Speed kills

Met with my coach over the weekend to review a few small issues and one or two big ones. Many thanks to Scott Shetler of Extreme Conditioning and Fitness. I only see Scott a couple times a year, but he always makes time and always finds little things that I and other trainers have missed.

I need to work on speed. I'm strong enough for the lifts, but I'm not fast enough between positions. I hate to go back to this so often, but most of my speed is in my feet, not my knees. This also clearly shows that my strength training, while useful, has trained me to be slow. My squat training will be different for awhile.

Ironically, I'm about to have to trade deadlifts for swings and cleans.

On schedule and lifting heavy

Ed note: I submitted this to publish on 03/19, but it never published.  This journal is nearly 3wks dated now.

Welcome back. I last posted in December, and it's been an absolute whirlwind since then. I've had a job change with a relocation, a couple of illnesses in the household, and a death in the family in another state. I'm remarkably close to "on schedule", all things considered, but that was the point of having a schedule. In December, I posed the question "do you have your training plan for the next 6 months?" Copied from that post:

Phase 1 - Off-season (indefinite length, starting in January)

• I have this idea that I would like to be 150lb and pressing 2x20kg for reps and squatting it for dozens of reps and running miles before I resume LC sport training. Not certain that's all necessary, but I don't want to be struggling every rep and gassed at 6:00 like last time.
• Strength, conditioning, technique, and GPP. Build strength up to the next bell.
• Barbell dead lifts and squats, KB swings, jump squats, and military presses.
• Density KB work: 1-3' sets at comp weight or higher. Done at pace for timing and speed, done with extended overhead time for strength.  Aggregate volume, if not extended sets.
• Cardio output work at HR 120-150 (5mph or less), 30-90min, 2-3/wk.

Phase 2 was intended to start in March and escalate KB volume and set length.  This is what I'm up to as of now.

• 151-154lb, same belt size. Strict pressing 2x20kg sets of 5. Squatting 2x24kg sets of 10. Sets of squats and cleans with 2x24kg bells.  OALC with 24kg bell.
• Dead lift 225lb, clean and front squat 135lb (PR). Push pressing up to 115lb BB for short sets. KB swings regularly with a 24kg, a 32kg, and pairs of 16kg.
• KB work has been interrupted, but doing 2x20kg LC at 7rpm sets for pace and recovery. 
• Training 5-6 days/wk. It was fine the first few weeks, then the mental strain hit.
• Cardio work is notably short. My running HR is 155 with a 3min recovery, and walking is time-consuming. I did run 2mi-plus twice in January and February.

At each of these personal interruptions, I knew I would lose time from KB practice. The clean, push press, and front squat complexes have been invaluable, a barbell analog for KB LC if there ever was one. I'm bigger and stronger, at or beyond where I was last September. Honestly, it's fun working on heavy triples, but I need to focus on submaximal dozens periodically when my max hits a plateau. KB sport is all about the plateau.

This is a remarkably close outcome for a 90-day forecast. I might need higher goals next time.

You have a training plan for the next six months, right?

I'm trying a 5-step seasonal training schedule, adapted from Coach's notes and John Wild Buckley's blog.  I think it's time I let go of my 65kg bodyweight and got stronger, at least in the offseason when I'm trying to move up a bell. First PT and recovery, then a serious strength - mass - strength-endurance season before resuming KB sport. This post was written and edited during phase 1 and published late in the 2-wk break in (highlighted below) of Dan John's "Mass Made Simple" article on T-Nation.

Rehab/Phase 1 intro

• 5wks PT, Convict Conditioning big 6 done 2/day, 3d/wk, stairs on day 1 and treadmill on day 3.  Made outstanding progress, bridges helped rehab, handstands helped shoulders and presses.  Testing double KB presses in wk 5, I pressed 2x20kg for the first time ever.  Running up to 3mi.
• December and January: a close adaptation of Mass Made Simple. 3 sets of 2-3 primary lifts, 5 reps, 5 reps, and "as many". A finisher of 2-3 sets of 20-30 reps high back squats around 70% 1RM for the first 2-few weeks, then many sets for the next 4 weeks.  I don't know how his athletes had time for what was in that article.  25 sets of 20 after a regular workout?
• Monday: 5 each bench presses (maybe dumbbell, maybe inclined), inverted rows, front squats. May substitute or add some uneven pushups. High volume back squats. Walk stairs 10' unloaded to finish.
• Wednesday: 5 each clean and press, pullups, single leg dead lifts. High volume back squats.
• Friday: back and spine work, more focus on joint mobility drills than other days.  10 HLR to the bar, 5 of the Spetznaz hip rolling drills (need a link), 5 Maxwell rolling planks, and some tumbling drills. Follow by 20-40' light run. 6mph = 2mi/20'.  5mph = 2.5mi/30'. Score a 40' run every few weeks.
• Eat for growth and recovery: protein supplements, Metamucil, and 4 or 5 meals. Magnesium oil spray on knee and hip after every session and on back when needed.
• 2-wk break in: I am visibly bigger but barely 2lb heavier. CC work always bulks me and did so in November. This hasn't been heavy yet. With 2x16kg, presses are solid up to 10 reps and squats up to 30. Time to add weight with dumbbells or barbells. Limit the bulking phase to 4 weeks. Repeat in February if necessary, but only after a break and some fat loss.

Phase 1 - Off-season (indefinite length, starting in January)

• I have this idea that I would like to be 150lb and pressing 2x20kg for reps and squatting it for dozens of reps and running miles before I resume LC sport training. Not certain that's all necessary, but I don't want to be struggling every rep and gassed at 6:00 like last time.
  
• Strength, conditioning, technique, and GPP. Build strength up to the next bell.
• Barbell dead lifts and squats, KB swings, jump squats, and military presses.
• Density KB work: 1-3' sets at comp weight or higher. Done at pace for timing and speed, done with extended overhead time for strength.  Aggregate volume, if not extended sets.
• Cardio output work at HR 120-150 (5mph or less), 30-90min, 2-3/wk.

Phase 2 - Preseason (4-6wks, maybe 8wks starting in March)

• KB sets 5-7' minimum at or near target rpm, 4-5 training days/wk. 1 10' comp set weekly or biweekly. All 1-2' density work stops.
•  This is the AKC plan. I found I was doing well on a Russian/Denisov plan last year: 2-3' sets at pace to more than 10' volume, varying the rest.  May do 3-4days/wk density work, 1 day 10' comp set.
• Barbell work reduced to squats and jump squats.  All pullups and horizontal pressing stops.  Overhead pressing replaced by heavy OAJ with static holds.
• Introduce cardio power work at HR above 150, 2-3min intervals: sprints, KB stairs, Eagles. Maintain cardio work 2-3/wk.

Phase 3 - Peaking (2-4wks including competition, maybe 6wks starting in May)

• 4days/wk: 1 set comp weight/6-8'@target rpm. 1 day/wk: 1 set comp weight/10'@target rpm. Any day that you feel smoked and unable to work the distance with comp weight, use 1 size lighter.
• See comment above about AKC/Russian plans.  Not sure at this early time whether this is best for me, based on last year's experience.
• Mix output cardio and power cardio, 2-3/wk.
• Only strength work might be squat jumps. Almost all assistance work on mobility and low-HR cardio.
• The week of competition, 1 10' comp set, 1 6-8' set at comp or lighter, then Competition phase.

Phase 4 - Competition (2-3 days in mid-June)

• 1-3 days off with recovery work and light cardio. Federenko's experience was that he lost conditioning after only 2 days.  Maybe test this in Peaking phase with consecutive long runs and HR monitoring.

Phase 5 - Postseason

• Karaoke and burgers.  (John Wild Buckley)
• At least 1wk mobility/maintenance work, light running, stretching, and massage.

Tentative schedule based around June 18, 2010 meet.

• Off-season - through February
• Preseason - March to May (T minus 3mos)
• Peaking - May to mid-June (T minus 4-6wks)
• Competition - mid-June (T minus days)
• Postseason - when the bells hit the mat

Suggestions

• Technique at wk 2 of peaking phase should determine your target weight if you plan to make 10'.
• Stair carries lifted me over the hump, but they should have followed a more solid month of long, 130bpm cardio. Bicycling barely served this purpose, but I abandoned it because there was no load on my legs. Running 5mph raises my pulse to 150, but running slower is bumpy on my joints. May just accept running as "volume cardio" and stairs as "power cardio", regardless of being outside my block on the HR chart.

The longest 10min of my life, and the next-longest 10min

I prematurely published my log for 08/14-08/20 on the 19th, so I edited the title and wrote a new piece for today. I even did some sets of 5 heavy last night after work that aren't listed, but I'll just call it pre-dinner and let it go. Today's session was good enough to post on its own. I don't do this often.

--
08/20 Sat 2x20kg Jerk
Mobility, band work, 2 sets 5 Bench Jumps
-
Goal = J:2x20/6-8/1'/1'r x7-9 (felt another set in me at the end)
Done = 10 sets 8/1', a PR by 3 full minutes
-
Partial BW dips: 2 sets 20
20kg SW: 30ea, 20ea
10’ Stair carries: 2'carry/30"rest x5, longer rest on #5
Stretch
--

This is actually the first time I've accumulated 10 minutes of Jerk in one session. My Spring cycle was organized to stretch short sets into long sets. The long sets wore me out, so I never actually did 3' x 3 or 5' x 2 or any volume that added up close to 10'. I was one of the few competitors at State who did not finish the clock. The pure beginners, the still-overweight women snatching 8kg, finished their clocks. I made rank plus 9, completely drained, and set the bells down. I knew I had done something wrong.

This was a technically good session, including a few recoveries. The overhead squat training helped me later on. I'm working on launching the bells straight up instead of up and back, more Denisov, less Goncharov. The balance is tenuous, but there's less strain on my back. My new shoulder-width stance can accommodate a clean, more stable and ready for LC. And obviously, I'm recovering well. This is a good place to be 11 weeks out from Regionals.

Clearly, this was not elite mastery of the 10' clock, but this is my new baseline. I had a baseline a year ago of 3200kg ballistics every workout, based initially on 200 16kg swings. Now I have 80reps/10' at 2x20kg... which is ironically 3200kg. (I just noticed that!) What's important is that I did 10 minutes of my skill, then 10 minutes of 2x20kg stair carries for conditioning. This cycle, that's step 1, ground floor, my de-loading routine after a month of heavier stuff.

2011 Georgia State Kettlebell Sport Championships

18 June, 2011, Duluth, GA at Extreme Fitness, hosted by WKC Master Trainer Scott Shetler. I counted 12 competitors on the card, male and female, representing biathlon, long cycle, and strong sport. There were several men competing 20kg LC, and several women put up numbers above rank and lasted the full 10 minutes.

I scored 60J, 54SN to make WKC rank III at 65kg with reps to spare.

I hoped for 60 Jerk and 55 Snatch, both of which would have been personal records by 5 reps. I tried to recover the last snatch, but I couldn't close my fingers around the handle. It was just "over".  I took a break in the Jerk at 50 reps, between rank and PR. That breather got me 10 more reps in the 7th minute. I am very close to a 10min set in the Jerk.

On a training note, this is the first time I've taken most of a week's rest before a max effort instead of maintaining momentum. I had a couple of light sessions, 10 reps of each and some bicycling and stretching. I do believe I went in rested, but I definitely came out more sore than I've been in a long time. My knee and triceps were sore for more than 48hrs afterward.

Where do I go from here?

1. Make steady improvement on movement in my right knee and my left shoulder.
2. Get my Long Cycle rank III by the end of July. I'm not actively competing it yet, but I don't want my two events to get very staggered.
3. Train 3/wk for a while. Get a little of my life back on the weekends. Keep a 4th session of one-armed work on file for when I'm bored.
4. Rank II (20kg) by the Autumn meet. Start some strength training now, which will involve some heavy lifting and more eating.  Maintain 10 pullups, 10 pistols, and <150lbs.
5. Extend my 16kg work to 10min, no questions asked. I need a lightweight, high-volume option. I'm at 7min in both lifts right now.