Warm up, stretch routines 80 Kettlebell Swings 30 seconds rest 10 Turkish Getups (3L-3R-2L-2R) 30 seconds rest 60 Kettlebell Swings 30 seconds rest 20 Windmills (5L-5R-5L-5R) 30 second rest 50 One Armed Rows (9L-9R-30s rest-8L-8R-30s rest-8L-8R) 30 second rest 40 Kettlebell Swings 30 seconds rest 10 Pushups (as strict and slow as possible) 10 Squats (slow) 10 Pushups (as strict and slow as possible) 10 Squats (slow) Stretch and cool down
Two weeks after doing Turkish Get Ups (TGUs) with a 41 kg dumbbell for the first time, I decided to give it a go with a 44 kg (97 lbs) Dumbbell on my rest day.
Considerably better form, solid up, with some stability corrections but nonetheless successful on both side on the first try 🙂
I will need to put up some videos and pictures or nobody is going to believe me anymore 😛
Greasing the Groove (GtG) is fun and motivating.
Adding the weight of the dumbbell bar it turns out to actually be 41 kg (90 lb).
Today I just did this TGU to grease the groove (GTG).
Did it first try on my strong side (right) after two warm up TGUs with 21 kg.
Took me three tries on my weak side (left) after same warm up.
Form and flow not perfect… yet. 🙂
But thats why we do GTG exercises.
After a condensed session of latest exercise routine:
2x (20 A1H KB Swing 32 kg – 2 TGUs Left/Right 32 kg – 10 Goblet Squats 32 kg – 90s walk – 400m run – 90s walk)
1x (60 A1H KB Swing 24 kg – 6 TGUs Left/Right 24 kg)
I have put 4 10 kg (22 lb) plates on a dumbbell bar and tried the TGU on my strong side (right).
1. try: I was dripping wet with sweat (hot day) and immediately sliding all over when laying on the floor, so I put down the weight right after I was able to hold it above my chest.
2. try: This time I was laying on a non slipping surface (piece of carpet) so sweat was not an issue but I was not concentrated enough and had to quit after a half TGU.
3. try: Put on Machinehead by Bush got in the “Zone” and pulled a decent TGU (although not quite Khalos Stenos style).
Happy 🙂
Note: It’s about 41 kg (90 lb) including the weight of the dumbbell bar.
My current bodyweight is 82 kg (180 lb) at 178 cm (5ft 10in) height
Apparently the 3 moves I do lately (Swings, TGUs and Goblet Squats) are the nuts and bolts of the HKC (Hardstyle Kettlebell Challenge).
In my previous post I mentioned that I intended to add 400m sprints to the mix.
Well I did.
That Friday I did exactly as written in that post.
This Wednesday and today I did it the following way:
With 32kg Kettlebell
20 A1H KB Sw | 1L-1R TGUs | 10 Gob. Sqts. | 90 s walk | 400 m sprint | 90 s walk
20 A1H KB Sw | 1L-1R TGUs | 10 Gob. Sqts. | 90 s walk | 400 m sprint | 90 s walk
With 24kg Kettlebell
30 A1H KB Sw | 2L-2R TGUs | 15 Gob. Sqts. | 90 s walk | 400m sprint | 90 s walk
30 A1H KB Sw | 1L-1R TGUs | 15 Gob. Sqts. | 90 s walk | 400m sprint | 90 s walk
Took me about 35 minutes to complete. As you see by dividing the reps with sprints I am back at my original rep counts (100 A1H KB Swings, 10 TGUs and 50 Goblet Squats) with the added sprint distance of 1600 meters (1 mile) and I’m not counting the distance I walk in between (which is about 900 meters).
Feel the burn 🙂
I’m pretty happy with the RPT exercises I started doing lately. It takes around 20-25 minutes to complete depending on how good a day I am having.
Since I have made progress in gaining some strength, I decided it’s time to add some endurance enhancing routines.
First form of endurance training I will try to add will be running. 4 x 400 meters with about 90 seconds of rest in between.
I will cut back on my kettlebell reps and add the running as a finisher.
So tomorrow I will try this (not over strain myself):
Kettlebell Golden 3 Routine:
60 A1H KB Swings (24 with 32 kg – 36 with 24 kg)
6 TGUs (1L 32kg – 2L 24kg – 1R 32kg – 2R 24kg)
30 Goblet Squats (10 with 32 kg – 20 with 24kg)
Running Routine (Repeat 4 times):
90 second rest
400 m run as fast as possible (aiming for a time around 90 seconds or faster).
For the last two weeks I went for a single routine with a 24 kg Kettlebell:
50 proper goblet squats with a 24 kg back to back is hard for me, so I take micro breaks (~15-30 seconds) in between the following sequence: 25-15-10-5
Well, you might ask where is the RPT (Reverse Pyramid Training) in that? A RPT usually involves the usage of different weights not just decreasing numbers of reps, right?
This week (so far), I did the above 40% with a 32 kg Kettlebell and 60% with a 24 kg Kettlebell:
Feel the burn baby 🙂
So 5 months ago, I got myself a 32 kg Kettlebell, thought I can handle it after successfully wielding a 32 kg dumbell in Turkish Get-ups.
Well, turned out that I am yet to develop the necessary grip strength to handle that thing in ballistic moves. Two handed swings are quite OK, one handed swings… not there yet, snatches… well these are the next step after one handed swings so not even close 🙂
Got this workout from http://trainersteve.tumblr.com/
Did it with one 16kg Kettlebell, was wrong about what a figure 8 to stop and a hot potato drill was but nonetheless, I had fun 🙂
Its been three months since my last post, no spectacular changes, only consistency and perseverance.
Not trying to downplay anything, being consistent and persevering is not a small deed. At least not for me anyway. It requires mental strength and discipline. Both very prone to reluctance, one of the major diseases of our age ruled by attention deficit disorder.
My grip was quite weak when I first started using the 32 kg kettlebell, this is still work in progress.
The Easy 30 Kettlebell Workout from www.liftkettlebells.com is a good mix of ballistic and strength moves with the Kettlebell with some bodyweight exercises thrown in to help balance the load and enhance recovery. Here is how I do it these days:
30s Jumping Jacks 30s Body Squats 60s 2H Swings 32kg 30s Rest 30s Front Squat L 16kg 30s Front Squat R 16kg 30s Rest 60s Windmill L 32kg 5 reps only then rest 60s Windmill R 32kg 5 reps only then rest 30s 2H Swings Waist High 32kg 30s 2H Swings Head High 32kg 30s Swings L 16kg 30s Swings R 16kg 60s Rest 30s Military Press L 16kg 30s Military Press R 16kg 30s Rest 60s Jumping Jacks 30s Pushups 60s Rest 60s 2H Swings 16kg 30s 2H Swings Overhead 16kg 60s Rest 60s One Armed Rows 8 on each side 32kg 30s Rest 30s One Armed Rows 4 on each side 32kg 30s Rest 45s Pullovers 16kg 30s Floor Press L 16kg 30s Floor Press R 16kg 30s Floor Press L 16kg 30s Floor Press R 16kg 30s Pullovers 16kg 60s Rest 60s One Armed Rows 8 on each side 32kg 30s Rest 30s One Armed Rows 4 on each side 32kg 30s Rest 60s Jumping Jacks 60s Rest 30s Snatch L 16kg 30s Snatch R 16kg 60s Snatch L 16kg 60s Snatch R 16kg 30s Snatch L 16kg 30s Snatch R 16kg