Session #2 of the Cycle - 8/30/08

-Front Squat 28/32KGx5 2sets
I switched the weights on each set.

-KB Press 26KGx5/5 2sets
I hung 5LBS of chains from the KB to make the small weight increase.

-Pull Up 10LBSx3 3sets
I messed up on these the first day, that's why I used the same weight and added a sets. From here I'll keep the 3 sets of 3 and a 5LBS per session.

-Snatch 24KGx5/5 every 45sec for 12 min(160 reps)
This was a smoker. I stayed fast with the hips the whole time. My work phase didn't go over 23 sec meaning the work/rest ratio stayed right around 1:1.

-Bridge to Side Bridge BWx3/3 2sets

Felt like a good practice session. Bending on Monday.

My Big 3, a Smoker, and Some Bending - 8/28/08

I'm trying to put a little organization in my training with some periodization from PTTP. I will progressively add and back off with the weight and see if I can hit a few PR in the front squat, press, and pull up. I aim for a 16 workout cycle as long as the body doesn't tell me to back off. I will also keep my balistic at the end of the session and use the swing, snatch, and clean once/week. The bending and pistol practice will also have to stay in the mix. Hopefully I will be able to adjust the volume, make this stuff mesh together and compliment each other. Here is how today went.

-Front Squat 28/28KGx5 2sets

-KB Press 24KGx5 2sets

-Pull Up 10LBSx3 2sets

-2KB Clean 28/28KGx5 every 45 sec for 12min
When I started this I thought 45 sec should have been more like 30 sec. By the time the 12 min was up I was done! It had been awhile since I used double cleans and they were tough.

-Bending
I had a crushdown focus tonight. I closed a few easy bars and then pushed on a piece of 5/16"x7" that was already bent to just past 90 degrees. I probably pushed on this piece for about 15 min and got it to move from 4 3/4" to 4".

Great session tonight! It's also fun to know my next session is all planned out already.

Stayin' With The Big Moves - 8/26/08

-Front Squat
28/28KGx5
32/32KGx5
32/40KGx5 2sets(switch weights)
The 32/40 combo is killin' my stomach! Really forcing me to tense up. Good stuff. Gonna try throwing the 48 up there when I feel a little stronger with the move.

-Press(from a lunge) 24KGx3/3 3sets
This was cool. I pressed with the arm of the front leg. They all felt easy(I made it a light day) but the 3rd set was definitely the best. Trying to feel the groove.

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-Pull Up BWx3 3sets
Same thing here. Nice light day trying to use very strict form and get use to leaving my legs locked straight.

-Swings
32/32KGx5 every 30 sec for 5min
1 Arm 32KGx5 every 30 sec for 5min
I was going to do 10 min with the 2 KBs but the hips started slowing so at the 5 min mark I dropped to 1 arm. Hips stayed fast the rest of the time.

-Hanging Leg Raise BWx5 2sets

Day off tomorrow.

Kink Bends - 8/25/08

Just had a kink session tonight. A few warm up bends and then I tried taping 2 smaller bars together for my kinks. Just curious as to what it would feel like. Here's the list.
-double 3/16" CRS
-double 3/16" Hex CRS
-double 1/4" CRS
-double 1/4" Hex CRS
They were all fairly easy other that the 1/4" hex. I pushed on it for about 10 min and got it to move about 5-10 degrees. I didn't even know it moved until I unwrapped it.

Big Body Moves - 8/24/08

-Front Squat
32/32KGx5
32/40KGx5 2sets(switch weights on each set)
The 40 is a lot bigger that the 32! This was good to force tension, especially at the bottom.

-Push Press(fighting the negative) 40KGx2 3sets
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-Pull Up 16KG+10LBSx1 3sets
The 40 still sits on my arm funny unless I clean it perfectly. I guess that means I need to clean it perfectly everytime.

-Snatch 24KGx5/5 for 10min
I tried to do a set every 30 sec. That would have given me 200 in 10 min. Didn't happen. I think I was around150. I'll keep working at it.

-Bridge to Side Bridge BWx3/3 2sets

Pistols+Bending - 8/21/08

I decided to do the pistols with no box today and see how they went. They felt alright but still need a lot of work. I got my second set on video so please, if you have any suggestions let me know.

-Pistol 16KGx4/4 3sets



-Bending
Tonight's session was a stage bend night. That means I was suppose to bend till I couldn't bend anymore and then cheat it a little and try again. I decided to try a 5/16"x7" stainless-304 piece. It started good and then froze up on me just past 90 degrees. Funny part is I tried to cheat bend it at the end to try and go a but further and couldn't. Here's the video.



Maybe a little juggling tomorrow.

Presses, Pulls, + Swings - 8/19/08

I tried my presses a bit different today, kneeling. Pretty cool. I had to focus on tensing my entire body because I couldn't really shift to counterbalance. It also forced a pretty strict press for the same reason.

-Kneeling Press
24KGx5/5
32KGx3/3 4sets

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-Pull Up
12KG+10LBSx2 3sets
12KG+10LBSx1 2sets
Felt good, might hang the 16 next time.

-Swing 40KGx5 every 20sec for 10 min = 150reps
I've done this type of work before with 30 sec segments and 10 reps, but cut the reps and time because of the weight. I was able to keep my hips snappy for every rep because of this. The work/rest ratio turned out to be about the same (1:1) as the 30 sec version. I will try and speed my hips up even more to get the same work/rest with a 15 sec segment.

Day off tomorrow, probably some Z. Bending on Thursday.

Pistols+Bending - 8/18/08

-Pistols 16KGx5/5 4sets
I went down to a 14 1/2" box for these tonight. That inch maid a huge difference. This is probably the height I will stay at for a bit.

-Bending
17/64"x7" DR
5/16"x7" Stainless-304(sweep from 20 to 90 degrees)
Tonight's session was a sweep focus. I may have been able to close it a bit more but I really fought for this much. It took about 15 min.

Grinds tomorrow.

Cleans+Snatches - 8/17/08

Kind of a dynamic day today. Cleans, snatches, and some core work.

-Floor Cleans
32KGx5/5 1set
40KGx5/5 1sets
48KGx5/5 3sets
Playin' with the Beast was fun. I got my second set on video.



-Snatches 24KGx1min 4sets(2R, 2L)
I think I got 21 or 22 reps/min. This was way harder than I thought it would be. I need to get the number up by a few reps.

-Dynamic Plank to Side Plank BWx3/3 2sets
This is a cool move. I learned it from a seminar that Stuart McGill put on. Excellent move to make sure that the core is locked tight. The deal is to make sure that the hips and shoulders move together. The biggest problem with most people is that they want to shift the hips first to build momentum that drags the shoulders with. I got some video of this too.



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-Hanging Leg Raise BWx5 2sets

Good day. Bending tomorrow!

Juggling - 8/15/08

Nice and easy today. Just 20 min of juggling and some z for a bit of a recovery day. The juggling is fun and getting better. Ready for some ballistics tomorrow.

Pistols and Bending - 8/14/08

I'm making progress with these pistols already! They felt way more sturdy today than they did on Mon. I had been noticing my knees feeling a little funny over the last few months and I figured the pistols would do one of two things, either make them feel a lot worse or a lot better. I'm glad the outcome was the latter of the options. Actually my knees, hips, and lower back feel really good after the sets. I think it has to do with the focus on total body tension that is required. It is easy, at least for me, to find ways to relax and sneak around creating max tension in moves I frequently use. I try to focus but it still happens. I think these will be good to practice for awhile and have a great carry over to everything else I am working on.

-Pistols 16KGx5/5
3sets-18" box
2sets-15 1/2"box
The lower box really made me tense up. Especially since I tried to keep a nice slow even pace throughout the move.

-Bending
Crushdown focus tonight. I took a red nail that I had kinked to 90 in a previous kink session and closed it to just under 2"! This is huge for me. I closed the thing with no cheat bends! It took two sessions, the second of which took about 15min and a re-wrap but it's still pretty cool. I would have never thought of this a month ago. Ben definitely knows bending. What ever he says I do and the results follow very quickly.

Push Press and Pull Up Ladders - 8/12/08

I went heavy today, so the reps were pretty low.

-Push Press
40KGx1,2 3ladders
40KGx1 2sets
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-Pull Up
12KG+10LBSx1,2 3ladders
12KG+10LBSx1 2sets
This felt good, especially after having a heavy bending day on Mon. The 40 felt better as I went on. I just got a better feel for it in my hands. Probably could have finished 5 ladders of 1,2 but wanted to lay back and see how the next day felt. Pull ups were good too. First time I have added weight in awhile and I probably could have finished the ladders of 1,2 here as well.

Plan for a recovery day on Wed. Just some light juggling practice to move around a bit.

Variety Day - 8/11/08

I switched my days around just a bit. I think it will fit into my work schedule better this way.

-Pistol 12KGx3/3 5sets
Used this a bit of a warm up today. I have never really worked on pistol and would like to be a little better at them. I will start with a nice low volume like this and work into it. Even with the low volume I still think my legs got some good work in. I set up on an 18" box and will progressively go lower.

-Bending
Great night tonight. This was another reason for the switch in days. I am going to do a little lower body work for a warm and save my grip for the bends. Had a volume day and got in some VOLUME! Here's how it went.
All 7" long.
2 - 17/64" DR
10 - 5/16" HRS(SteelWorks brand)
1 - 1/4" square CRS
Hands are a little sore but that's to be expected. I put the square in at the end because I have never closed one and wanted to see how it went. All the bends were done in less than a min, most of them in 30-45 sec.

Back to some ladders tomorrow.

Med Ladder Day and Bending - 8/7/08

-C+P 24,28,32,40KG(Push Press)x1 5ladders
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-Pull Up BWx1,2,3,4 5ladders
Felt good but still not going to be able to strict presses with the cleans on Sat. I think I will try a week of clean+push presses with the 40 and see how that goes. I'm thinking of buying a 36.

-Swing 32KGx10 every 30sec 20sets
This sucks but it's effective. 200 swings in 10 min. Really have to concentrate on snapping the hips.

-Bending
Good bend tonight. 9/32"x7" drill rod bent in about 2min 15sec. Got it started quick and then fought with it from 90 degrees till the end. Here's the video.

Light Ladder Day and Bending - 8/5/08

Wasn't feeling it yesterday so I moved the session to tonight. Not real sure how I want this phase of the training to go but it will be something like this.

-C+P 24KG,32KG,40KG(push press)x1 5ladders
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-Pull Up BWx1,2,3 5ladders
Not sure if I want to add more variety in weight for the med. and heavy days and stay at 1 rep sets or add a rep to each of these 3 weights for the med. and heavy day. Hope that makes sense, if not it will tomorrow.

-Snatches 28KGx5/5 5sets
Did these with fairly little rest between sets, but kept the rest low because it's suppose to be the light day.

-Bending(all 7" bars)
This was awesome! I started a new program today that is designed to get me bending the red nail. Ben Edwards is an elite bender that has really went out of his way to help me with my new addiction. Tonight I made a few more adjustments that he suggested(larger wraps and less nail in the wrap) and really surprised myself. Here's the bends.
-9/32" drill rod - kinked to 92-93 degrees in 30 sec
-19/64" drill rod - kinked to 98-99 degrees in 30 sec
-5/16" CRS - kinked to 90 degrees in 30 sec
I felt like I could have closed all of these bars if that was what the workout called for. Since it was a kink workout I felt like I did exactly what I needed to. Can't wait till Thursday's session.

Heavy Ladder Day - 8/2/08

I went big with the ladders today, at least for me. Actually the further I went the better I felt.

-C+P 32KGx1/1,2/2,3/3,4/4,5/5 5ladders
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-Pull Up BWx1,2,3,4,5 5ladders
I am pretty happy with the completed ladders. Here is where I want to go now. Mon and Wed ladders will be done with one rep sets and increasing weight. This will allow for a few heavy presses but a break in the volume. Next Sat I will pull out the "Bulldog" and see how far I can get on ETK style ladders. As far as the pull ups go I will keep next week the same as this week and then on Sat go to one rep sets with increasing weight just like this weeks presses. I want to try this format for a few cycles and see what happens.

-TGU 32KGx1/1 1set
I wanted to do more than this but the ladders took their toll and my lockout position was really fading.