Did the Double Thing

MORNING:

P-Bar Pushups
/3 x 10

Snatches
24kg/ 4 minutes @ 12 RPM, switch hands every 6 reps
/ 3 minutes @ 12 RPM, switch hands every 6 reps x 2

Swing
25.75kg/ 10/10, 15/15 x 3
- I rested for 10 breaths after the sets of 10, and 15 breaths after the sets of 15, then continued on to the next set.

Pullups
Lots and lots. I didn't count, I just did a bunch of sets to near failure.

EVENING:

Snatches
24kg/ 4 minutes @ 10 RPM, hand switch every 10 reps
/2 minutes @ 15 RPM, hand switch every 15 reps x 2

Running for 12 minutes @ 1 minute fast run, 30 second walk

I was kind of cut short in my first session because I had to go train a client. Just bad planning on my part. So I came home later and finished up. All I really missed was the running, but I was feeling good, so I added in the extra sets of snatches. The P-Bar pushups were throughout the day, today and yesterday. All in all, I probably totaled about 18 sets. I really want to get better at those...

Some Squats

I took this down to Muscle Inc. in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania (www.muscleinc-gym.com). It's one of the gyms that I work at, and they've got some fantastic equipment there for me to play around on. It's always a nice change to get out of the basement during the winter sessions.

Front Squat
185/3 x 3

Back Squat
225/3 x 3
255/3 x 2

Weighted Pullups
25lbs/5
50lbs/5 x 5

Then, some running on the treadmill for 10 minutes...

Short One...

Long Cycle C+J's
24kg/ 7 minutes @ 8 RPM
29kg/ 3 minutes @ 8 RPM x 2

Short Cycle Jerks
29kg/ 2 minutes @ 8 RPM x 2

= 8088 pounds

That's it. I didn't eat a lot today and didn't get much sleep last night, so I backed off and took it relatively easy today. As an athlete, you've got to know when it's time to take it down a notch. If you are extremely tired or fatigued, there is no problem with reducing the volume of your workout, or even taking a day off. doing this makes for a good athlete who knows his body. Don't get that "all or nothing" mentality and run yourself into the ground. Doing so will FORCE you to take time off due to sickness, injury, or over-training.

Bent Presses and Snatches

I was reading an article on the Gym Jones website about their training and why they do what they do. A lot of those guys are climbers who have reached some high levels in the sport (no pun intended). When you climb, you need a very high strength-to-weight ratio, otherwise, you just suck. Mark Twight, who owns Gym Jones, talked about exercise pairing. He was talking about blending weight-training and bodyweight-training...always pair a heavy weightlifting exercise with a bodyweight exercise. So, when deadlifting, you could superset the deadlifts with pullups (bodyweight only). This would train you to use your bodyweight even if you do end up gaining a few pounds from deadlifting heavy. I guess I always kind of trained like that anyway without really "thinking" about it. I am also a climber, so being able to move my bodyweight around effectively is pretty important. I always try to blend gymnastics-type training with weight-training. On that note...

My workout for today:

P-bar pushups/lower into L-sit hold
/3 x 5

- After the pushups, I slowly lowered my legs under me and in front of me, then I held the L-sit until "failure"

Bent Press
32kg/2/2 x 3

Snatches
24kg/ 3 minutes at 10rpm, switch hands every 5 reps
/3 minutes at 12 rpm, switch hands every 7 reps
/3 minutes at 20rpm, switch hands every 10 reps

Pullups
/8 x 4

Followed this up with a nice cold water douse out in the snow, and a cup of chamomile tea:)

Good One Today

Long Cycle C+J
24kg/ 7 minutes, at 9 rpm, alternating hands every 5 reps = 63 reps

Pullups
/ 4,5,6,5,6,4,5,6,7

Long Cycle C+J
24kg/ 5 minutes, at 8 rpm, alternating hands every 5 reps = 40 reps

Swing
24kg/ 20/20 x 2

Snatch
16kg/ 25/25 x 2

Overall a really good workout. The 7 minutes of C+J was pushing it a little. I think I will slow it down to 8rpm when I go for 8 minutes. I can also see how the fatigue would build up in your arms when you don't switch hands every 5 reps. Down the road, I'd like to switch hands only halfway through the set...that's pretty DOWN THE ROAD though:)
Also, it's been awhile since I trained with the 16kg. It is surprisingly light, now that I have been only using the 24kg and the 32kg. I got the feeling I could snatch it all day long. That's a very good thing;)

New Link

There is a new link that I added over there -> in the links list, titled "Gym Animus Courage Corner". This is a daily workout blog that I will post for you. There will be a workout posted most days of the week for you to try. Let me know how you do and what you think. Enjoy:)

Very Happy About This One

This was one of those workouts you remember for awhile. I recalled from the first Russian Kettlebell Challenge, Steve Maxwell did a workout that involved doing snatches with the 24kg for 20-15-10-5 reps, with both the right and left arms. I believe his time was 7:36. Today I did this:

Pullups
/10, 9, 8, 8, 7

C+J's
24kg/ 6 minutes, at 9 RPM, switch hands every 5 reps = 56 reps total

Snatch
24kg/ 20-15-10-5 right/left in 7:09!!!

Hanging Leg Raises
3x3

I am extremely happy about the snatches. I didn't really have a specific time goal in mind. My goal was to complete the sets fairly comfortably, and without putting the bell down. In fact, I didn't look at the clock until I put the bell down at the end. I'd say I was using about 85-90% of full effort while doing the snatches. I was amazed to see that time on the clock. Steve Maxwell is an unofficial mentor of mine. I love Steve's workout design, his life attitude, and his never ending pursuit of fitness. To beat his time is huge for me. The RKC came out about 7 or 8 years ago, and I'm sure that Steve has beaten his time since then, but when I first read that workout, I remember thinking: "Man, that is nuts! That is a fast time for that workout. That guy must be in great condition!". When I started lifting kettlebells about three years ago, I could barely snatch the 24kg. It was SO heavy. To accomplish that workout today is amazing. Just more proof of what you can do when you are consistent, dedicated, and smart. I still love the C+J's...I'll probably keep those up for awhile...

To the First Man to Reach the Top of the World

About a week ago, when I was still in Washington D.C., I was walking around the city at around 8:30 at night, and on one of those electronic news banners came this:
"Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to summit Mount Everest, died today at the age of 88"
This makes me think of the quote from Braveheart: "Every man dies, not every man really lives". On May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary, along with his sherpa and guide, Tenzing Norgay, became the first team of climbers to reach the summit of the 29,029 foot tall Mount Everest. These two amazing gentlemen paved the way for thousands of climbers in the decades after their first ascent. To this day, Mount Everest remains the highest point on earth. Here's to Sir Edmund Hillary and his inspiring accomplishment.

Quick Saturday Work...

I'm on my way to a graduation party (Congrats Ashley), so I grabbed this quick training session before I left:

Long Cycle C+J's
24kg @ 8 RPM, hand switch every 5 reps
/ 5 minutes
90 second rest
/ 4 minutes

Running
/ 2 miles @ 3 minutes running, 1 minute walking

The C+J's are absolutely awesome. I encourage anyone to learn them and implement them. I have a video posted below about the correct technique for this strength endurance exercise. I guarantee that 90% of the population could benefit from using this exercise on a regular basis. Enjoy:)

STRENGTH Training

Haven't trained for strength specifically in awhile, so...

Handstand Pushup
/5x5

Hack Squat
32kg/5 x 4

Weighted Pullup
24kg/3 x 3

Snatch
32kg/5/5 x 4

Hanging Leg Raise
/3 x 3

Kettlebell Bench Press
24kg/6 x 4

Followed this with a contrast shower and eggplant rollitini, MMMM...;)

P.S. - CHRIS DALY...send me your email at joojoo2885@yahoo.com. I never got your contact info before you left for Saint Diego...I hope you are enjoying the So Cal life, staying in tip-top condition;)

Here's to the PRE..

Steve Prefontaine was a good runner, in case you didn't know;)

More RUNNING

Snatch
24kg
/15/15 x 2

Swing
32kg
/15/15 x 3

Running
4 x 400m speed intervals

The intervals were pretty cool. I didn't fully recover between the repeats, which was good. I was more and more fatigued going into the next round. I feel like that type of running really helps you push through that pain barrier, when everything burns and you pray for rest...instead you take another stride, then one more, and another, and so on, until you reach the end of wherever you are trying to go.
Eventually you realize that the pain isn't that bad, that once you relax you could probably hold this pace for much longer. When I used to run 50-60 miles a week, making improvements wasn't necessarily about making myself better physically, because I had really good physical endurance. The problem came for me mentally. As soon as the run got uncomfortably hard, I would almost go into a panic, like something would happen if I continued to feel this pain. All mental. Once I could convince myself to relax and just keep putting one foot in front of the other, the rest was easy...

Love Those C+J's

I did a short warm-up with the 32kg, doing 2 sets of 5 cleans on each side. I held the rack for awhile on each rep, trying to find a comfy position. After that:

24kg C+J's (8 RPM pace, switch hands every 5 reps)
/ 4 minutes
/ 4 minutes
/ 3 minutes
/ 3 minutes

I rested about 90 seconds between each set.

Pullups
/ 8, 9, 10, 10, 8, 8

Hanging Leg Raise
/4 x 3

Good stuff:) I really like the feeling of those Clean and Jerks...

Trying To Start RUNNING

The KB's keep me in pretty good shape. I have a really good work capacity, and I feel like I am reasonably strong. So far though, I've made strength a primary goal, with endurance a close second. While there is good carryover for me when hiking or participating in some other endurance-type activity, I just can't seem to keep in "running" shape while just doing KB's/bodyweight training. I took my dog for a walk today, and at the end of our walk, you have to climb a hill to get back to my house. The hill is about a quarter mile long with about an 8% grade. We ran up the hill at a pretty good pace (about 2:00 from bottom to top), and when we finished, I was DYING. It felt like my lungs were bleeding. So, after I recovered, I went and did this:

Turkish Get-Up
32kg/8 minutes = 16 reps total, switched hands every rep

Running
3 minutes running, 1 minute walking/ 12 minutes

Last Day in D.C.

Unfortunately, today is my last day in Washington D.C.. Fortunately, the trip was extremely productive, both physically and mentally. I got in some great workouts, lots of time with Vinay, and beautiful weather. We also made some great progress with the official Gym Animus website...it will be here soon:)
To end the trip, I walked around Georgetown today for a few hours. It was a pleasant walk, with nice river views, good looking people, and a solid cup of Starbucks coffee:) In addition to my walk, my training for the day looked like this:

Handstand Pushups
/5x3
/8x3

All with the 24kg...

One Arm Long Cycle
2x 4 min sets at 8 RPM

Swing
2x 30/arm
2x 25/arm

Pushup
BW/ 35 x 3

A Little Bit of GS-Style Training

I saw this on the American Kettlebell Club Blog. It's the one arm long cycle clean and jerk. I used the 24kg. Coach Scott Sonnon has an excellent tutorial on how to do the Long Cycle C+J. Here it is:

I did a three minute set at an 8 RPM pace, switching hands every 5 reps. I actually liked doing it so much that after a brief rest, I repeated two more three minute sets. Each three minute set was about spot on, totaling between 24 and 26 reps. After that, I did this:

With the 24kg:
Clean + Press + Front Squat Combo x 1,2,3,4,5 per arm, as little rest as possible

Swing x 10,20,30 with brief rests between sets

Snatch x 5,10,15 per arm with brief rests between sets

All followed by a four minute set of long cycle clean and jerk. I totaled 42 reps in the 4 minutes. Awesome workout, those C+J's.

Summer in January

Yesterday, January 9, Washington D.C. was 72 degrees and sunny. Not one to pass up beautiful weather, I had to take the KBs outside for some fun. Vinay and I took them up to the rooftop patio of his apartment building. We spent over 3 hours out in the sun, topping up our tans and having some fun. Here are some of the pictures we got.

Nice One In D.C.

I'm down in Washington D.C. for a few days, visiting Vinay, working on Gym Animus, and being a tourist (call it what it is, right?). While Vinay was at work today, I did this at his apartment, after walking around for about 4 hours seeing the sights:)

All weighted exercises done with two 24kg kettlebells:

See- Saw Press
/5 each x 3

Pull Up
/8 x 4

Front Squat
/5 x 4

Hanging Leg Raise
/3 x 3

Pushups on kettlebell handles
/20 x 3

The "Official" Gym Animus

I've been getting a lot of questions lately about my training services and the Gym Animus website. I'd like to answer a few of those questions so that when I direct people to this blog, they have some sort of reference pertaining to their questions.

What kind of training do I offer?
- I offer group or private training. I train people out of their homes, their gyms, or online. If I can't meet you physically, I can write a solid program for you, based on your goals, experience, and exercise/equipment availability. The idea behind Gym Animus is that your body WANTS to move a certain way, and it was BUILT to execute certain tasks. Your body is ONE PIECE, and thats the way I will train it. Everything you do on one "part" of your body affects another "part" of your body, so we do not separate your body into parts. I am not a bodybuilding trainer. Bodybuilding is its own sport in which I am not experienced. However, if you want to look better, perform better (in sport and/or in life), and feel better, than I just might be the trainer for you. Your training will be fun, exciting, and it will have definitive goals. You will not be disappointed.

What are your prices?
- The prices vary depending on what you are looking for. I write 1,2 and 3 month programs. I am available for private training and group training. I offer 1,3,6, and 10 session packages. For now, if you are interested, email me and let me know what you are looking for and I can send you the full price list.

If you don't divide my body into "parts" then how DO you train it?
- Samples of my training can be found in the videos that are posted in the "November" archives on this blog. Other samples can be found in the daily workouts that I post here. I understand that not everyone is up to performing these workouts as written. that's perfectly OK, as there are many many progressions and modifications to each of these exercises. The modifications will be made according to your level of fitness.

What are your qualifications?
- I am a graduate of East Stroudsburg University, with a backelor's degree in Exercise Science. I am a NESTA certified personal trainer. I have about four years of individual and group training experience. I have worked with the elderly, teenagers, athletes, CEO's, mothers, fathers, mentally and physically handicapped people. Every one of my clients has been a great experience for me. I take away as much from them as they do from me. I have also had the experience of training myself in multiple sports, from triathlons to rock climbing to kettlebell lifting.

How do I contact you?
- Right now, send me and email at joojoo2885@yahoo.com. That email address will most likely change once Gym Animus is up and running, but for now, the yahoo address will suffice. You can also comment on my blog posts with any questions or comments that you have.

Thanks for your interest in Gym Animus:)

Workout From Yesterday

I spent New Year's in Washington D.C., which was great, but I got behind on my workouts. Then, while wrestling with my younger and larger brother (by about 50 lbs), I had some kind of dislocation/subluxation happen to my shoulder...OUCH:) So, needless to say, my training was somewhat limited yesterday, although not by much. I trained with my brother which is always a pleasure:)

My Workout:
P-Bar Pushup (like a bodyweight dip, with your body in a parallel position, knees tucked)
/5x5

Weighted Pullup
40lbs/4x4

TGU
24kg/10 each side, alternating every 2 reps

Pistol
BW/3/3x3
12kg/3/3x2

Double Swing
2x24kg/8x4

Dan's Workout:
Military Press
16kg/3/3x3

Snatch
16kg/5+5 at the top of every minute/8 minutes

Thanks:)

While everyone awaits the unveailing of the official Gym Animus website, I would like to say thank you to my friend, Vinay, who is building the website for me in his spare time. He is working endless hours to build the site, on top of his already busy life. He certainly has a lifetime "membership" to Gym Animus and all of its benefits.


Vinay is one of those racing snakes who moves like a man possessed across the country. He is an extremely fast runner, with an average 5k time that could easily provide him with a salary.
However, Vinay wasn't always a great athlete. He joined track in his freshmen year of high school, just for something to do. Well, he turned out to be a horrible runner. The coach put him in the 2-mile race, which was where all the "bad" runners went. Vinay wasn't very good at that either. Apparently, that pissed him off a little bit. During the summer between 9th and 10th grade, Vinay ran like a beast, logging an average of 10 miles per day, six days per week. He came back in the fall and joined the cross country team. Vinay started winning races, and not only marginal wins either. He regularly recorded sub-15:00 5k's, beating his opponents by more than 2 minutes sometimes. This was all at the tender, ripe age of 16 years old. The kid is a phenom.
Unfortunately, Vinay has given up competitive running since then, putting his physical energies into weightlifting and bodybuilding. He isn't at a loss in that arena either. Just the other day, at 140 pounds, Vinay put up 250 for 4 on the bench press. He can crank out a solid 25 pullups without breathing heavy, and he's got a front lever that scares people at his gym. He only weighs 140, but looks like he's approaching 175. He's also got a chest that, as Pavel says, you could stand a glass on. Vinay lives and works in Washington D.C.. He works for Lockheed Martin, writing computer programs for the construction of nuclear submarines. WOW. Keep it up Vinay, you are an inspiration to all of us.