kettlebellguy

Archive for November, 2007

Monday
Circuit – Repeat for 5 total sets with 2:30 minute rest between sets
Kettlebell Turkish Get-Up
8 kg – 5
Kettlebell Snatch
24 kg – 18 each …Increase in reps

Friday
Circuit – Repeat for 5 total sets with 2:00 minute rest between sets
Kettlebell Clean and Squat
20 kg – 12
Assisted Neutral Grip Pullups
#14 – 10 reps

Hard workout this morning. The cleans and squats on Friday are always a drain but I made it.

Friday
Circuit – Repeat for 5 total sets with 2:00 minute rest between sets
Kettlebell Clean and Squat
20 kg – 12
Assisted Wide Grip Pullups
#14 – 10 reps

Got my workouts for next week that I will put in another entry. Dave has given me an additional shoulder exercise so I will probably be up to about 20-25 minutes of just shoulder work each morning. Not a problem, just go to the gym earlier.

Speaking of early, I am getting tired, having been up since 2A. Maybe I should just start going to bed at 8, getting up at 2 and just get on with it. That seems to be what my body wants to do.

Exciting news from Dave the Trainer. He is coming to town Dec 11-18. He will be able to join us in the Demo Kettlebell classes we are going to do at the new YMCA on Saturday the 15th. That will really be fun.

Of course, I need to kick the diet into high gear for about the next 10-15 days to drop some pounds. I weight less now than the last time I saw Dave but I would still like to dump a few more. That will work in good with the 10 pound challenge.

Went to bed at 8P, fell right asleep and did not wake up until 3A. It’s heaven. Of course, the fact that I could not go back to sleep sucks but getting 7 hours of sleep in a row is something that hardly ever happens.

Made it to the gym a 5:30P. Did lateral lunges this morning with the 28KG (62 lbs) Kettlebell. That is something that sneeks up on you. I completed the 16 lunges, put the KB down and started to walk over to the cable machine and realised that my heartrate had really shot up. My chest was just pounding away. That was good, I just was not expecting it.

As my doc said, every workout is a stress test.

Overall , a really hard workout but I felt good when it was done.

Thursday (Physical Therapy at 7:30 AM)
Circuit – Repeat for 5 total sets with 1 minute rest between sets
Kettlebell Lateral Lunge
28 kg – 16 reps each leg
Rope Biceps Curls
145 lbs. – 12 reps
Rope Triceps Pushdowns
145 lbs. – 12 reps
Face Pulls (because I have been doing these everyday at 70 lbs as part of my shoulder rehab I push these up to 85 lbs and did not have a problem)
70 – 15 reps

My gym has big dispensers for “baby wipes” for lack of a better word. You know, wet, disposable towels that you can wipe equipment off with. I think the fitness staff gets extra credit for finding people that are not wiping off equipment. Here is the important part. I always do a quick wipe down of the equipment when done, however, when I really clean the equipment is when I am going to use it. I have to assume that the last person to use the equipment was a pig with various skin issues or a cold and really did not wipe it down. When I get on a cardio machine I spend a lot of time wiping it down. I think the whole process is ass backwards. I don’t care if the person before me has cleaned the machine, I am going to clean it anyway when I go to use it. That is just smart.

Had a good session with Luke for my shoulder rehab. I finally found a way to explain what hurts. When you get in the driver seat of the car and take your right arm across your chest to grab the seat belt, that is when I get the pain. I noticed Tuesday that later in the day that pain was really reduced since I had a rehab session that morning.

As I have said before I don’t really think this is something that will go away and it is not something that keeps me from doing anything. The big concern was that there was something really serious wrong. I don’t want to be one of those guys that has his shoulders carved up. Next session is on Tuesday.

Mike (onewingdove) from youtube has started a blog. Be sure to check it out.

I have decided that I really like the combination of videos and a blog. You really get to know difference sides of a person. Also, I think that when people don’t feel up to producing a video they may still fell like writing a blog entry. That way you don’t lose complete touch with someone when things are not going as well as they could.

A good workout this morning. Up to 25 swings per arm with the 28KG (62 pounds) per set. I went back in my records and in January I was doing 7 swings per arm with a 20KG (44 pounds) Kettlebell per set. When you figure the weight moved I have gone from

70 swings X 44 pounds = 3,080 pounds in January to
250 swings X 62 pounds = 15,500 pounds in November, a period of 10 months.
That is an increase of 12,420 pounds per workout.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Find new ways to express your improvement over time. It can be a real motivator and prove to yourself that you really are improving and doing things you would never have thought possible in the past.

These are functional victories that have nothing to do with the number on the scale.

Wednesday
Circuit – Repeat for 5 total sets with 1 minute rest between sets
1-Hand Kettlebell Swings
28 kg – 25 reps each…INCREASE in reps
Kettlebell Figure 8’s
24 kg – 15 each

Nothing to complain about at the gym this morning. At the gym I pay $150.00 a year for a big locker and a towel service. I get two clean towels everytime I go. I think some people have been testing the system because now there are signs up, “If you want a towel, pay for the towel service”. It’s well worth it to me to not have to drag towels all over the place. A big part of my justification for the gym cost is that I hardly ever shower at home and I don’t add towels to the daily laundry at home. I don’t pay for body soap, deodorant for shave cream. It’s all availble at the gym. All those things add up so it’s a good value for me. I also like having my own locker. I have it stocked with all sorts of stuff. It’s really nice if I just want to stop on the weekend for an unplanned workout. I have a supply of everything I need in my locker so I don’t have to always have my workout bag with me.

I have another Physical Therapy session in the morning. I just love how lose my shoulder can be after about 20 minutes of Luke working on it. The results seem to last longer each time. I am faithful in doing the exercises every morning during my workout. It’s adding about 15 minutes to the overall workout.

Was awake at 2 again this morning. That is two nights in a row. Maybe tonight I will be so exhausted that I will be able to fall back asleep. It is really flustrating to lay there watching the clock tick away.

Work continues to be a Delbert cartoon in real life.

A good workout again today. Really pushed hard. The squats are really improving.

Another things that ticks me off at the gym is people that don’t put their stuff away. When I walked in there was a mat and the gizmo that people use to do crunches laying in “my spot”, with no one using them. I just don’t get how people can just “forget” to put stuff away.

Gosh, it’s tough being the only perfect one at the gym.

Tuesday (Physical Therapy at 7:30 AM)
Circuit – Repeat for 5 total sets with 1:20 minute rest between sets
Dumbbell Push Press – 50 lb Dumbbells – 11 reps
Bulgarian Split Squat (rear foot up on bench)
32 kg – 8 reps each leg
Narrow Grip Lat Pulldowns ( machine # 16 )
170 lbs. – 12

I can really feel my arms getting bigger and stronger. I keep wondering if the Muscle Milk is making a difference. At least for me, it’s hard to tell when something is really contributing to improvement. But, it tastes good and has good stuff in it so I will just keep taking it. I love having it with me at the gym right after my weight and cardio. It’s a real treat. Went to the gym early to make sure I had time for the workout and to get to the Physical Therapy by 7:30A. I was at the gym at 5:30A and was two minutes late for PT and the PT center is only a doorway away. I had really rushed through my shower and getting dressed. My workouts are taking at least 1 1/2 hours + clean up time. I never would have thought I could spend that much time in the gym, and actually enjoy it.

The PT with Luke went great. He worked on the shoulder about for about 25 minutes. I tried to track today to see how long it felt good. The best test was when I had to jump in the car this evening to go to the store. I never realised how much it hurt to take my right arm over my chest to get the seat belt on. This therapy has made a real difference. Luke also gave me another good stretching exercise to do during the day to help keep the shoulder lose.

Got gas in my trunk last night. $3.15 a gallon, $45.00 to fill up. I don’t know how people that travel a lot are doing it. I guess they are just doing without other things. I only drive the mile to the gym and to the store a couple of times a week plus some other misc. trips and it is hitting me in the pocket. I remember a time when I drove 70 miles a day round trip for work. That would cost a lot to do now.

Mike and Rob and I had our checkin call last night. Well, I checked in with Rob and when I tried to add Mike on, got no answer. I ended up talking with Rob about his progress. He is busy getting ready for his wife’s birthday. He pretty much worships the ground she walks on, with good reason, so I know her birthday is a big time for him. Mike called me after Rob and I hung up. He had been tied up and could not get free. We had a good talk. Going to change our calls to every other Tuesday to see if that works better.

Dancing with the Stars tonight. I don’t think Marie has a chance, unless every Morman in the world votes for her. I would love to see her win but she is not the best dancer. Because men have won the last several times I would not be suprised to see Mel B win. We will have to see what happens.

Youtube is starting to pick up a bit. Several people coming back. Freakynasty and Onewingdove are back and other videos seem to be a bit more upbeat. Someone that I have really started to enjoy is angie8088. I find that more and more I kind of wait around for a while to see if people are really serious and that there might be a chance they will stay around for awhile. I watched angie only on occasion until I started to realise I really like listening to her.

People have really latched onto Heather’s 10 pound challenge. People really seem to respond to her. Hopefully this good mood spirt will last until close to Christmas. I expect that people will shut down on youtube during the Christmas holidays. It will be interesting to see what happens.

A good workout this morning. The new shoulder exercises are adding about 15 minutes to my workout.

Monday
Circuit – Repeat for 5 total sets with 2:30 minute rest between sets
Kettlebell Turkish Get-Up
8 kg – 5
Kettlebell Snatch
24 kg – 15 each

I continue to be amazed at how self-absorbed people can be. I have a little area of the floor I try to claim to do my Turkish Get Ups and Snatches. I have a towel laid out for my head, two kettlebells, an exercise mat and my clipboard, water and stop watch, all on the floor. When I take my rest I walk around so I leave the area for a few seconds. This morning a guy came, walked on my exercise mat and stood about a foot away from the mat and started some silly arm waving warm up exercise. It just seem kind of rude to walk on the mat but I guess I should be glad he did not walk on my towel. I went over to my mat and got down on the floor to start my next round of TGU’s, wondering if this guy would move on. It kind of reminded me of old male animals, like hippos or elephants, staking claim to their territory. Finally the guy moved on. It just seemed to me that if he took a moment to actually see his environment he would have realized that someone was actually working right where he went to stand, even though I was walking around for a few seconds.

I later figured out that this guy did all this warm up to run on the treadmill for 20 minutes and then left. I bet he felt like he got in a really good workout. Unless you are 100 percent out of shape and very overweight, 20 minutes on the treadmill is not a workout, it’s a warm up. I watch people come in, do a little bit and leave, and I am still on my circuit. And these people do not have sweat glans. There is one other guy that comes in and works like a crazy guy and you know what…..he sweats like a little pig. I love to be working out at the same time he is because I can feed on his energy and intensity. It helps me keep going.

Since I am on a roll on people at the gym let me remind anyone, man or woman, reading this that you NEVER wear fragrance at the gym. On a couple of occasions there has been a guy that is wearing what I think must be the nastiest cologne ever. This is the first thing in the morning. Of course, he is also wearing a matching top and bottom fleece sweat suit. There is just something wrong about that. The smell gives me an immediate headache. When you can smell someone all the way across the room they are just wearing too much.

My experience has been that regular old body stink kind of stays with the person, it does not disperse throughout the room. I would much rather smell someone that stinks. It does not give me headaches.

It’s been a rainy and cold day today. Really glad I got so much done yesterday with the leaves. Just need another dry day to do a final cleanup.

Coming back to work after a week of vacation was not too bad. This time of year is just so hard with so many people getting in vacations and trying to get projects completed before the end of the year. I have done it before so I am sure I will get through this again.

Going to be calling Mike and Rob in a bit for our bi weekly check in. Anxious to see what they have been up to.

I have a physical therapy session in the morning at 7:30A. Having Luke work on my shoulder always feels good. I really have the feeling that there is really nothing that can be done to eliminate this pain completely. I may just have to modify what I do to accomodiate my shoulder.

I have finally figured out my new MP3 player. It’s really flustrating when you are working out and trying to change a song on your player and it is not working. It seems that every MP3 is the same….but different. Like an ATM machine or a gas pump. Why do they all have to be different? You learn how to use one and they you have to learn to use another. I think a lot of time and trouble would be saved if they were all the same, even if they were not perfect.

The G2C group is really in a slump. Some people are coming back and others are drifting away. I am having a real problem in making comments. I want to comment but I just cannot seem to come up with the perfect comment so I do nothing. I know the comments are important to people but I am having a real problem coming up with any. I have to get better at that.

Well, vacation is over, back to work in the morning. I checked email during the week so was able to head off a couple of near disasters. No telling what I will be faced with.

It does not look like there is going to be a new director named anytime soon so I am kind of stuck with a lot of those responsibilities until something happens, no telling when that will be. I am down two systems managers and have authorization to hire two more, however, figuring out how to make that happen will be a challenge. Of course, everything is a challenge. It’s going to be a mad rush between now and Christmas to get the impossible done, just like every other year. I still can’t believe I will be going into my 36th year. Wow, time does fly.

Had good workout this morning, really got into my cardio and HIIT. Loving my new 1G MP3 player Debbie got me. Holds a lot more songs that what I was using. I can really get lost in my songs.

Spent several hours on leaves and made a lot of progress. The city will be coming on the 4th to pick up leaves so I just need to do a little bit each day to be ready for that. Did find that the raking bothered my shoulder. That is something new from previous years telling me that something is really going on.

Heather came up with a 10 pound challenge for youtube. Did a weigh in this morning and got 238 so 10 will put me right back in my range of 225 to 230. The trip to CT, vacation and Thanksgiving seem to have done their job. Of course, to make myself feel better I am sure it is all most all muscle gain. I have to really be careful because I can gain 10 pounds and it really does not make much of an impact on my clothes so if I am not getting weighed frequently the pounds can really sneek up on me.

I have set up a bi weekly call with Mike and Rob for Monday nights for check ins. I am afraid that if we don’t have something scheduled on a regular basis we will get busy and time will get away from us. We need to decide what we are going to do for our get together in May. We need to be planning that to keep us motivated.

Each workout starts with a 10 minute core workout, the three Shoulder rehab exercise routine, the strength workout, 20 minute cardio and stretching/cooldown.

Monday
Circuit – Repeat for 5 total sets with 2:30 minute rest between sets
Kettlebell Turkish Get-Up
8 kg – 5
Kettlebell Snatch
24 kg – 15 each

Friday
Circuit – Repeat for 5 total sets with 2:00 minute rest between sets
Kettlebell Clean and Squat
20 kg – 12
Assisted Wide Grip Pullups
#14 – 10 reps

Debbie was up at 2A getting ready for work. There was no snow when she left. I went back to bed at got up at 7A and there was a good 1 inch on everything.

Got to the gym about 8A and had a really good workout. Started the new “Face Pull” exercise to focus on my shoulder, along with the 3 new exercises from Luke the PT. Very few people at the gym this morning, I was kind of suprised. But I love it when it is like that, plenty of room to move around and do my workout.

Circuit – Repeat for 5 total sets with 1 minute rest between sets
Kettlebell Lateral Lunge
28 kg – 16 reps each leg
Kettlebell Renegade Rows
24 kg – 15 reps each side (alternate sides each set)
Face Pulls (Put the rope on the high pulley and grasp it with your thumbs closest to the end and your palms facing up, similar to the grip on a neutral grip pullup. Stand back and keeping your elbows above your shoulders, concentrate on pulling the rope toward the bridge of your nose. This is a re-hab, pre-hab shoulder exercise and we’ll try these instead of pushups and see if it helps your shoulder.)
115? – 12 reps I’m guessing on the weight. You may find it too much or not enough. The goal is to get 12 quality reps.

Ended up doing 70LBs and 15 reps for this first time with the Face Pulls.

Good workout this morning. Felt much better than yesterday. Did the core workout and then the 3 exercises for my shoulder rehab and then the Kettelbell workout, 20 minutes cardio and a cool down/stretch. Got to the gym about 8:30A. Really thought there would be more people there trying to get a workout done before a big dinner.

Circuit – Repeat for 5 total sets with 1 minute rest between sets
1-Hand Kettlebell Swings
28 kg – 23 reps each
Kettlebell Figure 8’s
24 kg – 15 each

Went over to Mom’s and Carol and Mark were there, along with MAC the pug puppy. Had a really nice dinner and conversation.

Back home now. Debbie needs to be at the store at 3 AM for the 4 AM opening. I was reading that a local outlet mall is actually opening at 11:30 PM tonight.