Saturday, July 7, 2012

1000 swing reps w/ 24kg

I start my Sat. mornings out early, 6:45am with an hour of my most difficult training.  By 'most difficult' I mean long crazy stuff like 100 rep snatch sets, 10 minute jerk sets with one hand switch,  and in this case 1000 swings because my two training partners have been training with me long enough to handle anything I throw down.  One of my TP's is on vacation leaving me and Meg to fend for ourselves....hmm...what the hell, why not?  Some of the "boring" stuff was in order!


(first two sets, battery in my Flip ran out!  I had to change them during 15 sec interval rest periods!  That sucked!)


Personally I do this kind of stuff every week and I rarely post it for fear of it being taken wrong.  I don't think this training is a big deal because I do it all the time.  I'm not challenging anyone, I'm not comparing myself to any body else. I don't press the 20kg and dble squat the 24kg's.  I don't do pull ups and pistols.  I don't deadlift or run a billion zillion miles....I swing, and I dig kettlebell ballistic endurance training.  Does anyone have to do a billion trillion swings?  Nope, but I like it!


(sets 84-100)

Since Meg and I were on our own this morning and I know she can hang with the "boring" stuff why not just crank out 100 sets of 10 w/24kg?  Sure, why not?  I've done it twice before it was probably time to try it out again.  To be honest the first 20-25 sets sucked the big one.  I seriously thought, many times, how I could get myself out of the commitment without looking weak.  That's the advantage of having a training partner and a video camera!

Lucky for me it started getting easier at sets 40-50, and after fifty it was all downhill...until set 70.  At 70 I knew I still had 15 minutes to go...15 minutes...that's 5 minutes x 3!  Mentally 10 minutes was pushing it but three more 5 min segments?  Bloody F#@$.  Whatever.

OK enough with the drama.  What was I focusing on?

Absorbing the weight of the descending 24kg bell with my hips and legs to help take the load off of my traps and shoulders....24kg is a lot of weight!  Contracting my glutes as quickly as I could, and keeping them contracted as long as possible, was my next priority.  NOT "rocking", instead "sitting back and down" was also something I wanted to pay attention to.  I'm not saying it didn't start to happen, but when I felt it, I was aware and tried to change it back to a more aggressive swing instead of a passive movement.  I wanted these swings to be solid and the strongest I could perform.  I wasn't willing to settle for "surviving" or as I often say, letting the bell "swing me".  What's the point of that?

I love what I do, that's why I do it!  My training partners can count on me, the same as Mark's training partners can count on him, and have for decades.  I've learned from the best.  Holidays, over worked, no sleep, sick, hungover, late afternoons, early mornings, show up!  It's barely 2-3 hours a freakin' week out of 168....seems small now doesn't it?  1000 swings, 50 minutes out of my 10,080 minutes a week...not a big deal.  I admit a few pull-ups and pistols wouldn't hurt....I'll get back to you on those!  lol



10 comments:

guy said...

A great post, I miss training partners sometimes, I train solo 100% of the time nowadays. It's tough self-motivating some mornings.

Tracy Reifkind said...

Guy,

I could get use to training alone and sometimes prefer it. BUT, that being said I would never have been able to create many of my routines if I only had to train myself!

Nadine said...

Awesome!
I will be doing this myself in a few weeks when I start a new challenge. I train by myself, so your workout today will be good motivation for me :)

Diana said...

"Letting the bell swing me".....that is SO, SO true and the biggest thing I see when teaching a class. It's like folks are afraid of this thing! I'm constantly encouraging, ok, yelling at, no just kidding, encouraging them to "OWN" that damn thing!!!

I can't wait to try this.....I'm a huge fan of this "boring" stuff and I'm 100% okay with training alone! I prefer to train alone...I'm harder on myself than anyone else could be!

Tracy Reifkind said...

Nadine,

I figured this may start a few fires! lol

Tracy Reifkind said...

Diana,

I use that phrase all the time! In fact I'm going to do a short video demonstrating what NOT to do!

Let me know when you get video up of your last 10 sets!

Maribel said...

oh sure, save all the fun for when I'm gone! LOL, JK.

When I train alone, I always, always, always, do "boring" stuff. You know I can't keep count for crap, so I have to keep it simple.

I don't know that I can do this with a 24k, but I'm going to try it when I get back with a 20k.

Unknown said...

I'm impressed!

Tracy Reifkind said...

Maribel,

Yep, we'll do it again when you get back, only slightly different but just as much fun!

Tracy Reifkind said...

Hanneke,

Thanks!