OK, i've been on here forever, I guess its time to do some sort of a log.

My goals are to pretty much get as strong as possible while i stay somewhere around 195-205 pounds, I'm 6'2". Right now I'm doing a lot of KB Stuff and this may change in time, but probably not for a little while. I just got a 2nd 88 pound KB and I plan to do a Mahler's Aggressive Strength type program with double KB's. I won't be following it to the letter because I do want to work in days of metcon as well. I've also been working out for almost 20 years and I know my body really, really well.

One thing I want to see is what kind of carryover getting strong with KB's will have on my barbell exercises, so far it has carried over immensely. My HPC went from around 205 pounds to over 255 pounds without even doing HPC's. I'll probably hit some box squats once a week as well as ring dips, push ups, pull ups, both weighted and unweighted. I won't exclusively be using KB's.

some of my short and mid term goals(2-6 months):

strength:

double snatch 88's
push press 88's for 10 reps
strict press 88's
floor press 88's for 10 reps or more(for some reason this exercise owns me)
swing an 88 and a 70 for 5 reps to shoulder height with one arm
high pull 2 88's in one hand to shoulder height

metcon:

UST:150 reps with a 70 in 10 minutes
OALC: 75 reps with a 70 in 10 minutes, 50 reps with an 88
LC:80 reps with double 53's in 10 minutes
pass RKC snatch test with a 70(1 rep per kilo of BW in under 5 minutes)

on all of these^^^^ i will be setting the bells down to rest as needed, and switching hands when necessary, not quite up to GS levels at this point.

50 burpees under 3 minutes
25+ rounds of cindy
sub 2 minute grace
sub 4 minute grace with 70's

i think i'll be a baller if i can accomplish even half of those goals.

here are some vids of recent workouts:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQAUw...eature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmMk-...eature=channel

and here is some lifting from today's workout, my first time using the double 88's, i get owned hard:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKNwa...eature=channel

its almost indescribable how heavy/awkward they feel in the rack position for me right now

Looking forward to this. I got my second 70lb yesterday and once my lower back recovers I am going to replace 1 of my barbell workouts with double KB stuff.

Less weird acronyms.

/Bruiserisms

Hey KPC,

Looking forward to this log too.

The dvd I got with my first kettlebell teaches a form like in this vid http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h1Qc...eature=related
Watching your vids, you seem to use much less of a squating motion and do more hinging at the hips. Would you agree with that assessment? Which form do you think is better or is it just a matter of personal preference?

pretty good with the double 88's. I dont have 2 88's but I dont think I could do much with them. Especially snatching them.

I like this log too because I do alot of kettlebell stuff and we are same height and weight.

Neko, I really have no idea which way is better. if you watch girevoy sport guys, they barely bend their legs at all, and they damn sure don't go into any kind of a squat position similar to that chick, but i'm sure they are still generating their power from the hips. I think I generate the most power with the style I use, jumping(which is really what kettlebell and olympic lifting is about) isn't about squatting, its about violent hip extension so going down further into a squat might look better but could be less effective at generating power, which is what i'm concerned about. i've seen really strong people with both styles.

my swings with the double 88's weren't very hot though, definitely need to sit back and get deeper with those. first time using that much weight and it was really all i could do not to fall flat on my face from the momentum of 176 pounds at arms length in front of me.

thanks. Maybe I will try switching it up for a couple workouts to see how it feels.

You look good just cleaning them and you were very close to getting that push press in so looks like you should be getting more comfortable with them pretty quickly.

oh also I think that a goal of floor pressing for 10 reps is a pretty ambitious.

i actually successfully push pressed them for one rep, just didnt get it on cam because i thought it would be a massive fail, and when i tried that rep on cam, i couldnt quite do it. i think i'll be getting 3-5 reps pretty soon.

for some reason floor presses totally own me so yeah it might take a little bit to get 10 reps or more. i can push press 70's for about 12 reps or so, and my floor press is about the same so i imagine that if i get my push press with 88's up to 10 reps or so the floor presses will follow.

GS form is about efficient power, not necessarily the *most* powerful technique, but it is the most effective for higher reps. Squatting down is added movement without much added power.

oalc is one arm long cycle i believe
lc is just long cycle
can't figure out ust but i think its some sort of snatch test

ultimate snatch test

Gross. Thats a top ten time on this site:

http://fitnessyoucanuse.com/SSST.html

wow i didn't know that. i did 115-120 the first(and only) time i tried it, and felt like i could have pushed harder, although i pretty much wanted to die. i talk to a couple of the guys on that list sometimes and i just thought they were really good, didn't know they were the top guys lol, don't feel so bad now.

Yeah, I thought about the CF North sheet on my wall with the 200 reps in 10m of a 24kg bell. If Steve Cotter can only do 250, I'll live.

I will have to try UST.

just wanted to say i'm really looking forward to this log. post more videos kpc!

5/15/09

horrendous workout. i wanted to try to push press the 88's and get it on vid, so after a few warm up sets with the 53's and 70's, 2x3 with each, i gave it a go. epic fail to say the least. my body is still beat up from the workout i did 48 hours ago. should have done a good conditioning workout instead. did 3x5 push press with the 70's and called it a day. i'm going to stick with double 70's for my overhead work for now i guess

also, i don't think i mentioned that i always warm up with MM and cool down with some basic yoga static stretches and foam roll for a few minutes. i have a cryocup and i try to use it as often as possible/needed as well.

i'm going to rest tomorrow and hopefully get a great workout sun or mon

5/17/09

had a chick visiting from out of town this weekend, that was pretty cool. thankfully not much drinking involved.

i did MM and then did this body weight leg workout i learned a few years ago from a trainer in atlanta, but i think its a staley or cosgrove workout:

24 squats
24 walking lunges
12 scissor split squat jumps
12 squat jumps(these are like from a half squat to jumping)

4 rounds with 90 seconds rest after each round. this is a nasty workout. the cool thing is the couple of times i had tried it in years past i don't think i ever did more than 2 or 3 rounds. good, quick leg workout without using any equipment

did some foam rolling and then a contrast shower. hopefully some good heavy kettlebelling later this week

5/18/09

pretty sick workout today. not necessarily in performance, but in effort. legs very sore from last night's bw leg fest.

KB floor press:

1x5x53's(bilateral)
2x5x70's(bilateral)
tried the 88's was able to do 2 reps with the right hand, 1 rep(barely) with the left, did these in an alternating fashion)
1x8x70's(alternating, 8 reps each arm)

Ring Dips:

1x5xBW
2x5xbw+20lb vest
1x10xbw

getting back into the swing of things with these, haven't done them much lately, was really tough after the floor presses. really good depth on the weighted ones, not great depth on the bw sets, for some reason i get a little deeper when i have extra weight, it feels like it pulls me into the groove more. could probably still knock out 15-18 if i was fresh.

Chin ups:

1x10xBW slight natural kip, pretty much a dead hang with a little bit of legs flopping around
2x5x20lb vest, these felt good. i havent done pull ups/chin ups in a few weeks, as my left shoulder has issues, but its getting better and felt great during these sets
1x2xbackpack with 70lb KB inside, got 1 really good rep, the 2nd one was a maybe. i just want to be able to get one rep with a 106lb KB sometime soon, would have been easier if i had a dip belt, backpack probably hates me now.

Renegade Rows:
1x5x70's(each arm)
2x5x88's, really tough and challenging

One arm rows:
1x5x106(2 53's in 1 hand) ezpz
2x5x140(2 70's in 1 hand) pretty tough, tried to make an effort to keep torso parallel to floor as much as possible, felt good

Farmer's Walk:
2x up the drive way and back down with 1 70 and 1 53 in each hand

made a vid, will post later

vid of some of my 05/18/09 workout:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls-EZ167yrM

I do an abbreviated version of this as a warmup sometimes (10/10/10/5 of the exercises) and I can vouch for its evilness. It looks deceptively quick and easy but by the time you get to those damn squat jumps your quads are screaming.

Sick grip on the fwalk

glad to see you finally doing a log, will be keeping up on your progress and copying stuff

5/20/09

heavy pulling day, short but intense workout, set some new PR's

KB swing(all 1 arm today)
53x5L+5R
70x5L+5R
106(2x53)x3L+3R
140(2x70)x6R
140(2x70)x4R(felt a little twinge in my lower abs so i cut it short at 4 reps)

KB high pull
140x5R
140x5L
176x3R, decided not to even try this weight with left hand yet

did a couple 1 arm push jerks with 2 53's in my right hand, easy to push to lockout, very hard to not have them come crashing down, as the bruise on my left foot can attest to. things like this are impressive but borderline circus tricks, its one thing to pull a couple KBs in one hand, quite another to try to balance them on one another and have them over your head, prolly pretty bad usage of the risk vs reward principle.

finished with 8xdouble 88 cleans, the old fashioned one in each hand way. i was toast by the time i got to these.

short but very good workout, esp considering i'm still kinda beat up from the last two workouts.

vid here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn6t2...e=channel_page

those high pulls seem like a good way to rip your shoulder out of socket, I am terrified of even trying