Please, please forgive me the reference to an Olsen twins movie (NO, I have not seen it)! During the past few weeks I’ve noticed an increasing number of people looking and talking about how to ‘get ripped’, ‘lose the lard’, etc. With summer only a few months away and holidays looming large, I totally get the desire to be lean and look great when exposing the flesh poolside, on the beach or elsewhere (not that ‘elsewhere’ is only a ‘summertime thing’ – least I hope not!). I’ll be the first to admit I know how many weeks until holiday and have modified my training and nutrition a bit in a desire to ‘lean out’ a bit. I guess you could say I am switching goals (temporarily).

While I’m not giving up my beloved strength training, given the nutritional and training changes (slight calorie deficit, changes to carbs, fats and protein and more cardio) I’m not expecting to be seeing big improvements in strength numbers.  In fact, it’s fair to say I’ve been feeling weaker (not entirely surprising). That said, I’m feeling ‘better’. Maybe it’s taking away the relative ‘stress’ of needing to hit certain weights, maybe it’s just doing different stuff in the gym (‘a change is as good as a rest’ and all that); either way, better is better.

Equally, when I switch back to focusing on strength improvement, I know my nutrition and training will need to change to support THAT goal. Switching goals isn’t a problem (arguably any periodized training plan sees you switching goals depending on training block), but switching nutrition and training in ways that do not support your goals IS problematic.

Pick your goal, plan YOUR process to achieving your goal (what will work for YOU, not just copying what someone else did because it worked for them), do work (ie implement and execute the process), achieve your goal. Repeat as required.

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KWOW 2

For time:

25 KBS

20 KB Clean & Press (10 each arm)

15 KB Goblet Squats

10 Press Ups (aka ‘push ups’)

5 Pull ups

20 KBS

16 KB C&P (8 each arm)

12 KB Goblet Squats

8 Push ups

4 Pull ups

15 KBS

12 KB C&P (6 each arm)

9 KB Goblet Squats

6 Push Ups

3 Pull Ups

10 KBS

8 KB C&P (4 each arm)

6 KB Goblet Squats

4 Push Ups

2 Pull Ups

5 KBS

4 KB C&P (2 each arm)

3 KB Goblet Squats

2 Press Ups

1 Pull Up

1) As always, good technique is paramount. Good reps are good, fast reps aren’t necessarily ‘good’. Similarly, if you need to scale the press ups and/or pull ups, please do so.

2) Use a single KB. Yes, this will mean your KBS’ (Kettlebell swings) are light. Pretty positive you’ll appreciate this as you work your way through the workout.

3) In terms of KB weight, if you’ve got a choice, aim to use a weight that will allow you to do the 10 KB C&P on each arm unbroken. That said, if you have to break up the reps to preserve technical integrity (ie good, technically sound reps) do so.

4) Should you want to mix it up, or, horror of all horrors find yourself without KBs, why not try this with a barbell or dumbells? Simply substitute DLs for the KBS. Yes, you can ‘swing’ a DB, but I’m not a big fan…I have actually seen people ‘lose’ a DB…😳

5) Enjoy!

I will be the first to admit that patience is not something that comes easily to me. If you want something, isn’t it better to have it now rather than later? Maybe in some instances, but when you set your sights on having something now that in all likelihood will take time to achieve, I think you’re setting yourself up to not only  fail in achieving your ultimate objective, but also fail in achieving your true (long term) potential.

By way of example, say someone wants to achieve a 1.5x BW squat. I think it’s fair to say that with consistent, focused effort and injury free training, this is something which is for a large number of trainees achievable. However, if someone new to training were to be convinced (whether on their own, by a magazine article or a PT/coach) that this could be achieved in 2 weeks, I suspect it would be highly unlikely they would achieve the desired 1.5x BW squat in 2 weeks, the end result instead being disappointment and perhaps disillusionment. Although some trainees may question the agenda underlying the “2 weeks to a 1.5BW squat’ (ie sell magazines, training sessions, etc) others may very well question and ultimately doubt their own abilities, leading them to abandon their training – effectively ensuring they will never squat 1.5x BW.  How much more could this athlete achieve if they understood that increasing their squat will be a long, ongoing process? Although their progress may be slow, slow progress is better than no progress.

Much like impatience can kill progress, so to can ego. A friend of mine (and no ‘friend’ is NOT code for ME) went through a phase of trying to hit new 1RMs in squat, bench, press and DL on a weekly basis. Yes, I said WEEKLY! Despite chatting through how draining this would be (both mentally AND physically) he was insistent that chasing new 1RMs was really satisfying and showed he was ‘succeeding’ – his definition being able to add more weight to the bar. Although he had a few weeks of success (I suspect in a large part down to him not having done much 1RM training previously) in less than a month he was worn down, complaining of various niggles and how he really didn’t enjoy training any more. Didn’t enjoy it, didn’t want to do it, so he didn’t. Progress killed. While I’m sure it felt great writing down all the new PBs in his training diary for a few weeks, I can’t but wonder if he would have ultimately achieved more (ie bigger 1RMs) if he’d been less ego driven and more patient? Four weeks of adding 5kg per week sees a 20kg increase, versus 1kg per week for 52 weeks more than doubles the increase. Although 1kg per week may very well not be sustainable for a year,  I suspect more would be gained (ie patience) than lost (ie ego).

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KWOW (Kim’s Wod of the Week)

EMOM 10

Minute 1: 10x Kettlebell swings (KBS) and 1  Burpee

2: 9x KBs and 2 burpees

3: 8x KBs and 3 burpees

 4: 7 KBs and 4 burpees

5: 6 KBs and 5 burpees

6: 5 KBs and 6 burpees

7: 4 KBs and 7 burpees

8: 3 KBs and 8 burpees

9: 2 KBs and 9 burpees

10: 1 KBs and 10 burpees

Notes:

1. First and foremost, please ensure you have good, safe technique.

2. Each of the above rounds are done ‘on the minute’ for 10 minutes. All work (ie KBs and burpees to be completed within the minute).

3. For KBs, I mean Russian style swings (ie just above shoulder, NOT ‘American’ where the KB is overhead).

4. Use a KB weight that is challenging, but allows you to maintain good form and technique throughout. It’s far better to err on the side of going too light the first time and progress the weight as you progress. Resist the temptation to ‘be a hero’.

5. To make this more challenging, try starting from 15 and/or increase KB weight. To make this easier, try starting at something less than 10 and/or decreasing KB weight.

6. Helpful hint – if starting from 10, each minutes work will add up to 11. Remember only the top number (ie KBS) then do as many burpees as required to add up to 11.

7. Enjoy!!!

Long time, no posts. Ive been busy, but we all know ‘I’m too busy’ is often more along the lines of ‘it’s not a priority’ and/or a lame attempt to justify not doing what you should have. So, I’ll spare you the lame excuses and simply say ‘I’m baaaack'(NOT meant to be said in the creepy way Jack Nicholson did in The Shining; I’m hoping I’m not that creepy or scary)!

During the past few weeks a few personal truths (as opposed to universal truths, to the extent there truly are any…gee, is it obvious I studied philosophy????) have revealed themselves to me:

1) I like competing, but it isn’t the ‘be all and end all’ nor perhaps as important as I’d once thought. I went into this year’s Open at what I’d probably describe as 60-70% prepared in terms of overall fitness, skills development and conditioning. I did ok, not as well as last year, or as well as I’d like, but most importantly, me and my knee survived intact. Could I have trained harder, smarter, etc? Probably, but in the context of various circumstances, I did the best I could with what I had. Did finishing 25th (Masters 40-44 in Europe) see me beating myself up, getting upset or questioning the competition? No. Simply went in, got the WODs done and moved on. I enjoyed returning to competition and getting back to WODing, but it didn’t and doesn’t define me.

2) Nutrition is a lot more important to my feeling good and training well than I’d realised. Although it now seems far too obvious, but, by and large eating REAL foods yields real results! Eat well and I train and feel well. Similarly, by eating well I don’t mean never having chocolate, pizza or the like; I’m not banishing any food to the ‘I will never eat’ pile. Equally, what works for me isn’t ‘labelled’ (as in it’s ‘paleo’, ‘low carb’, ‘high fat’, ‘Mediterranean, etc.) or dogmatic; I’ve worked out what (currently) works for me. Depending on how I feel, I’ve begun to understand how this is and can be influenced by my nutrition.

3) There’s a lot more to training than just strength training. Yeah, it’s fair to say most people probably think of me in terms of strength stuff, but I can honestly say the last few weeks have seen me doing more running, rowing, gymnastics and kettlebells than I’ve done in a long time. I’ve been running and actually enjoying it(though my knee may take a bit of ‘convincing’). Bodyweight circuits have featured regularly in my training. I’m beginning to think my focus on strength training was like going to an all you can eat buffet and only eating salad; that is, rather limited (not to mention limiting).

4) Injuries provide us with the opportunity to be either very smart or very stupid. Suffer an injury and you can work on finding ways to enhance recovery and train around it (assuming some form of training is possible) or you can try to keep pushing on and through the pain/discomfort. If your life or that of loved ones was dependent on gutting it out, I would totally understand and ‘get it’. When however pushing through pain in a WOD, competition or training may result in a permanent injury that could prove to be life altering, I’m at a loss to understand why anyone would do so? Assuming you’re fit to play, play hard, but play smart.

5) A lot of what I’d thought ‘impossible’ is entirely possible with the right attitude and approach. All too often ‘quick’ and/or ‘easy’ solutions are offered as the way to achieve results, whether it be weight loss, adding kilos to your squat, writing a blockbuster, revealing six pack abs or getting rich. I think it’s safe to say that in all but the very rarest of instances, very few big achievements happen quickly or easily. Typically, it’s only through consistent, persistent efforts that lofty goals are attained. Thinking you’re going to achieve big things quickly or easily is probably setting you up for little more than disappointment. Conversely, if you’re prepared to work long and hard you will likely find you’re capable of achieving and accomplishing a great deal more than you may have initially thought. Mission possible.