40 kg. Pistol... almost.

So close I could taste it. Iron and chalk, mmm...
I got down to just below parallel and fired back up, but my forward foot hit the ground hard. Not hard enough to push off, but not good all the same.
Fortunately I know exactly what the problem was. I haven't yet mastered 'zipping up' my legs, and I was trying to just stand up vs. driving my heel through the floor. I'm also going to take Max Shank's advice and start doing pistols with double kettlebells in the rack.
I also tend to lose focus under pressure. It's funny, because in all other things I'm great under pressure, but as soon as I get under a max weight I start falling apart. More mental training is required.
On the upside my left knee is feeling much more solid, and I was able to hit a couple 24 kg. pistol without any problems. After I finish this squat cycle I'll work in a day of pistols again.

Tara's snatch test

Today Tara took a run at her RKC snatch test. The result was 111 reps in 5 minutes on the 16 kg. That's pretty impressive. She can hit 120 before the RKC. Unfortunately the memory on my laptop ran out at 3 minutes. That's ok, we'll get it again next week! :)



Check out Tara's website at http://www.yogamindwarriorbody.com

Beast Challenge Progress and a 40 kg. Bent Press

My finger is almost completely healed. Like I said before, it was more annoying than anything else.
I have to commit myself to the fact that this is a long road. I'm bringing myself from nothing, to a state of superior strength. I'm not one of these guys who trains for a few weeks or a couple months and then tames the beast.
Presses and Pistols are going well, and the 40 kg. is within reach on both. Pull ups are sucking something fierce. As I said before though, the weight issue is a problem. I'm up to 176 now from 160 in August. I'm starting to gain ground on my pull ups again, but I may drop back to 170 so long as my strength doesn't decrease.
I'm going to start studying the habits of highly successful beast tamers. :) Pressing grooves, bell position in the pistol, etc. I do the same for my short bending, so why not this?
All in all I feel good.
I also whipped out a 40 kg. bent press the other day. I was actually surprised by how easily it went up. I have a hundred pounder in me within the next couple months.

Kettlebell Snatch Corrections Pt. 1

This is a video I put together covering three basic mistakes I see often in the hard-style kettlebell snatch. Particularly if you have a snatch test coming up, you will want to ensure you aren't making any of these mistakes.

An injury, progress, and a new nutritional plan

Ok. So.
I was doing heavy swings the other day, and got the bright idea to do one handed swings holding two 28 kg. kettlebells in one hand. Yeah, one hand.
Hey, it actually went fine. My abs were firing like crazy. The problem wasn't the swings, but the release. One bell bounced off the floor, flipped, and the two bells smashed the middle finger on my left hand, splitting it open. It was right on the border of needing stitches, but I bound it up and I think it'll be fine.
I have stated some goals for 2009, now I need to prioritize them. They are as follows.
1. Red Nail
2. Beast Challenge
3. 100 32 kg. snatches in five minutes.
So as of right now I'm out of the April TSC. No reason to go get murdered when all of my training right now is a heavy focus on maximal strength. My Beast Challenge goals and Bending Goals go together well. I need to build up a base of strength before I return to the heavy snatching.
Right now I'm on the edge of the 40 kg. with my presses and my pistols. I see myself owning both in the next couple months, and I should hit the beast well before RKC II. The pull up is killing me, partially because I keep putting on weight. We'll see. Part of it is that I just need to get on my pull up training more.
My legs are waaay stronger from the squatting.
My new nutritional plan is... not to have one. Basically I already eat pretty healthy, my energy levels and all else are fine, so no reason to give myself one more thing to stress out over. If I start to think it's affecting my performance I'll re-assess, but right now this is working fine.

Cecil the christmas dog, comcast, and not working so much.

Cecil is a Christmas dog.

I watch a lot of movies. I dig movies. So I have my HD tv and I order HD from comcast. I know I need an HDMI output to really have HD. Component cables don't cut it. Comcast tells me they aren't issuing the HDMI boxes anymore as they were somehow defective. I accept this as the sheep I am. I recently came to the realization I was paying for HD that was not happening. I call comcast and now it has changed to a 'shortage' of hdmi boxes, but they can put me on the waiting list at the warehouse. I tell them to go ahead and cancel my HD. I kid you not- 20 minutes later a comcast technician is at my door with an HDMI box in hand. Are you freaking kidding me?! Comcast has been lying to me for so long it feels like we're married.

I recently came to a head with my business where I had the option of putting together a larger facility, getting more workshops out, and basically working 24/7 to create a big new thing. I have opted not to do so. At least not right now. It may happen in the future, but part of the idea behind my chosen path is to be free to pursue other things, spend time with my family, etc. I like it that way. I'm still doing fine. :)

Pistol and JS Band Video, card tearing, and human TGU.

Tried my hand at some card tearing the other night. Took down 20 cards, went for 30 and was stopped. More technique work is required. This is a grip killer.

I put together this video on a technique I use to build my pistol strength using Jump Stretch Bands.

I'm also working on doing a TGU with a person. The girl in the below photos was probably close to my max limit with a dead weight, so I figured I could put her up but I was stopped. I'm working on it. As is the case with maximal lifts my form broke down.



The ability of the person acting as the implement to tighten up also plays a big part in success or failure when it comes to this.