Simon's back in to it

[Simon]

Hey guys,

Back into KBs after my nearly-one-year old has finally started sleeping in regular patterns.

Been slowly getting into a routine. Going on a GS trip at the moment, well my growing understand of GS anyway.

Tuesday night (time with bell in hand):
2.5 minutes with the 16kg: cleans, gs presses, jerks
1.5 minutes with the 16kg: snatches, one armed swings
1 minute with 24kg: cleans, gs presses
1 minute with 24kg: cleans, gs presses, snatches, swings
2 minutes with 16kg: swings to warm down

Still building grip/shoulder/back strength. Cardio is not the limiting factor at the moment.

[jd]

Simon that used to live in Maylands?

[Simon]

Jamie! - yep the same one. In Melb these days. Hope you're doin great.

Sat:

- Light warm up ~ 4mins
- 16kg - 5 mins - swings, cleans, gs presses, attempts at proper jerks(*) and 30sec over
head holds
- 24kg - 1.5 mins - gs presses, cleans, jerks
- 1.5 mins - jerks
- 1 min cleans, swings, double jerks with 16 in left hand.

* after reading around, I am definitely not doing jerks properly. Doing a lot of pressing to get the bell up. Is there such thing as an intermediate drill to get jerks working? I'm sure it is as much coordination as strength.

[Paul in Hobart]

Is there such thing as an intermediate drill to get jerks working? I'm sure it is as much coordination as strength.
Simon, it is all about skill! And moving quickly.
The arms are just a guide - and to hold the lockout.
You can try pre-exhausting the arms with presses , and then hit the jerks.

Or , try 3 position jerks. Dip , get under the bell as fast as possible and hold the 1/2 squat position for 5-10secs. Then stand up, hold in rack for 10 secs and repeat the cycle. Remember not to lose the connection between the torso (ideally the hips) and elbows until the bells start to rise from the dip.

One other thing - if you lack OH flexibility it is difficult to get right under the bells and the shoulder muscles are overworked.

Formula for Jerks = leg power (strength x speed) x getting the bells moving upwards quickly then getting under them as fast as possible. The bells are locked out whilst your legs are still bent.

Forget using 24s for jerks until you have nailed the pattern with 16s! Best of luck.

[Simon]

Simon, it is all about skill! And moving quickly.
The arms are just a guide - and to hold the lockout.
You can try pre-exhausting the arms with presses , and then hit the jerks.

Or , try 3 position jerks. Dip , get under the bell as fast as possible and hold the 1/2 squat position for 5-10secs. Then stand up, hold in rack for 10 secs and repeat the cycle. Remember not to lose the connection between the torso (ideally the hips) and elbows until the bells start to rise from the dip.

One other thing - if you lack OH flexibility it is difficult to get right under the bells and the shoulder muscles are overworked.

Formula for Jerks = leg power (strength x speed) x getting the bells moving upwards quickly then getting under them as fast as possible. The bells are locked out whilst your legs are still bent.

Forget using 24s for jerks until you have nailed the pattern with 16s! Best of luck.

Great. Thanks for the tips Paul, much appreciated.

[Simon]

Monday:

4 mins warm up
5 mins 16 kg, always in hand. Swings, cleans, gs presses, OH holds (30s)
2.25 mins 24kg. Presses, cleans, OH holds - hoping to fatigue arms to prepare for jerks
2 mins 16kg jerks. Paul's suggestions worked a treat. Breathing heavily.
1 min 24 kg jerks: 5 good jerks for each hand
1.5 mins cool down - 16kg swings, spinning type juggling

Once I committed to getting under the bell, the 16kg jerks were working immediately. The 24s will require some more work. Felt great to feel it in my quads for a change. I hope I am meant to feel it there!

[Emily]

Hi Simon,

if you're interested in GS and want a group to train with in Melbourne, I'll be running one in Richmond (first one will be Sat 25th July). If you want details check out the GS section in the forum or PM me.

Best of luck with your training!

Emily

[Simon]

Emily - would love to, but anything with a price higher than *free* is out of my budget at the moment. Hope it goes great.

Wed.
Indoor soccer - 28 mins. No subs, ran almost the whole time. Many sprints.

[Simon]

Thurs. Quick session. Fatigued.

5.5 mins 16kg swings, cleans, presses, jerks, OH holds (30 sec)
1.5 mins 24kg swings, cleans, presses, 5 jerks each side
1.5 mins 16kg long cycle clean and jerk

[Simon]

Mon

Post Hungry Jacks meal. Otherwise healthy!

4 min warm up
8 mins 16kg in hand - swings (~1.5 mins), cleans (~1.5 mins), presses (~1.5 mins), jerks (~1.5 mins), 30s OH holds - once each side
1 min 24 kg swings, presses
2.5 mins cool down - cleans, swings etc

The GS breathing is a huge breakthrough for me. I found myself automatically breaking out of shallow breathing patterns this morning. Feeling much more relaxed and focused because of this.

[Simon]

Thursday

4 min warm up

11.5 mins: 16kb in hand. Swings, presses, cleans, jerks, 2xOH holds (30 secs each)
1.5 mins 24 kg - presses
1.5 mins 16kb - swings for cool down

[Simon]

Sunday

3.5 min warm up

10 min 16kg in hand. Presses, swings, jerks, cleans, 15s OH holds
the first half is here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgMoXtXZd7k - approx 1 min of presses, swings and jerks.

any comments would be greatly appreciated. I can see that my jerks require some work. The bell is going out from the body and my dip is asymmetrical.

used a lot more power breathing as I tensed up by being on camera! Felt it a lot more from the tension.

3 min jerks with 24 (5,5) and then swings with 16 to cool down

[Simon]

Tues

Testing time:

4 mins warm up.

Max snatches test (16kg) - had to stop at ~4 mins. Approx 1 rep every 3s = 20-30 rpm. Way too fast.
Continued after 1 min rest for 2 mins. Tried to go slower. Used power breathing - must ingrain the anatomical breathing pattern

jerks, presses and swings with 24 - 2 mins

cool down with 16kg one arm swings - 2 mins

Wed

Indoor soccer. 28 mins of flat out running with some wheezing in the middle. Gassing out - i think it a breathing thing again when sprinting - must work on that.

[Simon]

Thurs

3 or so minute warm up. Damn cold!!

10.5 mins 16kg in hand.
- Swings 1 min
- Snatches Left, Swings Right (callous lifted!! hope to get back to normal asap)
many hand changes ~ 5-6 mins
- Presses - more vertical than before 2 mins
- OH holds 45 s once each side

2.5 mins
- 24 kg swings - back felt weak - just 10 or so each side
- 16 kg swings to warm down.

16kg windmills 10 each side

Stretching - I can touch my toes again!!

[Simon]

Sanded and repainted kbell over the weekend

light workout last night as 16kg still drying.

24kg:
- 1 arm swings ~ 2 min ~ 20 rpm many hand changes
- gs presses 15/15
- 1 arm swings - 10 / 10
- 2 arm swings - 10

even though I was fine with the 24 before, I felt its weight this time. Need to incorporate more often to build strength

[Simon]

Big break. First time back for a while

Thurs

4 mins warm up

Snatches 16kg 6.5 minutes. Lotsa hand changes. Approx 1 min per hand. Could have gone longer, but just felt good.

Cleans 2 mins. Pretty rough. I find them difficult to do well with such a light weight. Much easier with the 32, though can do much less reps!

Snatches again for 1.5 mins

Presses and Windmills to cool down

Felt great! I cleaned up my bell using Paul's suggestions for sanding and repainting. Worked a treat!!

[Simon]

Missed the Comp on Saturday. Couldn't get away from visiting family :P.

Monday. Snatch test

16kg 11.25 minutes. Snatches. Many hand changes. 30s stop for re-chalking. ~ 1 min of active rest: swings.

16kg 2.75 minutes. Jerks. Feeling good.

24kg 3 mins of play. Snatches, jerks and presses

16kg Windmills to finish

[Simon]

warm up - skipping, swings with 24kg

16kg snatches 10 minutes, hand changes at ~ 40s

ripped callous again!

16 kg jerks 2 mins. couldn't continue...

windmills 16kg 5 es

[Simon]

Wed

Indoor soccer. no subs, ran for 28 minutes non stop. endurance better, but still limiting.


Friday

16kg Snatches concentrating on one arm endurance.
L 2mins R 2mins L 1min R 1mins

16kg jerks concentrating on one arm endurance.
L 1.5mins R1.5mins. 30-45s changes to add up to a total of 6 mins

Play with 24. Swings, jerks, presses etc

Sunday

4 min warm up.

16kg Snatches concentrating on one arm endurance.
L 3mins R 3mins

catching of bell on the pads of my hands a real issue. Used a heap of chalk and no benefit. Really trying to catch with my fingers, but hard to lose old habits!

16kg jerks concentrating on one arm endurance.
L 1.5mins R1.5mins. 30-45s changes to add up to a total of 5.5-6 mins

~4 mins swings and presses with 24kg

[Simon]

Tuesday

16kg snatches 6 mins. one arm change. had to rest bell once on each side.

24kg - circuit - 3 times
- swings - 1 min
- presses - 1 min
- snatches - 1 min

16kg OAJ - 1:45. stuffed - could have done more jerks, but time to call it quits.

Felt great getting back into the 24. Starting to feel more manageable for GS orientated work.

[Simon]

Trying to increase one arm snatch times

16kg snatches 10 mins.
- right arm 1.5 mins, 1 min break (rechalk) 1 min. had to swap
- left arm 1.5 mins, 1 min break (rechalk) 1 min. again - had to swap
~ 45s changes after this
Big time burn in forearms. I will decrease the first interval next time. Maybe 1 min.

Jerks with 24
6 R 6 L 5 R 5 L
1 minute 15.

[Simon]

Light on numbers, strength work

circuit (4 rounds)
floor press (16 one hand, 24 in other) 12,10, (switch) 12,10
chins: 5,4,4,3
hanging leg raise: 5,5,5,4
dips on bells: 10 each round

play with 24: swings, snatches, jerks
~ 2-3 mins of play with 16kg, mainly snatches

[Simon]

Wed

Training at IronEdge! Great session - thanks guys.
- 3 rounds

rings - pushup variations
ropes - variations
gravity bands - running - forward, backwards, crawl - loved this...
torsonator - killer!
k'bells - thrusters and step up step down
water bags(?) presses, squats etc.

Fri

16kg Snatches (with new technique - thanks Emily!)
L 2mins, R 2 mins, L 1 min, R 1 min - approx 12-15 rpm

24 kg presses
10, 10, 10 L & R - personal best ever!

Chin ups, hanging leg swings

Sun

16 kg snatches (L&R)
1 min
15s rest
1 min
30s rest
1 min
30s rest
30s
squirming in pain after this amount of time. This interval thing allows more reps.

play with 24 and 16.

chin ups 3,5,5

jerks 16kg 2.5 mins

[Emily]

Wed

Training at IronEdge! Great session - thanks guys.
- 3 rounds


16kg Snatches (with new technique - thanks Emily!)


No worries!

[Simon]

Tues

Snatches 16kg
1 min / 30s rest 4 rounds each side. 10s rest between arms to re-chalk. ~20rpm.

Swings 24kg
1 min L, 1 min R - ~45 reps each. Easily a PB

Jerks 24kg
1 min L, 1 min R - ~ 25 reps each. Maybe a little fast. Gassed out before anything else gave way.

Cool down with a couple of windmills included

Felt great. Making progress with the snatches - ever so slowly. Added bonus - can touch my knuckles on the ground easily when doing touching toes stretch (warm). Haven't been able to do that for years, if ever.

[Simon]

Wed

Indoor soccer. 25 mins of heaving running. Much easier than it used to be.

Thurs

Snatches 16kg
R 2 mins, 30s rest, 1 min, 30s rest, 1 min - 18-20 rpm
L 2 mins, 30s rest, 1 min, 30s rest, 1 min - 18-20 rpm

10.5 mins and I did at least 70 reps each side. Another PB.

Jerks 24kg
R 1min - 25 rpm
L 45s

Circuit (2 rounds):
- Presses
16kg L 24kg R - 5 reps
16kg R 24kg L - 5 reps
Chin ups - 6
Dips - 10

[Simon]

Mon

Snatches 16kg (10 mins total):
both sides:
- 2 min / 15s / 1 min / 15s / 1 min - 18 rpm min

Jerks (6 mins total):
16 kg 1 min es
30s
16 kg 1 min es
30s
24 kg 1 min es

[Simon]

Damn flu got me for 2 weeks

Friday

16kg swings (R 5mins, L 5 mins 15-20 rpm):

1.5 min, 30s rest, 1 min, 30s rest, 1 min

play with two 16kgs 3 mins
OAJ, Long cycle C+J etc

Mon

24kg two arm swings x 20

16kg Long cycle / OAJ / Snatches 8 mins

play with 24 - swings / snatches / jerks 3 mins

3 x 6 x chin ups

[Simon]

Wed

Indoor soccer. no subs = 28 mins of on and off sprinting

Fri

3 mins skipping

5 mins - 16kg x 2 play. Mainly OAJs (first half) and snatches

5 mins - one arm snatches, 16kg

circuit: x 2 rounds
10 presses with 24
10 dips
6 chin ups


Sun

3 mins skipping

10.5 mins - snatches
2 mins, 30s rest, 1min 30s rest, 1 min, 30s rest.
slowly improving...

[Simon]

Tues

2 * 16kg
OAJs
- 2 mins, 1 min rest
- 1 min, 1 min rest
- 30s, 30s rest
- 15s (!), 30s rest
- 25s, 30s rest
- 30s, 30s rest

1 * 24kg
- Snatches 1 min each side
- OASwings 45s

6 x 16kg windmills to finish

[Simon]

Wed

Indoor soccer. no subs again!! 26 mins of running. much more wind this week!

Mon

24kg snatches.
4 mins 20 secs: 2 x 1 min each side

16kg OAJs
1.5 mins
30s rest
1 min
1 min rest
40s
1 min rest
40s

Heavy breathing - need some lighter weight work to ensure good breathing patterns

chin ups - 6 once

[Simon]

Mon

Demotivated work out after finding that my 2 x 16kgs were stolen out of my garage over the weekend! Not my 24 though. Must have been too heavy :P

24kg:
Snatches: 1 min es, 30s rest, 40s es, jerks to make up to 5 mins
Curls using a scrap bit of wood as a bar - 2x5 or so
7 chin ups (BW)
6 x presses
7 chin ups (BW)
10 x presses
7 chin ups (BW)

[Simon]

Thurs

Boxing class. 1 hr of pain! punching, pushups, endless light-weight work. Different movements to my kettlebell routines, so little endurance! Looking forward to doing this regularly.

[Simon]

...Some irregular training since the last post...

Mon

16kg OA swings
20 RPM
1.5 mins L, 1.5 mins R
1 min rest
1 mins L, 1 mins R
2 min rest
1 mins L, 1 mins R

70 reps each side in under 10 mins. I can sprint for as long as I can lift at a slow pace!?!

16 kg OA Jerks
20 / 20

BW Chinups - 10

Bicep curls with 24 kg kettlebell and and broom handle
2 x 15

[Simon]

Thurs

16kg swings (20 RPM)

1.5 mins L/R
45s rest
1 min l/R
1 min rest
1 min l/R

70 es in less than 9 mins.

10 x chin ups

2 x 10 x 24 kg curls

[Simon]

Sun

3 mins skipping

50 16kg swings each side (3 1/2 mins)

3 mins skipping

Jerks 16kg 18 RPM
1.5 mins e s

2 rounds:
10 chin ups
15 24kg curls

[Simon]

Tues

3 mins skipping

16kg snatches, 20 RPM
2 mins L/R
1 min rest
1 min L/R
1 min rest
1 min L/R

80 each side! new PR

24kg swings - 1 min each side

24kg curls x 15 x 2

[Simon]

Sun

Second post christmas re-energise.

Skipping

Snatches 16kg ~20 RPM
25 L / R
15 L / R
10 L / R
5 minutes 40s

The following in a circuit:

Floor presses 24 L & R
10, 15
Chin ups
10, 10
Curls (24kg)
10, 15