We saw Silvester Stallone do it in Rocky IV – training his ass off in the bitter Moscow cold in order to prepare for the biggest challenge of his career, Ivan Drago.
We then wanted to go outside in the snow, carry a log on our back, and start cutting cords of wood like Mountain Men.
Now, you can say that subjecting yourself to situations like this can make you mentally tougher once it is done, but are there any true benefits to training in cold weather over training in a warm, comfortable gym? (more…)
I opened up my YouTube account and checked out my Subscriptions the other day and couldn’t believe what I saw…
Jordan Vezina, RKC, recently uploaded his entire DVD, “The Corrections,” to YouTube.
I have had this DVD in electronic version since it first came out back in like 2008. Jordan is very knowledgeable about correcting technique and I even reviewed it prior to going to the RKC in September.
It’s not everyday that someone uploads an entire DVD on their own accord, especially a good quality one, like Jordan’s.
If you’re new to Kettlebells or if you’ve acquired some bad habits, you may want to check these out.
Well, I continue to progress with the Snatch Test. Today I warmed up while one of the trainees was here and then hit my 5-minute snatch test once he left.
After speaking with Dave Whitley, he suggested I go away from trying to get as many reps as possible before switching arms like I had been doing, and instead hitting planned blocks. Andrew Durniat also suggested the same thing to me, so i figured if those two dudes are telling me the same thing, I better listen.
So, I set out today to get 20/20, 15/15, and then 10/10. However, my left arm kept wearing out on me. I was trying to maintain better form with that arm and keep the track of bell more of a straight line as opposed to an arc. Not sure if that tired me out more or what…
Here is the rep pattern that I ended up getting (right hand first this time): 20/18, 15/10, 10/10, 8/8, 7.
I wanted to give it a try with my right hand first this time because my form is better on that arm, but I think I like the feel of going with my left hand first though.
Today was another PR of 106 reps in 5 minutes.
I think I could have probably squeaked out a couple extra snatches on the last attempt with my right hand, but I had the music turned up so loud that I thought I might have missed the buzzer. I use my BlackBerry for my timer and unfortunately the screen goes black after like 30 seconds. I went over to see if I had already gone 5 minutes and as I reached down to check the buzzer went off. So I might have 108 in the tank right now. Check out the video:
I think if I had someone hear telling me exactly how much time I had left on the clock, I could do a lot better. Going to work Swings today in mass quantities for my second workout to get my endurance up in that movement as well.
It was definitely nice to gas out today. I actually missed it over the last 8 or ten days, since I wanted to avoid damaging my hands for Nationals.
With more consistent practice, I have no doubts I can get over 110 by the time the test rolls around. Need to continue working on form, using more of my lower body, work on breathing, and pulling the bell down more.
Thanks to everyone who has left comments both here on Diesel, through the email and on my YouTube Channel.
Over the weekend, I put up a post (directly below) asking for assistance with my kettlebell snatch technique for the RKC Snatch Test.
Many of you posted comments, and I really appreciate it because there is more bad technique stuff going on with my snatch than I realized.
However, I have great news!
UPDATE: On Sunday, I was able to hit 105 reps in 5 minutes!
Now, my form (especially with my right hand) is still pretty rough, so I need to work on that, but I guess my conditioning wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it was.
This was my repetition sequence: Left – 32, Right – 29, Left – 15, Right – 15, Left – 12, Right – 2
8/29/10 – 100 Rep Snatch Test Training
I have Grip Strength Nationals coming up this weekend. I can’t afford to rip a callus off this close to the contest, so I am going to wait to train the Snatch again until Sunday or Monday. I am glad that I got right into it and pushed myself ahead of time, because it has been a huge mental boost for me going into my Grip Comp, plus I won’t worry about taking about a week off of snatching.
From what I have been told, there is a lot more stuff that goes on at these clinics than just snatch tests, so once Nationals has gone by I am also going to start hitting a ton of Swings and Get-ups to get ready.
One thing that has surprised me is how FANTASTIC my back feels during these 100-rep tests. So loose and limber, it’s amazing.
I’m looking forward to the next snatch test session, as I want to implement some of the technical improvement suggestions made in the last post I made. For whatever reason I am hitting way more reps with my left hand and the technique with that arm is a lot rougher than the right. If I can get that buttoned up, I’ll be able to get to 100 a lot more efficiently.
It was great to hit this PR. I wish you the best with your own PR’s this week.
Make it a great day!
Jedd
P.S. If you have already passed the RKC Snatch Test and are looking for other challenges, you should check out our Diesel Kettlebell eBooks. You can see them here = > Advanced Kettlebell Training
I have called upon the readers in the Diesel Universe for my Muscle-up training in the past, and now I have another favor to ask.
In September, Smitty and I are going to an RKC certification, and we will be doing the 100-rep Snatch Test.
Before last week, I never did more than like 20 snatches total in the same day, so this is all completely foreign to me, so i was wondering if some of you would take the time to watch a couple of the videos I have taken of myself trying the Snatch Test.
If you have time to watch, and leave any suggestions you have in the comments section, I would really appreciate it.
Video 1
This is my very first set trying the snatch test. I got 68 reps. I did not count one of them because I partially snatched it with both hands. I must have miss-counted when I first reviewed the video because I say 13 reps on the last set but I actually got 18.
I really thought I’d get much more than 68 on my first set, but I was taking too much rest time during repetitions, I think.
Rep Pattern: L25, R25, L18
Video 2
I took about 15 minutes rest and tried one more set. This time I made quicker transitions between reps and got 80 reps. Lost a rep on a flubbed transition and had to do a short swing. Definitely need to avoid that on test day.
Rep Patter: L20, R20, L15, R15, L10
Like I said in the video, my form is rough and I am SO not in shape for this. I was really huffing and puffing on this day. I am more used to Juggling Kettlebells and doing other Feats with them
Thanks in advance for any suggestions you might have.
Make it a great day!
Jedd
P.S. To all you Steel Benders – I just started working on a project today that is going to help you out tremendously. Stay Tuned for further announcements.
