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Matt's Log

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Matt thanks for the bent press video and postings, it's helped me progress a bit with it!

Good job on your National Guard PT test. I spent 9 yrs in the Air National Guard; it was always entertaining to see the various levels of fitness of the members when it came time to test.
 
Ok, it's been a few days since I posted, but I have a good excuse.

March 8
AM
BtP-5x1 (each side) @ 32K
KBS-2H-5 reps OTM @ 32K for 20 minutes
HR Avg-137, Max-150
Note-I'm going to do a few sessions of 2H swings without the 40K, but focusing more of the down swing. If I can keep my HR in a similar spot, I'll stick with it.
PM
Easy run-14 minutes

March 9
AM
BtP-5x1 (each side) @ 24K (Wife was having some contractions, so I didn't want to dive into a training session. It was just false labor)
PM
BtP-5x1 (each side) @ 32K
KBS-1H-5x10 (each side) @ 24K

March 10
Wife went into real labor (it kind of started the evening of March 9, actually). Spent the day being the best damn cheerleader I could be, and ended the day with my son Henry. Training can wait...

March 11
BtP-5x1 (each side) @ 32K
KBS-2H-5 reps OTM @ 32K for 20 minutes
Note-Trained at the campus gym since I had to go there for a couple hours anyways, and didn't have my HR monitor. Then got my butt back to the hospital.

March 12
BtP-9x1 (each side) @ 32 & 40K (5:4)
Note-Just got back from the hospital this afternoon and didn't feel quite energetic enough for swings. Everyone is healthy as can be, but they let people stay up to 48 hours after delivery, and the hospital was like a hotel (except everyone actually paid attention to you). Maybe tomorrow I'll slip out for an hour and go for a run...
 
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March 13
Long Run-7.5 miles, 78 minutes, over flat ground (grass, trail, and hardball)
HR Avg-152, Max-162 (was having issues w/ HR monitor, so that may be little off)
Notes- I tried to keep my HR a little low since my sleep has been somewhat inconsistent. Since it wasn't hilly I could focus on keeping my cadence near 180 (although it seems like it was usually closer to 170). I may be a hurting unit in a day or two; I'm already feeling it in my feet, calves, and adductors (anybody know why?). I think that's the farthest I've run since high school...
 
March 14
Rest day. I was going to do some OS stuff and light BtP's, but I was tired. Last night was rough. Also, the outside of my right foot/ankle (nerd words: distal fibula and 5th metatarsal) hurts a little from yesterday. Not swollen, just a little twinge when I walk. I didn't think that adding 30 minutes to my LSD work was too ambitious, but it could just be that at least half of yesterday's run was on hard surfaces.

March 15
BtP-5x1 (each side) @ 32K
KBS-1H-5x10 (each side) @ 24K
Note-Got a lot more sleep last night than the night before.
-Foot feels a little better. No more pain in my ankle, just a little bit on the outside portion of my foot. Hopefully just soft tissue damage around the mid-foot joint. I definitely won't be asking any more of my feet until I've felt better for a couple days, although I doubt I would have gotten much running in this week anyways.
-The heavy 2H swing days take a lot more out of me than the 1H swing days, so I may start simply doing them 1-2 times a week, when I feel good. This will have a negative impact on my conditioning, but my tendency seems to be to "stick to the plan" to the point of over reaching, and I can't really afford to do that with just under two months left to train. Better to show up, under-perform, and still have fun, than not show up at all and wallow in self loathing :D
 
Also, the outside of my right foot/ankle (nerd words: distal fibula and 5th metatarsal) hurts a little from yesterday. Not swollen, just a little twinge when I walk.

That sounds a lot like what I experienced after that half marathon last Saturday! And I'm sure I increased the distance a bit too much -- my longest training run was just over 7 miles, then I went out and did 13.1. And I had run that far before, but it's been 5 years. Come to think of it, most of my training runs were not on hard surfaces-- we have rubberized track that covers much of my training runs -- and the 13.1 was all on concrete. So that might have been part of my problem. Yes, mine too, felt like "soft tissue damage around the mid-foot joint". It's fine now, though I did have some other slight woes that I was whining about in my training log. :)

Congrats on the new son, by the way!! He'll be swinging kettlebells before you know it.
 
Good to hear! Well, not to hear that your were in pain, just that it's getting better. I got a mild stress fracture a few years back, so I'm always paranoid whenever I get foot pain. This feels like a little inflammation, so I'll just take it easy until it feels better. My LSD for this weekend will have to be a long swing session or something...

Thank you! My wife and I are so excited (she's mostly just excited not to be pregnant anymore o_O). He's so small now, but before too long I'll have someone to run around and climb on stuff with. I won't push him into strength training, but if he sees his dad doing swings, and there happens to be one of those kids 'bells lying around, anything could happen ;).
 
Congratulation! I'll have a son in July this year too. He will be my second child, so I'm preparing for non-slepping nights :)
 
Excellent! By the time this first part is done I'll be walking around like a zombie, but I can't think of a better reason to miss out on sleep ;)
 
March 16
BtP-7x1 (each side) @ 32K
-Later-
KBS-1H-7x10 (each side) @ 24K-18 minutes, OTHR≈130 (this means "On The Heart Rate," and indicates that I started a new set every time my HR dropped to about 130. The glossary has been updated appropriately)
Note-I tried something a little different. Again. I know, at the rate I keep trying new things, I'll be doing P90X by May and Crossfit by June... I'm trying to figure out what the best way is to train aerobically with swings, while still able to recover. I like the A+A stuff I've been doing, but the heavy swings take it out of me, and the long sessions aren't realistic with my schedule. My 1H swings sessions have been lighter weight with rest periods that favor strength development, while my 2H sessions have been heavier with rest periods that favor aerobic development. Perhaps it is time to narrow my focus? My goal is race conditioning, so maybe I should just stick with rest periods that favor aerobic development. Most days I can do lighter, 1H swings, and on days I'm feeling froggy (and think I'll sleep alright that night) I'll do heavier 2H swings. As long as I'm doing swings, I don't think my deadlift will drop below 2xBW, and as long as I'm not wrecking myself with high intensity swing sessions, I doubt I can screw things up too bad...We will see. I chose HR≈130 because when I was doing the A+A programs, it seemed like I usually started each set around 135, so I'm just taking it down a little.
 
Great log and congrats on the son. Love him to death man because before you know it he'll be leaving for recruit training. ; ) It goes by fast. As far as the training, I did a half marathon last Aug. or Sept. and used the A + A training along with MAF running and it went well. Actually I only ran 2 or 3 times per week, one long one which I increased each week and two 20 min. runs. Do the dang swings! And I hear bent presses are good but don't discount TGU's. They work everything. Good luck
 
Thanks @banzaiengr , I can't believe how much I love the little dude; I hear that gets even better, but I don't even know how it could. I gotta say, part of me refuses to believe he'll ever get any bigger, and I don't know if that will change even if I see him in uniform in a couple decadeso_O.
It's encouraging to hear that someone had success with similar training methods. I gotta say, my training is probably really going to test how well a "low volume" approach can work, for better or for worse. My swing sessions are shorter, and my runs are fewer. But I hear you get some rest during the obstacle course races since you have to wait in line for the obstacles, so we'll see how it all shakes out...
 
March 17
BtP-5x1 (each side) @ 32, 40K (3:2)
-Later-
KBS-2H-20x5 (each side) @ 32, 40K (1:1)-23 minutes, OTHR≈130
HR Avg-138, Max-157

March 18
BtP-6x1 (each side) @ 32K
-Later-
KBS-1H-7x10 (each side) @ 24K-20 minutes, OTHR≈130
HR Avg-141, Max-161

March 19
BtP-4x1 (each side) @ 32, 36, 40K (1:1:2)
-Later-
KBS-1H-3x10 (each side) @ 24K
Note-Family came over from a couple states away and we're spending the weekend with them. I'm just working in what I can , when I can, today and tomorrow.

Update on the swing adjustment, I really like using HR to guide my sessions. I have a tendency to stick to the "on the minute" stuff even if I don't feel like I'm up to snuff, whereas this lets me work at a level that my body can do well with. This also gives me a lot better feedback regarding how I "feel" and how recovered I actually am.
 
March 20
BtP-6x1 (each side) @ 32&40K (5:1)
Didn't find time to do swings

March 21
BtP-5x1 (each side) @ 32K
-Later-
My make up "LSD" for last week was two, back-to-back swing sessions that totaled about one hour and 300 swings.
KBS-1H-15x5 (each side) @ 24K-28 minutes, OTHR≈135, HR Avg-140, Max-151
KBS-1H-15x5 (each side) @ 24K-29 minutes, OTHR≈145, HR Avg-149, Max-158
Note-Sets of 5 with just 24K definitely didn't get my HR up and running the way the heavier bells do, but it kept my HR elevated for an hour. I was going to do it all OTHR≈135, but once my HR got up it started to take too long to go back down to 135, so I did the next half at 145. Nice to see that my max HR still stayed pretty low.
 
March 22
BtP-5x1 (each side) @ 32K
-Later-
KBS-2H/OS-5x10 @ 24K

March 23
BtP-6x1 (each side) @ 32K
KBS-2H-10x10 @ 32K-20 minutes, OTHR≈120
HR Avg-135, Max-157
Note-Had to work around a pretty deep blister from the 21st (which is irritating b/c I didn't feel it coming on until well after the session), so today and yesterday have been 2H swings with a wash cloth wrapped around the handle. Way more taxing on grip, but it felt like I couldn't keep my body from automatically dialing the hip snap down a bit.

March 24
BtP-7x1 (each side) @ 32K
KBS-1H-6x10 (each side) @ 24K
Note-I was at the gym, so I didn't have my HR monitor with me. I think the poor sleep is catching up with me; I just didn't feel like I was getting as powerful of a hip extension today. I'll have to take it a little easy for the next day or two and see how I feel.
 
March 25
BtP-5x2 (each side) @ 24K
Snatch-5x10 (each side) @ 16K
Note-Nice easy day. Did some light snatches just for fun, and light BtP's just to practice the movement.

Also, I edited the "kettlebell training" portion of my intro post to reflect the adjustments I've made.
 
March 26
LSD Day
BtP-7x1 (each side) @ 32K
Row-10K in 47 minutes, HR Avg-148, Max-151
about 2 minutes rest, then:
Sandbag Carry-50 lbs (it was a long sandbag so I just draped it over my shoulders)- 1 mile in 15 minutes, HR Avg-151, Max 161
Note-I was going to just sit on the rower for an hour, but after about 40 minutes my butt hurt (and seriously, rowing is hard), so I just finished out a 10K and then took a sandbag for a walk. My foot is feeling good again, so I'll probably go on some short runs this week.

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Also, my brother gave me a sweet GPS watch a while ago, but my HR monitor strap wasn't compatible with it. I got my REI dividend back last week and ordered a compatible strap, so now I can step into the 21st century with all sorts of awesome data and graphs that will only marginally improve my training! What this graph tells me is that I need to do something besides rowing for my LSD work...
 

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I got my REI dividend back last week

Isn't that the coolest company ever? They actually called me to tell me I had one that I hadn't spent yet, and did I want them to mail me a check? I said no, I'll spend it! Stopped by one of the stores on the way through Atlanta, and had a blast.
 
REI is definitely like my toy store. There are so many things I could make bad decisions about;). There's never enough time and money to take advantage of all the cool stuff...
 
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