KB Girl has an affair with barbells

[SymphonicDan]

Not very long actually, which is why i'm kind of forced to get started. Just 6 weeks until the last qualifier for worlds.... I'm an idiot.

 

But yes, I do have plenty of excess fat (can't you tell from video? ). I was around 70kg last year, which was a pretty good weight for me with still a fat% of around 25.

It should be possible.. And I do have some wiggle room.. If I can get to 69/70kg I can get down to 68 for a weigh in.

 

Ahh it was the video that made me surprised because I didn't remember you being anything other than athletic! Clearly I was too busy watching the lifting to be thinking about body shapes etc. Best of luck then! You're in a good place to start from since you already do a lot of work that eats up calories like crazy. Plus, anything you can do in training on a calorific deficit will be easy at competition time, when you are able to fill yourself with energy foods beforehand if needed.

 

 

Oof that sounds rough. But sometimes a strong incentive and tight deadline is exactly what's needed to get ones ass into gear. 

 

Haha, that's just about a triple entendre, don't know whether you intended to be clever and witty but you succeeded

[Polaris]

Ooh, good luck on the cut! 7 kilos in 6 weeks is tough, but if anyone can do it, it's you. If you need someone to vent to when you're hangry and fed up with everything, I'm here

[KB Girl]

You guys are the best! Thanks for all the encouragement!
I've been reading your comments on my phone and the strangest thing happened... I actually started to believe that I can do it Which is a tremendous help. And you're very right, I have the right combination of know how, excellent reasons and a deadline.

I also really appreciate the offers for hangry venting So far it hasn't been needed yet, but i'm sure it will come.

The last couple of days have been a blessing in disguise, I have been cooped up inside working on a very important deadline. Since I hardly had time to sleep, let alone workout, i've had a good opportunity to give this thing a headstart. Getting the first big chunk out of the way is very encouraging.


 

The 74.4 is a rolling average calculated by the happy scale app. I already saw 73.6 on the scale this morning. 

 

Just now I had my first really big meal and the next couple of days will be a little closer to maintenance since we have a mock-competition on sunday and i'll need to not feel like a wrung out tea towel.

[Nymeria]

Those are some awesome results!

[raptron]

Going strong! That's excellent to hear.

[jrosto]

That chart is definitely going in the right direction

[obax]

I'm a little late to the game, but good luck with the cut! It looks like you're off to a fine start!

[KB Girl]

Those are some awesome results!

Going strong! That's excellent to hear.

That chart is definitely going in the right direction

I'm a little late to the game, but good luck with the cut! It looks like you're off to a fine start!

 

Thanks!! Really relieved by it mostly, a little bit of proof that I can do this. Though anxiety is already setting back in today, weird brain. 

I'm hangry.

[KB Girl]

Yesterday I finished up the work for that deadline, had a huuuuuge lunch and went to the gym. Not sure if it was just having eaten properly, but I felt like I was superwoman. The reality didn't quite match the feeling, but it was nice anyway.

 

Thursday, week 4

Since I felt like superwoman and I now weigh 3kg less the first thing I did when arriving at the gym was ofcourse this; 

Even the third was a bit questionable, but i'd say that fourth will be there before I finish this cut.

 

KB snatches

warmup reps + form check

16kg, 6 minutes, 12rpm, 1 switch

 

Took the form check with slowmotion camera so thought i'd share it. I'm quite pleased with it, two minor things apart from the one major thing i'm not going to worry about this year.

 

BB snatch pulls

35kg x a lot

45kg x a lot

 

BB power snatch

25kg x 5 singles

30kg x 5 singles

35kg x 3 singles

40kg x 1

 

Just really wanted to try pulling from the floor, focusing very hard on getting my knees out of the way, the right way. (Thanks for the video Roo!) Some felt good, some were wonky. But at least it's practice.

 

BB power clean + jerk

40kg x 5 x 3

50kg x 3 x 3

 

These went much better. The jerk is also starting to get there, though it goes off a little when the weight gets higher. (Duh.)

 

Front squats

45kg x 3 x 5

[raptron]

Awwww yeah! Getting at it! 

[jrosto]

I always enjoy your vids, thanks for sharing.

 

It is going to be quite awhile before I start on snatches.  Watching you do them really gets me to thinking about it though

 

Have to conquer the Simple part of S&S first.

[KB Girl]

I always enjoy your vids, thanks for sharing.

 

It is going to be quite awhile before I start on snatches.  Watching you do them really gets me to thinking about it though

 

Have to conquer the Simple part of S&S first.

Snatches are the best, you could prepare a bit by starting on one handed swings! And maybe some cleans. Those would give you a lot less trouble/risk with your back and wrists while learning. 

[Polaris]

Ooh, ring pull-ups! You inspire great jealousy in me. I really need to hit them back muscles when I start my bulk so I can get myself up there by the end of the year.

 

I'm sorry, but I'm laughing at that slo-mo video, only because that creepy background noise that makes me think there's gonna be a jump scare any minute Your ponytail also looks very epic. Btw, I'm curious how you take your vids because they're such good quality. Do you use your phone, or do you have an actual camera for that purpose?

[jrosto]

Snatches are the best, you could prepare a bit by starting on one handed swings! And maybe some cleans. Those would give you a lot less trouble/risk with your back and wrists while learning. 

 

I do have to get started on the one handed swings.  I am patiently waiting I am "...very competent in the two-arm swing, and not a moment sooner..." to work on the one-arm.  I can see that move causing a serious flexing of the rib cage if not performed properly and without good basic core strength.  I'm planning on giving them a shot next week

[KB Girl]

Forgot to bring my food to work with me today.. Now my brain is trying to convince me that since this day is a loss anyway I might as well eat all the delicious smelling cheesy croissants.

Shut up brain. Grr. Bad day.

[SymphonicDan]

That 3rd pull-up is completely legit - and the 4th was so close to the easy topmost section - you'll be on 5 solid ones before you know it

 

That weight-tracking app is very good - such an antidote to people who get confused when their weight fluctuates due to water weight and food etc. Keep cutting at that rate and you'll be at your desired weight and well-recovered by the time the competition rolls around!

[Waanie]

Great start of your cut . How was the mock-competition yesterday?

[raptron]

Yay for getting it done. Your pull-ups are so good. I'm jealooous! Hope everything is still on track. Fight off the derailment demons!

[Wild Wolf]

Oh man, the every daunting task of cutting! Tales from Hangryville special edition, lol. I think you'll do really well on this. Your mindset is there for sure, because of what you want to achieve with the cut-keeping the mindset is the hard part. I will be a big component for micro and intermittent fasting if you are cutting. I've done IF..and its not really my cup a tea to go 24-hrs without food unless it's an absolute MUST. Micro-fasting, though, always worked well for me. Granted, I don't do any kind of fasting now because I train in the early AM and the amount of running I do now negates the need to "go longer" in between meals. Maybe an eating window would work for you? Say noon-8..8:30 each day? That was always my favorite time window for micro-fasting.

 

You're workouts are already there to burn fat and continue to build muscle, so maybe the eating window would suffice. That kinda stuff is ALL about experimentation and biohacking your life. When you find what works, it works WELL. Your video was great-and dem snatches! Such a beautiful, powerful move, particularly with KB's

 

Speaking of KB's...has the affair got out yet? Do they know you're two-timing it with BB's? I'll continue to keep your secret

 

Wolf

[tigertubagirl]

Just checking in on you -- looks like you are doing great!! 

 

I love the slo-mo video. I agree that the ponytail is epic. I am also inspired by your pullups. 

 

It's too bad we don't live closer to each other. I am swimming in veggies from my garden right now. Sounds like good cutting food to me.  

[Yuen]

Haha you are always so tough on yourself on pull up form. Sooooo close to #4. (and then 5!)

 

Good luck on your cut! I'm crossing my fingers (and toes) that you reach your goal weight :)

[KB Girl]

I'm sorry, but I'm laughing at that slo-mo video, only because that creepy background noise that makes me think there's gonna be a jump scare any minute Your ponytail also looks very epic. Btw, I'm curious how you take your vids because they're such good quality. Do you use your phone, or do you have an actual camera for that purpose?

Yea the sound in them is hilarious I'm simply using my Iphone (5s), the camera's on phones these days are excellent, it's very nice.

 

That 3rd pull-up is completely legit - and the 4th was so close to the easy topmost section - you'll be on 5 solid ones before you know it

 

That weight-tracking app is very good - such an antidote to people who get confused when their weight fluctuates due to water weight and food etc. Keep cutting at that rate and you'll be at your desired weight and well-recovered by the time the competition rolls around!

Hehe I'm glad you think so! I love happy scale, even though it does have downsides, for example it can't tell wether your weightloss has stalled due to cycle/water or because you've changed the deficit. Still, love it. Not sure I can keep it up at this rate though, but we'll see!

 

Great start of your cut . How was the mock-competition yesterday?

I'll write up an update in a minute, thanks for asking!

 

Yay for getting it done. Your pull-ups are so good. I'm jealooous! Hope everything is still on track. Fight off the derailment demons!

You are jealous of my pull-ups? Seriously?

Demonfighting is ongoing ^^

 

Oh man, the every daunting task of cutting! Tales from Hangryville special edition, lol. I think you'll do really well on this. Your mindset is there for sure, because of what you want to achieve with the cut-keeping the mindset is the hard part. I will be a big component for micro and intermittent fasting if you are cutting. I've done IF..and its not really my cup a tea to go 24-hrs without food unless it's an absolute MUST. Micro-fasting, though, always worked well for me. Granted, I don't do any kind of fasting now because I train in the early AM and the amount of running I do now negates the need to "go longer" in between meals. Maybe an eating window would work for you? Say noon-8..8:30 each day? That was always my favorite time window for micro-fasting.

 

You're workouts are already there to burn fat and continue to build muscle, so maybe the eating window would suffice. That kinda stuff is ALL about experimentation and biohacking your life. When you find what works, it works WELL. Your video was great-and dem snatches! Such a beautiful, powerful move, particularly with KB's

 

Speaking of KB's...has the affair got out yet? Do they know you're two-timing it with BB's? I'll continue to keep your secret

The affair has gotten out indeed, I have people in real life are starting to question me. I can't really write it off as GPP anymore, haha. 

The method to my cutting madness right now is simply eating less. Sticking to my regular scheduled meal times, just making them very small and no snacking x) I seem to be dealing with the hunger by keeping busy.

 

Just checking in on you -- looks like you are doing great!! 

 

I love the slo-mo video. I agree that the ponytail is epic. I am also inspired by your pullups. 

 

It's too bad we don't live closer to each other. I am swimming in veggies from my garden right now. Sounds like good cutting food to me. 

Thanks! I'm impressed my ponytail has reached epic status, haha. It's a bit out of control A veggie swap would be an excellent idea...

 

Haha you are always so tough on yourself on pull up form. Sooooo close to #4. (and then 5!)

 

Good luck on your cut! I'm crossing my fingers (and toes) that you reach your goal weight!

Thanks Yuen! I can really use even the crossed toes

After 5 i'm stopping, that's done then. Next up would be higher pull-ups I think, hands under breasts would be nice.

[KB Girl]

The mock competition on Sunday was great, it was good to see a lot of the regular faces we see at competitions, see how they're all doing. There was a bbq afterwards so plenty of time for chats. It was also an excellent opportunity to run the last serious test sets before the qualifying competition in 5 weeks. I had 5 athletes compete and had excellent learning experiences, maybe more on that later.

My own goal was to do 6 minutes at a 12 reps per minute pace, which would give 72 reps, with the 20kg kettlebell. Unfortunately my 71st rep hit the floor on the way back so I wasn't completely successful, but satisfied anyway. In 5 weeks I need to do 60 reps in 5 minutes with 24kg... since I felt like crap on sunday (seriously my body was messed up) and still managed this.. I'm a tiny bit more optimistic that I can do it.

The guy next to me took a video so here it is. Note that my grip starts to fail at the end of 3 minutes for both hands, I can't help but wonder if that is because that's my actual limit or just because 30 seconds before the end my brain starts to believe that's my limit.

I weighed in at 73.9kg for the competition, so not bad. Here is my graph, I think I pulled off the 4 days at maintenance reasonably well.

[KB Girl]

New low on the scale this morning (72.9kg) so I might actually get there on time. It's rough though, i've been feeling a bit shaky and have lots of headaches. (Though to be fair this could have something to do with little sleep and stress.) Fortunately i'm finding hunger much easier to deal with than cravings. I have no trouble not eating and when i'm actually hungry i'm just wanting some actual real/good food and cravings for chocolate and things just go away. They return with a vengeance after a meal though, which sucks. 

 

Workout from yesterday;

KB snatches:

left arm; 6 reps with 18kg, 16kg, 14kg and 12kg (no rest in between)

right arm; same thing

Very doable, taking it easy.

KB clean & jerk:

4/4 reps with 24kg, 40seconds rest, repeat x7

​Why is jerking with a kb so much easier than a barbell? grm.

Locomotion stuff:

Basically wanted myself to move a bit more, but there was gonna be no lifting. So did bear crawls, frog jumps etcetc.

 

In other news, I finished my thesis last week and got results back this morning. I've got a 7, which is a decent grade. I'm mostly just relieved that it's finally done. Just some paperwork and one presentation left and I will be officially done with formal education. Thank god.

[jrosto]

New low on the scale this morning (72.9kg) so I might actually get there on time. ...

 

 

...In other news, I finished my thesis last week and got results back this morning. I've got a 7, which is a decent grade. I'm mostly just relieved that it's finally done. Just some paperwork and one presentation left and I will be officially done with formal education. Thank god.

 

Two pieces of awesomeness in one post.  Congrats on both!

 

Nice workout also.