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.
Showing posts with label kettlebells. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kettlebells. Show all posts
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Saturday, August 20, 2011
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.
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08/20 Sat 2x20kg Jerk
Mobility, band work, 2 sets 5 Bench Jumps
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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
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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.
--
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.
Monday, June 20, 2011
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 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?
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?
- Make steady improvement on movement in my right knee and my left shoulder.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
What exactly did you train today?
I read a few senior trainers' personal training logs, and I'm noticing a pattern. They don't seem to organize their own training like the rest of us. So many group sessions and forum posts at "my level" will include snatches, Russian twists, Renegade Rows, KB deadlifts, floor presses, but I less often see "long cycle clean & press" (LCCP) or "swings and get-ups". The first elective, advanced training workshop I was privileged to attend in the RKC school was all about swings and get-ups, by MRKCs David Whitley and Jeff O'Connor. The answer to every question was "swings and get-ups", and yet it was revolutionary when SRKC Zar Horton proposed a season dedicated to swings and get-ups to start 2011. Rather than be surprised, we all should have seen it coming.
I laid out a recent group session with get-ups, front squats, LCCP, and swings. I thought it was a little busy, but those were the elements of ETK and the HKC and should be familiar to everyone. It caught some of them completely off-guard. They were accustomed to 6-8 different things a session, some of which I'd call assistance drills. I was accustomed to drilling 2 basics. I've done just LCCP for 45min every weekend of the last three months, but I didn't think it would fly for a group class. Maybe I should have tried it.
The journals of many elite trainers have entries like "snatches and pistols" or "pullups and long cycle". It may be 5-7 days between repeats of a particular exercise. Some of them will do those two exercises for dozens or hundreds of reps, as practice. Some of them have a seasonal focus, like Rif's gradual return to the press or Dave's bending stuff while his knee heals. More often, it's because they don't need a whole week, like I do, to put in a significant volume of practice. They, better than I, can answer the question "what exactly did you train today?"
I spent a year-plus working my press to the next heavier bell. It was successful, but it took forever. Now I'm taking a season to work a) the "rest of my body", b) get-ups and swings with a heavier bell, and c) competition lifts. I'm by no means an expert, but I've learned to recognize a plateau and I'm learning to focus. Pistols and pullups (largely therapeutic), carrying a heavy weight, snatches and jerks. That's maybe 6 months of work, with a good sense of focus. My blog's going to be BOR-ing, but I like what Rif reposted recently: "Simple and boring usually is code for consistently basic, heavy and progressive."
I laid out a recent group session with get-ups, front squats, LCCP, and swings. I thought it was a little busy, but those were the elements of ETK and the HKC and should be familiar to everyone. It caught some of them completely off-guard. They were accustomed to 6-8 different things a session, some of which I'd call assistance drills. I was accustomed to drilling 2 basics. I've done just LCCP for 45min every weekend of the last three months, but I didn't think it would fly for a group class. Maybe I should have tried it.
The journals of many elite trainers have entries like "snatches and pistols" or "pullups and long cycle". It may be 5-7 days between repeats of a particular exercise. Some of them will do those two exercises for dozens or hundreds of reps, as practice. Some of them have a seasonal focus, like Rif's gradual return to the press or Dave's bending stuff while his knee heals. More often, it's because they don't need a whole week, like I do, to put in a significant volume of practice. They, better than I, can answer the question "what exactly did you train today?"
I spent a year-plus working my press to the next heavier bell. It was successful, but it took forever. Now I'm taking a season to work a) the "rest of my body", b) get-ups and swings with a heavier bell, and c) competition lifts. I'm by no means an expert, but I've learned to recognize a plateau and I'm learning to focus. Pistols and pullups (largely therapeutic), carrying a heavy weight, snatches and jerks. That's maybe 6 months of work, with a good sense of focus. My blog's going to be BOR-ing, but I like what Rif reposted recently: "Simple and boring usually is code for consistently basic, heavy and progressive."
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