Back to Training

Its taken me quite a while to get back to a normal routine following the CK-FMS cert. Part of the problem was a 10 hour flight delay on only two hours of sleep. Unfortunately, I couldn't sleep in the airport and it took a delayed but heavy toll on my physical and mental states.

Saturday August 9, 2008

24kg x 1 x 26/26 Snatch
24kg x 4 x 5/5 Dead Hang Snatch
40kg x 1 x 1 TGU right-side (PR)

I did this during the lunch break the last day of the CK-FMS cert. Too bad I didn't get a Sr RKC to witness my 52 snatches (it used be only 48 reps at 80kg but I know I was heavier than that at the Cert) as this would have bought me another 2 months before having to re-cert. :)

After succeeding with my right-side TGU, I only got to the lunge position with the 40kg on my left-side .. I should have done it first. I'll give it another shot when I get my hands on a bulldog.


Thursday August 14, 2008

After four days of recuperating I was finally in mental state to get back to my training proper.

Z-Health: Neural Warmup II DVD Follow-along

I really missed my Z-Health while at the Cert and I don't know why I waited so long to do this after returning.

Conventional Dead-lift off 1" Plates only to the Knees
230 x 1 x 4
230 x 4 x 5

These were very difficult. The first set left me wondering as I couldn't do the last rep. For the next four sets I focused even more intensely and they were better .. barely.

Double 24kg x 5 x 12 Swings
Double 24kg x 5 x 5 Front Squat
Double 32kg x 1 x 1 Front Squat
24kg x 5 x 5/5 Dead Hang Snatch

A great session considering all the days off. The front squats were a big improvement from March .. much closer stance and with my toes only angled slightly out. Following the suggestion of the amazingly strong, congenial and helpful Jason Marshall, RKC of LoneStar Kettlebells, (who trained and would have nailed the beast challenge at the FMS Cert but it was decided to wait for another venue for this event; also check out his awesome stacked monster truck tire leap video), the double Fsq can be an excellent dead-lift assist lift. Specifically, I made sure my elbows were pointing straight down to maintain both lat and trap tension. After five sets of five with the 24s, I was able to do a single with double 32s but suffice it to say I'll stay with the double 24's to get decent volume and density. Thanks Jason!

At the Cert, I also tried Mark Toomey, RKC Team Leader's goblet squat with the bulldog (40kg) the dead-lift assist lift that got him to over a 500lb dead-lift. Unfortunately after only a couple of doubles, it really hit my right side medial epicondylitis (golf elbow) hard and I had to stop.

Friday August 15, 2008

Weight: 181 1/2 lbs.
Down from my high 182 1/2 lbs on Tuesday morning. I pigged out the cert and gained five pounds .. french fries, flat bread, too many protein bars (glorified candy bars), too many glasses of wine and beer. But you know what .. I had a blast at the Cert! And I know how to get back down so I'm not freaking out.

Z-Health: Neural Warmup II DVD Follow-along

I joined the Minnesota based national franchise, Anytime Fitness, today as it is located in my office complex. Its key access based 24 x 7 franchise. They will let me bring my kettlebells and as soon as a few more co-workers join, Anytime will purchase a set of DD bells. The big plus here is the three dip/chin-up station and multiple sets of Olympic weights. For grins I went over and dead-lifted 185 lb and it felt ridiculously heavy. No surprise as yesterdays Dead-lift Assist day took a lot out of me.

Armstrong Training Set Neutral Grip Pull-ups:
BW x 36 x 3 with one minute rest between sets
Total: 108 reps in 42 mins (PR)

The last time I used two reps/set as my training set and got to 12 sets before having to go to company meeting. The idea to is pick a number of reps for a set and repeat the set with one minute rest until just before failure. Since I exceeded the specified 9 sets by a factor of four, I will have to bump my training set up to four or five reps/set. The Armstrong pull up program calls for training everyday with a different rep/set structure each day.

24kg x 1 x 5/5 Dead Hang Snatch

I love the dead hang snatch .. its definitely helping with regular snatches.