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dnguyen411's Training Log

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2/14/18

3x5 Prying Goblet Squats (16 kg)
3x5 Bridges
3x5 Halos (16 kg)

10x10 two-handed kettlebell swings (24 kg) - Eccentric

2x2 TGU (24 kg)
1x1 TGU (24 kg)

Notes: Recovery day
 
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2/15/18

3x5 Prying Goblet Squats (18 kg)
3x5 Bridges
3x5 Halos (18 kg)

10x10 one-handed kettlebell swings (32, 36, 32, 36, 32 kg)

5x1 TGU (32, 36, 32, 36, 32 kg)

Polar Beat HR Monitor Link

Notes: I started a thread the other day looking for suggestions on how to achieve my Simple goal in 7 weeks. I liked the suggestion to wave the working weight during heavy, non-test days and leaving testing to one time per week.

During warm-up, something felt off that I couldn't pinpoint right away. I was doing the exercises just fine but during the halos, the amount of effort I put in to bring the bell to the start position didn't feel as snappy. At first I thought I was just having a off morning but then I soon realized that I grabbed the 18 kg bell instead of the 16 kg bell.

Swings went really well. In the past, I would had a little fear going to a new weight without doing it two-handed for awhile. I went ahead and did one-handed anyway during the 3rd, 4th, 7th, and 8th sets. I had no problem with the swings and was actually surprised how well my body reacted to the heavier weight.

TGUs went smoothly as well. I felt a little more fatigue than I'm used to during the 1st set from swings but subsequent sets went without a hitch.

Side Note: During my training today, there's a team training class going on behind me. I noticed that the trainer was teaching them how to do "American" style kettlebell swings (i.e. instead of the weight coming up to chest level, the weight went overhead). He was using a lighter weight (it looked like a weight less than 16 kg) and it looked like he taught the maneuver fine, but when it came time for the participants to do the move on their own, boy did I see a bunch of things that made me want to kringe. One person was doing the swing with barely a hip hinge and another was doing the maneuver with a really light bell but was using her upper back and shoulders to bring the bell up to the top of the swing versus using the power of the hip hinge to get it up there. All this time, the trainer didn't correct them. I guess I'm glad I spent so much time reading S&S and watching Strongfirst kettlebell videos to know better than what I saw. I'm also glad to know the day I decide to go to a SFG trainer that I will be in good hands.
 
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2/16/18

3x5 Prying Goblet Squats (16 kg)
3x5 Bridges
3x5 Halos (16 kg)

10x10 one-handed kettlebell swings (32, 36, 32, 36, 32 kg)

5x1 TGU (32, 36, 32, 36, 32 kg)

Polar Beat HR Monitor Link

Notes: Good training session today but not as snappy as yesterday's training. Starting at sets 7-10 it took a little more concentration to make sure I could get through the set. TGUs went fine but I found myself taking more time in between sets.
 
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2/19/18

3x5 Prying Goblet Squats (16 kg)
3x5 Bridges
3x5 Halos (16 kg)

7x10 kettlebell swings (32 kg) - (10R, 10L)x3, 10R. 32 second intervals
3x10 kettlebell swings (32 kg) - (10L, 10R, 10L)

5x1 TGU (32 kg)

Polar HR Monitor Link - Around the 2 min point, there was a sharp drop off in my heart rate as I had paused the app to take a quick bio break.

Notes: Test day. I wasn't feeling a 100% this morning since this past weekend was Vietnamese New Year and I was out celebrating with family for two out of the three days (i.e. had more beer than usual). I set a goal this morning that if I could do 6 set of swings at the test intervals I would be happy. I got through 7 sets realizing that near the end of the 7th set my swings were starting to break down. I thought about starting the 8th set but my body was telling me to rest.

After getting through all 10 sets of swings, I also completed TGUs in less than 9 mins after a 1 min rest period.

I'm almost to the Simple goal... just several more weeks.
 
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One additional note... after reading some old forums postings (here, and here), I need to drop the intervals to at least 31 seconds to beat the 5 min test time. I think I average about 17 seconds to do 10 swings, so that's about 14 seconds of rest time between sets.

Man, I don't remember the 24 kg bell being so hard to achieve under 5 mins for when I tested.
 
2/20/18

EDG Cycle

Time: 41:00 (mins:sec)
Distance: 14.0 Miles

Avg. Power: 169 Watts
Avg. RPM: 72 RPM
Avg. Speed: 20.4 MPH

Max Power: 423 Watts
Max RPM: 118 RPM
Max Speed: 29.00 MPH

Polar HR Monitor Link

Notes: I was feeling sore from yesterday's training. I really didn't feel like going in but went in anyway. That's kind of the nice thing about making going to the gym a habit... you go in and just start working out. Even if it isn't the best, you've done more than 1/2 the population.

Today's training wasn't the best for personal intensity but our cycle leader still pushed us pretty hard where I got a good cardio workout.
 
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2/23/18

3x5 Prying Goblet Squats (16 kg)
3x5 Bridges
3x5 Halos (16 kg)

10x10 one-handed kettlebell swings (32, 36, 32, 36, 32 kg)

5x1 TGU (32, 36, 32, 36, 32 kg)

Polar Beat HR Monitor Link

Notes: Pretty good training days yesterday and today. However, I started to develop a blood blister in my left hand under my pointer finger callus. I pumice stone the calluses down in the shower. I still feel a little blister pain in that side but at least I didn't burst anything. I will have to see if I should do swings tomorrow or take a couple days off.
 
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2/26/18

Achieved Simple Standard

3x5 Prying Goblet Squats (16 kg)
3x5 Bridges
3x5 Halos (16 kg)

10x10 kettlebell swings (32 kg) - (10R, 10L)x5, 31 second intervals.

5x1 TGU (32 kg) - Time To Complete: 7 mins, 35 seconds

Polar HR Monitor Link

Notes: I didn't feel the best this morning.My body was a little stiff and lethargic this morning. But I already committed myself to test weekly on Mondays so I came into today's training with a goal to complete 8 sets of swings. It took a lot of effort. I actually wasn't quite sure I make it past 6 sets. But every time the buzzer went off I just started swinging. When I got to 8 I just said, what the hell, and went for it. My last couple of sets weren't the strongest but I still got the bell up to chest level.

After about a minute break, I punch out the 10 TGUs. I knew I could do these in under 10 mins without rushing the movements. However, it was still challenging considering I just got my heart rate up to at least 178 BPM and stayed in HR Zone Level 5 since at least set 3.

Now sitting at my computer looking back at my training log, I feel a great sense of accomplishment. It took about 2 years and 5 months to get to this point starting with a 16 kg bell. I remember backed then how the bell felt impossible to even do 1 TGU. Its been a great journey that has gotten me to the best shape of my life. I no longer have any random back pain moments, my cardio capacity is even better than I could ever remember.

I haven't made the decision on if I'll go for the Sinister goal next or jump to the ETK program. For now, I would like to cut weight since I did gain at least 5-10 lbs that I didn't want but I felt was necessary to have enough energy to hit the Simple goal. But I think I'll do the Simple test one more time in the next couple of weeks to really see if today wasn't a fluke.
 
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Great job! I love the way you set your sights on the goal when it was within reach. And you did it! Enjoy the moment.
 
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