Tag: RKC

R5D35/37 – Medium Day / Rest Day/ More Variety

Medium day again for Wednesday which is getting better and the 50 swings, although still disconcerting, are getting done. 8 minutes worth this time. We also added an extra ladder, so we are at 4.

C&P left 1
C&P right 1
Pull Up 1
C&P left 2
C&P right 2
Pull Up 2
C&P left 3
C&P right 3
Pull Up 3
The pullups have gone from 5 to the Rx number simply because I am doing strict to the chest pull ups not the beat-n-cheat kind.

Rest 1-2 min repeat another 3x for a total of 4 ladders.

50 swings with 20 seconds rest between sets for a total of 8 minutes.

Thursday I decided to take as rest day, I had to be at coaching early and since I know on Friday I will be home early with plenty of time before my 6pm coaching gig it made sense to take Thursday off and use Friday as my variety day.

chest_musclesVariety this time is a bench day for me but I think this time I will work a light (225lb) bench into the following WOD:

For time:

  • 20 Bench chest extension (70lb KB)
  • 30 bench press (205lb)
  • 40 Abmat sit-ups
  • 50 squats
  • 20 bench press (255lb)
  • 50 squats
  • 40 Abmat sit-ups
  • 30 bench press (205lb)
  • 20 Bench chest extension (70lb KB)

Some people may say that the laying chest extension is actually a lat exercise and to a degree they are correct, the lats and pecs are involved with the movement which qualifies it for Crossfit almost perfectly.

R5D33/34 RKC ROP Week 2 – What Variety Means To Me

Day 1 - Time To Wipe That Smile Off Your Face

Monday is light day and until I get to the 5 ladder stage, each day will continue to look and feel about the same. Other than the fact that on Mondays I have to do snatches which still scare the crap out of me with a 45lb KB, Mondays are pretty easy. I mistakenly thought Tuesday was a day off, forgetting that Friday and Sunday are rest days and so I had to quickly find something to do. Luckily I have a couple of workouts in reserve all the time so I can jump to something if I need to. The following was within my digital reach when it was time to go:

The double under sandwich for time:

  • 50 double-unders
  • 21 wall ball shots (20-pound ball, 10-foot-high target)
  • 21 hang cleans (95-pound barbell)
  • 21 Abmat sit-ups
  • 15 wall ball shots (20-pound ball, 10-foot-high target)
  • 15 hang cleans (95-pound barbell)
  • 15 Abmat sit-ups
  • 9 wall ball shots (20-pound ball, 10-foot-high target)
  • 9 hang cleans (95-pound barbell)
  • 9 Abmat sit-ups
  • 50 double-unders

Since it is not warm enough to go outside and do wall ball and I don’t have a skip rope:

The burpee sandwich for time (yes, sandwiches used to make me burpy!):

  • 25 burpees
  • 21 strict press (95-pound barbell)
  • 21 hang cleans (95-pound barbell)
  • 21 Abmat sit-ups
  • 15 strict press (95-pound barbell)
  • 15 hang cleans (95-pound barbell)
  • 15 Abmat sit-ups
  • 9 strict press (95-pound barbell)
  • 9 hang cleans (95-pound barbell)
  • 9 Abmat sit-ups
  • 25 burpees

Total time 18  minutes and if I had a bucket I might have thrown up into it. Doing the reverse system is not for the faint of heart I can tell you and since I was raised on pyramid sets rising to a low rep 70-90% max this was brutal. I was actually quite impressed that I managed to do all 50 burpees since they are something of a challenge for me even with my weight loss, even with my increased flexibility they are still not an easy thing for me to do. In fact, let me just say that if you ever want to feel like your weight loss (if that is what you are going for) isn’t working, try a few burpees, you will feel like  you are on Day 1 at the Biggest Loser Campus.

Next time I need to grab something quick I am thinking of this. However, since I do so much KB work, I may sub the KB swings for hang cleans or strict presses:

For time:

  • 20 burpees
  • 30 overhead kettlebell swings (53 pounds)
  • 40 Abmat sit-ups
  • 50 squats
  • 60 double-unders
  • 50 squats
  • 40 Abmat sit-ups
  • 30 overhead kettlebell swings (53 pounds)
  • 20 burpees

R5D32 – RKC Heavy Day (Followed by a day of CPR re-cert)

Still looks the same as medium and light day but that will change. Plus I did one of the 3 ladders with a 70lbKB

C&P left 1
C&P right 1
Pull Up 5
C&P left 2
C&P right 2
Pull Up 5
C&P left 3
C&P right 3
Pull Up 5
Rest 1-2 min repeat another 2x for a total of 3 ladders.
I skipped the pull ups. I did a few sets after the fact, the stairs were killing my timing.

Second part was a little easier, the dice roll came up 6 so for 6 minutes I did this:

45lb KB Swings, 50 reps
Rest 10 seconds, repeat. 50 swings are still the killer for me. My mind starts to wander and I start to second guess myself. Hopefully I will get over that, it’s annoying.

Sunday was CPR recertification day at Evolution. It was fun, but long and not very much activity.

R5D31 – Medium Day, Coaching and The Biggest Loser

Today was tough, probably because I was supposed to have a day between the two RKC days and I was still a little sore after the snatches yesterday. This is what happened:

C&P left 1
C&P right 1
Pull Up 5
C&P left 2
C&P right 2
Pull Up 5
C&P left 3
C&P right 3
Pull Up 5
Rest 1-2 min repeat another 2x for a total of 3 ladders.

Again I chose to do 5 pullups each time for a total of 45 pullups.

Second part was a little easier, the dice roll came up 6 so for 6 minutes I did this:

45lb KB Swings, 25 reps
Rest 10 seconds, repeat. Ten seconds is not enough rest time, my bpm went up and kept rising with every set. Thankfully it was only 6 minutes.

Uneven-Bars

It was a tough but fairly short workout, and I needed to finish quick to get to coaching. On the coaching front, I have finally been transitioned into the full time coach for the competitive girls. This is awesome news and once again I will be back doing what I really love to do. There are going to be plenty of challenges with the group not least of all will be returning to my old club for one of the competitions. However, I am totally up for it and am so excited to be back coaching competitive gymnastics again!

The other health and fitness news is that tomorrow we start the Biggest Loser again at my workplace. This will be the 6th time I have run the contest for our department and so far with 7 of us participating there is $350 up for grabs. The contest is 3 months, based on percentage weight lost and includes monthly prizes and a grand prize. It has been well received in the past and this time, although attendance is down a little, I hope to see some healthy weight loss for everyone involved. I am participating, I hope to see my weight down around the 240 mark or less, seeing 230 something on the scale would be pretty amazing to be honest. With the Paleo diet, I need to learn how to manage what I eat to control my lean levels so that I can accurately control what my body is doing. For so many years eating grains it was a crapshoot, not necessarily knowing what was going to work or not work with my weight. Now with the Paleo diet, those peaks and valleys are gone, my temperament, cravings, hunger are all completely under control and so now I need to learn how to manage my weight with predictability within the new lifestyle. It’s tough having to relearn everything, but then again, at least now I know I am operating within nutritional truth.

Clarity Of Planning – My Future With Russian Kettlebell Challenge

Old Plan:

Day 1 – Monday – P90X Plyo or Insanity Cardio Plyo
Day 2 – Tuesday – RKC 50 Swings
Day 3 – Wednesday – RKC TGU plus Clean, C&P, Snatch practice
Day 4 – Thursday – P90X Kenpo or Insanity Pure Cardio
Day5 – Friday – RKC 50
Day 6 – Saturday – Same as Wednesday
Day 7 – Sunday – Fountain Of Youth Yoga or Yoga X

New Plan for rest week:

Day 1 – Monday – P90X Plyo or Insanity Cardio Plyo – DONE
Day 2 – Tuesday – RKC 50 Swings – DONE
Day 3 – Wednesday – RKC TGU plus Clean, C&P, Snatch practice
Day 4 – Thursday – P90X Kenpo or Insanity Pure Cardio
Day5 – Friday – RKC Man Maker ROP Practice (Presses and Pullups)
Day 6 – Saturday – Same as Wednesday
Day 7 – Sunday – Fountain Of Youth Yoga or Yoga X

After rest week start the Rite Of Passage:

Monday — Light presses, pull ups
Tuesday — Variety Day – WOD
Wednesday — Medium presses, pull ups
Thursday — Variety Day – Bench Day
Friday — Off
Saturday — Heavy presses, pull ups
Sunday — Off

R5D28 – RKC Minimum Done! Here’s What’s Next In RKC

riteofpassageThis is officially my last day of RKC swings, I am about to step into the “Man Maker” also called the Rite Of Passage. This is a bit of a relief, since I am anxious to start doing more complex and challenging moves. Although I am still, even now, aware of my form when I do the swings and not at the point where they are 100% natural feeling. The next phase seems complicated and it meshes 2 things together. First is the ladder concept of doing increasing reps and the second is the notion of light days, heavy days and medium days. If you read ETK it goes over the process in detail and I would recommend both the ETK itself and also the excellent Art Of Strength workbook. I am at a true crossroads at the moment, I am in a kind of rest week, but the RKC demands I move on. Not only that, I will be working out on the road in the very near future which will be an added challenge. In any case, it’s time, so it’s time.

So I move on, Comrade, still sticking with 4 days a week and adding pull ups as part of the RKC instead of having to work it into the Crossfit days. When the schedule mentions “pulls” I am going to use pull ups as the exercise of choice.  The Heavy Light Medium thing goes like this:

Monday — Heavy presses, pulls
Tuesday — Off
Wednesday — Light presses, pulls
Thursday — Variety
Friday — Medium presses, pulls
Saturday — Variety
Sunday — Off

With 2 days off out of 7 it is a demanding schedule if you are going to add either P90X, Insanity or Crossfit workouts into the “Variety” section where you are able to do whatever you choose. So, what about the ladder? Well, it is pretty simple actually, and it looks like this:

3 Rung Ladder:

1 rep each arm
1 pullup
2 reps each arm
2 pullups
3 reps each arm
3 pullups

Depending on how many ladders you are doing it comes out to a total of 6 reps per arm x number of ladders. 3 ladders = 18 reps per arm.

5 Rung Ladder (the highest ladder)

1 rep each arm
1 pullup
2 reps each arm
2 pullups
3 reps each arm
3 pullups
4 reps each arm
4 pullups
5 reps each arm
5 pullups

Again, it’s a total of 15 reps x number of ladders.

So, quickly, back to the Heavy Medium and Light. Pavel says that the Heavy day you do all 5 rungs, medium days you do 4 and light days 3. So once you are through the first 2 weeks and up to 5 rungs, you should then adhere to the schedule.

But wait, there is more… you didn’t think you were going to get away from swings did you? The final component of the ROP is to complete swings every day. The number is up to a roll of the dice.Literally. You roll a dice to tell you how many minutes of swings to do, anywhere from 2 to 12! Also, the program calls for both two handed and one handed swings, so you may want to start practicing your one arm swing now…

R5D25-6 RKC, Breakfast Of Champions, Partial Rest Week.

eat_more_fishFriday I was still recovering from the swings and so I decided to bust out a lighter KB and do some TGU. I did 5 a side with the 25lb KB and then, since I was feeling adventurous, I did another 3 a side with the 45. I remembered I had weaseled out of the cleans and C&P the day before so again I set my sights on doing something extra. I did 5 Clean, 5 Clean and Press and 5 snatches with each arm with both the 25lb and 45lb KB. The snatch with the 45 was, if I am honest, borderline dangerous but I think with the 25 I am getting the hang of it.

Saturday I ended up doing around 30 minutes on the treadmill in the morning to try and stop my back from aching which worked out fine. I was supposed to do deadlifts and so I set up the 25, 45 and 70lb behemoth and decided I would do 3 tabata sequences (12 minutes total) deadlifting each KB with a high pull (or upright row) after each DL. The 25 was easy, although seemed longer than 8 sets. The 45 was a challenge and since I was still doing a high pull with each one, it was very taxing and my shoulders were on fire. The 70 just sat there like a fat pug smiling at me struggling with the 45 but out of sheer determination I gave it a shot anyway, it was only 70lbs, right? The High pull didn’t last long, I think I made it through one of the 8 sets. By the time the last set came around I was wheezing like an asthmatic goat and begging for someone to kill Tabata, whoever he is.

Sunday we went out to breakfast with an old friend from work with whom we had worked a few years ago to get her weight down. She brought her charming fiancé and while we caught up on old news the conversation inevitably turned to weight loss. Now I am not a preacher by any means but if someone is asking for advice I am happy to help. I tried in vain to explain my Paleo findings from the last 6 months to them but in the end it all started sounding a little too Conspiracy Theory. I often say that I wouldn’t necessarily recommend that people do what I do but I do encourage people to follow a similar path and to do their own research. The conversation was an eye opener for them, and I think a good opportunity for me to sort out in my own head where I am with my diet and exercise. Maintaining this blog has been a way for me to monitor my progress, attempt to safeguard me from being too extreme and to keep up with recent discoveries in the world of fitness and nutrition but also it gives me the opportunity to help other people to start discovering their own potential. By potential, I don’t mean physical potential, I am talking about the potential to take control of their lives by erasing everything they know and starting over from a new place.

Starting over is never easy, in fact, making small adjustments is never easy and with that in mind I am going to shake up my life a little by entering into a 7 day rest week. I am going to maintain my RKC swings and other lifts but I think a sprinkling of P90X and Insanity may do me the world of good as a break. I am already on a fish kick to restart my weight loss, since I discovered the real reason for my plateau this weekend during our breakfast. “I’m happy where I am” I admitted. I am comfortable with my weight and my abilities at this point, but I think I may be even happier further down the road. So I am revamping things a little in order to get the engine started again.

So here goes:

Day 1 – Monday – P90X  Plyo or Insanity Cardio Plyo
Day 2 – Tuesday – RKC 50 Swings
Day 3 – Wednesday – RKC TGU plus Clean, C&P, Snatch practice
Day 4 – Thursday – P90X Kenpo or Insanity Pure Cardio
Day5 – Friday – RKC 50
Day 6 – Saturday – Same as Wednesday
Day 7 – Sunday – Fountain Of Youth Yoga or Yoga X

Plus… More fish! (But not less bacon…shhhh!)

R5D24 – 50 Swings, 25 Cleans, 25 Clean And Press (or not)

RKCEagleThat about covers it. The swings that are supposed to last 12 minutes are overflowing into 15 or more. I keep wanting to keep the number of sets up, I did 3 sets of 40 swings last time and wanted to aim for 3 sets of 50 this time. It’s not the total that is the problem here, it is the fact that my heart is trying to escape from my chest once I am done. Next week (maybe after a P90X/Insanity rest week) it’s the ladder. I know nothing about it, but I have a feeling I am not going to enjoy it!

So I was wiped out by the swings, only remembering after that I was supposed to practice my cleans and so on. I figured I would do thet next workout before the TGU since it warms up my shoulders nicely. The 50 swings were a surprise. I was fine up to 30, by 40 I was getting tired but suddenly after 40 my legs started to get wobbly and I had a burning through my whole quads. It was the same for all 3 sets and my heart rate was really high by the time I finished all 3 sets. It was a great accomplishment getting them done but I am not looking forward to doing that again. I was surprised at the work my legs were doing and how my back did not seem to get any more work than usual. Once you are doing 50 swings it gives you a lot of time to scrutinize your form too so I was constantly reminding myself to snap the hips, pull the shoulder, tame the arc!

It’s not exactly a long workout so I don’t really have much else to say about it other than I have really enjoyed getting to this point and I can’t wait to start the next phase of the RKC!

R5D21 – New Bells, New Day, Clean Deck, More Snow

70lbkbOn the way back from Costco today we stopped in at FitnessSource to purchase some new Kettlebells. I needed a slightly lighter one to get my snatch ready, I needed a heavier one to progress to and I wanted to get Nicole one to get her started. We ended up getting a 15lb, a 25lb and a 70lb. The 15 is a cute blue, the 25 the same vinyl dipped black as the 45 I already have and the 70 is pure metal, no frills, just heavy as hell. Apparently 70lbs in the weight that the Russians use as the Rite Of Passage to becoming a man. Once you can snatch a 70lb KB, I guess you can graduate to drinking vodka and growing your own potatoes.

While Nicole went to the gym, I busied myself clearing almost 2 feet of snow off the upper deck. It was just out there, silently bothering me and since the sun was out and we were obviously done with the snow, I decided to clear it off. An hour later, I could BBQ if I wanted to! By the time Nicole got back she told me it was snowing and I should go out and shovel the driveway. WTH?? So as the evening closed in on my decision not to work out, I went out and shoveled the driveway which took about 15 minutes after which I thought since I was already warmed up I may as well do the RKC for the day. So using the 45 I did 3 sets of 40 swings followed by 5 cleans 5 clean and press and 5 snatches per arm. I did the snatches with the 25 since I am not really comfortable with how to get the thing back down once it is overhead. The 70 is still in the hallway where I dropped it once we got back home from the store, silently bothering me…

I want to encourage Nicole to get started with KB work. Her present routine has her doing some KB swings without any formal training or support and zero direction which I find reckless on behalf of her trainers. It’s just as bad as asking someone to go and do deadlifts or squats without training them on proper form first. I am happy it is in the regimen, just disappointed that it has been given no respect. So I will try to encourage her to do part of the RKC, starting with swings and moving up to the other complex moves. I am so taken with the RKC that I think it is the greatest training method I have discovered since I stumbled on P90X for the first time. I know I have knocked it in the past, but for what they are, P90X and Insanity are the greatest tools for anyone, athlete or not, to revitalize your workout, attitude and body! RKC is the same, it opens your eyes to the possibility that there are things out there that can really help to improve your physique and at my age, I am looking for every little bit of help I can get!

Speaking of help, I am inching towards 240 at a rate that is embarrassing. I need to do something about that.

R5D17-19 RKC And Mounting Frustrations

I can’t be the only one who is frustrated and confused by not having to work out 90 minutes a day. I know I should be over it by now but it is frustrating me to no end to occasionally have to work out for only 20 minutes. Last night I did TGU however even with the warmup it was 15 minutes. So I did some one arm swings as well and then some cleans and clean and presses. But it left me thinking that I was taking it too easy on myself. So, I know what you are thinking, “just do more”. Well, I would but I don’t want to jeopardize my other workouts and not only that, but I am thinking (paradoxically) that I am also being too hard on my back. I seem to be doing KB workouts 2 days in a row and then deadlifts and then back to KB again which seems like a lot of back work. However, it may also be that this is the way it should be, train your functional parts the most so they stay functional!

I took Thursday off, a combination of late home, an extra hour of coaching and some soreness from the single arm swings from yesterday. However, I have to quit doing that since I love to take Fridays off to celebrate the end of the week! So now I face having to work out today with quite a sore back and the whole weekend, putting together 3 heavy back days back to back to back. I am seriously thinking about having a rest week featuring 8 days of P90X and Insanity workouts to both break the monotony a little and make me feel like I am keeping up with the Hortons.