[The Most Loathed] from amateur to pro

[Sloth the Enduring]

Thanks, I've seen those videos.  I hit that coach's website last night and downloaded his free e-book.  I guess I'll go buy some sci-fi to read while I'm at MIL's.

 

I don't know enough to know what I want to know (and sometimes I just like to nerd out on a topic).  From what little I do know, it seems like a great way to train for cycling.  I'm casting about right now, trying to figure out what to do in order to get in shape after my winter of discontent and what to do in the summer mixed in with biking.  If I concentrate on mountain biking my technique isn't good enough, and the local terrain isn't hilly enough, for me to really build my fitness, so I need to do something else too.  

 

I ran across an article that advocated alternating long cycle and running.  I thought long cycle + biking wouldn't be too different.  It's a lot of medium-hard days in a row.  Which, I kind of like, but don't know if it's a good idea.

[The Most Loathed]

...I guess I'll go buy some sci-fi to read while I'm at MIL's...

 

...I don't know enough to know what I want to know (and sometimes I just like to nerd out on a topic)...

 

...I ran across an article that advocated alternating long cycle and running.  I thought long cycle + biking wouldn't be too different.  It's a lot of medium-hard days in a row.  Which, I kind of like, but don't know if it's a good idea.

I haven't read it but I've heard good things about John Scalzi's Lock Down. Everything I've ever read by him has been good.

 

yeah, Long cycle is a hard one to nerd out on. I just had to jump in and do it. Every published training program I've seen hasn't really fit me. KB Girl has some great ideas and it's pretty easy to get a handle on the variables (pace, weight, duration, sets) and just pull each lever in turn and see what happens.

 

I think you'l get very different results from long cycle than you would from running but I think they will balance against biking better. Running is a little too much like biking for me to feel like they are doing much for each other as "off days". Long Cycle on the other hand will get after you anaerobic systems more and encourage hypertrophy more.

[The Most Loathed]

time for conditioning

set a timer for 1 hour, set up the rower to display calories

 

-row 30 calories (works out to 1:30 at a good pace)

-5 clap burpees

-10/10 one arm kettlebell swings 32 kg

-5/5 sit outs

repeat for 15 rounds

completed 59:10

[Mrcipher]

I'd totally be down. Let me know what kinds of gaps the party has and I'll fill in. I have noticed a trend, I tend to play half-orcs in D&D and Pathfinder and orks in Shadowrun. I wouldn't mind trying to make myself play something outside that tendency. 

If I only I was closer I'd invite myself. Miss D&D so much ! Half-elf rangers or thieves all the way...

 

And I watched those videos. What can I say except that you're a beast - in a good way. Amazing. You just might have converted me...is your thumb holding the kb during the rack?

 

(p.s. awesome garage gym. I love the relaxation station in the back - table + board games!)

[The Most Loathed]

If I only I was closer I'd invite myself. Miss D&D so much ! Half-elf rangers or thieves all the way...

 

And I watched those videos. What can I say except that you're a beast - in a good way. Amazing. You just might have converted me...is your thumb holding the kb during the rack?

 

(p.s. awesome garage gym. I love the relaxation station in the back - table + board games!)

That Pathfinder game is happening here on Nerd Fitness. It's cn3wton's game. 

 

My thumbs are hooked around the bell but they aren't doing anything. The bells are resting on my forearms and the handle slopes across my palm with one end resting between my thumb and forefinger and the other resting down by my wrist. 

 

The two videos on this page are actually from my basement. We had a cold snap so I moved my bells down there temporarily. I'll be moving back out to the garage for tomorrow's workout. It has the unfinished drywall walls. I never thought to call the games area the Relaxation Station but that is definitely its new name.

[Sloth the Enduring]

I haven't read it but I've heard good things about John Scalzi's Lock Down. Everything I've ever read by him has been good.

yeah, Long cycle is a hard one to nerd out on. I just had to jump in and do it. Every published training program I've seen hasn't really fit me. KB Girl has some great ideas and it's pretty easy to get a handle on the variables (pace, weight, duration, sets) and just pull each lever in turn and see what happens.

I think you'l get very different results from long cycle than you would from running but I think they will balance against biking better. Running is a little too much like biking for me to feel like they are doing much for each other as "off days". Long Cycle on the other hand will get after you anaerobic systems more and encourage hypertrophy more.

I got a different Scalzi book. I really like it, I love his universe, the story is gripping (at one point I held my breath as I read it, but the dialogue is a bit too cutesy.

I'll bend your ear when I come over. But long cycle looks like a good match for cycling (except it gets confusing to talk about). I want to give it a try.

[The Most Loathed]

Which Scalzi book?

 

I'm a little more Fantasy than Sci Fi (ok a lot more) so I just started the latest Richard K. Morgan book (if you haven't read Altered Carbon, do so now) but I also bought book 3 in the Gentlemen Bastards and book 1 of Powder mage. 

Also, I'm psyched for the upcoming Nerd Night.

 

 

03/28/2015

long cycle  28 kg x 2, 6 rpm, 1:30 on/1:00 off

8 rounds (See notes)

 

circuit 

-alternating press 20 kg 10/10

-gorilla clean 20 kg 10/10

-rotating lunge 20 kg 5/5

-mountain climber 20/20

-snatch 20 kg 10/10 

3 rounds

 

notes

• two days off was both sucky and awesome I may move to a four day training schedule. I hate the two day lay off but the day back is great
• I went into this workout with 8 rounds in my head and I had to push to hit 8 but I had to question, was hitting 8 when it was the number I went in a case of underselling myself. So I barely managed to convince myself to start 9. It was rough and at 5 reps I decided it was enough. 8 rounds is solid
• I made up the circuit on the fly then I screwed with the numbers when maybe I should have left them. I had more cleans and more snatches in there but backed off. In the end it was so-so and my shoulders were clearly the victims of this one.
• gin is good

[The Most Loathed]

Today I did two great things

 

1. I had hauled my kettlebells back down to the basement for a cold spell we have gone through, today they returned to the garage. I'm delighted by this

2. I completed a kettlebell pentathlon

 

As far as I know the kettlebell pentathlon was invented by Valerie Fedorenko of the World Kettlebell Club. It's made up of five kettlebell events, each is one arm at a time and multiple hand switches are permitted. I don't recall if you are allowed to set down the weight and pick it back up but I just assumed it wasn't. Each event has a standard of performance that Valerie explains at the page I linked above and theoretically you should record it for review and you should use a fix-o-meter which I don't own, so this is at best unofficial.

 

Each event is six minutes with a five minute break and is scored at 1 point per 8 kg moved. So, when I do cleans with a 24kg bell I'm scoring 3 points each time I rack the bell, drop it and rack it again. There are a max number of points per event and in my experience to hit the max you would almost certainly not be performing the lifts correctly. You can use different weights from one event to the other to maximize your score.

 

pentathlon

clean 120 rep max - 24kg 102 reps = 306 points

long cycle press 60 rep max- 24 kg 60 reps = 180 points

jerk 120 rep max - 24 kg 103 = 309 points

1/2 snatch 108 rep max - 24 kg 108 = 324 points (NOTE 1)

Push Press 120 reps max - 24 kg 90 = 270 points (NOTE 2)

528 reps max x 3 = 1584 max possible score using 24 kg throughout

my score: 1,389 (NOTE 3)

 

NOTES

1. In hindsight, these didn't count. I forgot that when doing a one arm clean you have to pause in the rack on the way down, I did not. I assume that 1/2 snatch requires this. I'll need to check
2. I completed 100 reps but I arbitrarily deducted 10 reps because I know I slipped some jerks in there. It wasn't my intention but it happened
3. I set my sights on 1400 and missed by seven reps. I'm sure that a video review would push me back further but I also suspect that having live feedback would have pushed me up so I'll accept this middle ground.

[Mrcipher]

The pentathlon looks like quite the feat, good job. And on your previous post about going into the long cycle with 8 rounds in mind, the brain definitely played a role in making the 9th a pain - you were already done subconsciously. Glad you pushed through.

 

Gin is good. I commend your choice.

 

Speaking of fantasty, have you read any Patrick Rothfuss? If not, check it out.

[The Most Loathed]

I've read both his novels but not the short fiction he released last year. I'm excited for The Stone Door which I think is due out this year. Also, I love him in the annual D&D game at PAX. I don't recall what year he started but here's 2015

 

[The Most Loathed]

03/30/2015

long cycle 28 kg

• 5:00 31 reps
• 4:00 off
• 4:00 - completed 2:00 but stopped and rested remaining 2:00
• 3:00 off
• 3:00 18 reps
• 2:00 off
• 2:00 13 reps
• 1:00 rest
• 1:00 6 reps

back squat - worked up to 275 using a power squat position. Unracked 315 but the plates shifted and I put it back feeling like I was getting stupid

some deadlifts and hight pulls with 100 kg (225 lb)

farmer walk 32 kg x 2 roughly 40 meters x 4 (walked to the end of the block and back twice with breaks between each set)

 

notes

today was frustrating as I went to work early knowing today was my best day to run my big batch of monthly code that takes 6 hours. We refresh the datamart on Sunday night so I checked before I left. I got to work about 5:50. I started my code and all looked great until 10 am when we started getting reports of unpopulated fields. My code wasn't done yet so I hadn't yet done my erro checking to find it but it meant that the last four hours and the early in time were a waste. I took off a little after noon feeling frustrated and angry. I came home with the expressed purpose to move some weights. I succeeded and that makes me happy.

 

now I just have to have accurate data tomorrow.

[The Most Loathed]

I'm taking tonight off, I trained the last three days and didn't sleep much last night. I'll be off tomorrow as well but back at it Thursday - Sunday. Instead of training I watched my event lift from last year. 

It's fascinating, I feel so disconnected from the pain and suffering that guy is going through. He seems so slow but I feel like he's got his breath under control for most of it. That final minute is just brutal to watch though. It ties my stomach in a not just watching every grinding, painful rep.

 

[Muscle Professor]

I have not forgotten your video on hoarse stance in fact I have a friend of mine that has done a video that is way better then anything I could produce, so I will have to post it here for you. 

[Sloth the Enduring]

That video did look brutal. I felt bad for the guy with the 20 kg bells; you could almost see his brain snap.

[Mrcipher]

Sorry to hear the code and early day did not work out as planned. Hope that you've been able to sort it out and today it goes smoothly.

 

I looks to me that you did a very good job at the Michigan open.

[The Most Loathed]

That video did look brutal. I felt bad for the guy with the 20 kg bells; you could almost see his brain snap.

I talked to that guy a bunch after the set. The way he's resting, with the bells out to the sides like that is not permitted in most kettlebell sport orgs but he had previously lifted in one that did.  He thought he was resting. When he tried to restart he was told that he wasn't allowed (in AKA and most groups you can only rest in the rack). I don't imagine he had a lot left in him but he was bummed to get stopped on a rule.

 

Sorry to hear the code and early day did not work out as planned. Hope that you've been able to sort it out and today it goes smoothly.

 

I looks to me that you did a very good job at the Michigan open.

The code's good, it's my Indian team who screwed up. They load our datamart and decided to implement a fix from another team without testing it first. Then, rather than back it out they tried to fix the fix. I made them back it out and told them not to put it back until we had a chat. Today I have data so I'm grinding through the database.

 

I exceeded my expectations, I went into it looking for 60 reps and go 67 or so. That made me happy. This year I'm going back looking for 60 reps but with the next bell up in weight.

[The Most Loathed]

Game Night tonight!!!!

We moved it from crappy Monday too better Wednesday this week. Lovely brats and burgers on the grill right now.

 

I was reminded today what a weirdo I am. Yesterday at work we did this "speed dating" thing where we were meeting the new coworkers on our team (since massive lay offs and reorg). One of my coworkers saw via facebook that I'm a kettlebell freak and told me she was too. As you can imagine, this got me excited. I sent her a link to my favorite kettlebell fitness DVD, the Simple and Sinister program, a kettlebell meet local to her and also my Michigan video from last year (recently featured in this very thread). She replied that it would be years before she was up for S&S because it requires 4 days a week. I restrained from replying that that sounded like an easy week. I do my best to not be a jerk to people but sometimes my brain doesn't get the memo.

 

In other news I'm super excited to train tomorrow! I hate two days off but sometimes they stoke the fires within in  a major way.

 

ok, brag portion, I invite you to just stop reading and go read something else. I recommend BreakingMuscle.com or BarbellShrugged.com

I get my bonus on Friday and I already have plans for a large chunk of it.

iPad - I've gone back and forth on one of these but my chromebook is starting to fail as often as it works so it's time for more reliable device. Also, iPads have some great digital implementations of boardgames.

Kettlebells - I'm going to get 2x 36 kg kettlebells.

bumper plates - I was planning to get 2x 20kg plates but last time I went to squat I loaded my two steel plates and he slid as I unracked the bar, that sealed it, 4x20 kg plates.

Wall mounted pull up bar - no justification needed

Kettlebell meets and clinics - totally paying for these, 2 meets, 1 clinic, I'm getting CMS this year and closing in on Master of Sport for next year

[Elastigirl]

 Yeah when I tell people I do kettlebells and then I tell them that I follow a program called Simple and Sinister and start to tell them about it, their eyes sort of glaze over and they change the subject. Or they want to know why I 'have to do it and can't quite get that that is my idea of fun.

[RisenPhoenix]

Game Night tonight!!!!

We moved it from crappy Monday too better Wednesday this week. Lovely brats and burgers on the grill right now.

 

I was reminded today what a weirdo I am. Yesterday at work we did this "speed dating" thing where we were meeting the new coworkers on our team (since massive lay offs and reorg). One of my coworkers saw via facebook that I'm a kettlebell freak and told me she was too. As you can imagine, this got me excited. I sent her a link to my favorite kettlebell fitness DVD, the Simple and Sinister program, a kettlebell meet local to her and also my Michigan video from last year (recently featured in this very thread). She replied that it would be years before she was up for S&S because it requires 4 days a week. I restrained from replying that that sounded like an easy week. I do my best to not be a jerk to people but sometimes my brain doesn't get the memo.

 

Glad you had a nice game night!

 

And yea, people who go "Oh, I workout" I sometimes get over excited and try to talk about everything under the sun.  Though I'm weird and also rarely think of myself as and "active person" or "athletic."  I've had friends try to ask how often I go to the gym (two, maybe three times a week), and then get told I have to add in my November Project stuff and my dojo time.  Which... adds up into a significant time sink.  But I wouldn't have it any other way.  I'm sure you're the same.

 

 

ok, brag portion, I invite you to just stop reading and go read something else. I recommend BreakingMuscle.com or BarbellShrugged.com

I get my bonus on Friday and I already have plans for a large chunk of it.

iPad - I've gone back and forth on one of these but my chromebook is starting to fail as often as it works so it's time for more reliable device. Also, iPads have some great digital implementations of boardgames.

Kettlebells - I'm going to get 2x 36 kg kettlebells.

bumper plates - I was planning to get 2x 20kg plates but last time I went to squat I loaded my two steel plates and he slid as I unracked the bar, that sealed it, 4x20 kg plates.

Wall mounted pull up bar - no justification needed

Kettlebell meets and clinics - totally paying for these, 2 meets, 1 clinic, I'm getting CMS this year and closing in on Master of Sport for next year

 

This is awesome!  Congrats on the hefty bonus!  And it looks well plotted out.  I approve of well plotted out toy purchases.

[Moralitea]

 Yeah when I tell people I do kettlebells and then I tell them that I follow a program called Simple and Sinister and start to tell them about it, their eyes sort of glaze over and they change the subject. Or they want to know why I 'have to do it and can't quite get that that is my idea of fun.

 

"Working out almost daily? Why would you do that?" I hear that as often as I hear "Oh GOD how do you lift this thing" at my 30lber, then just silence when they see my 53lb. 

[Rooks]

So I have a $100 gift card to Rogue.  If I was debating about picking a set of KBs, what should I start with?  A set of 20kg?  Heavier?  Lighter?  Just go with a 2 or 3 singles at separate weights?  Still not even sure I'm going to go with KBs, but I'm curious what your opinion would be.  

[The Most Loathed]

So I have a $100 gift card to Rogue.  If I was debating about picking a set of KBs, what should I start with?  A set of 20kg?  Heavier?  Lighter?  Just go with a 2 or 3 singles at separate weights?  Still not even sure I'm going to go with KBs, but I'm curious what your opinion would be.  

awesome gift card.

You can't go to amiss. you're welcomed to come over any try out a kettlebell if you'd like before you order, I have them every 4 kg from 8 - 32.

I started with a 16 and that's the traditional advice but that's also assuming certain things about fitness level and use that may not be true for you. Knowing how strong you are and assuming that your primary intention is swings for conditioning, 20 is a great place to start. I'm really hesitant to say 24 especially assuming you don't know the swing very well yet. 16 will definitely sound too light to you but it's a safe starting weight. The problem is, if you practice consistently you will grow out of it in a six months or so.

So yeah, go with 20 but as I mentioned, you're totally welcomed to come by and get an experience before you drop your hard earned gift card on it.

 

training today 04/02

very focused

long cycle 28 kg x 2 1:30 on/1:00 off 8 RPM (went too slow last time) 8 rounds.

lacrosse ball time

 

tomorrow I get a massage.

[Bearlee]

Thanks for talking about the podcast Barbell Shrugged. I've listened to several of their shows and their awesome. First one I listened to was the one where they interview Dave Tate. That was a scary listen for a newb like me. But their entertaining and if nothing else I get some motivation from them.

Speaking of motivating your posts and videos are very motivational too. And it's awesome to see people coming to you for advice and your explanations. I think you might have most of the NFers in the Minneapolis area in your garage getting tips from you before too long. I'm surprised how many there are up there. Anyway just wanted to say thanks for the awesome.

[The Most Loathed]

Speaking of motivating your posts and videos are very motivational too. And it's awesome to see people coming to you for advice and your explanations. I think you might have most of the NFers in the Minneapolis area in your garage getting tips from you before too long. I'm surprised how many there are up there. Anyway just wanted to say thanks for the awesome.

Thanks man. I really appreciate that. I've noticed on you're thread that your motivating quite a few people yourself.

If my garage gym was one of the epicenters of people getting together to train, eat and laugh, i'd be so delighted.

[Rooks]

awesome gift card.

You can't go to amiss. you're welcomed to come over any try out a kettlebell if you'd like before you order, I have them every 4 kg from 8 - 32.

I started with a 16 and that's the traditional advice but that's also assuming certain things about fitness level and use that may not be true for you. Knowing how strong you are and assuming that your primary intention is swings for conditioning, 20 is a great place to start. I'm really hesitant to say 24 especially assuming you don't know the swing very well yet. 16 will definitely sound too light to you but it's a safe starting weight. The problem is, if you practice consistently you will grow out of it in a six months or so.

So yeah, go with 20 but as I mentioned, you're totally welcomed to come by and get an experience before you drop your hard earned gift card on it.

 

Thanks!  Likewise, if you want to come try out the OFW Bumpers before ordering yours, feel free.  That said if you want true 20kgs, you couldn't go with Fringe.  Think they only do pounds.