BJ's Training Blog

2010-01-08T15:44:00.002-06:00

2009-12-03T17:07:00.001-06:00

2009-07-02T13:35:00.004-05:00

2009-05-23T11:45:00.000-05:00

2009-04-21T14:32:00.003-05:00

Moved for good.

2009-03-05T15:36:00.003-06:00

Follow these to links to see what we are up to:

Our Facility and services
Full Throttle Athletics

Kori's Women's Fitness BLog
Train Like A Girl

BJ's Personal fitness and training log
IMPACT your Fitness

Slow and Steady

2008-12-10T13:33:00.003-06:00

Training has gone well the last couple of days.

Monday I hit 10 minutes with 20kg One Arm Kettlebell Jerks at 5 RPM. It wasn't too hard, I just noticed I started to get "antsy" toward the end. I knew I could do and i just wanted the set to be over

Followed that up with some more OAJs with a 32kg 10 reps per side, the focus was quickness. I treated them like barbell jerks, the faster the better.

On to Kettlebell Snatches, nothing earth shattering, just slowly building volume. I chose a 16kg bell and an RPM of 12. So, one snatch every 5 seconds. I always train with a GymBoss, analog clocks, while they work fine, are not for me.

A 6 minute set for a total of 72 reps.

Followed by some swing w/ a 24kg. I just can't get into swings lately. I'd rather do more heavy jerks as an assistance exercise. But, that's just me.

Lastly a run in which I pushed the pace over our normal 2.5 mile coarse. Everything just clicked, and while still minutes slower than my best 5k, I was happy with it.

--------------

Today's training I dialed it back in order to fit more volume in and run myself into the ground. I have had a slightly naggin shoulder for the last couple of days. It has more to do with my posture while working than it does with my training.

After a good warm up I did 2 sets of 6 minutes, again One Arm Jerk, at 6 RPM.

So although my set was shorter the density of work was slightly higher as was the pace. These felt good, fairly easy as 16kg is nothing to write home about.

I wanted to work long on the snatches and maintain good technique so I backed it down to the 12kg today and did a full 10 minutes set. My focus was to cast the bell and not catch my callouses. Mission accomplished.

No other assistance, I'll run later or possibly set up my bike on the trainer since it's only 32 degrees. Normally I'd still run in shorts and a hoodie, but since moving to TX I've become somewhat of a wuss in the "cold".

Jerk PR Today

2008-12-01T22:09:00.003-06:00

Today I hit a nice Jerk PR. I traded down to only one bell for this weeks trainnig.

So w/ 1 24kg bell and an RPM of 4 reps I went a 8 minutes, switched at for. Towards the end it gets harder to hold the bell them it does to jerk it. After all, it's only 53lbs, my legs can surely handle that for quite some time. But the rack, oh the rack.

Snatches went fine, 16kg bell at 12 RPM for 6 minutes. Still not in a hurry to push this up. I figure as my Jerk numbers increase my snatches will as well.

That's it for today, no assistance, no running. But new this week will be some yoga. Tomorrow will be the first session.

Kettlebell Training 11-25-08

2008-11-25T12:05:00.003-06:00

Today's training was a little disappointing.

I have switched back to training for the biathlon event on GS. This will consist of a set of double kettlebell jerks and a of snatches.

My snatches, due to lack of training them, have really fallen.

Where I was consistently to the ten minutes mark with a 16 kilo bell, I am struggleing to go 10 minutes with a 12kg. It'll come back, Cate Imes has giving me some good advce, I am trying to put her pointers to use.

Jerks are another story.

Because of my Long Cycle training, my jerk strngth is good, but I struggle to find the rack with the lighter bells.

I have a pair of 20kg in route so they may be the great equalizer. Light enough to go long, heavy enough to force my elbows down.

Today I practiced only the Comp lift, no assist lifts, and kept the reps low. I just wanted to practice to skills.

Jerks:
2-24kg @ 4 Rpm, 12 reps = 3 minutes

Snatches:
1-16kg @ 12 RPM, 36R/36L = 6 minutes.

Went for a 30- minutes run with Kori after. An easy 2.5 mile fartlek.

We'll see what happpens tomorrow.

The Best Show

2008-11-20T22:51:00.003-06:00

It kind of has to do with fitness....

Oh well, another great season over.

One more just for fun.

Charlie and Dennis write a song, of course Charlie's been huffing paint all day. I love this show!

More Kettlebell Updates

2008-11-19T12:35:00.002-06:00

Well, this last week has been fun.

I set a couple good PRs and even cut those sets short.

I decided that since I'm just can't get over the Girevoy Sport bug I should get some more coaching and take the step to become a coach in case the opportunity to coach a young athlete presents itself I'll be prepared to do so.

So I flew to Cincinnati, northern Kentucky actually, but it doesn't really matter.

Over the course of the weekend got put through the paces learned some good tips and coaching cues and emerged a coach.

OK, well not really, at least in my eyes. It'll take lots of experience and a good number of mistakes before anyone will and should, call me coach.

Over the course of the weekend I hit a couple of Kettlebell Jerk PRs.

With 2-24kg bells I hit 22 reps and had about three left in the tank.

With 2-32kg bells I hit 12 reps with about 2 left.

I realize the numbers aren't spectacular, but at a body weight of only 165 they served to motivate me to push toward getting ranked.

The biggest thing I learned was to keep my cool and not panic under load and take one rep at a time. It isn't nearly as bad and it keeps the quality of the reps higher.

I'll try to get some video later this week. I have taken it easy for the last couple of days, I really felt worn out upon waking Monday. Flying when you're sore is no fun.

Quick Kettlebell Training Update

2008-10-31T20:14:00.003-05:00

I haven't logged my training in a long time.

We've had a ton to things going on, and although I have got all (or most) of my training in.

I have been working on getting to the ten minute mark in my Long Cycle Clean and Jerk. I had stalled and realized, like always I tried to push too hard, too long and was spinning my wheels.

So.

I backed off to one bell and back down to the 16kg bells.

This helped a lot.

I have been able to train more often and longer.

I also stopped thinking about how long I had to go for and started to think about each each as it's own entity.

That last tactic helped the most. Stop thinking about how much time is left or how many reps you have done. Just concentrated on the next rep and complete it as perfect as possible.

The result?

Multiple sets that have been ten minutes, with one hand switch at 5 rpm.

Now I know what you're saying...that's only 50 reps.

In all honesty the rep is the easy part. Holding the bell and waiting for the next one is the hard part.

So, I'll keep pushing the pace up and slowly add in some double work.

Snatches have gone well.

Call me a pus if you want, but I trade off between the 12kg and the 16kg bells.

8 minutes with the 16 is no problem.

10-12 minutes with the 12kg is pretty solid.

Just pushing the pace until I can get to 100 each hand with the 16kg bell.

There you have it.

More to come.

Just Singles.

2008-06-02T21:20:00.002-05:00

That's it.

That's all I did today.

Singles.

My main focus was creating and maintaining tension throughout the lift.

Recently I have been focusing on relaxing, conserving energy and trying to push longer. This was a nice change and I plan on adding in some pure strength days like this one. Maybe a better name from them would be "Strength Practice" days.

We're really getting in gear for the RKC Level II at the end of this month training is going well, I can easily perform what I need to so now it's about maintaining and not doing something stupid to get injured.

The menu today was simple:

3 exercises

5 singles

High tension.

Press and Pull ups:

I did these "super setted", the presses w/ a 32kg and the pullups with a 16kg

Lots of rest, lots of tension. Both endeed up being easier than I thought, I could have done more but decided to quit while ahead.

Next, Pistol w/ a 24kg. These started off a little shaky but tightened right up once I got back in my groove.

So, there you have nothing too exciting today.

Tomorrow will bring a good hard Met-Con day. Too humid to snatch so lots of high pulls!!

The MagicJack

2008-05-31T16:34:00.004-05:00

I just hooked this little guy up instead of using the "traditional" phone company.

It's pretty simple, just plug your phone into it, plug it into a USB port on your computer and follow the directions. In about ten minutes you're up and running. If you go on a trip, take it with you. It works with faxes, too.

The MagicJack

Back on the grid.

2008-05-30T21:23:00.003-05:00

So our first cross country move is in the books.

What an endeavor! And, what a change.

It took three trips, two with trucks and car carriers. The last one my truck pulling a small 5x8 trailer.

I got down here last Thursday, it took me and Riley 17 hours to make the drive. With Riley I had to stop more often than I would have if I were driving alone.

The following week was just unpacking and find a place for everything.

When you move from a house with a basement to a home without one you have to get real creative with where you put things.

We're managing.

We finally have a high speed internet connection up and running so we should be able to get back to posting.

At this point the house is coming together, but there is still a lot to do.

We have the "gym" set up in the garage, which is a change. That's where the training will take place no matter what the weather. So far it's been a good change, it feels good to sweat. But, we'll have had to make some adjustments to what we would normally be doing.

Snatches get tough in the humidity. We have changed to jerks and long cycle and more swings than usual. At Doug's direction I will be changing to LCCJ once a week once it starts to get real humid, and also snatches once a week maybe lowering to the shoulder to save the hands.

Next week I should be meeting with an attorney to file the Articles of Organization for our LLC. I'd do it myself, but since I'm new here and and not familiar with TX business law...yet...I'll a pro to do it for me.

We will be doing business under a new name here, so there will be some changes on our old sites. Some pages will disappear, some will refer to a sister company/site, others will transform into more info based pages and product reviews.

The new sites will be "blog" based, similar to Hyperfitusa.com, Doug Chapman's facility in MI, or Mike Stehle's Newjerseycrossfit.com.

There is a park right down the street, actually in our development, next to two schools, that if permitted we will explore the possibility of setting up a boot camp to generate some income and then start looking for a space to lease.

So, lots of work to do, living 1/3 the income...this could get interesting.

Maybe I'll start another blog about the start up and (re)building multiple streams of income from scratch.

Stay tuned.

Todays training session was pretty decent:

I did a "skill based warm up"

pull ups BW+16kg 4, 3, 3
bent press 1r/l, 1r/l x 2, 1r/l x3
pistol w/ 24kg 1r/l, 1r/l, 1r/l

Jerks w/ 2 16kg @ 6 RPM 17, 15, 18
Jerks w/ 2 16kg(fast) 24

OALCCJ w/ 24kg 10 minutes, changing hands every minute.

All-and-all not bad. I seem to be having a hard time resting in the rack, something has changed and I have to figure out what.=, because it's starting to bug me.

I'll be getting 2 24kg Competition bells on Tuesday, it'll be a good test to see if what I learned at Doug's has stuck, the heavier bells my just fix my rack too. The heavier bells should force my elbows to my hips.

The OALCCJs were tough but do-able. I just didn't feel like swings today so I thought this would be a good alternative.

6 Min. LCCJ

2008-05-25T16:47:00.002-05:00

6 minutes completed w/ 2 16kg bells, in about 90 degree weather.

Heavier bells should be coming soon, this should help me push my numbers higher. One thing I realized is snatching is going to be limited to skill priactice only. With the high humidity, even with lots of chalk and extra attention to proper technique, the handle will still pull.

Built a pull up bar i'll get some pics up soon.

We still don't have internet service, so I'm limited to when we make the drive to Plano to my mother-in-laws house to make short choppy blog posts. Hopefully this week we'll get hooked up and back on track.

later
BJ

Almost There!

2008-05-19T20:09:00.002-05:00

Whew!

It's a been a hectic couple of weeks, but we are almost there!

For the most part, we are all moved in...but not even close to unpacked.

Kori has started work at the hospital, today actually. I'm still up in WI, but getting ready to make th final drive with the dog and what little we have left up here.

Training has been here and there, between moving, graduations and whatever other loose ends I have to tie up.

I did, however, have a great session with Doug Sides last week. I made the drive to Rockford, IL and man was it worth it. He tweaked a few things with my technique, and before I knew it I set a PR, jerking 2 32kg bells for 6 reps. I was really suprised how easy they went up. So, I am going rethink what I'd like to accomplish by the end of the year. Doug seemed to have more confidence in my abilities than I did, and really showed my I should probably using heaier bells for most of my training...which I will do now.

Once we get a high speed connection set I'll share a story (funny now, but not when it was happening).

Until then.

Bang for your buck

2008-05-04T20:59:00.002-05:00

I haven't had a lot of time in the past week to train.

The move is coming so fast and is the priority right now.

So when I do get some free time, it's Long Cycle Clean & Jerks.

Is this the perfect movement?

Could be, if your pressed for time.

Friday and today I simply set my timer for 20 minutes and, while focusing on technique first and foremost, I would bang out between 5-10 reps. I made sure to "rest" in the rack at 3-5 seconds to get used to being there.

I am having a much easier time finding my hip due to more hip flexor flexibility, and really just forcing myself into the correct position.

Friday session got a little rocky. I was getting more concerned with doing more reps rather than doing the reps right. My breathing was all out of whack, actually I had only a vague idea of what the proper breathing pattern was for this movement.

Luckily, I met Doug Sides last weekend at the RKC.

Doug is a certified AKC Coach form Rockford, IL. I shot him and e-mail, and I got a very complete, detailed explanation of what to do.

Today I did what Doug said, and it was unbelievable how much easier the bells went up.

I only did sets of 5 because I wanted them to be as near to perfect as I am able to them.

So, if you read this, Thanks Doug.

What did you do this weekend?

2008-04-29T21:01:00.003-05:00

While you were sitting on your ass, bitching about the bad weather here in the Midwest, a group of about 60 individuals made the leap from ordinary to extraordinary.

My "new" friend Doug Chapman, also assisting this weekend, was nice enough to capture it so you can see what you could have done.

BTW, Doug is a stand up guy and runs an awesome facility in Ann Arbor, MI. Check it out.

And....if you get past the screening process, He may let you join.

No promises though.

Great traininng this weekend

2008-04-21T11:25:00.003-05:00

This past weekend I had three good sessions.

Lots Jerks, Snatches and I played with some One Arm Long cycles, all felt great and all felt grooved.

The jerks surprised me.

What hit me as odd was when I did the Jerks combined with pacing, it cut my reps in half. I was lucky to get 13-14 reps with 2 16kgs kettlebells.

But, when I just decided to see how reps I could bang out and good clip.

I got 25 pretty easily.

I seems, for me at least, the rack position (you know where you are supposed to rest) is more work than actually performing the jerks.

So some more "work" will have to be done to learning to "rest".

Snatches felt good, I have been doing less and less snatching and more jerks lately since it seems to be the lift that I lack skill at.

I have also started using my weightlifting shoes for these training sessions. After the initial "getting used to them again" period I really like the solid support. I also figured out the sound I need to hear, from the heels hitting ground, if it's going to be a good rep. Kind like that nice "tink" sound when a golfer hits a good drive...you hear the and you know it's a good hit.

More Jerks tonight, although I need to taper a little for my Snatch test on Thursday.

Back to the Grind...or so I thought

2008-04-17T09:10:00.003-05:00

OS, I was really excited to get back to training and, again, start to push my numbers higher.

I was excited until I actually started training.

Nothing felt right. Nothing.

No groove for for any of the moves.

You know those days?

Heres what I ended up doing:

Warm up:
I messed around with DBL 16kg combo of swings -> "gun slingers" -> LCCJ

Trying to get used to the "ultra wide stance" I have to take due to my body proportions when using the competition size bells.

Jerks:
2 16kg Kettlebells
4 sets @ 20, 15, 12, 10

These were tough, I didn't use the GymBoss for pacing, I just moved at a comfortable clip.

I was very uncomfortable overhead and had a hard time finding my hips when "dropping" the bells back to he rack.

Snatches:
3 sets of 15 @ 16kg

After the Jerk debacle I thought it best to just work on technique. With my snatches I wanted to focus on getting the bell from one side of my hand to the other with no catch on my callouses.

These went really well.

Kettlebell Swings:
2 sets of 30 with a 16kg Kettlebell

Nothing special. I felt a lot of discomfort in my bicep tendon. A sign I'm probably pulling with my arm too much and out sync with the bells rhythm.

I attribute this bad session to getting old. I turned 32 last Friday, apparently your body falls apart and you can't coordinate these highly technical kettlebell movements. That was sarcasm, BTW.

So, what do I do?

The only thing I can, brush it off and continue to push forward. You're going to have bad days.

Period.

It's what you do after that, that makes the difference.

Later.

New links to the left!

2008-04-16T11:41:00.004-05:00

I added a couple of links today on the left sidebar.

First scroll down and pick up copy of The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. I'm about half way through it and it's really got me thinking about some of the food choices American's make everyday.

Pollan does a great job of pointing out you may be eating exactly what you think and while the human species is an omnivore and survive by eating just about anything, most people, because of their food choices, eat a whole lot of only one thing. You may be surprised what that one thing is.

Pollan also goes into great detail about what happens when you feed an animal that has evolved to eat grass, and feed it grains. It isn't pretty.

This leads to the second new link I posted.

Check out Northstar Bison and pick up some 100% grass fed bison, no anti-biotics, no hormones.

My first order from them was the sampler, I got everything from Bison to chicken, turkey, ostrich (this was awesome) to shrimp.

By now I was convinced this was quality stuff and I ordered a ton of New York Strips. Cook it rare to medium rare and you can't beat it.

Everything came shipped frozen and the next day. This is really an A+ operation. When we visited TX over Christmas, I ordered some steaks they were delivered promptly all the way to TX for no extra charge.

'till later.

While we were gone...

2008-04-15T14:24:00.002-05:00

I got in a couple good sessions while we were off for our long weekend in Texas.

Thursday we traveled for most of the day and didn't get to the house until about 6 PM, so training.

It was weird no having the usual tools be we made it work. Luckily the last time I drove to the house I managed to haul 23 Kettlebells, new in there DD boxes.

So we had plenty of bells, but nothing heavier than a 16kg.

I basically just did circuits, body weight drills, push up variations, squats and we got in some running.

I haven't gone for a run since last summer some time, but with all the snatches and swings we routinely do I had no problems.

Hopefully with in the next month or so we can make that our full time home, Kori had a final interview at a spectacular looking hospital. Finger are crossed.

Day 9 of 24

2008-04-09T08:35:00.002-05:00

Had a great session last night.

Tried to keep the pace a little higher, I feel I dick around too much sometimes between sets so I've been a little more conscience of when I finish a set and start the next one.

I decided to add a little more load an attempt to gain some strength in the overhead lockout position.

Here we go:

Jerks:
2 24kg bells 5x5 approx 2 minutes rest between sets.
These felt good, the hard part was accepting/receiving the bells from the lockout back to the rack. Ideally you want to just "turn off" your arms/shoulders and let the bell "fall" back into the rack. Double 16s is pretty easy, double 24s was rough, considering its about 2/3 my bodyweight.

Snatches:
16kg Kettlebell, 15RPM for 6 minutes = 90 reps
These were pretty easy. I really wanted to concentrated on my grip and bell position and transition between having the bell sit on the heal of my palm back to the "OK" sign for the down swing.

Swings:
24kg Kettlebell 2 x 20 R/L
Again pretty easy, sort of. Easy for the hips, not so much for the grip. But, it will get better

Training will be tough the next couple of days due to travel.

I should be able to get a good session in tomorrow, I plan to purposely "over do it" since I may not be able to train on Thursday.

I was hoping to get some Comp bells delivered to our house in Texas so I/we could train, but it seems nobody has any, or they can't tell when they will be shipped. So, we'll see how this goes. Lots of bodyweight stuff, sled pulling and I hope I at least have a 16kg bell there but can't remember.

I think I'm also going to have some Bison delivered so we can grill out, this stuff is awesome. Grass fed, no antibiotics and delivered the next day fresh...can't beat it. I'll post a link where we get it if I get a chance later.

Two weeks to the RKC, can't wait see some friends and make some new ones.

Day's 6, 7 & 8

2008-04-07T08:22:00.003-05:00

No training over the last two days.

I was feeling really run down and thought it best to slow down a little.

I did a lot of stuff around the house and spread some mulch outside.

It was good for some active recovery.

Today is different.

I'm ready to get back to work, and go hard today.

Snatches w/ 24kg 12 RPM the goal is 6 minutes which = 72 reps.
Accomplished, tough but got it. Supporting the weight was the tough part.

Jerks w/ 2 16kg 5 RPM goal is 3 minutes focusing on getting comfy in the rack.
The goal was 15, I got 12. I couldn't support in the rack, but I found a sweet spot for my hands that made it easier to "rest". I followed this up with 3 sets of 5 reps to groove the motion.

Swings w/ 24kg 2 sets of 20-30 R/L
Got 2 sets of 20. I hit a mental barrier at rep number 20, I need to get past this and bump this number up to the 40-50 rep range.

I'll post and update once it's complete.

Day 5 of 24

2008-04-04T19:28:00.003-05:00

Going strong and no signs of slowing!

Santches:
16kg kettlebell 10:00 @ 12 RPM = 120reps (60/60)

Kettlebell Jerks:
2 16kg Kettlebells Max Reps in 3:00 = 19 (set bell down for short rest), 6 = 25 total

Not bad, th 10 minute set got hairy toward the end on the left hand. I haven't worked the snatches that long since adding some 24kg work. I need to get back to longer sets, and really work technique. The bell started to get "caught" on my palm as my grip started to fail.

Jerks were OK, if I had a pair of 12kg Pro-Grades I would actually drop down and use them to build time. But, I don't so I can't.

Can't wait, one week from today I'll be in TX for a long birthday weekend and hopefully get to hang out with sister. I haven't seen her since November when she moved to Mississippi, should be a blast...and warm.

Day 4 of 24

2008-04-04T07:36:00.005-05:00

Still going strong and the skills seem to be getting "grooved" very nicely.

Now it may be time to just push through some of the un-comfortable-ness (probably not a word) and push the time longer and longer.

Did some Z and them the usual Overhead squats and Pull ups for a warm up.

Then:
Snatches w/ 24 kg kettlebell
4:16 @ 15rpm = 32/32

One Arm (OA)LCCJ w/ 16kg kettlebell
10:00 @ 5RPM = 25/25

OASwing w/ 16kg
25/25 x 2sets

Felt really good, the OALCCJ got tough in the rack toward the end, luckly I have a better groove on the left side and I seem to be able "find my hip" and can get more "hollow" which makes resting easier.

Snatches were fine, felt a little bit of pulling on a callous just below my middle finger.

I am starting to re-think the importance of chalk. It seems hurt just as much as it helps sometimes. Much of it seems to depends on what material the handle is made from.

Steel handles: chalk seems to hurt my performance.

Cast iron handles: chalk seems to help.

Just a thought.

Day 3 of 24

2008-04-02T18:53:00.002-05:00

I'm loving the Long Cycle Clean & Jerk (LCCJ)

After warming up I was able to pull off a PR.

Well to be honest it's more of a baseline, I have never tried to go this long and I learning a big part of performing sets for time is just suckin' it up.

One problem I'm having with the LCCJ is the size of the bells and the stance I have to take due to being short and having stubby legs.

It forces me to take a wider stance, which is fine for the Clean, but feels weird when performing the Jerk. It something I'll have to get used to, stepping in and out from wide to narrow and back again will be too inefficient.

So, I'll deal.

Here's the session in nutshell:

LCCJ 2 16kg
5RPM, 5 minutes = 25 reps.

One arm swings 16kg
30/30 x 2 sets
20/20 x 3 sets

I wanted 30 on all the sets of swings, that'll be the goal next time 5 sets comes up.

The Rack killed me again, this will take some time to get used too. I learning (slowly) to allow my body to support the bells rather than me actively holding them. This makes it a little less "painfull" and is a skill all in itself.

Time to go watch some fights and eat some awesome Bison Meatloaf. Yum!

Day 2 of 24

2008-04-02T07:19:00.003-05:00

After a nice fast warm up of pull ups, power snatches (45lb bar) and overhead squats (45lb bar) I was ready to go.

A nice easy session today to work on technique and use like active recovery.

Snatches:

50R/50L @ 15rpm w/ 16kg

5 minutes rest

LCCJ:

15R/15L @ 12RPM w/ 16kg

Swings:

40R/40L w/ 16kg

Took the dog for a quick jog after this, it's finally a little nicer so I figured I'd get out of the house.

This was a good session, the hardest part was the rack position in the LCCJ. I can get really comfortable (this is a relative comfort) on the left side, but I don't have the flexibility/mobility to find my hip on the right side. Over time this should get better.

I think I'll be able to push the LCCJ another 2 minutes at this pace, we'll see next time the exercise comes up.

Stay tuned for today's session.

BJ

3 Short Weeks

2008-04-01T13:00:00.003-05:00

Yesterday marked 3 weeks and 3 days until the April RKC. These are always a good time and I'm excited to meet more new, like minded people.

I like assisting at the certifications, too, because having the date on the calender serves as a deadline and forces me to be on top of my game.

Even with my recent cold, it feels like everything is falling into place.

My numbers are going up, body fat is going down and so on.

So in an attempt to squeak out any extra fitness/conditioning/strength I'm going to attempt to train 21 out of the next 24 days.

This will require some serious thought regarding volume, intensity, load, food intake, etc.

I'll make a blog entry for every day of training (I will be traveling a few days next week, but I'll update when I return).

So starting with last nights session:

I did my typical warm up including overhead squats, pull ups and push ups after a thorough joint mobility run through.

Snatches:

24kg / 4 minutes / 15 RPM = 60 reps 30/30

Jerks:

2 16kg / 10, 6, 5, 5, 5

Swings:

24kg / 30/30, 20,20

Random Clubbell movements.

Snatches felt good, I felt a little pulling on a callous but was able to "fix" my grip and continue with out a tear.

The Jerks and still hard for me. Not in terms of load, the load is easy. The return to the rack is what gets me, and I seem to waste a lot of energy getting the bells back to where they should be in the rack. These will get better with time.

Swings were easy and I need to push these more. It seems the little voice in my head tells me to switch hands at 30 reps no matter how taxed I am. I need to break the barrier and push for higher reps next time.

Clubbells, this was just for fun, I want to get better at some of the movements and I like the way they tax the grip in a different way the KBs.

'Til later, I'll post tonight's session once complete.

Back to training

2008-03-26T15:36:00.002-05:00

I hate not training because of something like a cold.

I'm finally back on track.

Tuesday night I did Monday's scheduled training, or a modified version.

I simply did 5 sets of 20 one arm swings with a 24kg bell.

This was tough, my lungs were burning and I was coughing a ton crap up.

But I got it done.

Tonight, snatches and swings again with the 24kg.

5 sets of 15 for snatches at 15RPM

Two arm swings and pull ups to follow. 21, 15, 9 for both for time.

I mentioned in some past post I didn't want to train with the 24kg until I could get 100/100 with the 16kg. Well, I got little worried with the April RKC coming and although I know I can hit the snatch numbers easily, I don't any surprises. So afterwards I will hit that 100/100 goal.

Caught the bug...

2008-03-25T12:35:00.002-05:00

Flu bug that is.

Not good.

Training has been limited to one set of snatches and one sets of swings per day for now.

Hopefully, tonight I can get back on track.

Intermittent Fasting has gone well, but I'm going to tweak it to maybe every other day with a specific cut of/beginning point and make it more protein based and less plants.

'til later

Hectic Weekend

2008-03-17T09:27:00.003-05:00

No training this weekend, I just ran out of time. Lots going on with the house being on the market, more painting on Saturday, and we were kicked out of hte house on Sunday for an open house.

But, I wanted to explain how I set my GymBoss so I'm never surprised when it goes off at the start of the next round.

If you familiar with the GymBoss it has the ability to have two count down timers running in succession.

I set the the first timer for :10 this becomes my buffer to let me know the next round is about to start.

If my workout is swing on the top of minutes, I set the second timer for :50.

I start the timer and I have 10 seconds to get into position. When the second timer sounds I begin my set.

I finish the number of swings need for the set and set the bell down.

The next the timer beeps, I know I have ten seconds before the next set has to start. I can walk back over to the bell (I walk around, do Fast and Loose drills, do various mobility drill between sets) and get ready.

Hope that helps.

Forgot to add..

2008-03-17T09:24:00.003-05:00

With my main meal of the night I take my CorePlex Multi and OmegaPlex fish oil. Some may say it's overkill but ten fish oils is the average. To find out more about these two supplements, click on the AdvoCare banner in the margin.

The AED, WD, IF and some DBL KBs

2008-03-13T11:50:00.004-05:00

Wednesday was good. Good training, good food.

Here's a synopsis of what seems to be a typical day.

I typically wake at 6PM. We haven't done any early morning Boot Camps for a while so the extra sleep has been nice.

Upon waking, as laid out in the Anti-Estrogenic Diet (AED) I take my Magnesium, Potassium and Pro-biotics.

Typically we would have coffee going, but since our house is on the market we have no appliances on the counter (to make it look like there is more counter space). So lately I have had a serving of AdvoCare Spark. I'm partial to the Fruit Punch and Cherry Flavors.

For some time now I have been playing with the Warrior Diet (WD) and experimenting with Intermittent Fasting (IF). In a sense my body is my laboratory. I have been quite surprised with the changes and also with what hasn't changed.

Anyway, I'm getting off topic and the above may be material for another post.

So, after I shoot down the Spark, minerals and Pro-Biotics I go through pretty much the normal morning stuff, with exception of a typical breakfast.

I think I've gotten pretty good at listening to my body. Some days I'll fast, others I under eat. And still some, I'll eat all day. Depends on the signal I get.

No matter what though, I try to eat whole foods as much as possible. I (we) really don't eat any grain (including corn), breads, pastas or starchy veggies with the occasional exception of Acorn Squash...it's just too good.

Typically somewhere between 11 and noon, I'll have something. Usually not a meal, but a piece of fruit or some veggies or both. Or maybe a serving of the Spicy Black Bean Soup from the back to the AED.

After this I just kind of cruise through the afternoon.

Wednesday, I actually fasted until about 5:30. I broke my fast with about 6 almonds.

I train between 6-7PM.

Now, technically I should be well with in the Main Meal portion of my day but I have always trained at about this time and it feels right...so why change.

Pre-Training: Always take your Spark!

Training:

Joint Mobility
Overhead Squats with PVC
Push Ups
Pull ups

Then my main session starts.

Wednesday was:

Snatches w/16kg 8 minutes @ 15RPM for a total of 60r/60l.

Short rest, then:

15 sets of 3 reps, DBL Clean/Fr Sqt Combo, re-Clean before every Squat. I did these on the top of every second minute. Tomorrow I'll show you how I set my GymBoss for all my intervals.

In between, during the "rest" I did 3 chins with different grips.

And that's it...for training. Now it's time to eat.

The Menu:

1 apple
4 eggs over easy
6 pieces of bacon
1 Flax "muffin" (DBL serving) with Natural Peanut Butter.
about 1/2 cup almonds total

That comes to about 1800 calories.

I'm actually trying to eat more and more during this phase to see if it effects my weight. So far I seem to be getting leaner and the scale seems to be static. Performance seems to be improving.

I could have eaten more here, but I was satisfied. In the WD it states if your satisfied or more thirsty than hungry it's time to stop.

While having dinner with Pavel at the October RKC I witnessed him put away a 1/4 pounder for an appetizer and then a steak for a main course. That has become an unofficial goal for really no reason.

Not sure if this will help anyone, but maybe a few will find it interesting.

A great Pantera cover..

2008-03-11T09:59:00.003-05:00

I like my music hard, fast and aggressive, especially when it comes to training.

Pantera fits the bill perfectly.

Normally I would say a cover a of Pantera song is blasphemy, but this is an exception to the rule.

If you're not familiar with the band In This Moment, they rock. Not your typical "chick metal", Maria has a set of pipes on her and she proves it here in a jam session from the TV show "Talking Metal" on the Fuse Network.

Check it out.

If want some kickin' tunes, below Pantera's Greatest hits and In This Moment's latest release.

Strong Session Last Night

2008-03-11T08:36:00.002-05:00

Last night was tough but it was good. I felt strong all the way to the end.

As a warm up the get the juices flowing I started with:

Overhead Squats with PVC

Push ups

Kipping Pull ups

each was done for 5-10 reps for 3 rounds. Pull ups have improved nicely, just like with many other movements, learning the skill is a big part of improving the numbers. Before it was hard to pump out 3 reps in succession. Now 10-12 is the norm. I am sure I got a little stronger but the whole move just feels more fluid.

Training started with a timed set of snatches with the 24kg.

12RPM for 4 minutes.

This got tough, but I gutted it out and by end it felt pretty good. I'll try to push this a little further next time. Maybe a couple extra reps to push the set :30 to 1:00 longer.

C&J Ladders w/ a 24kg were next.

10 ladders of 1,2,3

This was tough but doable. I may add some 32kg ladders next week if I finish stripping them. Short version: I started to strip them to paint them but got side tracked with house project. They actually have dried stripper on them, now I have to start all over. This weekend it should get done.

No pull up bar play, as I had to help my dad move a fridge.

That's it 'til Wednesday's session.

Saturday's Training

2008-03-10T10:48:00.002-05:00

Saturday's training was pretty much more of the same with the exception of the volume.

Slowly, but surely, I have been increasing the volume of my swing training. It seems to be working.

I am getting leaner while maintaining scale weight.

Other lifts are improving with specifically training them.

And finally, again, the 24kg is starting to feel light again.

It just goes to show there is no substitute for the basic two arm swing. This move has become the backbone of my training, and although at first I had hesitations, now, I'm glad I listened to my gut.

I started out with my joint mobility, in the past I had been skipping this. I have made it an essential part now.

I also include overhead squats with a 6' length of PVC. Trying to maintain a long spine the whole time and actively pulling myself down into the squat keeps my hips open and has helped with shoulder and thoracic mobility a lot.

First move: One set of snatches with the 24kg. Just a test to see what I can do without too much stress to get a baseline.

I ended up with 60, 30 right and 30 left. Used very little chalk and didn't push my grip too far. I think my brain fell victim to the numbers, it seemed once I hit 30 my head said, "switch hands, that's enough"

I followed this up with 30 sets of 8 swings. 240 reps total. This got to be tough toward the end. This could have been because I fasted little longer than most days because I was busy earlier in the day. I'm happy with it though.

I "played" with some pull ups and front and back levers on the pull up bar. I have been including this "play" at the end and I have really enjoy it. It has really seemed to help my kipping pull ups and my ability to maintain tension while practicing the gymnastic moves.

That's it.

3-5-08

2008-03-07T10:30:00.002-06:00

Normally I don't train on Thursdays but since my scheduled had been messed up from an early Monday morning flight, I am now playing "catch up".

So last night before my kettlebell class I hit a quick session.

One timed set of Snatches with a 24kg.

At 12RPM I managed a shaky 20/20 from a total time of 3:20 minutes. I was shooting for 4 minutes. I could tell I was still recovering from the last session. I also had no chalk. This could have been a mental barrier, I really do fell I could have met and maybe even got a couple extra reps. Oh well, next time.

Then in continuing with building my swing volume I added one reps to my 30 sets of swings.

I ended with 30 sets of 6 swings on the top of every minute. This felt good, not too taxing. Once I get up to 10+ it should get interesting.

Pretty uneventful, Looking forward to a rest day. Hopefully on Saturday my next timed set with a 24 will go better.

Tuesday's Training

2008-03-05T14:47:00.002-06:00

First day back training and it felt great!

Lately I try to keep training as simple as possible.

Just the money exercises.

I started out with a good, strong set of snatches.

At 15RPM I did an 8 minute set with a 16kg bell. This felt good, I wasn't too sure how this would turn out. My grip was good through out the set, but my technique toward the end got a little "iffy". On my left hand I started to feel a callous getting caught on the bell handle. It wasn't close to tearing but I need to be sure to bell from the heal of my hand over to my thumb and index finger for the down swing.

I think at this point I'll be staying at only 8, 10 and 12 minute sets for the next couple of weeks with the 165kg bell.

Although I didn't want to, I think I'm going to have to add some heavier timed sets with a 24kg bell to get to my first goal of 100/100 in ten minutes w/ the 16kg bell.

After this I wanted to turn up the volume with my swings and with the April RKC coming up I thought there's no better time that now.

I hit 30 sets of 5 swings with a 24kg bell on the top of every minute. I plan to increase the reps as the weeks go on. This got me to 150 reps which seemed to be a good starting point.

Once done with this I practiced my kipping pull ups for three set of 10(PR), 8, 8.

I called it a night after that and caught on the race I missed on Sunday (This is where David Whitley will probably poke fun at me for been a race fan.)

Out of the Loop.

2008-03-04T10:21:00.003-06:00

Well, I have been out of the loop for the last week.

With the move coming ever so close, we decided it would be best to get a jump on it and take a truck load of "stuff" to what we have been referring to as the "Texas House".

We came to this conclusion because as we were pacing to make our house presentable for the potential buyers, we noticed a few things.

1. We have a lot of crap!
2. We have 3 vehicles.
3. We have a lot of crap!

So, Armed with a 24' truck, a car trailer from Tuesday to Wednesday night we packed the truck full.

Everything we didn't NEED to live went to Texas. Along with 23 KBs, still in their boxes, almost all mt weight plates, squat stands, desks beds, a couch and end tables, dinning room set, you name it, it probably went.

So, needless to say, last weeks training was scant at best. But, with all the lifting and carrying I think I'll be OK.

Thursday we headed to K-Mart's parking lot to try to get the car on the trailer. After 3 tries we got it up, pretty trick trying to get a stick shift cat onto a trailer.

By 8:30 we were on the road.

We (my Dad and I) were a little tentative at first, not sure if the car would actually stay on the trailer. And after a horrible section of I-43, we were off and running at 70 MPH.

It was pretty uneventful drive the first day. We (I) had planned on driving straight through, by 10:30 we were somewhere in OK. Our trusty Garmin lead to where a hotel was supposed to be, but there wasn't, so we hand to drive another 40 miles to McAlester, OK.

After a 5 hours of sleep we were back at it.

By 8:30 we where at the "Texas House".

Relief at last.

The car was still on the trailer, and nothing shifted in the truck. No China broke and no holes in the couch.

First item on the list, get the car off the trailer and go get some breakfast.

OK, I have only been to Frisco on one trip so I have only a vague idea of where anything is. So we started driving, and I saw a familiar road and knew there was a Denny's on it somewhere in Plano. That's where we ended up.

Then we unloaded, and what took two days full days to load took only one to unload.

This was still Friday, we don't fly out until Monday. For the next two days we put stuff together, arranged furniture and replaced door knobs.

Door Knobs?

Yep.

In my opinion it's the little things that set one house apart from others. I love the little things. Knob and hinge finishes, lighting/fan fixture finishes, moulding profiles, door panel configurations. After being around the lumber and building products business with my family for so long these things have been ingrained in my brain.

In Texas all the fixtures and knobs are bright brass.

Brass, unless antique, is a no go. Everything got changed out to Antique Pewter, and the fans will be changed to an Oil Rubbed finish.

We will also be swapping the door on the pantry to a "Pantry Door".

Other than those small changes, we don't have to do anything, unlike our current home which for the last 4 years we have been constantly updating.

After a 5:40AM flight home with a quick layover in Atlanta, it's back to the cold, snow and daily grind.

Although I am looking forward to getting back to training.

Timed Snatches and Swings tonight.

BJ

Much Better

2008-02-16T19:05:00.002-06:00

OK, after a not so good showing the other day, todays training totally made up for it.

After moving stuff (3 trailer loads...I have no idea where we got so much crap) I wasn't too sure how this session would go.

I set my goals high, I know what I needed to, and this time I wasn't going to let that little timer get the best of me.

So, with the GymBoss timer set at 5 seconds, after a quick round of joint mobility, I set out on snatch set.

It was a rough set, My form broke a little at the end just because my forearms were screaming at me.

I performed the usual one hand switch at 78 reps (right hand), a little past half through the set.

I ended with 68 reps on the left hand. Not too shabby.

If you do the math this set was...

12 minutes

I was pretty pumped, unfortunately so were my forearms.

After prying my hands back open and I moved on the the next movement.

I haven't clean and jerks in a while, and I needed a press for today so I thought, why not.

Usinga 24kg bell I banded out the following.

10/10, 5/5, 7/7, 6/6, 8/8

It was tough, I had a had time gripping the bell and "getting the bell where I wanted it" on the down swing.

The Jerks were strong and easier than with the 16 kg I have been using. It seemed easier to "push myself under", but I haven't used the 24kg for a timed set yet...so we'll see how it goes.

Finished with some 2 arms swings, again with the 24kg, 3 quick set of 20,15,15

I spent about 10 minutes or so fooling around on the pull up bar with front and back lever stuff. I managed to get one leg straight on a front lever for about 2 seconds.

Pretty happy with that session, hard and fun all in one.

1 For Every 3

2008-02-14T08:29:00.002-06:00

Lasts night training was "so-so".

It was time for more timed snatch sets and after completing 10 minutes at 15RPM, I thought the next logical progression would be to back down to 8 minutes and up the pace to 20RPM which would be one rep every three seconds.

WOW.

That is fast.

It felt like I was always playing catch up with the timer.

I broke me mentally because I couldn't catch up to he beeps.

I ended up with a somewhat poor performance, but it was a learning experience.

60 reps on the right and only 42 on the left.

I should have sucked it up on the right hand, grip was good...but that damn timer kept beeping.

So, I'll take it back down to 6 minutes for a few more sessions @ the 20RPM. Fitness isn't the issue here, it takes about 3 seconds to hear the beep and respond with another rep. I think after a few sessions it'll be easier to get a rhythm.

It was odd because it I am used to waiting for the beep, the difference between 4 and 3 seconds was amazing.

For the other snatch session I'll back it down to 15RPM and push for longer sets up to 14 minutes.

I moved onto deadlifts and and pulled 5x3 @ 225, felt good very easy.

Finished with one arm swings w. a 24kg 3 right and 3 left on the top of every minute. This will build over the next couple of weeks. This too was extremely easy.

Over all not bad, just wish the snatches would have gone better...Next time.

"If you can sit, you can get fit"

2008-02-13T12:56:00.003-06:00

You've got to be kidding me!

Saw this on a forum I just happened to visit today.

Really?

Seriously?

Come on.

No, Really?

Time to slow down and regroup

2008-02-13T08:36:00.003-06:00

In the past week I have decided to cut down on the number things I try to improve at one time. It seems every once in a while I get on a kick and have too many goals.

Now I'm all for setting goals, but I think a trap that many people fall into is they want to do so many things NOW.

So, they train hard but they don't progress at all, and despite all their efforts their level of fitness stay static.

I fell into that trap.

Now I'll dig out.

I am going to stick with a few basic moves and program around them.

I need to pick movements that require only the few pieces of equipment that will the be left at our house.

Slowly but surely, our resources are being whittled away.

With our house going to market within a week we can't have a gym in our basement. I have read lots of stories about people building great strength with nothing more than hard work and a limited number of pieces of equipment. And that is now our plan.

So here's list of what I'm going to keep:

3 Kettlebells. the standard set of 1@16kg, 1@24kg and 1@32kg

Our pull up bar can stay. W/Rings

A 7ft bar with 4 45lb plates.

Everything else is going to storage and will be on a truck in a couple of weeks for the first trip of "crap" going to Texas.

We were planning on training specificaly for the TSC, but the few few weeks are so screwed up with trying to move, or maybe even moving depending on the rate at which our house sells, we really have no idea where we will be!

Depending on where we are the closest TSC will be 5-6 hr away. Either at Brad Nelson's Kinetic Edge (Woodbury, MN) or Jason Marshall and Allen Martin's Lonestar Kettlebells (Lubbock, TX) are options if we choose to compete just for fun.

In addition to "thinning the herd" in term of equipment, I plan to do the same with the movements.

Deadlift.

Swings/Snatches/Cleans.

Presses/push presses/jerks.

Pull ups.

These are the new staples along with a few bodyweight exercises such as pistols.

That's it. Back to basics.

More Timed Sets

2008-02-08T09:22:00.000-06:00

Last night while waiting for my class to show up I thought I'd kill some time and get my training in.

Warmed up:
JM
Overhead Sqt w/PVC
Shoulder Dislocates w/PWR

Snatches:

10 minutes @ 15RPM (1 rep every 4 secs): These were tough but not ridiculously hard. Grip was good with the exception of the last 5-8 rep on each side. I had no chalk but managed. I ended with 75 on each arm.

With out my GymBoss Timer this would be tough, I love the way it keeps my cadence and counts my reps. All I have to think about is getting the bell up.

I moved to Jerks next, one arm, with a 16kg bell. Didn't know what to expect and wasn't out to break any records. I was mainly concentrating on trying to connect my hip and elbow in the rack position, this greatly aids in, not only supporting the bell but also transferring energy from the hips to get the bell moving up.

I did one set for 4 minutes at 5RPM, this makes for a long hold in the hold and this is where I really started to feel it.

So, I got a whopping 20 reps, 10 each arm and switched hands at 2 minutes

1 set of one arm swings 30/30

then

3 sets of 2 arm swings for 30 reps each.

That's it, wasn't too tough but I should be able to really start pushing the numbers up soon.

I didn't want to but I may have to add some sets with the 24kg, I know I can hit them easily but I want to set my brain at ease and hit the RKC snatch numbers for the cert. in April.

Our last Kettlebell Workshop EVER!!

2008-02-07T14:22:00.000-06:00

Yep, you read that correctly!

This will be our last Kettlebell Workshop EVER in the state of Wisconsin and we slashed the price!

So for all of you guys who have been on the fence in the past...

THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE!!!

Your last chance to learn the SUPER SIX Kettlebell Exercises that may change the way you workout FOREVER!!

Follow the link below to learn more about the workshop and just so you know...

Spots are already going fast!!

Here's the link:

http://www.impact-your-fitness.com/kettlebell-workshop.html

Get signed up today!!

In Strength,

BJ

14 inches and a Press PR

2008-02-05T19:39:00.000-06:00

So, with the weather forecast calling for anywhere between 8 and 14 inches of snow tonight, Kori and I headed down into the basement for another training session.

With our impending move to the Lone Star State little by little our basement is starting to look, well, like a basement and less like a gym.

Piece by piece our equipment is leaving for the storage unit.

Tonight the squat stands left, as did one of the sit up benches and the dip stand.

No problem, we'll improvise.

It means the squat groove I was working on will be put on hold, but I'll manage.

Tuesdays are now a day dedicated to (relatively) heavy loading, low reps and creating tension.

Sumo Deadlifts started out the session.

For the past few years I have pulled conventional.

Why?

Because I could pull more and it was a great ego stroke.

Well, no more. Take a quote from Brad Nelson, "I must do what I hate." Meaning, it'll hurt my ego a little, using lighter loads, but in the end I'll be better off.

One thing that may be a benefit, if I can groove the sumo DL I may be able to pull more due to the fact...I'm short, and the decrease in the distance the bar has to travel.

So I worked up to 4 sets of 5 reps with a measly 185, I just wanted to feel it out and make sure I could get my ass into the move. By the last set the load felt extremely light and I could tell as soon as the bar broke the ground I had found a nice groove, now let's hope I can find it in the next session.

Next came the PR

36kg KB press for 5 singles R/L, real happy about this. Watch out Bulldog!

Finished with 5x5 Pull ups with bodyweight. I'll start to add some external load in the next session. These have bothered my shoulders in the past and I wanted to feel this out, especially after heavy pressing.

The whole time this was going on Riley, the dog, was walking on the treadmill. It was a PR for him to, normally you have to stand right next to the tread while he's on it, not tonight, he just walked and wagged his tail the whole time. 17 minutes all by himself.

Time for dinner and then the first round of snow blowing.

What's really depressing is, at our house in Texas it was in the 70's the last couple of days...AND NOT SNOWING!

Soon.

Just a second faster.

2008-02-02T20:14:00.000-06:00

After a full day of working on the house doing misc. piddly jobs, Kori got home from and we headed down stairs to train.

Yesterday left us both sore and Kori worked the usual 12 hr shift, but we ended up having a great session.

Yesterday in case you're wondering we did a quick Swing and Pull Up session a la CF

21-18-15-12-9-6-3

Swings w/24kg followed by pull up, no rest until after the last 3 pull ups, well that is if you could help it.

I finished in just over 17 minutes..the pull ups kill me and my grip was shit after the first set of 21.

Anyway, today we focused on snatch work.

Going the full ten minutes in my last session of snatches has really boosted my confidence with this move.

I was sort of unsure where to progress to, so I asked those who know more than I and the consensus was to start to go faster but not to drop below eight minutes if possible.

So, that was the goal.

8 minutes

15 RPM or one snatch every 4 secs.

Basically what this did was condense the same amount of work into 2 less minutes. I still hit 120 reps, but I ended up doing three more per minute.

Not a huge increase, but another step in the right direction.

I switched hands at the half-way point again so I ended up with 60reps both right and left.

Then I moved on to some jerk practice....That was another story.

Need a lot of practice.

Later.

Chalk up another one

2008-02-01T13:49:00.000-06:00

Last nights training was good. Nothing Earth shattering, just one step closer.

I started off with back squat for 5x5 @ 135, 185, 205, 225, 235

I didn't move anything too heavy, but then again, I wasn't trying to. I'm just trying to build back up and re-groove the move after a looooooong lay off from the barbell squat.

Heavy swings w/ 40kg 6 sets of 5 reps. These felt good, crisp, everything was tight and I felt like I had a good number of reps left in the tank. But, again, it's all about building.

Pressing:

I was pleasantly surprised.

3 sets of 1 @ 36kg, they were a little shaky at first but they went up.

I can see I'm clearly on my way back to pressing the 40kg Bulldog.

By the end of the session I felt "dammage" of the 10 minute sets from a couple of nights ago. My forearms were done.

I don't think I'll hit another timed snatch set until Saturday, tonight will be a random CF WOD with a met-con focus. Now that I know for sure I'll be assisting again at the April RKC, I need to get my weight down a little and my wind wind up...just a tad.

Later.

A 10 minute set!

2008-01-30T09:44:00.000-06:00

Last night I achieved my first 10 minute set. And I think I had a little left in the tank. It was kind of a fluke. I went in with a goal of a solid 6 minute set, but I just kept going.

I switched hands at 5 minutes, from right to left and I think I could have gone a little longer on the right if I needed to.

I paced the whole set at 12RPM (1 snatch every 5 seconds) so I ended up with 120 reps, 60R/60L.

My hands handled the set fine, a little rubbing on my left palm towards the end. My hand was so fatigued I couldn't rotate the bell properly.

Not sure where to go from here, maybe back down to 6 minutes and I'll up the pace to 15RPM and work back up to a 10 minute set.

After the snatch set I banged out a set of one handed swings. All my KB sets where done with a 16kg bell.

5 sets of Double Clubbell Swipes w/ the 10lbs clubs and some quick mill practice rounded out the session.

I'm very pleased with the progress so far, it's always more fun when you progress faster than expected!

Monday's Training

2008-01-29T08:34:00.000-06:00

Monday was a good day.

After a great kettlebell class at Westwood Fitness Center I was ready to go. I'm always in the mood for a good, hard training session after this class. These people take everything I throw at them. That just gets me pumped.

So here's how it went down:

Back Squat 5x3 @ 135, 155, 185, 205, 225
Press/pull up ladder 3x1,2,3 w/ 24kg bell and BW for the pull ups
2 arm swing with 40kg 5x5

I was really trying to find a groove for the back with low bar position, I think I got it, but it may take a few more sessions.

Tonight we'll hit some timed sets for snatches and some high volume swings.

Later...

Last weeks training

2008-01-28T08:36:00.000-06:00

Last weeks training didn't go so well. Structured training session were pretty much non-existent.

We have been really pressed for for training time while working triple time to get all the projects we have started around the house before we get it up for sale.

luckily for me I have a 24kg bell in my office at the family business so last week consisted of lots of press ladders through out the day as well as impromptu snatch sets.

It's the only bell I had so I made due.

I was pleasantly surprised by my pressing strength and how little I felt it "in" my shoulder. That was an issue in the past on my right side, so it looks like the extra rest and limited heavy overhead exercises have paid off.

So this week, now that all of the big stuff around the house is pretty much taken care off I can get back on the horse, start building my time back up for snatches and swings as well as getting my deadlift cycle back on track.

We'll see ho this week goes.

The Start of a New DL Cycle

2008-01-18T19:07:00.000-06:00

I deadlift for the first time in a long time today. I figured just in case we are in TX by the next TSC I should be able at least DL the same amount if not a 10lb PR.

Not to mention I'd like to be on somewhat the same page and the hosts Jason Marshall and Alan Martin. These boys are strong.

I kept it simple. Since I had 20 and 25kg plates I did a warm up with 60kg and 3 work sets with 110kg all for three reps.

Three reps seems to be the limit for me, after 3 I just lose interest.

Followed up with 3 ladder up to 3 for press with a 16kg bell

Last a 4 minute Snatch set with one hand switch at 2 mins done at 12RPM. I was still a little tired from the 7 minute sets a few night ago, I could really feel it in my grip and wasn't getting good hand placement on the back swing.

I practice few snatches and toyed grabbing the handle slightly different and I think I found what I need to be doing in order to maintain the "OK" sign onthe back swing.

Better luck tomorrow.

The only time I like the cold...

2008-01-18T10:23:00.000-06:00

Temperature at Kickoff on Sunday: -2 degrees, The high for the day is only 1 degree.
Winds: 10-12 miles an hour
Wind Chill: I thought I heard -15ish

I have been to some cold games at Lambeau. Funny thing is, once your inside your not cold. Your "seat" is 16" of space on a bleacher. Hardly enough room for most Wisconsinites, so as you may have guessed...it's a tight fit in the stands. But, it keeps you warm.

I wish I were going to this one, but tickets are going for about 1500-2000 bucks.

Fun Fact: Eli Manning's favorite show is Seinfeld. The local TV stations in Green Bay that carry Seinfeld re-runs will not be showing the sit-com, instead there are rumors they will be showing Packer High-Light shows.

Not training related, but it's pretty much all that people are talking about here.

First 7 minute set...

2008-01-17T14:14:00.000-06:00

So I got my first 7 minute set last night, not too shabby. It was tough and toward the last 30 seconds on each my technique sucked big time.

My corkscrew was off and the bell handle kept catching my palm. I can feel it in my hands today pretty bad.

So last nights session:

7 minute Snatch set @12RPM w/16kg
one arm swings 40/40, 20/20, 20/20, 20/20
Swipes w/ 2 10lb clubs 5x5

I was drained before training so this just enough for last night.

I have to go back and re-watch the swipe segment of Coach Sonnon's DVD, something just doesn't feel like it's "flowing" with the cast portion of the move. Hopefully it hasn't been packed yet.

Tonight I plan on toying with the deadlift so I can hopefully start a new cycle leading up to the TSC.

Hopefully I'll be able to make it the Lubbock, TX TSC and compete with our friends Jason and Allen.

Not sure if I'll make any PRs but it will be fun non-the-less.

Back in the saddle

2008-01-15T09:09:00.000-06:00

Wow.

My last workout was CrossFit's Cindy.

5 Pullups
10 Push ups
15 Squats

Do this for 20 minutes for as many rounds as possible.

I completed 15 full rounds plus 5 pull ups an 10 push ups of round 16, my goal is to get 20+ during 2008.

This felt great, I have made steady progress since doing this workout every couple of weeks.

The pull ups are what get you, but as I get the kipping technique down, my numbers keeping going up.

Since then I have been on my ass with a cold. I felt it "coming on" on Thursday, but pushed through and paid the price.

Tonight will be my first session back.

On the docket:

timed snatch sets 2 x 6 mins. @ 12RPM w/16kg
one arm swings 5 x Max Reps w/24kg
And finish with some 2 CB Swipes w/10lb

My good friend Rif has been working on his swipe numbers and has motivated me to wipe the dust off my Clubbells and use swipes and Mills as finishers.

And although I have not had the best customer service 'run-ins' w/ Torque Athletic (long story), I am tossing around the idea of getting a 25lb club. We'll see, but I hate giving my money to people who don't stand behind their service or their sub-contractors.

What a Jerk!

2008-01-09T14:35:00.000-06:00

Last night was my first real attempt at a timed set of Kettlebell Jerks.

I didn't know what to expect in terms of how long I would be able to go, so I set my sights at a low but attainable goal from which I could build on.

The Kettlebell Jerk, for some people, is a tricky move. The second dip seems to be what these folks have a hard time performing.

Personally I don't think of it as a dip. I mentally tell myself to push my body under the bell, as if the bell is fixed. I try make it feel the same as a barbell (split) jerk.

You can imitate this feeling with an adjustable pull up bar.

Set the bar to just above shoulder height.

Stand in front, facing the bar and grip it with a pronated grip.

Now, this will be hard to out into words, but jump yourself under the bar to arm lockout and remember how it feels to forcefully push yourself underneath.

Mimic this feeling with the bell, then stand up.

Get it?

Well, try it a few times and you'll know what I'm trying to say.

Anyway,

Single Arm Jerks w/ a 16kg bell.

First set was 4 minutes with one rep every 12 seconds. One hand switch at 2 minutes.

Again you need to have a
Gymboss Interval Timer
to keep your pace.

Just set it 12 seconds and every time it beeps do a rep.

It's that simple.

So, Yeah. First set 4 minutes, not bad, not too tiring. It was only 20 reps.

I took a short break and then did a 6 minute sets.

This was a little tougher. I was more fatigued than I thought and it was getting tough to hold the bell in the rack.

Oddly, my pec was fatiguing more than anything.

But I got through it.

I banged out a quick 4 minute snatch set and 12 RPM. This was OK, grip was an issue.

I had to take a 30 minute break and finished with 2 sets of one arm swings in my parents living room (see post below for explanation)

These were tough but do-able. One set of 30/30 and one set of 25/25.

I'm happy with it.

Hopefully by the end of the week our bathroom will be done and we won't have to make the night trek for a working shower and we can crank up the intensity and volume in our session.

Tonight will be CrossFit's Cindy. Now that I have my kipping down, I should add some rounds compared to the last time this test came up.

We'll see!

6 minutes and counting...

2008-01-08T14:13:00.000-06:00

With our house in shambles in the midst of a re-model...we have no bathroom.

No, really.

OK, we have a second toilet in the basement powder room...But that's it.

So, since we returned from Texas we have made nightly trips to my parents in North Prairie, 20-30 minutes away, to take showers.

This has taken a toll on the training schedule, but we have managed to get some pretty good sessions in.

Every year it seems I start over...in a good way. More technical work, lower load and so on. It just seems right and I have never lost any noticeable amount of strength.

I have decided in 2008 I want to "go the whole ten minutes" with one hand switch, first with the 16kg, then slowly move to the 24kg.

So last night, in my parents living room, was the second time I completed a 6 minute set, changing hands at 3 minutes. The load was my 16kg Pro-Grade bell (Christmas present to myself).

At a pace of 12 RPM I completed 72 reps.

This is where a
Gymboss Timer really comes in handy.

I set the timer for 5 seconds which equates to 12 RPM. The timer beeps every five seconds and I complete a rep and hold the bell overhead until the timer sounds again.

You're probably thinking, "But, with only 16kg that should be a piece of cake." Guess again.

It's tougher than it sounds.

After that set I did two more 2 minute sets, switching hands at the 1 minute mark.

Finished it up with a set of 25 R/L One Hand Swings.

All and all not a bad session (in light of being in my parents living room), hit my goal of six minutes. Upping the time will be rough and seems to be as much mental as it does physical.

Next stop: 7 minutes @ 12 RPM. That's a total of 84 reps, not record breaking and I know I could pound out plenty more if I upped the pace. I trying to take the way of the tortoise, slow and steady.

It'll be interesting.

Back From TX.

2008-01-02T11:12:00.000-06:00

What a trip!

No snow, a little rain and temperatures in, at least the 50's (some in the 60's and one in the 70's) was a welcomed change.

It was great to workout outside. There was a park 2 blocks from my mother-in-laws. We "played" there on almost a daily basis.

Push Ups
"Box" jumps
Bodyweight Rows
Burpees (150 for time on one day)

We even went for a run on a couple of the days, until Kori wiped out, tripping on a raised slab of sidewalk. That pretty much put an end to the running.

Now it's time to get serious again.

Even with all the activity I managed to weigh in at a whopping 176 (heavy for me), up 8lbs.

So, what to do?

Easy!

It's time to get to work!

Lots of Deadlifts and variations. Squats, too. I have stop OLY lifting for now, our platform is in the garage, and today's high is 18. Nuf said.

Lots of Snatches, I would like to get to point where I can go 10 minutes with one hand switch, with the 16kg first then the 24kg. Like most things this will be a large increase in work capacity, but also a good deal of work on technique. This is one "event" I won't be able to muscle my way through.

I think I would like to work on Jerks, too. I haven't done many in the past, but it looks like it would be "fun". And I know we will be doing some at the RKC Level II, so I might as well get acquainted with them.

I also want to keep up with doing CrossFit's MetCon stuff, it's fun, it's tough and it's a real challenge because since switching to mainly KB training, many of the moves I haven't trained in a long time.

In '08 I plan on making a much bigger commitment to flexibility. I was doing really well for the better part of the year, mobility work every morning, RIS after training, but then I got lazy.

Guess what happened. Hip flexor issues. I need to stay on this muscle group, keep them loose and stay open. Of course, my hips getting tight led to an unhappy right shoulder. But, everything seems to be good now.

Things will kick off tonight with some snatch practice and then a workout from Brad Nelson, just some burpees and swings. If you know Brad, this will be a lot harder than it looks on paper.

That's all I got.

BJ

Off to TX

2007-12-21T04:28:00.000-06:00

It's 4:29 AM.....off to Texas. I'm going to try to get at least one entry while there. Hopefully some pcitures.

75 degrees here I come.

BJ

Bodyweight only.

2007-12-19T06:58:00.000-06:00

Because of Holiday Travel we are going to be "forced" to use only body weight resistance exercises until December 29th.

Some people would go nuts with the thought of this. The thoughts of atrophy, strength loss and decreasing snatch numbers would plague their minds.

Personally, I like high rep bodyweight (BW) workouts. They are a good change of pace and if all goes well I may even drop a couple of pounds. It will be nice to train outside if we choose as well.

We will be in Plano for a week. I plan to go for a couple good runs, lots of stretching and then the BW workouts.

Push up and squat variations will be the foundation and if I can a tree that will hold me, lots of pull ups.

I have a pair of PVC paralettes that I can break down so I will still be able to practice my Planche progressions, and maybe some L-sit practice.

All-in-all it will be a good little rest from the heavier weight and higher intensity stuff I have been doing as of late. Just a little rest and recovery.

I have ordered some grass fed Bison to be delivered to my mother-in-law's for some good grilling. I'll post a link to the site later. The quality is fantastic and they ship it frozen to your door in 2 days. Also, organic free range chicken's and turkeys are available. Yum.

If you have never had Bison, you don't know what your missing!

http://northstarbison.com/ check it out, the New York Strips Rock!!!!

Sunday

2007-12-17T09:23:00.000-06:00

Sunday was interesting.

See our kitchen sink had been clogged since Thursday. My Dad and I replaced everything under the sink and snaked the hell out of the pipes. We ran the snake all the way to the clean out to make sure it was clear, or so we thought.

We closed everything up turned on the water, and the sink filled up like we had done nothing.

This was Saturday.

Sunday, in come the big guns.

Armed with the Milwaukee Tools Sawzall, my dad cut the old galvanized piped right where it came through the floor. The plan was to install a rubber boot, new PVC and clean out and boot it back the existing plumbing just above where this pipe would join with the "main".

The Sawzall made quick work of the pipe.

Upon removing the whole section of the pipe, we got the Mag light and inspected the pipe where it came through the floor only to see it caked solid with "stuff".

It seems, even though the snake cam down to the clean out, we were merely pushing through the sludge. As we pulled it back the sludge whole closed, much like the android in Terminator II.

Anyway, my dad has this great idea. Obviously we need to clean the grime out of the section of pipe we are not replacing.

Armed with a wire coat hanger and the business end of the shop vac my dad starts to "clean' out the pipes. You can see where this is going.

So, it appears to be working really well, think of a Play-Doh Fun Factory, thats what was like. The sludge came out solid, as though someone was pressing the lever on the Fun Factory.

Then it happened.

To call it a shit storm, would be an understatement. The whole thing just let go. the rest of the sludge splattered. My dad got it the worst, I was just hit with a little shrapnel. But man, did it stink.

After that, everything went smooth.

Watched the DVR version of the Packer manhandle the Rams (the DVR version just means I FFwd through all replays and commercials. It only takes an hour to watch then.)

Then a workout.

I did CrossFit's "Angie"

Beat my last time by 11 minutes. But damn those pull ups kill me. Everything else flies by.

Got practice the kip, I can get 5-6 good reps and then it falls apart.

That's it. Just countin' down the days to vacation in TX. Leaving Friday, direct flight via MidWest Airlines. It's a regional carrier based in Milwaukee. If you ever have the chance, spend the extra money. "Two across" leather seating and hot chocolate chip cookies, MMMMMM.

There's a saying in Milwaukee, "If MidWest doesn't fly there, it not worth going."

'Til Later,

BJ

Squats.

2007-12-13T14:35:00.000-06:00

Haven't done them in quite a while.

I have recently started reading "Starting Strength" by Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore. All I can say is -- AWESOME BOOK!!

No matter how advanced you think you are there is something everyone can take away from this book. The exercises are broken down piece by piece into simple easily explained snippets. Rippetoe has the same ability as Pavel to take a seemingly simple move (like a squat), break it down and show just how many things needs to happen in order in order to perform the exercise. And, do it all in an easily "readable" and "understandable" fashion.

Anyway.

Squats.

I've never done "low bar" squats. Coming from more of a Weightlifting background it was all "high bar" with my Addistars on.

I'm someone who'll always try something new, so I figured, "What the hell!" It turns the CF WOD was back squats in the following rep scheme.

5, 3, 3, 3, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1

Probably not the best idea to test a 1RM on a an exercise I have never bothered to "groove", but I never said I was full of good ideas.

I would never do this with a client, but I have been known to be a little reckless with my own body.

135x5, 155x3, 175x3, 205x3, 225x1, 245x1, 265x1 3 sets

I didn't feel comfortable adding after 265. My legs had plenty of gas left in the tank, but I didn't trust myself with the new bar position.

The "low bar" was...different. Not better, not worse, just different.

It's solid, the bar stays in place even though it may feel like it's going to slide down your back. As long as you cue yourself to keep the back in extension (both lumber and thoracic) and keep the elbows high, the bar stays pinned in place.

This position noticeably allows you to load the hamstrings, a lot. This will be my new squat "style" for now. I'd like to see if I can get my squat back up to the 500 mark, along with my deadlift. The way the "low bar" squat bring my hamstrings into the lift, I don't see why it wouldn't be possible.

On another note:

I'm really laying the pressure on my good friend Steve Wittemann to start a blog. There are times I'm surprised his head doesn't explode...there is that much info in there.

Steve is a former Strength and Conditioning Coach and Head Athletic Trainer at Marquette University High School, and has been an ATC and in the trenches for over 15 years.

He also took over 30 minutes of his Half Ironman time with the help of Kettlebells.

Stay tuned.

BJ

New 3 Column Layout.

2007-12-13T14:33:00.000-06:00

Even with my lack of HTML I was able to upload a 3 column layout. Not Bad.

Now Back to Training!!

Testing Templates

2007-12-12T20:09:00.001-06:00

Sorry Guys, Bare with me while I play with a couple templates.

Damn HTML!!!!

BJ

The White Blanket Of Death - A Weather Rant

2007-12-02T10:23:00.000-06:00

OK, that may be a little extreme.

But, I have had enough.

It's not fun anymore.

We don't do any winter sports.

We don't snowmobile "up north".

All we do is shovel it.

The dog likes it, but if you know our dog....he hits his head...a lot. (It doesn't even phase him. I think he has Homer Simpson Syndrome, 10 points if you know the specifics of that episode.)

It been in the 20s, which is actually a little cold for November/early December.

It hurts even more when your mother-in-law calls and tells you it's 65 in Plano.

But, we'll be in Texas in three weeks. And, we have a list of houses to look at.

IMPACT Fitness, LLC may be getting a facelift and a new home in the "Lonestar State".

Watch out Texas....

Power and Grace

2007-11-25T19:52:00.000-06:00

I love the sport of Olympic Weightlifting.

Although I'm not as good at it as i used to be, when it was my main focus. I still enjoy performing the lifts on a regular basis.

I found this clip and watched it, probably four times.

I hope you enjoy.

Just awesome!

Trying to get back into the groove...

2007-11-19T11:44:00.001-06:00

I have been somewhat of of commission for the last week and a half or so.

Not sure how I did it, but a previous hip injury reared it's ugly head again. The last time (the original injury) was an over use injury from a Muay Thai knee training.

So after an evaluation from Steve (Pro Release, LLC) we found a whole load of things going on with my left hip.

Some bursitis, a locked up psoas, issues with my sartorius and some neat SI joint stuff...oh yeah a whole grocery list of stuff.

On the table I went.

After about 20 minutes of ART, moving through some funky ROMs with ample amounts of tension/pressure from Steve I was at about 90%. This was a Friday.

The following Tuesday we (Kori was getting treated, more on that later) back in for another treatment. Same thing, only the treatment was a little less time because the eval took much less time.

We will be going back again this Friday (11/23/07) for our third treatment. I expect to be back to 100% shortly thereafter.

This is some cool stuff and best of all it works fast.

I haven't touched a Kettlebell in the last week, well maybe once. But it has been mostly BW exercises and CrossFit WODs.

So, from here it's going to be a more focused effort toward consistency with my Z work and a little less "balls to the walls" with my KBs until after New Years.

Better to get healthy now, then have to re-hab in the spring when the weather actually gets nice.

I plan to film our next treatments so hopefully I will be able to get that up here.

Til later,
BJ

Kori's 5 minute Snatch Test

2007-11-07T07:47:00.000-06:00

Here the video of Kori doing the Snatch test from the Sept 8th TSC.

She did really well. I know she'll blow these numbers out of the water in April!

Soundtrack was Hatebreed.

My 5 Minute Snatch Test From September 8th TSC

2007-11-06T09:06:00.000-06:00

Not a bad performance, but the more I watch it, the more I think my pacing was off. I did make it the whole 5 minutes without setting the bell down.

All-in-all not bad.

April will be better. Guaranteed.

If you dig the soundtrack it's Killswitch Engage, from the album The End Of The Heartache.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday Workouts

2007-11-01T08:13:00.001-05:00

The last three days I had three great workouts.

I'm to get some pressing in to test my shoulders out to see if it is something I can peruse.

I love to work back up to pressing the bulldog again, but only time will tell.

Monday was pretty simple:

Deadlifts 135x5 225x3 250x3 for 3 sets
Pistols w/ 16kg Bell 3x3
Presses with 24kg Bell 3 ladders of 1,2,3

I figure ladders will be the best way to build the volume up slowly.

I didn't do any pull ups, I was planning building a pull up system for our garage gym, but instead ordered the MOD 1 from Torque Athletic along with a 5lb pair of club and 1-1/2" rings. I'll let you all know how these turn out.

Once I get the MOD 1 I'm going to have the fab shop take a look at it to see if we would be able to reproduce it for our gym and maybe for resale. They made me some great sleds (which we plan to put on the market shortly, one will be "push-able" with handles and all).

Tuesday's workout was the first day of an experiment.

I took Don Stevenson's snatch program and entered 65% of my max to cut the volume down. If you have ever done this program you know the volume gets down right obscene toward th middle weeks.

I figure with it tamed down to 65% I can still get decent numbers and maintain condition while building strength for the LEVEL II RKC. Once I'm done with the 65% "bracket" I'll bump it to seventy percent, and so on. I'm focusing on slowing down, the corksrew and getting the bell into the "OK" sign on the down swing to save my hands.

Wednesday was anther fun one.

Warmed up with Clubbell Rockets 3x20

Then moved onto presses w/24kg 5 singles (yes, I'm using the ladder scheme from ETK)

Sumo Deads, 135x5 155x3 185x3 225x3. I didn't know where to start or finish with these, I haven't done them in, no lie, 5 years or so. They felt strong and I hope the added adductor work wall make my pistols stronger "in the hole".

Pistols 3x3 w/ bodyweight. Had a hard time holding tension on the left side, a few reps turned into Deck Pistols.

Mobility and Flexibility work.

And that's all she wrote.
BJ

One Thing I Wish I Had More Time For....

2007-10-26T10:18:00.001-05:00

Muay Thai.

I haven't had much time to train in the last 4 months of so. And, really don;t know when I'll have much time to train in the future.

Either way, I think it is a great sport, fun to watch, fun to train and will get you in great shape conditioning-wise.

Not to mention, sometimes it just feel good to hit something.

The video above is of Ramon Dekkers, one of my favorite fighters.

Great speed, great skill.

Enjoy.

BJ

Get Pain Free

2007-10-25T21:36:00.001-05:00

This is my good friend Steve Wittemann.

Steve has helped me out a ton in the past.

You see Steve has magic in his hands.

No, really. It's magic.

Hip flexor injury/strain...go see Steve.

Shoulder injury after some stupid human trick, or just the regain some ROM after umpteen shoulder dislocations (I stopped counting after about 10 and after I learned how to out in back in the socket, I stopped going to the Dr. when it happened).

Steve's magic isn't some kind of voodoo.

His magic is ART.

While it may be somewhat uncomfortable while your getting treated...It's worth it to be 80-90% pain free in about 15 minutes.

How is this type of thing for, you ask?

Well, while Steve is an Athletic Trainer, he does work with a lot of athletes.

But, believe it or not, he treats even more regular, everyday, Joe Publics then you would think of.

Do you have neck strain from bad posture and being stuck at a cubicle all day?

Then you need an appointment with Steve.

Maybe you work on the line at Harley, performing repetitive movements day in and day out.

Then you need to see Steve.

Carpel Tunnel?

Go see Steve.

So, I think you get the picture.

I should mention too...

Steve used Kettlebells this year to shave 45 minutes off his Half Ironman time.

Yeah, that's just plain nuts.

He also has completed the full Ironman distance on multiple occasions. He's just machine.

For Steve's contact info E-mail me at bj@impact-your-fitness.com

Be sure to put "ART info" in the subject line.

later,

BJ

Deadlift and Bent Press

2007-10-25T20:28:00.000-05:00

Two of my favorite strength moves.

While some will argue the Kettlebell Bent Press is nothing more than a party trick, I love the way it forces me to keep constant tension in my lats. Until I build my pull up bar this weekend, since we moved our gym to the garage this will serve as a substitute.

Deadlifts were strong.

Pulled 225 x 3 reps
265 x 3 reps
315 x 1 rep 3 sets

My groove seems to still be there from the TSC training. I thin I have a decent build for the deadlift though, and I have never had a problem getting my glutes into the lift.

I haven't done Kettlebell Bent Presses in a while so I thought WTH!

Nothing fancy:

24kg x 3 reps R/L for 3 sets

Called it quits after that. Next week will start the begining of our next training cycle, although it's still up in the air as to how I'll program it.

I'd like to get my Deadlift to go up with out training it directly. After being around Geoff Neupert this past weekend, I may bust out the old Adistars and haul the Eleiko's up to the platform in the garage.

It's looking like 3 strength/tension days and 2 conditioning days...but time will tell.

I'm hoping to start to incorporate some video into my blog so stay tuned for that. Hopefully I have some tips that will help some of you out.

'til later,

BJ

Short and Sweet

2007-10-24T20:26:00.000-05:00

Felt like something a little heavier tonight.

I haven't done Turkish Get Ups in a while, so I felt I was due to give them a shot.

First set was a little shaky

40kg 1R/1L
32kg 1R/1L x 3 sets

Deadlifts
135 x 3 reps
225 x 2 reps
275 x 1 rep 5 sets

Called it quits after that, just wanted to focus on tension and keeping it. I had some problems with this in the TGUs, that was my fault, my ego got in the way and I started too heavy. No problems with the deadlift, these were sub-maximal weights and I just wanted to practice my groove.

My goal is 5 wheels for the next TSC.

More Pistol practice tomorrow.

Train Hard!

Quick Workout to get back in the swing of things...

2007-10-24T07:50:00.000-05:00

After a long weekend up in MN at the RKC, I didn't get much of a workout in. This was my own fault, because how many places can you go with well over 100 KBs at your disposal. I was probably due for a little de-loading though, so in the end it was all good.

I have decided to take it easy this week and ease back into things, test some skills I haven't practiced in a while.

So here's what I did:

Romanian Deadlifts: 5 sets of 3 w/ 135lb - focus on pushing hips back and keeping shoulders retracted and back flat.

Pistols: 5 sets 1 R/L focused on keeping tension and pulling myself down. Left side was shaky coming out of the whole and required a small skip backward on all but one rep. This will get better with practice

Press: 5 sets of 1 R/L with 24kg, just wanted to test out the shoulders. Felt good, but not great. I'll lay off the pressing for a while longer, or move up to the 32kg. I had an "Aha" moment when I heard Jeff O'Connor say all problems with form can be fixed by adding more weight. I realized I rarely fell pain while pressing the 32kg because you have top stay tight.

Pull ups: 5 sets of 3 w/ BW - not so good, I need to get a pull up system that allows me to extend my legs in order to practice "zipping up" on my pull ups. Felt elbow pain and a little pain in my shoulder.

Practiced some "Relax Into Stretch" and "Strength Stretching". Felt good and loosened me up nicely.

That's all for now.

BJ

Back from the RKC!

2007-10-23T11:41:00.000-05:00

Man, I love to teach.

Bottom line, that what I love to do and this weekend I had the opportunity to assist Jeff O'Connor, RKC Team Leader along with Amber Dornfeld in teaching an amazing groups of RKC Students.

Now I admit, I'm Bias, but we had an outstanding group. All made huge improvements. Night and Day difference.

If any of those from Team O'Connor read this I would like to say thanks. I can only hope you got as much from me as I got from you.

Just a short post here because I'm playing catch up after a weekend away.

BJ

Talk about neglect!

2007-10-09T15:17:00.000-05:00

Man, this has really gotten away from me!

I have spent the last two weeks re-designing our website, writing content/copy and trying to get a workout in when ever possible.

The beautiful thing about training with a kettlebell.

All I need to do is allot myself 20 minutes or so and I'm golden.

Any combination of swings, snatches push ups and pull ups do me just fine.

This last week though I have been combining all my KB ballistics with burpees or squat thrusts. I realize now that this is my new favorite drill. Squat thrust into a double 32kg KB deadlift. I tried to count reps, but just ended up doing three sets until boarder line nausea.

Since college I enjoy circuits and sessions that lean toward more conditioning than limit strength. Don't get me wrong, lifting heavy stuff is cool, and I do enjoy it. But, I did sooooo much of it back then it just doesn't have the same appeal anymore.

To see what we have been working on check out the skeleton of the new site at www.impact-your-fitness.com

Be gentile, it's only in it's infancy.

BJ

Saturday's GPP Workout was a blast

2007-09-17T10:51:00.001-05:00

Saturday after noon Kori and I worked in the back yard.

The tools:

One 16lb and one 10lb sledges
One 32kg and one 16kg kettlebell
One sled and a 25lb plate

Our format went like this

Sledge swings (onto a tire) 1 minute
rest 1 minute
2 Hand swings 1minute
rest 1 minute

(while I used the sledge, Kori did swings)

repeat 5 times

Then

Backward sled drags the length on the back yard using the DD handle
return by taking 2 steps then row, 2 steps then row ( this is killer)

we did this 5 times, alternating me the Kori. I added a 25lb plate, Kori used just the sled, which weighs 48lbs by itself. And on grass it feels a whole lot heavier.

Lastly, hand over hand pulls with the sled

I attached the long rope to he sled, ran to the other end of the yard and then pulled the sled to me in hand ove hand fashion. Once the sled got to me I sprinted back to the start and did it again. Once the sled was back, it was Kori's turn. We did this 2 x each.

We were pretty fried, but it was a lot of fun!

BJ

Short and Sweet

2007-09-12T10:25:00.001-05:00

The last two days I have been pressed for time, so I had to perform short and sweet workouts.

Since training for the TSC, my conditioning took a little hit. For the next 6 weeks I plan to focus my efforts here and get back into training my Muay Thai.

Monday went like this; it was short and I was way more winded than I should be, but anyway:
1 Hand Swings 10 R/L (24kg) followed by 1 minute of jump rope w/ the Super Boa jump Rope.

I did five rounds, nothing to brag about but enough to get my heart going.

Tuesday was a little tougher.

I set the timer for 20 minutes.

The exercises were Hindu Pushups x 10

Hindu Squats x 10

2 Hand KB Swings (24kg) x 10.

I as I finish my 8th round the timer went off. I was happy with the performance and my heart was racing.

Tonight will be more strength focused, but still a short workout.

Barbell Clean + Front squat 10 sets of 3 reps x 95 lbs. 1 minute rest between sets.

5 rounds on the heavy bag focused on form not power. It been a while!

'til next time!

BJ

The TSC is in the books!

2007-09-10T10:46:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday we hosted the Tactical Strength Challenge, and it was a blast!

For those not familiar with this event, it consists of 3 events; the deadlift, pull ups and the kettlebell snatch.

It was an awesome event, we had a great group of competitors.

Personally I outperformed the goals I had set for myself.

Although I weighed in a couple of pounds heavier than I was shooting for, my lifts made up for it.

In the deadlift I pulled a post college PR of 415 lbs.

I posted 13 pull ups, this was an all time PR and I still can't believe I performed that many!

And, lastly the kettlebell snatch w/ the 24kg bell, I performed 105 reps. I didn't train too hard for this event, I was more concerned w/ my deadlift.

Overall, it was a blast. We plan on hosting the next one also. If history play a role it should be in March.

We are going to try to market this competition to the local Police and Fire Departments, because it really does encompass many of the demands they see on the job.

If you like to learn how to perform the lifts so you can compete in the next one, I have put together a couple of resources so you can learn the list correctly.

First, the deadlift. If you don't already own a copy of Pavel's Power to the People, get one. This is a wonderful resource and breaks down the seemly easy deadlift and gives you a great strategy to train this taxing lift without wearing yourself down.
Just follow the link here: Power to the People

To learn to perform the kettlebell snatch get to our next workshop. Getting hands on instruction is THE BEST WAY to learn how to perform the kettlebell lifts properly. More info on the workshop can be had at the link below.
IMPACT Fitness' LEVEL I KB workshop

That's all for today.

Just some GPP

2007-09-02T09:46:00.001-05:00

On Saturdays I try not to do a real structured workout. I like to do more of a GPP/conditioning type workout. I usually have million things going on on the weekends so it's hard for my to psyched for heavy lifting. So this is how it turned out. Kori had to work at the hospital so Riley decided he would train with me.

I started out with just 3 sets of 10, two hand swings to get my hips popping. Move on to 3 sets of 15 for snatches, all done with a 24kg bell.

Then I moved on to the tire.

I don't know what the tire weighs, but it's big. It's as tall as me, which I know isn't saying much, but it's really awkward and hard to get a grip on it.

I flipped for 10 reps, then for 12, then for 15. 37 reps total. Felt great. Focused on staying tight and popping the hips, getting under it and then running through it. My neighbors think I'm wierd. We live on a corner, a car sat at the stop sign and watched for 4-5 flips.

After that I moved onto the sled. I do all of the dragging on grass. There is more friction and it's flatter the the street we live on. Plus like I said the neighbors already think we're wierd, I don't need the sound of the metal sled dragging to draw even more attention to us.

I worked for 20 full minutes, the first 10 backwards using the DD handle. I would throw in some rows for variety.
WOW, it was rough.

Then I clipped the harness on and back and forth I went for another 10 minutes. After one particular drag, I got to the sidewalk, turned around, sqautted down to catch my breath a little. Riley actually stood up, walked (from shade where he was lying) to end of his chain and barked at me as if to tell me to get my ass moving again.

Gotta love a motivating training partner!
Here's a pic of the sled and my favorite 24kg bell. The sled weighs 48 pounds by itself, that 25 lb plates feels like so much more when you drag on grass.

I was drenched in sweat by end, tired and my legs were like noodles. But, I felt great.

'til later.

An Update + Random thoughts

2007-08-24T08:12:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, not too much to write about this week.

We have been very busy with the business and that has taken a cut into my traing, but in the end it'll be worth it.

The highliht of the week was a 395lb deadlift on Wednesday, I still had some left in the tank. 400+ should be do-able at the TSC in 2 Weeks. This will be a post college PR.

Post College?

Yeah, I can't compare what I lifted in college to what I lift now. In college I ate, went to class, ate, napped, ate, lifted, ate, napped then ate some more. So as you can probably imagine my lifts went through the roof.

There was no waking at 4:15 for Boot Camps and such.

But any way.

We will be redesigning our website in the upcoming month or so. We will be getting rid of our designer and taking it in house. Cost reasons. Our designers appearently thinks that $40 per page is fair price to add pages to our site. I see it differently, plus I don'tthink he's ever understood what we were trying to accomplish. So, he's out!

It's an exciting turn, but will require a lot of work.

We have a couple of other things in the works, too. Things that can potentially add a good amount of income to your bank account!

Stay tuned!

Monday

2007-08-14T09:49:00.000-05:00

Nothing too exciting, but feeling much strogner. I have really found my groove for the Deadlift.

Monday I started with some complexes with and empty bar. Oddly I felt a pump everywhere. This is not something I shoot for, because I don't believe it has any thing to do with actually making progress. I'll chalk the pump up to a good weekend carb up.

Complex = 5 RDL -> 5 Bent over rows -> 5 Hang Cleans -> 5 Hang Snatches -> 5 overhead squats. Repeat 3x.

My hips still felt tight so I did the following. Loop an Iron Woody band around a basement column. Hold the band and perform a deep squat. The band will act to help you balance, and stay upright, and allow to pry/find space in the hips while in the deep squat position by shifting your weight back and forth. This is the same as someone hold your hands while your in the deep squat, but obviously doesn't require a partner.

That did the trick so I moved on.

Deadlift 155x5, 205x3, 300x4x6sets

Snatches 32kg x 4 r/l 45secs rest 10 sets

Felt very strong, finished up with some more mobility work.

That's it.

Today's Training

2007-08-10T07:49:00.000-05:00

My deadlift is coming along nicely. I have working on the wedging technique, and staying tight as the bar breaks the ground. I have also found a good groove that allows me to really concentrate on pushing the ground away, rather than standing up.

Here's today training

Warm ups.

I really like using barbbell complexes for warmups, plus it allows me to keep my Oly lifting skills.

Favorite complex so far (usually make them up right before my w/o)
RDL -> bent over row -> clean -> front sqt.

Then I will hit some BB Snatches off block, the bar is just above my knees. After the last Snatch I bang out some Overhead Sqts.

Deadlift 155x5, 205x3, 300x2 for 6 sets
Back Squat 5x5 @ 135
Press 5x1 w/32kg KB
BW Pullup 5 sets to with in 1 rep of failure
5 minutes 24kg Snatch

Lots of mobilty.

It will be interesting to see how the 5 minute set goes, no carbs all week.

Stay tuned.

BJ

Monday's Training

2007-08-07T09:19:00.001-05:00

I'm really starting to focus on the TSC coming up. This will be the first strength competition I have ever trained for, so it should be pretty interesting.

Here's how it went down last night

Warm Up was pump stetches and barbell complexes using oly lifts with and empty bar.

Deadlift 6x2 @ 300 lbs (working for a 400lb pull at the TSC)
Back Squat 5@135 3@185 3x1@235 I havent practiced squating in what seems like forever. As I re-learn the skill the numbers should go back up quickly.
KB Snatch 10x3r/l w/1minute rest between sets, lots of hips, felt very strong
Pull Ups w/BW 4,3,2,1

All-in-all I accomplished what I wanted to. A Simple, fairly heavy workout to start the week out.

Thanks for reading.
BJ

One day, at Band Camp.....

2007-08-06T13:07:00.000-05:00

No, not what your thinking.

Actually Band Camp is an all day music festival in Madison. WI put on by a local radio station. The line up rivals most of the larger festivals that travel the States.

I don't know about you, but I like aggressive music when I train, as does Kori. We typically go to these festivals and get to see the bands we listen to while throwing around the heavy kettlebells.

So we made the 60 minute trek west to Madison, at got to hear bands like Dope, Nonpoint, Kittie, In This Moment, Die Cast and many others. The Co-headliners were Sevendust and Stone Sour, although we didn't stay for them. It was a long day and unlike Alpine Valley, Willow Island has no place to sit. It had rained the night before so the ground was still wet. A wet butt I was not havin'.

It was nice to get away and not think about training or the biz for the day. Below are a couple of vids of the bands we saw. I realize this isn't for everyone, but your never know, you may here something your like.

Royce, if you read this, this would have been a show for you!

First band that out performed my expectations was "In This Moment". I get to see them again in a week at Ozzfest. Check it below.

For something a little more hardcore, check out their other single "Prayers"

Here's one from Nonpoint, great energy on stage and you could tell they love what they do.

Kittie, the band Kori went to see. By this time mud balls were flying, the singer actually had to dodge a few.

It was a long day but fun. Next weekend is Ozzfest. Then I think we're done with concerts until next year.

Training post to come later, stay tuned.

BJ

Change of Pace.

2007-08-03T14:08:00.000-05:00

While I had good intentions of sticking with my original plan a few post back...but I got so fricken bored, I had almost all motivation to train. What used to thrill me, became a burden. In the past that has always been a sign something needs to change, even though I was still making great progress...my heart wasnt in it.

There were a few things going on. Volume, there was too much of it for my caloric intake. I hindsight, switching back to a Warrior diet type eating plan, wasn't the best choice for the amount of volume I wanted to do.

I raised my calories, so that problem is fixed. I also increased to number of meals per day back to 4-6. Energy levels have sored. I also think the added protein has revved up metabolism and I even put on some muscle I'm not as lean as I was, but I'll take some extra thickness in the upper back. I'm walking around between 166-172 depending on when my last refeed was.

I have changed the way I warm up. I still Joint Moblity, but I have been throwing in some light Oly lifting to warm the hips and shoulders up and it's making a huge differnce.

Shoulder pain...Gone. Now I'm sure it's a comination of things but the added molibity/stability one gets just from some overhead barbell squats is amazing.

The TSC is six weeks from tomorrow, exactly. In my head that will make a nice little cycle of very concentrated work.

I'm going to only strength train 3 days per week, hard and heavy. High rep snatches at the end, rather then on separete days. Maybe some sled draggin' or GPP on two of the days, but for recovery's sake only.

Lot's of foam rolling and molbilty.

Lot's of protein. If it used to have a face, it's fair game!

The goal, focus only on the TSC and pull off a PR in at least one of the events. This will be my first type of competition like this so I'm not too worried about how I place.

As for diet.

I do really really well on low carb, keto style eating plans. Don't know why. Maybe there's something to that whole metabolic typing theory?

Funny thing, Kori does also.

So that's what I'm going back to, I'll do a carb refeed periodically.

Coincidentially this how I ate all through college and that's when I was at my peak in strength and leaness...

And....We're Back

2007-07-23T10:50:00.001-05:00

First of all, thanks to everyone who doanted to our ride. We really appreciate it, hopefully some of you will join us next year!

So, some how I managed to retrieve my camera out of my back jersey pocket, take a picture, put the camera back, while riding and not fall off my bike.

The ride started in Mequon (meck-kwan) which is about 10 miles north of Milwaukee, and ended in Sturgeon Bay, abotu 40 miles north of Green Bay. It's a great ride. We didn't break any records, speed-wise, but we had a blast.

Here are some picutres, I was told there were 800 riders.

Above is the registration. It's always nuts!

Here's a good shot of the Lake Michigan. For those of you not from WI, yes this is a lake and no you can't see the other side. Many people not from here don't realize how big this lake is.

Just thought is was a cool shot.

The road leading Sheboygen, lunch is coming up!

Lunch on Day 1

Finish of Day 1. I was just happy to be done. We showered, ate, and fell asleep at 4:30PM. Woke up at 8, went back to bed at 8:30, slept 'til 6 AM.

Some poeple camp on the bluff in Manitowoc, it's a pretty sweet view.

Now some shots from the second day. I thought about getting some shots of Point Beach. But on second thought, I didn't think taking pictures of the a Nuclear Plant would be a good idead.

Leaving on Day 2

Sunflowers on the bluff, if I were taller you'd be able to see the lake in the background better.

The end of Day 2.

Like I said we had a blast. Day one took about 5-1/2 hours and day 2 only took 4-1/2 hours. For some reason day 2 we were averaging 18 miles per hour.

Pretty good for only getting on our bikes 2 times before. I really think the cyclical nature of doing hundreds and hundreds of kettlebell swings made all the difference.

Well, I hoe the pics convince a few of you to join us next year, you wont regret it.

'til next time.
BJ

I was floored when I saw this...

2007-07-18T12:30:00.001-05:00

Funny thing happened today.

I was going to post about the e-mail Kori got with a bunch of old cigarette ads from the 1950s.

Well a fellow fitness coach beat me to it, appearently him and Kori get the same e-mails.

So, I'll post it anyway just becuase it may be of interest for some of you. And while I gave me a little chuckle, I was a little disturbed too.

Here's the first on:

Here's the second:

Crazy!

While we know about sides effects of smoking now, are you familar with the sides effect of kettlebell training?

Kettlebells, side effects include:
1. Lose of Fat
2. increased stamina
3. improved muscle tone and strength
4. may experience uncontrollable amounts of fun while exercising
5. many comments from friends regarding your new body
6. lying in a pool of your own sweat and feeling content

While I realize these side effects may be too much for some, but the like other things that are highly addictive, once you get hooked it'll be hard to quit.

Find out more by attending our next Kettlebell Workshop on August 4th. Just click the link to learn more. See you there, and no, there will be no smoke breaks.

http://www.impactyourfitness.com/workshopsEvents.asp

'til later

BJ

Free Boot Camps start today!!

2007-07-16T10:04:00.001-05:00

Today we start our week of FREE BOOT CAMP. We had a great group this morning!

Where were you?

While you were still hittin the snooze button, four ladies showed up and worked their butts off.

That's right, Ladies!

So where were all you tough guys?

Well, don't worry about it, you have two more days to redeem the male gender.

SO, be there!

Instead of flexing in front of the mirror for 15 minutes before your shower, come to camp.

Rather than watching re-runs of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on FX (yes, I realize how sad it is that I know when this is on)...Get your butt to camp.

Stop saying you'll start you're new exercise program Monday, because you know you won't, and get to Camp on Wednesday. What do you have to lose....It's free the week!

Wednesday, 6 AM @ Wirth Park in Brookfield. Enter Off of Pilgrim Rd. and look for the bright red signs.

That's it.

BTW

you can go to www.impactfitnessbootcamps.com to sign up for the full blown (which start July 23rd) IMPACT Fitness Boot Camp and get lean by labor day!

'til Later

BJ

Slow but steady ...

2007-07-11T09:20:00.000-05:00

For those who haven't heard we are going to be hosting a TSC this September. I figure if we are going to host it, I might as well "compete". Kori too.

Although my scores will pale in comparison to some of the mutants out there, I figure "What the hell".

Since the deadlift in one of the events I have started pulling again and originally started with a similar ladder type structure found in "Enter the Kettlebell" but volume got to be too much. Since then I have switched to a straight "Power to the People" and it seems to be working much better, and I'm fresher for my pressing and pull ups, which are my main concern, specifically pull ups.

I had thought for a while my deadlift had been indirectly helping my pull ups because of the strength and stability it builds in the shouder retractors. After viewing Brett Jones' and Gray Cook's, "Secrets of the Shoulder" DVD my thoughts were confirmed. This is a great DVD, by the way. If you have some shoudler issues, or, for you trainers, have a client with one...GET THIS DVD.

One lesson that is finally sinking in is, Results take time.

The numbers I pulled in college and the rate at which they increased can't be duplicated now. I just don't recover as quickly. Plus I'm about 60 pounds lighter!

So although I'd love to add more volume, I need to pick and choose which lifts get the added volume.

I'd love to get that 500 pound pull again, I'll settle for 400 pounds with pain free shoulders and a better pull up number. I pulled a 375 last Saturday, so a near 400 by September 8 should be do-able.

I can't improve evey lift all the time anymore.

I'll continue to pull, but I don't plan on shooting for that PR until my pull ups are respectable. To me respectable would be a set of 5, dead hang, with a 24kg bell.

This, I feel will just about resolve the strength imbalance between the front and rear of my shoulder girdle and my shoulders will live happily ever after, with some maintainance of course.

Like the Tortuse, I just keep pluggin along.

Just an FYI, Our next Kettlebell Workshop will be on August 4th, I know some of you are on the fence, but check out the link and read the testimonials of those who have already participated.

Click here: Kettlebell Workshop

Kettlebell Classes are in full swing (wow, what a bad pun) check this link:

Kettlebell Classes

And Boot Camps start on july 23rd, here's the link:

IMPACT Fitness Boot Camps

Might as well give it a shot!

2007-07-07T10:13:00.000-05:00

24kg Bottoms Up Turkish Get Up

Last chance to Donate..

2007-07-05T15:24:00.001-05:00

As many of you know Kori and I participate in a charity bike tour, The Scenic Shore 150, that takes us from Mequon, WI all the way up to Sturgeon Bay, WI 150 miles away.

The two day tour serves to raise both money and awareness for Leukemia and Lymphoma.

While it doesn't look like we're going to hit our goal of $500 dollars, I know we can still raise more money before the deadline.

We have been taking donations through PayPal and it has worked great.

So, Please if you can, donate. Even if it's only $1, that could be the dollar the makes the difference.

If you can donate, our PayPal acct is bjbliffert@yahoo.com.

Thanks to all who have donated, and to all that will.

To find out more about the Scenic Shore 150 check out this link:

http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/all_page.adp?item_id=57271

'till next time

BJ

Goal Check II

2007-07-03T09:26:00.000-05:00

Well Saturday I finished 5 ladders of 1,2,3,4,5 of pressing w/16kg kettlebell and pullups with bodyweight. It went very well and I can tell my right shoulder is coming along. Still a little weak, but coming back.

It seems its the first 1/4 of the press that I still geta little pain. It seem to be classic impingement, judging on where I feel the pain.

I'm going to schedule a couple A.R.T. treatments with my good friend Steve Wittemann of Pro-Release. If you have never had A.R.T. done it is amazing stuff. It isn't comfortable, but it seems to do me wonders. Plus Steve has over 15 years of experience as an Athletic Trainer so dealing with injured shoulders is nothing new for him.

A few things I have added back into my "warm ups" (things I never should have stopped doing).

1. Foam rolling, specifically my lats, IT band and periformis.

2. The "stick up" exercise against a wall. This is great for re-teaching your body to recruit the lower traps and helps build scapular stability. Many times shoulder issues stem from bad scapular control and/or stability.

3. I'm also realizing the times my shoulder felt the best was when I went totally OCD with joint mobility, often doing it multiple times a day for certian areas.

Adding those few items the last week or so have really made a difference. So-much-so I decided the test my pressing last night to see where I stood.

Some background, in the past I worked up to a solid Bulldog Press on each arm (when my left arm was the weak arm). Since then training goals have changed, I'm 20 pounds lighter, but determined to be able to press the Bulldog on demand.

Last night I pressed my 36kg bell easily with my left, and got about 1/4 of the way up. Tension isn't a problem, my shoulder just shuts down from my injury.

Pressed a double on the left with a 32kg and 2 singles on the right. This is a big improvement. Before sucking it up and reducing my pressing poundage to he 16 kg, just racking the 32kg would cause pain in my right shoulder. So, I'm happy with that.

Afterwards I banged out 5 sets of snatches w/32kg 10, 8, 6, 5, 5 R/L

So where to from here?

I'm going to stay the course with pressing and pullups and move up to the 20kg bell and add 15lbs to my pullups.

In addition, more TGUs. The last time I worked up to a Bulldog press, I did very little pressing but did a lot of TGUs. Arm Bars will also be on the agenda.

'til next time.

Goal Check and a small "diet" rant

2007-06-25T14:29:00.000-05:00

Well, sorry it's been a while since my last blog but I have had little downtime...which is a good problem to have...I guess.

Way back in my blog archives I stated I had a goal to get to 10% Body Fat. I have tried to get here before but always got sidetracked. Not this year.

I made it this year. Since January 1st I'm down about 20 lbs and walking around at 165ish. Strength is still up, conditioning is great (which is more of a concern), but I feel I could be leaner.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to make it sound like I want to be shredded. Just lean. I am opting for a 'modified' Warrior Diet eating plan and that seems to be going well, although fat will not come of as fast it did with the Ketogenic Diet. But, on the latter, performance suffered. Muay Thai was not happenin'.

I'll let you in a little secret while we're talking about 'diets' (I hate that word, by the way).

They all work.

Yep. That's right all of them. They all work. (yes, some better than others for specific goals, but I'm talking in general here)

The problem most people have has nothing to with learning what they should do or eat while on the diet.

It has everything to do with being complient to the guidelines the diet sets forth.

I don't want to get into too many specifics, but I challenge you to pick an eating plan (a better term than diet) and follow it the way it is written. I bet it will perfrom pretty close to the way the author claims.

The problem, like I said, comes in when people try to make it their own.

They start substituting foods, meals times, exercises. Or they don't change their social habbits and still hit the bars on Friday night. Once you do this, you are no longer doing that plan, now you're guessing and hoping you will still get the the results promised.

Know what?

You won't.

It's like me giving you a map to Milwaukee. I tell you to stay on I94 the whole way.

You think going to Milwaukee sounds great, after all Summerfest (Google it) starts Thursday.

But you don't like driving on I94 so you change the route.

Will you get to the lakefront?

Maybe. But, how long will it take you?

My map gets you there from my house in 20 minutes.

Get what I'm saying?

What's that? You can't decide on an eating plan?

I'll decide on one for you!

The first type of eating plan we recommend to all of out clients is Dr. John Berardi's Precision Nutrition. It's simple, easy to follow and has a healthy dose of just plain, good old common sense. Eat your veggies, watch the starches, that kind of thing.

It's easy to modify to your needs, and really doesn't restrict you the way you'd expect while on a "diet". Diet is a horrible word for this, it's more of an eating plan or a lifestyle change. It does take some work and some planning. But the dividends it pays are great.

So, why don't I use it?

Well, I have, and I still base my food choice one his recommendations. But, I also like to use myself as a guinea pig, rather than my clients. I try to use a number of different stragies for extended periods, if I find something that may be of use to my clients I pass it on. I plan ot go back to Precision Nutrition after this stint of Warrior Dieting.

While I said all diets work, be wise when choosing one. I should have written all diets work for their target audience. If you're an athlete, a low carb Ketogenic diet is not for you. If you're a Tri-athlete, don't choose a plan targeted at a body builder. Make sense?

Click on the diet titles to learn more, both about the Warrior Diet and Precision Nutrition.

+++++++++++++ONE LAST NOTE++++++++++

Please donate to the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. We are off to a slow start this year collection-wise for our 150 charity mile bike tour, The Scenic Shore 150, but I know we can hit our goal of $500.

If you have PayPal you can send your donations to bjbliffert@yahoo.com. I'll have a summery of how much we raise before we set off on the ride on July 21.

Thanks in advance for your donation.
BJ

Am I In A Rut.....

2007-06-19T08:29:00.000-05:00

Not, sure.

Could just be my "training program A.D.D." kicking in.

I love the ETK template, but like Pavel says it is boring. I may have bitten off more thatn I can chew by add deadlift ladders to it. But, I'm determined to stick it out 'til I get the 5x1,2,3,4,5, but I'm in no rush "slow and steady wins the race".

Diet seems to be going well, when I plan it. I find even on a Warrior Diet Style eating plan, I still needto couont calories using my FitDay log, or I tend to eat way too little and recover poorly from the volume I'm starting to build up to. My weight has stablized at 165, I'm happy with it.

Saturday will be a max DL day. I feel my groove is right where it needs to be sort of a hybrid between wedging myself between the bar and having my hips a little higher...carryover from my OLY lift days. Seems to work, it's where I feel the strongest. I'll pull a max and adjust my poundage to 70% for the rest of the cycle.

I apologize for not having more to say, but we have some really cool stuff coming up. Both Kori and I will be delving into the world of video blogging and posting some cool stuff on you tube. (Whitley get your mind out of the gutter)

The Red Army

2007-06-15T18:49:00.000-05:00

Hopefully I can play with one of these bad boys Saturday morning. I had them made for a fraction of the price it would cost to buy them online. Some primer and paint from The Home Depot, and you're ready to drag.

Short and Sweet

2007-06-14T14:07:00.000-05:00

No frills workout today. I really want to gt my Muay Thai skills back up to par, so I'l be integrating more skill work throughout the weeks ahead.

Today went like this:

5 x 2 minutes jump rope
3 x 2 minutes on the double end bag
5 x 2 minutes on the heavy bag. I woorked very basic skills. I have never felt I had a good jab so I threw in a lot of extras. 3 punch combos on the last two rounds only. First three were single punches, either jab or cross.

2x10 snatches w/ 24kg just to test the shoulder, felt good but not great great.
1x15 R/L swings w/24
3x15 two arm swing w/24

nothing fancy.
This past weekend I switched from following a Ketogenic Diet back to more of a Warrior Diet style of eating. I felt I was getting too low in weight and my performance showed it my first day back at Muay Thai last week.

The change has been smooth, I'm up 4 pounds, likely water and glycogen. My performance is noticably better. I also really like the freedom the Warrior Diet allows me to have. I don't have the most hectic schedule, but with this eating style I can focus on a project and not be interupted by a feeding. I'm ordering Ori Hofmekler's new book also, jsut to see what similarities there are, or differences for that matter.

I also have added AdvoCare's Fruit and Vegatable Formula to my supplement regime. I felt I wasn't eating enough veggies so this should do the trick.

If you're interested in the Warrior Diet, I believe the next addition isn't due out until Decmeber 4, 2007, but you can pre-order it at pretty sweet deal. I'll put the amazon link below. Ori's new book The Anti-Estrogen Diet Is available now, I'm just wating for it to be delivered.