lower back was tangled in knots I couldn't seem to untie.

Two Hand Shadow Swing:
24 x 10 x 10
10 breaths between sets
  • Focused on hardcore cramping abs and glutes. This seems to setup the hinge a notch better.

TGU:
16k,5x1
15 breaths between sets
  • Focused on hardcore tight abs and shoulder packing

Feeling much better after this. A little disappointed, as I was wanting to get the goal training session 7 days in a row, but:
"Easy training is far better than no training"
 
Day 6/7
Up 4:45, train 7:00
Extended relaxation warm up

Feeling much better today

OHS:
24x10
24x10
32x10
32x10
24x10
10 breaths between sets
  • Mostly focused on hardcore ab tightness
  • I was much less gassed today than Tuesday. Got strong(er).

TGU:
24k,5x1
20 breaths between sets
  • Focused on nailing the 'roll to elbow'
 
Day 7/7
Up 6:00, train 7:00
Extended relaxation warm up

Woo eee, this was hard today. Over slept, again. Sleep sure has been wonky these past few weeks.

OHS:
24x10
24x10
32x10
32x10
24x10
10 breaths between sets
  • Mostly focused on hardcore ab tightness

TGU:
24k,5x1
20 breaths between sets
  • Focused on nailing the 'roll to elbow'
 
Day 8/7
Up 7:00, train 9:00
Extended relaxation warm up

Better today

OHS:
24x10
24x10
32x10
32x10
24x10
10 breaths between sets
  • Mostly focused on hardcore ab tightness

TGU:
24k,5x1
20 breaths between sets
  • Focused on nailing the 'roll to elbow'
Feeling overall stale
 
This week I tried sticking to the twice a week 24 hour fasts, but taking my BCAA's right before training (about the 20 hour mark of the fast). I still had 20 hours of "hard" fasting, and then 4 hours of lesser fasting after the BCAAs. I thought this would be enough to allow me to train hard, but it's not.

I still feel stale, and broken down between sessions. My sleep is negatively impacted, for several weeks in a row. I'm just over reaching a bit, easy course correction. I'm going to have to cut out the calorie deficit and fasting, and do a few weeks of straight maintenance level calories. I've been at about a 20% caloric deficit for a while now.

This worked very well when I was moving from the 16k to the 24k. Right now I'm weighing 178-180 pounds most mornings. So maintenance level daily calories will be between 2400 and 2600.

The plan for the next 4-5 weeks:
  • Daily intake of 2400-2600 cals (100% of maintance calories)
  • Train 7 days a week
  • Track rough calories via myFitnessPal
The Goals:
  1. By the end of the cycle, be able to perform 10x10 OHS with 10 breaths between sets using 'Perfect 10' (my 32k bell)
    • Basically, add one set per hand per week
  2. Gain leanness (small decrease in waist measurement)
  3. Maintain TGU strength
 
bad sleep _can_ be a sign of over-reaching, at least with me. This is just my experience, but the 32 is so very different from the 24. I had no problems with the 24, although it took me quite a while to reach the testing-times. But incorporating the 32 in my training is an ongoing struggle. I only use it when I am feeling good, well-rested, un-stressed... Trying to push too hard with the 32 resulted in quite some bad crashes. Fasting and training on the other hand is less of a problem.

So, be careful with that goal of yours. Scaling back or taking time off is sometimes the best option and definitely not "lost-training-time". At least for me. Mental fatigue and bad sleep should not be ignored. Well, that's my experience anyway... All the best to you!
 
Day 9/7
Up 5:30, train 8:00
Extended relaxation warm up
Added an extra set of goblet squats to warmup

OHS:
24x10
24x10
32x10
32x10
24x10
10 breaths between sets
  • Mostly focused on hardcore ab tightness

TGU:
24k,5x1
20 breaths between sets
  • Focused on nailing the 'roll to elbow'
Felt great today. Of course, I did nail almost 3600 calories yesterday. :cool: It was also low 60's this morning, which felt amazing with all the windows open!
 
Day 10/7
Up 5:30, train 7:00
Extended relaxation warm up

Two Hand Shadow Swing:
24 x 10 x 10
10 breaths between sets
  • Focused on hardcore cramping abs and glutes, + tracking the knees correctly

TGU:
16k,5x1
15 breaths between sets
  • Focused on hardcore tight abs and shoulder packing, + smooth movement
 
Today:
Rest day. Tomorrow I begin a month of early morning training for work, which means I will be training even earlier than normal.
 
Day 1
Up 4:30, train 6:00
Extended relaxation warm up
Added an extra set of goblet squats to warmup

OHS:
24x10
24x10
32x10
32x10
32x10
15 breaths between sets
  • Increased breaths between sets from 10 to 15
  • Added another set with 32k
  • These were great; fast, smooth, and kept the rotation to a minimum

TGU:
24k,5x1
20 breaths between sets
  • Focused on nailing the 'roll to elbow'
Felt great today, refreshed and recovered.
 
Day 2
Up 4:30, train 7:00
Extended relaxation warm up

Slept 10 hours last night.
Long, stressful workday yesterday.
Basically came home, ate dinner, read for a little while and passed out.
Really should of done an easy day today...maybe tomorrow instead.

OHS:
24x10
24x10
32x10
32x10
32x10
15 breaths between sets
  • Felt okay. Abs are definitely being utilized way more than ever before; they were tired today. Not sore or stiff exactly, just tired.

TGU:
24k,5x1
20 breaths between sets
Exiciting learnings today!
  • Felt okay
  • Learned that if I keep the non-working KB hand away from my body at a slight angle, it improves the 'to elbow'
  • Learned that if I try to connect the lat, abs, and obliques on the KB hand when initiating the roll to elbow, it makes the roll to elbow easy!
 
Yesterday: Off

Slept over 9 hours again last night
Finally coming up out of my training funk, despite (or because of?) a rough work week.
Today was hectic, just happy I got some sort of light training in.

Up 7:00, train 5:00 PM
Extended relaxation warm up

Two Hand Shadow Swing:
24 x 10 x 10
10 breaths between sets

TGU:
16k,5x1
15 breaths between sets
 
Up 6:00, train 10:00
Extended relaxation warm up

Two Hand Shadow Swing:
24 x 10 x 10
10 breaths between sets

TGU:
16k,5x1
15 breaths between sets

Another good old Plain Jane Session. Nothing to see here, move along.
 
Extended relaxation warm up

OHS:
24x10
24x10
32x10
32x10
32x10
15 breaths between sets
  • Focused on keeping the body compact via lats while tamping down the rotation

TGU:
24k,5x1
20 breaths between sets
  • Focus on a smooth roll to elbow
 
Up 5:30 AM, train 4:00 PM
Extended relaxation warm up

OHS:
24x10
24x10
32x10
32x10
32x10
15 breaths between sets
  • Focused on keeping the torso tall

TGU:
24k,5x1
20 breaths between sets
  • It's hard to explain but basically I focused on being rock solid.
This was a great session!
I've been focusing on stretching in the evenings, especially working the QL straddle. It really started to pay dividends today.
 
Yesterday, Wednesday
Up 5:30, train 7:00
Extended relaxation warm up

Two Hand Shadow Swing:
24 x 10 x 10
10 breaths between sets

TGU:
16k,5x1
10-12 breaths between sets
2 reps
2 reps
1 rep
 
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