Whoa, a post that has absolutely nothing to do with kettlebells!
I was inspired to check out some freeware apps featured on Lifehacker recently and I am very pleased to have found some really handy little utilities and tweaks. And they are all free!
Yod'm 3D - The one thing that I miss about my old Amiga is how I was able to cycle through my open applications. The whole virtual desktop thing was supposed to be a better alternative to that, but it never really worked for me. Until now that is. With Yod'm 3D, you get 4 virtual desktops and they are represented graphically as the sides of a box. You can rotate the box to get to the screen you want. It has the very distinct effect of switching from one face to another and for me, this makes virtual desktops totally work. The app went shareware at some point but the last freeware version is still floating around if you do a search for it. The shareware version adds access to the top and bottom faces of the box and some additional graphical bells and whistles, but I didn't find it as snappy as the freeware version.
D-Color XP - load it up once and use it to adjust your desktop icon size. The medium tiled version or the teeny tiny versions are very useful. I chose the really small icons to give me back as much of the desktop as possible. Arrange the icons on your desktop as you like them and save the layout.
Iconoid - This was mentioned in a comment on Lifehacker. It's a great little tool that shares a couple features with D-Color, but has a ton of others, including one that lets you hide all the desktop icons until you click on the desktop. There is even a timeout that will hide them again. Combined with the smaller icons and planned placement, it is like having additional toolbars that pop up when you need them. It's nice to have a clutter free desktop.
NetMeter - My isp has a bandwith limit and charges me extra when I go over. I've hit the limit a few times so I needed something simple that lets me monitor my usage and this is a very simple tool that tells me all I need to know.
Google Calendar Syncing - I discovered the usefulness of Google Calendar recently however I found that having to log in to check and make adjustments was a little cumbersome. Turns out that there is a very easy way to integrate them into Thunderbird. It's a 2-way integration so you can see events as well as add and edit. Thunderbird + Lightening extension + Google Calendar = killer app.
I'm actually gonna try and keep my log over on the TKC Forum for a while so if you have any continued interest in what I'm doing, check it out over there.
I'm sure everyone out there is sick of reading my workout logs. Unfortunately, I haven't done any boardgaming in way too long, my grappling focus has been scaled back and I am still waiting for the parts to my desktop sized cutting robot, so until then, I'm just a kettlebell geek.
Speaking of scaled back grappling, I did some really light energy rolling with Ryan before my kb workout and wouldn't you know it, I am so out of practice that my knees got soft and I got major mat burns. Very irritating.
Anyhow, again, I felt more gas in the tank than I would have otherwise.
20kg jerk, 6 minutes, one hand switch, 10 reps per minute - poor lockouts on the right arm during the very last minute, probably the last 4 weren't great (Ryan attempted a 6 minute jerk set with 2x12kg, he made it to 5 minutes as his starting pace was too much)
7 minute rest
16kg snatch, 6 minutes, one switch, 14 reps per minute
8 minute rest (During which Ryan completed a 6 minute set of jerks with 2x12kg at 12 reps per minute plus an extra 4 reps in the last minute.)
24kg jerk 10/10
Untimed rest
24kg jerk 10/10
Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008
I didn't feel like doing a big sweat workout today.
24kg jerk, 5 sets of 10/side, 65-80 seconds of rest in between
Thursday Aug 21, 2008
20kg jerk, 5 minutes, one switch, 12 reps per minute - I failed to complete the last 4 reps on the right, and the 2 before failure were not complete lockouts
4 minute rest
20kg snatch, 4 minute, one switch, 13 reps per minute - failed to complete last 3 reps on the right
Over ambitious? CNS fatigue? Not sure.
Friday Aug 22, 2008
16kg one arm long cycle, 16 minutes, switch every minute, 16 reps per minute - I had intended for 20 minutes, but I think it was mostly mental failure that I didn't puch for an extra minute and it only occured to me afterwards that I could have just tried to slow down in the last 4 minutes - I feel great tho
Saturday Aug 23, 2008
In honour of my sister's wedding tomorrow, I thought I might have another go at the Dec Challenge. I wasn't sure how it would go given my failure to complete yesterday and my stomach was rather upset due to my meds, but I surprised myself.
16kg snatch, 10 minutes, switch every minute, 18 reps per minute - 188 total reps 16kg oalc, 10 minutes, switch every minute, 12 reps per minute - 126 total reps - I did not have to put the bell down the entire 20 minutes - a little worried about blisters tearing, but I kept enough control of the bell to not let it happen, but I will have to go light on my hands next week while I recover - a new PR for me - YAY!! - the most surprising thing for me is how far I got after 2 weeks
Sunday Aug 24, 2008
Sister got married today, but I felt ill all day due to my foot blowing up overnight and the meds I had to take for it this morning. So, no workout, tho I wasn't planning on it anyhow given yesterday's effort. However I wanted to note that in respect to that workout yesterday, I actually feel fine today. I probably could have done a workout if I wasn't feeling ill, the only other limiter would be the blisters on my hands, so it would have been a jerk day.
Okay, something is starting to happen. I rolled with Petros for about 20 minutes or so and I had quite a bit left in the tank afterwards. Plus I was actually able to get a bit of offense going. This is huge given he is about 240# and is like a pitbull. So, even with the half-assed approach and the short sessions, this whole kettlebell lifting thing is making a difference. I haven't felt this good in a LONG time.
So as previously mentioned, Coach Imes offered to give me some programming suggestions. It comes at a good time at week 8 for me. (As a side note, I can't believe it's been 8 weeks. I don't think I've ever stuck with an exercise program that long, but I think the short sessions really helped with that.) She asked me to see if I could manage a 10 minute snatch set with a 16 and a 6 minute jerk set with a 24. Based on the pace I could set, she suggested I focus all my efforts on jerks with the 20 and snatches with the 16, but scale back the time to 6 minutes each and up the pace slightly, followed by some assitance jerks and swings with the 24. I tried this tonight, and though it looks meager on paper, it really pushed me. It was probably the best workout I've ever had.
20kg jerk, 6 minutes, one switch, 8 reps per minute - pretty fatigued in the right arm in that last minute
15 minute rest - I really did need this much recovery
16kg snatch, 6 minutes, one switch, 14 reps per minute - a faster pace than I've ever really gone doing a single switch, so my spacing was uneven - really felt it in my grip, close to failure at the last minutes for each arm
9 minute rest
24kg jerk, 10reps each arm, hold lockouts a little long (took about 2.5 minutes or so)
2.5 minutes rest
24kg jerk, 10reps per arm, hold the lockouts a little long (took 2 minutes this time)
3 minute rest
24kg swing, 2 minues, one arm switch - this is my least favorite thing to do, which probably means I need to do it more - the suggestion was 1-2 sets of this, but I was done after this one
So in all, it took about 40 minutes I think. I was able to time my rests since I was alone. Coach Imes suggested I do this 4-5 times per week for a while. Not sure I'll be able to do the whole thing that many times per week, but we shall see.
Wednesday Aug 13, 2008
I needed a day of rest yesterday after the workout on Monday. Recovery was good. My execution felt strong tonight compared to Monday, but then again I was fresh compared to Monday when I wrestled a bit first. I needed a lot less recovery time in between too tonight. Coach Imes suggested I keep my pace under control, but I had enough to push my pace a bit. I probably won't keep up too high a pace all the time but today I did add a little.
20kg jerk, 6 minutes, one switch, 9 reps per minute
6 minutes rest
16kg snatch, 6 minutes, one switch 18 reps per minute (coach suggested keeping the reps under 16 but I was feeling good)
6 minutes rest
24kg jerk, 10 reps per side, 10/10, 10/10, two sets, no rest, took about 2.5 minutes
3 minutes rest
24kg swing, 2 minutes, one hand switch
I was concerned that this might be too much to sustain 4-5 days per week, but I think it may be possible. For a few weeks at least. It pushes me, but it is within my ability and I just have to get through it mentally.
Thursday Aug 14, 2008
20kg Jerk, 6 minutes, one switch 10 reps per minute - very close to failure on last 2-3 reps in the last minute (right arm), last two reps were uglier than the rest
Friday Aug 15, 2008
16kg long cycle, 20 minutes, switch every minute, 12 reps per minute (sometimes 13) - stopped counting reps after about 5 minutes because my rhythm was pretty good at a bit faster than 12 rpm, so I probably hit 13 rpm on a few of those minutes - I did feel like I probably could have gutted out a few more minutes, it was a mental challenge for sure, but my target was 20 minutes - I noticed a few reps probably weren't locked out enough so I will have to watch for that in the future
Okay, so it was a long week end here and I didn't do anything except pig out. For the past couple of weeks some people have been organizing a friendly (??) RKC vs AKC challenge meet. After seeing the rules, I was wondering if I could do it, like right now. So, I tried it.
First, here are the rules: ----------------------------------------
Date: Weekend of 12/6/2008
Place: This will be a Cross World Meet. Several folks have already stepped up and said they would host this challenge at their gym or location. If you cannot attend one of the listed locations, that is fine. Video in that case would be nice.
As the locations become finalized, we will add them here.
Events: 10 Min Snatch Set (SSST) - Unlimited switches set the bell down when you like, drop to the shoulder, whatever. Immediately followed by: 10 Min LCC&J Set (UJT) - Unlimited switches set the bell down when you like
No rest between Events.
Categories. There are no defined categories.
Guidelines: Elite Men 32kg Elite women 20kg
Men 24kg Women 16kg
Beginners Men 20kg, 16kg Women 12kg, or even 8kg
You can mix and match. For example, if you aren't comfortable snatching the the 32kg, but want to do LCC&J with the 32kg you can use the 24kg snatches.
Judging: Snatches must be overhead. No 10'oclock snatching. If you've seen Fuglevs 270 video, that's how fixed we want them.
LCC&J or Overhead anyhow. Must fix the weight overhead and should wait for the judges count. Jerk is not required, but if you push press, the arm must still be locked out. Belts, wrist wraps, and of course, chalk is allowed.
We also ask participants to please finish the last 15 seconds of the set. Don't quit or rest on the platform until it is over! ----------------------------------------
So here is what I did:
16kg snatch, 10 minutes, switch every 10 reps - I set the bell down once at 8 minutes for 25 seconds - total reps 180
16kg one arm long cycle, 10 minutes - started 45 seconds after the snatch set - switched every 10 reps resting every 20 reps until I hit 60 reps, rests were untimed, but 25 seconds or less - after 60 I switched every 5 reps with one untimed rest at 80 reps - total reps 100
So this is probably a personal best for me, especially considering I haven't deen training for very long.
Thursday Aug 7, 2008
Coach Imes asked me to try and get some baseline numbers in the snatch and the jerk with one hand switch so she could get a better idea of where I really am. I spent a lot of time working on the TKC site so I left my workout a little last minute. The first thing I was to test was a full 10 minute snatch with the 16. Turns out the blisters under my calluses were still a bit too sore and I didn't want to disturb them since I have to work. So I tried the second test which was one arm jerk with a 24, one hand switch, trying for at least 6 minutes at 8rpm or less.
24kg jerk, 6 minutes, one hand switch, 6 reps per minute - very surprised I could do this at all, but I attribute it to the grooving with the 16 - not sure I could have done much more than this but I think the limiter was the arms in general. I felt like I had some energy left
Friday Aug 8, 2008
Tried to work the jerk with the 24 again, but felt a little off.
24kg jerk, only one minute, 5 reps left arm before stopping - started too soon after eating
several hours later
24kg jerk 3 minutes left arm, 6 reps per minute - felt good enough to try a 4th minute but the bell slipped out of position on the first rep and I had to drop it
I think I will be able to do 4 minutes per side tomorrow
Saturday Aug 9, 2008
I was wrong. I came home from work and I tried doing a set with the 24 but lost control of my rack 2 minutes in (left arm, 6 rpm). I left it alone to work on the TKC site for a few hours and then tried it again.
24kg jerk, 6 minutes, one arm switch, 6 reps per minute - arm fatigue, control during the last 3 seconds wasn't good. I did try for the 4the minute but couldn't control the bell on the lockout so I switched arms
4 minutes rest
16kg snatch, left arm 2.5 minutes, 12 reps per minute - grip failure - overly ambitious, but I wanted to see if I could even get close to completeing a 10 minute snatch set, but of course, I'm not there yet
I will try the 10 minute snatch tomorrow.
Sunday Aug 10, 2008
16kg snatch, 10 minutes, one switch, 12 reps per minute - that was my limit as my grip was failing in that last minute
