My kettlebell training is nearing the end of another phase. I have one more workout left in the Enter the Kettlebell program.  This is my second time through ETK, and once again I have seen significant improvement in my kettlebell pressing ability.  I’m now able to quite confidently press the 12kg kettlebell.

Me right after my ETK Week 11 Medium day.

I estimate that by the time I complete this “Rite of Passage” portion of the ETK program,  I will have pressed the 12kg bell nearly 1,000 times on each side.  It’s an understatement to say that there is a lot of pulling (rowing, pull-ups or chin-ups) and cleaning and pressing  the kettlebell with this program, but I love it.  I feel strong pushing that kettlebell over my head.  Challenging my body and mind to do it even when I think it can’t be done is the type of challenge that I crave. Doing this program right, in my opinion, will guarantee you strength gains and improved conditioning.  It is tough.  It can be boring.  But it works.

Until now I’ve been focusing primarily on my kettlebell pressing, as it was the skill that needed the most work prior to attending an RKC weekend.  I still need to work on pressing some more, but other things have risen to the top of the list. When I finish Enter the Kettlebell, my main priority is going to be improving my kettlebell snatch technique.  Turkish Get-Ups are always on my to-do list, and I find that regular practice with them is vital, to avoid regression.  Also, it may be time for me to try some double kettlebell work.   Of course, lots and lots of swings are a priority as well.

RKC Instructors: what else am I missing?  What would you have done differently (if anything) to prepare for your RKC weekend? What’s the best way to get ready for the Grad Workout? How can I determine if my overall conditioning is good enough to get me through the weekend? I know I am not going to be ready for RKC until at least late spring, so I have time to change my training now to make a difference.  And you know I’m committed.  Or maybe I should be (committed!)

The training goes on:  moving the kettlebell, hardstyle.  Mostly swinging, cleaning and pressing the bell.  Lots and lots of times. I’m ready to tackle Enter the Kettlebell, week 10, heavy day tomorrow.  I’m thinking the 5 x 5 ladders won’t be as tough for me this week.  I’m envisioning success.

Starting to think about what will be next, too.  I probably have about 2 more weeks of ETK left.  Finishing a program is always bittersweet.  I’m not sure what my plan will be after that, other than, of course, kettlebell training.

One of the three structured days in each week of kettlebell training outlined in Pavel’s Enter the Kettlebell is known as “heavy” day.  In the early weeks of the program, light, medium and heavy days are all very much alike.  Then in week 8 of 12, the pattern for the rest of the program is established, with one day being a light day, one day being medium and one day being a heavy work day.

Mental toughness factors in on heavy days.  It may not sound too daunting to read about, but in practice, hoisting a kettlebell overhead many, many times becomes not only a physical challenge but also a mental one. I’m sure it is  not unlike any other tough athletic practice, in which self talk can make or break the entire effort.

No doubt, during a heavy ETK day, my thoughts can become tainted with self doubt and/or slight insanity.   Here’s a sample of a few of my thoughts during today’s kettlebell practice: 

(Note my abbreviations:  Rg- Rung: Repetitions performed in a specific pattern.  On your first rung you do one clean and press on the right, then one clean and press on the left, followed by one pulling exercise (chinup/pullup or one single arm row per side.) On rung #2 you perform 2 presses on the right, 2 presses on the left and 2 pulls.)    Lr-Ladder:  A group of rungs.  Generally three to five rungs make a ladder.  A heavy day in ETK has 5 ladders with 5 rungs each.)

Lr 1 Rg 4 This kettlebell feels heavier than it did last time. Am I still recovering from being sick?

Lr 1 Rg 5 Made it through the first ladder, only 4 more to go.  Ugh 4 more!?

Lr 2 Rg 1 OK gotta blow through Lr 2 so I will only have 3 more ladders to go.

Lr 2 Rg 3 Ouch that was a bad clean.  I know how to do cleans.  What’s my problem?

Lr 2 Rg 4 Ouch gotta fix that bad clean.  RKCs don’t do that.  Gotta do better than that to be an RKC.

Lr 2 Rg 5 Almost done second ladder, push! And I have to do how many more ladders? Right.

Lr 2 Rg 5 This is taking a long time.  Who do I think I am?

Lr 3 Rg 2 I think I’m almost half way done.  Ugh. I’m not mostly done?????

Lr 3 Rg 4 I lost count, what am I doing?

Lr 3 Rg 4 Oh yeah I just did 3 pulls last time so I’m on Rung 4 now. FOCUS!! Don’t want to have to repeat a ladder.

Lr 3 Rg 4 Gotta watch the clean.  Lock out the elbow.  Don’t make stupid mistakes!

Lr 3 Rg 4 Only two more ladders, almost.  I’ll feel good later.

Lr 3 Rg 5 Two more whole ladders??????? I did this before but it’s so harrrrd this time.

Lr 4 Rg 1 Yeah next to last ladder!! One silly rep. Ha Ha!!

Lr 4 Rg 2 Keep shoulder down, don’t make stupid mistakes.  Focus!!

Lr 4 Rg 2 Am I on ladder 4? cool.

Lr 4 Rg 3 Why do I practice with kettlebells?  This is extreme.

Lr 4 Rg 4 Shoot. This is hard. Come on wrist, stay locked and straight.

Lr 4 Rg 4 Grip the bell HARD!!! Push!  Don’t want to have to repeat week 10!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lr 4 Rg 5 I am on the last rung of this stupid ladder thing.  I must get this last press. NOT going to have to redo!!!!!!!

Lr  5 Rg 1 Oh yeah!  Oh yeah!! I’m on the last ladder!! Oh, the swings are ahead.

Lr 5 Rg 2 Hee hee two presses.  Easy!

Lr 5 Rg 3 This isn’t a tough rung to get through.  Come on.  Can’t run out of gas.  But the swings are ahead.

Lr 5 Rg 4 Shoot.  My arm feels weak.  I don’t want to repeat this week.

Lr 5 Rg 4 I’m tired.  The swings are ahead.  Pavel is a bad, bad man.

Lr 5 Rg 4 I hope this stupid program pays off.

Lr 5 Rg 5 Last rung of  last ladder – this might happen.  Gotta make it through.  So hard to push.  I have to!!!!!!!!!

Lr 5 Rg 5 I don’t like this. 

Lr 5 Rg 5 Last press -come on YESSS!

AHHHHH!! Putting the silly kettlebell down, but in a minute I have to do the swings. . .

Thankfully, with the swing practice, there isn’t really much time for thinking.  It’s mostly counting and breathing and hopefully focusing on good form.  And glancing at the gymboss to see how much longer.  And then, finally, REST.

I started the week with “light” day of Enter the Kettlebell week 8  on Monday.  This week the pattern for the cleans and presses changes so that you really do have a light day of presses, a medium day and a heavy day.  In ETK terms that equates to 5 ladders of 3 rungs each on the light day, 5 ladders of 4 rungs each on the medium day  and 5 ladders of 5 rungs each on the heavy day.  This pattern remains in place through the end of the Rite of Passage, week 12.

Light day was no problem with the cleans and presses. Chinups were tough.  The conditioning practice on light days includes kettlebell snatches performed at an easy pace: 10 R, 10 L followed by a minute rest.  In this case, the practice lasted 8 minutes.  I’m not sure if grip strength is the problem, or just form in general.  But kettlebell snatches are just painful for my hands.  I’m training with Elise Matthews, RKC-II on Sunday and am psyched about letting her evaluate my form with snatches, among other things.

Tuesday was a variety day and I chose to do a test to see how many swings I could do for a set period of time with as-close-to-perfect form as my body and brain could agree on.  The practice lasted 12 minutes and wasn’t physcially  tough because I was focused on correct form as opposed to a completing a certain number of preselected reps.  When I felt like I was losing form in any way at all, I stopped and rested until I felt ready to go again.  It was an interesting practice, and illuminated the fact that many of my past workouts have gone too far.  The hardworking exercise fanatic in me always wants to push the work load.  I have to focus on taming that beast because form needs to be the priority.

Wednesday was medium day, so the clean and press practice included an extra rung in each of the five ladders. It went fine.  I think I must be getting stronger with the presses.  For the conditioning portion of the practice,  I did kettlebell swings for 8 minutes: 24 swings (which equates to about 45 seconds work for me) followed by 15 seconds active rest.  This part of the workout felt more heavy than medium!

By Thursday I realized that I would be losing a rest day this weekend because I’ll be training with Elise on Sunday.  I am taking rest days very seriously and prefer to err on the side of too many at this point, so eliminating one from the week didn’t feel right.  I considered using Thursday, a planned “variety” day, as a rest day to make up for losing Sunday, but then realized that if I did so, I wouldn’t get much practice with Turkish Get Ups in this week.  That didn’t seem right either, so I did a workout of 15 minutes of slow “naked” (no weight) Turkish Get Ups followed by some (no idea how many) single leg deadlifts.  (Just because I miss deadlifts). I think it was a good compromise.

The need for rest was confirmed when I somehow slept over 9 hours Thursday night.  Because today, Friday, is a planned rest day, I had turned off the alarm clock.  I expected to wake up at my usual time but slept through instead.  I feel really good today, and am excited to tackle my first “heavy” day of cleans and presses tomorrow.   More fun follows on Sunday!  Yay!

Still following Enter the Kettlebell and the workbook that accompanies it, I started last week’s training on Monday, June 29 with a “light” day.  It was week 7 of the Rite of Passage.  Kettlebell presses seem to be going well.  I had no problems completing all ladders and rungs.  With the pulls, I began adding in negatives when I could no longer do regular chinups.  The kettlebell snatch practice went well, except that my hands continue to bother me  before I am fatigued. 

Tuesday was a variety day in which I chose to do twelve minutes of alternating 50 swings and 1 minute of jumping rope.  Then I did five minutes of Turkish Get Ups.  More details are here.

Wednesday was “medium” day per ETK.  There is nothing major to report, other than the harder I push myself on Tuesday, the more difficult the swing practice is on Wednesday.  I’m not sure if I’m really better off trying to get that extra conditioning on Tuesday or not.  I’m not ready to change things yet.  It’s just something I’m contemplating.

Thursday was the second variety day of the week.  I decided to focus on doing bodyweight work only, for a change.  I chose 4 exercises to do and performed them in intervals, doing :30 of work followed by :15 rest.  I completed the 4-exercise circuit 5 times.  The exercises I chose were:  Burpees (because I’ve never really done them much) Mountain Climbers (because I need to get better at them) Squats (because I ALWAYS  need to work my lower body more) and Push Ups (because I need to improve there too.)  About the second time through the circuit I wished I had chosen the exercises more intellectually because I realized that in 3 out of 4 exercises I was down on the ground, bearing weight on my hands. My right (bad) wrist got sore quickly so I didn’t push myself terribly hard.  Besides,  I was already a bit weary from the rest of the week’s work.  Nevertheless, I confirmed bodyweight exercises (even if poorly chosen) still provide an excellent workout.

 
  Friday was a rest day – hallelujah!

Saturday was “heavy” day of Week 7 of ETK.  Again this week, the presses were not the rigorous part of the practice, but were the same as the other two days.  The tough part was the swing practice. Five minutes can seem long when you are swinging a kettlebell almost nonstop!  

Saturday I also noted that my chinups seem to be a little bit stronger, probably because ETK is giving me a reason to work on them.  Thanks to Jerry for suggesting I substitute negatives when unable to do anymore regular reps.  Negatives were a big part of the training I did in the  New Rules of Lifting for Women program, to help me achieve my first chin up, so I know they work.

Sunday was a rest day, and after all of the exercise last week and the Independence Day festivities, it was mandatory. 

The Week Ahead:  Week 8 of Enter the Kettlebell began today, with a successful “light” day again.  I’m further refining my chinup training this week and am looking forward to doing more chins in the near future.  I will also be changing my kettlebell swing practice somewhat after receiving input from my friend, Sandy Sommer, RKC.  It’s going to be a great week!!

Tuesday is the first day of the Training Week with no cleans and presses, based on the format I’m following for Enter the Kettlebell.  It’s the first of two variety days in the week, meaning just about any exercise is acceptable, as is even a rest day.  Last week I worked hard on Tuesday and it was really great.  It made Wednesday tough but that’s ok.  So I decided to repeat the Tuesday torture fun.

The program last week was 50 swings followed by 1 minute of jogging for 12 minutes then 5 minutes of TGUs.  I changed it up only slightly this week by substituting jumping rope for the jogging.  I prefer the rope jumping.  I’m not that great at it, but I’m not bad either. It’s enjoyable.   It reminds me of being a little girl. 

I also decided to vary the kettlebell swings a bit.  Initially I had planned to stick with 2 hand swings throughout but decided on my second round of swings to switch things up.   I did just a simple circuit of 10 2 hand, 10 right, 10 left, 10 2 hand, 5 right , 5 left.  I like that pattern.  It made the rest of the practice go much easier.  When the timer went off at the end of the 12 minutes, I was only part way through a round of swings but had plenty of steam left.  I completed that round and contemplated another but eventually decided to stop.

A few minutes later I practiced several rounds of alternating Turkish Get Up singles done with no weight.  I should have thought to use the shoe to balance on my hand.  Oh well.  It was great to focus on each movement carefully.  I stopped the practice at the end of 5 minutes.   

Next Tuesday I’m going to make the swing portion harder.  Not sure what I’m going to change. Maybe I’ll use the bigger kettlebell. Or add minutes.  Or shorten the rest.  At least I have a week to decide. 

 This week I have been  following Week 6 of Enter the Kettlebell.   The clean and press ladders are going fine and I’m looking forward to adding another ladder to the practice next week.  I’m improving with my chinups, although not nearly fast enough to suit myself.  I need to get some better bands so that when I have to switch to assisted chinups I actually get some assistance.  (The band arrangement I have right now just is not cutting it.)  Until then, when I run out of steam with chinups, I move to bent rows.

The kettlebell swing and snatch training is going well, although some of the  swing practices are pretty crazy. Five seconds’  rest between sets of 25 swings?  That’s not a rest, it’s death avoidance!    Oh my.  But I’m getting through them.

Monday was “light” with 4 ladders, 3 rungs each of cleans and presses, plus the “pulls” as required in the ETK workbook.    Monday also included snatches.  They went well but I felt pain in my hands way too early in that practice, in my opinion.  This will definitely be something to discuss with Elise when I train with her again.

Tuesday was a variety day, and my practice looked something like a double workout from the Program Minimum part of Enter the Kettlebell.  The first part was kettlebell swings – 50 of them followed by a 1 minute jog.  No rest, just repeat until 12 minutes are up.  After a brief recovery I then did part two, 5 minutes of continuous Turkish Get Ups, alternating sides.  I used one of the baby kettlebells.  This was a killer day.  But I felt great the rest of the day.  Funny how that works. 

Wednesday was “medium day” from ETK.  It looked much like Monday, except there was swing practice in lieu of snatch practice at the end.  After burning it up on Tuesday, this was pretty tough, but I followed the protocol as required.  I also practiced  pushups and planks at the end, two exercises I’d really like to be better at.

Thursday was another variety day, and I used my heaviest kettlebell and did swing intervals at :30 on/:30 off for 12 minutes.  For active rest during the :30 off I did prisoner squats or alternating lunges.  Then I did 7 minutes of Turkish Get Ups, “naked” (no weight.) Doing them this way makes it much easier to focus on form and I’ve decided that I’ll do  them this way for a while.  Form matters so much more than how much weight you can hoist without killing yourself.

Friday was a rest day for me. Yay!! I needed it!

 
Saturday was a “heavy” day.  The clean and press ladders and pulls were the same but the swing practice was the heavy part.  This was the one with 25 swings and 5 seconds of rest.  Thankfully it only lasted 6 minutes.  Some really ugly thoughts came to mind when I was in the latter part of this practice.  But again, I made it through.  I have definitely developed some new respect for those who have completed the ETK program!

Sunday is a rest day. Looking forward to the rest and a little extra sleep.

I’m basically happy with the way my training went this week.  I noticed that I had to work hard on staying focused mentally as well as physically.  I didn’t really get this when people mentioned it before, but it’s clear now. 

No more fasting for me for the time being.  I need a steady supply of energy, and personally I find that my energy is significantly affected by fasting.  As long as I’m doing ETK, there won’t be room for it.

Moving on to week 7 of ETK (round 1) on Monday. 

The family went to the pool and part of me wanted to go with them.  But there’s all summer for that, and I was ready for my scheduled appointment with Elise Matthews, RKC II.  My goal of becoming prepared for RKC was my priority. So I trained with Elise for an hour and change on Sunday. 

Whenever I leave her studio, I always feel great about what’s ahead and what I’ve learned.  And it was no different this time.  It is always a pleasure to work with her.

As usual, she started by asking me how the last few weeks had gone.  I told her how I’d had fun figuring out the kettlebell snatch, and how I had torn up my hands in the process (although thankfully, they’re better now.)  I told her that the workouts had gone well, that I’d made progress building endurance and strength, but that a brief bout with a cold had erased some of that, at least temporarily.

Then she began to evaluate three main movements for me:  the swing, the clean and the snatch.  We focused on each one individually.  With the swing we discussed my range of motion, and whether or not it was large enough.  I made a mental note to work on enlarging the range, even though she said it would be fine as is.  My kettlebell clean needed another dose of  “arc taming,”  something I never seem to hear enough about.  Apparently the arc was especially wild on the left, which accounts for the bruises on my left forearm only. 

At our last session I was introduced to doing kettlebell snatches.  At that point, mine looked more like one of the pictures of Pavel demonstrating the WRONG way to do them in Enter The Kettlebell.  So I was psyched to show Elise my progress.  I knew my technique would still require much refinement, but I also knew I had come a long way.  I was both surprised and relieved when she didn’t find too much wrong with the snatches.  When I told her that I was having some low back pain when I used a  (for me) medium sized kettlebell to do snatches, she immediately diagnosed and showed me how to  fix the problem.  This is one reason why it is important to work with a certified kettlebell trainer.

We spent a good deal of the time talking business.  She gave me some great ideas to use when coaching other women and shared some of her experiences in the fitness business.   We talked about how kettlebells are basically unheard of in our area, and what the best way to change that would be.  We discussed RKC:  the organization, and the certification weekend.  I think I may have enjoyed our conversation more than the training. 

Then she walked me through a workout she had her kettlebell group perform the day before.  I’ll be doing this workout as part of my weekly line up over the next several weeks.  I only did one round, and I can say with certainty that this will be a good one, for those of us who love to train hard.   Details to follow. 

Once again, I’m ready to charge forward and see how much I can accomplish before our next meeting.  We made plans to have that next session in several weeks. 

Today’s workout:  none.  Too much DOMS.  Love it! 

Figuring that I’d be too sore this morning for my scheduled Turkish Get Up and Swing combination workout, I slept late.  (Hmm. Been doing that a lot this week!) In reality, I wasn’t all that sore when I got going,  and probably should have gotten up at my usual time so I could have made better use of the rest of the day.  Oh well.

The prescribed workout of the day involves up to 3 Turkish Get Ups per side, then 25 swings.  Rest and repeat.  It’s my favorite one in the rotation Elise provided. Today I used the 8kg bell and did 3 TGUs on alternating sides (6 total) followed by 25 swings with the 16kg kettlebell x 4 rounds.  

Snatches:  I couldn’t NOT do these. Experienced kettlebell friends, tell me:  should I keep on practicing every day if I feel like it?  Or will that lead to overtraining?   With the 8kg bell, I did 10 per side x 5 rounds.  By then my hands were really hurting/burning.  (More and different callouses are on the way.)  I upgraded to the 10kg bell just to see how it would go, and managed several more per side before deciding to stop the insanity on my hands.  So I’m basically obsessed with snatching the kettlebell at this point.  Woo hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I’ve decided I’m naming these work outs that Elise designed.  Today’s will be known as Beautiful.  It’s one with very  fluid movements, a sweet blend of cardio and strength.  Everything is unilateral – Kettlebell Swing, Swing Clean, Squat, Press.   I used the 12kg throughout this time.  I considered adding an extra set at the end, but I was too fatigued to do many more cleans and/or presses.  So instead I just did more swings.  I borrowed my friend, www.twitter.com/kravmascara ’s, idea and did one hand swings for :30 per side and then :30 rest.  It didn’t take too many rounds before I was toast.   Total workout time 22:23.  I burned 203 calories.  But we all know that the afterburn is what counts.