2025 Fitness In Review

January-Febuary

I suffered some low back pain after shoveling snow early January. I took some time to recover then played around with kettlebells trying to decide whether to focus on double kettlebell clean+press. I then found Geoff Neupert's video on when to switch from single kettlebell to double kettlebell training. There's a lot of great advice in there but one that applies here is when to switch from single KB clean+press to double KB clean+press. He says you should be able to do, I think, 10 set of 5 clean+press with single 24kg KB; then you're ready to start clean+press training wih double 16kg KBs. When moving to double KBs, the formula for what KB weights to use for double KB c+p is to add 8kg to your single KB weight and that would be the combined weight of the double KBs.. So if I achieve 10 5-rep sets of clean+press with a 24kg and I wanted to move to double KB c+p after that, the weights to use would be 24 + 8 = 32 kg total, thus double 16kg. After reflecting on the Neupert's advice, I decided to stick to single KB training, focusing on clean+press in particular. I have

Febuary-April

I wanted to try Kettlebell Burn 2.0 but the recommended KB weight is one that can be strict pressed for 4-6 reps or clean+pressed for 5 reps. The 16kg felt too light. The 20kg was a little too heavy but would be the right weight after I increase my pressing performance with it. Instead of training directly with the 20kg, I decided to do The Giant 1.1 and 1.2 with single 16kg.

April-June

This was the experiment with a triple wave variation of Paul Wade's 6x6 program for overcoming isometric training with an IsoMax/Isochain. The experiment was a modest success for my drag curl and a failure for my overhead press. I changed the lower body exercise in the middle of the experiment.

June-September

This was the Tendon Burn Count experiment, based on tendon stress relaxation. The experiment was a success from the perspective of elbow tendonitis. Lifting the mattress to change bedsheets no longer hurt. The experiment was not as successful from the perspective of strength gains.

September-October

By this time I still wasn't able to press the 20kg KB for at least 4 reps. So I did The Giant 1.2 with the 16kg KB again. After completion of the program I was able to clean+press the 20kg for 5 reps.

October-December

I finally got around to trying out Kettlebell Burn. I started with the 2.0 version. 2.0 has you doing a strength training segment for 15 min, then a strength conditioning segment for 15 min., then swings. I quickly got tired of having to do swings after already feeling drained from the strength conditioning part, so I switched to the Reloaded version, which schedules the swings on different days. I could have continued with Kettlebell Burn Reloaded to the end, so I could make a proper evaluation of the program with regard to fat loss and strength gains, but I couldn't stand that style of training anymore. The feeling of being exhausted and out of breath is one thing. I also had soreness in the legs and hip for days after a workout. I also hated doing Turkish Get Ups and partial TGU as much as the program asked me to do. The golfers elbow that was gone at the end of Tendon Burn Count came back too. So my decision to quit the program was prompted by the accumulation of these annoying aches and pains, lack of enjoyment of training, and a feeling that I wasn't actually getting strength gains.

December

I switched from Kettlebell Burn to Iron Cardio and enjoyed exercise a lot more. These last few weeks of Iron Cardio feel more like rehab/recovery than strength/endurance training, although the 20kg KB seems to feel lighter these days than when I first started training regularly with it. For my very last workout of the year, I tested my 20kg clean+press rep max with each arm. It turned to be 5, same as in October. So if I made any strength gains at all from Kettlebell Burn, followed by Iron Cardio, it would have been in the lower body and/or upper body pulling strength.

Tentative 2026 Plan

I will probably start my 2026 fitness journey with The Giant 3.0, the variant of The Giant designed for a 5-rep max weight. I want to increase my 20kg clean+press rep max to some value higher than 5. Iron Cardio training could probably do it, but I think 4 weeks of The Giant 3.0 will result in a higher increase than 4 weeks of Iron Cardio.

After completion of The Giant 3.0, I'll retest my 20kg KB. If my rep max is at least 10, I'll move on to The Giant 1.0 with the 20kg. If my rep max is 9 or lower, I'll switch back to Iron Cardio and do that until I can do the Classic circuit at a rate of 2 sets a minute. Some people say the 2 sets/minute metric is in the Iron Cardio book but I haven't been able to find it. I think they are confusing the book with author Brett Jones' posts on the Strongfirst forum, like this one. At any rate, achieving 2 sets a minute indicates a gain in endurance, and probably strength gains along with that. That should be a good time to retest my rep max again.

Eventually I'll achieve a 10-rep max and work through The Giant 1.0-1.2 with the 20kg

After completion of The Giant 1.2 I'll give my elbows and other joints a break and focus on overcoming isometrics, doing the 6x6 program on IsoMax. Completion of the The Giant series should have resulted in muscle size gains. 6x6 will train my CNS to utilize the increased muscle size to generate even more force.

Iron Cardio: Week 3

12/15
Classic - 30 sets

The Iron Cardio manual states that doing sets in the 40-60 range will stimulate hypertrophy. I set the timer to 30 min. When the timer rang, I had done 26 sets, so I did 4 more to get to 30, which was just a nice round number. My body felt fine after the 30th set but I also felt I was approaching my volume limit for the day. Also, I didn't want to spend another 10-15 min. trying to get to 40 sets.

After ending my Iron Cardio session, I spent a couple of minutes reviewing Hardstyle Kettlebell Pro's snatch video and practicing the low and medium pulls before doing a snatch with each arm. I then did 2 sets of standing pancake and 3 chinpus. My golfers elbow was a little more sensitive after doing 42 chinups last Wednesday, followed by Classic + Snatch and Chinup x2 on Friday. So I decided to practice the snatch and chinup at smaller volume, separate from Iron Cardio sessions.

12/17
Traveling 2s, approx. 20 min.

Classic + Half Snatch 11111 11111 11111 1 - 16 sets

2s:
Clean 11
Press 11
Squat 11
Half Snatch 11

18 total reps for each of the 4 exercises

Before this session I reviewed this KB clean video by StrongFirst South Africa showed a one-arm swing variation in which you swing the KB to hip height - or maybe just to where your forearm and arm form a 90 degree angle - with your elbow stuck to your torso. The video also shows a "mid-pull" drill, which is similar to the first drill except you pull the KB in a bit. One detail I noticed is that the KB handle is vertical at the top of both drills. So towards the end of my warmup I practiced these drills, with attention to turning the KB on the way up so that the handle is vertical. I then tried some cleans and noticed my technique felt more smooth and consistent.

I also reviewed a video for improving snatch technique with progressive cleans. So after the clean practice, I tried the progressive clean drill, doing the regular clean, then cleaning the KB at progresisvely greater heights. I did the active negative press after each clean as demonstrated in the video. I then tried a couple of half snatches and noticed improved execution and consistency. That gave me the confidence to try Traveling 2s with the Half Snatch included.

I set the timer to 20 min. After the timer rang, I continued training until I did 16 sets, which ensured 2 extra reps for each of the 4 exercises. After 16 sets, my body felt like it had done enough work. I enjoyed Traveling 2s. This video explains what that is, along with a nice summary of Iron Cardio. I used guitar picks to keep track of when I should do 2 reps for a particular exercise in the circuit. I wasn't sure if I could keep track of the 2s and also include the half snatch in the circuit without getting confused, I ended up doing the session just fine. Adding the half snatch to the Classic circuit bumped the intensity of each set quite a bit, in addition to the traveling 2s concept. Seems like a good idea to regularly include the snatch/half snatch in your Iron Cardio circuit if fat loss is a priority because you expend more energy (calorie burn) per set compared to doing Classic-only. This was my hardest Iron Cardio session so far, in terms of how hard I had to work during each set.

12/19

Classic w/ Press Ladders

Sets: 11111 11111 11111 11111 11111 11111 = 30 total sets
Ladders: 123 123 123 123 123 = 5 ladders = 30 total presses per arm

This is the variation of the Classic circuit in which the press is done in rep ladders. I once again included in my warmup the progressive clean to snatch drills and a couple of snatches just to keep up practice fo snatch technique. Then I set the timer to 30 minutes. When the timer rang I had done 24 sets and 4 press ladders. I felt I could do one more ladder so I went for it. When I did 3 press reps on my weaker arm to finish the 2nd ladder, i barely completed the 3rd rep. I started to think I might not be ready to do the press ladder variation, but I didn't give up on the work out. I pressed on - pun somewhat intended - taking adequate time to rest between sets and doing the Fast And Loose style shaking to relieve tension. 30 total presses is the highest volume I've done yet with the 20kg KB. I think this indicates progress towards being able to do 10 reps of clean+press with the 20kg.

12/22

Classic w/ alternating weights - 20 min.

24kg 11111 111 = 8 sets
20kg 11111 111 = 8 set

This variation is just doing the Classic set with one weight, then a set with another weight, and thus alternating between the 2 weights for the durtion of the session. The 24kg was still too heavy to press so I push-pressed it up and pulled it back down with as much control over the descent as I could muster. Cleaning and front squatting with it were not an issue. I thought I would try this variation and observe where I'm at in my progression towards pressing the 24kg. Based on how I progressed to pressing the 20kg, my chances of pressing the 24kg will go up dramatically after completing The Giant 1.0-1.2 program series with the 20kg. Iron Cardio training is how I plan to progress to being able to clean and press the 20kg for 10 reps, which is the recommended prerequisite for starting The Giant 1.0

Iron Cardio: Week 2

12/8
Classic - 26 sets in 20 min.

12/10
Clasic + Chinup x 3

Classic - 28 sets
Chinup - 42 reps

I wanted to see if I can induce some bicep and upper back hypertrophy by doing chinups at least 40 total reps. I was able to handle the volume, but it took about 50 min. of training to do all this work. I don't want to spend that much time on training all the time. I don't the Iron Cardio manual recommends it either. I think it would be better to wait for my strength and endurance to improve. As strength improves, each set will take less effort to execute. As endurance improves, less rest will be required between sets. Thus over time I should be able to do more sets in one session without increasing training time.

12/12
Classic + Snatch + Chinup x 2 in 30 min.

Classic + Chinup x 2 - 14 sets
Chinup - 14 reps

I decided to try doing full snatches instead of half snatches. I needed the confidence that I can handle the eccentric phase of the movement. It's critical that the KB travel down a nearly vertical arc. If it travels on an outward arc instead, it could injure the lower back. My technique felt smoother on the right side. I did an extra snatch on the left side because on the next to last rep, I messed up with the KB handle getting caught on my palm again. I tried to observe why the snatch felt smoother on the right side, beside the grip being consistenly loose enough to allow the KB to rodate. It seems like on my right side I'm just better at "looking at my watch" on the way up, and leading with my elbow to drop the KB. However, I might have a tendency to flip the KB up and out, which should be corrected. Overally, full snatch has a higher energy expenditure than half snatch, and this seems to be reflected in how many sets I was able to do, compared to when I did the half snatch last week. I needed more rest between sets.
This video shows the wristwatch cue for the concentric phase of the snatch:



This video has nice tips for the eccentric phase of the snatch:



I'm thinking of doing these Iron Cardio variations next week. I'll do some sets of chinups after the sessions to try to compensate for the pronation-dominant work. I'm not giving up on practicing the snatch. I just want to try these Iron Cardio options which I haven't tried yet, without the complication that would be introduced by also including the snatch option.

• Mon: Classic (Clean+Press+Squat) - 40 sets
• Wed: Classic with Alternating 20kg and 24kg - 30 min.
• Fri: Classic Traveling 2s - 30 min.

Iron Cardio: When To Increase Difficulty

An Iron Cardio workout has many possible variations:

• Classic (Clean + Press + Squat)
• Classic + Snatch
• Classic + Snatch + Pullup/Chinup
• Classic + Pullup/Chinup
• Traveling 2s
• Weight Ladder
• and many more...

One question that came up after rereading the manual several times is how do you know when to increase the difficulty? Brett Jones posted this response. If I understand his post correctly, he said that for a given number of minutes practicing Iron Cardio, if you did double the number of minutes in sets, you're ready to increase difficulty for that particular variation. So if you did 40 sets in 20 min. you can increase difficulty. Difficulty can be increased by increasing the load, switching to a more difficult variation, etc.

Finished 1st week of Iron Cardio

Here's a good video by Hardstyle Kettlebell Pro that summarizes Iron Cardio:



For my last session the week, I went back to my regular warmup, ditching the TGU, SLDL and Airborne Lunge.

Set timer to 30 min.

Classic + Half Snatch: 20 sets
Chinup: 20

When the timer rang, I had done 18 sets. I felt I could keep going a little more so I did. On my 19th set the press felt harder than usual so I called it after the 20th. I felt like I worked appropriately for the hard session of the week.

I wanted to do at least one session with snatches. One of the goals of Kettlebell Burn was to get you ready to do your first snatch, if you hadn't done them already. Coming off of Kettlebell Burn I thought I might as well try the snatch. I last did snatches in winter 2024 so I knew I'd be rusty. Initially I tried to do full snatch but my form was not that great. As the kettlebell is going up, after you reel it in so it goes more up than out, you have to slightly loosen your grip to all the KB to rotate so that it will end up hanging behind your forearm. I was having trouble with this timing that so that the KB wasn't rotating when it needed to. The handle was getting caught in the calluses of my palm. After a few sets my execution improved. However I decided to continue focusing on the concentric half of the snatch. I'll do the full snatch when I feel better about my half snatch techniqe.

I'm glad I switched from Kettlebell Burn to Iron Cardio. I look forward to my workouts with more enthusiasm. I don't dread my workouts anymore. Kettlebell Burn promises rapid loss of visceral fat but I don't have a particular deadline to reduce my bodyfat. For example I don't need to get my bodyfat percentage down to 10% by January or anything like that. I don't mind leaning out at a slower rate than that. Iron Cardio was designed to be a general endurance program. Practicing it should improve endurance without beating you up, and making you feel beat up for days on end afterwards, like glycolitic exercise programs. This appeals to me. It should also improve strength which is also appealing.

I plan to do similar sessions next week. Easy: Classic Medium: Classic + Chinup x 2 Hard: Classic + Half Snatch + Chinup x 2

Iron Cardio: 2nd Session

Today was supposed to be my Medium session: Classic + Chinup. My easy session was just Classic - Clean, Press, then Squat with 1 kettlebell for 1 rep each. So in theory, adding the Chinup should raise the difficulty from Easy to Medium.

After further review of Brett Jones' Iron Cardio and Mind The Gap videos, I decided to add the Turkish Get Up, Single Leg Deadlift, and Airborne Lunge to my warmup routine for Iron Cardio. All of these exercise are unilateral lower body exercises that complement the Single Front Squat which is in the Classic set. I did one TGU rep per side, then 3 reps per side of the other 2 exercises

After finishing my warmup with these 3 exercises, I was a little tired, so I took a break from exercise to walk around a bit, shaking my limbs Fast And Loose style. After I felt I took a long enough break, I started my Iron Cardio medium session.

I set the timer to 20 minutes. By the time the timer rang, I'd done 9 sequences, with one sequence being:

Classic (Clean, Press, Squat) on left side, Classic on right side, then 1 Chin Up

Thus I did 9 x 2 sets of Classic for a total of 18 sets plus 9 Chin Ups. By Brett's reckoning if you do one set on one side, then another set on the other side, you're doing 2 sets. Anyway, 18 sets plus 9 chinups seems like a drop from the so-called Easy Session I did Monday, in which I did 32 total sets in 20 min. Perhaps it was the pre-exhaustion effect from adding those 3 exercises to my warmup. I thought at the time I had rested enough after the warmup, but maybe I needed to rest more. Or perhaps my circadian rhythm was just off today. I only did one chinup at a time. One chinup was not that tiring for me.

I think next week, my easy session will be Classic + Chinup since I ended up doing so little work compared to Monday. As I rewatch the Iron Cardio video I realize Brett's sample warmup for Iron Cardio does include the TGU, but not the the SLDL or Airborne Lunge. I'll take those 2 out of my Iron Cardio warmup for now and find another place for them in my schedule. My right hip/glute area continues to be sore from the training I did in Kettlebell Burn so those exercise are a little uncomfortable on my right side anyway.

Switched from Kettlebell Burn Reloaded to Iron Cardio

I watched the Iron Cardio video course and studied the manual. I then came up with this program for this week. I'm using the Light/Medium/Heavy concept, which I think is also referred to as Easy/Medium/Hard. To increase difficulty from Easy to Medium I'm adding a Chinup. I've noticed that Chinup practice helps manage my lingering golfer's elbow pain. I've done 4 sets of 3 chinups, for a total of 12 reps, after clean+press sessions. Within the Iron Cardio framework, I'll be doing quite a bit more chinup reps. Brett says several times in the video course that adding a Snatch to the Classic set increases difficulty exponentially, so I have the Classic + Snatch session as my Hard session. There is a chance I may have gotten the Medium and Hard sessions backwards in terms of training difficulty but I won't know until I execute the sessions. Each session will be about 20 minutes.

• Easy: Classic Set (Clean+Press+Squat)
• Medium: Classic + Chinup
• Hard: Classic + Snatch

I would like to eventually focus more on the Press but for now I want to see if I can reduce or eliminate the golfer's elbow with chinup practice, as well as start working on the Snatch which all those weeks of Kettlebell Burn supposedly prepared me for.

Today I did the Easy session. I didn't push myself too hard because I wanted to focus on correct practice of the recommended breathing pattern:

• Inhale: Clean to rack
• Exhale: Press to lockout
• Inhale: Active pull from lockout back to rack and hold breath while lowering into squat
• Exhale: Stand up from squat

I was used to exhaling while sinking into the squat, hanging out for 1-2 seconds while inhaling, then exhaling while standing up. Thus it took some getting used to the Iron Cardio way of breathing. I noticed that inhaling on the clean, then exhaling on the press resulted in a feeling of more power on the press... if the breathing is timed correctly. One principle I'll bring over from the Geoff Neupert world is continued practice of diaphragmatic breathing - ideally air should be inhaled into the diaphragm, not just the chest.

The first time I tried the Single Front Squat - the squat of choice in Iron Cardio - I struggled to keep the KB racked while sinking into the squat. I think the Reverse Lunge training, with the KB in a contralateral rack hold, that I did in Kettlebell Burn helped there. Also, at that time I was trying to stick to Geoff Neupert's style of squatting, which is to keep the feet as close as possible to parallel which helps prevent the knees from collapsing inward. When I did today's Iron Cardio session, I allowed my feet to point outward more, which is more in line with Brett's philosophy of letting foot placement match your hip structure. When I did Goblet Squats in Kettlebell Burn, my feet naturally shifted from parallel to pointing outward as I sank into the bottom of the squat. I quickly got too tired to fight the movement of the feet and just let them be, as my knees felt fine, as well as my low back due to maintaining upright posture.

In about 20 minutes of training, I executed 32 sets, which was 16 sets per side. This is how Brett likes to count sets. I could have done 36 sets if I shaved off a few seconds here and there of my rest times between sets but this being the first ever Iron Cardio session, I felt it was more important to practice the proper breathing pattern and get a feel for the Classic set. This was such a refereshing workout after all those weeks of Kettlebell Burn that felt like torture sessions. Temperatures in this area have been dropping so I've been using house heating more. My body temperature remained elevated after the session, so that I didn't have to turn up the thermostat for a good hour and a half or so. I had a similar effect after some Kettlebell Burn sessions, though I had to put in much more work under that program to get the same effect.

Kettelbell Burn: Phase 2: Week 2

For the Monday session, I decided to do a bridge hold between the Dead Bug and the Pump portions of my warmup. The bridge was a substitute for the kneeling lunge stretch which I did to stretch the hip flexors which were worked in the Dead Bug. The hip flexors also get a stretch in the bridge though not as intense. I figured that unlike the kneeling lunge, the bridge would also help me improve my shoulder flexion strength and flexibility. At my current skill/flexibilty level my bridge would be at what GMB would consider a low bridge. I did the bridge hold for about 20 seconds. When I proceeded to clean+press training, I was only able to do 3 reps/side once. On the other attempts to do 3 reps, I failed on the 3rd rep. On the failed reps, I paused for a few seconds, then did makeup singles. Last week I was able to do 3-rep sets but did not include the bridge in my warmup. My muscles did not feel unduly fatigued from the bridge hold. Maybe it was the CNS that was affected by it. Thus I decided to drop the bridge from my warmup.

For the Session A session I switched from the 16kg KB back to the 20kg for the Turkish Get Up. I suspected the switch from the 20kg to the 16kg for TGU was another possible factor in the loss of 20kg KB pressing strength. I had some extra time so I went well over the recommended training time to do 6 singles per side, resting for a generous amount of time after each single to ensure my CNS and muscles all felt as fresh as possible for the next single.

For the final Session BA workout of the week, I also had extra time to train so I went over the recommended training time to do 24 total reps of clean+press. I figured the increased volume would improve my performance of 3-rep sets. I did 3 ladders for 18 total reps. After that I wasn't confident I could do another 3-rep set so I did 3 doubles to arrive at 24 total reps. For the Session BB workout, I did the partial TGU with the 20kg. This exercise alone wasn't much more demanding with the 20kg than it was with the 16kg.

Phase 3 is when we start doing the KB Snatch and Single KB Front Squat. I'm thinking of switching programs instead of continuing on to Phase 3 of Kettlebell Burn Reloaded. The program I am thinking of switching to is Iron Cardio by Brett Jones. One reason is I want to stop doing the Turkish Get Up as a main strength exercise. Kettlebell Burn Phases 3 and 4 will have you continuing doing the TGU as a strength exercise, then as a metabolic conditioning exercise. I understand the benefits of TGU practice but I'm not sold on the TGU as a conditioning exercise as it seems dangerous to do when you're getting exhausted. Brett recommends practicing TGU as part of the warmup for Iron Cardio, but the TGU is not a featured exercise within the main Iron Cardio workout. I'd rather practice the Snatch and Single Front Squat within the context Iron Cardio rather than Kettlebell Burn.

Another reason I chose Iron Cardio is the AGT (anti-glycolitic training) aspect. Brett discusses AGT a bit in this interview. Kettlebell Burn in all its variations was created before StrongFirst coaches and associated coaches such as Geoff Neupert began releasing AGT programs. One of most obvious signs Kettlebell Burn is glycolitic is the persistent soreness I've been feeling for days on end, especially the glute and hip muscles. Other people seem to be pleased with the results of completing Kettlebell Burn, but to get there you're going feel the burn, and lots of it. I like avoiding the burn and multiple days of soreness, which is what AGT is about. Finally I always hated the feeling I got during metcon style training, like in Kettlebell Burn, where I'm gasping for air, feeling like I'm barely hanging on, and feeling a sense of dread when the timer beeps to let me know it's time to go back to work. If I were offered a role in a big time TV or movie production on the condition I cut my bodyfat dramatically in a month, then I'd put up with the discomfort of a program like Kettlebell Burn or Kettlebell ICT. Since I'm not actually required to cut my bodyfat to X percentage within a short timeframe, I'm fine with not subjecting myself to further torture of a rapid fat loss program.

Kettelbell Burn: Phase 2: Week 1

Among the demands of Phase 2 is the ability to do the Turkish Get Up for 3 reps in a row on the same side, without rest between reps. That's one of the reasons I switched from 20kg kettlebell to the 16kg for this movement. I was able to do 2 triples on each side. My working forearm started to burn on the 3rd rep but I never felt in any real danger of dropping the KB. By the end of the week though I decided do doubles instead of triples. I needed a fair amount of rest after a triple, before I could attempt another triple. I think I'll need less rest after a double, and thus be able to do more total reps.

The exercises in Kettlebell Burn Reloaded are organized into 3 sessions, which are A, B, and MetCon. A and B in turn are split into 2 segments. The first time I did segment AB, I missed the instruction to rest for only 45-60 seconds between rounds. Instead I rested until I stopped panting in exhaustion and the burning sensation in my lungs receded. So the next time I did segment AB, I followed the instruction, with a timer set to 60 seconds. With only 60 sec. rest times, segment AB was quite a bit more difficult to execute.

Session B was just as difficult this week as it was when I tried it last week for the first time. Segment BA was fine. I could have pushed for more total reps of the clean+press but I wasn't sure how the shoulder would hold up in Segment BB. Segment BB exercises are in a superset which wipes me out after each round. I went over the prescribed training time for segment BB because I was only able to do 2 rounds within this time. There was about 4 minutes left on the timer but I didn't want the timer to go off in the middle of a superset, so I just turned it off, rested as long as I needed, then executed the 3rd round.

Kettelbell Burn: Phase 1: Week 4 Reprise

My work capacity with 20kg kettlebell cleans and presses is improving. I was able to complete the minimum 3 ladders for both clean/press oriented sessions.

I decided to switch from the 20kg back to the 16kg for Turkish Get Ups and all variations of partial Turkish Get Ups. I can do these movements with a 20kg KB but the 20kg drains my CNS more. One sign of CNS fatigue is my body suddenly forgetting how to support the KB in the middle of the movement - luckily when that's happened I was able to catch the KB on the way down without hurting myself. CNS fatigue is different from muscular fatigue - instead of feeling muscles straining, it's more like when I'm practicing piano and I suddenly forget chord shapes in the key of F# natural minor even though I'd already done 100s of reps of those shapes. Anyway, after the switch, I had a slightly easier time doing 2 reps in a row, per side, of the full TGU. I still felt my grip tiring out but I didn't feel as much danger of losing control of the KB. I also tried partial TGU - to the half-kneeling windmill position instead of all the way up - for 3 reps per side and that was fine.

Since this is a reprise of Week 4, I decided to do the goblet squat, staggered stance row, and reverse lunge in the rep ranges prescribed in Phase 2 instead of Phase 2. Naturally, all these exercises became harder to execute because of the increased reps. This gave me confidence I can handle Phase 2.

Kettlebell Burn: Phase 1: Week 3 Reprise

My Turkish Get Up performance improved a bit from last week. I was able to do 5 singles (1-rep sets) per side within the prescribed period, which is an improvement over 4 single last week.

I've been doing well with the Goblet Squat in Phase 1, so I increased the reps per set to 8, 10, then 12 for this reprise of Phase 1 Week 3. These are in the range prescribed for Phase 2 - more challenging for me but still doable. Hopefully entering Phase 2 with a body already conditioned for 12-ep sets will lead to benefits beyond just breezing through the Goblet Squat portions of the Phase 2 workouts.

I also increased the reps/set for the single kettlebell row, though only to the minimum prescribed reps for the row in Phase 2. I decided to focus more on increasing goblet squat reps for now, then bring up the row reps in Phase 2. I don't want to give out too much info about Kettlebell Burn but fellow practitioners of this program might understand my thinking here.

The KB cleans and presses portion of the workouts went fine as usual, though I was cautious about pushing myself too hard because I didn't want to risk burning myself out before taking on the Get Up Sit Up.

Last week I did the Get Up Sit Up in 3-rep sets with the 20kg KB, because the previous week I was doing 5-rep sets with the 16kg KB. I originally tried to do this exercise with the 20kg but the shoulder fatigued by the 3rd reps so I switched to 16k KB. I later switched back to the 20kg after re-reading the manual and realizing I would eventually be asked to do 2 or even 3 consecutive reps of TGU on the same side, and thus decided to retry the Get Up Sit Up with the 20kg. I was able to do 3-rep sets without the shoulder getting tired last week, so this week I increased the reps to 5. Performance of the 5-rep sets was decent most of the time. There were only a couple of instances in which my CNS got burnt out, so that my body sort of forgot how to keep the KB aloft - luckily I was able to catch the KB when it fell without hurting myself. As with other exercises, the downside of increasing reps was being able to do less sets within the same period. Last week I was able to do 4 sets. This week, I was able to do 3 sets. I cheated a little by going over the prescribed time period - I saw I had around 2 min. left on the timer, so I just stopped the timer and rested as long as I needed before the final set. I believe taking the time to do that 3rd set will be worth it down the road - if nothing else, the 5 more reps per side of practice has to count for something.

2-arm swings were hellish and next to impossible in Week 4 of Kettlebell Burn 2.0. The same exercise in Week 4 of Kettlebell Burn Reloaded imposes a more reasonable demand. It actually felt kind of easy to execute, though it still made me sweat and breathe hard. So I decided to do the Phase 2 Week 2 swing workout, which is a 1-arm swing. The 1-arm swing workout is not easy and is in fact a step up in difficulty compared to the Reloaded Phase 1 2-arm swing workout, but I was able to execute it without much trouble. I utilized the KB tapping cue taught by Joe Daniels to help with my performance.

After the swing practice I worked on my hollow body hold. I've progressed to 35-second holds at the final progression - both arms and both legs extended.

Kettlebell Burn Phase 1: Week 4

I decided to switch from the 16kg kettlebell back to the 20kg KB for the Get Up Sit Up exercise. I had switched from the 20kg to the 16kg in the first place because my shoulder tired out when I attempted to do the prescribed number of reps, and had to stop at 4 reps. This week I thought it might be better to do 3-rep sets with the 20kg, than to do 5- or 6-rep sets with the 16kg. One reason it allows me to do more work. When I did 5-6 reps per side with the 16kg, I needed a fair amount of rest time before I was ready to do another set, so I ended up doing only 2 sets for the whole workout. The switch to 3-rep sets with the 20kg resulted in 3 sets, and thus more work accomplished in the workout.

Turkish Get Up performance was diappointing. I began Kettlebell Burn being able to do 3 TGUs per side within the prescribed period. I was only able to do 4 reps per side this week which is not much of an improvement. I realized I waste a fair amount of effort on my supine to elbow transition. I would often get stuck during the transition, and have to restart the movement from supine positon. I took some time on one of the recovery days to practice this transition with the 8kg and 12kg KBs. With the 12kg I practiced the TGU all the way to the half kneeling windmill, working on getting the thighs and legs closer to the ideal 90 degree relationships with each other.

Before the Wednesday and Friday sessions, I changed my warmup routine to exercises for hamstring and hip mobility, as influenced by this Movesmethod video

• Single Leg Good Morning - 2 sets of 10 with 10 sec. hold on last rep
• Standing Pancake - 2 sets of 10 with 10 sec. hold on last rep
• Heel Pulse at bottom of ATG Split Squat - 1 set of 10 with 10 sec. hold on last rep
• Bridge Rotation On Wall - 2 sets of 5

My body felt fine and ready for Kettlebell Burn after the warmup. However I felt like I needed more time to recover between exercise sets, and I needed just a little more effort per rep. So my overall performance felt down compared to last week. Also, the warmup took about 15 min. which is longer than I would like. I'll try doing this hamstring/hip emphasis warmup on my KB swing days, and go back to the warmup I was doing on my KB strength days which was this:

• Diaphragmatic breathing in child pose - 1 min.
• Dead Bugs - 1 min.
• ATG Split Squat - hold bottom position for a few sec. each side
• The Pump - 1 min.
• Fast And Loose/body shaking for a few seconds after carrying up the KB

My shoulders were sore, soon after the Get Up Sit Ups with the 20kg. I'm not sure if the sore muscles are the delts or rotator cuff muscles - maybe all of them? I never got sore shoulders from doing KB presses, whether on the same day or the following day.
Looking at the instructions for Phase 2, and judging by how I performed this week, I don't feel ready to move on to Phase 2 next week. I decided to repeat Weeks 3 and 4 of Phase 1, in the hope that the repeat will result in enough of an improvement that I'll be able to handle what is demanded in Phase 2. I'm not going to be 100% faithful to the instructions in this case. I'll incorporate some aspects of Phase 2 that I'm confident that I can handle, such as the rep increase for goblet squats and replacment of 2-arm swings with 1-arm swings.

The seeming lack of progress in performance and lack of reduction in waist circumference made me think about ditching Kettlebell Burn for Easy Muscle B, because there is no Turkish Get Up (which I'm already sick of) in the other program and it has chin ups and dips which are more fun to me than TGU. However, Geoff Neupert says Kettlebell Burn will help improve skills in the KB Snatch and Single KB Front Squat, and I do want to improve those skills.

Exercises to improve straddle, plus one exercise for shoulder mobility

I've tried to improve my straddle off and on, in antipation of eventually practicing the straddle variations of front lever, handstand, planche, etc. It's just been too easy to give up, since accomplishing any variation of a handstand or planche does not seem likely for me in the near future.

Then, I advanced to Phase 2 of Geoff Neupert's Sore Joint Solution mobility/movement restoration program, which includes a straddle sit. Geoff advises sitting on yoga blocks, a chair, or whatever you have if you cannot sit on the floor with your legs straight. I then switched from practicing SJS to practicing Geoff's Systematic Core Training for Kettlebels program. I thought I would prioritize core work over working on hamstring and adductor mobility to improve my straddle, thus putting off straddle work for later.

Then, this video by GMB inspired me to try working on the straddle again - just one minute a day. I lack the mobility to sit in straddle with both legs completely straight but here Ryan of GMB says its ok to sit with the legs bent:



While searching around for info on improving straddle, pancake, or slide split, I came across this video. He has some interesting opinions. He does not recommend loaded stretching because of possible soreness afterwards, which is pretty much the reason I haven't explored this approach to stretching. I'm doing Kettlebell Burn now, and have been doing The Giant before that. When I do high volume kettlebell exercise, I have to be mindful of activities that might affect recovery from a high volume KB workout, and I suspect loaded stretching might be one of those activites. The seated pancake stretch is one of his favorites.



I'd watched some videos from the Movesmethod Youtube channel, so this video popped up on my feed. The coach here found a fitness beginner, identified her mobility issues, which are the same I would like to work on: 1. Limited mobility for pancake stretch and 2. Not being able to touch the wall in the shoulder mobility test. None of the exercises recommended for this beginner are in the S-tier list, in the opinion on the coach who made the splits video above, but I think they'll be fine to practice, with some sensible scheduling around whatever other activites you might also be doing. The exercise the coach teaches here for shoulder mobility is bridge rotation on a wall.

Kettlebell Burn: Phase 1: Week 3

I thought about switching to a heavier kettlebell for the 2-hand swings. I'm glad I decided to stick with the 20kg. Practicing the 2-hand swing for the prescribed work and rest intervals for this week under Kettlebell Burn 2.0 was really hard, compared to the previous 2 weeks. After the switch from Kettlebell Burn 2.0 to Kettlebell Burn Reloaded, the 2-hand swing workouts were more reasonable for me, but I'm still glad I stuck with the 20kg.

The next phase asks the trainee to do Turkish Get Up for 3 repetitions in a row, per side. I've always done the TGU in singles so to prepare myself I tried doing 2 reps in a row, every other set. When I did a 2-rep set for the first time I completed the first rep in supine position, then started tn the 2nd rep from that supine position. I was able to complete the 2nd rep but the endurance of my arm and forearm was pushed close to the limit. The next time I attempted a 2-rep set I completed the rep with the KB back on the floor. I then rested 15 seconds, then began the next rep lifting the KB off the floor. This made the 2nd rep a little less demading, but my grip still wore out. I was able to complete the 2nd rep relatively safely but I felt I was barely in control because of the fatiguing grip.

Overall I'm glad I switched over from 2.0 to Reloaded.

Switched from Kettlebell Burn 2.0 to Kettlebell Burn Reloaded today

When I bought Kettlebell Burn 2.0, Kettlebell Burn Reloaded was included with the purchase. Kettelbell Burn Reloaded is built on the same philosophy as Kettlebell Burn 2.0, and has a very similar exercise selection. The difference is in the scheduling. Kettlebell Burn 2.0 schedules 3 training session a week - typically Monday, Wednesday and Friday - and each session takes about 50 minutes - 45 min. total of training time and 2-3 min. of rest between each of the 3 segments of a session. Kettlebell Burn Reloaded schedules 6 training sessions a week, with each session lasting 10 to 35 min. depending on the prescribed activity for that session.

There was a minor skin tear on my left palm from 2-handed KB swinging. I addressed the tear with New Skin and started reading the Kettle Burn Reloaded manual to see if there would be an option for skipping 2-handed KB swings or at least putting it off for another day to allow a little more time for the skin to recover. The more I read the manual, the more I was convinced to switch over Kettlebell Burn Reloaded.

I started this week on Week 3 of Kettlebell Burn 2.0. The Monday session was very similar to what I would have done on Monday and Tuesday of Week 3 of Kettlebell Burn Reloaded, except the 2-hand swing segment of the Monday session under 2.0 was much more demanding than the Tuesday 2-hand swing session would have been under Reloaded, in terms of how much work the trainee is asked to do on a per-minute basis. That said, the Reloaded version is not easy by any means.

Another change going from 2.0 to Reloaded was being asked to do KB cleans for reps, then doing KB presses for reps, instead of doing KB clean+press. This makes sense to me, as one of Geoff's stated design goals in creating Reloaded was to make the program simpler to use. Here we can focus on improving KB clean technique when wejust do cleans, then press technique when we just do presses.

The Get Up Sit Up and Reverse Lunge pair are still the same. Before today I did 5 reps per side, per exercise and was able to do 3 rounds. Today I did 6 reps. I needed so much rest that I was only able to do 2 rounds within the prescribed time period. Under 2.0 I would have then had to do the KB swings. Under Reloaded, I can do them tomorrow instead, which I did not mind at all

Kettlebell Burn 2.0: Phase 1: Week 2

I did the Get Up Sit Up with the 16kg kettlebell. I was able to do the minimum required reps per set, which is an improvement over last week when the 20kg proved to be too heavy for me for this exercise. But then, this exercise is immediately followed with another exercise - step back lunge with a racked 20kg. This pairing of exercises is brutal for me.

Last week I was unable to meet the recommended goal of 18 total reps in the Clean + Press within the prescribed training period. This week I was able to do 19 reps. I had push myself a bit by allowing myself a little less rest time between sets.

I tried to save some wear on my hands, while practicing 2-hand swings, by occasionally gripping the KB with my outer 3 fingers and pointing my index fingers ahead. This seems to reduce the wear on the callouses next to my middle fingers. My usual grip is with the index and middle fingers with the pinkies pointing ahead. The handle is not wide enough to accommodate all 4 fingers of both hands.

I practiced the Turkish Get Up with singles - aka "1 rep set". After 1 set per side, I stood up and walked a bit, shaking off tension, until I felt ready for another set. I suspect however that if I simply continued lying on the floor after a set, I would need less time to rest before I would feel ready for another set. Next week, I'm going to try 1,2 ladder reps - that is 2 reps instead of 1 per set, every other set.

Kettlebell Burn 2.0: Phase 1: Week 1

All my previous Turkish Get Up practice in anticipation of doing Kettlebell Burn 2.0 has paid off so far. I had a rep or two where I was in danger of losing control of the kettlebell, but for most reps my control was decent.

The Goblet Squat and Staggered Stance Row with the 20kg KB required some effort but the prescribed reps were within my ability. The 2-hand swing felt light but I decided to stick to the 20kg for those because I don't know how hard this exercise will get as the prescribed work time gets longer and the prescribed rest time gets shorter.

The Clean+Press was a little challenging because ladder rep sets were prescribed instead of straight sets, but still doable.

I did not pay attention to the recommended weight for the Get Up Sit Up and Reverse Lunge, so I first attempted these exercises with the 20kg. I was only able to do 4 reps of Get Up Sit Up before my shoulder simply got too fatigued to safely support the KB. Then I when I attempted the Reverse Lunge, I was so drained by the effort expended on the Get Up Sit Up that I couldn't focus on good form. So I brought out the 16kg and did these exercises with it instead. I ended up doing only 2 sets per exercise within the presribed period. I used up quite a bit of time getting the 16kg.

I used two kitchen timers for the 2-hand swings - one for work time and the other for rest time. I used guitar picks to count my work sets.

I had a fair amount of DOMS in my legs and hips, which I expected, having not done a lot of squatting in the past 12 months.

I took some time in the weekend to test my 20kg KB reverse lunge rep max with the KB held in rack position. I used the modified Delorme method to prepare for the test. I did 5 reps with the 16kg with no rest between sides, then 7 reps per side with the 16kg after resting as much as I felt I needed. I then tested my rep max with the 20kg and was able to do 9 reps per side with a fair amount of effort. One detail from the Kettlebell Burn instructions is the step back should be done on the side holding the KB - this is called contralateral loading because the working leg is on the side opposite to where the load is held. So going forward on my Session B days I'll set up the 16kg for Get Up Sit Up, and set up the 20kg at differnet part of the room for the Reverse Lunge, to minimize time switching between exercises. I realized I could help my balance in the Reverse Lunge by holding the free arm out to the side, with the option to clench the first to introduce additional tension

Kettlebell Burn 2.0: First Session

I decided to do Kettlebell Burn 2.0 as my next training program because it's designed for training the Levels 1-3 skills in the Neupert pyramid. Mastery of these skills is desirable before progressing to Level 4 traininn. Kettlebell Burn 2.0 is also marketed as a fat loss program so I measured my waist. As I progress through the program I can measure it again to assess fat loss progress. I will also retest my 20kg C+P rep max to assess strength progress. I also measured my weight. Bodyweight is not the most reliable way to measure fat loss, as weight gain could come from muscle mass, but it's an interesting data point to track anyway.

This was my first real session doing the Turkish Get Up with the 20kg kettlebell so I took generous amounts of time to rest between reps. All the TGU practice I did with the 16kg KB, twice a week for most weeks in the past several month, paid off here. My form wasn't perfect but my control was better than it would have been without the previous TGU practice. The rest of the session went fine.

The Giant 1.2: 4th and Final Week

I was able to do 63 total reps on both the Monday and Wednesday sessions. At first glance, these number look similar to the Week 4 performance during my previous iteration of The Giant 1.2. However, upon further review I can see I did 63 total reps on this latest Monday session vs. 56 on that other Monday session; and it took me less time to complete 63 reps on the latest Wednesday session, compared to the previous iteration. After completing The Giant 1.2 with a 16kg in April, I was able to press the 20kg for 3 reps. Being able to do the same amount of work in a little less time might be a sign that I've gotten stronger.

Friday was the last day of The Giant 1.2, I decided to test my 20kg Clean+Press repetition max instead of doing a The Giant session to assess my readiness for my next planned program, which is Kettlebell Burn 2.0. After my usual warmup routine, I followed the Modified Delorme method for the rep max test, which is to do a 5-rep set, then a 7-rep set with the 16kg kettlebell; taking as much time as I wanted to rest after each set. Then I tested my rep max with the 20kg KB. I was able to do 5 reps on each side without too much effort. Kettlebell Burn 2.0 recommends a weight that can be used on most exercises for a 5-rep max so I'm ready to do that program with the 20kg KB.

Once again, doing The Giant with a single kettlebell increased my C+P performance with a 4kg heavier kettlebell.

The Giant 1.2: Week 3

My work capacity improved compared to last week. I needed a little less time to rest between sets of clean-and-press, and so I was able to do more volume. I'm on track to replicate the amount of work I did in Weeks 3 and 4 of my previous iteration of The Giant 1.2.

From what I understand, improving overall flexibility for straddle split/straddle sit can involve improving not only hamstring flexibility, but also the flexilbity of the hip muscles, such as the hip adductors and hip flexors.

So I decided to start practicing the horse stance. Horse stance is supposed to improve hip flexibility as well as leg strength. GMB has a good horse stance article. I've seen other resources/videos on horse stance but I like GMB's here because they're not as dogmatic as other coaches who say you must hold horse stance for 2 minutes or longer. GMB says if you can do horse stance for only 5-10 seconds at a time, it's fine.

The Giant 1.2: Week 2

I noticed slight improvement in my stamina, in terms of how much rest I needed between sets.

My golfers elbow reappeared since the start of this current block of The Giant. I feel it the most on the first set of chin ups that I do after a session of The Giant, The pain on a scale of 0-10 is a 2 at worst, which is not as bad as it was before I did the tendon stress relaxtion program (Tendon Burn Count) for 11 weeks. The pain subsides with each subsequent set.

KB cleaning technique is a possible cause of elbow pain, so I studied Mark Wildman's most recent KB clean video, tried the preparatory exercises, then tried doing the clean his way. The main difference compared to Geoff Neupert's technique is the thumb pointing back on the down swing. This ensures the elbow is locked straight on the down swing and in theory should help prevent elbow pain for some people, as allowing the elbow to be bent on the down swing is a typical cause for pain. The tradeoff is that the shoulder is pulled into internal rotation, which is an irritation for my left shoulder. This is why Wildman coaches the engagement of the lat to keep the shoulder in its socket. Paying attention to the lat did help my left shoulder remain painless during the practice of Wildman style cleans. However I woke up next morning with left shoulder soreness. Also I did not notice much reduction in elbow soreness compared to Neupert style cleans. The golfers elbow tends to manifest more when the palm is facing to the side - as in the KB rack position - than when the palms are supinated, although even the worst pain is still only a 1 out of 10. So I decided to stick to the Neupert style, because it never cause problems for my shoulder. What I did get out of studying the Wildman style was more awareness of how the KB rotates during the clean. It rotates horizontally when done properly, regardless of whether it's Wildman or Neupert style.

What's more annoying is soreness in the right hip - the hip flexor, psoas, or both - not sure. It appears intermittently and it when it does it's enough to make me limp a bit when I walk.
This was my my supplementary exercise routine on my The Giant days last week.

1. Chin Ups - 2-3 reps to at least partially compensate for pronation, per Geoff's video.
2. Passive hang from pullup bar with pronated hands - at least 40 sec. for lat stretch and spinal decompression
3. Sore Joint Solution Phase 2 exercises if time allows
4. More sets of 2-3 chinups followed by passive hang in the afternoon - not necessarily once an hour but typically 3 times.

This week I still did the passive hang after The Giant then tried these approaches for hamstring flexibility on different days:

• Sore Joint Solution Sitting Level 3 - this is sitting in a straddle, as in the start of a pancake stretch
• Standing hamstring stretch with PNF, as taught in this Tom Morrison video
• GMB Fitness 5-minute locomotion routine for hamstring mobility - they also teach hamstring stretches but in this case they offer this GMB Elements-based routine as a fun alternative to stretching.

I liked the idea of doing a Sore Joint Solution session after The Giant. Then I progressed past Level 2 of the sitting position to Level 3, which is a straddle sit. The guidance is to just sit on a block or some other elevated surface if it's difficult to keep the back from getting rounded. This, I tried practicing Level 3 sitting on my Ableton Push 2 case, which made it easier to keep the back from rounding, but the hamstrings and adductors still felt tight. I could have tried stacking some puzzle mat tiles underneath the Push 2 case to reduce the tightness of muscles that are typically stretched by the straddle, but I figured I'd try another approach for improving hamstring flexibility that would take less time than a full SJS session. The standing PNF stretch should work but it's not as fun as the GMB 5-minute routine.

The Giant 1.2: Week 1

This was the first week of The Giant 1.2 with a single 16kg kettlebell. The goal is to improve my 20kg kettlebell press repetition max from 3 to at least 4. I was aware that a program called Soju And Tuba, presumably done with a 20kg KB, was another option for achieving this goal. Fabio Zonin's program Victorious was yet another option. I chose The Giant 1.2 with 16kg KB over Soju And Tuba with 20kg and Victorious, because previous experience gives me a good idea of what results to expect from the first option, while I'm not sure what results to expect from the other 2, due to lack of previous experience. Another reason is this option lets me do the most pressing volume - more volume means more practice of the pressing movement and more potential for muscle growth. Yet another reason is the 1st option is only a 4-week program. Soju and Tuba is a 6-week program and Victorious is 8 weeks.

I could have done The Giant 1.1 instead, then 1.2 afterwards, but I was confident that I could handle the Wednesday sessions. The Giant is a 3 days per week program, with a different prescribed number of reps per set for each of the 3 days. Wednesday has the most reps per set, which in the case of 1.2 is 9 reps. I got through it fine, being able to do 5 sets of 9 reps. On 2 of those 5 sets, I struggled a bit with the 9th rep but was able to complete it.

I set the timer to 25 minutes, did whatever number of sets I could manage until the timer beeped, and did one more set after that. Since this was the first week, I didn't push myself too hard. I took a generous amount of time to rest between sets, especially after the first set. I've noticed my body likes to start slow and ramp up over time.

By the Friday session, my stamina had improved enough that I was able to do 6 sets.

This was my warmup routine on The Giant days. The side lying exercises are from the P3 protocol taught by Geoff Neupert in Sore Joint Solution and Systematic Core Training For Kettlebells, though the SJS version is a bit less demanding:

1. Diaphragmatic breathing in child pose - 1 min.
2. Side lying for 10-12 diaphragmatic breaths per side
3. Side lying with 20-24 neck nods per side
4. Side lying with 20-24 neck rotations per side
5. The Pump (optional) - 1 min.

I experimented with including and not including The Pump. When I did not include The Pump, I had to contract my lats harder at the start of the KB press to keep the shoulder in place. I like to feel the lats getting stretched the hips are up in the air, I'm pushing back with straight arms, and I'm raising and lowering my heels. Something about how I do The Pump seems to set up my historically loose shoulder to stay in place while pressing the KB.

For cooldown I did a bit of walking around and shaking my body to catch my breath, then did the following:

1. Chin Ups - 2-3 reps to at least partially compensate for pronation, per Geoff's video.
2. Passive hang from pullup bar with pronated hands - at least 40 sec. for lat stretch and spinal decompression
3. Sore Joint Solution Phase 2 exercises if time allows
4. More sets of 2-3 chinups followed by passive hang in the afternoon - not necessarily once an hour but typically 3 times.

On the active recovery days I continued my active recovery day routine, which is practicing Turkish Get Up with a 16kg KB for 1-3 reps, then Hollow Body hold training.

Tendon Burn Count: Week 11

For this program I've been doing these 5 exercises in a circuit:

1. Zercher Lunge - Ramp up to max effort within 6 seconds
2. Supinated Grip Calf Raise - Sustain target force for 30-45 seconds
3. Overhead Press - Sustain target force for 30-45 seconds
4. Bicep Curl - Sustain target force for 30-45 seconds
5. Standing Shoulder Extension - Sustain target force for 30-45 seconds

When I'm able to sustain the target force for 45 seconds, I increase the target force by 1-2 lbs. for the next set.

I do the circuit for 3 rounds, so I get 3 sets per exercise. For the last session of Week 10, I completed the 3 rounds early, so I was able to do extra sets of Overhead Press and Bicep Curl. This led to a little quicker progress. I gain did extra sets of both exercises in 2 of the 3 sessions I did this week.

To decide when to end the Tendon Burn Count program, I tested my pain score from 0-10 in two activities: Lifting mattress to change bedsheets and chinups. At the start of the program the pain scores were 5 and 5. A couple of weeks ago the pain scores were 1 and 1.5. Today the scores were 0 and 0 so I decided to terminate the program.

Kettlebell Burn 2.0 includes Turkish Get Up training. Thus, if I want to do Kettlebell Burn 2.0 with a 20kg KB, I need to be able to do TGU with a 20kg KB. I've been practicing TGU with the 12kg KB, then with the 16kg KB. This is the week that I finally attempted a 20kg TGU. I did two TGU per side with the 16kg to warm up, then successfully attempted 1 TGU per side with the 20kg. Now I have the confidence to practice the TGU with the 20kg on my recovery days next week.

I tested my 20kg kettlebell strict press rep max to assess readiness for the Kettlebell Burn 2.0 program. Kettlebell Burn 2.0 recommends a weight that can be strict pressed for 4-6 reps. I was able to do 3 reps with the left arm. I then tried testing my right arm and was able to do 4 reps. I warmed up using the modified Delorme method described in Geoff Neupert's video. I did a set of 5 reps per arm with a 16kg KB, then a set of 7 reps per arm, then finally tested my rep max with the 20kg. I rested between sets for as long as I needed, to feel reasonably fresh for the next set. The test was a little disappointing. Perhaps changing the IsoMax position instead of sticking to the same position for 11 weeks affected progress.

To improve my 20kg press, I decided to do The Giant 1.2 next. The 16kg KB feels so light that I'm confident I can jump into The Giant 1.2 without working through The Giant 1.0 and 1.1 again. The last time I did The Giant 1.1 and 1.2 with a single 16kg KB, my 20kg strict press improved from 1 rep to 3 reps. High volume Clean+Press training with the 16kg has thus been proven to lead to better 20kg pressing.

Ideas for loosening hamstrings for L-Sit

The L-Sit is an exercise that is part of SCT4KB (Systematic Core Training For Kettlebells). I plan to take it on after completing all the SCT4KB floor work. The L-Sit requires the hamstrings to be loose enough to allow for both legs to be locked straight, at 90 degrees to the torso.

Eugene Teo advises increasing the strength of the hip flexors and quads by practicing a gymnastic exercise known as the pike pulse. The underlying principle is contraction of the antagonist muscles - in this case, the hip flexors and quads - will cause the agonist muscle - the hamstring - to loosen.

I tried Teo's approach before but dropped it as I started to prioritize SCT4KB work more. I started with my torso about 45 degrees from the floor and improved to about 60 degrees by the time I gave up on it. I am on track to achieve the full hollow body hold - legs straight and arms straight - sometime this year. After that I plan to work through the 2 other exercises in SCT4KB floor work - bent knee leg raises and straight leg leg raises. The floor work combined with isometric Zercher Lunge training might deliver enough strength gains in the hip flexors and quads so that contracting them will give me the needed hamstring flexibility, or at least get me further in the progression in Teo's approach

GMB has a different solution for the problem of weak hip flexors or quads holding you back from a full L-Sit. In this video, they show a superset of seated leg raise and shoulder bridge. The shoulder bridge is there to prevent cramping of the quads/hip flexors. Their version of pike pulse/seated leg raise puts the torso at 90 degrees to the floor. In Eugene's approach it is ok to start with your torso lesser than 90 degrees and in fact he advises it if 90 degrees is just too hard. At any rate I like the idea of adding in a 30-second shoulder bridge hold for relief for the hip flexors and quads. The other idea that GMB shows that I like is the active hang with knees squeezed together and raised for 30-45 seconds. This is more doable for me than full-range hanging leg raise because my pullup bar is a doorway pullup bar. This bar does not give me enough height to hang with legs fully straight - I have to bend my knees when I hang from it.

I suspect though that I may have to do some work on hamstring loosening, other than just strengthening its antagonist muscles. This video by Oscar Moves has some ideas. The first drill he shows is the Elephant Walk, which seems to be gaining popularity as a solution for hamstring tightness. Oscar describes it as a nerve gliding technique, for the purpose of reducing nerve tension. The 2nd drill is a PNF stretch, which at first glance looks familiar, but his version has some key points that I haven't seen taught elsewhere:

1. Extend the leg until you feel a light to moderate stretch. He does not say to make the leg as straight as possible
2. Contract the hamstring with the intention to pull the heel away from the head and down an arc towards the floor. Other methods have you try to push the leg straight, which contracts the quads instead.

The third drill is a deep squat flow. GMB has a video which shows a flow based on their Bear and Monkey movements for loosening hamstrings which takes just under 5 minutes. Oscar's third drill looks like a good option if you can't spare the 5 min.

Tendon Burn Count: Week 9

I retested my Zercher Lunge 1-rep max and got 95.7 lbs, which about a 10lb. improvement over the 85.4 lb. 1-rep max as tested 3 weeks ago.

I continue to put in the work for the other exercises and have observed modest progress, though nothing dramatic

I started Systematic Core Training For Kettlebells (SCT4KB) back in June. Lately I've been focusing on the hollow body progression. If you search the Internet you'll find a variety of tutorials with suggested progressions. SCT4KB's approach is working great for me. It starts with 10-sec. holds and gets you to 60-sec. holds in a sensible way. I completed all the milestones for Supine and Prone training in the Stability phase, which prepared me well for starting the hollow body progression with tucked knees and feet lifted off the floor. I quickly reached a 60-sec. hold, then moved to the next progression which is one leg straight, the other leg tucked. I then got to 60 sec. holds on both sides. I then attempted a hold with both legs straight but could not get the legs lower than about 45 degress to the floor. I then decided the next progression would be one leg straight and the other leg bent with the toe touching the ankle of the straight leg. I eventually got to 60 sec. hold on each side. This week I retested with both legs straight and this time the legs were closer to about 30 degrees. I was able to easily hold the position for 10 sec.

I haven't worked on SCT4KB side lying as much because Tendon Burn Count sessions are 3x a week and each session takes about an hour, even after cutting Zercher Lunge holds from 30 sec. per side to 6 sec. per side. I've preferred to focus on TGU and hollow body training on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Hopefully after I'm done with Tendon Burn Count I'll have more time to work on side lying again.

I'm on track to achieve a 60-sec. hollow body hold with both legs straight and both arms extended overhead before the end of the year. SCT4KB suggests completing all floor work before moving on to supported/hanging work. The floor work includes hollow body hold and supine leg raises. The supported/hanging work includes L-Sit and hanging leg raise. I'll probably hit all the milestones for the supine leg raises next. After that if I'm still not satisfied with my overhead reaching mobility, I might take on hollow body with weighted pullover instead of supported/hanging work.

Tendon Burn Count: Week 8

Switching my Zercher Lunge practice from trying to go for 30-second holds at a min. 70% 1-rep max, to 6-second holds shaved off some time from the overall workout. I'm still training at 70% 1RM but now I'm going for max force instead of max hold time.

Calf Raise performance continues to progress. I lowered the bar setting by one slot to try to get the calves working at a little longer length. I progressed from 134 lbs. at the start of Week 8, and finished working at 144 lbs. at the end of Week 8. Having the hands in contact with the thighs seems to reduce the load on the grip. If I keep my grip just wide enough, I can feel my external shoulder rotators working, which should be a good thing for improving shoulder stability

In the Overhead Press, I progressed from 48lbs at the start of Week 7 to 50lbs by the end of Week 8. Pulling the shoulders back and down increases the force that the chest muscles can generate. In order to pull the shoulders back and down, the lats have to work. Therefore, working the lats hard helps generate more force for pressing overhead.

My Bicep Curl performance has been at 46 lbs. for 3 weeks. I've been able to sustain 46 lbs. of force at the position for 34-37 seconds. I've not been able to break the 37-sec. barrier yet. However as the exercise of choice for addressing my golfer's elbow under the tendon stress relaxation protocol, the curl seems to be working fine. The pain that I feel when I lift my mattress to change bedsheets is less than half of what it used to be at the start of Tendon Burn Count

My Standing Shoulder Extension perforamce continues to improve, from 34lbs. at the start of Week 7 to 37 lbs. by the end of Week 8

Piano Chords in Natural Minor Keys

One of my latest activities on the piano is practicing chords that are diatonic to the natural minor scale, in all 12 keys. I need work on all the keys but these are the ones I'm weakest at as of today:

• C# minor
• Eb minor
• Gb minor
• G# minor
• Bb minor
• B minor

I thought at first I would think of the natural minor diatonic chords in the manner described in this article. For example in the key of C# minor, the i chord would be C# min, the ii chord would be D# min7b5, the III chord would be E Maj, etc. Then I learned there is another way to think of the natural minor diatonic chords, and that would be to treat the first chord as the chord vi of the relative major scale. So, C# min would be the vi chord, D# min7b5 would be the vii chord, E Maj would be the I chord, etc. Thus, if I practice the diatonic chords for E Major, it would be the same as practicing the chords as C# min. Therefore, to work on the diatonic chords for the above natural minor keys, I should practice the diatonic chords of the followng corresponding relative major keys.

• E Major
• Gb Major
• A Major
• B Major
• Db Major
• D Major

Miles Davis chromatic lick from his solo on Oreo

Matt Otto's lesson on Miles Davis chromatic concept

Jazz Piano Lessons

Some interesting lesson videos

 

This instagram post is not really a lesson per se but a collection of short demos of jazz-funk piano licks that are being sold by this artist

Tendon Burn Count: Start of Week 6

I decided to change my Zercher Lunge training from focusing on tendon stress relaxation to focusing more on muscular strength.

One reason is my Tendon Burn Count sessions have been taking about an hour.

The main reason is it has taken me 4 weeks to build up to a consistent hold time of at least 30 seconds in the desired Zercher Lunge position, which is as low as I could comfortably get within my flexibility limits. Tendon stress relaxation requires a 30-second hold with at least 70% of maximum voluntary effort or 1-rep max force. My Zercher Lunge 1-rep max was 70lbs, so the minimum required force was 49lbs, which is 70% of 70lbs. I wasn't able to sustain 49lbs of force at the desired position for the full 30s at the start of Tendon Burn Count. So, I decided to drop the target load to from 49lbs to 20lbs and focus on working up to a 30s hold at the targeted position. After achieving a 30s hold, then I would increase the target load until I got to 49lbs. It took me 2 weeks to achieve the 30s hold at a target load of 20lbs. It took another 2 weeks to work up to a target load of 26lbs while still holding for 30s. I don't know how many more weeks it will take to work up to 30s at 49lbs to finally stimulate tendon stress relaxation and thus reap whatever tendon strength gains could be had from Zercher Lunge. By the time I reach that point, I'll be past the half way point of the 12 weeks I've allocated for Tendon Burn Count. Thus, I decided to do the Zercher Lunge for muscular strength instead of tendon strength.
I retested my Zercher Lunge 1-rep max, in case the training I'd done to date had resulted in any strength gain. As it turned out my 1-rep max increasedf from 70 lbs to 85.4 lbs!

I made another change, which was to lower the Overhead Press target load from 49 lbs. to 47 lbs. This was to correct a basic misreading of my 1-rep max data. The 49 lbs. was the calculated 70% 1RM for Zercher Lunge. The 70% 1RM target load for Overhead Press is actually 47lbs.

Tendon Burn Count: Week 4

I'd injured the shoulder years ago when I decided to attempt a Kettlebell Arm Bar with a 24kg kettlebell. A Kettlebell Arm Bar with a 16kg kettlebell was barely safe for me. I forgot why I decided to try a 24kg Arm Bar. What I do remember is losing control of the 24kg KB, so that it fell, missed my head, and injured my shoulder. The shoulder eventually healed, but has been unstable at times. For example last year, the shoulder lost some stability after some KB Clean+Press training, and thus started to hurt. But then afterwards I did The Giant 1.1 and 1.2 and the shoulder held up fine.

Another tendon concern I had was with the elbows. In the case of my golfer's elbow, I found an IsoMax strap setting for Bicep Curl which makes me feel like the golfer's elbow tendons are being worked. They hurt a bit, although I can reduce the pain or even make it go away altogether by engaging the upper back muscles, as described in this Red Delta Project video.

I've been hoping IsoMax training under Tendon Burn Count would improve shoulder stability, more than 6x6. From what I understand, the shoulder tendons include the 4 rotator cuff tendons and the bicep tendon, which connects the bicep to the shoulder. Until this week, I was using an IsoMax strap setting that put the bar at about the 1/4 position of the Overhead Press. I figured this position would hit the shoulders more than the lowest possible position. Training at this position seemed fine, but I didn't feel any of these 5 tendons being challeneged.

So, I decided to change the IsoMax strap setting for Overhead Press. The new setting put the bar at just under the 1/2 position, which thus has the elbows at close to 90 degrees. To ensure that I would be training at 70% of my 1-rep max, I had to test my 1-rep max at this new position. This 1-rep max turned out to be about 67 lbs. I feel at least one of the 5 shoulder tendons working more than at the 1/4 position. The new position feels fine, though I have to work my lats a little harder to keep the shoulders in their sockets. My grip is wider at this position compared to 1/4, which roughtl mimics the double kettlebell press. At the bottom of the double KB press, the hands are less than shoulder width apart. As I press the KBs up, the hands are pulled apart by a combination of the KBs' centers of gravity and how the body seems to be designed to move.

Cornelius Bumpus sax solo from Real Love

A solo I'm learning on violin. I love it and it's not too challenging either. Youtube's new Clips feature is a great help for extracting solos and licks like this - just take a clip of what you want, then use the speed control to slow it down as needed.

Tendon Burn Count: Week 1

For the Monday session, I did 3 reps per exercise, with a minimum 20-second rest between reps. This was ok for the Zercher Lunge because I was able to hold for only 17 sec, so about 20 sec. rest between reps was fine. This was also fine for the next exercise, which was Calf Raise. Overhead Press took more out of me. I had the load set to 70% of 1-rep max, as with the other exercises, but Overhead Press 30-sec. hold at 70% RM just felt harder. I needed quite a bit more than 20 sec. to rest between reps. Bicep Curl and Standing Shoulder Extension were similarly demanding. By the time I got to Standing Shoulder Extension, I'd accumulated quite a bit of fatigue anyway.

The study that inspired this program mentioned that the athlete consumed baking gelatin and orange juice, one hour before each training session. Baking gelatin is a cooked form of collagen. The body will synthesize more collagen for tendon strengthening if collagen and vitamin C had been ingested 30-60 min. before training. Ingesting these supplements after training is apparently also fine, but tendon development may not be as quick I guess. I went ahead and ordered hydrolyzed collagen powder, which arrived Tuesday. Before the Wednesday and Friday sessions, I ingested a bit of water mixed with the collagen powder, and at least one glass of orange juice.

For the Wednesday and Friday session, I did the exercises in a circuit, for 3 rounds, resting as needed. This was bit more time-efficient than doing 3 sets per exercise.

How to Practice Melodic Development (Donna Lee)

Here' a lesson on how to take a melodic phrase and extract useful musical vocabulary that can be applied to various musical contexts, instead of just in the original song and key.

Here Robbie Barnby does not focus on the entire Donna Lee head, probably because it's such a long head. Instead, he focuses on a 3-measure fragment of the head which happens to be played over a major 2-5-1 chord progression.

One of the comments on the video stated it's the Honeysuckle Rose lick. It's really more than just that lick though. The Honeysuckle Rose lick is played on the 2 chord of the 2-5-1 progression. The rest of the fragment goes with the 5 and 1 chords and are not part of the lick at all.

Current flexibility and core training

I started training under the program Systematic Core Training For Kettlebells (SCT4KB) by Geoff Neupert. I've previously worked on Hollow Body Hold and L-Sit, both of which are included in SCT4KB, but eventually gave up on both. I tried following tutorials by GMB and others but I needed details like how many seconds to hold a position and for how many repetitions for the first workout; and how to increase the hold time over time. These details were missing in those tutorials. SCT4KB has charts that clearly lay out the hold times and reps for each exercise, on a per session basis - like 10-sec. hold for certain reps for the first session, 15-sec. hold for certain reps for the next session, and so on until the 9th session when you're doing a 50s hold for only a couple of reps. This is a huge improvement over those L-Sit and hollow body tutorials that I gave up on.

So in the time between giving up on L-Sit and Hollow Body, and discovering SCT4KB, I wrote off ab/core training altogether, deeming it unnecessary for my fitness. I felt like my abs were getting enough work from doing pushups and pullups. My mind started to change when I got Geoff's other program Sore Joint Solution, which introduced me to Geoff's P3 Protocol, which taught me about diaphragmatic breathing and the hidden core. SCT4KB was released later and was described to be a program that, like SJS, also incorporates P3 Protocol. The main difference is SCT4KB is built on the SSP (Stability -> Strength -> Power) model, with Stability built on P3 Protocol. SC4TKB was released shortly after my latest low back injury and recovery, so SCT4KB training as insurance against further low back injury was a good enough selling point.

SCT4KB is designed to be bolted on to whatever other fitness training is being done. SCT4KB exercises fall under Stability, Strength, and Power categories. Trainees generally start with Stability exercises, then gradually add in Strength exercises, eventually phasing in more Strength as the trainee progresses out of Stability work.
SCT4KB is based on Neupert's P3 Protocol. So is his mobility program Sore Joint Solution. Because of my previous training with Sore Joint Solution, I was able to progress out of most of the Stability exercises in SCT4KB, except for the Side Lying ones. So at present I alternate my SCT4KB sessions between Side Lying and the Hollow Body Hold out of the Strength category.

In the hollow body hold progression, I'm currently working with one leg straight and the other leg bent. Last week I achieved a 60-second hold on each side with the foot of the bent leg close to the butt. Earlier this week I attempted a hollow body hold with both legs straight. I was able to do it but had to hold the legs at a higher angle. So now I'm working with one leg straight and the other leg still bent but with the toes of the bent leg near the ankle of the straight leg. Among the exercises recommended after achieving the full hollow body hold are L-Sit and Hanging Leg Raise.

There might be an assumption, though I'm not sure, in SCT4KB that by the time the trainee progresses to training L-Sit or HLR, hamstring tightness will not be an issue. If hamstring tightness is indeed an issue, I might take on an exercises that is not included in SCT4KB - the Seated Leg Raise a.k.a. Pike Pulse. I tried it as taught by Eugene Teo. What originally caught my attention was Teo's promotion of this exercise as a way to improve hamstring flexibility while also strengthening hip flexors, which are the antagonists for the hamstrings. The Gymnastics Method channel teaches a slightly different version of the Seated Leg Raise. I might incorporate some ideas from this other version. I may also look into Gabo Saturno's hamstring routine.

On my workday breaks I do the following exercises for improving flexibility:

• For hip mobility - eg. better straddle, ankle mobility and some hamstring flexibility, I'm doing door frame supported cossack squat


• For shoulder extension mobility and some posterior chain stretching, I'm doing forward bend with shoulder extension. I'm using a Stick Mobility stick, which is admittedly on the luxurious side but they feel so nice to grip and work with. My longer Stick Mobility sticks allow really wide grips, so with a very wide grip I don't really need to attach a weight to help with the shoulder extension.
• Windmill stick for T-spine mobility. Improved T-spine mobility can lead to improved overhead reaching mobility.
• Passive hang to improve shoulder flexion for handstand or holding double kettlebells overhead with elbow completely locked. I can do at least 40 seconds.
• Finger Extension with rubber bands if the elbows feel sore from hanging
• Shoulder rotations from Chen Zheng Lei warmup

I may look into some exercises from an E3 Rehab video on improving shoulder range of motion. I need to improve my shoulder flexion for double kettlebell press. I've founnd in the past that KB pullover improved shoulder flexion. This video has a a similar pullover exercise. It also shows a one-arm pullover and other exercises.s

Stress Relaxation Training for Tendon Strength and Pain Reduction

Burn Count is a training program from the book Ultimate Isometrics Manual, by Paul Wade, for use with the IsoMax/Isochain. The stated goal of Burn Count is to build strength and muscle. Most IsoMax/Isochain users tend to think of Burn Count as a muscle building (hypertrophy) program.

This article summarizes the content of a video by The Movement System about tendon stress relaxation and how to train to achieve it for pain relief and for tendon strength gains.

The Movement System later published a followup video on the science of tendon strength training, specifically stress relaxation. This later video repeats a fair amount of content from the earlier video. Some differences in content compared to the earlier video:

• Isometric hold per set should be 30-45 seconds, compared to just 30 seconds
• It takes up 3 months to expect significant changes in tendon strength, compared to the earlier statement that changes can manifest in as little as 2 months.
• If the targeted tendon is pain free, only 1 exercise is needed to strengthen the tendon. 2-4 exercises targeting the same area are recommended for reduction of tendon pain.

Some guidelines that are still the same:

• Aim for 7/10 intensity, which should be about 70% of 1-rep max.
• 3-6 sets of each exercise is the recommended volume for one session
• Sessions should be every other day or 3-4 times per week. Do not do this every day.

Based on the info on the above tendon strength videos, I came up with this isometric tendon stress relaxation training program/protocol which I decided to call Tendon Burn Count. The name is inspired by the Burn Count program from the book Ultimate Isometrics Manual, by Paul Wade, even though it doesn't have much in common wit Burn Count other than a similar hold time:

• Test for 1-rep max for each of the selected exercises, under the 1-rep max testing protocol in the Paul Wade book.
• Set the starting target load to 70% of 1RM (1-rep max).
• Apply force to get the IsoMax beeping and hold for at least 30 seconds.
• When the hold can be done for 45 seconds, increase target load.
• Perform the exercises in a circuit, resting as needed
• Program length is 12 weeks (3 months)

The research article that inspired the above videos is here. I may try drinking orange juice with gelatin before training, just as described in the research article. The article states that the subject did not gain muscle mass but did gain muscular strength in addition to tendon strength. I would be ok with not gaining muscle mass under this program if the results are increased strength and better feeling elbows. The research subject actually started training with 10s holds and did not train with 30s holds until the 6th month of his program - I think that might have affected his muscle size gains, or lack thereof.

Thus, I did my first workout under Tendon Burn Count. I've done 30-sec. holds under Burn Count, but not at 70% 1-rep max. 30s holds at 70% RM is noticeably more difficult than in my previous experience. I did my selected exercises in a circuit, taking just enough rest to catch my breath between holds and resting at least 20s between rounds. I chose 5 exercises so I figured I'd be resting 30s x 4 = about 2 min. before I circle back for another rep of the same exercise. I have golfers elbow so my forearms ached when I did 30s bicep curl, but not more than a 3 out of 10 on the pain scale - Matt Schiifferle's back spiral technique helps here too. I'll increase load if I'm able to hold 45 seconds.

Zercher Lunge with the bar at a low setting has always been difficult for me. I can't hold at that position for 30s no matter how low I set the target load. I decided to go with a 20lb target load. The 20lb setting is low enough to get the bar to start beeping with minimal effort, but not so low that the bar will start beeping too easily. My best hold time for this first workout was 12s. Achieving a 20s hold would be good for me.

For the Calf Raise I went with a supinated straight-arm grip, to try to avoid too much pronation, per Geoff Neupert's video on pronation/supination balance. 70% 1RM was a challenge, but not as much as balance.

Overhead Press at 70% 1RM was also challenging but I was still able to do 30s.

Bicep Curl was a little painful for my elbows, but well short of the amx 4 out of 10 on the pain scale.

Standing Shoulder Extension felt ok for my low back win the tuck front lever like position. I felt my low back and quads working but not in way that felt dangerous for the low back. This exercise targets the lats and the teres major, which both contribute to shoulder stability. I'll try a wider grip next time to see if the teres major can be targeted a little more.

The main indicator for me as to how well Tendon Burn Count works is how my elbows feel after 3 months. Another indicator is change in my 20kg kettlebell strict press rep max. The rep max at the start of this program is 3. I'd like to do the Kettlebell Burn program sometime this year - the minimum rep max for that is 4. So improving rep max to 4 would be fine for me.

Tendon Burn Count: 1-Rep Max Test Results

I tested my 1-rep max for each of the following exercises, using the protocol in the book Ultimate Isometrics Manual. The results in pounds:

• Zercher Lunge - 70.13
• Calf Raise - 142.06
• Overhead Press - 76.8
• Bicep Curl - 46.07
• Standing Shoulder Extension - 24.4

These are the exercises I have selected for a new IsoMax program that I am calling Tendon Burn Count. The name is inspired by the Burn Count program in Ultimate Isometrics Manua. Burn Count features 20-45 second isometric holds, which is similiar to the hold time in Tendon Burn Count, but otherwise has several differences. More details soon.

• Zercher Lunge - One of the exercises recommended in Matt Schifferle leg strength article. When I train with kettlebells, most of my squatting is bilateral, so when I train with IsoMax, I tend to go with Zercher Lunge for addressing asymmetries on top of stimulating leg strength gains.
• Calf Raise - My Achilles tendon feels fine but I'm hoping this exercise will help relieve various aches and pains I've had in my feet which seem to have started after stubbing my toes too many times on Judo/Aikido/BJJ mats
• Overhead Press - Not sure exactly what tendons will be targeted by this exercise. I just wanted to do at least one pressing exercise in Tendon Burn Count. Any tendons strengthened by this program should contribute to dynamic pressing performance. There may be some muscular strength and muscle size gains as well.
• Bicep Curl - The regular bicep curl can cause my golfer's elbow to flare up. For this exercise I tried to set the bar so that the injured elbow tendons would be stimulated to heal and get stronger - while not being too irritated - and the biceps would be at a decent length for possible strength and size gains.
• Standing Shoulder Extension - Found this exercise in another Matt Schifferle article, which is about how he fixed his shoulder issues. Matt found this exercise, which he also calls "standing lat pull", improved lat activation for pressing, as well as overall shoulder stability. In today's 1-rep max test, I struggled to find body positioning for this exercise that felt relatively safe for my low back. Then I saw the article comment section in which Matt confirmed this exercise and the front lever should feel the same as shoulder extension exercises. Next time I try this exercise, I will try setting up my body almost as if I were doing a tuck front lever - feet at hip width or even closer together, knees bent, belly in contact with thighs, torso parallel to floor, tense the triceps to ensure straight arms. I might have to add one more cue which is to try to bend the bar, which should add external rotation to the shoulders.

I decided to switch from 6x6 to Tendon Burn Count after watching this video. This latest 6x6 training block produced decent gains in drag curl and Jefferson lift. Overhead pressing performance was not improving however, and starting to regress a bit. Whether it was because I wasn't using the lats enough to activate the chest, or because I stopped eating the 20g protein bars for breakfast doesn't really matter at this point. I was intrigued by the idea of improving shoulder stability by strengthening the tendons instead of just training for muscle size/strength.