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Less is More

Good progress on the QL straddle - was able to touch my feet today without reaching...was just relaxing into it and realized that I had touched my foot! Can't quite get the toes, but great progress.

I stretch in the same area of an evening that I do my morning training in. However, when I train in the morning I have every light on/blinds thrown open to make the enviornment as stimulating as possible. In the evening, I only have a single lamp on low with no screens on to relax.
 
Up 5:30
Riding the struggle bus this morning; took a bit of an off day.

Today is my second day on the warrior diet. Probably why I'm struggling just a bit this morning.

One Hand Swings:
45 rest/15 work
16,24,16,24,16
HIKE - HINGE - ROOT! - FLOAT
Really concentrated on crushing the handle. Felt like it must of recruited 20% more muscles all over.

1 minute rest between

TGU:
Finished under 8:30
16k
16k
16k
16k
16k
Focused on keeping the non working shoulder pushed down hard...made the move to the upright position before the squaring of the hips feel effortless. As if the bell was pulling me up.
 
Up 5:30

One Hand Swings:
45 rest/15 work
16,24,24,24,16
HIKE - HINGE - ROOT! - FLOAT
Crushing the handle recruits so much extra muscle that I am sore today.

1 minute rest between

TGU:
Finished under 9:15
16k
16k
24k
24k
24k
These were wobbly as hell today, and I'm not really sure why. The last set felt decent, but geesh.
 
Up 6:00

Two Hand Swings:
45 rest/15 work
24k 10x10
HIKE - HINGE - ROOT! - FLOAT
Definitely feel the THS more in my hips, and the OHS more in my lower back. It would probably do me a lot of good to frequently rotate between OHS and THS, perhaps on a daily alternating basis even.

1 minute rest between

TGU:
Finished under 10:00
16k
16k
24k
24k
24k
For lack of a better way to say it, I focused on getting my magical-muscle-lats talking with my abs.
 
Up 6:00
Not going to push the morning training until I have adapted some more to the warrior diet. I have a lot of fine tuning to get the nutritional strategy locked down, especially the under eating phase. Already I feel much more alert during the work day, and look forward to/enjoy my evening meal as a child enjoys unwrapping a birthday present.

The ache in the low back is diminishing. It has not impacted either my stretching or the training, and does not make it uncomfortable to sit/stand/go through daily life. It's just there.

One Hand Swings:
45 rest/15 work
16,24,16,24,16
HIKE - HINGE - ROOT! - FLOAT
On the hike, focused on unlocking the hips at the last moment. This helped to load up the bottom hinge.
Also, worked on really crushing the bell.
The OHS has a much longer float component (in time) than the THS does.

1 minute rest between

TGU:
Finished under 9:30
16k
16k
24k
24k
24k
Focused on crushing the bell during all phases of the movement; really helped engage the magical lats and keep the weight steady.
Noticed that tensing the lats before I rolled over with the bell really smoothed out the getup.
 
Up 6:00, but did not train until 8:20. Got distracted listening to a B.B. King album.

You're going to laugh...but I've added two laps of crawling around my place to my warmup. This helps arouse my body.

One Hand Swings:
45 rest/15 work
16,24,24,24,16
Crush handle + Nose breathe + Load hips = Smooth movement

1 minute rest between

TGU:
Finished under 10:00
16k
16k
24k
24k
24k
- Noticed if I kept the hand on the ground pointing forward it alleviated stress off the wrist, and made it more natural to keep the shoulder down and transition to the upright position.
- On the getdown , focused on keeping the hips pulled back when reaching for the ground. Moved the fulcrum from my lower back into the hips a little bit more.
- Noticed that tensing the lats before I rolled over with the bell really smoothed out the getup.

Overall this was a satisfying session.
 
Up 6:00, but did not train until 9:30. Got distracted listening to a Beatles album. And, it's Sunday no need for me to clamp my time like I have to during the work week.

One Hand Swings:
45 rest/15 work
16,24,24,24,16
Crush handle + Nose breathe + Load hips = Smooth movement

1 minute rest between

TGU:
Finished under 10:00
16k
16k
24k
24k
24k
I found a video that clearly explains hand placement in the TGU - -> Link.
This is the 'hand pointing' I've been working on.​
Then I found another video that clearly explains hip hinging in the TGU - - > Link.
This is the 'hips pulled back' I've been working on.​
 
Up 6:20

One Hand Swings:
45 rest/15 work
16,24,16,24,16

1 minute rest between

TGU:
Finished under 10:00
16k
16k
16k
16k
16k

Umm, yea. Bit of a struggle today.
 
Up 6:00

One Hand Swings:
45 rest/15 work
16,24,24,24,16
I realized today that CRUSHING the bell
1. makes the swing much easier on my callouses
2. tames the arc
1 + 2 = more efficient, smoother movement

1 minute rest between

TGU:
Finished under 10:00
16k
16k
24k
24k
24k
Working on getting the hinge movement locked down. Even just two days of being aware of it/working on it has made the movement much stronger.

Much better today.
 
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Up 6:00

One Hand Swings:
45 rest/15 work
16,24,24,24,16
The reason I do not do all 5 sets with the 24k is that my right hand grip embarrasses my already strong left hand grip. However, the past couple workouts my left hand grip hasn't been as embarrassed by the right hand grip's strength. I should be able to add another set of 24k soon.

1 minute rest between

TGU:
Finished under 10:00
16k
16k
24k
24k
24k
When I intensely contracted the lat of the arm holding the bell before I rolled up it sets me up smoothly for the rotate & hinge plus makes getting off the floor much easier.

This makes my 7th day in a row of training. I am building momentum.
 
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Up 5:30

OHS:
45 rest/15 work
16,24,24,24,16

1 minute rest between

TGU:
Finished under 9:30
16k
16k
24k
24k
24k

8 days in a row of training
 
Up 6:30 :(

OHS:
45 rest/15 work
16,24,16,24,16
I learned again about the importance of pulling up the knee caps at lockout.


1 minute rest between

TGU:
Finished under 8:30 :)
16k
16k
24k
24k
24k
There are 3 primary focus points in the TGU: Lats, lats, and lats. The roll, the sweep, the hinge, the lunge all are smoother when I strongly engage the magical lats.

9 days in a row of training
 
Up 5:45, train about 8:30. Got distracted listening to The Wall.
Off Day

THS; overspeed eccentric:
45 rest/15 work
16k 10x10
These are such a great lat exercise. Realized that the contraction of the lats keep my torso tall and lets me pull back into the hips and glutes at the bottom.

1 minute rest between

TGU:
Shoe, 5x1
Considering how beat up I am, I expected to get hit in the face with a shoe several times. But these were flawless, and I learned more about the hinge.

10 days in a row of training
 
Huge day!
Up 7:00

THS; overspeed eccentric:
45 rest/15 work
24k 10x10
Chose to do another day of THS to give my whiny callouses a break.
Again, learning about how the lats influence the hips.
Also learned that the strong contraction of the abs at the top helps me sit tall back into the hips on the way down.

1 minute rest between

TGU:
24k, 5x1!
Done under 8:30!
I am excited about this...I've had this milestone in mind for a while. The goal was to be done in under 10 minutes with solid form on every rep; I smashed that.

Smashed two milestones today:
1. Entire training session performed with the 24k under 20 minutes
2. TGU's all done with 24k in under 10 minutes


11 days in a row of training
 
Up 6:00

THS; overspeed eccentric:
45 rest/15 work
24k 10x10
I've begun to visualize the spine and lats as one interconnected piece of steel.

1 minute rest between

TGU:
24k, 5x1
Done under 9:00
Now that my lats, forearms, and triceps are conditioned enough to keep the elbow straight I feel these strongly in my traps. The traps play a strong role in supporting the arms in the overhead position.

12 days in a row of training
 
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Up 6:00

THS; overspeed eccentric:
45 rest/15 work
24k 10x10
I was able to utilize the hips much better today.

1 minute rest between

TGU:
24k, 5x1
Done under 10:00
These took a bit longer today as I focused on feeling out the hinge with this session.

My hips, obliques, and abdominal muscles were toast after this. I had some trouble controlling my breathing today - fatigue is accumulating.

13 days in a row of training
 
Aye, what a day! Ended up having to squeeze in training before dinner around 4:45 PM

THS
45 rest/15 work
24k 10x10
Learning to use the torso and the hips together to get a powerful pop out of the bottom.

1 minute rest between

TGU:
24k, 5x1
Done under 7:30
Focused on building the connection between the lats and the hinge moving up and down.


14 days in a row of training
 
Yesterday, another planned rest day

Today:

One Hand Swing
Dialed back the pace in favor of using the one hand swing and the 24k for every set.
55 rest/15 work
24k 10x10
Waiting just a moment to unlock my hips after the bell starts downward was my focus today. I don't seem to really load the hips if I unlock too soon. Felt strong and smooth once I got that dialed in.

2:30 minute rest between

TGU:
24k, 5x1
Done under 9:30
These were stronger than I expected them to be.

This will be my main template for a while.
 
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