Well, this week was a strange one because I was at home almost all week while Sonja was enjoying a bunch of professional development at a conference. I was at home, and completely busy. I honestly did NOT feel like doing my pressing workouts since I was supposed to be adding a “rung” to my Clean and Press ladders, working up to five rungs with my 53# bell.
So my training sessions kept getting pushed back due to my busyness and time constraints. But in the end, I’d call the weak a great success. Here’s why.
Monday (8/6)
Five rounds:
* KB Clean and Press, one rep per side (L and R), 70# KB
* 3 Pistol Squats per side (L and R) holding a 15# KB
Now remember: I have a goal to press my 70# kettlebell three times per side by September 1. I was planning to do five Clean and Press ladders up to five rungs with a 53# bell. But I figured, “I’m going to wind up pressing the 70-pounder soon, so why not try several rounds of just one rep to develop that muscle memory and strength?” So I went after it. And I felt great! In fact, the weighted pistols were actually harder than the presses. I am working to get to my pistols unassisted, but for how, I used a 15# KB as a counterbalance.
On round seven, I still felt really fresh, and so I decided to try to press the 70-pounder more than once. Guess what? I PRESSED IT THREE TIMES PER SIDE CLEANLY!! That’s my goal for September 1, and I nailed it almost four weeks early! So I’m now shooting for five reps by Sept. 1.
Tuesday (8/7)
Ultimate frisbee with some friends for about an hour.
Wednesday (8/8)
- TGU’s (53# KB) for five minutes, alternating sides after each rep
- 5 Clean and Press Ladders (70# KB): 2 rungs
- Snatches (53# KB). Roll the dice to determine the number of minutes to snatch at 50% effort
I felt comfortable attacking this workout since I had done the 70# presses with success on Monday. Sure enough, it felt great. I just be getting stronger. On the snatches I rolled a 3, so I determined to go harder than 50%, doing 10 reps per side, per minute, for the 3 minutes.
Thursday (8/9)
Rest. 🙂
Friday (8/10)
- TGU’s (70# KB), 3 per side.
- 5 Clean and Press Ladders (53# KB): 3 rungs.
- Snatches (70# KB). 5 rounds of 3 reps per side.
I’d never done TGU’s or snatches with a 70# KB, and it felt like it. Wow. That gave me respect for folks who can do snatches with a 70# bell. It didn’t feel bad, but it does take getting used to the bell all over again. The 53# KB feels light-ish and natural in my hand. The 70# bell? Not so much.
I felt like I took some strides this week and I’m encouraged by the results. I’m getting stronger and have some data to support that assessment.
Want more workout ideas? You can see what I’ve been doing HERE.
Leave a Reply