May 30: some basic mobility and cardio/strength work. Warm up with a 10 pound medicine ball: halos, woodchoppers, twists. 3 circuits of: 5 chin ups, 10 medicine ball chest throws, 10 medicine ball jumping jacks, 10 medicine ball pullovers, 20 medicine ball Russian twists. 2 sets of 10 barbell Russian twists with 25 pounds. 6 minutes of 1 arm jerks @ 10 rpm, 20k, one hand switch.
May 29: day off from training
May 28: day off from training
May 27: No serious training, but a great PR in the bench press. After church and an afternoon nap, I was working around the yard and garage. I had the rack set up for bench pressing, and 205 on the bar. I did 3 or 4 singles, then loaded the bar to 300 and did 2 lockouts of about 5 seconds each. I felt strong, so I thought I'd try for 215 again- my all time best. 215 went up fine, though in a meet I would probably have been red-lighted for rushing the "press" command- not enough pause at the bottom. I loaded it to 220, and it went up fine. Rested a minute, then 225. Heavy, but not too much- went up slowly but surely. This feels great because this is my goal at the push pull next Saturday. I'll bench light tomorrow and maybe Tuesday, then leave the bar alone for the rest of the week. Now that I know I can do it, I'll feel much more confident on Saturday.
May 26: day off from training
May 25: Bench press: 3x2 @ 205 lbs., Deadlift: 5 singles @ 330 lbs. 24k HS swings: 5x20. Mowed grass. Snatch, 12k: 10 m. @ 10 rpm. = 200 snatches.
May 24: Bench Press: 3x3 @ 200 lbs., Deadlift: 1x3 @ 325. Built power rack.
May 23: Box Squat (parallel) 2x3 @ 205 lbs.; 2x3 @ 225 lbs., 2x3 @ 245 lbs.; 2x2 @ 250 lbs. Double Jerk, 2x16k: 8 minutes @ 8rpm = 64 double jerks (4480 lbs. jerked in 8 minutes)
May 22: Bench Press: 3x3 @ 195 lbs. Deadlift: 3x3 @ 320 lbs. Still pretty sore from Sunday, but only in the lower body.
May 21: Bench Press: 3x3 @ 190 lbs. Deadlift: 3x3 @ 315 lbs. 315 goes up relatively easily now. I remember calling my dad over to see when I could first pull 120! Thinking of opening the deadlift with 300 or 315 at the meet to make sure I get on the board, then perhaps 350. If I hit 350, I'll see about 375. If I miss it, I have another shot. Plan to do double jerks- we'll see how the foot feels. Update: instead of jerks, I did 8 minutes of 16k snatches @ 16 rpm with one hand switch. 64 reps per arm- that's good for rank III requirements in the biathlon at next month's meet, but I'd like to hit 100/100 with the 16, by then. Could probably have gotten another 30 seconds per hand at this pace.
May 20: Warrior Dash! Ran the 3.8 miles of trail running and 15 obstacles in just over 50 minutes. Last year, I did the 3.2 mile course with obstacles in 43 minutes. Today, I ran the first two miles in under 21 minutes, so I really consider this a serious improvement. Thirty minutes after finishing, I did it again with Dawn (She did great!). Really took a lot out of me. Too much sun and exertion + too little water = nausea and weakness. Water + Power Bar + Turkey Leg + M&M's + Chocolate Milk = feeling better. Left foot is sore.
May 19: took the day off
May 18: tired from yesterday. No lifting, but mowed the yard.
May 17: went to Great Wolf Lodge and swam all day. Fun day, very physical.
May 16: some yard work- unloaded hay and lumber from my truck. Deadlift: 2 singles @ 300; 5 singles @ 315. 3 singles @ 325. Snatch: 10 minutes @ 20 rpm with 12k. Stretching and foam rolling.
May 15: Double Jerk, 2x12k: 10 minutes @ 10 rpm. Bench Press: 3 ladders of 1,2,3 @ 185, alternated with pull ups (18 presses, 18 pull ups). Deadlift: a couple of singles @ 300. One arm clean and jerk: 16k: 20 minutes @ 8 rpm, switching hands every minute = 160 clean and jerks (5760 pounds clean and jerked in 20 minutes without putting the bell down). Bench press lockouts @ 300 lb.: 3 singles (about 5 seconds each) Stretching. Got two more 45's for the olympic bar, so now I can take it to 390. Did a couple of rack pulls at 390.
May 14- Bench Press: 185 @ 3x3; 185 @ 1x5; 195 @ 1x3; 205 x 2 singles; 215 for a single. This is a 10 pound pr. I'll take it! 225 at the meet in June looks more than possible at this point. Deadlift: 300 @ 2x5; Double Jerk: 2x16k: 3 minutes @ 8 rpm. Snatch: 16k- 6 minutes @ 16 rpm = 48/48.
May 13- no serious training today- some juggling for a friend's video. A few swings with 40k, and a few bench presses with my new olympic barbell. A couple of triples with 185, then two sets of 5 with 135 for technique work. Finished with 205 for a double- thought I loaded it to 185, but was pleasantly surprised to be wrong!
May 12- Heavy yard work for 4 hours- pitchfork work, tilling, etc. Got a 300 pound olympic barbell set- decided it was time to ditch the standard set, because I keep bending bars. Deadlifted it probably 5-7 times.
May 11- No pain or soreness from yesterday's lockouts. One arm jerk, 16k. 10 minutes @ 10 rpm- 100 reps left. Later, 10 minutes @ 10rpm- 100 reps right. This is the most I've ever jerked the 16k. There is something very rewarding about picking up a weight- even one that is not terribly heavy, and putting it overhead 100 times without putting it down! Later, a quick 40 snatches per arm with the 16k. I was not fully recovered from the jerks, so no high rep snatches today. Shoulders need a little time to recover, I think!
May 10- Bench Press: 3x3 @ 190 lbs. Deadlift: 3x3 @ 300 lbs. Bench press lockout supports @ 270 - 300 lbs.: 5 @ 5 seconds. Double Jerk: 2x12k- 10 minutes @ 10 rpm = 104 (a little sprint at the end!). Snatch: 12k- 8 minutes @ 20 rpm = 80/80. The snatch was done after mowing the yard, and my grip could not hold out. Earlier in the day, perhaps I would have hit 100/100. I was surprised at my lockout strength in the bench press. I set up the bar about three inches below lockout, and put 270 pounds on. I did not expect it to go up, but it felt almost too easy, so I loaded it to 300, and did five pressouts, holding it for 8-10 seconds. Felt like I could have done more, but there is no reason to rush- I've never locked out this much. Next time, maybe I'll go higher, if I do not experience any soreness and pain. At this point, I'm training specifically for the events I have coming up. I run the Warrior Dash in a couple of weeks, but I'm not too concerned about it- it's just a fun run through the woods with some obstacles. On June 2, I have a push/pull meet, and I'm hoping to bench press 225 and deadlift 350. On June 30, I'll compete in a girevoy sport meet, lifting in the biathlon with either the 16k or 20k bells (since I'm not ranked in WKC, I may be required to use 16k), and probably strongsport longcycle with 32k or 36k. Specificity rules, so I'm working primarily on the competition lifts.
May 9- No training today. Lots of work, and have not had a day off training since April. Have to fight the urge to go lift, or drop and do some Hindu pushups!
May 8- Bench Press: 3x3 @ 190 lbs. Deadlift: 3x3 @ 300 lbs. Double Jerk: 2x12k- 10 minutes @ 10 rpm = 100. Snatch: 12k- 10 minutes @ 20 rpm = 100/100.
May 7- busy today, so almost did no training. I decided instead of skipping it, to test my kettlebell StrongSport long cycle. This event is a 32k clean and jerk. Rank requires 16 reps per arm with one hand switch in 4 minutes. Two years ago I ranked in Strong Sport biathlon with the 32k, and just missed rank with the 36k by two jerks. I have not trained heavy clean and jerks for a while, except for a handful of reps two days ago for variety. I got 16/16 in 3:27. Could probably have gotten a couple more per arm, but just wanted to test today. I may compete in this event at the Throwdown in June, in addition to the traditional biathlon. I have not decided which weight to use in the biathlon: 16k or 20k. I need 60 jerks and 64 snatches to rank with WKC. I think that I could certainly hit this number with the 16k, but in another 7 weeks, I might be at this level with the 20k. I'll keep up the high reps sets with the 12k for a while before moving to the 16k. If I can hit triple digits with the 16k by the meet, I'll use the 20k at the meet.
May 6- Jerk, 2x20k: 10 sets of 10, with 2 minutes rest between sets. 100 jerks = 8800 lbs. Bench press/pull up ladder: 1,2,3,4,5 @ 135 lb bench press, just to practice contest form. 10 minutes heavy bag practice.
May 5- Snatch, 24k: 10 minutes @ 12 rpm, switched hands every minute. 120 snatches (60/60). Finished with an easy 7 clean and jerks per arm @ 32k.
May 4- Bench Press- 3x5 @ 170. Deadlift: 1x5 @ 285, 1x5 @ 265. Then took the boys fishing. Came home and mowed the grass (about an hour), then did 20 minutes of one arm jerks with 16k @ 6rpm. Did 10 minutes left, then 10 minutes right, for 60 jerks per arm.
May 3- Double jerk: 2x12k- 10 minutes @ 10 rpm, for 100 jerks. Snatch: 12k: 10 minutes @ 20 rpm = 200 snatches, 1 hand switch. Had to revert to power snatch for the last minute or so of each set, so I'll stick with this weight until I can do all 100 per hand without deviating in technique. In the evening, I did 10 sets of 10 Hindu pushups.
May 2- No kettlebell work. Bench press: 2 doubles @ 185 and 195. Several double and singles @ 190 throughout the day. Deadlift: 5 singles @ 315.
May 1- Snatch: 12k: 10 minutes @ 20 rpm, for 100 reps per arm. 100 reps per arm at this weight is really getting manageable. I ended each arm with the feeling that I could have gone another 30 seconds, or 10 reps. I'll continue to work these long sets with the 12k for a while, then start to work the 16k for long sets. I'll work with the 24k once a week to keep up my strength. I really like the way these long sets feel- I am able to go long enough to get a really good workout, but it's not so heavy that I feel beat up afterward. I look forward to getting stronger so I can do long sets with heavier kettlebells.
In the evening, I trained again. I did 20 minutes of one arm jerks with a 12k kettlebell @ 10 rpm, with one hand switch. 100 continuous reps per arm. Very tough, and a great workout. After about 5 minutes rest, I did a barbell conditioning complex with a 50 pound barbell: power snatch; power clean, press, back squat, good morning, behind the neck press, front squat, power jerk, row, then stiff leg deadlift. Did 5,4,3,2,1, each set without putting the barbell down. Ended the workout with a 75 pound power snatch every 30 seconds for 5 minutes.
