082908

Today I decided to perform the Boost Max VO2 Snatch Training Protocol. Again my hands still are not where they need to be in order to go all out, but I am growing weary and frustrated with them. Even though I have received proper training I don't seem to get the feel for how to preserve my hands when I increase my snatching speed. When I perform my timed sets I don't go as fast as the purpose of the timed set is to be efficient and possess longevity. MVO2 Protocols are designed for speed snatch training in order to really blast the cardio system.

So my workout today went very well. I bought a set of baseball gloves in order to try and see if they would allow me to increase my performance while preserving my hands. That didn't happen. I will continue in my quest to figure this hand thing out or find a suitable protective hand covering that will allow me to get through snatches no matter how fast I go. It just seems like my hands do fine, but when coming down my skin folds in such a way from my palm knuckle callouse area into my fingers when the bell comes down. If I perform GS style snatches I'm fine on the way down, but just not as fast so therein lies the dilema. Hmmm... I only hope I can get this figured out sooner than later and maybe find someone who can help me in the process.

Here is my workout and some video of it as well.

Height: 5'6"
Body weight: 150lbs.
Body Fat: approx. 8-9%

Warm-up:
Movements and Lunges

Workout:
16kg x 8/8 x 6 Sets of 30s(15s per hand)/45s rest after each set

Here is a video of one of the sets here:

Bob Garon's MVO2 15s Snatches 082908

1 Min. Rest and Then:

16kg x16/16x6 of 1 min.(30s per hand)/2 Min. rest after each set

Then:
32kg Jerk
3 sets-
Set 1: 3 reps
Set 2: 5 reps
Set 3: 3 reps

Here is the video of the second set:

Bob Garon's 5x 32kg Jerk 082908

082708

I've been so busy this week that I honestly don't remember what I did between my run on the 22nd and this workout on the 27th, but here is it and it was a really good one.

Warm-up: @ 16kg
30x Swings(15 per arm)
15x Cleans per arm
30 Lunges

Workout: @ 16kg
3 Rounds
4 Min. set of Snatches
2 Min. Rest

- 12 reps per min. x 4 min. x 3 sets = 144 Snatches
My hands still are not 100% so I cannot go at my fastest, but continue to focus on my form and lockout.

Then:
10x High Windmills @ 16kg
10x Pistols @ 8kg
10x Bent Press @ 16kg

082208- My 3 Mile Run Day

So I decided to run 3 miles today. I haven't run anything beyond a few quarter mile sprints in a given workout for months- maybe not at all this year. Of course I train cardio as I work with Kettlebells and perform HIIT training regularly, but the long distance stuff is something I shy away from on a regular basis since it is something that doesn't really interest me as well as is not very efficient in fat burning. I guess today I just felt inspired for a little change up and that became my run.

I went out and started very strong. The weather was hot- ok very hot being around 105 today- but it didn't get to me very much that is until about a little past the half way point. I got to the 1.5 mile mark and was still going strong, but took a 60s rest because I did not have any water with me and wanted to make sure I would make it home safely. I started back and all was well until I started to feel a little light headed about 5 min after the turn around. This, of course, was mainly due to the heat. I don't have any question in my mind that I could have easily made the entire run had the temperature been cooler. So I decided to take another break. I made sure it was not too long at about 20s.

Ok so I fully admit I had to take 3 total 20s breaks along the way back, but for someone who hasn't run that much since the end of last year and was doing it in 105 degrees under direct sunlight I don't think that was all that bad. After I got back I felt great and was glad I performed the run and only had a total of 2 minutes of breaks. That's pretty good. :)

I will do this again in about a week and a half.

IKFF Certification from Sherman Oaks, CA in July '08

Here is a pic of Steve Cotter and myself from the International Kettlebell and Fitness Federation I attended last month. Upon completion of the weekend I earned my IKFF Certified Kettlebell Teacher official certification. The experience I had was amazing and because of it I'm working on hosting an IKFF cert in the beginning this coming year in Jan. or Feb. I just need 6 or 7 folks who will attend and then Ken and Steve will post it officially on the IKFF website. General details for their certs can be found there as well.

If you, or anyone you know, would like to be a part of it please let me know and I will add your name to the roster. Thanks and keep on setting your own standard!

082108

Today was a great workout cause I did 2 things I love- pistols and TGUs. I got to workout with one of my new trainers on staff and she hadn't ever working with KBs before so it was interesting for both her and I. She did very well for a newbie. :)

Workout:
Two Arm Swings- 50 @ 24kg
One Arm Swings- 30/30 @ 24kg

Then:
5 min timed set: Turkish Get ups @ 16kg

Then:
10x Pistols @ 10lbs and 10x each side Rack Squats @ 24kg

Then:
5 min timed set: Turkish Get ups @ 16kg

Then:
One Arm Swings- 20/20 @ 24kg
Two Arm Swings- 50 @ 24kg

081908

Today I wanted to challenge myself a bit more than I have. My energy levels were back- for the most part- and so I wanted to see what I can handle with the 24kg Jerks. I decided to do a 10 Min. Set and dragged one of my clients into the fun as well. :)

Workout:

Movement Based Warm up

10 Min. Single Arm Jerk(5 min. per arm)Set @ 24kg
I kept a 6 rep per min. pace for the first 4 min. and then hit 8 rpm on the 5th min. of both arms. Of course the bell was never set down.

Then:
Guerrilla Sprints- 12 min. total

4 min. warm up @ 6mph
4 min. sprint intervals(20s sprinting & 10s resting) @ 12mph
4 min. cooldown @ 6mph

Then:
Stretch

This was an awesome workout and I feel amazing now that it's finally over.

This Weekend

I held my first Kettlebell Essentials Workshop and it went VERY well. 7 people went from being unsure about kettlebells to confident with the basic lifts. The Essentials class focuses primarily on the Swings and Turkish Get-ups, but I also introduce the Clean and the Push Press.

I first began each movement module with demonstration and instruction then we practiced by doing. The best way to learn is by physically doing it so we definitely did and that is actually where my own workout for Saturday, August 16th came in to play. I still was recovering from last week's head cold so my energy and sinuses were not up to full par so just making it through the class with my voice in tact was a challenge in itself.

In the end I made it and basically just Greased The Groove with my KB movements while teaching the class. It was a blast and I can't wait to teach the next one on September 13th.

As for my workout on Monday, August 18th I did one that I gave my clients on Saturday morning before the Workshop.

Warm-up:
20x Bench Jumps or Step ups
30x Pushups
20x Squats

Workout:
Do not set bell down at all during the entire 14 min. I used a 20kg bell.

2 Min. Two Hand Swings
2 Min. One Hand Swings
2 Min. Snatch
2 Min. Push Press or Jerk
2 Min. Snatch
2 Min. One Hand Swings
2 Min. Two Hand Swings

Then:
20x Squats
30x Bosu Pushups
20x Bench Jumps or Step ups

This was a GREAT workout and I am feeling it a bit today in my hammies and chest. :)

081408

I haven't been feeling well at all for the past couple days so I took the last 2 off from training. Normally I would have trained, but my body was lacking energy due to recovery that I was forced to wait it out. Today I am feeling much better, but still not 100%. I knew I had to give it a go anyway and it wasn't too bad.

Workout:
20x per hand swing warm up set @ 16kg

6 Min. Timed Jerk Set @ 16kg
I managed to get 38 per hand which isn't too bad compared to the last time I did this and actually know that when I am 100% I will set a new PR.

Then:
30x per hand swing finisher set @ 16kg

Then:
30x Russian Twists @ 16kg
2 Min. Planks

081108

Workout:
100x Hand To Hand Swings @ 20kg

Then:
100x Walking Lunges

Then:
8x Tabata Pullups- 20/10

Then:
100x Walking Lunges

Then:
100x Hand To Hand Swings @ 20kg

080908

Workout:

3x
1 Min. Jerk Set @ 16kg

Then:
30x Bosu Squats
20x Bosu Pushups
30x Standing Cable Planks

Then:
5x Jerk @ 28kg

Then:
TGU Practice
1x R/L @ 28kg
2 sets

080708

I took a couple days off to allow my body to recover fully as well as I was doing some traveling so it made it kinda hard to train.

Today I made it back and was finding it a little challenging getting motivated. Of course that will never stop me as training is a way of life- my lifestyle- so I just do it as it is a part of my day. Once I got going I remembered who I am and all was good.

Workout:

3 min. Swing set @ 24kg

Then:
50 squats with every 3rd squat being jumping
50 situps
30 rack squats @ 24kg (15 per side)
2 min. plank

Then:
4 min. Single Arm Jerk @ 24kg
I maintained 9 reps a minute which is good since I have never performed jerks at this weight. It felt good and I think I could easily have gotten more reps, but just wanted to get used to using this weight. I usually train with 16kg. It was fun throwing this one around.

Then:
Tabata Sprints- 4 min.
20s on and 10s off @ 12mph

Stretched and called it a day. All in all today started slow, but ended up being a great workout overall.

080408

Max VO2 Returns Today

Training is going awesome! I've been focusing A LOT on the timed sets in both snatch and jerks ever since the IKFF certification. My strength is going up a great deal and so is my endurance. I'm really getting to be much more aware of my body in these movements.

Today I had the crazy idea to try to get 80 sets of MaxVO2 15/15 Snatch Protocol with the 16kg. For those of you who don't know what that is I will explain.

15sec Snatching and 15sec resting and repeat for a pre-determined number of sets switching hands every other set. My goal was to maintain at least 7 reps per interval.

I got to set 62 when my hand tears were just getting too much in the way. My minimum goal was 60 sets anyway. I haven't trained MaxVo2 for about 2 months or so cause I wanted to focus on the timed stuff so I was proficient in it especially around the IKFF cert. Afterward I have continued training that way so that I could get better. I missed the 15/15 and had to do it today. I woke up feeling amazing and knew today was the day. I called one of my clients(Sean) who can hang and we went for it. We both tore callouses around the midpoint and pushed as far as we could so that we can get past our minimum goal and not far enough to do great hand damage. We don't want this workout to set us back for too long.

As for the cardio and the rest of the body goes all was very good. That's just it we both felt great! We both could have easily gone to the 80+ set range, but it was the darn hands that got in the way. All in all it was a great 30+ min. of straight Snatching.

So until next week it's gonna be swings and presses/jerks until the hands heal. :)

080208

Today was a great day! I had a perfect night's sleep and felt energized all day.

My workout was also exciting as well. I hit a new PR today with my jerks doubling that of last time from a week ago.


Workout:

6 min Jerk set @ 2x 16kg kettlebells
I maintained at least 10 reps per minute(rpm) and last week I only had 5 or 6 rpm. This is a great PR and I only see it getting better week by week. I want to stay at a 6 min. set until I can successfully complete at least 20rpm.

Then:
2 Rounds-
15x SB Pullovers @ 50lbs. DB
20x DB SDHP @ 25 lbs.
25x Hanging Knee Raises

Then:
3 Rounds- Sprint Sets
1 min. Swing Set @ 28kg
1 min. Snatch Set @ 16kg