little yellow kettlebell

You may have been wondering where I have been, that maybe I had given up.  Nope.  Still here.

One of my recent distractions has been a 16 kgs kettlebell, which I bought from http://store.worldkettlebellclub.com/categories/Kettlebells/VF-ProGrade/

Yeah, it's pricey, but I figure it'll be great preparation in case I get interested in kb competitions.   That was the plan when I got the 24kgs competition bell, but that was way too heavy to learn technique.  With this light bell, technique improved exponentially.

7-13-12
-tuck planche holds (6x10 secs)
-HSPU (3x12, 3x12 sec bent arm holds)
-weighted off-set chin-ups (3x8, 16 kgs)
-weighted bent-arm hang (30 sec)
-db hang power cleans (2x6x5, 2x60 lbs)
-kb snatches (2x30, 16 kgs)

It was probably not smart to do the snatches last.  They are the most technical of the exercises and I too pooped to do 100 of them.

the first circle of bell

is reserved for the unmotivated. Today's workout is a repeat of the killer workouts from bell, only nastier. Why the the extra bit of nastiness? Call it penance for two days of rest.

It went like this:
-5 minute burpee test (60)
-10 minutes of 2x25 kg db push press (70)
-10 minutes kb squats (106)

The first 15 minutes were not so bad. Sure it's a bit of a struggle to get through the burpees, but that's nothing new. The push presses weren't so bad either. I used my interval timer set to 30 secs work and rest periods and got to 70 reps still feeling a little fresh. It was at this point that I decided to turn up the heat: ten minutes of kb squats.

I don't know what I was whining about before. What did I do that first time? 80 kb squats? Pft.

After this work out, I didn't want just a glass of water. I wanted something to fill my empty tank. I needed the devil's brew- almond milk, hemp protein powder, chocolate syrup, a dash of chili pepper, and crushed ice. That hit the spot.

The no-mas-ometer read 3.8.

108/68/56

3,294

still hurts like bell

I revisited the workout that partially wrecked my weekend: 10 minute kb squats. The second time around was as painful as I remembered it to be; however, I did get in more reps. I cheated.

First things first: 5 minute burpee test. A not so inspiring 58 has me wondering why I'm not progressing. And now for the squats. At the 30th rep, when my back was screaming for some relief a lightbulb went off. Why cradle the kb when I can shoulder it? And so I did. Without releasing the bell I hoisted it to my shoulder and continued squatting. By alternating shoulders I was able to complete 106 reps.

The no-mas-ometer reads 3.2.

112/68/55

3,234

hurts like 'bell'

This workout comes direct to you from the depths of bell. What you do is grasp a kettlebell and squat for 10 minutes. During that time you may not release the kb at all. That baby is yours-mine is 24 kgs-for the duration. It presses down on you. It saps your strength. It bleeds your will.

For the first thirty reps I was going up and down like clock work-squat, exhale, stand, inhale. Then fatigue threw a wrench in the works-squat, exhale, gasp, sputter, curse, stand, gasp, gasp, cough. By the fiftieth rep I shut my eyes to keep the sweat, flowing in rivulets, from searing my peepers. Now I'm squatting in the dark. WTF!

I stopped at 93 reps, looked at the timer registering zero, and for a moment panicked. Did I set it for 10 seconds? Did it go off minutes before and I missed the alarm? What? And then it beeped letting me know I did complete the exercise.

117/68/54

Kick Ass, a guilty pleasure

The day started off with a kettlebell breathing ladder, 1-20 single arm swings (doubles for mrs. meguro), and then 42 kg suitcase hold for me, your basic griptastic day. No burpees, however. With the exercises out of the way, I'm feeling pretty good and then mrs. meguro suggests we see a matinee while the kids do the homework they had neglected till the last minute. "Cool," says I, "Date Night?" Date Night's just the type of film two adults ilke mrs. meguro and I can identify with: parents trying to keep the spark of romance burning bright while parenthood, jobs and routine conspire to blow it out. "Nah," she says, "let's see Kick Ass." Kick Ass! Here I am volunteering to see a chick flic. Hey, I'm trying to connect.

Violence is not my wife's thing, even if it's the cartoony, over-the-top, hyperviolence seen in the spate of super-hero movies of late. She cringes at every biff, pow, splat. That mrs. meguro would suggest Kick Ass, I can only interpret as an act of love, because movies that go boom, well that's my thing. Kick Ass delivers lots of explosions and carnage with a healthy dollop of dark humor. We found ourselves laughing out loud throughout the film along with the rest of the audience.

Not midway through the movie, the laughter becomes a bit strained. It's one thing to witness the transformation of the least likely character to hero, with hilarious stumbles along the way; it's a common hero story line. The character of Hit Girl in Kick Ass resurrects Taxi Driver's Travis Bickle in a plaid skirt and purple wig. This is when mrs. meguro and I squirmed a little in our seats. Hit Girl metes out vigilante justice like the best of ninja assassins with the mouth and attitude of a war weary marine. Through Hit Girl, we confront the limits of our ability to enjoy violence as entertainment. I've been inured to cinematic violence from overexposure, no matter the level of ferocity. Kick Ass, the movie, breaks age and gender lines and in the process makes pornography of gun play and salty language. I've had enough for a while. For the next date, mrs. meguro and I will see Date Night or another romantic comedy.

rambling

Just a few weeks ago, The East Coast was hit with record snow. This was the view from our apartment. The snow had accumulated nearly a foot when this photo was taken. Schools were closed. The United Nations shut down.

This week, the weather has changed quite dramatically. Tulip bulbs have not even sprouted and yet women are sunning themselves in bikinis on park benches. People are walking about in shorts and flip flops. Ah spring! Sorry, no pictures of said women. Just believe me.

With the change in the seasons, you might expect a change in my exercise routine. I suppose I'll be running more. I'm a fair weather runner to be honest. If I were preparing for a marathon, then of course I'd be battling the elements, but that's a long way off. I'm on the 10 year plan: a decade between marathons. I've got seven years to prepare for the 2017 so no hurry. In the meantime, I'll be working on my kettlebell technique, among other things.

I recently discovered a great kettlebell resource in Denis Kanygin. He has written a series of articles that have vastly improved my kb experience, particularly when it comes to grip transitions. Check him out here.


If you've been curious about my exercise routine, this was yesterday's:
-Burpees (50 in 3'20")
-OHP (7,9,9)
-squat (2x10)
-alternating single-arm roll-outs (kneeling)

The squats and overhead presses are intended to develop my core and shoulder stability, same with the single-arm rollouts. Today, it's more burpees & brushing up on kb clean & jerk technique.

A journey of 10,000 burpees

A journey of 10,000 burpees starts with one jump. A challenge was issued by my friend Chris,10,000 push-ups was his goal. Sounds good, I thought. Might as well join in and go for the trifecta, tendonitis in the knees, elbows and shoulders, by adding a squat thrust and jump (burpee=squat thrust, push-up, jump). Sounds crazy, no?

Actually,the burpee is a super-efficient conditioning exercise. Four summers ago, I was on a diet of 50 burpees a day (VB50). In one month I whittled my 100 burpee time, around the 8 minute mark, down to 6 and a half minutes. It works out to about 3 minutes of conditioning per day. Even if you have a busy schedule, it's not hard to find a slot for three minutes.

These days, I'm a little older and a little thicker in the middle, and my VB50 time is around 3 and a half minutes. I've taken up the challenge, but dang, looking forward to 50 burpees a day makes you want to stay in bed. One week into the challenge and I've only done 320. Time to get grinding.

While I'm on the subject of training challenges, I'm working on several others concurrently:

-One Armed chin-up (OACU), This one was inspired by my daughter, who asked me innocently last night,"You can do one of those, right daddy?" Curse you, YouTube! "Not yet," I responded. I can do regular sets of 5 with a 24 kg KB. A bit of a way to go and I'm stuck at 5 reps with 24 kg on the belt. Argh!

-Sub 7 minute 2K on the Concept II. About the same time I was on the daily VB50 plan, I rowed 2k in about 6 and a half minutes. These days, it's a wheezy 7'45." I'd like to get that time down.

-Secret service snatch test (200 KB snatches in 10 minutes). This one is really daunting. Single arm swings and high-pulls are no problem with 24 kgs, but snatches?! We don't need no steenkin' snatches!

Stay tuned or train along with me. Today's workout will be VB50, a KB breathing pyramid, and assisted OACU negatives.

Healthy as a horse, he says.

I recently had my annual check-up and my doctor concludes that I am healthy as a horse. The good doctor specializes in cardiology and internal medicine, and not veterinary medicine by the way, so I wonder how accurate the equine simile is. He didn't even ask for a urine sample. Actually, the examination comprised history, blood-work, EKG, a listen to my breath sounds and a minute or two with the blood-pressure cuff.

My blood pressure was measured as I sat on the examination table: 114/68. My heart rate, 53 beats per minute. These numbers mean something to me, especially the resting heart rate. In my 20's my resting heart rate was once tested at 38 beats per minute. At the time, I was running 5k's on a treadmill at a pace just a tad slower than what would cause me to fall and get launched off the belt. The doctor who tested me was impressed by my resting heart rate. Olympic caliber, I was lead to believe. Since then, I've been interested in maintaining a low resting heart rate. Now in my 40's, however, I have no interest in running like George Jetson, "Help, Jane, stop this crazy thing!"

For the past five years, my fitness regimen has consisted of high-intensity interval training with an emphasis on short training periods (20 minutes or less) and minimal equipment (my wife would argue this last point). The Tabata protocol figures heavily in my training, but other interval schemes are also observed. My favorite tools include a Concept II rowing ergometer, adjustable dumbbells, kettlebell, pull-up bar, Akro wheels, dip stand and a kitchen timer. Tools are not necessary. The burpee, for example, is a simple bodyweight exercise as challenging as you will find. I call it vitamin B (VB), an essential part of my daily regimen.

So I asked my doc during this most recent exam, "What should I be doing if I want to live longer?" He chuckled and said, "keep doing what you're doing."