Time to Step Up

Several months ago, I earned Rank III from USA Kettlebell Lifting, by snatching a 20k/44lb. kettlebell 107 times. I set a goal for myself to earn Rank II by the end of September. I made this goal public on the USA Kettlebell Lifting forum. I started training toward this goal. At the time, my best snatch set with the 24k kettlebell was 25 reps per arm- less than half of the 106 reps I need to make rank.

Since then, I have dabbled in several different training methodologies, including long sets and intervals, snatches and assistance exercises (swings and presses), and bodyweight exercises. I have run the Warrior Dash twice in one day. All the while, with the goal in mind of hitting 53 snatches per arm.

So, today is the end of September, so it's time to put up. So today I turned on the camera, warmed up, and grabbed my kettlebell. Here it is:




95 reps. I got 46 with my left, and 49 with my right. This is a 5 rep PR, but still 11 reps short of my goal. In about three months, I've gone from a personal best of 47% of the required rank number, to 90%. That's great progress, and I'm proud of it, and thankful for it. But I still failed to meet my goal.

I read an interview with Ivan Denisov, the greatest kettlebell lifter in the history of the world. He said this:

"The question is how bad do you want it? What are you ready to do to reach your goal? And of course, you have to love what you do. To get a high results in this sport you have to have a passion. But, only systematically balanced training can help to reach a peak of sport. To get maximum results everyone should find the strongest and weakest sides, and discover the individual. You have got to find out what do you need to win. Only then, after you find out all these points, can you make the best training program. Do not forget that a Coach is very important."

So I have to ask myself: do I want it badly enough? Yes, I know I do. Do I love what I do? Oh, yeah! Do I have passion? Without a doubt. Have I been practicing "systematically balanced training?" No. I've been experimenting, playing around. Pavel Tsatsouline has a chapter in a book called "The Hazards of Variety and How to Dodge Them." The hazards of variety just cost me 11 reps, and cost my my next rank. I'm convinced that if my training had been more systematically and clearly focused, I'd have that rank right now.

What do you want to accomplish? What are you doing to get there? What "hazards of variety" are going to cost you what you want when the time comes to go for it?

Next week, I go to Denver, Colorado to attend a kettlebell instructor certification seminar with Nico Rithner of the Association of Tactical Strength and Conditioning Instructors. I hope that this weekend will help to narrow my focus, improve my technique, and strengthen my resolve to press forward. You need a coach to help you reach your fitness goals, so send me an email.

What about my goal? October 31 is going to be kettlebelloween in my garage. My goal is to make Rank II by the end of the month. Keep checking to see me make it!

Outsnatching a Doughnut... and Cake.

There is a saying in the kettlebell community that goes: "you can't outsnatch a doughnut." It means that you can always put calories into your system a heck of a lot faster than you can burn them. In layman's terms, it means "don't eat junk; you'll never work it off."

Today started badly. I should have known better. I woke up after teaching late, and drank a pot of coffee and ate a big piece of cake for breakfast. Yes, really. Of course, I felt terrible all day. I flooded my stomach with Pepto-Bismol and fresh water, and Dawn saved the day by feeding me a nice salad and soup for lunch. I'm working like crazy today to take some time off tomorrow to have some fun with the family, so when I could stare at the computer screen no longer, I went into the gym to have my heavy day workout with the 70 pound kettlebell.

My previous best long set with this weight was 44 reps- 22 each arm. I decided to punish myself for the cake (and the doughnut that I ate last night at the college- I know, I know...) by hitting a new PR- 50 snatches. Twenty-five reps per arm would be a 3 rep improvement, and should be sufficiently painful to remind me not to binge like this. I warmed up a little, and began to snatch.

I hit 25 reps with the left arm, and still felt pretty good, but I did not know how much steam I had, so I went ahead and switched arms. It's better to leave a couple of reps in the bank unless you are competing or testing. When I hit 25 reps with the right arm, I felt great, so I kept going to 30. Thirty felt alright, but I put the kettlebell down and called it a day. When I watched the video, it turns out that I had miscounted my reps on my left hand: 26, for a total of 56 snatches: a 12 rep improvement, and more than halfway to Master of Sport numbers. If I had really pushed, I might have cleared 60 good reps.

I'm thankful for my new PR, and for some good advice that I'm sure got me there. A couple weeks ago, Nico Rithner of USA Kettlebell Lifting and the Association of Tactical Strenth and Conditioning Instructors advised me to put down the 24k kettlebell, and break my training into light days (long sets with 16k), medium days (multiple hand switches with the 24k), and heavy days (hard sets with the 32k). "Of course!" I thought. "I know that. I read it in Pavel Tsatsouline's books years ago. I did it with my presses, and they got stronger. Why haven't I been doing it with my snatches?" I've been doing it again, and I have a new PR with the 32k to show for it. Last Friday, I snatched the 24k, switching hands every 5 reps, and hit 150 reps in under 10 minutes without putting the kettlebell down. Twice. That's a score of 150 on the Secret Service Snatch Test twice in one day (200 is the passing standard), without training specifically for this event, or even snatching particularly fast.  Perhaps 200 is in my near future?

Lesson learned? Don't get fancy or creative with your training. Learn the basics, and stick to them.  Get good advice, and follow it. 

Friday's Coming!

I set a goal some time back of earning Rank II in the snatch by the end of September.  When I set this goal two months ago, I had just earned Rank III, by completing 53 snatches per arm with the 20k/44lb. kettlebell.  To make Rank II, I need to hit 53/53 with the 24k/53lb. weight.  My best is 45/45, so I'm 16 reps off, and September ends this Friday.  Will I make it?  I don't know.  But come Friday, the camera will be rolling in my basement dungeon of pain, and we'll see what happens.  I'll either make it, or drop the kettlebell on my head trying!

But here's the thing about setting goals and trying to reach them: two months ago, when I set that goal, my best with the 24k was 25 snatches per arm!  I've added 20 reps per arm in two months training for this goal.  That's serious progress!  If I don't make it this Friday, I'll set a new goal, and train hard for it.  Who knows?  If I had not set this goal, perhaps I'd still be playing around with the 20k?  This goal has made me stronger, physically and mentally.

What are your goals?  Put a timeline on it- a date on the calendar by which you expect to see serious, quantifiable improvement.  Goals will push you to succeed!

Warrior Dash!

 Earlier this month, Dawn and I ran the Warrior Dash together.  It was a blast: 3 miles of trail and field running, with about 12 obstacles to climb over, under, through, and around.  It culminated with a fire jump and a mud crawl.  First we ran it together, and even picked up a new friend!  Dawn describes it better than I do, so read about it here: http://www.biggestloserbound.blogspot.com/

After we finished the race and were hosed off, I decided to run it again.  I finished it in just about 43 minutes by Dawn's watch, but my chip did not function properly, so there is no official time.  The fastest man was about 20 minutes, so my time was not impressive.  But considering that I'm not a runner, and had already run it once, I'm pleased with the result, and it was a lot of fun.  Here I am at about the halfway point.  I'm not last! This is my second time through, so my knees are already muddy and bloody.

Here's the finish line:

This race taught me several things about my kettlebell and bodyweight training.  First, I learned that cardio is king.  Nothing gets your lungs burning and heart pounding like kettlebell swings, snatches, and jerks.  I had been doing my share before this race, but I had not run much.  I had enough wind for two three mile trail runs, with obstacles, all in about two and a half hours of nonstop action.  Afterwards I was hungry, but it did not beat me up like I thought it would. But here's the thing: I never do marathon kettlebell training sessions.  Most of my workouts are under 30 minutes, and consist of long sets (up to 10 minutes) or intense intervals.  A combination of anaerobic and aerobic training will give you the endurance you need when you need it.

The second thing this race taught me is that moving your body through space is much more important than moving objects in space.  In the past, I moved heavy iron, and worked up to a one arm overhead press (bent press) of 135 pounds, and a deadlift of over 400 pounds.  However, I don't think that I could have done nearly as well in this race training like that.  In the real world, you don't lift a maximum load once; you move your own body, and perhaps a lighter load.  My training consisting of pullups, pushups, one legged squats, and kettlebell snatches and presses really prepared me for an event like this.  I could climb, crawl, and jump with the best of them.   The stronger you are, the easier everything gets.

The final thing that I learned is something I already knew- fitness should be fun.  If your fitness routine is tedious drudgery, then you are robbing yourself of the joy of health and strength. When I was a kid, I would go into the woods and run, climb, crawl, and jump, and come home so muddy that my folks would spray me off in the yard before I could come into the house.  Today, as an adult, I have to pay $50 to do that.   That's alright; I enjoy kettlebell and bodyweight training.  If I didn't, I'd find something else to do. 

Do you enjoy your fitness training?  Is it making you stronger, faster, and more injury proof?  If not, shoot me an email and learn the joy of kettlebell lifting. 

Late September Training Log

Friday, September 30- test day for 24k snatch.  I hit 95 reps (46L, 49R), a new PR.  Goal was 106. 

Thursday, September 29- took a day off from training, to go play with my family at Great Wolf Lodge.  A pretty active day, but no serious physical training.

Wednesday, September 28- Heavy snatch day.  Warm up with mobility and flexibility work, then 32k/70lb snatches.  Goal was 25/25.  Hit 26/30- a new PR!

Tuesday, September 27- Today is about flexibility and mobility.  Lots of work, and not much time to train, so just Super Joints mobility routine, light stretching.  Practiced some ugly one arm pushups.

Monday, September 26- light bodyweight day. Stretching and mobility work;  3 rounds with 2 minutes rest: 5 pullups, 15 pushups, 2 pistols per leg (10 pound weight), for a total of 15 pullups, 45 pullups, and 12 pistols Cardio: jump rope intervals: 1 minute on, 1 minute off, for 10 minutes.  Just enough to break a light sweat and hone technique.  Light days are more important than we often realize! Don't be afraid to throttle back sometimes.

Sunday, September 25- light snatch day.  16k snatches: 50/50; 20k snatches: 10 reps on the minute, 10 minutes left, then right, for a total of 200 20k snatches in 20 minutes.

Saturday, September 24- a much needed rest day!

Friday, September 23 (medium day)- 24k/53 lb. snatch: 150reps, switching every 5 reps, without putting the kettlebell down. Finished in about 10 minutes.  Later in the afternoon, 150 reps again, switching every 5 reps, without putting the kettlebell down.  Finished in 9:32.  1 press ladder: 16k, 20k, 24k, 28k, 32k.

Thursday, September 22- Bodyweight training- Pistols: 5,4,3,2,1 with 10 lb kettlebell; Chins: 3 sets of 10; Close pushups: 5 sets of 10; Neck Bridges: practice; stretching and mobility drills

Wednesday, September 21 (heavy day)- 32k/70lb. snatches: 20/20, 15/15, 10/10, 5/5 with short rests.  24k/53lb press: 10 sets of 5 per arm

Tuesday, September 20- grip recovery day- practice pistols; 2 sets of 10 chins; bent press singles @ 40k/88lb. kettlebell;  20k/44lb. kettlebell jerks- 4 minutes @ 6 reps per minute

Monday, September 19- 24k/53lb. kettlebell snatch: 41 left, 43 right; 3 sets of 10/10; practice pistols, chins.

Half the Man...

The kettlebell is the ultimate strength and conditioning tool. The best test of kettlebell conditioning is snatches, and the best test of kettlebell strength is the "Beast Tamer", developed by Pavel Tsatsouline at the Russian Kettlebell Challenge. This tests your upper body pressing strength, your upper body pulling strength, and your leg strength. At every RKC certification, all comers are invited to try to become a Beast Tamer by performing a clean and press, a one-legged squat (pistol), and a chin up with "the beast": the 48k/106 pound kettlebell. So far, only 12 men have succeeded. Read about them here: http://www.dragondoor.com/about/taming_the_beast/ .

I'm no beast tamer, but I'm half the man they are- I can now clean and press, pistol, and pull up the 53 pound kettlebell. The clean and press was easy- I press it for reps several times a week, and press the 70 pound bell as well, but the pistol and pullup were close. Lots of room for improvement, and lots of time to improve!

If you are serious about getting strong all over, get a kettlebell, and learn these basic movements. Shoot me an email, and I'll be glad to work with you!

Getting a Grip

Part of my kettlebell snatch training includes grip strength. A strong grip is important for just about everything, from fighting sports to avoiding carpal tunnel syndrome in daily life.  I've had this 250 pound gripper for several years, but have never made much progress with it. I've been playing around with it for a while, and have finally closed it! The left hand has a way to go. Perhaps one day I'll close Ironmind's Captains of Crush #3 gripper.  If you want to live without pain in your hands and elbows, grip training is essential.

40k snatch and get up

Kettlebells are great for total body strength, flexibility, and coordination. Here is a swing/snatch/getup combo with my heaviest kettlebell- 88 pounds. This is half my body weight. Learn the getup, and your shoulder pain will vanish!  Is that a goat you hear?  Why, yes! It is a goat!

Double Bodyweight Deadlift

I came upon a video from two years ago- my first double bodyweight deadlift. I weighed just over 200 pounds then, and was training primarily with barbells. Now, through high rep kettlebell training, I'm 25 pounds lighter. My max strength has gone down as my conditioning has gone up, but perhaps I could still pull double bodyweight....

Heavy Snatches

A new personal best with the 32k/70 lb. kettlebell- 44 snatches without putting the kettlebell down. My ultimate goal is Master of Sport, which will require 106 snatches with this weight. Time, consistency, and smart, hard training will get me there!

The snatch saga continues....

I've been training toward rank II through USA Kettlebell Lifting, which requires 53 snatches per arm with the 24k/53lb. kettlebell at my bodyweight (175). I'm up to 45 per arm, so only 16 more reps, and I make rank. The 24k is much more demanding than the 20k/44lb. kettlebell. Not only does it require more conditioning, but the technique must be right on, or the kettlebell goes where it wants to. This is making me dig deep, which is great. This is why I train with kettlebells- to get "strength from the inside out", as Nico Rithner says!