On a beautiful Thursday afternoon, Peter and I met to pull off yet another intense workout. This time I chose a very simplistic yet effective Quick Death-style workout, due to pressing time on Peter’s side.
After a thorough warm-up, we simply did the following:
This workout has a total workload of 190 Kettlebell Swings and 100 Burpees, which is a tremendous lot. We opted to do this with a 16 kg Kettlebell. Simply adjust the weight to your level of physical ability.
Descending up the pyramid turned out to be the easy part of the workout – the descend back down is a harsh field where you have to battle the overwhelming fatigue that is trying to conquer your body. I have not done any metabolic work for several months and therefore struggled a lot with the high intensity sustained over a longer period of time. I felt like strangled and had a hard time catching my breath. I do not recommend this workout to beginners. Please become comfortable with the 100-Burpee-Challenge (which is simply doing 100 Burpees for time) beforehand.
Peter finished the workout in 16′00”. It took me 18′15” to do likewise – I had to incorporate longer breaks down the pyramid due to the aforementioned fatigue symptoms.
This workout seems to be a great tool to maximize work capacity and suitable to be its benchmark, amongst other workouts. Because of its layout (Swings favour stronger and larger athletes, Burpees lighter ones), this workout allows a fair comparison between athletes – an important factor of competition. The source of inspiration for this workout already holds benchmarks that will take its time to best – like Rosch’s performance to pull this workout off with a 24 kg Kettlebell (unilateral (!)) in an amazing time of 14′11”.
Back row: Martin, Thomas, Simon, Gregor, Janis, Vinz, Jo, Alex, Lukas Front row: Karl, Harald, Peter, Dominik, Christian
April 17, 2010. Dominik Feischl once again calls out for all his “Naturtraining-Warriors” to assemble at a seminar, this time taking place in Obermühlau, near Thomasroith at the residence of his mentor and training partner Karl Humer, best known for his rafter pull-up.
The so far largest gathering of this kind was formed by twelve athletes (Dominik and Karl not counted) who travelled long distance (two athletes from Vorarlberg, one Swiss athlete) to show up. On a sunny spring day, the perfect stage was set for an perfectly enjoyable day packed with intense training.
The seminar was split up into four parts, which we tackled after a warm-up run (including hill sprint and quadropod action) through the beautiful Hausruck spring landscape:
Prior to the seminar, Dominik sent out various e-mails, containing the set-up of the Tactical Strength Challenge. Pavel Tsatsouline, inventor of the Tactical Strength Challenge advised him to adapt the set-up of his exercises to the circumstances of the event – with opened the door for a set-up completely different from the original deadlift – pull-up – snatch configuration. We matched our strength and strength endurance skills in the following disciplines:
Rope climbing (for distance)
Clean & Press a ~38 kg stone (for repetitions)
Parcours climbing (for time under tension)
Farmer’s Walk with a ~80 kg tyre (for time under tension)
Rope climbing had to be done without using the feet, pressing the stone way allowed any way we could do so, the parcours climbing demanded crossing the parcours at least once (touching a log at the far end of the parcours) and the Farmer’s Walk required constant movement.
Every single participant showed tremendous performance throughout the disciplines. The fighter spirits were high and the respective winners of the disciplines performed remarkably. Christian won the overall contest, placing first in both the Farmer’s Walk (66 seconds) and parcours climbing (~2′23” time under tension) even after dropping back with a mere 7 repetitions of the clean & press. Thomas, Harald and Lukas were very strong with the clean and press (38, 38 and 50 repetitions).
Side note: If he had competed, Dominik would have won the overall event. He outclassed all of us in the disciplines he tried (Farmer’s walk and Rope Climbing).
2. Climbing with Karl Humer
After such a ‘warm up’, things started to get hard when Karl pushed us along his newly extended parcours. Climbing horizontal ladders in various ways and reaching along logs was probably the hardest part of the whole seminar. Karl has installed six lanes that offer various challenges – including what they call the Trojan Horse, a construction featuring bars in different thickness and a stiff ascent as a finisher.
3. Toying around with tyres
After a short break our legs had to work as well. With an already sore upper body, dragging and carrying around tractor tyres was a welcome change of setting, as it mainly focuses on lower body work. We supplemented the tyre work with decent hill sprints, combined with a quadropod descent.
4. Pressing Power and Climbing Challenge
Coming back to the parcours, Karl made us do push-ups in all variations – then supplemented with dips. Following this push-up madness, Karl took out his garden hose and watered the Trojan Horse – making it more difficult to cross, which we had to do. Climbing the diagonal support poles was another difficult task. Lastly, we worked our abs with leg raises – followed by blocking, if you can. One of the last highlights of the training seminar was hanging on the Trojan Horse with tucked feet and karl throwing punches at our abs for a straight fifteen seconds. This sure was a torture that everyone felt for some time after the seminar.
For dessert, we faced another challenge: How fast can you go through the longest lane of the parcours (horizontal ladder + woodstick climbing, Trojan Horse (minus ascent) and support hold walk along the parallel bars)? Peter won this one with a breathtaking time of 17 seconds. Do I have to mention that speed is his skill?
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To commence the event, we went to a nearby inn together and did what we had to do after such a exhaustive day: Eat freely of whatever feels good to our bodies.
Every seminar poses to me the question of “What did I learn?” My answers for this time:
Janis made me aware of a dysbalance in my balance, stance and power that I have noticed but mostly ignored throughout the last years.
The core is the weakest part of the body for most athletes. This problem is particularly striking while climbing. A weak core leads to a lack of stability which in course leads to an inefficient technique
Companionship is by far the most important factor in a training group. People have to fit together well in order to achieve more than they would be able to do individually. I am looking forward to work on this one with my CrassFit comrades in future
Every athlete has a very different profile of strengths and weaknesses so that every one has the chance to shine in a specific discipline as well as the chance to learn a tremendous lot in others
Attitude is of utmost importance – your attitude not only partially decides whether or not you will succeed in all challenges
Harald mentioned that one can only teach things that one has learned three steps down the way. There is no way one can teach the things one has learned just yet
Kettlebell technique seems to be an issue for most people. Working with kettlebells sure is easy to learn and hard to master
Dominik and Janis both confirmed from their experiences that most Americans do not care too much about the quality of their nutrition – even strength coaches
Most of the participants have a reasonable attitude towards nutrition that relies heavily on their experience of what is good for them – experience seems to trump science
Furthermore, I have to congratulate all of my comrades. Some I knew from former seminars, some were new to me. Likewise they shared an utmost uplifting spirit. Some of my observations:
Janis has a good eye for posture problems in other people. He had just returned from a Underground Strength Coach certification prior to the seminar and I am convinced he will make a greatly positive impact on the people he works with in future
Thomas has made so much progress that it is hard to believe that he was barely able to perform a pull-up last Winter. He handled the climbing challenges with an ease and grace that is stunning. Hats off!
Harald has impressed me with his ability to focus. To me, he is prototypical for the calm warrior – I have great respect for him
Gregor has a most uplifting spirit he carries along with him. On most pictures I see him smiling while he performs at his best. He is one of the athletes I would consider indestructible under normal circumstances
Peter is a tremendously quick athlete – as expected from a former short distance runner. No wonder he managed to win the speed climbing challenge. His ability to push himself farther is remarkable – it’s like he is unable to experience unbearable pain
Once again, this seminar has proven to be extremely enjoyable while being just as exhaustive. What can be better than a day with like-minded people – training hard, chatting about things that matter to you and have a great time? Few things come to my mind.
I am looking forward to see you at the next seminar held by Dominik. Make sure you don’t miss out if you’re around.
Train on and stay strong,
Simon
P.S.: It’s now Wednesday and I’m still feeling a wee soreness in my forearms, shoulders and back. The sheer training density on this day caused deep muscle fatigue, I guess.
Back from hibernation mode. Against all odds, it took us another two months to give CrassFit another shot. I have to say that the winter has been long and harsh here in Austria and – with the exception of the Winter Training Camp in Thomasroith – Trainings have neither been very productive or enjoyable for me throughout the last few months.
With the advent of spring, things slowly begin to change again and it’s perfectly fitting to restart the initiative.
Rainer, Jozy, Peter and I assembled at our Donaulände meeting point – only to find this back then deserted place rather crowded with people of all ages – from kids to grannies. Higher temperatures lead to an increased rate of activity amongst our contemporaries – a good thing to see
Albeit being absent, Dominik Feischl provided us with a tremendous workout to ultimately wake our bones and muscles from hibernation. We did the following:
Pre-Fatigue
3 Rounds of:
Jungle Gym Pull-Ups (all out)
15 Push-Ups with elevated feet
10 Double Kettlebell Front Squats (2 x 16 kg)
Struggling with this one relentlessly pointed out the weaknesses that have emerged through extensive absence of hard training.
Metabolic Conditioning
3 Rounds of:
10 Kettlebell Swings (16 kg)
200 Meter Sprint
10 + 10 Kettlebell Cleans (16 kg)
200 Meter Sprint
Unfit to match the requirements of such a strenuous workout after the long winter break, our lungs and legs were shattered by the intensity created by this bout. 200 Meters seem like a lot of distance to cover when your legs are tired and yearning for rest.
As if it would not have been enough, we added a Quick Death-style post-fatigue exercise:
Post-Fatigue
The infamous Leg Matrix:
24 Full Squats
12 + 12 Lunges
24 Split Jumps
24 Jump Squats
The result: A lactate-infested lower body.
We finished with a bit of toying on the Jungle Gym and a towel and called it a day. With a few days between the workout and the coverage I can report of a deep muscle soreness from Saturday to Monday – the result and price of getting back into gears.
A price I am more than willing to pay
Train on and stay strong!
Simon
P.S.: A great thank you towards my CrassFit training partners. There have been little incidents I have enjoyed as much as this little training session. Physical activity at this level of intensity really ups your spirits
We’re back from a long break. We either trained abroad, were sick or not motivated enough to train – which applies to me in particular. With today’s training I consider myself back
After a long drive to Linz, battling myself through snow-covered roads amid the cold Mühlviertel winter landscape, I picked up Peter. We almost instantly decided not to train at our usual place – somewhere nearby would suit us better. Peter suggested the stairs in the house he lives in. A great idea!
The house has a total of twelve floors, all of which were utilized today.
We did the following:
Crawling up the stairs backwards (six floors)
Utilizing jump variations (six floors
Crawling back down (three floors)
More jump variations (nine floors)
Stair sprint (twelve floors at once)
Lunges (twelve floors at once)
Farmer’s walk up the stairs (most stairs with either 48 or 40 kilogram, one floor with 88 kg of additional weight)
We finished the workout with some back exercises (either stiff leg deadlifts or rows) to give our back the proper portion of work in the end.
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I have to say that I am amazed! Crawling up some stairs is a tremendous workout for the whole body – I already feel my shoulders and core aching. The sprint upward was a killer for the legs in terms of systemic workload, the lunges and weighted walks were a test of muscular endurance.
Overall the training showed that you do not need much to train properly. Stairs are everywhere – and usually not frequented well. During our workout, we did not run into one single person. All of them were taking the elevator instead – a pity, when you think of the possible health benefits of taking the stairs instead of the elevator. For those who sit all day, this is a welcoming way of exercising a little every day. If you want to take it further: Climb up the stairs instead
Since I have attended the Grizzly Trainingwinter camp at Dominik’s place, there have been lots of thoughts about the mental component of training. As I have noted in the most recent CrassFit coverage, it was Harald who enabled me to sustain performance even when my body screamed at me to stop.
In order to advance, you have to go beyond your limits. If you duck back into your comfort zone every single time, you will never enjoy the experience of stepping out of it – this applies to the world of training as well as to each and every everyday situation. Popular books about personal development write about the fact that you have to do something you have never done before to achieve something you have never achieved before. This continues to proves true to all of us.
In relation to my high repetition training goal (front squatting 2 x 20 kg kettlebells for 20 repetitions), I planned on achieving this goal by means of mental power – to force myself through the barrier of not wanting to do anymore due to fatigue.
Several days ago, I did a set of 15 repetitions, which was far from the maximum performance that could have been achieved. I simply stopped due to fatigue: My mind built up a glass wall which I was not to pass. But since I wanted to achieve the goal, I tried once more – this time with the hint of Harald in mind: Think of the next repetition only. There is nothing but the next repetition. One more perfect repetition, that is all.
This is the result:
I have not been at my limit and probably could have done up to 25 repetitions with the weight. It was all a matter of mental focus – and nothing else. The less factors of disturbance hinder you, the higher the power output you can yield.
Yesterday, I experienced something similar when trying out deadlifts. I have not lifted heavy for months so I feared that I would have lost a lot of power. I experienced before that the deadlift was the one exercise where I lost performance when I changed the exercise regime towards bodyweight exercises and kettlebells – while other exercises increased in performance (front squat and military press for instance).
With a personal best of 142.5 kg for a single rep, I did the following (weight/repetitions):
60/15 90/5 100/3/20 110/3 120/1/3 130/1/3 140/0/1
This sure is a unusual workout layout. I initially planned to go all-out on a 20 repetition set, following the principles of PITT-Force, but 100 kg was too light of a weight to force my power reserves to activate. I prolonged my workout with heavier triples. From 120 kg on, I did one test repetition in sumo stance, while I used a shoulder-width stance for the main sets.
I was amazed how easy it was to climb up the weight ladder, until I reached 130 kg. It was a struggle to lift them in sumo stance, so I used a little mind-trick for the triple: Music! Using the fanfare of VNV Nation’s “Pro Victoria”, I triumphed over the weight – and what an uplifting feeling it was!
Going up to 140 kg, I missed the lift in sumo stance. Reason enough to have a mental blockade doing it in narrow stance. I tried to empty my mind, put tension in every body fiber and lifted. I felt like failing but this time I saw it through – either the barbell would have dragged me to the ground or I lifted it up – letting go of the barbell was just no option. The weight had finally been lifted and I was relieved – SUCCESS!
With all the struggle, the feeling afterward has been great. If you work hard to achieve something, the feeling thereafter is always proportional to the amount of work you invested. This is the reason, why hard-working people often are happier than those who do not have to struggle to achieve or receive things – they often lack a sense of reason. You have to be able to invest something in order to get something back.
In training, the return on investment usually is of great ratio, if you work out intense, brief and infrequent.
It’s a great idea to start one’s year with a blast – and so did we.
Like the year before, Dominik Feischl invited a limited audience to his winter training camp. The objective was clear: Train hard, train often, train outside!
After a few weather-wise disappointing days to end the year, winter had returned just with the second of January 2010 – to welcome us in the region of the Hausruckviertel in Upper Austria, where Dominik’s underground strength gym is situated.
After a short greeting sequence with the six fellow athletes attending the camp (our instructors Dominik and Charly not counted in), we started off our journey with a light jog from the warm changing rooms down to Dominik’s gym. I knew most of the Athletes before – like Thomas, a fellow from the muscle-corps.de-forums, where I participate, Harald, a fellow CrassFit-Attendee and expert Kettlebell- and mental trainer or Gregor and Bossk, who I knew from the Gorilla training in Summer 2009.
Further warm-up-sessions were installed in form of Burpees and a game: Catch a piece of fabric from the person currently holding it. It was like being a child once again – just that we were all grown-up men and this was not only grass but snow below us, rendering it a struggle to sprint.
After come-back, the first of the three following parts started off officially:
Charly is an expert at getting past poles and ropes like a monkey. We trained to attain this skill as well. A horizontal rope was our first challenge – climb past it, without letting go or ever touching the ground. This exercise is a challenge indeed – as you have to climb upwards towards the end of the rope, where your power is already nearing its end. After that, we climbed from pole to pole on a self-built horizontal ladder. To progress further, the next part had to be done with one arm only. We were assigned in groups of two and handed a brick – which we had on to our partner and vice versa – while switching arms. As if this wouldn’t have been hard enough, the next challenge was to do this as a group – with the objective to not ever let go of the bar while the brick is in movement. I have to admit that I was not able to hold out that long – static holding assignments are tremendously hard on your arms and core.
With our upper body already worn out by the intense climbing experience, Dominik proceeded and handed us a piece of paper with exercise instructions, reading this:
30 trap bar deadlifts (70 kg load)
20 to 30 tire flips (with an approx. 145 kg tire)
Farmer’s walk carrying a 70 kg tire, three times approx. 50 meters
30 elevated ring push-ups
100 sledgehammer smashes (approx. 10 kg sledgehammer)
50 “Around the World”, using a Bulgarian bag, weighing approx. 13 kg
Crawling down and up (in reverse) stairs three times (“Stairs of Death”)
With every line I had to swallow harder – the sheer volume of the circuit training prescribed here felt overwhelming – just as expected from someone like Dominik. We went through explanations of every exercise and then started off – everyone starting at different stations (as for me, I started with the infamous “Stairs of Death” – an exercise that looks neat but is a real killer for your coordination and especially core stability).
I can’t put my finger on the fact how long it took me in particular to finish off each and every station on the schedule. Some felt easier to accomplish, others seemingly impossible and especially the “Around the World” puzzled me until the end – it seems I have never been any good when it comes to coordination. The last exercise – the tire flip – has been a team effort of me and Thomas, as we both lacked the strength to do it alone – and we did great, from my perspective. In the end, the dominating feeling was fatigue – my body already revolted against the workload I was forcing onto it, but still I resisted – since I knew the longest part was yet to come.
In succession of the circuit training we set off for a light jog towards the forests of Thomasroith, we were about to roam. The first few meters downhill were the only ones we saw for the next hour: It was all uphill from here. We started off with a jog upwards but transitioned the pace into a stiff walk – since running was all too much, due to the steepness of the terrain. Thomas had some issues with the challenge, but here the sense of togetherness kicked in I particularly enjoyed at this event: No one was left behind, if just he showed the will to carry on and to never let go.
The way upwards was commenced with a sequence of carrying each other upwards and two sets of extremely intense hill sprints. I felt like fading out after each of the set – sometimes I think that I am a madmen to participate in events like this one . Upwards we go – still. Pauses were utilized wisely – for instance to do several sets of push-ups on our fists or pick up a heavy wooden log from the sideway, soaked in the water from the rain of the last few days. We used these logs as training tools – the heavier ones were paired up, cleaned, squatted and even pressed overhead – the lighter ones were natural barbells for numerous exercises – even overhead squats and pistols (!) were tried out utilizing them. Probably the highlight was the rope pull-up-ladder we did on the swing at the hut up on the hill – where visitors were constantly going in and out and staring at us in disbelief – a unique feeling to be amongst those primal fighters on their way up to the top. Our best athletes set out to finish a pull-up ladder up to ten repetitions, with Dominik finishing the workout with a mind-blowing 20 repetition set on the rope – most probably the hardest two-handed variation of the pull-up. The only problem with the rope pull ups was the long waiting time between sets – and therefore the cool-off of the whole body – which is undesirable. Harald also wrote about the fact that the gloves were freezing over the course of a few minutes – I have to agree, towards the end, their inflexibility made them less and less useful. The top of the hill was reached soon thereafter and truly – we all felt like being “Kings of the Hill” – rightfully so.
We concluded the workout day with a light jog downhill – still in great mood and talking about interesting topics. In total we were in constant motion for about 1h45’ – a tremendous amount of time that passed by oh so quickly.
Short résumé:
Uphill jog
Carrying each other uphill
Hill sprint x 2
Push-ups x 2
Picking up a heavy log in pairs and utilizing it
Pull-up ladder on the rope: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
Picking up lighter logs and utilizing them
Hilltop sprint
Downhill jog
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A hot shower came in handy after these hours of powering oneself out amidst nature, through the coldness of winter and snowstorms. The atmosphere has been beyond words. To me, the highlight was the feeling of running through the woods, accompanied by the freezing wind and snowflakes and nonetheless working on one’s max with natural barbells – but there have been countless great moments that I will keep as cherished memories.
A highly important part of the day surely was the trip to the inn and the eating – and it was funny as well, with almost everyone of us ordering the same dish at last: Ham and eggs as an appetizer and grilled meat with vegetables (some of us also ordered French fries) as main dish – and a hot tea to warm oneself up. It had become deep winter in the small villages of the Hausruckviertel – the way we wanted it to be (although I was not well-prepared for a journey through snowy streets with a car that sports unfit tires for the purpose…).
An important question to myself is: What did I take with me from this event? The list probably looks like this:
Great talks with like-minded people. There just is no replacement for company that has the same goals as you – it is a unstoppable force that bears great power – more than the sum of its parts could ever be
Input for new workout schedules that were previously unknown to me
Reflection on my own training and life philosophy both by talking to others about it and listening to their philosophies. It’s safe to say that all the characters of the attendees were uniquely inspiring
First hand information about experiences with steroids. People who have taken them know and it’s amazing to listen to what they can say – no bragging about achievements and no cover on the shortcomings they experienced. Just the truth and thereby another reason never to use them
New contact information for workouts throughout the German-speaking area
Information about further seminars taking place in 2010
Muscle soreness, of course
Also, it is important to look at what I have done wrong and have to change in future:
I have broken with my eating pattern this distinct day and decided on a light breakfast. The ongoing latent sickness I carried with me is an undesirable result of that. Never experiment on day zero!
I have too drunk too few water so that I had to cut down performance due to dehydration halfway through the forest trail. This should not have been an issue. Drinking to little feels terrible – it’s like your blood is gradually becoming more and more tough
My car was most probably unfit to the street conditions. Check your means of travelling before you set out!
In training, I have let too many distracting thoughts disturb my actions and thereby lessen the overall performance I could show. The mental aspect of training sure is the most important
Still, I have done a lot of things right, such as:
Becoming stronger of the course of the last six months
Being rested before such a torturous event
Compiling a check-list of what to take with me the day before the event
Picking a time frame for travelling to the chosen destination that allows minor glitches to occur without coming too late
Showing companionship to my fellows – especially towards those who struggle to keep up the pace.
In summary, it is an experience that I recommend to everyone – at whichever level he or she may be at this precise moment. Dominik’s events are something, where you can only win – you cannot lose. It is not a competition, we’re pulling off here – it’s not about who is better. It’s about training together and motivating one another to jump over one’s shadow and do what one hasn’t ever done before. It is a growth experience, both bodily and mentally and in that a valuable piece of experience.
Surely, there will be more seminars at Dominik’s. Just visit his blog from time to time to stay informed. I hope we will see you there anytime soon
As an appetizer: The highlights of the session, compiled by Dominik.
Just before the christmas holidays are nearing their end, we set out for one more CrassFit training session. Harald will have moved back to Graz to continue studying the next day, so we decided to do one last workout together.
Dominik (who had a day off), Peter (returned from Sweden), Harald and I were present to accept Dominik’s challenge for an extremely heavy exercise collection.
Warm-Up
We did bodyweight movements with a focus on hindu squats as a warm-up. As I was a wee bit too late, so I missed out on the 100-repetition set the others did but set out to do at least a 50-repetion set as a small compensation. The warm-up was concluded with a jog from the parking space to the playground, where we usually do our workouts.
Pre-Fatigue
The pre-fatigue exercise today was split into two parts. The first challenged the upper and the second the lower body.
Kettlebell front squat pyramid: 1-3-5-7-9-7-5-3-1 repetitions (41 total)
First we did a pull-up pyramid on the rope – starting with one repetition, up to seven repetitions (or how much one is able to do – as for me, my maximum are five and a half repetitions). In total we ideally did 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 repetitions – 49 repetitions in total, what a volume! I had to struggle to keep pace – rope pull-ups are an amazing exercise. The main problem with them is the grip, when it is cold. Although it initially hurts, its useful to pick up some snow and to rub it in-between your hands – the grip becomes better instantly.
To target our lower body, we jogged back to the parking space, packed out our gear (in this case: two 20 kg and two 24 kg competition kettlebells) and started a pyramid of double kettlebell clean + front squat. In total we did 1-3-5-7-9-7-5-3-1 (= 41 total) repetitions with the weight we could just handle. I started off with the two 24 kg kettlebells but went for the 20 kg ones from the 5 repetition set onwards.
I feel that a front squat pyramid is mostly a mental thing. The exercise itself is so overwhelmingly hard to accomplish – the clean is sucking out your power, as it requires explosive movement and the squat consumes all there is left – that it soon feels simply unbearable to even continue. During the peak set of the pyramid (9 repetitions), I was feeling as if I had to give up after six repetitions – when Harry kicked in and gave me back my focus. He had me focus on the next repetition only – and it somehow worked. A perfect clean followed by a perfect squat – and nine repetitions were done in no time. Kudos to Harry – I feel he is a great motivator, when it comes to seeing a heavy set through.
Metabolic Conditioning
Not really a metabolic conditioning workout today, as we were so sucked dry from power from the pre-fatigue part already. We actually did two rounds of:
Kettlebell complex: 5 Swings L + R, 5 Cleans L + R, 5 Military- or Push-Presses L + R, 5 High Pulls L + R
10 Explosive push-ups
… and proceeded onwards to the finisher.
Post-Fatigue
The workout was concluded by an alternative version of sled dragging. As the normal dragging turned out to be too easy (with another attendee as living weight attached), we did pull-throughs and rows with the sled to make this especially hard on the whole body. After the sled had returned to its starting position, we called the workout a close.
Thereafter, we had a good sip of the bottle of raw milk I brought with me, waved goodbye – most probably to see each other again next week. Harry will be with us by the time of the next holidays, for sure .
Satisfied with the workout, the four of us.
I recommend that you just try out the pre-fatigue part of our workout – especially the Clean + Front Squat pyramid. I feel that this compound exercise is a workout of itself. We had a good talk about how top coaches like Dan John are convinced that you do not need more than two 32 kg kettlebells to have a tremendously challenging workout – even for someone who usually lifts weights a lot heavier (like a powerlifter or Olympic weightlifter). Just take two heavy kettlebells and try the Clean + Front Squat exercise combination. It humbles each and every athlete, I am convinced.
After a few days off because of an oral surgery I had to undergo, I started off my training yesterday with a little trial that I aim to extend during the next few days. The target of the training routine I thought of is to build sustained power in various aspects: Strength, endurance, willpower, full body stability and grip strength.
The training routine itself is simple. Grab two Kettlebells (or dumbbells, barbels, sand bags, stones – whatever comes to your mind) that are heavy enough and do these two exercises:
Proper warm-up
20 repetitions front squat
5 minutes rest
20 repetitions clean & press
Although the workout consists of only two exercises, it is tremendously challenging. If you collapse on your first try before reaching the goal of 20 repetitions, do not worry – I failed as well. The goal is to stick to it and work yourself up towards facing this challenge. It will make you stronger in every area you could think of.
As for my first try, watch this video:
The second part is solely about technique issues concerning the Clean & Press. This exercise – performed with double kettlebells – is truly the prime discipline of kettlebell lifting and lifting in general. It involves the full range of motion of getting the kettlebells from the ground up above your head – in two stages, instead of one, like in the snatch, but with mere pressing power instead of ballistic momentum. One important aspect of this exercise is the way the kettlebell is pressed overhead. If done with a strict military press movement, the overall stability and form is normally easily sustained. A push-press, however, involves a tremendous lot more explosive moment and thereby potential for instability – while the pressing power needed is diminished, the stability factor has to be increased the same way. Doing the exercise unilateral instead of bilateral is another way of attaining good form – but it is without comparison to the bilateral execution.
Just try out what is okay for you. Adjust your working weight and then start – work yourself up to 20 repetitions and reap the benefits of your hard work!
With a bit of delay: The coverage of our official Christmas-workout, done on the 22th of December 2009.
Unfortunately, the creator of the workout we used was not present – Dominik Feischl was absent due to work issues (curses on his boss), the same reason hindered Peter from being present. It therefore was down to Rainer, Jozy and me. The three of us had a distinct task: Not putting Dominik’s name to shame in the execution of the following workout:
Workout “24″
24 Snatches each arm
24 Swings each arm
24 High Pulls each arm
24 Clean + Press each arm
24 Pull-ups
24 Ring dips
Finisher: Farmer’s Walk.
The prescribed weights were 16 kg for men and less for women (Jozy used the 8 kg Kettlebell). We also swapped Ring Dips with elevated push-ups, as we all were not capable of doing such a lot of repetitions of dips.
The structure of the workout has been to freely choose how much sets of which exercise and in which order exercises were done. We all opted for sets of six repetitions and four rounds thereof.
While the mark has been hit with pull-ups and push-ups, the other exercises were slightly to little of a challenge. After the second round I changed gears and did the exercises with a 20 kg competition Kettlebell – which proved to be a much more of a challenge and the right weight to work with (for me). The weight probably has to be spiced up to make this workout a real ‘killer’.
Our finisher were two rounds (approx. 100 meters) of Farmer’s Walks. Jozy used 2 x 20 kg, Rainer and me opted for 2 x 36 kg – heavy enough to leave us exhausted – perfect! As it was beginning to get really cold, we ended here – short and sweet.
Kudos to Dominik for the workout – we’re off into the Christmas holidays with this. The next challenge will be the Winter training camp at Dominik’s premises on the 2nd of January, 2010.
A late merry Christmas and a happy new year to all of you – and do not forget to train on
Simon
P.S.: Please excuse our memory lapse – we forgot to take photos!
This Tuesday, Rainer, Jozy and me assembled in Linz to perform a very special workout, Dominik prepared for us – although being absent. The main challenge this time was the extreme cold climate we had to face – the temperature was well below the zero degree mark.
Due to this limitations, it was of extreme importance, that we did everything possible to keep the workout short – and intense, to warm ourselves up. As a disclaimer I have to point out that this really is an advanced workout, at least in its original constellation.
The workout consisted of two blocks, which we performed after the warm-up:
Block One
Five rounds of:
12 Thrusters (2 x 16 kg Kettlebell)
6-8 Pull-Ups
30 Strict Sit-Ups
with 30” to 60” rest between rounds
Block Two
Four rounds of:
10-12 Double Snatches (2 x 16 kg Kettlebell)
Box Jumps, max. in 30”
8-10 Renegade Rows (2 x 16 kg Kettlebell) with a Push-Up inbetween repetitions
with 30” to 60” rest between rounds
So much for the original workout, as initially proposed by Steve Maxwell. We, however, made a few adjustments to create an effective workout without jeopardizing ourselves with too much load. The weight for the Thrusters was scaled down as necessary, we did only six pull-ups, Double Snatches were substituted with single ones or Clean and Press for those illiterate in the technique, we did a fixed amount of ten jumps per round and scaled down weight on the Renegade Rows as necessary.
As we all were pretty much exhausted at the end of the workout, the load was just fine for our capabilities. However, I have to say that I felt ambivalent about the outcome – I was not really challenged metabolically and had power for quite some more repetitions at the end of the fourth round of block #2 – on the other hand I felt that my power curve had become very flat. It was a matter of a few repetitions to diminish my ability to go on. This normally is where you should stop to not injure yourself. Lastly, I have to admit that I faced the workout with the advantage of having already tested it on last Sunday – where I struggled hard to cope with the intensity.
A few hints on the workout:
Really scale down the weight you’re working with to one that you can quite easily handle. Because of the high repetition count, a ‘light’ weight can become heavy over time
If you decide to go pretty heavy, opt to split sets. 12 Thrusters were split into either 2 x 6 or 3 x 4 repetitions to manage the weight, for instance.
Really look at your form! This is the most important part to keep yourself healthy – work hard, but do not force yourself too far!
Replace Double Snatches with Single Snatches if the weight is too much for you. If you lack experience in doing the Snatch, replace it with Clean & Press – an equally challenging exercise. Note that Clean & Press requires more strength than Snatches do, as they are less explosive. You could opt for Push Press to make the exercise easier
Renegade Rows require a lot of full body tension – really look at how you perform and use the right weight! I have found it useful to use a very wide feet stance to retain stability while pulling
If you watch these points, there is little reason not to do this tremendous workout. I really recommend doing it more often – two times a week for a time of about four weeks. You will be amazed how much you will progress in terms of metabolic stress resistance and strength. Regular workouts are the key to success, I’m convinced.
. Upwards we go – still. Pauses were utilized wisely – for instance to do several sets of push-ups on our fists or pick up a heavy wooden log from the sideway, soaked in the water from the rain of the last few days. We used these logs as training tools – the heavier ones were paired up, cleaned, squatted and even pressed overhead – the lighter ones were natural barbells for numerous exercises – even overhead squats and pistols (!) were tried out utilizing them. Probably the highlight was the rope pull-up-ladder we did on the swing at the hut up on the hill – where visitors were constantly going in and out and staring at us in disbelief – a unique feeling to be amongst those primal fighters on their way up to the top. Our best athletes set out to finish a pull-up ladder up to ten repetitions, with Dominik finishing the workout with a mind-blowing 20 repetition set on the rope – most probably the hardest two-handed variation of the pull-up. The only problem with the rope pull ups was the long waiting time between sets – and therefore the cool-off of the whole body – which is undesirable. Harald also wrote about the fact that the gloves were freezing over the course of a few minutes – I have to agree, towards the end, their inflexibility made them less and less useful. The top of the hill was reached soon thereafter and truly – we all felt like being “Kings of the Hill” – rightfully so.
