IRONWILL JAPAN

Recently, I hit 30,000 points in the snatch challenge. That is 60 % of the work done on this thing. Believe me when I tell you this that it wasn’t easy! The road to getting here posed numerous challenges, some were obvious and some were obstacles that I didn’t even know existed.

 

Challenges

 

·         My training arsenal consists of bodyweight exercises, 2 homemade clubbells, a 24k, and a 32k. Furthermore, I am no heavyweight. I weighed 63.5 at the start of this thing. So in other words I will need to work harder in terms of ingenuity on this thing.

·         Crappy snatch technique- this needed a lot of refinement, more than I thought actually.

 

Feelings before and during the early phases

 

I remember clearly that my initial goal was to do 1000 points. Yes, I’ll repeat that -1000 points only! This is a goal from a person who was not new to weightlifting and kettlebell training. I always thought that 50, 000 points was for mutants only and that only a handful can and will achieve and the rest of us mortals will just have settle with admiring these select few for the rest of our lives. After hitting these initial thousand points though, I said to myself,”Hey! That wasn’t too bad, Lets go for another 1000!!” This thought pattern kept going on for a long time after every 1000 points until I finally decided that enough was enough. I can no longer keep training for multiple goals (I know some of you can, but I can’t).

 

Goal setting

 

I t was time to dive into this (snatch challenge) full on or don’t do it all. That is the type of guy I am. So to make it work I needed a solid set of goals that would work for me. And because the only time I have to train is in the morning I would have to keep that in mind as well. So here is a list of goals and factors that I pinned on my wall for myself after some research and pondering:

 

·           The training methods and protocols must address health & safety first.

·           The training doesn’t cause injury or impede recovery.

·           The training doesn’t take me away from valuable family time.

·           The program design improves bodily strength, proper muscular balance, and all around athletic ability. I want to finish my workouts feeling fresh, injury free, and in good health. Understand that in early morning training, Cortisol and the rate of lower back injury is at its highest. Furthermore, this can lead to cardiac problems down the road. Cortisol increases as intense exercise is prolonged (Di Pasquale, 1992c). Sub maximal exercise at lower intensities (i.e. 63% maximum oxygen consumption) stimulates lower cortisol response than higher intensities (i.e. 86% maximum oxygen consumption) (Farrell, Garthwaite, & Gustafson, 1983; Naveri, 1985).

·           Furthermore according to Charles Poloquin, synovial fluid doesn’t peak till 3 hours after awakening. Evening training sessions are generally agreed upon in the science & fitness community as the optimal time for strength training. However, drills like snatches let you get away with a slightly flexed spine (Pavel Tsatsouline), so a light weight (24k max) for more volume with a (preferably) slower tempo fits the bill perfectly for a morning workout. Consider it your morning cardio since morning is best suited for activities such as Tai Chi, Yoga, Walking, and Jogging anyways. In other words, if you were snatching in the morning, keeping a medium or slow tempo is optimal. Going all out should be minimized.

·           Mental alertness tends to peak twice in a day at 9AM and 9PM, while physical strength tends to crest at 11AM and 7PM (Kendra Van Wagner).

·           Understand that the program design is subject to review and change (if needed) whenever these criteria points are not being met.

 

Now I had a clear and concise framework for workout planning that caters to my personal needs. I also have a detailed personal log that tracks things like workout date, bodyweight, resting heart rate, max heart rate, pre workout comments, post workout comment, soreness (1-10), and fatigue (1-10). It was now time to start snatching again.

 

Body Transformation

 

Naturally, I cycled snatches into my workouts in numerous ways to incorporate the type of attributes I was looking for. I had an endurance cycle, power cycle, and a general fitness cycle for example. Some of the cycles worked while others didn’t. When they didn’t work, it was time to go back to the drawing board and review what went wrong them. Currently the physical attributes that I have gained are as follows:

 

·         Fluid snatching-especially with the 32k, which is a half my bodyweight.

·         Low body fat- At one time I hit 4% body fat (U.S Navy measurement system) but currently I am around 6-7% range. I actually prefer a little body fat actually, keeps me warm ;) My waist size is 28 inches. Same as it was in college 16 years ago.

·         Lowered Heart Rate- I started the challenge with a 60 BPM resting heart rate. Currently I am at 48 BPM.

·         Increase general strength- The strength gained from snatching transfers very well to other kettlebell, clubbell, or bodyweight drills but not the other way round IMO.

·         A very resilient body-Hard to explain in words, but basically there is virtually very little soreness, fatigue, and pain in training now then there ever was before.

 

Intellectual Transformation

 

Believe it or not, but I had to research (on my own) into a lot of things such as nutrition, sleep, recovery, and training to make this work. After that, I had to apply most of what I learned. Very challenging indeed! I’m not complaining though, it made smarter which is always a good thing!

 

Emotional Transformation

 

I gained confidence. Confidence in my case is made up of certain factors. They are:

 

·         Understanding-how me and my body works.

·         Humility-knowing very well where I stand and where I need to go.

·         Contentment-satisfied with my workouts knowing it was the best that I could do(that day)

·         Patience-progress sometimes takes time. There is no need to rush. Work hard, work smart, and it will come. When it comes, it will blow away all your expectations.

 

Dietary Observations

 

After trying a few diet plans in the past with positive or mixed results. The best diet plan for this kind of challenge (for me) came from the diets of professional rowers. I looked into this and felt that the rowing motion is similar to snatching (in terms of continuous upper body pulling and leg work). I applied their diet plan and gained 3 kilos of muscle along with a lot of power. It worked for me. I am not suggesting that this the only way, you are free to research on what works for you.

 

Recovery Techniques

 

There are various recovery techniques that work for different people. Along the way you may try new things. Its all part of one’s growth (I think). What is working for my right now is water, pretzels (healthy kind), stretching (throughout the day), joint mobility, and contrast showers. The final ingredient into speeding up recovery and improving your performance drastically is happiness-feeling it and sharing it. A positive attitude is truly the missing ingredient.

 

Final Thoughts

 

Everybody’s time will come on the snatch challenge. For some it’s slower, while it quicker for others. The ‘he must be a mutant’ mentality can be a major hurdle in your own mental and physical growth. Where there is will, there is way they say. I’m looking forward to finishing the next 20,000 points with the best mindset, health, and technique. Moreover, I am still learning from this experience and hope to embrace the challenges that the final stretch brings. In closing, I just want to thank Adam Glass for coming up with this challenge. It has thus far made a MAN out of me. I wish we could meet so I could shake your hand. But for now I hope a deep and sincere ‘Thank You’ would suffice.

 

ATF

Estimated Workout Time- 15-20 minutes

 

So you own your bell eh! Then this should be a breeze

 

Rack your bell

Descend into a Front Squat

Do a Sots Press

Stand Up (Overhead Squat style)

Rack n’ Repeat for 5 reps

Then switch to the other side and repeat the misery

3 sets of 10 reps (5L/5R) on each side is optimal

 

Enjoy!

 

 

“The one-arm snatch is the Tsar of kettlebell lifts, fluid and vicious. It will quickly humble even studly power lifters.”

 

Pavel Tsatsouline-Fitness Expert and author of The Russian Kettlebell Challenge

 

 

The above statement says it all. So to kick off the New Year (and melt the butter you got around your waistline from the holiday season) make the kettlebell/dumbbell snatch your numero uno choice. You can do this drill in multiple ways such as sets/rep or timed sets, which makes it flexible and fun. Once you get proficient with this drill, create a free account and join the Snatch Challenge and shoot for 50,000 points as a personal challenge.

 

Happy New Year!

And just look at the tool that is doing the job!

 

  
 

To read the complete article from the NY Daily News, Click Here

 

 

 

All right, no excuses now. This one can be done anywhere and requires no equipment.　A perfect companion for the holiday season

 

Beginners

 

20 Boot Strappers

20 Pushups

20 Mountain Climbers

20 Hindu Squats (baitaks)

X5 rounds

 

*If Hindu Squats hurt the knees, substitute with bodyweight squats

 

*Here is how you do Boot Strappers-

http://www.trainforstrength.com/ex-2.shtml

 

*Here is how you do mountain climbers-

http://www.athletics.ucr.edu/strengthconditioning/mountainjumper.htm　

 

Intermediate:

 

Set you Gymboss timer to 2:00 minutes work/30 second rest ratio. Men use a 24k kettlebell/dumbbell; women use a 12 kilo kettlebell/dumbbell. Do the following circuit

 

20 Swings (any kind)

20 Pushups

20 Mountain Climbers

20 Hindu Squats

X5 rounds

12 minutes and 30 seconds of solid work. Not bad eh!

 

Upper Intermediate

 

For you hard types, Allow me to introduce you to the UFC protocol that I occasionally use. Set your Gymboss to 5:00 minutes work/1:00 minute rest ratio and repeat the same workout as above for 2-5 rounds . So it’s about 30 minutes of work (with rest breaks included). Keep your reps consistent per round. 50 reps of swings, Pushups, Mountain Climbers, and Hindu Squats per round is an acceptable pace, anything else is slow .

 

P.S-If you are wondering why I call it the UFC protocol-it’s simple. Each UFC championship round is 5 rounds of 5 minutes each with 1 minute rest in between rounds. Now you too can feel a small sample of what it is like. Go get 'em champ!

 

 

The original blast single system was developed by weightlifter Charles Ross during the early 1950s. I quote from an article on Dennis Weis’s website titled The Last Vestige of Mass and Power , “The basic idea is to choose one exercise only and do ten to fifteen non consecutive blast-singles with a minor rest-pause of ten deep breaths between each rep. Each blast-single is done in iso-tension style, with the muscle tense as hard as possible for five seconds at the peak contraction (where the strength curve is at its greatest tension) of the movement.

 

During the rest-pause between each rep, re-rack the barbell for Barbell bench presses and for Barbell back squats (on a set of height adjustable squat stands). For a conventional exercise such as standing barbell curls, place the barbell back on the floor. After you complete the ten to fifteen nonconsecutive blast-singles, take three hours of totally uninterrupted rest & relaxation from this super-intense method of training. After the rest, perform the blast-single procedure again, then take another three-hour rest, and then do a final ten to fifteen single reps. This will give you a total of 30-45 brutal growth-producing blast-singles for the suggested exercise. The original Charles Ross Blast-Single System is supposed to done three times per day at 10:00 A.M., 2:00 P.M., and 5:00 P.M., on a Monday (Barbell Curls), Wednesday (Supine Barbell Bench Press) and Friday (Barbell Back Squat) frequency using one-exercise-only.”

 

Naturally the above method is just too brutal and time consuming for most working class folks. However there are other variations of blast singles that are more time efficient for bodybuilders. The article covers them in detail. But what if you are not a bodybuilder like me and you only have kettlebells? Can you make it work with one kettlebell? Can you improve your strength? Well, we are just about to find out.

 

Tweaking it to Kettlebells

 

Blast singles essentially calls for using a heavy ‘bang for your buck’ drill such as the squat (for example) and knocking of 10-15 reps with a brief rest between each rep. I used a kettlebell that was 80% of my one rep max, and coincidentally half my bodyweight (32kg in my case). To make my workout more time efficient, I created a complex that would work the whole body and multiple attributes simultaneously. So in this case, I chose the clean & press overhead squat combo. The next step was to come up with some sort of schedule. Here is very simple one that allows ample rest and recovery time:

 

Day 1- Blast Singles

Day 2- Rest

Day 3- Endurance Day

Day 4- Rest

Day 5-Blast Singles

Day 6- Rest

Day 7- Free Activity Day (anything but weightlifting, such as cycling or table tennis)

 

Once that was decided, it was now time to come up with some sort of progressive cycle to make this work. I chose to do blast singles twice a week for about 4 weeks max. At the end of the 4 weeks, I would do some sort of test to see where I stand.

 

Week 1
2 sessions a week of 10 Blast Singles (20 reps total per session)

This is the introduction so I just took ten normal breaths between each set. I was surprised as to how cardio intensive 10 sets were, so I decided to monitor my heart rate from week 2.

Week 2

2 sessions a week

Gymboss Timer set to 1:00 /1:00 ratio. In other words, you are going to be doing a blast single rep left and right (1 set) each minute on the minute.
10 sets, 20 reps total per session
Heart rate-174 BPM. 93 % of HR Max (187)

 

Week 3
2 sessions a week

Now, it is time to tweak some variables. I will increase a rep left and right, but lower the time.8 sets each minute on the minute of C&P and OVSQ. On my first session I got
1^st minute- 4 reps

2nd minute- 4 reps

The rest- 2 reps

20 reps. Brutal!
Heart rate-174 BPM. 93 % of HR Max (187)

 

2^nd Session
1st minute 4 reps

2nd minute 2 reps

X5 rounds
PRs

10 sets, not 8 like before

30 reps total

Heart rate-168 BPM. 90 % of HR Max (187)

 

Week 4-The Test

 

Hmmm… What should I test? This was a tricky question. After some thought, I decided to test something that I haven’t done in a while-the clean & press. My reasoning was that the C&P OVHSQ combo works every muscle including all the muscles needed for torso stability. This attribute should crossover to the standard C&P. Now I usually opt for snatches, jerks, or getups instead because shoulder resilience is very important in table tennis (my chosen hobby sport). And the last time I tried heavy C&Ps in ladder style, I couldn’t get past 32 reps (which was a PR), not to mention that it took more than 45 minutes to do. So let us find out if the proof is in the pudding and if the blast singles method of training does contribute to improvement in C&Ps. To make the test effective, I came up with some rules for the C&P so it would be strict reps only that counted.

 

The Rules

 

Weight Selection: A kettlebell that is closest to half your bodyweight.

 

Time limit: 5 minutes

 

What counts:

 

Lifter must clean the bell by swinging it back between his/her legs, rack, lock the knees, and press overhead in one fluid motion

·            Techniques from The Russian Kettlebell Challenge or Enter! The Kettlebell

·            Multiple hand switches

·            Setting the kb down to take a breather

·            Chalk and nothing else

 

No counts:

 

·            Any form of body kipping, swaying, and/or jerking

·            Excessive sideways tilting (head & upper body tilting up to 45 degrees max. Any more is a no count)

·            Touching the kettlebell with the nonworking hand during any part of the lift

·            Pausing in the rack

·            Failing to complete a rep at any portion

·            No re-racking. If you fail to press, re-clean again

 

Scoring:

 

The sum of both sides is added up and here is a simple scale I came up with

 

Beginner-10-15 reps

 

Intermediate-20 reps

 

Upper Intermediate-25 reps

 

Advanced-30 reps

 

Mutant-30+

 

Results

 

My target was 15 reps. Instead, I got 20 perfect reps with a weight that is half my bodyweight. This is a PR and if this had been a 10 minute test, I would have further blown all my old C&P PRs out of the water by getting 40 or more reps.

 

Observations

 

·            I didn’t gain any weight while doing blast singles. On the contrary, I lost some weight and got more ripped. Nutrition is a key player in this factor also.

·            The recovery from this kind of training was amazing. I had no soreness or stiffness anywhere, but instead felt surprisingly tonic after each workout.

·            Mike Mahler once stated somewhere that the C&P works virtually every muscle in the body. He was right. I felt my whole body working during the 5 minute test, but surprisingly no part of my body (including my shoulders) was sore the next day. This could simply be from the fact that you can’t rest in the rack or get away with half ass reps during the test, making the test harder but safe.

 

Conclusions

 

Even without a test of any kind, the amount of volume that I was doing in 45 minutes before, got done in virtually 10 minutes without any soreness and worked my heart in the process like never before. Did it make my shoulders more resilient? Most likely. Was there some carry over to my C&Ps? I believe so.

In short, blast singles can be incorporated safely and time efficiently with kettlebells. Furthermore, if you schedule and cycle the load properly, they can yield surprising results and contribute to overall strength in a short amount of time. Give it a go, see it if works for you.

Here is a simple challenge to see where you stand in terms of overhead pressing half your bodyweight

 

 

A kettlebell that is closest to half your bodyweight.

 

 

5 minutes

Estimated Workout Time- 15 minutes

 

In any order do:

 

20 Tactical Lunges (10 Left/10 Right)

20 Pushups

20 Snatches (10 Left/10 Right)

X5 rounds

Total-100 Tactical Lunges, 100 Pushups, 100 Snatches

* Men use a 24 kilo bell, Women can choose either a 12 or 16 kilo bell

 

Can’t do it in the allotted time limit? No problem, you are not alone. I couldn’t do it either. I don’t know why but this workout is highly deceptive and will make your heart pound so hard that you will wonder if there is actually an alien inside your chest waiting to come out. I probably wasn’t thinking straight when I arranged these drills in a circuit, but what I do know for sure is that I was not backing down from a challenge (especially my own). So, I had to come up with a plan of attack to conquer this mofo. Here is my own sample 4 week progression as a guide.

 

Week 1-Intro

·            Warm up and prep through all the drills first. Volume and duration will be low for the first week to emphasize time getting used to the drills.

·            Go for an all out test. See what you can do in 15 minutes. I got 3 rounds

·            Divide your test result’s number by 1/2. So in my case it was 1.5 rounds.

·            Set your Gymboss to a 5:00/5:00 ratio. Each round is to be completed within a 5 minute time period. The rest interval is added within this time frame, so keep moving around and stay loose once you finish all the drills per round. The rest interval is long but it is based on some books I have been reading and is not a whim. You need to be fully recovered before going after each round.

·            Spread the volume across the week by training 2-3x a week (depending on your goals). Your next workout will be 1.5 roundsx2 (two times a week). 1.5 rounds will give you 90 reps (30 reps of each drill). The total time will be 10 minutes. Nice and Easy

 

Week 2-Base Camp

·            Move up to 2 rounds 3 times a week. This will take 10 minutes. Stay on it for the duration of the week. A grand total of 6 rounds for the week.

·            If this is too hard, back off and do a few more 1.5 rounds until you feel ready and try again.

 

Week 3- Shock Therapy

·            Increase duration to 3 rounds 3 times a week. But this time set your Gymboss to 3:00/3:00 ratio. So the total time will be 9 minutes a session. Stay on it for the duration of the week.

·            If this is too hard, adjust volume accordingly or simply go back to base camp( week 2 )until you feel ready

 

Week 4-The Test

·            Do 2.5 rounds on your first workout session of the week (optional).

·            The next session is test day. Set you timer to 15 minutes and go for it!

You should hit 300 reps in 15 minutes.

 

Benefits attained from this simple circuit:

·            I have lost extreme amounts of fat. My pants are falling off. No kidding!

·            I have improved my strength endurance. My BPM (at the end of the final round) when I started this workout was 174(187 max). By week 3, my BPM (at the end of the final round)dropped to 168. In other words, I can breeze through this workout now and I am not collapsing on round 2 like I did before.

 

Moral:

Cycling and proper planning yields results. Period. It wasn’t particularly complex in this case, but it worked. If you don’t cycle you stunt your own progress. Why would you want to do that?

 

Well Folks. The bad news is that due to time constraints I cannot blog as often as I like . So I will not be able to post a 'Workout of the Week' anymore. But the the good news is that I will be posting a 'Workout of The Month' instead! Furthermore they will be actual workouts that I am using. So to end this weekly segment, I got one to the tune of The Cure(remember them?) called Friday I'm in Love. Disclaimer: It is a real smoker!!

 

Men use a 24 kilo bell, Women can choose either a 12 or 16 kilo bell

 

20 one arm Swings (10 left/10 right)

20 Floor Presses (10 left/10 right)

20 Snatches (10 left/10 right)

10 V-ups

20 Jerks (10 left/10 right)

5 Pull-ups

X3 rounds

 

*Substitute pullups with bent over rows if it is too hard

 

Good Luck!