Monday, August 31, 2009

LIGHT PRESS & PULL DAY

[Humility]
WARUM UP: 3 RDS

  • Halos x 10

  • Goblet Squats x 10 (16KG)

  • Pumps x 3
PRESS & PULL UPS

  • C&P - 5(1,2,3) LR w/ 24KG

  • Pull Ups - 7,6,5,4,3 w/ BW
LOWER BODY PULLS

  • KB Snatch x 100 in 6:10 w/ 20.4KG
CORE 30/10 x 3 RDS

  • Spiderman Plank

  • M.C. Flex

  • Side Plank Lt.

  • Side Plank Rt.

  • Super Plank
COMMENTS

  • I felt really good with my presses today. I started to really focus on my power breathing by taking a quick inhale prior to the clean and forceful exhale after it, then another inhale before the press making sure that I am tight ( abs braced, shoulders packed, glutes pinched)before I press the bell over head. I felt a lot stronger today than last week. Reading ETK for a third time has really helped. There's a lot of things I either missed or got a better understanding of once I read it again. Note: never read something once and put it down. I guess our minds can only process so much at one time. I am still having issues with "pressing with the lat." I'll feel it every now and then, but I don't have it down yet.

  • I've been doing the fighter pull system (outlined by Pavel here) for a while now. I'll take a break from it every now and then and have noticed a significant increase in my pull up numbers. Recently though, I haven't felt as strong. I'm not to sure why, but I ended one session w/ 10,9,8,8,7 and the next day I could only get 8 to start out. So I will be taking a break from this for a few weeks and will just be doing the pull ups on my Press and Pull days, instead of in 5 consecutive days.
    I have noticed that my lats have grown a bit.

  • I choose that picture up top because it is titled "Humility", and I felt very humbled today after doing my snatches. I wanted to see how long it took me to get 100 reps with the 20.4kg. It took me 6min 10 sec. Not really what I expected, but it does show where I need to improve. My conditioning sucked, to put it simple. We made a lot of runs after midnight this morning. I came home at 730am ate, and slept from 830-100pm. If felt that I had a lot of energy for my training session, but my body felt otherwise during the snatches. It's a starting point, I guess. It can only get better, from here on out, as long as I stay focused, make sure that my technique is solid, and stay mentally tough.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Embrace The Kettlebell Part II




[ They say that a box of tissue left in you car can kill you, if you get in a wreck. I would hate to see what this thing would do to me!]









I got an "A", but that doesn't mean I got a job. (083009)
So, a 93% isn't bad when you look at it from just a "test taking" point of view, but considering it was a promotional test, it's a whole different story. There were people walking out of the test with 100s, 101s, and 102s. I'll find out where I stand when I get to work on Sunday. By then, they should have a tentative list showing me my ranking and giving me a better idea if I will get promoted to Engineer/Operator. Did I want to do better? Damn right I did. I wanted to walk out with at least a 100. Am I upset with a 93%? Not at all. I felt that the test was easy and that I knew the material...,obviously 93% of it. If I have to take it again in 2 yrs, then I will be better prepared for it. This experience reminds me of my 1st approach in preparing for the RKC (not seeing any progress), and how I am currently preparing for it, which I am already seeing a lot of improvement in my form and how I feel. Recognizing your mistakes is one thing, but knowing how to fix them is even better. The moral of the story; the road to your goals is not a paved straight line with a bunch of rest stops on the way.
Here are some of  the destinations and the map I am bringing with me.
1) I will start a family with my love. She will be such a great mother that it will bring a great father out of me. There is just something about creating a little person(s) to take care of, watch grow, and be proud of that I want us to experience together. How are we going to get there? That's between her, me, and God. So keep praying for us and we'll keep doing our part.

2) I will stay on a righteous path. We all have the potential to to good, but we also have the potential to do evil things. Mike Mahler wrote a thought provoking article about that here. Every day, I will strive to be a better person. How will I get there? I will think of others over myself, lend a hand to those in need, not judge people for things they can't control ( ..really at all), and I will not pull somebody down just so I can rise above them.

3) I will bust my ass, everyday, to provide for my family. This is the path that I chose. I want to be a fire fighter. I want to be a paramedic. I want to be a fitness coach. Whether or not I feel more strong about one over the other is irrelevant at this point. How will I get there? I will wake up everyday and be the best I can be at the particular role I am filling that day. Most of all, I will be the best husband, son, brother, and friend that I can be, everyday.

4) I will ATTEND and PASS the Russian Kettlebell Certification. By now, you should know that one of the reasons I started this blog was to track my progress, thoughts, and feelings concerning my journey to the RKC. Obviously, I have strayed away from that in the last few posts, but not anymore. How will I get there?  For starters, I will use this blog to track my daily training sessions. The daily entries will focus on what I did in the gym as well as the kitchen, how I felt before and afterwards, my strengths, my weaknesses, likes, dislikes, and anything else I feel like commenting on that will hold me accountable for my progress. I have roughly 6 months to prepare for the Feb. RKC in San Jose; that's if I feel ready. Enter The Kettlebell will be my bible. I recently purchased Jordan Vezina's, RKC, The Corrections. in order to help me clean up my technique. I also have a thick stack of articles printed off the Dragon Door website concerning the RKC cert. and how to prepare for it. One in particular, titled How to Prepare for and Pass the RKC by Brett Jones, Master RKC, will play an integral role. I stronger with my presses and TGU's and more conditioned with the swing and snatch. Quality over quantity will be my mantra during my sessions. My form must be solid and sharp so a few training sessions with local RKC are a must. There are a ton of other things I would like to mention here, but to sum it up, I will pass the RKC with perfect form and by being as strong and conditioned as I possibly can.

5) Rule # 13

6) Rule #14

Heavy Day: 082909
Warm up - 3 Rounds Of: 10/10 Halos, 10 Goblet Squats (16kg), 3 Pumps
Strength - w/ 24kg
Clean and Press  1,2,3,4,5
                           1,2,3,4,5
                           1,2,3,4,5
Pull Ups              7,6,5
Conditioning - w/ 24kg     
10 Rounds Of:
30 sec KBS
30 sec 1.5lb Indain Club Kali Drill
Comments: I felt a lot stronger today and a lot more solid with my technique than I had the week before. I recently gave up coffee so that might have something to do with it. I really enjoyed pairing the swings with the Kali drills. The Kali drills were a great form of active recovery from the C&P's. I am going to work up to 20 rounds of that in the next few sessions. Diet not so good today because we are still celebrating my hard work and the resulting grade. Gonna kick it into high gear today and the rest of the week.