Tuesday 3/31/09

Afternoon:

Max VO2 - 16kg bell 15/15 protocol - 40 sets of 7 reps

Pullups throughout the day - 5 sets of 4 gtg style

Another easy day. My shoulders are really sore right now for some weird reason so I debated even doing snatches today. I'll see how it goes...if I have to do my snatch test with shoulders this sore then so be it.

I really leaning out right now. I'm at about 187 or so right now and I feel light but still strong. The warrior diet rules!

Monday 3/30/09

Afternoon:

32kg two handed swings 20 sets of 13 on the minute - 260 total

Pullups throughout the day - 5 sets of 3 gtg style

I wanted to take it easy this week so today are swings. 13 on the minute is starting to feel pretty tough though....I was definitely huffing and puffing after minute 10. I had some great sets in there where I really felt my hamstrings load up and my hip drive pushed the bell pretty hard. I love the brutal simplicity of hard two handed swings.

Sunday 3/29/09

Morning:

Attended Mark Reifkind's Max VO2 workshop at Girya today. He explained how Max VO2 works and the changes it can make in your body.

We did the 6 minute cadence test and I hit 32 reps with the 16kg bell on the last minute so my cadence works out to be 8. After the test Mark had us do 25 sets with the cadence we came up with. At home I've been getting my sets in the 15 second time period by pulling the bell back down. After starting to read Kenneth Jay's book I realize how important it is to use that downward force in the Max VO2. Great time...Mark is a very nice guy and explains technical stuff pretty clearly.

I came home and went for a single set of pullups and got 12. Another 5 lbs and I should get 1 or 2 more I hope...I'm still about 190 lbs right now. Still...that ties my all time record for pullups that I hit 15 years ago....and I have much better form now with all pullups to the chest or neck.

Friday 3/27/09

Morning:

Pushup/pullup ladder down: 20/8, 15/6, 10/4, 5/2
Hindu squats - 50

Afternoon:

32kg two handed swings 20 sets of 12 on the minute - 240 total

Still taking it light. My traps felt tight from the pushup/pullup ladders this morning for some reason. Instead of Max VO2 I just did heavy swings. I'm still trying to perfect my swing. I thought I hit a few that were the hardstyle type swings I want.

Tuesday 3/24/09

Afternoon:

Max VO2 - 16kg bell 15/15 protocol - 70 sets of 8 reps

I took yesterday off because I wanted to recover from Jordan's workshop on Sunday. Actually I was pretty sore and in keeping with slowing it down these last couple of weeks before the TSC I wanted another day off and I replaced my heavy swings today with Max VO2.

I guess it paid off...I realized about 20 sets in that I felt really good. I could have ground out 10 more sets if I wanted to but I'll leave that for another days pr.

Back on the warrior diet for these last two weeks. It was pretty dumb of me not to cycle it back in as I'm cutting a few more pounds off. Jordan mentioned it at the workshop when I told him how I seemed to be settling in at about 190 and my goal was 185.

Friday 3/20/09

Morning:

Pullups - 8 sets of 8, 1 set of 7, 1 set of 6 - 5 minute rest periods
Deadlift - 2x5 135, 3x3 250, 3x2 280, 3x1 305

Still can't hit all 10 sets of 8. I feel a bit stronger though and my ninth set I pulled up to the bar on my last rep I just couldn't get my chin over to make it count.

Thursday 3/19/08

Evening:

Max VO2 - 16kg bell 15/15 protocol - 52 sets of 8 reps

Pullups - gtg 5 sets of 3 throughout the day
Pushups - 20, 15, 10, 5

Didn't feel the need to go too hard today. Form felt good off the bat though...it wasn't hard to fit my reps in and I got a good rhythm going on.

Tuesday 3/17/09

Evening:

32kg two handed swings 20 sets of 12 on the minute - 240 total

I also did some gtg pullups throughout the day - 8 sets of 6

Good day. Short blast of a workout and some pullup practice.

My knee is still funky. I made an appointment with the doctor tomorrow. I'm going to ask to see someone that specializes in sports injuries. It's not stopping me from doing anything, it's just annoying and at the very least I want to know what is going on.

Monday 3/16/09

Morning:

Pushups - 20, 15, 10, 5

Evening:

Max VO2 - 35kg bell 15/15 protocol - 60 sets of 8 reps

I did swings, jumping jacks and hindu squats to warm up before hitting the Max VO2.

I don't even worry about my hands and ripping callouses now. Taking care of my hands has the skin taken down good and that part of my technique seems to be pretty spot on.

I really need to snap the glutes and abs tight each and every rep. Make it second nature.

Saturday 3/14/09

Afternoon:

5 minute snatch test with the 24kg bell - 96 reps

I was trying to find the perfect tempo for these and during the second minute I paused for too long a few times that put me behind the pace I need. I was shooting for 100 and was sort of disappointed but then I thought about the fact that I didn't need to set the bell down once. Pretty huge improvement from my last 5 minute test. I just need to hit that perfect tempo that is just a hair quicker than 20 on the minute.

I also chickened out on doing the hand switch at the bottom. I'll practice this a bit more.

Friday 3/13/09

Afternoon:

Pullups - 8 sets of 8, 1 set of 7, 1 set of 6 - 5 minute rest periods
Deadlift - 2x5 135, 3x3 250, 3x2 280, 3x1 305

I couldn't get all 10 sets of 8 even with 5 minute rest periods. Pretty close though.

The deadlifts felt heavy which is good. It makes me feel my form and body tension that much more.

I got some more 45 lb plates today and a nice flat bench for later on when I have the chance to really hit a good barbell routine.

Thursday 3/12/09

Evening:

Max VO2 - 16kg bell 15/15 protocol - 54 sets of 8 reps

Pushups - 20, 15, 10, 5 with lots of time between sets
Pullups - 2 sets of 5 twice today at noon and evening gtg style

8 reps definitely steps up Max VO2. I need to warm up a bit beforehand as I started to get a side stitch going on near the end. I do a couple of sets of arm bars every time before I do Max VO2 but I need to get my pulse up a bit more before jumping right into it.

Stretching, some foam roller work, Z-Health every day now.

I'm down to about 189 now. Weight is very slowly coming off and I'm getting pretty lean. This should really help with my pullups and I still feel strong. I'm thinking about 185 for the TSC would be the sweet spot for right now.

Tuesday 3/10/09

Evening:

32kg two handed swings 20 sets of 11 on the minute - 220 total

Just a bit more than last week. I feel these in my glutes and abs right now. I'm still trying to find my perfect form with this bell. After the TSC I should have Jordan take a look at my form using the 32kg bell for both swings and tgu.

Monday 3/9/09

Evening:

Max VO2 - 16kg bell 15/15 protocol - 52 sets of 8 reps

The extra rep does add a little something to Max VO2. I need to work on my rep speed a bit. I thought it would be a snap but I need to time them right and keep them as perfect as possible at the same time. I love to work and man is my work capacity going nuts right now.

I've started doing the Z-Health Neural Warmup Phase 1 every day right now. When I have this locked in and I'm comfortable with all the exercises I'm going to start doing the R-Phase on the weekends.

Sunday 3/8/09

Afternoon:

3 minute snatch test with the 24kg bell - 61 reps

I was supposed to test yesterday but wanted a full day of relaxation after my 357 lb pull on Friday.

I was shooting for 60 reps and I got it easy. If I were just shooting for a 6 minute test I could have gotten 65 - 70 reps if I pushed the pace. This pace will get me 100 at the TSC. Next week I'll do 4 minutes. I don't have to set the bell down and I'm resting in the lockout so far. I'm stoked!

Friday 3/6/09

Morning:

Pullups - 4 sets of 8

Afternoon:

Pullups - 6 sets of 8
Deadlift - 2x5 135, 3x3 235, 3x2 245, 3x1 260

Afterwards I went by Girya to get some pointers from Jordan on my pullup technique. I'm going to incorporate what he showed me into my training. I especially need to work on what he showed me for generating force at the bottom.

Then he had me test some max pulls on the deadlift. I ended up pulling 357 lbs! It felt heavy but it went up.

My pullups ended up being sort of gtg style as I need a pretty good rest in between sets of 8. Next week I'll work on finding a rest perdiod that I can live with and get all my sets done. Maybe 5 minutes or so....we'll see.

Thursday 3/5/09

Evening:

Max VO2 - 16kg bell 15/15 protocol - 80 sets of 7 reps

I got a stitch in my side around 30 reps and had to deal with it for another 25 minutes...no big deal.

I'm looking at Max VO2 as snatch training along with being kick ass cardio. I need to pay attention to keeping my hips and shoulders square for each and every rep. I have a tendency to lean on my left side and keeping everything square makes the reps easier.

Another important thing is to try to squeeze the glutes ever rep...hard. I will get tension there pretty much every rep, but I want to try to really get them tight. When I do that the bell settles that much easier at the top and everything works better.

Tuesday 3/3/09

Morning:

Pushups - 2 sets of 17

Evening:

32kg two handed swings 20 sets of 10 on the minute - 200 total

I took a phone call after 5 sets of swings. It was a buddy that I had to answer the phone for. I just finished the other 15 right afterwards.

I love heavy swings. I'm going to try to keep these up and add a rep or 2 here over the weeks until I can do 20 sets of 20. I may change my mind on how much I love them when the reps get higher though. :)

Monday 3/2/09

Evening:

Max VO2 - 16kg bell 15/15 protocol - 80 sets of 7 reps

The snatching felt good tonight...I'm definitely adapting to it. I'm trying to perfect the hinge back with the hips and snapping the bell up. Some sets it's there and some I'm hunting for it a bit. It's in my sights though...just have to keep at it.

My left knee is still bugging me. I'll give it another week or so before I check in with a doctor I suppose. It is starting to feel a bit sore and not just tweaked...that must mean it's getting better. :)