September 30- 184.5 lb. Hiked around the property for about an hour getting the septic tank perc test. Long cycle clean and jerk, 2x24k: 1m @ 6rpm warm up; 6m @ 6rpm work set. 5 sets of 1m @ 8rpm with 2m rest between sets. 82 reps total in 12m of lifting. Hung from the bar and the dip stands to decompress. Stretch and shower.
September 29- 186 lb. I'm in my weight class- let's see if I can stay here for another month! Long cycle clean and jerk, 2x24k: 1m @ 6rpm warm up; 5m @ 6rpm; 1m @ 6rpm. 42 reps total. 30m walk/run: 18m of walk/run intervals consisting of 1m walking, 1-2m running. 10m brisk walk, 2m run at the end.
September 27-28- no training.
September 26- 187 lb. No training. A partial fasting day- 350 calories eaten by 1:00 pm. Trying to reset a little before a four week peaking cycle for the meet in October.
September 24-25- no training. Deload week.
September 23- 187 lb. Long cycle clean and jerk, 2x24k: 1m @ 6rpm warm up. 5m @ 6/5 rpm = 28 reps. Ran 9/10 of a mile in 8:40. Low energy day today.
September 22- 187.5 lb. Swings, 16k. 30m of 15:15, 9 reps in each 15s set. Total: 540 reps. Average HR 140, 414 calories burned. Went out to the land we might buy and walked it off. About an hour of hiking, lots of hills.
September 20- 188 lb. Long cycle clean and jerk, 2x24k. 3m@ 8rpm, 3m @ 8,6,6rpm, 3m @ 6,6,8 rpm. Total reps: 65 in 9 minutes of work. Felt great, like I could lift all day. Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSn3N-oBuD4&feature=youtu.be About 4 hours of yard work at moderate intensity- mowing, weed eating, etc.
September 19- 2 sets of 25/25 swings with 16k while grading papers. Played around with swings and dips. 10/10 swings with 16k, alternated with 3 dips, for four minutes.
September 18- 187.5 lb. Long cycle clean and jerk, 2x24k. 1m @ 6rpm warm up. Work set: 7m alternating 6/5 rpm=39 reps. Rested a few minutes, then 1m @6rpm. 51 reps total. Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCjFVylAl-c&feature=youtu.be Rested a few minutes, then carried two large stacks of cinder blocks about 40 steps. 28 pounds each, farmer's walks, one in each hand. 76 blocks @ 28lb. each = 2128 lb. carried over about 1450 steps. Took 39 minutes to make 38 trips.
September 17- no training, easy day grading papers.
September 16- 189 lb. Long cycle clean and jerk, 2x24k: 1m warm up @ 5rpm, 7m @ 5rpm = 40 reps. Moved mulch with a wheelbarrow all over the yard. 90m, then rested 30m. 65m, then rested 15m, then 13m. About 1800 calories burned in less than 3 hours of work.
September 12- 187.5 No training today.
September 11- 188.5 lb. Jerks, 2x28k: 3 sets of 2m @ 8rpm, 1m rest between sets. Did not get 8 rpm my last set, but held the bells in the rack to finish the set. Weak point was lockout- I could not get the bells high enough to lock them out, and triceps fatigued. Cardio was fine. Rested 10m, then cleans, 2x28k: 3 sets of 2m @ 8rpm, 1m rest. Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thf3jfbg96w&feature=youtu.be
September 10- 188.5 lb. Cardio today. 16k snatch: 10m, switching hands on the minute 15-16 rpm. Rested about 20m, then ran 2 miles. Got the first mile in 10:05, which is really fast for me. Ran/walked the second mile in 13:34. Covered 2 miles in 23:39, about 10 minute faster than last time I did this workout. Estimate 571 calories burned snatching and running. Stretched.
September 9- Long cycle clean and jerk, 2x24k: 1m warm up set6m, 4m, 1m, 1m. All @ 6rpm. Tried to do 6m for the second set, but ran out of gas. Heart rate about 190 (counted 19 beats in 6 seconds on the neck). Rested 1m between the last sets. Added two more sets of 6 for a session volume PR of 90 reps, and a total of 15 minutes under the bells. In June, I felt dead after a session of 72 reps, and in July I did 80 and felt much better. 90 reps today, and feeling good. That's improvement I can live with. Grip, shoulders, and legs held out fine. Weakness was conditioning- keeping my heart rate down and recovering during the set. No video.
September8- day off from training. Stretching, caloric restriction. Ate entirely too much yesterday.
September 7- Did 2x16k jerks. 15 minutes @ 8rpm, for a total of 120 reps. Felt fatigue in my triceps, everything else held up very well. 30 seconds after the set ended, my pulse was 130, so cardio held out well. Just a nice, easy pace, pushing the time out. I've seen several interviews with older long cycle competitors like Merkullin who started girevoy sport before long cycle, and before the 10 minute rule. They were accustomed to doing jerks for 30 minutes and longer before they started long cycle, and it served them well. I'm going to work some longer jerk sets in as part of my conditioning program. Kept today light and easy. Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ1hO33Vzoo&feature=em-upload_owner
September 6- 188 lb. Did the session the coach prescribed, but had to lengthen the last two rest periods from 2m and 1m to 5m and 2m respectively. After each set of cleans, my heart rate was over 200. Looked like this:
LC 2 mins @ 2x28kg; 5 rpm...rest 1 min...Cleans 2 mins @ 2x28kg; 8-10 rpm...rest 2 mins...LC 2 mins @ 2x28kg; 5 rpm...rest 1 min...Cleans 2 mins @ 2x28kg; 8-10 rpm
This session was rough. It reminded me of page 71 from Pavel Tsatsouline's
Russian Kettlebell Challenge: "The two K-bells clean is evil. Prof. Arkady Vorobyev conducted an experiment and learned that even an experienced weightlifter’s heart rate went through the roof following a set of ten cleans with two 32kg kettlebells—and did not come back down even after ten minutes of rest....If repeated enough times, two-bell cleans will make you a man!"
Stretched and worked on my boat.
September 5- 187.25 lb. Almost back in my weight class! I've been reducing my calorie consumption to about 2,000 a day. My estimated energy expenditure is 2,900 to 3,100 a day, so this is a deficit of about a thousand calories a day, for a loss of something like 2 pounds a week. Today, 10 minutes of jumping rope at about 50% effort. Also did 3 sets of 5 dips and chins. Just an easy day of movement. Walked around for several hours in the evening at an event with Dawn.
September 4- 188.5 lb. Long cycle clean and jerk, 2x24k: 6m, 4m @ 6rpm. Worked on a strong lockout (avoiding no-counts), and an easier drop directly into the clean. Still feels fast, but not as bad as before working with the 28k's. Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmy9DC3QCAQ&feature=youtu.be . Stretching and some cardio. About 200 calories burned during work sets.
September 3- was going to train, but had several hot spots on my hands from Monday's session with the 28k's. One more day off before longer sets with 24k.
September 2- 189.5 lb. Cardio. Did 10m Turkish get ups with 16k, 10m step ups on a 16 inch step, 10 Indian club swinging. Everything back to back, nonstop. Average heart rate 145. About 430 calories burned.
September 1- 191 lb. Long cycle clean and jerk, 2x28k. Coach called for 5 sets of 2m @ 5rpm with 1m rest between sets. Got the first two 2m sets, then 90s of the second one, rested 30s, then finished the set. Rested 90 seconds, and got the fourth set. Rested 1m, then did two 1m sets with 1m rest. Got my 60 reps, but not in the prescribed format. Very difficult. Pulse was only 150 at the end, but fighting for air, and quads were burning. 50 reps. This is a session volume PR for me with this weight. Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48zCkj9v5JQ&feature=youtu.be
Rested about 15 minutes, then did one arm jerk, 32k. Coach prescribed a max set with good form. Worked at 8rpm, and got 2.5 minutes per arm. This was not a true max, but as many as I wanted to try after the sets I had already done. Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGOfovpAIec&feature=youtu.be
Finished with 10 minutes of step ups on a 16 inch step with a 40 pound vest.
