My Workouts: Week of June 4. L pull-ups, Snatches, and Lunges in the Rain!

This week I returned to the snatches and incorporated some other goodness.  Read on for the details.

3-5 times per day, do the following:

1. 3 “L” pull-ups (standard grip, neutral grip, close grip chin-up, repeat)
2. 1 one-arm pushup per side (unassisted, from the floor)
3. 1 pistol squat per side

Monday (6/4)

1. Turkish Get-ups: 5 minutes per side (53# Kettlebell)
2. 12-minute countdown: Snatches, 8 per side (53# Kettlebell)

The TGU’s are starting to become a favorite as a warmup.

The snatches were rough, but solid.  I’m getting closer to the goal: 200 in 10 minutes.  I was a bit sore in the lower back, glutes and biceps the following day, but nothing major.

Tuesday (6/5)

12 minutes – AMRAP

1. 20 Kettlebell Swings – 70# KB
2. Jog 200M

This one was surprisingly difficult.  My lower back was tight due to the high volume snatches from Monday, which made it tougher than usual, but this was no walk in the park…especially with a 70# kettlebell.

Wednesday (6/6)

Four Rounds:

1. 1 “Olympic” – Double 53# KB’s
2. 3 KB swings – 70#
3. 2 “Olympics” – Double 53# KB’s
4. 3 KB swings – 70#
5. 3 “Olympics” – Double 53# KB’s
6. 3 KB swings – 70#
7. 4 “Olympics” – Double 53# KB’s
8. 3 KB swings – 70#
9. Rest one minute

I did this one with three other guys and the atmosphere was awesome.  I don’t get to do many team or group workouts, so it was pretty fun.  The workout itself felt great, but it was fun to push other guys and have them barking at me. All told, each round took us all a little bit more than five minutes to do as a team from the first guy to the last.

Remember that the “Olympic” involves a combination of three Olympic movements in one semi-fluid motion: the clean, the front squat and the overhead press.  If you know what a thruster is, it’s sort of like that but each rep starts with a clean.  Great compound movement.

Thursday (6/7)

Stretching.

Friday (6/8)

1. Turkish Get-ups: 5 minutes per side (53# Kettlebell)
2. Three Rounds:
   1. 25M Overhead Lunge Walk Left (53# Kettlebell)
   2. 25M Overhead Lunge Walk Right (53# Kettlebell)
   3. 5 KB Swings (70#)
3. Two Rounds:
   1. 25M Overhead Walk Left Side(53# Kettlebell)
   2. 25M Overhead Walk Right Side(53# Kettlebell)
   3. 5 KB Swings (70#)

This one was actually fun.  I did the walk at the end rather than finishing with the planned-for five rounds of lunge walk because I was running short on time.  This is a full-body workout.  There’s a ton of core work since you’re really unstable with the KB overhead; your lower back, abs and obliques are constantly engaged to keep your torso upright.  Of course the shoulder is under constant tension, and that’s all on top of the weighted lunge walk itself.  I was moving slowly and had a side ache, if that tells you anything.  I rested about 90 seconds between rounds.

Oh yeah.  This was even more fun because it was pouring rain when I was doing it.  The rain was a welcome relief.

Finally, as for my L pull-ups and such, they were fine.  My L pull-ups were solid, and I’m getting stronger on the one-arm pushups, but the pistols are taking a long time to refine.  I am progressing on the pistols, but very slowly.