This was a good week in many ways, although it was pretty discouraging to find out that I (probably) have high blood pressure. Having said that it could be a blessing in disguise as it has really galvanised me to get leaner and fitter. I am excited to get back into kettlebell training and I’m already feeling the effects in my lower/mid traps and hamstrings.
Plan
Going forward I intend to run Simple and Sinister for the foreseeable future. I have previously followed this routine for a prolonged period and made huge gains in “functional strength” but lost upper body size. Last time I had three issues - a stiff neck, tight glutes and occasional knee pain during the get-ups. I think the neck stiffness stemmed from incorrect swing technique (not packing the shoulder properly) and the glute tightness was because I neglected the prescribed warm-up and stretches. For the knee pain I’m going to ensure that I always wear my knee sleeves and make an effort to keep my lead foot in front of the knee. I’m going to start each session with a row and finish it with something extra (usually either pull-ups or more conditioning). Bodyweight wise I will continue dropping down to around the 90kg mark. I’m not sure exactly where I want to end up, but I think it would be a good challenge to drop into the high 80s, at least temporarily before settling in the low 90s.
Initially the swings felt surprisingly heavy but I soon got into a rhythm. I think 32kg is a good weight for get-ups just now - if I go heavier it gets quite sloppy.
Good get-ups! I bought a home blood pressure monitor and it looks like that was all a false alarm, which is awesome. 117/68mmHg today, with a heart rate of 58bpm. Similar result yesterday. That’s a huge relief.
I felt very tired today for some reason. The kettlebell stuff moved well with the exception of my first attempt at a left handed 40kg get-up, which I had to abort. The second attempt was strong though. The rowing machine was being used, so I didn’t row.
I was very happy that I managed single handed swings with 48kg, which I’ve never done before. I also did a 48kg get-up with my right hand, but didn’t attempt my left for fear of cracking my head like an egg. The conditioning circuit was very tough, but then I ate way too much so did a late night run to compensate.
This has been a pretty good week. I’m especially happy with the heavy kettlebell stuff on Thursday. My bodyweight is continuing to drop, very slowly but steadily.
I was out all day yesterday and ate a lot, so I’m on a 24 hour fast just now (7pm-7pm) and it’s going reasonably well. I felt a bit sluggish at the gym but got through everything ok. That’s the first time I’ve ever managed 10 reps of single handed swings with a 48kg kettlebell. They are tough on everything, but my grip seems to be the weakest link in the chain.
I felt pretty weak going into this session, but that’s the first time I’ve managed all swings with 32kg within 5 minutes. If I did the get-ups within 10 minutes (not sure, didn’t time it) then I’ve reached the “simple” goal. I’ll have to time it properly next session.
Great session today - I timed the kettlebell stuff and pretty handily achieved the “simple” goal (all swings within 5 minutes and all get-ups within 10 minutes). My real goal however is to do this with the 48kg kettlebell (“sinister”). My approach of training the get-ups heavy but with long rest periods seems to be effective - I wondered if I would struggle with conditioning.
My bodyweight jumped up at the start of the week and has slowly dropped back down. I’m not really sure why. Very happy with how the kettlebell stuff is going.
Fairly good session today. I wasn’t paying attention to the timer on the rowing machine so I’m not sure of the exact time, but it was definitely under 3:50. The swings felt good, but the get-ups were a little shaky.
@MarkKO - Ah I didn’t think of that, that’s probably what has happened. Thanks!
I strained my right mid-trap yesterday, and it has been really bugging me since. It felt ok during the row and kettlebell stuff but the pull-ups were very uncomfortable. Just needs a bit of time.
This was rough. I’ve been on nightshifts and felt weak going into this session, but went for EMOM 40kg swings. Unfortunately I couldn’t sustain it and only managed 3 sets. I took my time with the get-ups and will rest up for the rest of the day. My neck/trap is still very uncomfortable and my hips are beat up.