photo credit: kimdokhac

In continuing with my 10,000 kettlebell swing challenge (up to 3,462528 at the moment, but should be at 3,663 by EOD), I’ve been contemplating the motion used in the kettlebell swing. To visualize this (and two styles of swing, at that), check out this YouTube video:

Note that the power in kettlebell swings comes from the lower-body with the upper-body acting to stabilize the weight.

Now watch this guy go at it on a rowing machine:

Obviously there are some key differences between these two forms of exercise. What I’m more interested in are the similarities: the intensity and driving force emanating from the lower body and the lesser-used stabilization/capping off motion of the upper-body.

And of course, perhaps the biggest difference is that a Concept II Rowing Machine is going to set you back a grand whereas the most expensive 35 lb. kettlebell is going to be no more than a hundred bucks. Plus kettlebells have no moving parts and can be used for a ton of other exercises.

I am curious if any rowers out there are actively training with kettlebells in addition to their regular rowing practice or in lieu of increased training on a rowing machine. I’d be particularly interested to hear their thoughts on the similarities or dissimilarities between the two forms of exercise and if they’ve seen any overlapping skills emerge from cross-training between rowing and swings.

Did a repeat of the Thrustwingprees 300 workout (TSB300) from February 12^th:

- 100 Single-arm Thrusters, 35 lb. kettlebell (50 per arm, broken down into sets of 20 with a minute rest between each set)

- 100 70 lb. Kettlebell Swings (broken down into sets of 10 with a minute of rest in between)

Elapsed time at this point — 25 minutes on the nose (that includes the jumping jacks).

- 100 Burpees. At this point, goal was to be regimented but mainly going for time efficiency (i.e. as quickly as possible, but regimenting rest).

Total time: 37:40 — I thought I was making terrible time, too, but managed to beat out my time from a month ago by almost four minutes. Woot!

The TSB300 is even more brutal than I remember it. This workout destroys me. As I am typing this, I’ve got sweat runners going everywhere. Totally disgusting. Time to go surprise the wife with a hug*!

Off to a happy hour now. It’s the weekend. Be Active!

*Yeah, right. Do you think I’m crazy?

As an extension of yesterday’s departure from my regular workout norms (See Active Day, 500 Swings, M.E.G., and Positive Addiction 3/4/09), today’s workout was simple, different, fun, and worth working into my more regular workout repertoire.

So what did I do? — I set my watch at 30 minutes, grabbed my wife’s 18 lb kettlebell and just started doing kettlebell drills (i.e. Jeff Martone). The idea was never to let the kettlebell come to rest and to try and not think about the exercises too much. I made it a point not to count repetitions. I stayed as fluid as possible (not always easy to transition between certain kettlebell drills). I made up stuff to do with the bell. More typical drills I incorporated throughout were ATB, Figure-8s, Figure-8 uppercuts, swings, presses, flipping the bell (and pass flips), swinging the bell like a bat, swinging the bell laterally, hot potatoes, etc.

I only dropped the bell twice.

The workout was fun, different, and required little active thought. The concept driving this workout is, like yesterday’s 500 kettlebell swings, to achieve a transcendental or meditative state (a la Glasser’s Positive Addiction) via intense, fundamentally mindless, repetitive, and non-competitive exercise.

Something like today’s haphazard or random kettlebell drills just might accomplish the objective. I definitely managed to “lose myself” intermittently in today’s thirty minute session and the workout felt fast.

Further testing is required.

I followed up the above with 60 seconds (In total, 20/9/11/9/8/3) of frog stands in line with Christopher Sommer’s planche training).

Be active!

Today’s “workout” was twofold and a bit of a departure from the norm.

First, I work from home at a desk on the computer. It’s a stationary job that is nothing like the hunter-gatherer life that was evolutionarily hardwired into my DNA. Accepting this modern-day incoherence has led me to wonder, “Are there ways to be more active throughout my desk-locked day?”

I’ve yet to come up with a great answer to that question, but today’s “active day” workout is one possible solution.

The workout: I set out to complete 100 repetitions of five different exercises whereby the 100 reps were broken up into smaller sets. These sets were interjected into trips to the kitchen for coffee, lunch, appeasing coworkers (i.e. my cat Zeke), answering phone calls, etc. — my typical work-at-home day.

Completed from about 9 A.M. to 6 P.M.:

100 air squats
100 push-ups
100 lunges (100 per side)
100 2x53 lb. kettlebell floor press (i.e. like a dumbbell press without a bench)
100 53 lb. kettlebell rows (100 per side)

It’s probably not too surprising that the above “workout” didn’t manage to leave me in sweaty ruin. But then again, the exercises were completed over hours instead in a single compact serving. Does a dispersed workout like the above fit more closely to my ancestral roots? Possibly: I doubt cavemen set aside 30 minutes to an hour to lift rocks and stare at their pumped-up reflections in nearby waterholes. Is it reasonable to assert that modern compartmentalization life into neat little sessions isn’t in keeping with our paleolithic ancestry?

Possibly.

Regardless, having energy to spare, I felt like doing more. Around 6:30 I set out to do 1,000 kettlebell swings with a 35 lb. kettlebell. I quickly realized a thousand repetitions was a bit ambitious, so I scaled back to only 500. They were done in single-arm fashion. I completed this second workout in about 28 minutes. I’ll keep the 1,000 repetition challenge as a goal to work towards.

Thoughts on missing exercise guilt and positive addiction — In his recent post on a walking workout, Mark Sisson mentions how he “found [himself] dwelling on the fact that it had been a couple days since [his] last real workout.” This common enough experience needs a name: what seasoned exerciser hasn’t felt guilty for missing a few workouts? So I suggest calling this guilt, “missed exercise guilt” (MEG).

Mark reacted to his MEG by creating a spontaneous workout of branch pull-ups, lunges, trashcan dips, and other exercises while out on an otherwise leisurely walk with his wife. I’m sure “Grok” would approve.

Yesterday evening, I began feeling a lingering uneasiness or angst. It was hard to place, but I soon narrowed it down. Maybe I was feeling out-of-sorts due to having been too lazy (or busy) to complete a workout on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday. Three days off is hardly a significant “break” from exercise, but it seemed enough to trigger MEG in me.

MEG is definitely real, so how do we take it? Is it healthy to experience missed workout angst? Or is it a sign of over-training? Obsessing over exercise? Or is MEG, which induces you to exercise, good for you?

I just began reading William Glasser’s Positive Addiction*. In essence Positive Addiction is a book focused on finding activities that induce the mind to “spin free.” What does this mean? Imagine achieving a Zen-like out-of-body experience through meditation or through repetitive physical activities — like running or biking. It’s the state of mind achieved by basketball players when they are “on fire.”

Positive addictions induce a desirable, intensely creative, and fundamentally freed state of mind. Who wouldn’t want to achieve such a positive state of being? One could even imagine such a positive experience being addicting.

I’ll save the rest for a full review, but suffice to say that certain types of physical activity can be addicting — thankfully, in a positive way (For most). Meanwhile, like any addiction, failing to get your “fix” will cause some level of withdrawal. MEG is a symptom of such withdrawal.

More on this topic later.

*William Glasser is the author of recently read and heartily recommended Control Theory

Warm-up:

30 seconds work / 15 seconds rest
35 lb. kettlebell
Figure-8 Uppercuts
Single-arm swings, alternating w/flip
Figure-8 Hot Potatoes
Swing/flip/catch press/flip/swing
2x

Time: 6 minutes

Workout:

5x5 Double 53 lb. kettlebell military press
5x5 Double 53 lb. kettlebell row
Rest 2 minutes between every set, alternating exercises

8x5 Double 53 lb. kettlebell front squat
8x5 Double 53 lb. kettlebell swing
Rest 2 minutes between every set, alternating exercises

5x4 Double 53 lb. kettlebell windmills
Rest 2 minutes between every set

Time: 1:04:07

Total workout time: 1:10:07

Did a repeat of a workout I did two weeks ago:

Did the C8B300 in 16:48. Rested two minutes. Then did 100 70 lb. (2 pood) kettlebell swings. Total time was 26:29 (So the 100 kb swings took a shade under 8 minutes).

All rest periods the same (i.e. two minutes between the cardio circuit and the kettlebell swings).

This week’s times:

C8B300 in 16:29
KB Swings in 7:53
Total time: 26:22

So 19 seconds faster on the circuit and 12 seconds slower on the swings.

You win some, you lose some. Hey, I was 20 hours fasted this time around.

A birthday workout.

Warm-up:

Run quarter-mile
10 push-ups
10 50 lb. dumbbell swings
10 air squats
10 sit-ups
Repeat for two total sets

Warmup time was 9:20

Workout:

7 super-slow reps of 50 lb. dumbbell bench press (about a five breath pace in either direction)
Immediately thereafter, did 15 push-ups, which was as many I could manage. Reps were completed as quickly as possible.
Rest one minute
Did 7 super slow 40 lb. dumbbell flies
Rest two minutes

7 super-slow 40 lb. single-arm dumbbell rows
Immediately thereafter, did 20 20 lb. dumbbell rows, which was as many as I could manage. Reps completed as fast as possible.
Rest one minute
Did 5 super-slow upright rows, 50 lb. dumbbell. These were awkward, but done to get one more back-related exercise in. I’d do something different next time. Including for sake of completeness.
Rest two minutes

5 super-slow 30 lb. dumbbell military press
Then 10 15 lb. db military press (as many as I could do)
Rest two minutes

5 super-slow 25 lb. dumbbell curls
10 15 lb. dumbbell curls (as many as I could manage). Was feeling major lactic burn at this point.
Rest two minutes

5 super-slow 50 lb. overhead tricep extensions on the bench
15 25 lb. overhead tricep extensions (As fast as possible)
Rest about five minutes

I should note that at this point in the workout, I was seeing stars a bit. Not sure if this was due to the set-up of this slow/fast workout (never done this particular combo before) or what, but the above made for an intense upper-body workout. Which is probably why . . .

Managed only four super-slow 50 lb. dumbbell front squats
Followed up with 10 squat jumps

I laid down on the bench for two or three minutes.

Around 45:30 on my stopwatch, I did a plank routine:

2 minute side plank, right side
Rest 30 seconds
2 minute side plank, left side
Rest 30 seconds
2 minute front plank
Rest 30 seconds
2 minute front plank on a stability ball

Great birthday workout. I feel seriously beat. I probably gave short-shrift to my lower-body, but I felt like I was going to pass out if I pushed myself much harder.

Warmed up with:

Quarter-mile run
20 50 lb. dumbbell swings
10 decline push-ups
10 air squats
10 sit-ups
x2
Warm-up time: approx. 12 minutes

Workout:

5x6 supersets of:
50 lb. incline dumbbell press (100 lb. total)
50 lb. bent over dumbbell row (100 lb. total)
Rest one minute between sets

5x6 supersets of:
50 lb. dumbbell front squats (100 lb. total)
50 lb. double dumbbell swings (100 lb. total)
Rest one minute between sets

5x5 supersets of:
45 lb. dumbbell butterflies
30 lb. dumbbell reverse butterflies
20 lb. dumbbell lateral raises
Rest one minute between sets

5x6 supersets of:
35 lb. hammercurls
50 lb. bench overhead tricep extensions (only one 50 lb. dumbbell)
Rest one minute between sets

This portion of the workout took about 50 minutes.

Total workout time was a tad over one hour. Felt like a solid workout. I was seeing stars momentarily during the front squat/dumbbell swing supersets.

Still liking the reduction in training volume. It is amazing to observe the positive correlation between workout volume and appetite. Higher volume training easily transfers into a larger appetite. It’s a subtle effect, mind you, but undeniable.

So I’m reminded of something Brad Pilon has said recently, which is basically that your training should be aimed at increasing your strength/physical fitness, not at trying to lose weight. This has a paradoxical feel to it in that its often said that you need to eat a lot to gain mass. I think the better advice is to mind your appetite when it comes to your training (your appetite will guide you best) and cut your food intake (diet) if you want to lose weight. Trying to mind both masters at the same time is probably a recipe for disaster, which again makes a wonderful case for fasting as the dichotomy of fasting/feasting can be easily matched to rest & recovery/training.

Skipped warm-up. Started at 12:30 pm on an empty stomach (Coffee excepting) — last thing I ate was around 9:15 Friday night.

CrossFit WOD (as modified):

Row 1000 meters
85 pound Thruster, 21 reps
15 Pull-ups

Row 750 meters
85 pound Thruster, 18 reps (5 @ 85 lbs, remaining 13 @ 65 lbs)
12 Pull-ups

Row 500 meters
85 pound Thruster, 15 reps (All at 65 lbs)
9 Pull-ups

Rest 2 minutes between each round.

My time:

Round 1: 8:54
Round 2: 7:57
Round 3: 5:58

I found this one particularly difficult. I’m chalking it up to the fact that I did 120 pull-ups/dips last night, for one. Secondly, I think the rowing sapped what little glycogen I had in my muscles given the minimal rest/eating between workouts. And did I mention that my legs are still sore from the 100 O/H squat WOD on Wednesday?

Still happy with my time. Rowing got really tough by the end — even so, I posted sub-4 minute 1000m, about 3:15 750m and around 2:00 500m. Rowing is all in gaming the Concept 2

From the board:

CrossFit Warm-up at CrossFit Augusta.

100 Overhead Squats @ 65 lbs (Olympic Bar plus two 10 lb. plates)

Time: 8:55

CrossFit superstar Brandon Cunningham rocked it out right next to me in 6:50 @ 95 lbs. Guy is a machine.