Strong mobility

[jef]

Saturday 30th December
Morning mobility routine.
Trip to Mosonmagyarovar (it's a real town name) to the "Furdo" (thermal bath). Nothing better than sitting outside in 37°C water, while the air is at 0°C. Three round of sauna on top of this. Nice way to finish the year.

Before apertitive, a preventive swing session. Dice gave 2, 4, 5, 2:
1H swing: 28kg x 10, 10, 32kg x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, (5+5), 28kg x 10, 10
Nice and explosive. I am going to increase volume by adding more sessions, and later on, more sets. I keep variability with the dice.

 

[jef]

Sunday 31st December
Morning mobility routine.

Look what I found in the backyard of a small tavern of the low carpates. Today’s training plan was supposed to be rest only, but it ended up in a oldschool clean and press (after a beer, of course).


Also available here: Instagram post by Jean-François Lopez • Dec 31, 2017 at 4:17pm UTC

Happy new year everybody! End 2017 strongly, and have a stronger 2018!

 

[jef]

Monday 1st January
Morning mobility routine.

KB press: 24 x 4, 5, 28 x 2, 24 x 4
Not hard. The year starts well. Power breathing before each set, focus on abs tension and pressing from the lats.

Later, swing session. Dice: 1, 5, 6, 3
1H swings: EMOM 28kg x (5+5), 32kg x 10 x 11 sets, 28kg x 10 x 3 sets
Good session. I will keep 4 sessions of swings per week from now on, and 1 of snatches.

 

[jef]

Tuesday 2nd January
Abbreviated morning mobility routine (10 reps instead of 40). When time is an issue, little is better than nothing.

Morning press session. This is the first series of the day, I have another one later. Dut to the higher volume, I divided it in two.
KB press: 24 x 3, 28 x 2, 24 x 4, 28 x 2, 24 x 3, 28 x 1, 24 x 4, 3
Power breathing before each set. 28kg went up alright. Not easy, but not hard either.

Early afternoon,
Deadlift: 110 x 4, 6, 120 x 3, 3, 130 x 2 (all DOH), 140 x 1 (alternate grip)
I was feeling good, so could do all lifts with a double overhand grip. I did not feel it for 140kg, though. I am close to a double overhand double bodyweight deadlift, but not there yet. "Wedge" is my only self cue at the moment.

A few cossack and prying goblet squat, while waiting for the squat rack, then,
BB squat: 90 x 3, 4, 5
Focus on hip and shoulder moving at the same rate. "chest up"

Weight check: 70,3 kg. Not bad after all the food and alkohol of the past few days...

Some rest, then afternoon press session:
KB press: 24 x 3, 4, 5, 28 x 2, 24 x 4, 28 x 2, 24 x 3
It was all going well, then I was less concentrated on my second rep of the left of the last set at 28kg. It was the last "hard" rep of the day, and losing concentration made me miss it. I put the bell down, immediately re-cleaned it, and pressed it properly. Not a strength issue, but a mind issue.

 

[jef]

Wednesday 3rd January
Morning mobility routine.

(too) early morning session.
Deadlift: 110 x 6, 120 x 4, 110 x 4
All double overhand. Good warm-up, while waiting for the rack to be free. Wedging, putting attention on low back.

BB squat: 90 x 5, 4, 5, 100 x 4, 110 x 2, 120 x 1, 90 x 3
Keeping hips and shoulders ascension at the same rate. "chest up". Last set at 90 felt like nothing after the single at 120kg.

Much, much later, snatch density session.
Only 7 sets instead of 12, because of risk for hands. Better to do less today, and keep going, than having days off training stupidly.
1 hand snatch: EMOM, 24kg x 12 reps x 5 sets, then 10 (left), 12 right
Stopped at 10 on the left, when I felt a bad gripping on the way down and a tear risk. I then did an additional set on the right and stopped completely the session. Pushing will not make me gain much, but I am at risk of tearing my hand. It is still 82 snatches, 60 within 5 min, without pushing too hard.
The technique on the right side feels pretty good, especially on the catch down. I just need to replicate it on the left!

 

[jef]

Thursday 4th January
5 days of training concentrated into 4, because of new year.
Today is an easy practice.

Morning mobility routine.

Deadlift: 110 x 5, 120 x 4, 130 x 1 (all DOH)
Little reps, easy combo of weight and reps, so all concentration to wedging and keeping the back flat.

KB press: 24 x 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4
Power breathing before each set. Easy session in prevision of a much tougher one tomorrow.

 

[jef]

Friday 5th January
Morning mobility routine.

Rack occupied. I had to change the order I planned for the exercises. No big deal.
KB press: 24 x 3, 4, 5, 3, 4, 3
Power breathing before each set. I am getting it much better. Next week, I need to start specific abdominal exercises.

Deadlift: 110 x 5 (DOH), 140 x 1 (DOH), 140 x 1 (alt), 150 x 1, 110 x 4 (DOH), 140 x 1, 110 x 5, 140 x 1
I managed to lift 140kg with a double overhand grip, even though I did not spend much time in the lockout. I normaly stay upright 1 or 2 seconds, but this time it was a reach and low (the opposite of a touch and go).
Weight check: 71,1 kg. Damned! I did not get a double bodyweight DOH deadlift yet! So close...

Squat: 90 x 3, 4, 100 x 2, 90 x 3, 4
Low intensity, so it did not bother me to do it last. Last BB squat session for a while. I will transition to some KB front squats.

Second daily KB session.
KB press: 24 x 3, 4, 28 x 1
Then cheat cleans with 32, followed by 2 loaded cleans with 32. Cheat cleans with 40kg, keeping it in the rack (damned, it's heavy. Are there really people snatching this one ?).
Clean and press @32kg
Clean ok. Press not yet. Still a boy, not yet a man. Let's keep working.

Consolation price:
1H KB swing: EMOM, 28kg x (5+5), 32kg x 10 x 8, 28kg x 10 x 2
Despite the load in deadlifts in the morning and the loaded cleans a few minutes earlier, that was powerful and quite easy. I have not tested the simple standard with the swings, but I am confident I have it.

Next week:
- continue with swings and snatches.
- re-introduce light getups, as an easy practice.
- take a week of rest from heavy barbell work.
- write next cycle program. I will keep deadlifts (just love those), KB press (I may try with doubles), and start double KB front squats instead of barbell squats.

 

[jef]

Saturday 6th January
Morning mobility routine and hard rest.

Sunday 7th January
Abbreviated morning mobility routine.
Home-made Galette des rois.
So, in the early evening, sinwgs.
1H swing: EMOM, alternating hands, 28kg x (5+5), 32kg x 10, 10, 10, 10, (5+5), 28kg x 10 (R), 40kg x 5 (R), 28kg x 10 (L), 40kg x 5 (L), 32kg x 10, 10, 10, 10, 28kg x 10, 10
As I don't want to increase the reps at 32kg, and it starts to feel easy, I introduced the next bell. My 40kg has a large handle, so the grip is going to be a challenge for 1H swings. For the first session, I played safe and gripped it hard in the palm. I wanted to see if my hips could handle the 1H swing at 40kg. They did. Tomorrow, I'll check the normal grip...

Next week is going to be structured only around swings and snatches. I take a week off of pure strength training.
My plan for deadlift for the week after is almost ready. I need to finalize the rest, probably double kettlebell work.

 

[jef]

Monday 8th January
Morning mobility routine.
1H swings, EMOM, alternating hands: 28kg x 10, 10, (5+5), 32kg x 10 10, (5+5), 28kg x (5+5), 40kg x 10, 10, 32kg x 10, 10, 10, 10
This time swinging the 40kg with a proper grip. 5 reps is the sweat spot. I'll stay at one set per hand until I work up to 10 reps. The 32kg swing immediately felt way lighter...

Later, I'll resume my Flexible steel program minimum sessions with 16kg.

 

[jef]

Tuesday 9th January
Late morning mobility routine.

No strength training this week, but a few easy tests to see where I am with kettlebells. Yesterday, I tested the double KB press with a pair of 24kg. I stopped at 4 because form was about to break, and I don't want sloppy reps. I will test again later in the week, and I would like to test double 28s too.

Today I went for double KB clean. Made it alright with 2x24kg, but need to clean the clean. I then tested 5 cleans with the 28s, preceded by a double swing. Made it, but need more tightness at the impact, it is leaning toward GS style...
Fun fact: as the weight starts to be significant, I am taming the arch better! Twice the weight in a clean teaches to keep the elbows close.

Double KB front squat. 1 rep at 2x24kg was very easy, so I went directly for 2x28kg for 5 reps. Doable, not really hard, not easy either. I will write the next cycle conservatively, considering 2x28kg as a 5TRM and work from there.

 

[jef]

Wednesday 10th January
Mobility routine.

Snatch density day
1H snatch: EMOM, 8 sets, 12 reps, alternating hands.
I started with my bad hand, the left one. The plan was 12 sets. The right hand was going well, but I felt at the 7th set that I was starting to be on the edge of tearing my hand. I did the next set with no issue with the right one and called it a day. I probably could have gone two more sets per hands, but preferred to play safe and save my hand.
Still better than last week, especially on the catch of the left hand. Heavy swings pay off.
96 snatches total, 60 in the 5 minutes mark, not pushing hard.

Later on: flexible steel programme minimum

 

[jef]

Thursday 11th January
Morning mobility routine.

Feeling good. No strength training, let's do some swings.
Dice: 3, 4, 5, 5, so 3 sets@28kg, 4 sets@40kg, 10 sets@32kg.

1H swings: EMOM, alternating hands, 28kg x 10, 10, (5+5), 32kg x 10, 10, 10, 10, 40kg x 5, 5, 32kg x 10, 10, 40kg x 5, 5, 32kg x 10, 10, 10, 10
Not too bad with the 40kg. Limiting the sets at 5 reps allows me to put some power into it without fearing for the grip to lose the bell. My 32kg swing has improved tremendously since the first time I swung the 40kg one-handed, on Monday. Heavy weight is instructive.
The plan stays the same: 3 to 4 swing sessions a week, building up to more reps and sets with 40kg, with lighter sets in between. That should help eliminate my grip issue with the left hand on the 24kg snatch, and one density snatch day to get closer to the actual snatch test, without burning out.

 

[jef]

Friday 12th January
Morning mobility routine.

I have two events I need to prepare in the coming trimester.
1. After many years passing by, I decided to register for this April Bratislava half marathon. I ran it once many years ago, put a decent time (1h32), and never found the drive to do it again. I my mind, I always had the idea of running it once more, but preparing mainly with strength training, swings and snatches, and leave one long run per week for pure running technique. This year is going to be the occasion, especially as:
2. I have been honored to be invited as an assistant to the first ever Paris SFG certification 23rd-25th February. I don't want to come without having near perfect technique. I am representing StrongFirst and need to act and look like a professional, and to support as well as I can my Team leader.

As the priority is the SFG cert, I will not run until after the cert weekend and focus on strength kettllebell work.

I took this week somewhat off of strength training to think of the strategy. Now it is clear in my mind.
1. Deadlifts. 4 additional weeks. That will get me to the beginning of February. Maximal strength, especially for the hips, with no weight gain. I will not push to increase the load, so max stays at 150kg.
2. Heavy 1-hand swings, 3 to 4 times a week. Volume variety comes with dice. Intensity variety depends of my feeling. The goal is to increase reps and sets with the 40kg, while keeping 28kg and 32kg for sets of 10 as lighter loads.
3. Snatch density. Once a week, with my target bell (or maybe heavier, actually), snatching for a few minutes, 1 hand every minute, increasing the reps every week until I reach 20 per minute as a not too hard practice (I don't expect it to be easy). I saw that this time, my only limitation is grip strength on my left hand, which will be corrected with practice and 1H-swings.
4. Skill practice. Swings and snatches being worked apart, the skill practice will be on getup, clean, press and front squats. This is easy: I will practice easy circuits with all 4, with 16 to 32kg bells, but each week will have more focus on one in particular, where I will check all the little details in the SFG manual. I start on Monday with getup.
5. Press. As it has always been my weakness, I will add more presses, single and double, 24 and 28. My press is good now, but I want it more than good!
6. Mobility and flexibility. Still can not be the focus, so just the daily mobility routine and flexible steel programme minimum, although I will start to load the bent arm bar a little.
7. Body composition. I am pretty lean already, but not rock hard lean. At 70kg without forcing, I am very close to the 68kg limit. As I also need to be as light as possible for the half marathon, I will just control a little more my food intake (and alkohol...) and see if I can reach under 68 and maintain it until the race. I was under 68 in the summer before I started to load the squat, so I should be able to go there with no loss of strength. For a limited period of time!


Now, today's practice:
Getup: 16kg, 24kg, 28kg
28kg was alright, but as I have not practiced getup regularly, I will work a bit more with 24 and 28 before I use the 32 again. There is still time.
Double KB cleans: (2x24kg) x 5
No big issue. I have been improving my clean in the past weeks with my press work, and it pays off.
Front squat: (2x24kg) x 5
Taking the time at the bottom to ensure the pause is visible. I am so used to BB squat that I tend to stand up too early, but the standard is a pause squat. Anyway, it is not very heavy, 28kg bells wil be used soon.
Press: 24kg x 5
Not hard, but I know this is the lift I have the more trouble with.

Swing session. I recover easily from ballistic KB, so I thougth I would do the swings today and have the entire weekend off, hping for a small results on the dice. They gave a 2 and three 6s! High volume, so I dialed the intensity down. 2 is for two sets at 40kg, 6 is for 6 sets at 32kg, and the remaining 6s for 12 sets at 28kg.
1H swing: 28kg x 10, 10, 10, 10, 32kg x 10, 10, 40kg x 5, 5, 28kg x 10, 10, 10, 10, 32kg x 10, 10, 10, 10, 28kg x 10, 10, 10, 10
Nose breathing all the time, good thing I lowered intensity. 40kg is not easy yet, but I see the possibility to increase reps soon.

Now I can relax with Flexible steel programme minimum.

 

[jef]

Weekend: heavy rest.

Monday 15th January
Morning mobility routine.
Deadlift: 110 x 4, 120 x 3, 130 x 2, 140 x 2 (alt), 120 x 4
All double overhand except the 140kg double. I did practice power breathing before each set, to really ensure my mid-section was tight and protect my back, and wedging before pulling. Subsequently, all reps were easy.

Lunch time: SFG practice
The first time around, I followed excellent Brett Jones SFG prep protocole.
This time, I don't need as much to simulate the weekend, but I need to practice a lot, with a reasonable weight, to the standard.
The focus is on the getup this week, so I grabbed 2 24kg bells and did a circuit:
Getup @24kg, 1+1
Swing @24kg, 10+10
Getup @24kg, 1+1
Front squat @(24+24)kg, 5
Getup @24kg, 1+1
Press @24kg, 5+5
Getup @24kg, 1+1
Snatch @24, 5+5
Getup @24kg, 1+1
Clean @(24+24)kg, 5
Getup @24kg, 1+1
No rush between exercises, the focus is on quality and technical proficiency. The goal was to see how I was with the big 6 before going further in volume and load, so everything with a 24. The session took around 25 min.

Later on, swing session. The dice were nice: 1, 1, 2, 4
1H swing: EMOM, alternating hands, 28kg x 10, 10, 32kg x 10, 10, 40kg x 6, 6, 32kg x 10, 10
Easy session. I start to feel the 40kg better. The limit is in the left grip, so I up the reps slowly.

 

[jef]

Tuesday 16th January
Lack of time. Abbreviated morning mobility routine.

Lunch time, SFG practice. As tomorrow is snatch density day, I decided to push a little today to have a lighter practice tomorrow.
So, 2 rounds, and a few getups with the 28kg. I still stay away from the 32kg. More practice needed with light weights. I put where there is an increase in load (took the idea from @Serge 's log).

Getup @24kg, 1+1
Swing @24kg, 10+10
Getup @24kg, 1+1
Front squat @(24+24)kg, 5
Getup @28kg, 1+1
Press @24kg, 5+5
Getup @28kg, 1+1
Snatch @24, 5+5
Getup @24kg, 1+1
Clean @(24+24)kg, 5
Getup @28kg, 1+1
It took about 25min, with no rushing. Quality first. Getups at 28 were feeling good, the 32kg is waiting around the corner. I decided not to increase load in the other exercises yet. It is about practice, so keeping it relatively light allows more focus on technique. I still have 5 weeks to the cert. Plenty of time.
I filmed the entire session to be able to observe myself with the instructor's eye.

After 10 min of rest, second round:
Getup @28kg, 1+1
Front squat @(24+24)kg, 5
Getup @24kg, 1+1
Swing @24kg, 10+10
Getup @28kg, 1+1
Press @24kg, 5+5
Getup @28kg, 1+1
Snatch @24, 5+5
Getup @24kg, 1+1
Clean @(24+24)kg, 5
Getup @24kg, 1+1

I finished with a relaxing session of Flexible steel program minimum @16kg.

 

[jef]

Wednesday 17th January
(Non morning) mobility routine.

This is snatch day. I hesitated to do a circuit, then I told myself that technique test and snatch test are done at the same time, so let's go and practice them all!
I will not load Wednesdays with anything more than 24kg, and do no more than one circuit, therefore keeping it as a light day. No snatches either into it.
Getup @24kg, 1+1
Swing @24kg, 10+10
Getup @24kg, 1+1
Front squat @(24+24)kg, 5
Getup @24kg, 1+1
Press @24kg, 5+5
Getup @24kg, 1+1
Clean @(24+24)kg, 5
Getup @24kg, 1+1
I am reviewing the SFG check-list to make sure that all lifts are to the standard.
I am also noticing a few things to improve on the getup, especially on the way down, where I tend to bend my elbow a bit too quickly. Something to pay attention to.

Snatch density
1H snatch: EMOM, 8 sets of 14 reps, alternating hands.
I planned 10 sets, but stopped at 8 sets, because technique was on the edge of getting less than optimal. It is not about doing as many reps as possible, but as many good reps as possible. I want to finish when there is still quality.
Other than that, it went pretty well. The catch on the left hand is getting much better, I did not feel any risk of tearing.
I am convinced that heavy swings are the reason of this.

I (re)learned one thing too.
At the 4th or 5th set, I started to think more of hinging back (and "take my time" to really go back), instead of propelling the bell up. Taking the time in the hinge does not steal that much time, but make the snatch much easier.
It is not that I did not know, but this time, with a significative number of reps, I felt it!

 

[jef]

Thursday 18th January
Morning mobility routine.

SFG practice
Getup @28kg, 1+1
Swing @24kg, 10+10
Getup @28kg, 1+1
Front squat @(24+24)kg, 5
Getup @28kg, 1+1
Press @24kg, 5+5
Getup @28kg, 1+1
Snatch @24, 5+5
Getup @28kg, 1+1
Clean @(24+24)kg, 5
Getup @28kg, 1+1
All getups with 28kg, and floor press at the start. Technical work, paying attention to the way down.
The cleans are the worst lifts at the moment. I will need to work them a lot. They meet the standard, but are not good enough to be satisfying.

Later, swing session. Dice: 2, 4, 5, 5 (so 2 sets @28, 4@40, 10@32)
1H swing, EMOM, alternating hands every minute: 28kg x 10, 10, 32kg x 10, 10, 40kg x 7, 7, 32kg x 10, 10, 10, 10, 40kg x 7, 7, 32kg x 10, 10, 10, 10
My 40kg has a huge handle and is rough. Torned a callus in my left hand, middle finger. Not a big deal as it is superficial and will heal fast. Tomorrow might be off or light (28kg only for instance). I will decide by feeling.

 

[jef]

Friday 19th January
Morning mobility routine.
Friend visiting yesterday, a bit of wine, the fat loss part of my program is out of track.

SFG practice, one round.
Getup @28kg, 1+1
Swing @24kg, 10+10
Getup @28kg, 1+1
Front squat @(24+24)kg, 5
Getup @28kg, 1+1
Press @24kg, 5+5
Getup @28kg, 1+1
Snatch @24, 5+5
Getup @28kg, 1+1
Clean @(24+24)kg, 5
I am keeping getups at 28kg, and a floor press to start. They are not hard, but I am not pushing to 32kg yet, to keep working on technical proficiency. Cleans were a bit better today, but not yet good enough. They are going to be the focus next week.

In the evening,
The dice were nice: 1, 1, 2, 3
1H-swing, EMOM, alternating hands: 28 x 10 x 7 sets.
Lower load today, to avoid pressing too much my finger with a tear. I taped it, but still. Weekend is off, so it should be fine by Monday.

Deadlift: 110 x 4, 120 x 6, 110 x 4, 120 x 4
All double over hand, except the very last rep at 120kg.

Two students today. Their squats and benches were pretty good, and I had to do some more instructions on their deadlifts. I played with the 28kg kettlebell at the gym. A few cleans and getups.

This week has been a good one for SFG practice. I will continue in this direction. It is not too tiring, and the amount of work allows me to explore all lifts. I have noticed a few things in my getups, there is no doubt I have improved them. I can't wait to be back at 32kg.

Next week is a focus on the cleans, though. I really need to work on those.

 

[jef]

Monday 22nd January
Morning mobility routine. Since midnight, I am officially older, so I increased the number of reps from 40 to 42.

Deadlift: 110 x 4, 130 x 3, 120 x 3
Nice start of the week. Low volume. The procedure for each set is now set:
1. Push the feet solidly under the bar (kicking the floor mentally helps). The bar is almost touching chins when it is above the middle of the foot.
2. stand tall, push the shoulders down in their sockets.
3. Power breath (center, left, right, center).
4. With abs and lats staying tight, go down to reach the bar.
5. Grip hard, especially with the middle finger and the pinkie (it's weird, but it works)
6. Wedge.
7. Chuck Norris the bar (meaning: don't lift the bar, push the floor away)
8. Enjoy a small pause at the top.
9. Smile.
10. Accompany the bar on the way down.
11. Rest and repeat.

All double over hand. Even the 3 reps at 130kg with DOH was easy. My double BW double overhand deadlift is closer than I hoped for!

SFG practice.
This week: focus on double cleans. So I kept as many getups as last week, to keep a decent volume on those, and I add double cleans, thus making a series of 1+1 getup and 5 double cleans each time. Between those series, I work the other lifts. It took about 30-35 min, counting an interruption by the delivery man. I estimate it can be done in less than 30 min without rushing through.
(Getup @28kg, 1+1, Clean @(24+24)kg, 5)
Swing @24kg, 10+10
(Getup @28kg, 1+1, Clean @(24+24)kg, 5)
Front squat @(24+24)kg, 5
(Getup @28kg, 1+1, Clean @(24+24)kg, 5)
Press @24kg, 5+5
(Getup @28kg, 1+1, Clean @(24+24)kg, 5)
Snatch @24, 5+5
(Getup @28kg, 1+1, Clean @(24+24)kg, 5)

Much much later, the swing session. Dice: 3, 4, 4, 6, so the set repartition is 3@28kg, 4@40kg, 10@32kg.
1H swing, EMOM, alternating hands: 28kg x 10, 10, 32kg x 10, 10, 40kg x 8, 8, 28kg x (5+5), 32kg x 10, 10, 40kg x 8, 8, 32kg x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10
Long session, reps going up with the 40kg. Definitely not easy, but manageable. Still nose breathing by the end, but heavily sweating too.

 

[jef]

Tuesday 23rd January
(mid-day) mobility routine.
SFG practice
(Getup @28kg, 1+1, Clean @(24+24)kg, 5)
Swing @24kg, 10+10
(Getup @32kg, 1+1, Clean @(28+28)kg, 5)
Front squat @(28+28)kg, 5
(Getup @28kg, 1+1, Clean @(24+24)kg, 5)
Press @24kg, 5+5
(Getup @28kg, 1+1, Clean @(24+24)kg, 5)
Snatch @24, 5+5
(Getup @28kg, 1+1, Clean @(24+24)kg, 5)
I pushed the load a little.
The right getup @32kg was a bit loose. The left one was good. I have not practiced heavy getup for a long time, and I am clearly not back at Simple for the getup yet.
Double cleans @28kg were surprisingly easy, and the front squat slightly challenging, but not really hard.
Overall happy.

Early evening, strength session
Deadlift: 120 x 3, 4, 140 x 1, 120 x 3, 150 x 1, 120 x 4
All DOH but the single at 150kg, where I switched to alternate grip. I got my 2BW DOH deadlift.

Barbell press: 40 x 4, 45 x 5, 50 x 1
A short and light session to see where I am with those. All sets started with a barbell power clean. I lost the groove a bit, but the 50kg press was easy. Back on the road of a BW press.