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Less is More

Did not train yesterday

Wake up at 5:30 am
Usual hot shower/tea/reading before training
Total training time < 25 minutes
Fast hour 35 of 36

Two Hand Swings:
40 rest/15 work
24k 10x10
Focused on being rooted to the ground by gripping the floor with my feet. Helped pop the bell up.

1 minute rest between

TGU:
Finished under 8:30
16k
16k
24k
24k
16k
For the initial getup, I focused on keeping the working, bent leg's foot turned out a bit. Felt like this engaged the glute more and minimized leg pop on the straight leg.
 
Did not train this morning; got some sort of stomach bug yesterday.

Will get back on the gains train tomorrow.
 
Wake up at 5:30 am
Usual hot shower/tea/reading before training
Total training time < 25 minutes

Two Hand Swings:
39 rest/15 work
24k 10x10

1 minute rest between

TGU:
Finished under 9:00
16k
16k
24k
24k
16k

Working to get my rest periods down is beneficial as it forces me to be brutally efficient aka keep perfect form. When the clock is ticking and you haven't fully recovered you must keep perfect form or you get worn out too early.

Friday! Friday! Friday! Friday! Friday!
 
Wake up at 6:00 am
Usual hot shower/tea/reading before training
Total training time < 25 minutes

Two Hand Swings:
38 rest/15 work
24k 10x10
The goal is to take 1 second less rest every day until I get to 15 rest/15 work. Form continues to gain efficiency, mostly from loading the hips more in the bottom hinge.

1 minute rest between

TGU:
Finished under 9:00
16k
16k
24k
24k
16k
Keeping the TGUs static while getting the swing rest periods down to 15/15 in the swings. Which of course is more of a challenge than I realized, since I am using up more and more energy in the swings before I get to the TGU.
 
Wake up at 6:30 am
Usual hot shower/tea/reading before training
Total training time < 25 minutes

Two Hand Swings:
37 rest/15 work
24k 10x10
I was being a little lazy with the glute cramp at the top; almost lost my balance on a a rep. Corrected. I'm getting so good at loading the hips that I need to polish up the lockout now.

1 minute rest between

TGU:
Finished under 9:00
16k
16k
24k
24k
16k
These are challenging after the swings, but as long as I keep in mind the need to 'breathe behind the shield' they feel solid. I will continue to keep the focus on reducing the rest period on the swings, but might play with adding another 24k set here and there.
 
Wake up at 5:30 am
Usual hot shower/tea/reading before training

Two Hand Swings:
36 rest/15 work
24k 10x10
I don't know why but my body sounded like a bowl of rice krispies during the prying goblet squat warmups. Snap, crackle, pop! Perhaps this was why I struggled with these today. Had to really concentrate to successfully load the hips at the bottom.

1 minute rest between

TGU:
Finished under 8:30
16k
16k
24k
24k
16k
Where the swings felt like a struggle, these by contrast felt great. Today it was easy to keep the weight in the lats.

Overall a good training session, and despite my body protesting I was able to reduce the rest on swings by another second.
 
Chris Hadfield’s approach is to ask: “What’s the next thing that could kill me?” Today I learned that keeping form while fatigued is basically asking this quickly on the fly as you flow through the movement.

Wake up at 5:30 am
Usual hot shower/tea/reading before training

Two Hand Swings:
35 rest/15 work
24k 10x10
Feeling much better today ( no rice krispie warmups ), but I may have to stay at this rest/work interval for a bit. I kept my form, but was more worn out than anticipated. Good stuff! Just focused on glute/ab contraction to cleanup the lockout. All sets felt strong despite the struggle to control breathing.

1 minute rest between

TGU:
Finished under 8:30
16k
16k
24k
24k
16k
Feeling the impact of the 35/15 swing intervals on these today. Form was never wobbly, but my triceps and forearms were burning from keeping the arm/wrist straight. General endurance was somewhat compromised, but I learned a great lesson on how to stay calm and focused under fatigue.
 
Yesterday: Rest day

Today while warming up one the second set of goblet squats, my left hip was painful. I've been slacking off on the stretching side of things (Bad Nails, BAD!), so it's my own fault.
Rather than push it, I just did some 90/90 and QL stretches.
 
Yesterday evening I did 3 rounds of 90/90 and QL stretches.

Did the same thing this morning.
 
Wake up at 6:00 am
Ran some errands, took a nap before lunch and then trained around 12:30pm.

Thankfully, my left hip was better today. No pain during goblet squat warm ups, tho I did not try to go deep or pry very hard. It was not sore, but the left glute was sore deep down.

One Hand Swings:
Did an 'off day' type swing practice session today.
45 rest/15 work
16k 10x10
My lockout feels better than it has in weeks. Likely the hip pain was just a signal for other things being too tight to function properly.

1 minute rest between

TGU:
Finished under 9:00
16k
16k
24k
24k
24k
Was easily able to add another set with the 24k since I wasn't depleted from heavy two hand swings. I felt really great after this training session.

Lesson Learned:
The 90_90/QL Straddle stretches are an important component of S&S. I will not skip them in the evening, no matter how worn out I am after work.
 
The Nail said:
It was not sore, but the left glute was sore deep down.
Click to expand...

Some massage with a lacrosse ball or something similar might find some trigger points that need attention.

The Nail said:
The 90_90/QL Straddle stretches are an important component of S&S. I will not skip them in the evening, no matter how worn out I am after work.
Click to expand...

I find the 90/90 or similar position to be a great one to do on a matress, upon waking or before going to sleep. Just get that front knee under you, and relax...2-3 minutes per side seems to agree with me.

The Nail said:
I felt really great after this training session.
Click to expand...
:)
 
Last edited:
@Anna C, I tried your suggestion of doing the 90/90 stretch on my mattress last night. Definitely adds another dimension to it, guessing because the front knee sinks into the mattress with your bodyweight on it. Thanks for the tip!
 
I think of this song when I have to take a training detour :)
Just hold on loosely
But don't let go
If you cling too tightly
You're gonna lose control​

Wake up at 8:00 am (daylight savings time)

One Hand Swings:
45 rest/15 work
16,24,16,24,16
It's easier to breathe on the 1HS and load the hips.
Focused on taming the arc, loading the hips, and locking out strong.

1 minute rest between

TGU:
Finished under 9:00
16k
16k
24k
24k
24k
These feel rock solid; I am actually using the hips now.
 
Wake up at 6:30 am

One Hand Swings:
30 rest/15 work
16,24,16,24,16
HIKE - HINGE - ROOT! - FLOAT

1 minute rest between

TGU:
Finished under 8:30
16k
16k
24k
24k
24k
Focusing on breathing and moving slower than I was comfortable with actually shaved 30 seconds off of my time for these. When I breathe slower I make better use of the 'breathe behind the shield' technique. When I move slower I end up spending less time stabilizing the weight.
- Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast -
 
Wake up at 6:00 am

One Hand Swings:
45 rest/15 work
16,24,24,24,16
HIKE - HINGE - ROOT! - FLOAT
The hips seem to load up a bit later in the OHS compared to the THS.
Also my lumbar muscles get a good workout from the one hand version, likely resisting the twist of the bell. Still could improve on the breathing during the movement.

1 minute rest between

TGU:
Finished under 10:00
16k
16k
24k
24k
24k
I'm still amazed at how hard my forearms get worked with the TGU.
Getting back on the stretching in the evenings has made these much more stable. Still could improve on keeping the lats tight 100% of the time.
 
Did not train yesterday: I must have slept right through my alarm, barely woke up with time enough to get to work.
Feeling off kilter every day this week; only thing I can think of to blame is the daylight savings time. I'm having trouble getting to sleep an hour earlier at night and feel like a zombie when I wake up.

Wake up at 6:00 am

One Hand Swings:
45 rest/15 work
16,24,16,24,16
HIKE - HINGE - ROOT! - FLOAT
Focused on zipping up the knee when I locked out; gave the whole movement a much more battle ready feel and made it easier to cramp the glutes and abs.

1 minute rest between

TGU:
Finished under 8:30
16k
16k
24k
24k
24k
 
Wake up at 6:00 am

One Hand Swings:
45 rest/15 work
16,24,24,24,16
HIKE - HINGE - ROOT! - FLOAT
Today I noticed that if I grip my fingers tightly with the thumb the bell feels more connected to me. Similar to a barbell hook grip, but the thumb is over the fingers instead of under them.

1 minute rest between

TGU:
Finished under 9:30
16k
16k
24k
24k
24k
Focused on touching the knee softly to the ground on the descent, and getting the hips properly setup before hinging back.
 
Wake up at 7:15 am

One Hand Swings:
45 rest/15 work
16,24,24,24,16
HIKE - HINGE - ROOT! - FLOAT
Working on the 'kb hook' today helped me get a stronger glute/ab/lat connection

1 minute rest between

TGU:
Finished under 9:30
16k
16k
24k
24k
24k
"The body is one piece."
Focused on keeping the shoulder not holding the kettlebell pulled down. This really helped smooth the low sweet, and oddly enough seemed to engage my abs more.
 
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