11/18/23
The food started just after midnight, an egg sandwich with a couple slices of bacon – real small, but food in me early.
Having slept all of ninety minutes yesterday, having surprised myself by being up still – I went to bed after midnight, and barely woke up before an 1130am alarm.
I slept almost unbroken for about ten hours.
Woke up tired, my forearms sore (maybe the clean attempts the other night, maybe the kettlebell work the past few days), and really had to coax myself into continuing any form of press every day.
I got creative ;
Day 28
“Introducing The See Saw Z Press”
if you can forget the clean THIS is the ultimate press variant
↑ quite the easy movement on the body, bodybuilding/strongman hybrid “powerbuilding” movement
…..
I have a hankering to purchase more kettlebells.
Now, while I could join the local powerlifting gym, I’m not too inclined to do so despite the fact it’d be easier setup/breakdown, no snow interference, a place to squat heavy and condition on 24/7 flat ground, and get me out of the house (that probably the biggest).
I think to myself “money every month to someone else” or “pay once – own for life”, and liking fresh air weightlifting I’m inclined to spend the money that could be a few months dues instead on kettlebells.
It surprises me ; I am getting more into kettlebells.
While it hasn’t been a year that I’ve had them, and I surely would not say that I’ve maximized their use…
I could see myself finding the space and either running it as a small private gym or as a personal training studio – kettlebell centric.
That’d be reason to have access to a full line of double bells, whereas financially, and being willing to mismatch pairs on my own lifts, I can justify to myself the purchase of a 40kg bell (call it a christmas present to me), should have a bell or two between my 20kg and 32kg, but can’t really justify even that, while I’d like to a medium degree to have a 24kg, 28kg, and 36kg as well should I purchase the 40kg.
Simply it’s a balance of a few factors ; cost, clean and press ability (the main physical driver) and safety/training effect on the snatch (the secondary physical driver).
I’m mentally tiring somewhat of press every day, the setup/breakdown of a barbell moreso than anything.
I’ll continue overhead press every day – probably in a more off camera training capacity, see saw presses both standing and z press, one arm presses ditto, and feel excitement at the idea of ONLY using a 40kg bell for lots and lots of work capacity driving clean and press work.
The kettlebell shines for building strength including high levels of conditioning/work capacity.
With a more challenging press weight I’d be far more inclined to spend the time at it.
A 40kg for now, heavier another time when I’ve trained more into it.
You’re not gonna be a weak individual doing lots of one arm presses with a 40kg bell, while lots of cleans and front squats is a work capacity driver.
Simply I see myself working harder at what I must with a 40kg bell than with the 32 I currently own as heaviest kettlebell.
…..
An early dinner and some yard work.
I felt stuffed from a thick pea soup, lots of ham, some breakfast sausage, parmesan cheese, plenty of crackers, a few cookies, and honestly probably again too much coffee milk.
That’s like three days in a row of me being a little caffeine addict.
It’d be hilarious if coffee milk isn’t caffeinated, and I don’t sleep purely from placebo in association with the taste.
Whatever.
…..
I’m pretty excited to get to thirty days, show that it took me from 2×205 on a good day, 1×205 almost any time, to doubling 225lbs, hitting 205lbs for 5, FINALLY hit 10 reps with 185lbs stuck for years at 7 or 8 reps, and coming close to a 255 clean on surprisingly little clean work – and making this a video…
Then transition to kettlebell for the winter.
It’s just simpler than barbell work in wintertime, and hilariously aims me towards leaning out…in winter…just like high school wrestling did.
…..
After dark, about 6 to 630pm, I did kettlebell and bodyweight – tonight leisurely, a few burpees, kettlebell snatches, and lunges in reps of 3, real easy.
It felt great, and the final thing I did was turkish get ups, 10:00 emom alternating sides, with the same 20kg bell as the oas.
Fun to play with, while a minute period can actually be eaten up almost entirely with one up and down as I was taking my time, being deliberate.
I realized you can train certain stages, and use variety in the exact form from a to b as a way to vary between perfect form, training effect, and going for heavy singles.
One hand planted, bent leg foot planted, the transition for here to the bottom of a lunge – a lot of options here as described in the paragraph above.
Honestly, I’d like to get this to where I can tgu people.
And I view it as possible.
Also something I could do as a form of easy, longer, conditioning – just set a timer, be real deliberate on the harder stages, and continuously go up and down til the timer sounds.
…..
A funny gym floor memory :
Two guys, probably early thirties, and coworkers probably, one more fit (stocky, 5’8″), the other a scrawny unfit office type…
They were using a 30ish lb kettlebell, doing turkish get ups with emphasis on overly perfect form…making it like it was challenging.
They probably commented on my calisthenic ability, asked if I ever did kettlebells…
I recall saying the tgu is easy, they were both taken aback…”why don’t you do one if they’re so easy”.
“Okay, where’s the heaviest bell.”
The skinny one, who really was that uncoordinated as to truly be struggling, he found the 30 or 35lber whatever the heaviest one was there, and I did a rep.
They were in SHOCK that it just wasn’t hard for me.
This popped into my mind as I put my 20kg bell away, laughing at 10:00 EMOM, actually paying attention to proper form/crisp transitions now that I actually felt like doing the tgu compared to that night doing one rep with an “ooohh scary” 30 or 35lber.
Heavier tonight, still not a thing.
Kinda a thing with the 32+16=48kg turkish get up.
I can push this a long way 🙂
…..
Then I meditated, some just sitting and breathing, some standing while flexing glutes – standing like a tree – chi kung like, some rotational stretching thinking discus, some flexing through the range of motion of shot put power position.
Wes Watson audio on for an hour.
Funny, two to four years ago I was listening to his channel, thinking my circumstances – that I couldn’t make it.
I hadn’t listened to him much the past year or two.
Now, I listen a little, and notice – I’m no longer thinking obstacles are insurmountable…I now see that I’ll make it.
…..
A big late dinner ; a large bowl of pasta and cheese, a big glass of milk, and some crackers and french onion dip.
…..
Not training related, but again I bic’d my scalp.
Twice a week seems the proper rate for keeping a shaved head.
I actually find the act meditative, relaxing, calming.
Okay, it’s almost midnight, gotta finish drying off, and will do a few more pushups, grab my credit card…