1/26/23 Journaling – “It’s Arrived” – Kettlebell Day Zero :

shoveling

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25, 15

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shoveling

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I have to thank my dad for moving us to New England as a child for I had to shovel snow which built a good working base, gym, and labor.

Sometimes I wonder if people I’ve crossed paths with in New England at the gym either :

1. Never shoveled snow.
2. Always view it as a struggle.

It’s an hour long process to get the mail, clean off my car, clean The Cold Air Barbell Club, and get to lifting.

The kettlebell arrived today…

Couldn’t not clean up the gym so as to play…

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Wow, it feels heavier than I expected!

I’d been so antsy waiting for it’s arrival – time to test!

Lift :

Bottoms Up Press

Right
fail catch
fail ½ press
fail ½ press
Press (could’ve been controlled at lockout better)
Press (controlled at top, almost perfect negative – less control at final rep than desired, a perfect rep would’ve had control there too)

Left
fail ½ press
fail ⅔ press
set of 5 cleans to rack ish (first was fail to catch well enough, so did hang cleans

It’s going to take some work to steady the 32kg enough to add plates to it for heavier bottoms up presses

Bottoms Up Cleans 1st From Ground, Reps From Hang
strong x 5
weak x 5

this can be used for and focused on catching in solid rack

done shirtless, slight wind, ~40°, slight wind, done shirtless – ie channeling my inner russian, and craving… борщ (borscht), I have a small salad with beats that I’ll probably eat tonight.

Swings
7l, 7r

got me huffing and puffing
perfect – glutes, wind, fat loss in a streamlined logistical package

Off Center Front Squats
7l, 7r, 5l, 5r
had to use both hands to hold in front rack, will have to work on EVERYTHING – rack needs more strength:) which genuinely gladdens me – I see how the upper back will strengthen progressing to being able to off center front squat with the bell in rack

Very high muscular activation, squeezing at the top – perfect, exactly what I was looking for

Neck Harness
sort of – too heavy for training, wasn’t reaching lockout without hand assistance – drop to 20 or 25lbd and add movement in regularly

One Arm Row
15l, 15r

hadn’t touched a kettlebell since a one off in November 2021 – still could right hand bottoms up press, and though a fail I’d call the left hand presses lost going up as a PR – I don’t recall ever being able to come close to pressing it that side

I can already tell this is going to REALLY build core strength, I bet my biceps will get bigger/stronger via the “what the hell” effect, and this bell was purchased to swing – for glutes, which I can tell will train well with this.

32kg, worth the $112 I payed for it from titan. I’ve got a training tool/toy for life, while now I can definitely say the kettlebell really does build a strength worth more than it’s marked weight.

I get to run with this tool/toy, milk it for all it’s worth.

I’ve already realized that via rope/chain and plates I can add weight for side presses, rows.

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•24oz apple juice

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shoveling again

Shoveling builds the strength a man needs to wrestle, box – again thank you dad.

shoveling & kettlebell – a solid combination

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•breaded chicken

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forgot to take out the db and therefore did not see saw press, “gorilla clean”, or any two bell lift combination

I also did not try “lateral raise” swings which sound fun to me, applying force to the side – something I’ve only goofed around with while using a small bell

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•12oz milk

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I had a bunch of kettlebell related internet tabs open…and realized “I’m not going to read here – I’m doing”.

I’ve read kettlebell content in the past, so I’m not entirely blank slate here, but with the idea “no book knowledge means no preconceived limitation” I’ll be running this kettlebell thing without anymore reading on the subject, so as to be as close to blank slate/no preconceived notions as possible.

I intend this as a body transformation tool.

At this point I expect no changes to how I eat, but that could change – tilapia is clean, and is still a craving on my palette, tuna & water sounds a fun experiment.

Basically I’m, in a small step with this bell, being both open to possibility, and am doing something new.

Most will be figured out as I go.

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Years back, I had a gym floor acquittance, a guy in his early 40s, in good shape, with a fairly large frame, and kinda bro personality – he’d train in his high school basketball tshirt which told me he graduated the year I was born, was surprised I had no idea who his daughter was (two years younger than me – we’d never crossed paths in school), but at 6’2″, an in shape 215, again his early 40s, he’d regularly end workouts with “kip up” for reps, like 3×8 between abs and stretching.

I recently spoke about this with my father, he knew what they were, and was like “I did those in high school pe class – the gymnastics portion”, and I then pictured a lanky 6’2″ probably 155lb teenage version of my father doing them in class, and think to myself “cool”, and “man has school gotten soft – my dad did both gymnastics and wrestling in pe class while I had to go out for the wrestling team, and really figure all the physical stuff out for myself – there wasn’t effective guidance at school”.

The jujimufu “100 backflips” thing was awesome. I’ve still never done one, and doing them for reps is the type of primally strong we are looking for.

The off center stuff with the kettlebell is a weight version of that primally strong were looking for.

I’d like to be smashing “gorilla calisthenics” (human weighted calisthenics) volume – but I’m training alone.

A sandbag would kinda be that, and other, stimulus.

The kettlebell will be primary, maybe exclusive, lifting for a time – say a month and change.

Rebuilding the sandbag may the the primary, maybe exclusive, lifting for, say march of this year.

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In contrast to the “not reading on kettlebells” I still had a bunch of tabs open – dan john on armor building rings true, and “the exercise” as well as fat grips curls are things I may do as well as kettlebell work for the time, and again eric bugenhagen popped up…

He could be the human norm. Nothing he does is impossible. Go mad in your training.

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•½pb, b, cheese, & j sandwich
•brownie
•milk

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20

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Still, without a gym to go to, it’s a fight to watch shit or not. Late night I may watch Scooby Doo or something as I eat again.

It’s times like this, though I’m not going outside now, that I purchased the kettlebell to swing during.

A kettlebell swing doesn’t make the noise deadlifting does – it’s fine in the yard during weird hours.

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•½pb, b, cheese, & j sandwich
•brownie
•milk

watched some shit with it, not Scooby Doo after all lol – I’m not stressing watching little bits of stuff anymore, just compulsively writing down when I do lol

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25

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25

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Persistence & Tenacity