Friday's Workout: The Big Boy

"Kettlebells," I thought to myself this morning as I changed out of my pajamas. "We haven't done anything with kettlebells in a while."

When I first began CrossFitting, we played with kettlebells all the time; I still fondly(?) remember swinging kettlebells with XFitMama, the Marine and the Terminator out on the sidewalk in front of the old flower shop in the morning darkness. I quickly got hooked. After reading Pavel Tsatsouline's "Enter the Kettlebell," I bought a 35-pound (16 kg) kettlebell from Dragon Door and practiced heaving the thing around in my garage. I later moved up to a 53-pound (24 kg) kettlebell, and recently, I've been using the 62-pound (28 kg) in metcons at the gym.

But in the past couple of months, kettlebells have largely been absent from our M/W/F programming at CrossFit Palo Alto -- so I was certain they would make a return appearance soon.

(This is called foreshadowing, kids.)

Strength Skill:

• Handstand Push-Ups (5 sets of 5)

As usual, I had fun practicing HSPUs -- and this time, I have the burst blood vessels to prove it.

But let's get to the good stuff.

It's Hot. It's Manly.

Check It Out: Power to the People

Pavel Tsatsouline is nothing if not prolific. Over the past few months, I've already read a couple of his books (Enter the Kettlebell and The Naked Warrior), but a quick glance at his online store makes clear that there's no end in sight to his "Evil Russian"-style brand of training advice. 

I'm now making my way through Tsatsouline's "Power to the People," a book focused on building raw strength through daily practice of just two exercises: deadlifts and presses.

The "Russian strength secret" that Tsatsouline teaches in "Power to the People" can be summarized in one sentence: "Train heavy, but keep the volume, or the total number of reps per workout, low." Why? So we can "minimize the amount of 'torn down' muscle -- and the reconstruction that follows." 

This approach won't turn anyone into a bodybuilder because the point isn't to grow big-ass muscles. Rather, the focus is on gaining "wiry strength" such that "[m]ost likely your measurements will not increase, while your weight will go up a few pounds. the packing density of your muscles' contractile proteins has increased, the first thing to happen when 'real' muscle growth takes place." By periodizing and increasing the amount of weight that's being lifted but without going to exhaustion, Tsatsouline says, you can steadily enhance your full-body strength without constantly destroying and rebuilding the muscles in your body

Sounds good to me. My health and fitness goals don't include bulking up or becoming a bodybuilder. I do, however, want to get stronger, and I definitely want to improve my deadlift. So this program sounds like it's worth a shot.

Whole9 modified/customized Tsatsouline's "Power to the People" program by adding some warm-ups and metcons to the deadlifts and presses. It's simple and easy to follow, which is a big part of why I've decided to try it starting today. On the days I don't head to my CrossFit class, I'm going to follow the Whole9 program and see where it can take me in 2-3 months' time.

Hence, my workout today was cribbed directly from Whole9:

DAY ONE

Buy-in: 3 rounds of 0:20 handstand hold + 15 KB swings (Russian) + 10 plyo box jumps

Deadlift: Warm up with some DLs at lighter weight

• Set 1: 60% of 1RM, 3-5 reps
• Set 2: 90% of Set 1, 3-5 reps

Press: Warm up with some presses at lighter weight

• Set 1: 60% of 1RM, 3-5 reps
• Set 2: 90% of Set 1, 3-5 reps

Cash out: 3 rounds for time of 30 Double-Unders + 15 Hanging Knees-to-Elbows

I followed Whole9's directions carefully and used weights that felt too light for me. I'm sure it'll get harder as the program progresses, but right now, I can't see how this is going to get me that much stronger.

Still, the full workout wiped me out completely. I'm nodding off while typing this. Time for bed.

Round 3 / Day 97: 2K5 Turbulence Training Workout B + RKC Get-Ups + P90X+ Abs/Core Plus

I think I need heavier weights. I have a set of Bowflex Selecttech 552s, and while they've been handy and space-saving, they max out at 52.5 pounds each. With Turbulence Training, I'm supposed to use weights that force me to max out at 6-8 reps per set, but without something heavier to heave, I'm not getting as much out of my presses and rows as I should.

So now, I'm considering whether to buy a set of Selecttech 1090s, which go up to 90 pounds each -- but they're more expensive than I'd like, and heavier than I'll probably ever need. Maybe I should just duct-tape some weight plates or small children to my current set of 552s. Luckily, I happen to have both lying around.

Round 3 / Day 94: 2K5 Turbulence Training Workout A + RKC Man Maker + P90X Ab Ripper X

For Memorial Day, I took a day off from watching any workout DVDs. Of course, I didn't get a break from actually working out, but I did get to watch regular TV while exercising. ("Hoarders" is horrifyingly compelling.)

I'm trying to gain a little more weight, so I'm trying to lift heavier and eat more. I'm super-sore from the former, but pretty happy about the latter. With the start of summer, I should have lots of opportunities to throw meat on the grill and dig in with gusto. Tonight, we cooked up some grass-fed beefalo rib-eye from Pampero Longhorn Ranch, and it was all kinds of awesome.

Round 3 / Day 90: 2K4 Turbulence Training Workout B + RKC Get-Ups + P90X Ab Ripper X

This morning, for the first time in a week, I really enjoyed working out. Part of it, I think, is that I wasn't sweating alone -- M was next to me, lifting weights in sync with her ChaLEAN Extreme Push Circuit One video. Even though we didn't say a word to each other, it was great having company.

Another reason I dug my morning workout: I didn't have to turn on the TV to do it.

Round 3 / Day 87: 2K4 Turbulence Training Workout A + RKC Man Maker + Insanity Cardio Abs

When the alarm went off this morning, I turned it off and fell back asleep. An hour passed before I groggily peered at the clock again, it was 6:40 a.m. -- only twenty minutes before the kids would pop out of bed. No time to fit in my entire scheduled workout.

Still, Man Maker training takes only 12 (interminable-seeming) minutes, so I knew I could squeeze in some kettlebell swings.

I'm glad I did, because after dinner tonight, when I finished the rest of my workout, I could feel the fatigue setting in. I'm not sure I would have had the energy to heave a kettleball around after lifting weights and doing Insanity-style core work.

Plus, I still had to take out the garbage. Garbage night is the bane of my existence.

Round 3 / Day 80: 2K3 Turbulence Training Workout A + RKC Man Maker + Insanity Cardio Abs

I worked my ass off this morning, cranking out pull-ups and push-ups and dumbbell rows and kettlebell swings and tuck-knee jumps. I went all-out, and completely wiped myself out by the end of my hour-long workout.

Why?

Because I knew we had dinner reservations at a Brazilian churrascaria this evening, where we had a rodizio-style chowdown, cramming into our open maws as many different cuts of various meats as our distended stomachs would allow.

And even now, hours after my last slice of lamb off the server's big-ass skewer, I'm way too uncomfortably full to go to sleep. Which means I'm not going to get enough shut-eye before tomorrow morning's yoga.

Sad but true: Outside of family and work, my life revolves around eating, sleeping, and making time for exercise.

Round 3 / Day 76: Original Turbulence Training Workout B + RKC Get-Ups + P90X Ab Ripper X

I can finally do pistols! (Sort of. I need to hold onto the toes of my upraised leg to keep my balance.)

Round 3 / Day 73: Original Turbulence Training Workout A + RKC Man Maker + P90X Ab Ripper X

Tony Horton is full of douchey mottos, dripping with chest-out machismo ("BRING IT!" and "X ME!" come to mind), but there's one that truly resonates with me: "Don't just kind of do it."

Before P90X, I was just kind of doing it. I dutifully but half-assedly climbed onto my elliptical or lifted weights each night, but on a scale of 1 to 10, my exertion level rarely rose above a 6.

And even now, there are times when I suddenly realize that I've been dogging it. This morning, for example, I was in the middle of my Man Maker kettlebell routine when I noticed that my form was shit. I wasn't pushing my butt back far enough when I lowered the kettlebell, and my knees were drifting in front of my toes. On the upswing, my pelvis wasn't thrusting forcefully forward, and my arms weren't locking out completely. I was phoning it in. Sloppily.

It's been nine months since I started P90X and holding myself accountable to daily workouts, so I suppose it's not surprising that I'm prone to occasional lapses in attention. But I need to keep reminding myself to not just kind of do it.

Maybe I should tie a string around my finger. Or tattoo a message on my face like this gentleman.

Round 3 / Day 62: 2K5 Turbulence Training Workout B + RKC Get Ups + One-on-One with Tony Horton - Killer Abs

I feel like I'm struggling (more than usual) to finish my sets of pull-ups and chin-ups. It's probably because I haven't been diligently "greasing the groove" by cranking out short sets of pull-ups every time I pop into the garage. In other words, I've been lazy.

Plus: I secretly hate pull-ups.

Round 3 / Day 59: 2K5 Turbulence Training Workout A + RKC Man Maker + Insanity Cardio Abs

At long last, I'm finally becoming proficient in swinging a kettlebell properly.

Yes, it's taken me two months.

And yes, I'm a slow learner.

Round 3 / Day 56: RKC Man Maker + One-on-One with Tony Horton - Recovery 4 Results

I have a cold. But I did my recovery exercises today, and threw in some kettlebell swings nonetheless. It didn't make me feel any better, but hey -- it didn't make me feel any worse, either.

Round 3 / Day 48: 2K3 Turbulence Training Workout Workout B + RKC Get Ups + P90X+ Abs / Core Plus (+ 50 Pull-Ups)

Before piling everything in the car and making a beeline for Southern California, M and I dutifully got up at 5:30 this morning to exercise.

Today's Turbulence Training routine wasn't too tough -- the stability ball moves and planks are fairly easy, and the rest of the exercises were fairly basic -- so I upped my weights and added brief sets of pull-ups at the end of each superset. By the end of my final set of Step-Ups, I knew I'd picked the right weights; I was just the right amount of exhausted.

Get-Ups are still kicking my ass, particularly when I'm doing them from my left (weaker) side. I may need to start wearing a helmet.

As for Abs / Core Plus, is it just me, or did Tony get a little too carried away with his attempts to add variety to the moves in P90X+? The exercises on the pull-up bar are great, but Cherry Bombs? Banana Masons? Raised-Toe-Iso-Leaning-Standing-Crunches? Are these moves really any better than those in Ab Ripper X?

Round 3 / Day 45: 2K3 Turbulence Training Workout A + RKC Man Maker + Insanity Cardio Abs

I (stupidly) stayed up past my bedtime last night to play with my new iPad (which, by the way, certainly doesn't replace my computer, but is a mind-blowingly awesome toy nonetheless -- especially for someone like me, who owns neither an iPhone nor an iPod Touch). So when I staggered into the garage this morning to start exercising, I already knew I wouldn't have time to get all three sections of my workout done before the kids popped out of bed.

The problem with rushing through a workout is that I tend to lose focus, and end up sacrificing form for speed. And both my Turbulence Training workout and my Man Maker kettlebell routine require careful attention to form -- the former because it involves heavy resistance, and the latter because it involves repeatedly heaving a large iron ball between your legs. Thankfully, I avoided any serious nutsack injuries this morning.

And don't worry: I finished Cardio Abs this evening. I am, after all, slavishly devoted to my workout routine.

Round 3 / Day 38: Original Turbulence Training Workout A + RKC Man Maker + Insanity Cardio Abs

The "Original" version of Turbulence Training Workout A isn't too tough -- there are, after all, only two full supersets to complete. Man Maker training lasts for "just" 12 minutes. And Cardio Abs doesn't take long, either. All three components of today's workout -- combined -- take less than an hour to complete.

But that doesn't mean I didn't get my ass kicked today.

Tomorrow, after my morning workout, I'm off to Phoenix for a few days, so I was thinking about doing Insanity Max Cardio Conditioning and saving yoga for my hotel room. But depending on my soreness level, I may just stick with some nice, easy stretches.

Round 3 / Day 27: 2K5 Turbulence Training Workout A + RKC Get-Ups + P90X+ Abs / Core Plus

2K5 Workout A starts with two rounds of three warm-up moves: Prisoner Squats, Elevated Push-Ups, and Stability Ball Leg Curls. And for the main event, we have (as usual) three supersets, each repeated three times:

Superset One:

• Squats (8 reps): You can choose to do 1-Leg Squats (a.k.a. Pistol Squats) instead, but I'm still not yet able to do 'em using my left leg, so I opted for regular old Squats instead.

• Dumbbell Chest Presses (6 reps): I've totally run out of things to say about chest presses.

Superset Two:

• Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts (8 reps): While doing this exercise, I sometimes fear that my lower back is going to just snap, and my upper body's going to separate from my pelvis and topple to the floor.

• Spiderman Push-Ups (5 reps per side): After having done a billion Oblique Push-Ups, these are a (welcome) piece of cake.

Superset Three:

• Dumbbell Step-Ups (10 reps per side): I'm not a super-heavy guy, and I only carry a 30-pound dumbbell in each hand when I do my Step-Ups, but I'm worried that one of these days, my weight bench is going to collapse while I'm doing this move. For some reason, this entire workout is suffused with dread. I need to stop watching "Lost" on my TiVo while doing Turbulence Training.

• Dumbbell Rear-Deltoid Raises (12 reps): Fun! Round 3 doesn't contain much in the way of isolation moves for my shoulders, so I really dig this exercise.

And then I proceeded to suck at Get-Ups for 5 minutes.

Lastly: Abs / Core Plus. This is a perfectly fine core workout, and as I've mentioned before, the hanging leg raises are awesome. The rest? Ehhh. The other moves are decent, but pale in comparison to Ab Ripper X or Killer Abs from the One-on-One series.

Off to bed now, where I can try to crack open one of the four or five books I've started (but will probably never finish) reading.

Round 3 / Day 19: Insanity Max Interval Circuit + RKC Get-Ups

I just ate like a big pig (one that enjoys ceviche, guacamole and steak), but at least I burned some calories earlier today by jumping up and down like a crazy person. And although I'm not scheduled to do Get-Ups until tomorrow, I knocked 'em out before I left home this morning, figuring that there aren't going to be kettlebells at the fitness center in my hotel.

Round 3 / Day 17: 2K4 Turbulence Training Workout A + RKC Man Maker + Insanity Cardio Abs

On the menu today:

2K4 Turbulence Training Workout A, which -- after a brief warm-up -- consists of three supersets that emphasize upper-body resistance moves (to the chagrin of my still-sore chest and back):

Superset One:

• Dumbbell Incline Presses (6 reps): Heavy dumbbell presses performed while lying on a slightly-inclined bench.

• Dumbbell Rear-Deltoid Raises (10 reps): Holding a pair of dumbbells, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent. Lean your upper body forward so that it's parallel to the floor. Let your arms hang vertically. Laterally raise the dumbbells up and out to the sides.

Rest for one minute, and then repeat the superset twice for a total of three times.

Superset Two:

• Dumbbell Rows (6 reps per side): Go heavy.

• Dumbbell Floor Presses (8 reps): Just like dumbbell presses from a bench, but on the floor instead. The hardest part for me was figuring out how to get the heavy dumbbells off the floor and up into the starting position while lying down.

Rest for one minute, and then repeat the superset twice for a total of three times.

Superset Three:

• Dumbbell Triceps Extensions (8 reps): Just like the ones in P90X Shoulders & Arms (but given that we're only going for 8 reps here, I upped the weight).

• Dumbbell Incline Curls (8 reps): These are the same as the ones from last Monday's workout -- but to increase the difficulty, I actually did Lean-Back Curls from P90X Upper Body Plus instead.

Rest for one minute, and then repeat the superset twice for a total of three times.

I don't know if it's just because I'm getting used to these types of sessions, but today's Turbulence Training workout felt easier than the previous versions of Workout A I've done in past weeks (Original and 2K3).

Next up: 12 minutes of RKC Man Maker practice. I'm getting better at swinging a kettlebell.

And for dessert: Insanity Cardio Abs.

Thank god for yoga tomorrow (assuming I wake up early enough to squeeze in all 90 minutes of Yoga X before the kids spring out of bed).

Round 3 / Day 10: 2K3 Turbulence Training Workout A + RKC Man Maker + Insanity Cardio Abs

For the sake of maximum variety, I've decided not to linger on any one particular version of Turbulence Training during Round 3; rather, I'm doing a different Turbulence Training workout each week for the first month (before doubling back in subsequent months).

Last week, I tried out the "Original" flavor of Turbulence Training. Today, I got a taste of Craig Ballantyne's "2K3" version. (By the way, "2K3" just means he developed it in 2003.)

Workout A starts with a quick warm-up sequence (repeated once), consisting of Reverse Lunges, Close-Grip Push-Ups (a.k.a., Military Push-Ups), and Stick-Ups.

Stick-Ups look super-easy: You basically flatten yourself against a wall, reach your arms straight up, and then move them down to a "stick-up" position -- keeping your arms, shoulders and back against the wall at all times. It's a super-low-impact move, but I was surprised to find that this was a challenge for me; my flexibility, mobility, and range of motion aren't as great as I thought.

After the warm-up, you move into the three supersets that form the core of this workout:

Superset 1:

• Chin-Ups (8 reps): No description needed, right?
• Dumbbell Chest Presses (8 reps): I'm pretty sure you know this one, too.

Repeat twice for a total of three times, resting for one minute between supersets.

Superset 2:

• Dumbbell Elbow-Out Rows (8 reps per side): Just like Elbows-Out Lawnmowers from P90X Back & Biceps, only done using a bench rather than from a low lunge position.
• Dumbbell Low-Incline Press (8 reps): Same as Dumbbell Chest Presses, but with the back of the weight bench angled up slightly to better hit your upper chest. 

Repeat twice for a total of three times, resting for one minute between supersets.

Superset 3:

• Decline Push-Ups (15 reps): Same as the ones from P90X Chest & Back.
• Dumbbell Incline Curls (8 reps per side): These are similar to the Lean-Back Curls from P90X+ Upper Body Plus, but with some back support. This is a great isolation move, and keeps you from cheating -- I definitely felt the burn in my arms.

Next, it was onto 12 minutes of Man Maker training with my kettlebell. It's tough as hell, but I'm slowly getting into the "swing" of things. (Ha! Get it? GET IT??? I fucking love puns.)

Last but not least, M joined me for a round of Insanity Cardio Abs. As I've said before, I prefer Ab Ripper X (Cardio Abs overemphasizes hip flexor movements, in my opinion), but it's nice to break up the monotony with some jumps and planks.

Tomorrow: Fountain of Youth yoga! (I'm genuinely looking forward to it. Fer real, yo.)