Another VO2 Session

Aiming towards 50 sets of 8 with the 24kg bell:

1-arm swings, 15:15 style;

42 sets (44)* *corrected #s - see Nov. 7 post - I've been counting wrong!

336 reps (352)*

17,808 lbs. (18,656)*

Tonight's session was tough. I was fighting off cramps in my obliques again from about set 22 and feeling nauseous as well. I was initially thinking I could bump up to 45 sets tonight before I began, but settled for besting my last workout by 2 sets. There is no race. I will get to 50 sets of 8 within a month.

Birds: Win some, Lose some

I have added a few more to my years list. My latest was on Sunday, a type of duck called a Northern Pintail. I'm now at 198 for 2007.

Today, I chased a rather rare bird in Minnesota, another duck called a Black-bellied Whistling Duck. It was discovered on Sunday in Eden Prairie.

Many were present when I showed up and quite a few have seen it. I was not among them. I waited for 1/2 an hour (which was all the time I could spare) but it never reappeared. I struck out. That's how it goes sometimes. Still fun to get out. I saw some other nice birds and chatted with some friendly folks while we awaited the vagrant duck's return.

2 Pood Press Ladder

Military Clean & Press: (32kg)
3 x (1,2)

1-arm Bent Row:

3 x 8

Janda Sit-up: (10 lb. plate on the Pavelizer II)

2 x 5 - getting do-able. Positive reps are still really hard. Negatives manageable but hard.


A few Z moves to loosen up beforehand. Neck & Shoulders. Right shoulder not great but OK. I got some cranio-sacral work and muscle work on my neck and upper back yesterday that opened things up a bit. Less pain and stiffness in the neck. A nice improvement!

I just keep getting better, healthier and more comfortable in my body. Just a few years ago my low back was questionable to say the least. For over 20 years I had several debilitating episodes of low back pain EVERY YEAR that required days on my back and multiple visits to my Chiro friends to get functional again. All the great and esoteric work I can do would help me out of my predicaments, but would not prevent them.

Enter the kettlebell: my lower back has felt great structurally speaking for years now. The last crippling episode I had was in October, 2004. I credit most of this to kettlebell and abdominal training. Thank you Pavel and the RKC!

Thank you Sir, May I have another?

VO2 Max protocol, 15:15 style, 8 reps/work set

1-arm swing:

40 sets

320 reps (plus 2)

17066 lbs. - I did 2 nine rep sets in there

Wow! My body was actually craving this workout. It felt fairly easy for the first 15 sets or so. I am definitely getting faster. When I started this cycle with 8 reps, the beeper was going off with my 8th rep at the top. Last workout I noticed I was consistently finishing my sets with it at the bottom. Tonight I often had set the bell down at or before the beeper, hence the couple of 9 rep sets I threw in kind of by mistake (just got carried away). So I can definitely see doing a 9 rep cycle is possible but man I would be moving very fast the whole time.

My weak spot shifted to my abs, particularly my (R) obliques. I was fighting off a cramp for the last 10 sets or so. Not too bad but a bit of a distraction.

I have also been doing Military Press all day, GTG style, 1 rep/side with the 2p.

Last night I was goofing around with it and did a few sets, one time I did 3 reps L,R!

I have to keep doing the Z moves to keep my shoulder feeling at its best, but I definitely want to master the press ladder with the 32. The 24 just feels light in general now, especially for presses. I guess thats progress. Even this spring the 24 was quite a lot to handle, now its comfortable. A couple years ago when got my first 16, I remember how much it kicked my ass! Now the 32 is demanding my attention and mastering it is my next challenge.

Quick & Simple

Pressed for time again. I really want to start pressing again but better make sure it's OK, so last night was Z time. Did most of the torso, neck and shoulder moves. Something weird and painful happened to my L Quadratus Lumborum (QL) and it was spasming most of the night. Interestingly, I don't know exactly what I did to bring it on. I worked it out today and its better now.

Tonight I had to do some presses:

strict Military Press w/ 24kg: (1 clean per set/side only)

3x10, L,R

Felt good! Shoulder is fine! I will be continuing with the Z moves and switching to the 2pood soon! Yeah! Goal: 5 x (1,2,3,4,5)

20 minute easy ride on my rim trainer. I need to get a pulse monitor on me. It's hard to tell how hard I'm working. I am definitely sweating but not breathing too hard even though my cadence is about 70rpm. I think those VO2 sessions have helped a lot because it seems easy. Maybe I'll get out on the trail this weekend. That is familiar ground and I can test my old pace on a familiar route to see how much carryover I've gotten from all those swings.

Progress w/ VO2

Tonights workout:

1-arm swing, 24kg, V02 style, 15:15, 8 reps/set. (L,R)

36 sets

288 reps

15,264 lbs.

Keepin' it bone simple for now(apropos for a Chiro?) though am startin' to itch for some presses and it feels like I will be able to get back to them...I think that damn Z stuff is helping in my sleep or something!

More evidence: I got a massage today and we were supposed to pick up where we left off weeks ago (on my upper back) but she said it was really good! It felt good (before the massage) even better after! She dug in my neck (the front part - ouch!) and ended up reproducing the pain I get in my acromion area. AHA! It's referred pain from the neck! That is good to know. I can feel my ribs changing too. More Z ought to get it even better. Then I will own my 2 pood. That is my desire for the winter. That and doing a pistol! I think that will be my next goal after I get 50x8 with 24. Not quite a commitment yet but it sounds good right now.

Really gotta get back to qigong practice as well. I have let that slip off my menu for too long now...

Milestone

Today is a day of celebration. It is my son's 18th birthday. I got to spend time with him, which was a great joy and a not too common occurrence lately. I am awaiting his senior pictures and I will post one when I get it.

Calvin is growing into a young man I am proud of and I told him so. We definitely enjoy each others' company now, but it wasn't always that way. Power struggles between us since I separated from his mom when he was 4 made raising him a real challenge and culminated in his decision to live with his mom full time at age 14 after 10 years living with me half time. Though painful and expensive, I now see it was for the best.

This milestone is kind of wild for me as well. Hard for me to believe my son is becoming a man. I don't feel old and I think in part it is because old isn't what it used to be. When I was 18 I think 45 year olds were older, more run down, less fit in general than lots of folks I know today who are even older than that and very active and healthy! Despite all the whining and moaning and decrepitude among many Americans, many others are healthier and more vibrant into their 60s and beyond than 30 years ago, in my view. Maybe not, but it sure seems that way.

Catching up and Ramblings

Back in the saddle. Fall is such a busy time I have gotten pulled away from my workouts on Wednesday and Thursday. No excuse, I know but work and social engagements called.

I did get a rim-trainer for my mountain bike and used that on Monday and Tuesday just to try it out and 'cause I just wasn't up for a KB workout. Just a couple of mild-moderate 20 minute spins.

Friday I was busy too and was too tired to do much but after 5 days with no swings my back was demanding I do some! It really does feel better when I do them, but I am falling in to my old trap of having to outdo my last workout, especially now that I am making them public.

A retrospective:
I'm still a recovering, apparently not fully recovered, HIT JEDI. Mike Mentzer was my bodybuilding idol when I was in H.S. and first year of college. I bought his HEAVY DUTY training manuals and would have them to this day except an old roommate stole them from me.

I was trying to become a competitive bodybuilder until he got screwed out of the Mr. Olympia back in 1980 in a very controversial situation. Politics is always disgusting to me and I realized bodybuilding was not for me because of judges and drugs. All the top competitors were using them and I knew I would not do them and so my dreams of being a bodybuilder died back in 1980.

I kept lifting until I discovered Aikido in 1983 but my goals were just to get big and be really strong. I constantly over-trained back then and was always getting sick or having nagging little injuries that would set me back. Looking back over my old workout journals I see I would be walking around during the day with a pulse in the 80s but I didn't get it and couldn't stop training harder and harder all the time. Nuts, but that's probably another story.

Anyway, I had to work through that crap in my head and tell myself it was OK if I just did a little bit. That has been one of the best parts for me about learning the ETK and RKC system is it gave me a way to train that was progressive and kept me from my bad habit!

So Friday night I cranked out a few sets of 1-arm swings w/my 24kg:

5x 8 L, R and

1x 10 L,R

to come out to an even 100 reps. I think it took about 10-15 minutes and it made my back feel better and I realized it was basically pretty easy! My heart rate barely got over 100 because I checked it a few minutes after finishing and it was 92. I was barely huffing and didn't break a sweat! I guess all those V02 max sets are paying off. Cool.

Last year a work out like that with my 24 would have kicked my ass, now it's just a light warm-up. Not bad.

Today I was ready to resume the V02 max, 15:15 style, this time with 8 reps/set.

1-arm swings w/24kg: L,R

30 sets, 8 reps/set

240 reps, 12,720 lbs.

Not bad for a 15 minute total workout time! 8 reps definitely felt do-able. I can even imagine 9 but that would really be crankin'.

Snatches are another story. I'm gonna have to polish my form or something. I think I just like to do them slow, pausing at the top. 7 reps/set with the 16 last week was really hard to get into a rhythm with. The 24 seems like a bear right now at that pace. Maybe I'll just stick to non-interval work with snatches for now.

Neat Birds

Still on my quest for at least 200 species in Minnesota for the year, I went out Saturday morning to a known haunt for a strikingly beautiful bird, which is unfortunately dwindling in population because it's habitat is slowly being wiped out, The Red-headed woodpecker.

Woodpeckers like dead trees. A lot. Humans do not. We cut them down. Dead trees serve a useful function as nest sites for birds and a lot of insects, which spares more of the healthy trees from attack. Many birds like to perch in dead trees too so it's always a good idea to check them out if the weather is decent. Most birds head for cover when it's windy and/or rainy, just like most people do. This year the Red-head was #194 on my list.

I also saw some other neat birds. I noticed a bunch of Blue Jays harrassing a vicious bird eating predator called a Sharp-shinned Hawk:

Goal Achieved: VO2 w/24kg

I have to admit being a bit intimidated by this workout, but I finally got back to it and reached one of my goals:

50 sets of swings with the 24kg! 350reps! 15:15, seven reps per set. 18,550 lbs!

That is a PR workout volume total for me.

Interesting fatigue curve on this one. In the workouts building up to this total, I noticed getting more and more fatigued as I progressed through the sessions, but tonight I got tired sooner, around the halfway mark then settled into a place that would have allowed me to go past 50 if I decided to really push it. I think that is a good sign. Maybe someone with more experience can comment (Rif?)

Next goal is working up to 50 sets of 8 reps/set. Not sure if I should push right on to that or back off and focus on strength for a while. That would be 400 reps and 21200 lbs, or a 40% increase, if my math it right. A big increase!

I did get a cycle trainer to put my mountain bike on and want to use that 1-2 x week for easy cardio. Will do so tomorrow.

Life & Beer

I was digging around in my inspirational file because I found a good quote to add to my pile (I have a big pile). I found this and felt compelled to share. I do not know who the author is or I would give them credit.

Thought for today, perhaps for tomorrow too

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - your family, your health, your children, your friends, your favorite passions - things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter - like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else - the small stuff."

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get health checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house, and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented.

The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of beers."

Variety night

Wanted to get some kind of strength based variety work in before the next VO2 swing assault with the 24kg.

Hands were pretty beat up from all the snatches last night. Gloves on.

Seesaw Press w/2-24kg: 3 x 10 (5L,R) - 60% effort, R shoulder feels fine. Yay!

Bent Row - 1 arm w/32kg: 3 x 8 L, R - 70% effort

Sledge work: 30 sec work, 15 sec. rest x 3 (about 15 hits Alt. L, R each hit per set) felt it in grip at the end.

Round the body pass: w/32kg, 10 L, R

Figure 8 (under leg pass): w/32kg, 10 L, R

V02 Snatches

It's been too long since my last workout. I wanted to do something challenging but not too, so I tried the VO2 protocol with a 16kg and some snatches:

Warm-up: Z moves for neck and shoulders - quite slowly

Snatches (16kg): 15:15 - 40 sets. 7 reps per set.

This was tough in a very different way than swings. Lots of different muscles get used and man, my snatch form is weak right now. I had a very hard time getting 7 reps done in 15 seconds, all the way through!

My shoulders seem to be OK and my wind was taxed during the last 10 sets or so but recovered quite quickly when I finished. My grip (skin) and upper back got lots more work than swings give me and the legs, lower back and butt get hit seemingly less and in a very different way.

Another thing I learned is I can't do these workouts barefoot on the wood floors anymore. The sweat starts running down my ankles and I feel my connection to the floor getting compromised as the moisture gets under my feet. Back to shoes of some kind. Bummer!

Weekend Report

First off, thanks to everyone wishing me well this weekend. I had a very good time, though not everything went as planned.

The weather was not particularly cooperative. Very foggy, windy and rainy and warmer than we liked - 50s on Saturday, 60s on Sunday. Too warm to wear raingear but we had to anyways.

But the deerstands are ready and I got several tours of most of the 280 acres, which includes an emergency airstrip, plus neighbors land and county land. The next time I see them it will be in the dark as I head out to one for opening morning. The land is beautiful but on the back of an ATV in the fog it becomes a bit of a blur, especially when your main focus is to HANG ON! Wow that is some rough country up there. So many rocks, boulders, mudholes, stumps and fallen logs. My arms didn't need a workout after that. I got a pretty bad shock sent up my spine all the way to my skull when we hit one boulder real hard and without warning. It took a while to shake that off.

But I didn't spend the whole time ridin' bitch. I got to drive one. Only the 2nd time I have had the chance and in that rugged terrain, it was a blast!


As for Grouse, they hate it when it's wet and the only one I saw was on Friday Afternoon as I drove in! No grouse for dinner for me.

Saturday night we attended a local chapter Minnesota Deer Hunters Association banquet and fundraiser. It was not my cup of tea. Lots of alcohol was consumed and raffles and gambling abounded, all for a good cause of course. It was tough to stay on my diet (but I did) and it was odd because my crew (4 other guys, all in their late 20s or early 30s) were among the skinniest guys in the room. If you have met me, you know that is amazing. I'm running about 220 right now at 5'11". There are way too many fat Americans and it was MAJOR inspiration for me to keep going until I weigh in at no more than 195!

Anyways, the whole thing dragged on way too long (4:30 til 11:30) and we only won a door prize, so we felt disappointed, to say the least. We spent so much time there that I didn't get to workout as planned. A bit of a prisoner. Aargh!

Sunday we sighted in our deer guns. Mine needs more work. I gotta go to the local range but at least I think I finally found a load that shoots with precision - the Federal Vital Shok - locally made and among the lower cost sabot slugs out there. Good deal!

Also got to shoot someone's Marlin #60 - a semi-auto .22 with a 15 shot magazine. That was fun! I may have to get myself a .22 same or similar to that!

Getting a bit tired of hanging with young and not so health conscious men, I bugged out early to stop in Duluth to indulge in my favorite outdoor pastime, birdwatching.

For the uninformed, Duluth, MN is an excellent spot to birdwatch. Lake Superior acts as a natural funnel so a lot of neat birds can be seen in a pretty small area. It was a very good afternoon for me. I got to bird for a bit with several of the very best birders in the state. 2 are guides, 1 is an author of the birding guide for Minnesota...and I saw 3 lifers! (First time I've ever seen these birds in the wild in my whole life anywhere) Pictures (not taken by me)

and 7 FOY (first of the year in MN) birds.

I have now beaten my previous best years (2002) total of 186 species by getting to 193 species seen this year so far in MN. Since it is only mid October, I have a good chance of seeing 200 species by years end! That is worth a bit more than an honorable mention in the ranks of the states most active birders. Really serious listers (birdwatchers love to keep lists of all they have seen and where, etc kind of like baseball fans) aim for 300 species in a year and a few exceed that!

Believe me, that takes a lot of hours in the field and a willingness to drive hundreds of miles around the state at the right times to achieve numbers like that. Not everyone's cup of tea. I would like to do it at least once but I have other priorities these days. Needless to say, birders of this caliber have birding spouses (or lonely ones) or enjoy being single and tend to have more mileage and gray hair than I do.

There. More than you wanted to know about birdwatching. I will probably post more bits about this in the future and if you want to know more about what I saw this weekend, I'll be glad to share more details.

Off for the Weekend

I have the day off and I'm heading out of town early this afternoon. Gotta scout out the deer hunting grounds. I have not yet hunted this area though my hunting buddies all have. We will be getting things ready for opening weekend on November 3. If I'm lucky I may end up shooting a grouse (or two) while we work.

I am bringing some Kbells up to get in at least one workout and see if anyone is interested in learning how to use them. Report to come later.

V02 Max w/ 24kg

Got straight to it:

Swings w/24kg, 15:15 - 44 sets, seven reps per set, except last two for 8 apiece.

310 total reps. 16,430lbs. Pretty good volume!

Lower back pumped and a little tweaky in the muscles around set 36. OK by the end and now. I notice my calves and feet want to cramp up a bit afterwards. Soreness from previous workout in upper thighs pretty much gone.

Still building up to 50 sets, I know I can get there within the next workout or two without pushing too hard. Then it's time to start doing 8 reps per set, working my way back up to 50 sets.

I will re-evaluate my routines after that. It's so damn easy to get seduced by all the variety, I really have to watch it. Keep it simple! I haven't been using my sledge at all and it's calling me. I built a sandbag - 120 lbs (6 x 20lb) and I don't quite know how to work that in either. Somehow focusing on strength over endurance during the winter seems like a good idea. And I have some rings I could use to start developing real pull up strength (and have some fun too)

And there is always the the ETK ROP swing/snatch routine until I make SSST numbers (200).

Lastly, if my shoulder is good, I could go after the Military Clean & Press [MCP] Ladder 5 x (1,2,3,4,5) with my 32kg. Hmmm, decisions, decisions!

Well, input is appreciated, though I'm not gonna make up my mind yet, just ponder the options while I get to 50 x 8 w/the 24.