Wednesday Training

I am finally starting to feel like I'm recovering from the move. Slowly but surely my energy is coming back. A very brief but effective workout today. Energy was much better and I definitely work out better in the mid-day than at night. Night workouts are not for me.

A-1 Chin Ups
20kg 5 x 5 reps

A-2 Clean and Press
24kg 5 x 5/5

B-1 Single Leg Deadlifts
24kg 3 x 5/5

These shorter workout leave me feeling strong. Because I over train rather easy I need to constantly remind myself that my volume to be held at bay, especially considering my demanding work schedule.

All moved in....Time to start training again

We got the keys to our new home (our 1st home ever) on Wednesday. Thanksgiving day we rented a u-haul and along with Yoana and a strong friend of mine moved all our belonings out of our one bedroom apartment in downtown La Jolla to a spacious brand new 2 story home in Carmel Valley. To say that Yoana and I are excited is a gross understatement. We are thrilled and feel blessed to be able to get this house. Having more space to live in feels weird right now, although I really like it. Last week I managed to get in 1 and 1/2 workouts as the move really wiped me out. As many of you know, moving into your first home is rather stressful on the body I feel as weak as a new born kitten. Oddly enough lifting TV's, sofas, beds, and tons of boxes over the weekend didn't bother my back. My lumbar spine has managed to be pain free throughout the move, although I cannot say the same about both of my biceps and elbow joints. I have never had more bicep cramps in my life than last thursday and friday.



Needless to say, I have very little energy right now for training but mentally I need it. I decided to train with my class last night and I got my butt kicked. The kettelbell I picked was light but is still kicked my ass. What's funny is that I almost puked from what would normally be a light workout for me. Mel Siff was so correct in recommending people use a RPE (rate of perceived exertion) every workout. Because of many life factors, you always need to be able to listen to your body and make appropriate changes from there. This week is going to be a very light training week although I need to get back into it.

A-1 Clean + Squat + Press
20kg 5 x 5/5

A-2 KB Push Ups
Hand on top of two 20kg 4 x 8

A-3 Alternating Swings
20kg 4 x 10/10

That was just the first half of the class. I couldn't even make the second half due to my pukey state and breathing difficulties. Wow, haven't felt this out of shape in a while. Thank God I know why.

Monday Training

This week we are moving into our first home, very exciting! I am cutting my training volume down accordingly due to the move tomorrow! Moves are always stressful but this one is more exciting because we are moving into our first home!

Monday

A-1 Chin ups
20kg 5 x 4 reps

A-2 Single Arm Push Ups (assisted)
BW 5 x 3/3

A-3 Double KB Back Lunge
2 x 16kg 5 x 5/5

More Base Conditioning!

With my recent disc herniation as well as re-reading alot of spinal rehab books and posts from Mark Reifkind Senion RKC, I have come to the conclusion that lumbar spine stability and lumbar musculature endurance are the keys for me in having a healthy pain free back. Since adding more stability work and KB endurance exercises like light weight swings and snatches, my back is certainly on the mend. The concept of building a base as wide as possible is the essential goal for now. It doesn't mean I won't toy around with occasional heavy weights, it just means I will be focused on getting more endurance in those spinal/CORE musculature.

Saturday Training

Clean + Squat + Press
20kg 5 x 5/5

Snatches
20kg 5 x 10/10 = 100 reps

Single Arm Bent Over Row
24kg 3 x 8/8

Short and sweet. Back felt strong!

Monday and Wednesday Training

Get wisdom! Get understanding!
Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you;
Love her, and she will keep you.
Wisdom is the principal thing;
Therefore get wisdom.

Proverbs 4:5-7

That says it all. Get WISDOM. This portion of scripture is really speaking to me righ tnow. This is the scripture verse of the week for me. A life without wisdom is a scary thing. Good to know that God commands us to get SMARTER because he knows it will help keep up us away from things that can hurt us and lead toward things that will bless us! Something to meditate on for sure ;)

This week has been very busy so my training volume is reduced. We have alot of cool things going on right now, but with those cool things comes less sleep and more stress. Need to be really careful these next couple of weeks.

Wednesday

A-1 Clean and Press
24kg 5 x 5/5

B-1 Single Arm Swings
20kg 6 x 10/10 = 120 total reps (200 is my goal!)

C-1 Single KB Clean and Squat
20kg 3 x 3/3

Monday

A-1 Snatches

24kg 4 x 5/5

A-2 Chin ups
20kg 4 x 4

A-3 Double KB Back Lunge
2 x 16kg 4 x 5/5

Short and Sweet. These shorter workouts are life savers. They allow me to train without wasting myself.

Tempo Training.....first time since July

This was the first time I had performed TEMPO running since late July. It felt very challenging even though I did not run them too hard. My technique felt fairly good but my conditioning obviously is not there. Felt good to be out there doing it.

TEMPO TRAINING on Friday

10 x 100 yards + various bodyweight exercises for GPP between intervals.

The entire workout took about 30 minutes. Challenging to say the least. I need to be carefull with how much volume I do from week to week. I'm thinking of altnernating my track workouts each week:

Week 1 Speed Day
Week 2 Tempo Day
Week 3 Speed Day
Week 4 Tempo Day

Because of my work schedule I honestly think my body can handle only one sprinting workout per week. So that means that every other week I will run fast. and every other week run for conditioning. This seems to be the most logical method considering my back injury this year. Less is more!

Thursday Training.......lighter but good

Keeping true to objective of lifting semi-heavy only once per week, today I did not venture higher than the 20kg kettlebell. I added in some one arm swings for spinal endurance as per recommendations from Rif. The swings were very challenging, not on my strength levels, but on my conditioning levels. When I finished with the swings I could not believe how pumped with blood my glutes and adductors were, WOW! It was challenging to walk. I t feels so good to train without pain and to know that you are not damaging anything in your body. These lighter days are great in the middle of the week because as I start getting fatigued from a very hectic work schedule, the ligher day seems to be just what the Doctor ordered.

A-1 Clean and Press
20kg 5 x 5/5

B-1 Clean and Squat
16kg 5 x 3/3

C-1 Single Arm Swings
20kg 5 x 10/10 = 100 reps (I want to build up to 200 reps and then switch to the 24kg)

D-1 Single Arm Bent Over Rows
20kg 3 x 8/8

The workout took 26 minutes and 46 seconds. The blood flow from the swings felt great. It almost as if I am learning how to do the swing from scratch. Rather than being so worried about how explosive I am perfroming each swing, I am starting to feel how to get into a rhythm and be efficient. It has taken me 4 years of kettlebell training to arrive at the fact that I didn't really understand the swing to well.

"Most of us must learn a great deal every day in order to keep ahead of what we forget."

- Frank A. Clark

Tuesday Training....and a recap of Naked Warrior Seminar

Yoana, Ken Black and I had the privelage of assisting at the Naked Warrior seminar in LA over the weekend. The seminar absolutely rocked! Pavel and Steve Maxwell pulled things out their bags of tricks that I had never seen. And the push variations that Steve showed were jaw-dropping. Here are a few of the main points I took home from the workshop:

1) Your body alone is the ultimate gym. There are an infinite amount of ways to make your bodyweight more challenging and thus improve conditioning with only your body weight.

2) Proper biomechanics are very important. You will find a transference of movement principles across all sports. In other words, God created your body to move and funtion in specific ways. Adopt and apply those principles and your performance will improve.

3) Linkage versus Leakage: Connect the shoulders to the body and you will be stronger. Pushing and pulling come from the LATS, period!!!!! When you perform push ups, push from the lats. When you row or perform pull ups/chin ups, use the lats. Initiate pushing and pulling by "packing the Shoulders." Similar to what most people have learned at the RKC, suck the shoulder into the socket.

4) Use the CORKSCREW technique when doing push ups. This keeps the shoulders packed, takes stress off the elbow and place it into the lats. When done properly, your shoulders should lower, never raise, when pushing or pulling.

5) On pistols you must find the power leak and attack it. Maybe it's your ankles that are unstable, maybe your knee, or possibly you lack mobility and strength in your hip. Perform all the troubleshooting assistance exercise and re-test the pistol. The patella must track straight.

6) On Pull Ups and Chin ups you must TRIANGULATE the shoulders, basically, suck the arms into the body from the hang position. Initiate the pull up by tucking the pelvis (engaging the abs) and bringing the legs in front of the body (note: this is not kipping). A wider grip takes stress off of the elbow due to decreased elbow flexion. Most guys might be stronger with a more narrow grip. The key to injury free pull ups is to vary the grips, the width and type of implement you grab (towel, bar, thick bar, rings, ropes).

All in all it was great to learn from the masters and it was fun assisting with Ken Black. Fun times and I look forward to seeing this seminar again!

Tuesday Training

A-1 Snatches
28kg 5 x 5/5

A-2 Chin Ups
20kg 5 x 3

A-3 Double KB Back Lunge
2 x 16kg 5 x 5/5

The training session took my just under 20 minutes. My lungs were BURNING, wow! Felt great!

Life is precious......& Wednesday and Thursday Training

Thank you GOD!
I just want to say Yoana and I are greatful that our fellow brother Pete Diaz was okay after rolling his car in a near fatal accident. Life is so precious and we must thank God for protecting Pete. Let us all count are blessings and remember to live each day like it is our last, because one...............it will be our last. I am not afraid to share my faith here on this blog but I also do not intend to throw it down anyone's throat, but in the grander scheme of things, we are in less control of the bigger picture than we think. Life can be going along so smooth and then something traumatic happens. I know I'll be a little more greatful in my prayers in the weeks and months to come (and hopefully for as long as I am alive.)

Training
Adding back in the stability exercises instantly made my back feel better and more stable. I had stopped doing them for about two weeks and discovered that my lumbar spine was starting to get sore and ache. The solution: Contine to perform the stability exercises I was doing for a long time. They definitely work!

Thursday Training:
32 minutes of Precor Intervals (2 minutes easy, 30 seconds sprint on level 9, and repeat)

Wednesday Training:

A-1 KB Clean and Press
16kg 1 x 3/3 24kg 1 x 3/3
32kg 2 x 1/1

B-1 Single Clean + Squat + Press
20kg 5 x 5/5

C-1 Pull Ups (BW)
5,6,7
4,5,6

D-1 Single arm Snatches
16kg 2 x 10/10