Kettlebell Core Work/Conditioning
KB Windmill
53x5/5; 53x5/5; 70x5/5
Getup
53x1/1; 53x1/1; 70x1/1
Swings
53x5; 53x5; 53x5... stopped
KB RDL
53x10; 53x10; 53x10; 70x10
Woke up at 5am this morning to get on the road to drive from NH to DC. Its supposed to be about 8 hours, but ended up taking 9.5 with traffic. Amanda and I thought we were in store for another lunch of burger and fries on the road, but alas, hidden in between seven other fast food joints at a colossal New Jersey rest stop emerged a Baja Fresh. Victory! We can officially start the last day of Thanksgiving break with a legit low carb lunch. It was a long ass day, but we decided to go straight to the grocery when we got back in town. Loaded up on meat and veges, dropped the food and our bags off at home, then headed over to the gym.
We were both tired but just wanted to do something after sitting in the car all day. So, we decided to just mess around with the kettlebells, work on form, and get some core stimulation in. I've heavily readjusted my windmill to not start in a position of anterior pelvic tilt.
The 70lb getup felt much easier than the first time I did it over the summer. I haven't done getup for months, but the attention to my core has really paid off.
Swings.... so I can't maintain a solid neutral position on swings yet. My hinge feels great for a about one rep, but it turns to mush as soon as I start really swinging. So, I decided to just hold the kettlebell and work on the hinge without the explosive/dynamic hip drive. Essentially it was a kttlebell RDL. It felt awesome. This was the first time I found something I could load and really repeat the hinge over and over again. I experimented with two 70lber's held at my side. Works great. Now I know I can work up to a decent load.
I'm making the executive decision to drop pull-throughs and sub the KB RDL. I can never get a comfortable solid hinge with the pull-throughs. The cable pulls me back and kind of promotes a bad starting position, the cable is up in my nuts during the entire movement, and I find it exceedingly difficult to find the natural end point of the hinge ROM. On the other hand, the KB RDL felt rock solid, and I know I was actually hinging. I can stand up straight, and the ROM end point felt natural. I plan on doing these ultra high rep. Learning how to hinge after years and years of a distended spine/quazi squat is exceedingly challenging for me. Its not a muscular thing, its a coordination thing. I feel that I need something I can do over and over again with confidence.
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All in all this Thanksgiving break was one of the best I can remember. I was in Keene from Tuesday to Sunday and the entire time was filled with family, friends, food, drink, and tons of physical activity. I was eating and drinking my ass off, but was also active as hell. We worked out everyday including Thanksgiving. (Except Friday - played golf). Wednesday was a double header: a.m. workout and p.m. mountain hike. I feel very lucky to have been around people that were genuinely happy.
I'm in a really good place both mentally and physically right now. I feel rested and relaxed, and I'm really happy with the progress I'm seeing in Phase 1.
I have 2 weeks left in DC and I plan to make the most of it. Kill it in the gym, kill it at work, eat like a caveman, and see the sites. My goal going into 2013 is be respectably lean, respectably conditioned, and at the point in my mobility training where I can actually start a linear loading progression with the front squat. Tons of things need to happen in 5 weeks to legit barbell front squat, but I'm going full blast. I'm going to finish 2012 at a high point so I can kick the fucking shit out of 2013.
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