LC:

9 mins @ 2x24kg; 5 rpm= 45 reps

Chins: 2x6

This felt good. I tore the blister off my palm from doing the cleans last Friday but it is mostly healed so no real pain. My breathing felt pretty good the whole way through. My left knee, hurt on the drops until about 4 mins in and then I seemed to get into the groove. Grip felt tired at the end but I hung on. I honestly think I could have gotten to 10 mins but the reps would have been sloppy with little fixation. Always better to leave a bit in the tank.

LC:

6 mins @ 2x24kg; 6 rpm

Clean:

3 mins @ 2x24kg; 12 rpm

OAJ:

32kg; 10L/10R

Felt slow and tired today. Looking forward to the weekend rest. Hit my left knee last night at work and it felt a little unstable during the lockouts but it held up nicely.

Cleans bit into my hands a bit towards the last minute and got my HR and BR high. Not breathing hard but definitely feeling it.

OAJ: Felt good.

LC:
5 mins @ 2x24kg; 6 rpm

Chins: 1x10

Stretch for 10 mins

LC:

2x 3 mins @ 2x24kg; 8 rpm ( 3 mins rest between)

5 mins rest then:

Jerk:

2 mins @ 2x24kg; 12 rpm

The 2nd LC set was rough. My breath got lost and then it was just dogging it til the clock went off. The 1st set was fine. Focused on relaxing before the jerk so I had better connection/transfer of power. Felt decent.

The jerks suck. Plainly and simply suck. I definitely felt the transfer of power a lot more efficiently, but towards the last 5 reps I could feel fatigue in my triceps during every lockout. Weak spot/limiter???? Quite.

OALC:

3x 4 mins @ 24kg; 10 rpm; (1 min rest per set)

Stretch and done

This definitely got me sweating. My grip was taxed as I could feel it in my forearms and also my triceps. Feels good though. I have forgotten how much fun the fitness protocol could be.

LC:
10 mins @ 2x24kg; 5 rpm

This plus warmup/cooldown is all I had time for.

LC:

3x 3 mins @ 2x24kg; 7 rpm (5 mins rest/set); 63 reps total

Chins: GTG all day

later:

15 mile bike ride; easy pace

Jerks are irritating my elbows a bit but these felt good. I got a little winded on set 2-3 but not bad. Looking forward to getting a weekend of rest.

As it stands, it looks like I got the position of lead technician at the hospital. Gubmint job= good pay and benefits. Only bad thing is that it is working with crazy folks (literally) and it is 3rd shift. I will still be slinging coffee part time but my hours will drop down to about 15-20 there and 40-50 @ the hospital. Paramedic school starts in late April so it will be magical if I can juggle all this along with training. Time to start planning.

Today:

LC:
5 mins @ 2x24kg; 6 rpm

Jerk:
3 mins @ 2x24kg; 10 rpm

Grip and breath were a little short. I blame grip on the addition of cleans yesterday and the breath on me just being stupid. I held my breath a couple of times and got all outta whack. Got it manageable and continued.

Not dead but not fresh for the jerks. Had to stop about half way through the set to massage a muscle spasm in my pec. I think I'm not relaxing enough in the rack AND using more upper body than I should. Triceps really feeling it in the lockout towards the end of the set.

LC:

6 mins @ 2x24kg; 6rpm

Cleans:

3 mins @ 2x24kg; 12rpm

Breathing felt good. Just had some pressure on the gut that had me running for the bathroom after the set of LC. Legs felt sluggish today but I got through it. Not looking forward to jerks tomorrow.

LC:

5 mins @ 2x24kg; 6 rpm

Jerk:

3 mins @ 2x24kg; 10 rpm

RHR: 69

AHR: 162

MHR: 186

Then:

Walk/jog: 1 hr with wif and dogs

Figured I would break out the HR monitor for shits and just get some baseline stats for my current level. May or may not do anything with these numbers. My breathing felt pretty damn decent all the way through.

The LC felt fine. The jerks ate me up a bit. The last minute saw my elbows chafing some and also just plain hurting a little in the lockout. Gonna pay attention to this.

NSAIDs time!

LC:

8 mins @ 2x24kg; 5 rpm

Chins:

2x6 reps @ bw

Stretch and done.

I might have gotten 3 or 4 more reps but I don't like going to failure. As soon as I start doing that I will end up fucking my back or shoulder up. This felt solid. I worried less about pacing and more about getting the reps at a steady clip. All this means is that I got a feel for the pacing for the first minute and then just counted the reps and avoided eye contact with the clock. Felt smooth.

Reps or Time?

This is just an attempt to put some of my thoughts down for later review. Bear with me.

In girevoy sport (GS), much of the training seems to be focused on time. By and large, it is a sport that wraps itself around the focus of that ticking of the clock. Progress is measured by getting a certain number of reps within the constraints of the 10 minute time limit.

After spending the last 2 years progressing and stalling....and progressing some more in this sport, I have a few thoughts on this focus on time.

Does it really matter?

Yes, I understand that to make rank a lifter HAS to hit their reps within 10 minutes. That being said, does focusing on time during the actual training matter as much as focusing on the number of reps?

Would a lifter be better off focusing on just getting under the bells and trying to get more reps than the last session? In many ways, I think that looking at it from this perspective could benefit a lifter since the end result and ultimate variable is reps...not time.

By focusing on getting more reps each week, the lifter will automatically get increase their speed as they get more proficient at that weight. Setting the timer and tossing it aside, begin lifting and see how many reps you can get before you have to set it down. There is your limit. In future training sessions, maybe try training at 70%-85% of that max rep limit over the course of a week or two with maybe 1-2 sessions @ 90% and test again at the end of this microcycle. The result will undoubtedly be a higher max rep count.

I am not saying that the timer should be forgotten, but maybe it should take a back seat during the off season. Once the specific number of reps are hit, start focusing on whittling the time down. In all honesty though, I think that it is in the nature of the sport that if a lifter can hit 60+ (LC) reps he/she will be doing so in 10 minutes or less. The fact is that doing so at any slower of a pace than 6-7 rpm would be really hard. In a sense, by just focusing on the reps one probably see the session time auto-regulate itself.

Just some thoughts for future reflection.

Did this on Friday:

LC:

5 mins @ 2x24kg; 6 rpm

LC:

6 mins @ 2X24kg; 5 rpm

Was gonna do OAJ but the run I did yesterday had my legs a little lacking today. Probably hit OAJ tomorrow.

LC:
5 mins @ 2x24kg; 6 rpm

Jog/walk:
45 mins @ moderate pace

LC:

5 mins @ 2x24kg, 6 rpm

OAJ:

32kg; 15L/15R

The LC was pretty decent. Had focus on breathing to keep myself from getting too winded. The nose is better but breathing is still hard to do and I can tell that I am not doing at 100%. The OAJ was easy.

LC:

7 mins @ 2x24kg; 5 rpm

Chins: 2x6

Still suffering from a sinus infection. Been using the netti pot and it has kept it from causing migraines but my nasal passages are completely stopped up, so this was a total mouthbreathing session. Tried to keep it steady and loose but it was hard to keep my breath, especially at minute 5 and on. Felt like shit but glad to get it done.

LC:

5 mins @ 2x24kg; 5 rpm

PP:

24kg; 10L/10R

LC felt pretty smooth despite having what I think is the beginnings of a cold. Breathing was not my strong point today but I never got winded so that is a plus. Grip felt fairly solid the whole way through.

Today:

LC:

8 mins @ 2x16kg; 8 rpm

OAJ:

32kg; 12R/12L

Both felt relatively easy. I will say that the smaller DD 16's that I have are forcing me to catch from the clean a lot more softly since the hit in a spot that is prone to getting sore almost like when you frog a muscle. Had to pause at about 6.5 mins in and just swing the bells for a sec just to loosen up a spasm that started in my right delt/pec area. Definitely wasn't breathing roughly.

[b][u]Yesterday:[/u][/b]

After my set I called up a friend to help me get up some deer stands and feeders from my property. He brought beer...a case. We got the stuff up and decided to walk the property line, he had never seen the whole property. At this point we were fairly tipsy. At some point during our hike we found what looked like a copse of some form of cherry trees, being woodworkers we both decided this meant some more exploring was needed. The result: approx 10 miles of drunken hiking through the Alabama back woods. My legs are stiff today.

[b][u]Today:[/u][/b]

LC:

5 mins @ 2x24kg; 5 rpm

PP:

24kg; 10L/10R

Brisk walk to the park and back with the pit-weener just to keep the blood moving.

LC:

8 mins @ 2x16kg; 8 rpm

OAJ:

32kg; 12/12