Jan 21 2010 - Double-Under Trouble 2

Oly Practice (all reps w/25kg)

Snatch DL 3 sets of 5 reps

Snatch Jump 3 sets of 3 reps

Snatch Pull 10 sets of 3 reps

GB WOD

25 Hip Bridges (155#)

DL 225#x5, 255#x3, 285#x10 reps

AQAP 5 rounds:

. 15 KB Swings (53#)

. 20 Box Jumps (24")

. 25 Double-unders

Loved the deadlifting, as usual. Overall, the metcon went well, I finished in 14:01. The double-unders, however, gave me fits. I alternate singles and doubles, since I haven't practiced enough to string two doubles in a row. I was able to count my misses on my arm tonight. 19 stripes of shame. (To see the whole arm click the pic.)

Jan 01 2010 - New Year, New Order of Magnitude

OK, so I haven't made a huge jump since the last workout, just the usual 2kg increase. But I've passed the 100 kilogram mark. It's not magic. It's only a nice, round number because I've been using kilograms the past couple months. But I'm a lot stronger than I used to be, and I'm happy about it.

Looking back through my training logs, I see that two months ago 95kg was my 1 rep max, and now I'm doing 101kg for reps. A year ago I had no idea what my 1RM squat was - I'd just returned from a month in Australia and two weeks of franticly moving my belongings across the country and catching up with family. Training wasn't a priority.

It doesn't have to be around the new year, but it's a good idea to take some time to look at one's training in longer spans than the current week or cycle. A bit of review lends perspective, allows one to appreciate how long progress can take, and celebrate aspects of improvement.

When asked about the intensity of his training, Greg Lemond once said "It never gets any easier, you just go faster." It's the same with weight training. It doesn't magically become easy, but the way we keep progressing is by pushing beyond comfort. Because it's always difficult, we can get discouraged. Keeping track of workouts in a log or journal lets us see how far we've come.

So keep a training log. Record your workouts. Once in a while, look back and celebrate the progress you've made. Have a safe and happy new year!

Strength
Squat 3 sets of 5 reps (101kg)

Conditioning
5 rounds for time
1 Round =
. 4x20m shuttle run
. 8 Kettlebell Swings (24kg)
. 16 Pushups
. 60 sec Rest

Happy with the squats. Pressed only 4 reps at 49kg. Scrapped it and moved on to conditioning for time management & mental health purposes. Conditioning rounds took from 52 to 56 seconds. Fast, fun workout.

DEC 20 2009 - Travel Workout

We were on the road for the holidays, so I made up a kettlebell workout. The heavy lifting will have to wait until I get near a gym.

Conditioning
As Many Rounds As Possible in 15 minutes:
1 Round =
. 2 KB Thrusters (1 per arm)
. 5 KB Swings
. 4 KB Thrusters (2 per arm)
. 10 KB Swings
. 6 KB Thrusters (3 per arm)
. 15 KB Swings

I used a 24 kg kettlebell, which felt very heavy. I spent more time catching my breath than I would have liked, but it was probably good for me. I finished 3 complete rounds and got all of the fourth except the last 15 swings.

I spent yesterday driving, and I'll do the same tomorrow, so it was great to have a workout. If you're travelling by car a kettlebell or dumbbell is a handy impromptu workout tool. Bring it along. For a wide variety of workout options google "kettlebell complex" for a host of different workout schemes. My travel kit consists of a kettlebell, rings, a jumprope, and a programmable timer.