Best Lift Ever!

I'm really happy with this.

Some Footage from the upcoming DVD

I've been very secretive about the training lately, I don't want to give too much away but I've been experimenting on myself again (and my clients, thanks guys and girls) for the DVD and the results have been awesome.
The ability to do just about anything without specifically training for it is what it's all about. I haven't touched any of these moves with a 40kg until last Sunday.

Ice Cream Makers

When I say Ice Cream Makers, this is what I mean. I'm not eating rocky road for 5 scoops of 10.



Progressing toward a front lever? This drill will help you get there.

Fun with Handstands

Going to get a little more serious with handstand pushups in the coming weeks along with some other bodyweight stuff.

Training yesterday looked like this (kind of)

Front Lever Practice, Ice-cream makers
Single Leg and double leg squatting

Horizontal Rows
Handstand Pushups

Core drills with JS band. (think of a standing side plank)

Then kicked the heavy bag 'til it begged me to stop.

Awww yeah

Super happy with this.
Training for monday went like this:
Double Clean and Jerk: 48kg x 2,3,2,1,1

Double BUP: 20kg x 6 x 5
Front Levers

Handstand Pushups x 10,8,8
Double 48kg Swing x 10,10,10 (with wool gloves on)

Training for Wednesday:

Took a long time to get started, but I was determined to hit a few things...
Double Snatch+Press
32+36kg x 1,2,3,4 x 2 ladders

Double Snatch only
32kg+40kg x 4 x 2

Front Lever Practice and Cossacks

EDT
Pullup @ 40lbs x 3
Airborne Lunge @ 40lbs x 5/side
10 rounds

PM session
Handstand Pushup x 5 (hands elevated to increase ROM)
Sled Power Pull x 1 lap
Sled Drag x 1 lap
rest 2:00
Repeated 4 times

Bodyweight Tri extension on rings

Today will be some BJJ and some light get-ups and swings.

Monday's Training:
Played with a lot of double bottom up work, even went as high as 10 reps in the double BUP with a pair of 16's for a few sets to really work the groove. Then some squatting and walking with double bottom up bells.

Double Clean: 2x48kg bells x 6 reps x 5 sets
Double Swing: 2x48kg bells x 8 x 5 (less rest between sets of swings)


Pistol x 8/8 x 5
Ring Row x 12 x 5 (feet elevated, single leg, switch at rep 6)
Handstand Pushup x 8,8,8,8

Later that day hit some sled pulls, jump rope, and burpees in a circuit and hit the heavy bag.
Today I'll do some get-ups and roll BJJ.

Nice Little Saturday

We didn't manage to film half of what we did, but it involved a lot of carrying, dragging, pushing, pulling, and walking--it was brutal. But fun!

Wow it's been a while since I've updated here

Oopsie.

Let's look back at this week.
Saturday I went snowboarding but before I did, I did a circuit.
10 Pullups (on a soccer goal crossbar, think very thick)
20 pushups
Sprint 50m
Rest 1-2:00
Repeat 4 times and I was cooked.

Monday
BUP: 36kg x 2/2 x 3
36kg x 1/1 x 2

Ring Row +20lbs x 12,12,12
Handstand Pushup x 5,5,5
Many Swings, yes many.

Tuesday:
BJJ for 2 hours

Wednesday:
Double Snatch 32kg+36kg x 4 + 2 Presses x 8 sets

Pullup: +20lbs x 7
Airborne Lunge: +20lbs x 5 7 rounds in 15:00

Handstand Pushup x 12,10,8
Swing: 24kg x 20/20 x 3

Thursday: BJJ for 1.5hrs

Friday:
Double Swing 2x48kgs x 10 x 10
Finished each set of 10 swings with a clean and a rack walk which was ridiculous.
A few pulls on the rolling thunder and up to BJJ.

Yesterday's Training:

Double Snatch
24kg x 10 + 2 presses x 1
28kg x 5 + 2 presses x 1
32kg x 5 + 2 presses x 5
32kg x 10 + 2 presses x 1 (The snatches felt very strong all the way)

Pullup on eagle loops fingers only:
10,10,10,8
Handstand Pushup x 10, 8, 8, 8

Pushups and Farmers walks with 88's to finish.


Today's training:
16kg get-ups 3/3 with armbar and windmill
Hip Complex x 5/side
24kg swing x 10/10/10/10
Rolled BJJ for 1.5hrs

The intensity of my training lately has been somewhat low, but I have continued to be productive. This is a good thing, even if the fire isn't there, can you be productive?

Today's Training:
Bottom Up Press:
36kg x 1/1 x 5
32kg x 4/4 x 4
Supersetted with Pistols 5/side for each set of BUP's.

Press to Handstand on a 4' box: 5 x 5
Double Swing: 40kgs x 10 x 5

Bottom Up Clean: 40kg x :25 sec/side x 5 sets
Ring Row: +20lbs x 12,10,10,10,10

One arm swing: 40kg x 20/20, rest 1 min. 40kg x 15/15/8/8

I also did some tumbling earlier in the day: Front Handsprings, kip ups, rolling, etc.
Fun Stuff. Plan to Juggle the KB's and roll some jiu jitsu tomorrow.

Last few days of training:
I've been taking it fairly easy.

Wednesday I was toasted from too much jiu jitsu so I didn't train, but I ran sprints the day before. I ended up rolling with a friend who weighs 240lbs. We ended up doing about five 20-minute rounds which was ridiculous but I did get a nice sweep to a rear naked choke which was a nice way to ring in the new year (never tapped him before, and we've rolled a lot, for over a year).

Thursday I did a ton of get-ups and swings.
Friday I took the day off but did some mobility work.

Today's training (finally):
Ended up rolling with brad (see above) again for about 30 minutes so I was a little smoked, so I skipped the heavy lifting.

Bar Muscle Up: 5x5
Ring Muscle Up: 5x5

Handstand Pushup: +20lbs x 5 x 5

Box Jump @ 52" x 3 These were cool because I just got some new mats today (for free, Yes!) that I stacked up.

Pullup on rings +20lbs x 6 x 10

Pushup x 20 x 15 (different hand positions, plyos, elevated, etc, kept it fun)

One arm swing: 24kg x 30/30, rest 1 min, 30/30, rest 1 min, 30/30.

Nice day of rest tomorrow, I am probably going to hurt from doing so many pushups, but my buddy from the air force is home so we hit a ton of pushups.

Training Today:
Bottom Up Press:
40kg x 1/1 x 2
36kg x 1/1 x 5
Cossack Squat w/ 8kg in rack x 5/5 x 7 +hip flexor stretch

Renegade Row
100lb x 8/8 x 4
Wall Slide x 10 x 4
SLDL 24kg in opposite hand x 6/6 x 4


"Cardio"
Battling Ropes x 1:00
Burpee + tuck jump x 10
4 rounds

Yesterday's Training:
Ring Muscle Ups +20lbs:
Superset with Airborne Lunge (single leg squat) +20lbs:
17 Muscle Ups and 40 AL's on each leg in 15:00

Superset
Pullup +30lbs: 12,9,7,6
Plyo Pushup +30lbs: 10, 8, 6, 6 (could have done more but wanted to be more explosive)

Finished with some med ball work and Jump rope.

Later did a bunch of swings.
Today: Long cycle with a pair of 24's for 20:00 with breaks, no counting.

Bottoms up!

This week is like a play week--still going to focus on moving better, but my mind needs a break from hard training.
Monday:
Bottom Up Press:
32kg x 3/3 x 5
32kg x 1/1 x about 10

Bottom Up Carry 50ft
20kg
24kg
32kg
40kg
48kg (only made it about 15 ft with this one)

Gripper closes: #2 for a bunch of singles on each side and a 10 second hold on the right--grip was very strong today and I also climbed the rope a few times.

Later that evening I did a bunch of snatches with a slick handle and no chalk and some medicine ball throws. Worked up a good sweat and went home. I'll probably do some get-ups today (tuesday).

Training from the last few days

Jiu Jitsu has been going well, rolled with a lot of brown and black belts past few days who were heavier than I and I did well so I am going to put some more focus in my jiu jitsu skills over the next few months--while trying to maintain everything else--which is a lot.

Wednesday:
Ring Muscle Up +20lbs
17 in 15:00min
Cossack Squat:
20/side in 15:00 +20lbs (done as active rest for muscle ups)

Pullup: 20lbs x 12,11,10,7
Plyo Pushup: 20lbs x 10,10,10,10

Thursday and Friday:
Lots of get-ups and windmills with a 16kg--seriously, it wasn't much and I rolled a lot of jiu jitsu and hit the heavy bag.
Will do something fun tomorrow.

Hill Sprints!

So, hill sprints completely rock. I hit about 15 hill sprints on a 75m steep hill. In terms of effectiveness for being "in shape," this is probably better than what 95% of the U.S. does in a given week.
Sad but true. Sprinting up a hill is good for you. Here is the secret hill sprint workout program:

Find Hill
Step 1: Sprint Up Hill
Step 2: Walk down hill (saunter, even)
Repeat until strong, fast, and "in shape."

My recent training log is going to be sporadic and incomplete. On purpose. I am working on something big and I am not finished experimenting. When I finish the experiment I will publish what I have done and what the results were, until then, I will keep you abreast of 80% of my training.

Warm up with Z, foam roll, windmill, get-ups, and Olympic Lifts

SLDL: 80kg x 6/6 x 4
BUP:
24kg x 5/5
32kg x 3/3 x 4 (Not used to doing more than one rep so this was good.)

Handstand Pushup x 5 x 5
Renegade Row: 100lbs x 8/8 x 5

32kg swing x 10/10 x 4

RKC Snatch Test-Revisited.

There are a number of reasons I don't like to do the snatch test. Ok well maybe just one: It's hard. 100 reps with a 55lber in 5:00 is a good measure of fitness. I didn't feel like running sprints today or having to drive just to get a workout. So I came back to my nemesis. I keep a pair of 24kg KB's at home for instances were I don't feel like going out, and believe me, a pair of 24kg bells is plenty for ANYONE to get a good workout. Of course just getting a good workout is not the main goal, but you can accomplish a lot with just that pair of bells. I needed conditioning work, so, enter the snatch test.

The past times I've done it to re-certify and there was no real pressure, I can finish at a slow pace and still make 100 reps in 5:00. Today I wanted to instead see just how fast I could make my 100 reps. So I went as fast as I possibly could.
So I almost killed myself without slowing down and finished in about 3:30. Which, let me tell you, is fast.

The point is, practice is important, but being a well rounded athlete with a complete program will really give you an edge no matter WHAT your endeavor happens to be. I attribute this fast time to my training which is well rounded giving me the strength to move the 24kg quickly, and the conditioning to do so at a constant (fast) pace.
What does your training do for you?

Training update for the week.

Tuesday I hit some sprints and a lot of agility training. Changing direction at speed, and being able to move freely is a very undervalued skill today but is great for overall "fitness."

Wednesday was supposed to be a pretty heavy training day, but that didn't happen. I ended up doing a lot of get-ups, windmills, hip complexes, stretching, z drills, handstands and swings. Hit the heavy bag afterward for a while. This is a great example of listening to your body. This isn't carte blanche to start slacking off and being a sissy, but you should try to train smart. I decided it was a good idea to push the training back a day rather than push my body to do something it wasn't readily willing to do.

Today:
Double Snatch+Press: 32kg x 5+3 x 5 (snatches were easy, presses were more challenging, possibly from the handstands yesterday)

Pullup: 20lbs x 10 x 5
Cossack Squat: 60lbs x 5/5 x 5

Ring Pushup: 20lbs x 15 x 3
Sled Power Pull: 200lbs x 10 pulls x 3 sets

Aaaaaand Done!