Spring is easily the busiest time of year for me. Between work, the house and little league baseball, April, May and June, and half of July are a blur. I haven’t written a post in a while, because I haven’t had time. My two sons are both playing an in town baseball season that has 21 games apiece. Then playoffs and then all stars. All this is fit into four months. In theory, it’s fantastic. I love coaching them and watching them play. In reality, it’s not so great. Why? Because there is no time for practice. You end up teaching kids on the fly as a play happens versus explaining to them when you have the time. For example, my son, who is 12 was pitching. We’re up in the last inning 11-0. Guy hits a ground ball to shortstop, it goes through his legs and rolls to the wall. The center fielder was napping. He lobs it back to the shortstop who airmails it over third base and the runner scores. Was my son backing up 3rd? No. Why? Because he didn’t know. In games, you’re not going to get the repetition of multiple ground balls, fly balls, batting practice, situations that occur explained. Not every child is going to be a great player, but even if you’re not, you should know where to be on the field. With 9 -10 year olds, I’m sure it’s tiring for parents to listen to us coaches say, “how many outs? where is the play? don’t forget to back up?’ But, time spent on games has limited practice time.
How does this relate to fitness? You can’t go all out at game speed, all the time. You have to hone your craft. With fitness, you can’t max out every day, you practice it. Learn the form, get your correct breathing down, don’t do maximum reps. Work hard, concentrate, but don’t leave it all on the gym floor. Last post, I was working out five days a week, doing clean and jerk ladders and press ladders, alternating fortnightly. About three weeks ago, heavy day for presses came around and even after a day off, I felt like junk. Shoulders and upper back were sore, my hamstrings felt like too stretched out rubber bands. Decided to dial it back to three days a week and not go to my max in reps. So currently, I am doing 3 total workouts a week, maximum of five reps and adding a set each session. It looks like this:
Thursday / Monday
Double Clean and Press 5 x 3 alternated with Pullups 5 x 5
Double Squat 5 x 5 alternated with Double Swings Outside the Knees,6 x 5
1:00-1:30 between sets, using double 70 bells
Deadlift 2 x 20 with the two kettlebells
Saturday
Floor Press alternated with Double Row Outside the Knees
5 x 5 for each 1:00 between sets
Double Squat alternated with 70 lb. One hand Snatch or Double Snatch w/ 45′s
5 x 5 for each :45 seconds between sets
Turkish Getup, 5 each side with a 70.
That was week one, week 2 I do the floor press workout twice a week. Each time, I’m adding a set. So currently it’s 9 sets and I’m going to 10. Other than pullups and clean and press, I can get 5 reps each time. On the other two, I’m stopping a rep short if necessary.
The four days off have been beneficial, I’m not as sore or stiff, and the weights are flying up. My double cleans are crisp, and I’m still getting good volume without pain and suffering. It takes a couple of days to get over not working out as much, but I’m enjoying my time. I’m playing a lot of basketball and tennis.My golf game is so good, I bought a tennis racket. When I play catch with my kids, my throwing arm feels looser. The one thing I am still doing is fasting once a week to keep the diet in check.
By treating your workouts as a practice, you will be able to better execute on game day.
I can’t believe we are already into the middle of April. Auditors and Tax Accountants from public accounting who have done 14 consecutive 65 hour work weeks would disagree with me, but I’d tell them, now is the time to leave your CPA firm. Better quality of life, more money, fewer hours. Or continue being the glutton for punishment you are and work too hard for your money. Anyway, sometimes it’s hard to get away from my day job as an executive recruiter. What I wanted to blog about was fitness goals. How are yours coming along? Some of mine are good, some have been put on the back burner for the time being. And I know about burners, I just spent eight grand on a new furnace.
I finished the 40 day program with great success hitting several PR’s along the way. From there I transitioned into four weeks of double kettlebell complexes. I used two 55 lb. kettlebells because they were the lightest pair I own. I dropped the reps from 10 down to 5. I did these workouts three days a week. They helped me significantly in a number of different areas. First, the complexes included a lot of cleans, and jerks. One of my goals this year was to become efficient in both these exercises. The continuous repetition of doing cleans helped me develop a much crisper clean without banging my wrists. Second., the complexes really improved my fitness level from a cardiovascular standpoint. When I played soccer and basketball, I was not tiring out as quickly. I’m a pretty slow runner, but I found toward the end of games I was beating people to the ball not because of my speed, but because of endurance. Third, I put on some muscle going heavy from one compound movement to another with limited rest, helped put some size on while burning fat. What I really love about complexes are that you get the best of both worlds. You muscles are challenged as well as your cardiovascular system.
One of the goals I’ve been trying to reach is to accomplish the snatch test of 200 in 10 minutes. Because of the complexes, I have seen an improvement. Twice a week, I do 10 sets of 10 snatches with each hand. I started with resting for 1 minute between each set. Once I pass, I decrease the rest 5 seconds. Currently I have it down to 45 seconds of rest. I came up short last week because my grip went on the 10th set. I got 9 on the right, and 8 on the left. The form is good however. I’m not banging my wrists at all and dropping the bell from the palm of my hand to the fingers. It’s a work in progress, but I feel it’s achievable by the end of the year.
After I got back from Florida, I decided to mix and match a workout, that I kind of put together for myself. My ideas came from both Pavel as well as Pat Flynn. Pavel likes using a ladder scheme. Heavy Day, Medium Day and Light Day. Originally I was going to do a pressing ladders scheme with double kettlebells, but not re-clean after each rep. Add pullups, just like in the Rite of Passage. But then I decided, why not make it a complex and add squats. So the workout started looking like this
Easy Day Double 70 lb. kettlebells
5 ladders One Clean and Press, Double Squat, Double Row (1,2,3) I don’t have a pullup bar so on easy day I substitute rows. 30 reps per exercise
Medium Day 55 lb. kettlebells
5 ladders One Clean and Press, Double Squat, Pullups (1,2,3,4) 50 reps per exercise
Heavy Day 55′s
5 ladders of One Clean and Press, Double Squat, Pullups (1,2,3,4,5) 75 reps
I did this for the first week and it worked out well, I was able to get all the reps. The second week, I decided to up the reps on Medium Day and Heavy Day to (2,3,5,7) for the presses and squats and do 4 ladders on medium day and 5 ladders on heavy day. The 7 rung has proven to be a challenge.
During the second week I saw a blog of someone who had completed the New Rite of Passage from the Return of the Kettlebell book by Pavel. I realized by coincidence, how similar the program was to what I was doing, other than the double snatch before pressing which, I still haven’t mastered. However, he recommends switching between 2 weeks of pressing and 2 weeks of long cycle clean and jerks. Since one of my goals is becoming good at the clean and jerk, why not sort of follow the program and put my own spin on it.
The last two weeks I did the heavy, medium, light ladders of the long cycle clean and jerk. Long cycle means re-cleaning after each rep. This is one of the best total body exercises you can do. It hits everything. Cardio, legs, as well as your upper back and shoulders.
For me easy day looks like this
Double 55′s
5 ladders (2,4,6) :30 seconds rest between rungs, 2 minutes between ladders
Medium Day is
5 ladders (2,4,6,8) :30 seconds between rungs, one minute between 3rd and 4th rung, 2 minutes between ladders
Heavy Day is
5 ladders of (2,4,6,8,10) 150 reps. I try to stay within the time constraints until the last 2 ladders. This is a real gut check. Fatigue starts to set in the 4th ladder and I start stiffening up. The last rung is brutal. My hands start getting sore, I have to watch your form to avoid banging your wrist. I used to get psyched out on heavy day doing ETK with a 70, but that was only 75 reps each arm. This is 150 doubles! The first week, I failed on the last rep. Cleaned the bells to the rack, went to bump it up driving onto my toes and pushing my elbows off my hips, and it wouldn’t go. A week later I got all 150 reps. It took 55:00. A little too long, but I was happy. On alternate days, I’m doing just the 200 snatches. Right now it’s a 16 minute workout. I’m doing this program for 13 weeks or 90 days. I’m four weeks in so far.
I’ve had to shelve pressing the 88 for the time being. First I ran out of chalk. The handle is so thick, if I don’t chalk it, it’s going to go flying. Secondly, I felt it was too much shoulder work with the pressing and the jerks. Right now, I can clean and push press it 3 times with each arm. Progress was made, but we’ll get back to it.
Right now is a great time to evaluate how those resolutions and goals are coming along. Are you sticking to them? If not, write them down again and get back on track!
So You Want to Start Using Kettlebells
Recently I have had people ask me about using kettlebells. Why a kettlebell? Because it’s a hand held gym. It’s easy to transfer from one exercise to the next. it builds strength, muscle and cardiovascular endurance. You can take it anywhere. It burns fat as well as builds muscle. The only thing you can’t do on it is a pull-up. Here is what you need.
First, a kettlebell. Duh, that’s obvious. Anyway, the size you should get in good old fashioned English system is 35 lbs. for the men, 20 lbs for the ladies. If you’re strong, you might blow through the 35 quickly, but I believe that there is plenty you can do with a 35, whether it be work on form, a new exercise, or for metabolic conditioning to keep you motivated. They come in kilograms in 4 kg (8.8lb) increments. Traditionally the best way to do it is to buy a 35 lb. 55lb and 70lb. In my opinion, those jumps are too big. I would and did buy a 35, a 45 and two 55′s. Once you have built a foundation of strength, the doubles work great for front squats, sumo dead lifts and rows while you master the single kettlebell for presses and snatches
What brand and where should I get them? If money isn’t an option, buy a Dragon Door brand. They are considered the best, I’ve used one and it is a high quality bell. However, you are going to pay $3 a lb for a 35 which is absolutely exorbitant. I know this is not going to be a popular opinion, but it’s the truth. Do not buy kettlebells at your local sporting goods store either. You’ll pay over $2 a lb. and the quality stinks. You can buy a good bell for between $1.50 and $ 2.00 a lb. The keys to a good bell are the handle. If it is too rough, it will tear your hands up. Too smooth and once you sweat it will slip out of your hand. Not a great feeling. Also the base should be flat and wide, not wobbly. If you like to do pushups on a bell or renegade rows and that wobbly bell slips, say good bye to a fingernail or two.
Here are the bells I own. Troy, Body Solid, Christian Fitness Factory, and Kettlebells USA. I’ve used Punch, Dragon Door and Ader.
Troy bells are a great deal. They have a nice handle grit, and it’s thinner than most. They are also pretty cheap. I paid $92 for each 70 lb bell and did not pay shipping. You can get them on EBay through CSN as well as Abe’s of Maine which is a camera store that sells fitness equipment. My friend paid about $56 for a 35. The bell has two drawbacks. One is the paint on the handle does chip. This doesn’t bother me. It helps hold chalk better and looks badder. Also, the handle is welded on, it’s not built in one piece. I have no intention of dropping from a 3rd story window so, I’m not worried about the weld holding.
The first bells I bought were Body Solid, They are smooth with enamel, shiny, black and really pretty coming out of the box. They make good bells, thick handle, flat bottom at a reasonable price. I bought mine through Craig’s List from a dealer in Massachusetts. About $1.30/lb.if I recall and he delivered them within 2 weeks. I like them, they get the job done and the thick handle works the grip. I would buy them again. I own a 35, a 45 and two 55s But the enamel chips pretty easily. Also, the handle gets slick in the summertime and does not hold chalk that well.
I own two Kettlebells USA bells. A 28 kg and a 40 kg. They are excellent bells at a reasonable price. The grit to smoothness ratio for my taste is perfect They can take a beating too. I dropped the 28 on the garage floor last summer doing snatches and other than the logo falling off, barely a scratch. They hold chalk well. My preference is the heavier the bell, the more grit I want on the handle. The handle on the 88 is significantly thicker than the 28 and it requires chalk for certain exercises. The only issue I have is they kind of jerk you around with shipping. It comes out to $2 a lb., but the price of the bell is a little over a $1.15. They do run sales and you can get good deals. If I had to do it again, I would buy these. They also sell pro grade bells. More on that later.
I also have a Christian’s Fitness Factory bell which is a 12 kg that I bought for my wife. They took what they liked about the CAP brand bell and enhanced it. It’s a nice bell, handle has a little grit. Not as much as I like for heavier bells, but for anything up to 55 lbs., I think it works well. The plus for them is the service is fantastic and they deliver was in 3 days. They also sell Troys and Dragon Doors. I paid $41 for a 26 lb bell. Absolutely reasonable.
I found the Ader I’ve used similar to Kettlebells USA and they have a wide, flat base. The Punch bell I used was good and it’s made in the USA. The price is up around the Dragon Door territory. A bell I’ve heard great things about is Lifeline. Thick handles as well. I’ve spoke to people who swear by them, but I’ve never used them.
So places to get a good, reasonably priced kettlebell through the internet are EBay, Kettlebell USA, Abe’s of Maine, and Walmart.com. Yes, you can order it online and they will ship it for free to pick up at the nearest store.
Pro Grade bells are used in Girevoy Sport competition. They are made out of steel and no matter what the weight, have the same size handle as well as shape. They are also shaped to fit the forearm well in the “rack”position. You will pay a little more for these and your collection will look like a rainbow. Yellow for 35′s, Green for 52′s, Red for 70′s, White for 88′s. But they hold chalk well and are made for endurance contests. I’ve been thinking about getting a set of 52′s because I’m currently doing a lot of Clean and Jerk work.
Next, you will need a Pedi-egg and Cornhuskers hand lotion. Using kettlebells will give you callouses and you need to shave them down. It is not recommended to use gloves. If it’s a hot day, I do use fingerless gloves, because my hands sweat. 80% of the time I don’t. For me it has nothing to do with protection, it’s to absorb sweat. Hand care is a must. Conrhuskers is not oily and absorbs quickly within a minute. Use it every night.
Chalk is also an option to absorb sweat and I do use chalk. However, it can really help rip up your hands. Only use it on the fingers and the bell. Avoid putting it on the base of your fingers directly because you will tear your callouses up and have to ride the elliptical machine until they heal. The only drawback to learning kettlebells is the chance you will develop blisters.
See a kettlebell certified instructor. Yes, you can learn a lot of these movements on Youtube. I did. However, I also saw an Russian Kettlebell Certified instructor twice, 9 months into my journey and she definitely fixed my form on some things. Two hours $100, immediate gains. Kind of like buying Apple stock, which is still a bargain at $600 per share. Look at the Price/Earnings ratio. It’s only 17. According to that blowhard Jim Cramer, anything over a 40 P/E is considered expensive. It has $100 billion in cash and is going to pay a $2 + dividend per share this year. Surest buy you’ll ever make. If you bought a share a month ago, you would have made the $100 already to spend for two sessions with an RKC!
Finally lose the running shoes. Flat soled sneakers or bare feet. I use Adidas shell toes, Chuck Taylor work great. Think about squatting on your bed. That’s what your jogging shoes are doing for you. Get those feet flat and reap the gains.
What exercises should you learn?
The Swing. First and foremost! It’s the foundation to the clean and the snatch. It’s a great strength and conditioning movement. Once you ace it two handed, try it one handed. It hits your grip, abs, hamstrings. You will not get better instruction on Youtube than Franz Snideman’s Breaking Down the Kettlebell Swing. It’s in 3 parts and show how you go from a Sumo Deadlift to a Swing.
Turkish Getup. This is a complicated movement that takes practice learning each part. The beauty of it is you can do it without weight until you have mastered all the steps. It is a total body movement that strengthens your shoulders, back, legs, abs as well as cardio. Franz breaks this down in three parts as well in his Revolutionfitness address in Youtube.
Goblet Squat. Take a kettlebell in a steering wheel position and drop your hips back as if you are sitting i a chair. Go all the was to the bottom past parallel, elbows between your thighs. Pause, come back up. If you squat right, you won’t hurt your knees. You must squat! A house is first built with a foundation. Your foundation is your legs. Want to have better cardio condition? Squat. Want to build a stronger press? Squat. Want to work your abs? Squat. When you’re advanced, take 2 70′s kettlebells squat them for reps. I bet holding them in the rack will be the first thing to go because it will fatigue your upper back.
Clean: Once you’ve mastered the swing, learn the clean. The crisper the clean, the better the press. The bell does not “flop” over the top and bang your wrist. It rotates around the wrist. I always think of drawing a gun. Learn it correctly
Clean and Press. Clean it to the rack position, press straight over head. What I love about pressing from the rack vs. with dumbbells is the position your shoulder is put in. When you press dumbbells by your ears, you can feel the bad position your shoulder is in or doing behind the neck presses. From the rack it much more natural and you will still hit your deltoids.
Snatch: The Tsar of all kettlebell lifts. Explosive and fun. But technically difficult to master for two reasons. Learning the timing and grip to catch the bell over head without banging your wrist. And transferring the bell from your fingers to your palm and back without pulling the callouses at the base of your fingers. This exercise took me a long time to get right. Even after I saw the RKC.
Windmill: Great for shoulder stability, core and hamstrings.
What workouts should I do?
I started out on my own. I belonged to a gym and they had all sizes of bells. I saw a workout in some web site called the Art of Manliness and it had a kettlebell workout you did in a circuit. I’m the first to tell you the first swings I ever did were double 12′s! Then I flopped the clean and press over and bruised my wrists, then it was pushups on the bells, followed by lunges and Russian twists. Even with the issues I had, I loved the circuit/metabolic conditioning aspect. I had a pump and was huffing and puffing with my heart pounding through my chest in 30 minute vs the 60 minute lifting/running regimen I was doing. Then I found a 12 week program from MBody strength. I studied all the movements on Youtube and tried to duplicate them. So that being said, start by practicing the movements. A great book is Enter The Kettlebell, which has two workouts as well as instruction on the movements. I think the beginning instruction is fantastic. However, if I did his first workout, the Program Minimum to start out, I don’t think I would have liked it as much as I do. David Whitley has a free EBook on his irontamer.com website called 101 Kettlebell Workouts. I would mix this and the Program Minimum together. David has a general conditioning section which is great to start out. 30 workouts under 30 minutes. Muscle building programs which require doubles and circuit training. For me, 2 days a week doing the Program Minimum and 3 days a week doing the general conditioning is the perfect way to start and reap the benefits of starting with kettlebells.
So there you have it. If you’re willing to think outside the box of bench pressing and long boring cardio on treadmill, you can put yourself in the best fighting shape of your life with kettlebells.
Playing Sports Into Your MIddle Age
I’m proud to say I’ve been professional sports free since the Super Bowl. As a fan of the Patriots, the game put me over the edge. Viewing it to me was an exercise in misery. It’s funny because I found the team frustrating to watch this year. What should have been a fun time was a loss and a dent in the sheet rock in the bathroom where I decided back hand a wall with my knuckles. I said to myself, “why am I getting so worked up over this?” It’s not like I was playing. I have season tickets, yes, but I don’t know any of the players. At that point I decided not to be a sports voyeur any longer. Since then, I flipped the tv on a Red Sox exhibition game for ten minutes on Sunday while eating a sandwich. The station that airs the Red Sox, NESN, puts on the single worst broadcast imaginable. From the camera angles, to the two guys in the booth, its unwatchable. It took 3 batters to find out who was pitching for the Sox and while they were up, there was a split screen of the game and a post outing interview with Josh Beckett. I don’t need to hear about his 2 inning outing, please just show the game. I got annoyed and turned on Swamp People. Don’t you love how they have to put subtitles underneath when these Cajuns speak?
I have two sons, 12 and 9. One of my great joys as a parent is going out and playing catch, shooting hoops or throwing batting practice to them. I also have coached their teams. As they get older, watching the games gets more fun. They both played travel soccer over the last three years. Watching them, play gave me the itch to start playing sports again. I was invited three years ago to play indoor soccer and have done so. I played in high school, some indoor intramurals in college, and an indoor season when I was in my late 20′s. It’s a blast to tell you the truth. Surprisingly, some skills came back. I can shoot well with both feet and have scored more goals than I ever had in my life. On the other hand, my dribbling and trapping have never come back. Even worse, we switched facilities from this nice state of the art place with new field turf that had sidelines. You did corner kicks, throw ins, etc. We have since moved to this dump in the next town that is owned by an ex-Patriot kicker. It’s like a hockey rink, and the turf has nothing but concrete underneath. It’s like being in a pinball machine and it’s hard to control the ball. My healthy knees the next day feel like Andre Dawson’s after a three game series at the old Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. But still, it’s a blast. After telling my kids what to do on the field, they get to see me put my money where my mouth is.
Before they were born, I used to play a lot of pickup basketball. We’d go to different schools and play on Wednesday or Thursday nights. I haven’t played a real pickup game since then. I used the excuse that I didn’t have the patience to get my rusty, limited skills in order. Anyway, last year my oldest boy was on a travel team that I head coached. It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. These kids were like the Bad News Bears and ended up somehow winning four games. Coaching the games ignited the switch to play. I was involved with the drills, dribbling, passing, shooting, boxing out. This year, he got promoted up and they already had a coach. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed watching 6th grade basketball. Just as well, his old team went 10-2 and won a tournament. In the tournament last year, we didn’t even win a game. Amazing when you get the right coaches in place.
I decided that I wanted to play basketball again. I went on eBay and bought myself a pair of Adidas Top Ten basketball shoes from the wife and kids for my 43rd birthday. It was an excellent addition to the Macallan 12 year bottle of scotch that she bought me. They were the same ones I wore in high school. In 1983, they were $74 shoes, I got them with shipping for $55. In Hopedale royal blue colors. My brother told me I’m too white to wear these things, here’s a picture, what do you think?
My soccer got moved to Monday nights and lo and behold, there is a 40 and over geyser pickup league in my town on Thursday at 9 PM. Played for the first time last Thursday, and probably shot 3 for 30. I also had a 55-year-old guy with an artificial hip, blow by me for a layup. Good grief. The part of my so-called game that I was worried about, ball handling, offensive moves, passing wasn’t an issue. But my shooting, which I always had faith in, was a disaster. I gave up swearing as a New Year’s Resolution. Other than Super Bowl Sunday, it’s been easy. Until I went by a guy and blew a layup. I can’t wait for this Thursday.
If you read this blog, and it has had over 10,000 views since its inception, you know it’s mostly a fitness blog. Playing sports can and should be a part of your fitness regimen. Whether you do kettlebells, lift, run, do the treadmill, it can get a little tedious from time to time. Playing is a great way to stay in shape. You are moving laterally, jumping and sprinting. All those things they have you do in the fitness boot camp at the gym. When you were young, you ate what you wanted, and played all the time. You didn’t walk or jog in a straight line. If you want to be in shape, why don’t you “get back” to your youth? It worked then, why wouldn’t it work now? Ice hockey, basketball, tennis, indoor soccer are all activities that can be played all year round. These sports can be counted as one of your workout days. Team sports helps build friendships. You get to meet people who have similar interests. There’s nothing like a post game beer or three after breaking a good sweat.
The first couple of weeks can be rough. You will be sore because you’re activating dormant muscles. The next morning you won’t be able to move. Also, you can get injured. I did crack ribs playing goaltender because some knucklehead came in too fast. Right now I have pins and needles on the ring toe of my right foot when I walk bare foot. I’ve seen a teammate blow out a knee. I’ve heard of guys popping their Achilles tendon. It unfortunately happens. When you’re fatigued, stop. Same as lifting, you should almost never go to failure. For me taking the risk of getting injured is worth it. When I’m not sore the next day, I feel like I’m 15 again and not giving into my age. The same competitive juices come back, except you’re a little smarter. The game slows down a little literally and figuratively. The stupid rash plays you made as a youth are more under control. Your skills do come back. They might have eroded a little, but they’re still in you and there will be some things you can do better. When I leave the court or the field, I always feel like I had fun. We lost 10-3 in soccer last night and it was great. Sometimes it’s tough to get up for a 9 or 10 PM game, but once you’re there, it’s worth it. Get out there and have some fun!
40 Day Program Finished, It’s On with Met/Con! Grammy rant
I finished Dan John’s 40 day program last Sunday with great success. Dedicated my last workout to Whtiney Houston. Allow me to indulge with my Grammy rant. Is it too early for the “Houston we have a problem.’ on the 911 call and “Fame isn’t all it’s cracked up to be” jokes? I couldn’t believe the hypocrisy this past weekend. All these people acting contrite and discussing what a tragedy that the Queen of Pop had died. Where were you all the last 15 years when she was holed up and on drugs. What about her “enablers/entourage” who let her get bombed Thursday night? She has a serious drug problem and was on pills, should she have been drinking? And the Clive Davis party went on, at the hotel, while her dead body was still in there. “Nothing to see people, move on to the Arista ballroom.” It was the same with Michael Jackson. Does anyone remember he was a molester? Also, how does Adele win six Grammys? Let me be in the minority here. I can’t stand her voice. She sounds like Dusty Springfield. You know Adele will do a cover of Son of a Preacherman. Though I doubt she’ll collaborate with the Pet Shop Boys. I haven’t felt this much venom toward a singer since Alanis Morrissette put out her angry female album back in 1995. Unfortunately, the Grammys proved my main man Paul McCartney can’t sing anymore. His voice warbled through the Golden Slumbers Medley. It was going last year when he did the concert in New York City. I saw him in 2009 at Fenway Park and it was still great, but alas all things must pass to quote George Harrison.
Oh yeah back to kettlebelling, I was able to set a number of personal records. What I really liked about the workout was its simplicity and that it was short and sweet. If I wanted to push it, whether it be with reps or weight, I did. On other days I did the bare minimum. It did get a little tedious around day 35 when the end was near, but I persevered. Here are the PR’s set.
Double Military Press, 70 lb kettlebells. In November I was able to press the 140 lbs combined for one set of 5 on a test day. I did it for 3 sets of 5 sometime in the 20′s. Now there were days where I didn’t push it to 5. I would do 3 sets of 3, or 2 rest pause sets of 5 with 10 seconds rest. The bell always went up well for 3 reps.
Double Squat. I used the squat as a warmup. I did 2 sets of 10 with 140 in the rack multiple times. I used to start losing one of the bells in the rack around rep 8, but I found interlacing the fingers like you would in a double jerk to be helpful
One Arm Snatch. Back in November in the same test day as the presses, I did 10 left, 10 right with a 70. I was able to do 12 on each side pretty easily. I also was able to do 10 sets of 5 right, 5 left with a minute rest in between the 10 sets as a finisher. I couldn’t believe how easily the 55 went up when I snatched it.
Double Swings with the 70. I prefer the outside the knee method. Yes, you have to be careful about whacking your knees, but I found I was able to pop them up higher . Also, once in a while, my wrist would get numb from hitting the inside of my leg. I was able to perform 30 reps nonstop, and 10 sets of 10 starting at the top of each minute.
Bulldog Press. I finally was able to push press the 88 for reps with each arm. I plan on working with the 88 twice a week, to tame it and finally hit one of my goals of pressing it this year.
Double Snatch with 55′s. Although this is a work in progress, I was finally able to punch through at the top without taking my head off.
It’s a great foundation of strength program. I even received comments and emails from Dan himself!
Now I’m onto doing some metabolic conditioning work with the kettlebells, except I’m going to do a slightly different approach. When I first started working with the kettlebells, what I loved the best about it was combining strength and cardiovascular efforts at the same time. I remembered trying to jog after doing a kettlebell workout and I was done. Kettlebells are perfect for MetCon because you can easily transition from one exercise to another. The beauty of it, is how time efficient it is. You can be cooked in 30 minutes, 3 times a week. Think of intense circuit training, but you don’t put the bell down until you are finished.
I had originally did met/con with kettlebells about 2 years ago. Dave Whitley’s 101 Kettlebell Workouts has a program where you stack exercises. For example, two hand swings for :30 seconds, rest :30,
Two hand swings :30, Goblet Squats :30 rest :30
Two hand swings :30 Goblet Squats :30 Clean and Press L, R :30 rest :30
Again, but add rows rest :30
Again with rows but add slingshots. Rest 2:00 and repeat sequence 3-5 times.
Toward the end of the sequence, you are doing 2-3 minutes of work without setting the bell down. It was pretty tough. I had success using a heavier bell and doing it for low reps vs. time.
Last year, Pat Flynn of Chronicles of Strength put out his first metabolic e-book. It was full of one bell and two bell complexes and chains. A complex is a combination of exercises where you do a certain amount of reps, i.e. 10 before moving onto the next exercise like a circuit except you don’t put the bell down. A chain is when you do one rep of one exercise than one of another and add exercises. For example, the Flynn Manmaker, his invention not mine, starts, 1 Clean, then 1 Clean, 1 Press, 1 Clean, 1 Press, 1 Squat,, etc. He now has a second book out which I bought today.
I did all the complexes and chains in his book, using my 35 lb bell for the singles complexes, and I borrowed one for the doubles complexes. They are BRUTAL, you have to pick your lung up off the floor when you’re done. My personal favorite comment he has for one of his inventions is, “This complex sucks.” He was right, I was calling down to Florida for my mother when I was finished.
With these programs, there are a lot of repetitions, of 10-15 in the complex. I’m not a high rep guy for the most part. The only two doubles sets I have are 55′s and 70′s. Like everyone I want to burn fat, but also stay strong. What would happen if I did the complexes and chains but for lower reps, and use much heavier weight? So my focus for at least the next four weeks will be to do complexes and chains from his book with double 55′s I’m going to leave the rep sequence to around 3-5 depending on the exercise and shorten the rests between complexes. I’ll do this 3 days a week, and have a couple of alternate days where I’ll do some work with the 88.
I’m through two of the met/con workouts and my heart is shooting through the roof when I finish. Even then, I’m slinging 110 pounds around for over a minute. The nice thing about the heavy bells is that when the fatigue sets in I really have to dig deep. Because the double snatch is a work in progress, I’ve been substituting high pulls and swings.
If you want to burn fat without long tedious cardio, gain muscle and strength and look good naked, 
try complexes and chains. Thirty five pound bell for the men, 15-18 lbs for the ladies is a good place to start. If not, have fun toiling away on the Elliptical/Sally machine and treadmill. I’ll wave to you if I can lift my arms up when I’m done.
The First Post Beatle Solo Albums
This week, Paul McCartney released a new album, mainly of covers and a couple of new songs. He also received his own star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It only took 42 years after the Beatles broke up. The last album the Beatles recorded was Abbey Road in 1969. In my opinion, it is a masterpiece, with George Harrison’s two songs, Something, and Here Comes the Sun as the high points of the album. When it was recorded, side A was recorded to satisfy John, and is a collection of unrelated songs. Side B, which was to satisfy Paul McCartney, the songs were segued into medleys. Kind of like a bunch of unfinished songs woven together. I find Side B to be a masterpiece of production. The album is widely considered to be one of the top 20 rock albums of all time, and in 2009 Rolling Stone readers rated it the top Beatle album. I tend to agree with the latter assessment. Seven months after it was released, the Beatles were no more.
In the spring of 1970, Ringo Starr released the solo album Sentimental Journey which was a collection of songs that were his parents and family’s favorites when he was growing up. It was released in March so it wouldn’t interfere with Paul wanting to release McCartney in April, and the last released Beatle album, Let It Be in May. Ringo sang songs previously released by Doris Day, Fred Astaire, and Hoagy Carmichael. Each song was arranged by someone different. Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees, Paul McCartney, George Martin and Quincy Jones to name a few. I’ve honestly never listened to it. Let’s face facts, Ringo is a drummer, actor/entertainer. He’s not what you would call a singer/songwriter. His album Ringo, released in 1973 was his most highly successful, but for the most part, his albums haven’t been studied, parsed and reviewed. He has toured with his All Star Band, which I saw in the early 1990′s. He put on a great show playing Ringo and it was a great concert.
Paul McCartney had holed himself up in Scotland in late 1969 with his wife and daughters. During this time he had a recorder up there and put together the McCartney album. In later years, he has called it “nothing much.” But he re-released it last year. Avoiding all sports talk after the Patriots loss, I popped it in and gave it a listen yesterday. Let me preface this by saying, I’m probably the biggest McCartney fan there is in regard to his solo music. I can find something positive about most albums. But it has been uneven, especially in the early 1970′s. There was an obvious writer block at the time and to be honest I think he had lost some self confidence. You go from using your last name as the title of your first solo album to hiding behind the name Wings. Basically the album foreshadows his solo work. Brilliant in spots, run of the mill, to all out garbage. With the Beatles breaking up and the complete clash of egos, you would think Paul would be inspired to record the greatest album ever made. Instead, what you get is two great songs, some instrumentals, and two Beatle throwaways. I think he had fun making it, screwing around in the studio, playing all the instruments. I actually like his drumming! It’s just something you wouldn’t release, especially after Abbey Road.
It opens with the Lovely Linda, which is about a :45 second ode to his new bride and then ends abruptly. That Would Be Something is the next song. Lyrically limited, to meet you in the falling rain would really be something in Paul’s mind. Then he follows up with his first instrumental which is Valentine Day. It’s 100 seconds of harmlessness. Finally in song four, we get a song that you would hear on a Beatle album Every Night. This song, would fit in nicely on the White Album. Starts with a nice acoustic guitar, Paul’s voice is in fine form. It’s the second best on the album. This is followed by another instrumental, Hot as Sun(glasses). It’s catchy, and sounds like the background music you would hear on a quiz game show. Junk is song # 5 and should have been the title track to Wings’ first album Wild Life, which is just that. He wrote the song in India in 1968. It was rejected for the White Album and Abbey Road. Paul HAD to put it on an album. It’s dull, unassuming and lyrically silly. “Bye Bye says the sign in the shop window, why why says the junk in the yard.” It’s also on the Beatle anthology. Man We Was Lonely ensues. I like the intro to it, and we get to hear Linda and her bad background vocals. Paul sings about his fast city life and how he’s much happier being home lying with his love. It’s catchy, as well as harmless. Then comes Oo You where Paul commands his woman to “dress like a lady”, “look like a woman”, “eat like your hungry.” Musically, it sounds good, hard drums, loud guitar, but he’s got nothing to say. The song frankly stinks. Another instrumental, Momma Miss America opens up with a nice little drum intro. This is the best instrumental on the album, but it’s four minutes long, about two minutes in you think, “next song please.” Teddy Boy, a song that was rejected for Let It Be, is next on the docket. Paul has claimed that the song never developed because the rest of the Beatles didn’t have the patience due to the tension in the band. Paul, they didn’t have the patience because its garbage. Paul must have really thought he had another Yesterday on his hands, because then we get not only another instrumental, but it’s the melody to Junk! Called Singalong Junk, it was actually in the soundtrack of Jerry Maguire.“ Finally on the 12th song, we get the crown jewel of the album. Maybe I’m Amazed. Pound for pound, probably the finest solo song he’s ever recorded. His lyrics, singing, guitar playing on the song are top notch. THIS is the Abbey Road McCartney. The album ends with a dull thud to the head. Kreen-Akore, is an instrumental with drums, a guitar solo and heavy breathing. It’s 4 minutes and 14 seconds of your listening life you will never get back. All in all I would give the album a C-. That might be harsh, but when I listen to it, I try to put myself in 1970, I have been awed by the brilliance of Abbey Road, and this is the follow up. It makes it even worse than it is. The quality control is completely lacking. Probably the 3rd worst McCartney album behind, Wild Life and McCartney II.
All Things Must Pass by George Harrison was released in late November 1970. It was released as a 3 record set. The first of its kind. In the Beatles, George was allowed 2 songs per album. By the end of the sixties, he had a ton of material to work with and an axe to grind with Paul McCartney. It is the finest solo Beatle album there is. It is absolutely beautiful to listen to. It spawned two number 1 hits, My Sweet Lord and What Is Life. It’s lyrics, instrumentation, changes in tempo are brilliant. George sings about love, the Lord, darkness, and resentment. In Wah Wah, he’s basically telling Paul to stop badgering him. The high point for me is side 2 of the first record. Side 1 is great, with I’d Have You Anytime and My Sweet Lord, kicking things off. I can’t see John and Paul having any interest in “krishna ing” along to My Sweet Lord. After Wah Wah, George follows it up with Isn’t It A Pity, which was written in 1966, is 7 minutes long and was rejected by the Beatles. It’s hypnotic and full of regret. The coda ends with “such a pity, pity, what a pity.” George liked it so much he put version two on the same album. Side 2 of record one starts up with the famous opening guitar riff to What is Life. The album really starts to hit its stride here. The Bob Dylan written If Not For You is beautifully played and sung. This and the next song, Behind That Locked Door are my two favorite on the album. On the latter, George urges the subject of his affections to let out the love they are blessed with. He consoles them in singing “the pain is now through.” Let It Down starts off loud, bold, and then slows into George quietly singing that he really cares. Then the chorus gets loud again. The change in tempo and sound is brilliant. Phil Spector’s production talents are at their apex here. Finally, side 2 ends with Run of the Mill in which George sings that you choose and decide whether or not to raise your voice. It’s a great ending to one of the better albums sides you’ll ever hear.
The optimism and good feeling of side 2 ends at the beginning of side 3. Beware of Darkness sounds just like the title, eerie and dark. Apple Scruffs is an ode to the girls who used to hang outside Apple Studios to get a glimpse of the Fab Four. The Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp is a shout out to the previous owner of his estate in England. Awaiting On You All urges the listener to chant in the name of the Lord and you’ll be free. It has one of the most underrated lyrics, “The Pope earns 51% of General Motors..” Whatever, George. Next is the title track, All Things Must Pass, which was a Beatle reject from the Let It Be sessions. It can be heard on the third Beatle Anthology. Side 4 continues the theme of digging love, the afterlife (The Art of Dying), and the Lord, Hear Me Lord, as well as version 2 of Isn’t It A Pity. Although the lyrics are a little preachy toward the Lord, the musicianship is simply outstanding. George’s slide guitar playing on The Art of Dying is fantastic.
The last record, is basically an all-star jam session of instrumentals mostly. Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Dave Mason, and Klaus Voorman are some of the famous musicians who play on it. I can take it or leave it. It’s Johnny’s Birthday for John Lennon is charming. It’s a throwaway but it’s also what Paul McCartney should have done with his album. Make it a double record set with the instrumentals being bonus tracks. This album grades an A. The religious themes and the jam session keeps it from being an A+. George Harrison proved the Beatles had three geniuses in the band.
John Lennon released the Plastic Ono Band in December of 1970. Lennon had done four months of primal scream therapy and held none of his anger, bitterness and vitriol back. It’s the epitome of the output of the tortured artist. A role Lennon enjoyed playing at this time. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Lennon spoke with all the pomp and circumstance about the difficulties of being a genius. I read the interview a few years back and Lennon really comes off as a pretentious tool. I’ll be the first to admit he’s my third favorite Beatle, but I don’t deny his genius. Of my favorite Beatle songs, 6 or 7 are Lennon recordings. I just think he got a little too big for his britches in the late 1960′s and was buying into his genius. In a lot of ways, he was a hypocrite. He campaigned for peace, yet was an angry individual. The album opens with Mother, a song which talks about his mother Julia, and how she abandoned him. He sings, “mother, you had me, I didn’t have you…” and “I needed you, you didn’t need me…” The coda is him hauntingly singing/crying out, “Mama don’t go, Daddy come home.” The last track of the album, is “My Mummy’s Dead.” Obviously, Lennon had a lot of pent-up bitterness toward his Moms, and wasn’t holding back any longer. What’s funny though is two years earlier, on the White Album, he sings about “the song of love for Julia” in the ode to his mother, Julia, which is really a beautiful song. So which is it? He also sings about the Working Class Hero is something to be. Pure bull fertilizer. The man puts you down and makes you feel small. Why would that be something to be? And in God, Lennon decides to tell the world that God is a concept that he only believes in “Yoko and me” and calls out everyone. Jesus, Elvis, Dylan, and really emphasizes BEATLES… The dream is over and our hero is now just John. I find this album hard to listen to. It’s angry, bitter, introspective, and in his mind honest. It’s the type of album you would listen to before you went postal. The critics LOVED it. What amuses about 1970′s album reviews it how each writer tried to out-articulate the other in their quest to define art. In the Plastic Ono Band, they found their patron saint of all things artistic, John Lennon. I don’t find it that honest, to tell you the truth. I think Lennon was playing a role. I give it a B-. You have to have balls to put something like this out and pull it off.
The beauty of the Beatles was you had the rough Lennon being sandpapered by the slick McCartney and vice versa. You had George believing he was on par as a tunesmith to John and Paul. Name one other band with three lead singers? There will never be anything like them again
1/2 Way Through the 40 Day Program
It has been a busy January for me. Between coaching 2 youth basketball teams, work, going to the Boston Wine Expo with my wife and rooting on the Patriots, I haven’t written in a while. How about Seal and Heidi Klum calling it quits? I saw a picture of him with this big grin on his face like he lost 120 lbs., but I digress… As far as the Patriots go, they will exact revenge on the Giants. Tom Brady isn’t losing this game. As a Patriots fan for the last 37 years, and season ticket owner for the last 18, this might be the most aggravating good team I’ve ever watched. Their defense is shaky, they fall behind by big deficits and at times, play down to their level of competition. Hopefully we hit the Super Bowl lottery again for tickets. My prediction is 38-27 Pats. For the next fortnight, Brady is going to have to listen to people saying they would rather have Eli Manning right now and he will be on a mission. At least there will be a Manning playing quarterback in Indianapolis this year.
I’ve been doing Dan John’s 40 Day Program for the past 23 workouts. By the way, if you are interested in strength, read everything you can find on the internet that he writes He is an expert and he just makes so much sense. It’s a 40 day workout that builds a foundation of strength. You take a weight that you can handle and perform 5 exercises. Deadlift, Push, Pull, Conditioning, and Mid section (I don’t use the word core). The first three exercises you do 2 sets of 5. Use a weight that’s about 50% of your one rep max and build up from there. Make sure you get the reps. The conditioning exercise, you do one set between 20-50 reps and for the mid section, do one set of five. You can wave the reps and weights up and down based on how you feel. Some days you feel like you’re 22, other days, 62. So here’s how I have been attacking it.
Warmup 2 sets of 5 Double Kettlebell Squats, all the way to the floor
Deadlift 2 sets of 10. My 70′s only weigh 140 combined so I added reps
Double Row Outside the Knees. I found this exercise on Mike Mahler’s Age of Quarrel DVD It allows for a longer range of motion. If I’m at the gym, I do Pullups instead. Both 2 sets of 5
Double Military Press. One of my goals this is year is to press the double 70′s 10 times with one clean. Depending on how I feel, I’ve done 3 sets of 3, 2 sets of 5, or Rest Pause 6 reps with 10 seconds in between
Double Swings or Heavy One Arm Snatches. 10-15 reps with a 70 for the snatch, or 25 double swings
Double Windmill One set of 5.
Do this 5-6 days a week until you reach 40.
Here is my take on the theory behind it. Building strength is practice. Think of playing the piano. Are you better off practicing 90 minutes a week by doing it all in one day or 15 minutes a day 6 days a week? I believe the latter. I explained this to my buddy Billy yesterday. He said, ”This flies in the face of everything I’ve learned.” I said, “How is that coming along?” “A bum shoulder and benching less than he did five years ago.’ was the reply. It’s a paradigm shift for most people. Let’s say you do chest, today on Monday. I mean everyone knows Monday is National Chest Day. You bang out 50 reps between Bench, Incline and Dips. If you do this 40 day program, 5 days a week, you’re still getting your 50 reps. BUT, your body is fresh because you are not working past fatigue. There is a theory that, once your reps slow down, end the set, right then and there. So by practicing, you get stronger, your reps are much better. Better reps = Strength gains.
I love this workout. It takes about 20-30 minutes tops. You can use barbells, dumbbells or kettlebells. If you want, add some finishers a couple of days a week. I’ve been doing some double clean and jerks, snatches and work with the bulldog. Most importantly it works. My all time best pressing double 70′s was one set of five when I started. Last week, I set two personal records in one day. I did two sets of five. I also was finally able to clean and push press the 88 with each arm. I cleaned it crisply, flexed the lat, dipped the knees and up it went. Today I did three sets of five. I also think doing clean and jerks helped me with the 88. The knee dip and timing are pretty similar and using your chest to bump the weight up as well as having a crisp clean.
The way I look at it, you can keep doing what you’re doing and not make strength gains, or you can try something different and see what happens. If 2 personal records 1/2 way through a program doesn’t motivate you, what does? As I said to Billy, “It’s 8 weeks, do you think you’re going to lose it all in 8 weeks?”
