all posts post new thread

Learning and getting stronger

Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)

Anders

Level 6 Valued Member
I am 33 year old male from Norway. I have been training since I was 16 years old. Thanks to too many goals that I wanted to work on at the same time, I have had relatively modest results despite all these years of training. I am 6 feet and 2 inches and 82 kilograms.

I have taken the one day Strong first Kettlebell introduction program and had 6 hours private coaching With a SFG 2 instructor. (It was very useful)
I also would like to become a little bit leaner, and much stronger.

These are some of my achievements this far strengthwise:

100 kilos bench press
16 kilos pistol squat
2 OAPU
Simple
4 reps kettlebell press With the 32 kilo

These are some of my strength goals that I hope to achieve during this Lifetime:

Planche
Sinister
Press the beast
Secret Service Snatch test
V-sit
Power -Wheel roll out from the toes.
Dragon flag
Learn bent press

General good Health and well-being.

**
My two primary goals that I have been working on for a while are:

One-arm push up (more reps and more solid technique)
Power Wheel roll out from the toes.

**
My training looks like this:

Almost all days I try to do ten minutes of static stretching of the hamstring, hip flexors, uper back, shoulders, glutes and lower back.

As a warm up I do some of the flexible steel excersises and goblet squat With 16 kilo.

Once a week I try to go for a longer walk preferably With a backpack, this might be for an hour or maybe longer.

My main training program looks like this:

2 days of training
1 day of rest
2 days of training
1 day of rest
etc etc

Day 1:
Warm up
+ L-sit
+ some easy planche training
+ some easy training for the victorian cross ( I know I will probably never achieve it, but still fun to play With it)
+ some easy training for the maltese cross (The same as With the victorian cross, although not as impossible as victorian cross, still quite impossible)
Some technical training for the KB snatch two sets or something.
S&S

Day 2:
OAPU (following the Soju and Tuba press program)
Power Wheel roll out (not sure what kind of progression to follow)
Kettlebell front squat
Bottom up clean
One arm rows.
Some shoulder training for the posterior of the shoulders just to keep them healthy.
Biceps curl.


As you might see I still feel I struggle With working on too many goals at the same time, so I am not achieving the simplicity that I would like. That being said I have been on this program for 5 months and it has made me achieve the OAPU and the 16 kilo pistol squat.

One of the changes I have made is that I used to try to Train every single day. This worked quite well, but I also found it a bit annoying to always have to traing every single day, and training started to feel like an obligation, so I reduced the frequency and this has given me more appreciation of my training time.


Please comment and I hope this blog might be of help or inspiration for someone.
 
Goblet squat With biceps curl 7 reps 16 kilos
Lat pull 16 kilo KB
Kettlebell deadlift With KB on the back 7 reps 16 kilo

***
Planche lean 20 Seconds *2
L-sit (one foot bent, one foot straight alternating slowly) 20 Seconds *3
Victorian cross training With Purple band
Maltese cross training With Purple band

Snatch 20 kilo: 4*5
S&S 24 kilo
8*10 one-arm swing
20 kilo
TGU 3*1 (pr.side)

***
The snatch went well. It is a fun excersise. I can quite feel it in my abs when I have to stop the weight at the top. I Wonder if my technique is up to date.

It is fun to try the training for the straight arm strength, it is that much harder to do anything With completely straight arms. Muscularwise it becomes harder, and also on Your tendons it becomes harder so you have to do it slowly, in order not to injury Your tendons and ligaments.

The swing is quite easy With 24 kilos. I am taking it slowly so as to give myself the opportunity to learn the proper technique. No need to be in a hurry. Consistency beats intensity.
 
No warm up:
Sets*reps

Circle A (one set pr excersise then go on to the NeXT)
Power Wheel-roll out from the knees sometimes With backpack of 8 kilo sometimes with just bodyweight. I did standing partial reps as far as I am able. Four sets combined. No system.
OAPU With the help of a blue IronWoody band 10*1 (Following the Soju and Tuba press program)
One-arm row 28 kilo 3,3,3,4 (pr arm)
Nordic hamstring curl 2*7 (negative and partial reps)
Bottom up-clean 20 kilo/3,3,2 (pr. arm)

Circle B (one set pr excersise then go on to the Next)
KB Front squat 20+24/ 6*4
Biceps curl 32 kilo (pulling a rope through the handle so lifting it With two hands actually heavier than it seems) 4,4,5,5

Bands pull-apart with purple band. Done at shoulder Level with some reps palms facing downward and some reps with palms facing upward. And also done at the Level of the navel. Five sets combined, no system, just doing it to maintain shoulder Health.


All the excersises was quite easy to perform except Power Wheel roll out. Need to take longer breaks to perform the reps properly. I tried doing reps from the knees With 16 kilo backpack. That was way too Heavy. Think about getting a plank wich will make it easier to progress with this excersise.
 
Warm up:

Goblet squat 20 kilo 2*5
Kettlebell pullover 16 kilo 2*5
Kettlbell good morning stretch: 16 kilo 2*7
Kettlebell arm-bar 1*5
(everything is pr. arm where that is relevant)

Band training for
Maltese cross
Victorian cross
Planche lean 3* 30 seconds
L-sit one foot bent, one foot straight, alternating
(everything done for three rounds)

Snatch 20 kilo KB: 5,5,5,4
Snatch 16 kilo KB: 7,7

One arm swing: 28/ 6,6 (pr. arm)
TGU: 20/1,1,1 (pr. arm)

I spent 52 minutes one the work-out. I video-taped my snatches with he 20 kilo kettlebell. I have difficulties knowing when to contract my gluten and abs. Is it when the hips are extended, or is it when the kettlebell is at the top position ? I am watching Karen Smith and the rest of the Strong First crews videos about snatching. And also going to read through again the notes I got from my SFG coach.

I am doing Power wheel roll out GTG.
 
Had planned to do strength training, but I hiked 20 km with 8 kilo back-pack. Did all these in the mountains. So that made me so tired so I think I will just skip today's practice and rather do it tomorrow.

Tomorrow´s diet implementation will be to continue to not eat chocolate or candies. In addition I will drink 5 cups of water before every meal.

So for those of you interested in my diet plan, or diet history.

I have always longed after having a lean body with a six-pack. I have always loved candies and chocolate, but have never been really fat. Not sure why. Maybe because I only like candies and chocolate, not all of that other calorie-rich stuff like beer and hamburger. And I have always been active, training and I love to walk. And I have never owned a car.

So. I tried to loose weight many times using fasting and other relatively extreme intervention. It worked. But only for a short while. This time, being 33 years old, and hopefully a bit more mature, I am going for the slow and patient approach. One habit pr.week. If this turns out too ambitious I will do it one habit pr. 14 days.

So the habits I want to implement are:

Three meals pr. day
I can only eat while sitting down.
5 cups of water before every meal. (PROJECT FOR THIS WEEK, STARTING TOMORROW)
2 cups of vegetables before every meal.
Going to bed 22.00 ( to prevent eating unhealthy food in the nights, this is my favorite time of eating unhealthy)
Eating until 70 percent ful.
Chocolate and candy day every third week or more rarely (SUCCESS)
Eating slowly and mindful.
Having interesting dinners every day.
 
Five glasses of water before each meal gave me a feeling of feeling a bit sick. So I reduced it to three. I am still not eating any chocolate. When I have implemented some more of my habits like a lot of vegatables before every meal, eating until 70 percent full, eating slowly and mindful etc, then I will weigh myself and see what the results have been. So far I am just happy and proud that I have succeeded in following the habits that I set forth to follow.

Today's training:

OPU (it is always done with a blue band from Iron Woody. The band is connected in a table. It is to make it easier): 12*1
Nordic Hamstring curl: 4*7
One arm rows: 20/10. 28/ 1,1,1,1,1,1
Biceps curl: 32/ 4*4
Bottom up clean: 16/ 3,2,2
Kettlebell front squat: 20+24/ 4*6
One leg cal raises 20/ 6,4,4

I have gotten myself a plank and I am doing Power wheel roll out using the GTG method.

I am wondering if I have too many goals, and if I am spreading myself too thin.

***
I think the biceps curl is too Heavy. And I think the Rowing is a bit too Heavy. I am not certain I doing enough reps in the OPU. The Soju and press program is made to be done 3 times a week, the ratio between training and total number of days is 0,43. The way I am doing thing the ratio is 0,33. To make up for this I think I will do some very light GTG with the OPU also. Hope that will ensure a certain progress.

***
The Power Wheel roll out on a plank made me quite happy. Especially doing it GTG way.
 
Last edited:
I read the training log of Pavel M and did some thinking: The choice is not whether or not I want to work on everything now and achieve everything now versus working on a few things now and achieving these things now. The choice is between working on many things and achieving none of these things versus working on a few things and actually achieving these things.

Today's training:

Warm up flexible steel.

Snatch: 20/ 5*2
One-arm swing: 36/ 2*7
TGU: 16/ 1,1 (pr. hand)

L-sit: 4 long sets.
 
There is something philosophical and existential with picking one training program, and then sticking with it for a long time even though it is boring at times. It is how I imagine marriage must be.

Warm up:

Goblet squat 24 kilos 2*5
Kettlebell good mornings 24 2*7

Power-wheel roll out from toes (hereafter PRO) 6*6 (on a plank)
OPU with blue band 14*1

Some one-legged calf-raises with and without weight.

My training programs are starting to look beautifully simple. I like it.

***
When I have reached my goal of five Power wheel roll-outs and five One arm push ups, I will take one week off. Then do some fun program that I bought from Neupert. Then I will do ROP until I reach (1,2,3,4,5) * 5 with 36 kilos. And then...?
 
A bit tired after a week of work and a bit overtime.

Warm-up.
Goblet squat 24 kilo and a bit of curling 2*6
Kettlebell good mornings 24 kilo 6*2 ( a good weight)
Kettlebell arm bar 16 kilo 1*7
Kettlebell overhead stretch (lying) 20 kilo. 10 reps

Snatch just som practice with 16 kilos. Then 20 kilos. I feel the 16 kilos is too light when I really use my hips to get the weight up. 20 kilos feels better. This is a fast and complex exercise. Just 5 reps *10 set

Kettlebell one arm row: 28/ 6*6
TGU: 16/8*1

One set L-sit
Rowing 32 kilo: 8*1
Biceps curl 20 kilo: 10,6
 
Hiked in the mountains for 7 hours with a 7 kilo back-pack. 36 000 steps. It was more for pleasure than for training. I feel my conditioning is quite good. I was not tired and I was able to walk quite quickly without getting tired. I also easily got back my breath, and I was able to hike aerobically. (not running out of breath.) Not sure why, maybe because I have trained a lot of loaded pistols so my legs are quite strong, or maybe because of the S&S ?

I was thinking about skipping the training but then I thought I can always do a bit of training, and just make it easier, so that is what I did.

Snatch training: High pulls with 20 kilos. Watching videos with strong first instructions of high pulls. Then Starting from the top snatch. Then some regular snatch with the 20 kilo bell. Felt good. Felt that the technique got more solid when I first did high pulls.

Goblet squat: Playing around with 20, 24 and 28 kilos.

One arm swings: 28 kilos. 6 set*5 reps. (3 set pr arm)
TGU 20 kilo: 3 set pr arm.

L-sit: One foot bended and one foot straight).
Some power wheel roll out.

All in all a good work out that made me feel fresher.
 
Welcome! My new client is mostly in Norway, looking forward to visiting someday.
 
"Overcoming gravity" is a really good book. It is primarily meant for bodyweight/gymnastic exercises, but it has a lot of good general advices and knowledge too.

**
The Sunday took a toll on my body. I felt a bit worn out and got a headache. I guess you have to be careful, also with hiking.

I am setting myself a new flexibility goal. With stiff legg to be able to put both hands flat on the ground. For the time being I am able to the second under knuckle on my index finger. I have not deadline, because this seems to just stress me. Any advice on achieving this goal will be welcome.
 
I thought I would start with some testing so so I did.

Women's snatch test (16 kilo in five minutes): 81 snatches.
One arm row: 36 kilo two times (the same with the left and the right)
Kettlebell front squat: 28+32/ 5 reps.
OAPU: 4 reps right hand and 3 reps left hand.

Forward bend, back rounded: I can touch the floor with both my fists. That is a new record.

After I had done the testing I did some more snatches with the 20 kilo. Some Power wheel roll-outs on plank. And some assisted one arm push up (assisted with my other arm, and focusing on strength techniques).

I feel some slight pain in my left elbow, so I did some triceps extension to pump some blood in there and maybe also strengthen the tendons and ligaments with some higher repetitions.

I am thinking about testing my strength like this maybe once every month, or maybe once every other month.
 
Testing:

L-sit with one foot out: 6 seconds.
Power wheel roll-out from the toes static: 168 cm: 10 seconds hold. (I am 189 cm tall)

Today's training:

OAPU: 5*2 (5 set*2 reps) I get some help from a band attached to the table, and then I take the push up under the table)

PRO: four sets of 7 seconds hold at 160 cm.

One arm swing: 28 kilo: 6*6

My plan this far: Training the one arm push up until 1. januar 2019. (Or maybe until I can do OAPU with feet together.

Power wheel roll out: I will just keep training it until I can do five reps from the toes. When I am done with the GTG with rowing, I will start GTG with power wheel roll out.
 
Last edited:
Yesterday I hiked for 11 hours With a 17 kilo backpack. I did this in hilly terrain. The nature was lovely and I felt my body was working quite good. Still I think these Extreme (at least for me) physical activities are not something I would like to continue doing. Next time I will plan better, hike With an easier back pack, and only hike for four-six hours Maximum pr day.

This week I will try eating only Three times pr. day. To make it easier I will eat a lot of vegetables and drink a lot of water.
 
New training:

Warming up:

Goblet squat: 24 kilos doing some reps and set.
Halos with 16 kilo: I could feel it in my elbow.
Crawling: 20 seconds back and forth * 3
Waiter´s walk 16 kilo and 20 kilo: 2 set of each.

KB snatch: 20 kilo: 6 set* 7 reps (PR)
One arm swing 28 kilo: 10 set * 6 reps
TGU 24: 3 reps each hand.

Power wheel roll-out on a plank 4 sets.

I also did some training of the wrist and the finger extensors.

I am also starting to think that the pain might have something to do with hand positioning. Each day at work my time is spent with palms facing downward, which is an awkward position. The same is happening when I am writing at home, and when I do one arm push up, but also when I do power wheel roll out. Maybe I can train with different hand positioning ? For instance doing push ups on a parallette.

And maybe I can buy a more fancy power wheel with allow neutral hand positioning.

I have asked my boss if she can buy some neutral keyboards and a joystick mouse.
 
Some slight discomfort in my elbow so I changed my program a bit:

L-sit with one foot out and one foot in: 10 seconds (PR)
TGU 16 kilo: 10 seconds in each position 1 rep pr arm.
Negative one arm OPU on kettlebell: 3*5
PRO on plank: 4*7
One arm - one foot plank: 2 sets pr side
One arm swing: 28/ 2*8 (pr side)
Training of the finger extensors
Overhead walking 16+20: 2 sets.

PRO 168 cm static hold: 14 seconds (PR)
 
Last edited:
I still have som discomfort in my elbow. I had my last training session last Wednesday, so I will keep on not training for some more days hoping my elbow will heal. I do some Egyptian and teacup exercises to improve my elbow health.

My biggest goal for many years the OAPU has been achieved. I would like to continue with that goal, but my elbow is currently saying no to this. I also realized that one of my biggest goals for a long long time has been to be really lean. So because of these two things I was thinking about first and foremost trying to lean out in the next 30 days, and therefore focusing on diet. Because the diet needs to be strict I will need to have a slightly entertaining training program. Therefore I will start doing the S&S and combining it with other random stuff that I might fancy then and there.

So my plan will be to diet hard.
Do S&S the swing part almost every day, starting in four days.
After one more week of doing just swings, goblet squat and other things that are not aggravating my elbow, I will start implementing more triceps related stuff like snatches, TGU and Power wheel roll out. And then after yet another week start lightly introducing bent arm work.

What have I learnt. Take a week off from training every three months and do something for your elbow health every day. And read the S&S book a couple of times :)

For now I am enjoying my open days with no training.
 
Back again with my beloved kettlebells.

Warm-up:

goblet squat: 20 kilo/ 5 reps * 3
Some wrist training
Some elbow extensor training
the Egyptian
the teacup

Power wheel roll out 5 sets of different length. Doing it on the feet on a plank.
One arm swing: 28/ 8*6
Suitcase walk: 20 kilo 2 sets pr arm.

One arm rows: 28/ 3 reps *3
20/5*1

My elbow feels better, but still feels a bit special. Will continue with proper warm up of the elbow. And possibly reading S&S and Enter the kettlebell again, to see if it has some gems regarding proper warm up and how to stay injury-free.

82,9 kilo.
 
Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
Back
Top Bottom