Next training block: Double 16kg Kettlebell foundation work

After completing my latest Easy Muscle training block, I attempted a single 24kg kettlebell press and failed. Then, I tested my double 16k KB Clean + Press repetition max. I did 7 reps. My upper body still felt good for more reps but my lower body was fatigued enough that there was risk of hurting myself if I attempt an 8th rep. I did the test to assess whether Schedule A with double 16kg KBs would be an option. I also needed to assess whether my overhead reaching mobility, while still not ideal, had improved enough for double KB pressing without shoulder pain. I believe the shoulder pain that I suffered the last time I attempted Easy Muscle Schedule A with double 16s was caused by not being able to lock out both arms overhead.

I was so keen on working with the Baraban expander again that I forgot about the double 16kg KB C+P test, until I started thinking again about the next Easy Muscle training block, and what my choice of schedule should be: Should I do Schedule A with double 16kg KBs, or Schedule B again, push pressing a single 24kg KB? I decided to go with Schedule A with double 16kg KBs, even though it looks like a step backwards for my upper body development. That rep max test showed me that my lower body is lagging in strength/conditioning compared to the upper body. If I want to progress to double 24kg KB C+P, I need to get better at double 16kg KB C+P. If I can't clean double 16kg KBs for 10 reps, I'll struggle even more with double 24kg KBs, assuming I don't hurt my back in the process.

Before I start Schedule A, I want to increase my double 16kg KB C+P rep max from 7 to 10. If I don't do this, I might end up having to take breaks in the middle of sets like I did in the previous Easy Muscle block, because of my lower body tiring too early. The more breaks I have to take, the less volume I'll be able to put into the training session.

The way I plan to improve my C+P rep max is by working with the Foundation program from Geoff Neupert's Kettlebell Strong! X. It's focused on building proficiency in the double KB clean, double KB press, and double KB squat. I don't think I'll need to work through all 6 weeks of Foundation - I only need to progress to a double 16g KB C+P rep max of 10. On every other Friday, I'll retest my double 16g KB C+P rep max. If I fall short of 10, I'll proceed with the Foundation workout of the day. If I do hit 10, I'll spend the rest of the session working on overhead mobility and start Easy Muscle Schedule A the following week.

I had to take a break from training for almost 2 weeks because I came down with COVID-19. Half that time was spent lying in bed because of fever, headache, and fatigue. This inactivity left my low back more vulnerable to strain, which I realized when I lifted a pitcher to pour myself a glass of water. This past Wednesday I tried to do a Foundation workout, but my low back felt a little too sensitive when I tried to set up for a double clean, even with pulling my chest up and hinging at the hips to avoid lower back flexion. So what I did instead was do 3 sets of 1-minute 16kg KB suitcase carries.

On the next day I did a P3 mobility session to try to reduce whatever tightness was causing the low back to be suspect, and restore reflexive core stability to help protect the back.

My back felt good enough for a Foundation session on Friday. Since it was my first double KB workout in a year, I took a generous amount of rest between sets. The only mishap was during the double KB front squat. I held the KBs too close together, which resulted in my elbows flaring out a bit and causing my right shoulder to go a little too far forward. I corrected by holding the KBs a little further apart, which resulted in the shoulders being pulled back and down more and the elbows fitting more easily between the thighs at the bottom of the squat. The shoulder felt sore immediately after the workout, but felt better after it snapped back into place.

Looking ahead, after completing Easy Muscle Schedule A with double 16kg Kbs, I'll do an IsoMax 6x6 training block to improve my force output (strength). After that, I should hopefully be ready to train with double 20kg KBs. Given my injury history with the back, it just seems safer to spend at least 8 weeks training with double 20kg KBs before attempting to progess to double 24kgs.

Today's Music Discoveries

Chest Expander Workout 8/21

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - 4 springs - 7 reps, with at least 3 going all the way to a nice T-pose stretch.

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 back off set - 3 springs

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 3 springs - 16 reps first set, 10+ second set. Will try 4 springs next time.

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set - 2 springs

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 mechanical drop set - 2 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set - 1 spring

Back Press - 1 set - 5 springs - 7 reps

Back Press - 1 back off set - 4 springs

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 set - 4 springs - 7 reps

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 back off set - 3 springs

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 finisher set - 2 springs

Reverse Curl - 1 set - 3 springs - 8 reps

Reverse Curl - 1 back off set - 2 springs

Bicep Curl - 1 trial set - 1 spring

Bicep Curl - 1 trial set - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 1 finisher set - 1 spring

Starting to feel stronger in the Overhand Vertical Pullapart. Seems like focusing my power on the pinky side of my hands leads to the best performances.

Tried bicep curl with just one spring, just to see if I can do curls again, albeit with drag curl technique, which is how I've was doing bicep curls on the Baraban expander before my elbows started to hurt. As previously noted, the elbow pain did not appear after the last time I d did bicep curls on the expander, but after my latest Easy Muscle training block, in which I frequently held a 24kg kettlebell bottoms-up for goblet squats. Also as previously noted, elbow pain flared up a bit when I attempted bicep curls, even with one spring, at the start of this current chest expander training block. This time the elbows felt mostly fine during the 1-spring trial set. During the 2-spring trial set I had be stricter about my drag curl form

Chest Expander Workout 8/14

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - 4 springs - I might have managed 3 full reps. Only way to confirm is to try it again next time.

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 back off set - 3 springs

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - 3 springs

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - mechanical drop set - 3 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set - 2 springs

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 mechanical drop set - 2 springs

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 mechanical drop set - 2 springs

Back Press - 1 set - 5 springs - 7 reps

Back Press - 1 back off set - 4 springs

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 set - 4 springs - 5 reps

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 back off set - 3 springs

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 finisher set - 2 springs

Reverse Curl - 1 set - 3 springs - 8 reps

Reverse Curl - 1 back off set - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 2 finisher sets - 1 spring

I decided to treat this day as my "heavy" day, really pushing to failure on the 5-spring Back Press and the 4-spring Sideway Extension.

I posted a while back that I'd given up on doing the regular Bicep Curl on the chest expander, due to elbow pain. Then found this video on straight-arm exercises for bicep strength and muscle gains:

Out of the exercises presented, I decided to try Supinated Grip Front Raise, which is the 2nd exercise presented in the video, with the elastic band that was shipped with the IsoMax. This band offers light resistance for most exercises, but for the front raise the resistance is too heavy.

I did 3 sets of isometric Supinated Grip Front Raise with my IsoMax. My lower body was working just as hard as my shoulders and biceps, if not harder, just to maintain my balance. Next time I'll try isometric Bicep Curl and see if my elbows hold up.

Chest Expander Workout 8/12

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - 4 springs - Managed 2 nearly full range reps.

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 back off set - 3 springs

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - 3 springs

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - mechanical drop set - 3 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set - 2 springs

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 mechanical drop set - 2 springs

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 mechanical drop set - 2 springs

Back Press - 1 set - 5 springs - 3 reps

Back Press - 1 back off set - 4 springs

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 set - 4 springs - 3 or 4 reps

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 back off set - 3 springs

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 finisher set - 2 springs

Reverse Curl - 1 set - 3 springs - 6 reps

Reverse Curl - 1 back off set - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 2 finisher sets - 1 spring

After a weekend of rest, I was still feeling DOMS in the upper back and shoulders from last week's chest expander workouts. I realized I had not been varying my effort very much. Except for the very first workout in this training block, I've been training with high effort every workout - going to failure on every set and not taking much rest between sets. So for today's workout I did not push myself to failure on all sets. I stopped short of failure on the higher effort sets such as the 5-spring Back Press.

I posted a while back that I'd given up on doing the regular Bicep Curl on the chest expander, due to elbow pain. Then found this video on straight-arm exercises for bicep strength and muscle gains:

Out of the exercises presented, I decided to try Supinated Grip Front Raise, which is the 2nd exercise presented in the video, with the elastic band that was shipped with the IsoMax. This band offers light resistance for most exercises, but for the front raise the resistance is too heavy.

I then decided to try using my IsoMax to do an overcoming isometric version of the Supinated Grip Front Raise. Any isometric version of the front raise should be less risky to suspect elbows than any dynamic version, due to the elimination of joint abrasion.

I set up the IsoMax with the strap attached to the bottom newel of the stairs, and the bar held behind my body to put the shoulders, biceps, and forearms all at a stretched position. For this first session, I set the IsoMax in Load mode with load set to 10 lbs. for the first rep and tried to exert force to failure within 30 seconds. I then looked at the average force, with was close to 17 lbs. then reset the load to 17 lbs. and tried to sustain a minimum 17lbs. of force for up to 45 seconds, for each of the remaining reps. It was only on the last rep that I remembered to focus on activating the biceps so that my shoulders are not doing too much of the work. I am not expecting dramatic gains in bicep size doing this isometric front raise, but it's better than relying only on the Reverse Curl to try to stimulate bicep gains.

Chest Expander Workout 8/9

I did not skip the 8/7 workout. There just wasn't anything in particular to report. Today's workout:

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - 4 springs - About 4 attempts. Failed on the 1st, 3rd, and 4th attempt. Succeeded on the 2nd.

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 back off set - 3 springs

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - 3 springs

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - mechanical drop set - 3 springs - Extra practice of this movement should help.

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set, followed by mechanical drop set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 backoff set w/ 1 spring

Back Press - 1 set - 5 springs - Managed 6 reps

Back Press - 1 back off set - 4 springs

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 sets - 4 springs - Yes! Moved up to 4 springs and managed 5 reps.

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 back off set - 3 springs

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 finisher set - 2 springs

Reverse Curl - 1 set - 3 springs - Managed 8 reps per arm

Reverse Curl - 1 back off set - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 2 finisher sets - 1 spring

I managed to do one full rep of Overhand Vertical Pullapart with 4 springs. After that one full rep, I guess I no longer had the energy to do another full rep. My technique in this movement still needs work, so I decided to do an extra set as a mechanical drop set after a set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart.

Next session, if I'm still struggling with the transition to a 4-spring Overhand Vertical Pullapart, I will try doing the mechanical drop set of Overhand Vertical Pullapart after my first set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart. To try to avoid overtraining, I will cut the back off set of Horizontal Pullapart. These changes will only be in place until I can do more than one clean rep of Overhand Vertical Pullapart with 4 springs.

I'm getting a better feel for the groove of the Sideway Extension. It's harder with 5 springs of course but the movement doesn't feel as awkward as the first time I tried it. That very first attempt was a failure because I didn't have the mobility to stretch the springs behind my head like that. That was with 2 springs. Now I'm up 5 which is decent progress.

The shoulders are fatiguing faster than the triceps in the 5-spring Back Press. Perhaps the tricep strength gains will carry over to Back Press performance, thus allow the shoulders to work hard for more reps, leading to shoulder gains

Chest Expander Workout 8/5

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 3 springs

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 3 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set, followed by mechanical drop set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 backoff set w/ 1 spring

Back Press - 1 set - 5 springs - Was worried I might fail do do a rep, but I ended up doing 5

Back Press - 1 back off set - 4 springs - .

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 2 sets - 3 springs - Did 14 reps first set.

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 set - 2 springs

Reverse Curl - 1 set - 3 springs - Managed 7 reps per arm

Reverse Curl - 1 back off set - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 1 set - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 1 back off set - 1 springs

I went back to doing the overhand version of the Vertical Pullapart first. I tried doing the underhand version first with 4 springs and failed. I had been doing the underhand version first because it felt easier to do than the overhand version. The overhand version felt more awkward. I've realized the overhand version felt more awkward because I was trying to make the expander move in the same way it moves when I do the underhand version. In the underhand version, all the springs end up against my chest. I was trying to force all the springs to touch my chest in the overhand version, just like in the underhand version. However, there's no real reason to try to force this to happen. When I try to force it to happen, the shoulders internally rotate too much, which in turn leads to the uncomfortable feeling in the shoulders. I notice when Alex Leonidas does the overhand version, his palms end up facing the floor. This is probably the best ending position for the overhand version. Turning the palms away from me would just put some springs up in my face. Turning the palms towards me would be too much internal rotation.

If I focus on executing the Overhand Vertical Pullapart with a feeling of pressing out to the sides, and not just pulling the handles apart, anf finishing my palms down, I should be able to avoid shoulder discomfort and more effectively leverage my triceps. The triceps are the difference makers in the amount of force that can be applied to the vertical pullapart with the overhand grip, compared to the underhand grip, which does not allow the the triceps to be used as effectively. Thus, I should have a better chance of doing the Vertical Pullapart with 4 springs with the overhand grip rather than the underhand grip. For the next session I will not attempt the overhand vertical pullapart with 4 springs. By not expending effort on such an attempt, I should have more gas in the tank to do more reps of the overhand version, and thus get more practice. Hopefully that will stimulate enough strength and muscle gain to a successful 4-spring attempt on the following session.

Being able to do 15 reps in one set proved to be a more reliable indicator of readiness to move up a spring, than being able to do 2 sets of 12 reps. I did 15 reps for my first set of Back Press, with 4 springs, last Friday, and today I was able to do 5 reps with 5 springs. Today I did 14 reps of Sideway Extension with 3 springs. I will see if I can do at least 1 rep with 4 springs next session.

Each spring supposedly has 10kg of tension. So I am apparently able to Back Press 5 springs for 50kg of tension, which is 25kg per arm. So I was curious about whether that meant I can now press my 24kg kettlebell overhead. I quickly found the answer was no. I was not surprised as I have an understanding that stretching springs that have 50kg of resistance is not the same as lifting a 50kg weight. Springs deliver more resistance as you stretch them, with the most resistance being at the end range of the movement. A weight delivers the least resistance towards the end range because at that point it is moving at a high enough velocity that the muscles do not need to exert much force to keep it moving. The muscles have to more force at the beginning of the movement to change the weight's velocity from zero to some positive value. So if/when I move up to a 6-spring back press, I will once again attempt to press the 24kg KB. Anyway, I'm still pretty happy to move up from 4 springs to 5 springs

Chest Expander Workout 8/2

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 3 springs - Attempted a rep with 4 springs, but could not complete it. Did 12+ reps per set with 3 springs.

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 3 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set, followed by mechanical drop set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 backoff set w/ 1 spring

Back Press - 2 sets - 4 springs - Did 15 reps first set, 9 2nd set.

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 2 sets - 3 springs

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 set - 2 springs - Managed 3 reps with left arm

Reverse Curl - 1 set - 3 springs - Managed 7 reps per arm

Reverse Curl - 1 back off set - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 1 set - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 1 back off set - 1 springs

This workout is based on Alex Leonidas' old school workout. In this or his intro to chest expander video, Alex says you add a spring to a particular exercise for your next workout if you have achieved one of 2 milestones: 2 sets of at least 12 reps, or one set of 15 reps. The first requirement does not seem to work for me. I have never been able to complete one rep with an added spring, in the very next session, after achieving 2 sets of 12+ reps. I went up in springs for some exercises early in this chest expander training bloack, due to gains from previous training blocks - the most recent 8-week Easy Muscle block, the 6x6 IsoMax block before that, and so on. I think the other milestone - one set of 15 reps - might turn out to be the more accurate one. I am wondering if I do 2 sets of an exercise, and can do 15 reps in the first set, if it matters where or not I can do 12 reps in the 2nd set.

Chest Expander Workout 7/31

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 3 springs - Did 12+ reps with relative ease

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 3 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set, followed by mechanical drop set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 backoff set w/ 1 spring - This was too easy so I might just repeat the set + mechanical drop set next time.

Back Press - 2 sets - 4 springs - Stopped first set at 12 reps, thinking I'd bank reps for the 2nd set.

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 2 sets - 3 springs

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 set - 1 spring - Felt light, but managed less than 10 reps per arm.

Reverse Curl - 1 set - 3 springs

Reverse Curl - 1 back off set - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 1 set - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 1 back off set - 1 springs

I decided to drop the regular Bicep Curl from this routine for the remainder of this chest expander focused hypertrophy training block. I believe the best medicine for the affected areas of my elbows at this time is rest.

I did the Underhand Vertical Pullapart sets before doing the Overhand Vertical Pullapart sets. The UVP sets did not appear to have any kind of pre-exhaust effect on my OVP performance.
Alex Leonidas says in his chest expander videos that a high volume program is not necessary or even desirable with the chest expander, which implies that the more usual rules of exercise programming that apply to lifting weights or calisthenics may not apply to chest expander training. I stopped my first Back Press at 12 reps because 2 sets of 12 reps is one of Leonidas' suggestions for knowing when it's time to add a spring; and because I thought maybe Red Delta Project's rep backfill strategy would apply here. However I think maybe I should have continued that first set up to failure instead of stopping at 12. If we are generally doing only 2 sets per exercise on the chest expander, maybe we should go to failure on both sets to stimulate the most muscle gains we can get from that one workout.

Chest Expander Workout 7/29

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - 4 springs - Could not complete the rep, so went back down to 3 springs.

Overhand Vertical Pullapart (backdown set with one less spring) - 1 set - 2 springs - About 12 reps

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 3 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set, followed by mechanial drop set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 springs

Horizontal Pullapart (1 spring less, no following drop set) - 1 set

Back Press - 2 sets - 4 springs

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 set - 3 springs

Sideway (Tricep) Extension (backdown set with one less spring) - 1 set - 2 springs

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 set - 2 springs - Left tricep was so pumped and burned out, could not do one rep. Could do 2 with right triceps.
Reverse Curl - 2 sets - 3 springs - Managed to do 2 sets of 5 reps with very high effort.

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 2 sets - 2 springs - Was able to do 5 reps but could not get the handle to shoulder height.

Bicep Curl - 1 sets - 1 spring - I did about 30 reps per arm

After one set of Bicep Curl, my elbows were feeling sore already - the tendonitis kind of soreness. I think at this time I should just let my elbows rest - no overspeed eccentric curls, no Flexbar work, etc. - as much as possible.

For the next session, I'll do the 2 Underhand Vertical Pullapart sets first, then do 2 Overhand Vertical Pullapart sets. The reason is last week I was strong enough in the OVP to move past 3 springs, but today I was not strong enough to do OVP with 4 springs. By doing the UVP sets first, perhaps there will be some kind of pre-exhaust effect on my OVP performance. Pre-exhaustion was one of the strategies mentioned by Alex Leonidas in his videos, for getting more mileage out of the Baraban chest expander when one has progressed to working with all 7 springs. Perhaps it can also be employed as a strategy for progressing when one is too strong for the current spring count, but too week work with an added spring.
Another thing I will try is doing the 2nd OVP set with the same number of springs, instead of as a backdown set.

Yet another thing to change for next session is to go ahead and remove a spring if my triceps have nothing left for Overhead Tricep Extension.
I think I'm starting to understand the point of back off sets. When the load for the first set is so heavy that you can do only about 4-6 reps with higher than normal effort, dropping the load for the 2nd set allows for more reps, which means more practive of the movement and more potential stimulus for muscle adn strength gains. Thus for next session, the 2nd sets of Reverse Curl and Deltoid Raise will both be back off sets (1 spring removed).

Today's Chest Expander Workout

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - 3 springs - Easily did 12+ reps

Overhand Vertical Pullapart (backdown set with one less spring) - 1 set - 2 springs - Did almost 20 reps

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 3 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set, followed by mechanial drop set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 springs

Horizontal Pullapart (1 spring less, no following drop set) - 1 set - Damn, forgot again to do this one.

Back Press - 2 sets - 4 springs

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 set - 3 springs

Sideway (Tricep) Extension (backdown set with one less spring) - 1 set - 2 springs

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 set - 2 springs

Reverse Curl - 2 sets - 2 springs - Easily did 12+ reps both sets

Bicep Curl - 1 set - 2 springs

Bicep Curl (1 spring less) - 1 set - 1 spring

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 2 sets - 1 spring - Easily did 12+ reps both sets

I reversed the order of the Bicep Curl and Reverse Curl. Due to the current condition of my forearms/elbows it is unlikely I'll be able to practice the Bicep Curl for muscle and strength gains during this current training block. The best I can do is train the regular curl as an overspeed eccentric exercise - as fast as possible, and as many reps as possible, with a resistance level low enough to allow pain-free high reps. Upon further reflection, I'll move the Bicep Curl all the way to the end of the workout, working with only 1 spring, and aim for 50 reps per set before moving up to 2 springs.

Pushing to failure on both sets of Overhand Vertical Pullapart affected performance on the other pullapart exercises but not as much as I thought. I felt my delts got a good amount of work, but I still had enough energy to do both sets of Delt Raise easily.

I'm realizing that chest expander exercises need to be done as explosively as possible. This should emphasize the Type 2 muscle fibers. Louis Simmons and the Westside Barbell folks believed overspeed eccentrics would caused tendons to grow and become more resilient to injury, but there doesn't seem to be any recent research that backs this up. Recent research does back up the notion of slow eccentrics for recovery from tendonopathy. OTOH again, Simmons stated that Westside experimented with slow eccentrics vs. overspeed eccentrics and found overspeed eccentrics superior for their strength and hypertrophy goals. So, I'll just try the overspeed approach for at least a month and see how my aching forearms/elbows feel then.

Next Training Block: 6-8 Weeks of Chest Expander Training

Yesterday, I went a little overboard playing with shoulder dislocates with a light resistance band and with a stick. As a result, my left shoulder felt sore and unstable. Also, both my forearmms/elbows have persistent soreness from weeks of holding a 24kg kettlebell in bottoms up position for goblet squats and working with the 24kg KB in general. I think the 2 weeks of passive hangs 3-5 times a day, 5 days a week also affected my forearms/elbows. The conditions of the shoulder and the elbows made me reconsider doing 6x6 on the IsoMax for my next training block.

I decided instead to train on my Baraban chest expander for 6-8 weeks. I think my connective tissues will feel better with the eccentric loading offered by the expander. Also, because I was unable to press the 24kg KB, I don't think my delts got enough stimulus for size and strength gains in this latest Easy Muscle block. The chest expander routine is sure to work the delts much more thoroughly. So in short, what I hope to achieve with this chest expander training block is increased deltoid muscle mass and strength. The workout is also designed to stimulate strength and muscle mass gains for the triceps and upper back. I'm fine with the gains I got from Easy Muscle for the triceps and upper back but I'm not going to say no to more gains in those areas.

I thought I'd test my overhead press on the IsoMax. The high intensity reps on the IsoMax should relieve some of the soreness. I also decided to test reverse drag curl as well just for fun.

Overhead Press: 101, 118, 115.8
Reverse Drag Curl: 79, 110.2, 101.4

The overhead press numbers were down compared to the end of my last 6x6 training block when I was pressing in the high 120 to low 130 range. I think this is just exercise specificity at work. To get my overcoming isometric pressing force back into the high 120lb range, I have to practice generating overcoming isometric force. In any case, my shoulder felt better after the IsoMax tests. Now on to the chest expander workout itself:

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - 3 springs

Overhand Vertical Pullapart (backdown set with one less spring) - 1 set - 3 springs (oops, forgot to remove a spring)

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 3 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set, followed by mechanial drop set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 springs

Horizontal Pullapart (1 spring less, no following drop set) - 1 set - oops, skipped this.

Back Press - 2 sets - 4 springs.

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 set - 2 springs, which felt so easy that I'll try 3 next time.

Sideway (Tricep) Extension (backdown set with one less spring) - 1 set - oops, skipped this

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 set - 2 springs

Bicep Curl - 1 set - Tried 3 springs, but was too painful for forearm/elbow, so removed a spring and did about 20 reps

Bicep Curl (1 spring less) - 1 set - oops, skipped.

Reverse Curl - 2 sets - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 2 sets - Totally forgot to do this.

So, kind of a sloppy chest expander workout, albeit the first one in months. Despite the mental miscues, there was definitely carryover from the preceding training blocks: the 8-week Easy Muscle block, the 6 week 6x6 block before that, and so on. The Overhead Vertical Pullapart, Sideway Extension, and Reverse Curl in particular felt noticeably easier to execute compared to my last chest expander workout. The improved performance in those exercises seem to correlate with improved performance in pullups, dips, and 24kg kettlebell clean + push press via Easy Muscle training.

I suppose it would be natural to wonder why not just stick to Easy Muscle, instead of messing around with the chest expander. The main reason is that all 3 Easy Muscle schedules are 8 weeks long and I lack the expertise to tweak any of the schedules to, say, an 12 week, 16 week or whatever schedule longer than 8 weeks; in such a way that the schedule produces desirable results in muscle mass and strength. If I create a 16-week schedule derived from Easy Muscle but it doesn't produce results at Week 16 that are measurably superior to results at Week 8, it would be a waste of time and effort. Simply repeating the last 2 week of Schedule B is not going to work because of the Law of Adaptation as documented by Vladimir Zatiorsky. The body will eventually adapt to the training stimulii - and thus no longer progress in strength, muscle mass, or whatever fitness goal is desired - unless sufficient changes are made after a certain amount of time.

Updated Chest Expander Routine and The Rollon

I watched Alex Leonidas' chest expander workout video yet again, to try to catch details I've missed before. Some things I'd missed include the backdown set of Sideway Extension and the 2nd Bicep Curl set being a backdown set (1 less spring).

Leonidas kind of explains what a back off/backdown set it in his videos but leaves out the info on when to do a back off set in your routine. So, my guess is this: If your perceived effort is high during your first set, your next set should be a back off set. I like GMB's Ease and Quality scales for evaluating exercise performance. So using these scales, if your Ease is Challenging/Maximum Effort or your Quality is Broken/Rough on your first set, your next set should be a back off set. Doing a back off set allows you do to more reps compared to your first set, and thus gives you more opportunities to practice the movement and possibly stimulate more muscle gains than if you had done your 2nd set at the same load. Conversely, if your Ease is Solid/Relaxed and your Quality is Smooth/Snappy for your first set, a 2nd set at the same load might be preferred over a back off set. I may have to watch Leonidas' videos again but I think he says in at least one of them that going for high reps does not buy you much on a chest expander - so I do say 10 reps with Solid Ease and Snappy Quality in the first set, then I might be better off doing a 2nd set at the same load - in which I might hit 8-10 reps, than dropping one spring and going for say 23 reps in the 2nd set.

Here is what I think is the corrected routine:

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - May optionally be back off set with one less spring

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 2nd set optionally a back off set with one less spring

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set, followed by mechancial drop set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart

Horizontal Pullapart (back off set) - 1 set - All these pullapart exercises should stimulate strength and muscle gains in the upper back to improve shoulder stability, as well as pre-exhaust the delts and triceps.

Back Press - 2 sets, with 2nd being optionally back off set - improves behind the neck pressing mobility, as well as working the shoulders and triceps. Whether the mobility gain translates to improved mobility for double KB press, double KB jerk, etc. remains to be seen.

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 set

Sideway (Tricep) Extension (optionally done as back off set) - 1 set

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 set. Should be enough to finish off the triceps, which are probably feeling pumped by this point.

Bicep Curl - 1 set

Bicep Curl (optional back of set) - 1 set

Reverse Curl - 2 sets, with 2nd being optionally a back off set - All these curl variations are for stimulating strength and muscle gains for the biceps and forearms. There is no direct benefit for pressing but these exercises should help improve elbow health and performance in the kettlebell clean, as the biceps help control the descent of the KB out of the rack position into the bottom position.

Lateral Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 2 sets - Finish off delts which have been pre-exhausted by the earlier exercises, to stimulate muscle growth.

Alex Leonidas has another chest expander video in which he introduces the chest expander and has some advice on exercise programming, favorite exercises, etc. I didn't find any info on how often to do the routine, so I'll just do it 3 times a week.

Leonidas mentioned Fred Rollon - aka The Human Anatomy Chart - in his chest expander videos. Rollon was a bronze era bodybuilder who claimed to have developed his anatomy chart physique using only chest expanders and cables. He reportedly started lifting weights eventually... years after he developed that physique. Rollon reportedly trained with chest expanders with as much as 140kg (about 308lbs) of tensile strength. I am only one of several - or perhaps many? - satisfied owners of the Baraban Chest Expander, which comes with 7 springs, each of which has 10kg of tensile strength, for a maximum of 70kg. In the time I've owned mine, I've figured 70kg is more than enough for me. However, I just found out that Robert Baraban has started selling a new version of the steel string chest expander called The Rollon.

Now it is possible to work up to Fred Rollon's level of strand pulling strength and beyond. What is also interesting is Baraband is also making foot stirrup attachment for his chest expander models. With 2 chest expanders, 2 foot stirrups, and 2 or more of the "super springs" that come with The Rollon, it should be possible to do exercises that may require more than 70kg of tensile strength such as shrugs, deadlifts, and squats.

Easy Muscle Results

My pullup and dip repetition maxes at the start of the program were well short of the recommended number. The consequence was not being able to perform a set without having to pause to take a break, before resuming. This in turn led to not being able to do a desirable volume (reps x sets x load) for stimulating muscle mass gains.

I chose the 24kg KB Clean + Push Press option because I wanted to see what gains I would get with this option, combined with the 2 calisthenic exercises per Schedule B.

Tape measurement showed about 1/4" increase in arm circumference and 1/2" increase in chest/lat circumference. Perhaps the gains might have been greater if I had higher pullup and dip rep maxes at the start of the program. Despite that I'm satisfied with the hypertrophy.

I tried to press the 24kg KB but could not press it past the midpoint. Clean + Push Press works the triceps and traps more than the deltoids, because the use of the lower body to launch the KB upward eliminates the work that would have been done by the chest and delts. During this training block, I tried to actively "pull" the KB down on the eccentric to try to increase my KB pressing strength. However, one training block of this combination of C + PP and "active eccentric" was not enough. That said, this is another opportunity to try using 6x6 training on the IsoMax to increase my force output (strength) to a high enough level for a complete 24kg KB press.

I tested my double 16kg KB Clean + Press. I was able to do 8 reps. The 16kg KBs felt light in my hands after 8 weeks of training with the 24kg. Pressing double 16kg KBs took little effort for my upper body. My lower body fatigued more quickly than my upper body. I was able to lock out both arms on the double press, which I took as a sign of improved mobility compared to last year, when I couldn't lock out the arms. There is still room for mobility improvement in that I still have an arch in my upper back at the top of the press.

I could have, and probably should have, done this Easy Muscle training block on Schedule A with a single 16kg KB. I didn't have the mobility to work with double 16kg KBs. I think my rep max with a single 16kg KB would have been ideal per program guidelines. However I don't regret the choices I made for this training block, because I just had to satisfy my curiosity regarding training the 24kg KB C+PP. Also, I was itching to do pullups and dips again.

My next training block will focus on strength, with 6x6 on the IsoMax once again being the program of choice.

After that will be my next hypertrophy training block. What I will do for that training block will be determined by the results of re-testing my rep maxes with the single 24kg KB and double 16kg C+P:

1. 24kg C+P 4-6 reps. Program: Easy Muscle Schedule B with single 24kg KB
2. 24kg C+P 0-3 reps and double 16kg C+P 8-12 reps. Program: Easy Muscle Schedule A with double 16kg KBs.
3. 24kg C+P 0-3 reps and double 16kg C+P 13+ reps. Program: Chest Expander routine. In this case, I'm not strong enough for option 1 and too strong for option 2, so I think it might be fun to devote a 6-8 week training block to chest expander training and see what strength and muscle gains might be had from it.

I might do my next Easy Muscle training block on Schedule A with double 16kg KBs, unless my rep max turns out to be 15 or higher. I'm also going attempt to press the 24kg KB again, depending on how I progress in my 6x6 training block. If by the time I test for my next Easy Muscle block, I have a rep max of 12 on the double 16kg C+P and a rep max of 2 on the single 24kg C+P, I'd go with the double 16kg KBs. If however I have a rep max of 17 or something like that on the double 16kg C+Ps but I still can't press the 24kg C+P, I might go with Schedule B with the 24kg C+PP and calisthenics again again... we'll see.

Easy Muscle: Week 8

For the final kettlebell session, I held the kettlebell in the normal goblet squat grip, for the goblet squats, because my forearms were feeling beat up from the combined work of holding the KB in the bottoms up position, the calisthenics work, and hanging for time.

I managed to do 35 total reps of pullups and dips for the Monday calisthenics session. For the Friday session, I managed to do 40 total.

I got quite a spike in appetite after my calisthenics sessions. I presume it's because the workouts stimulated muscle growth.

I'll give my body a few days to recover, then evaluate the following:

• 24kg KB press repetition max
• Double 16kg KB overhead press mobility
• Arm width

Current Mobility Training

I've been starting my workouts with a mobility warmup, starting with a warmup of the legs and hips. For my hip/leg warmup I've been doing most of the exercises from the GMB Muay Thai mobility routine. They make my hips feel good.

I occasionally change up my hip/leg warmup by instead doing prying goblet squat for 5 reps, then cossack squat until my legs/glutes start to feel a little burn - with the 8kg kettlebell held bottoms up.

I then move on to kettlebell arm bar and bent arm bar for t-spine mobility and loosening up the chest and front of the shoulders. T-spine mobilization seems to loosen up my lats despite not directly stretching the lats all that much. This article by Jon Engum lists 4 items on which to focus for the kettlebell arm bar, with the 4th item being the arm on the ground, which is supposed to be moved to your rear as much as possible and stretch the lat.

One of the latest mobility exercises I've added to my routine is the kettlebell pullover, which is supposed to help improve mobility for overhead lockout. There are straight leg and hip bridge variations taught in this video:


Doing the hip bridge variation first for about 3-5 reps seems to increase ROM (Range Of Motion) for the straight leg variation.

I did passive hangs in the past, but gave up on them because I thought of hanging as a lat stretch and found the quadraped side bend to be more productive for getting the lats to loosen up. This FitnessFAQs video inspired me to try hanging again. I don't agree that total hanging time per day should be 5 minutes, as that looks like an arbitrary number rather than a number backed up by research. However I do agree that the 2 sets of 20-30 second holds I was doing 3x a week might not have been enough to improve grip strength or lat mobility. 2 weeks of hanging 5 days a week, 3 or more sets per day resulted in my left elbow being less susceptible to tendonitis pain from playing guitar. However this week I'm taking a break from passive hangs because of accumulated soreness in my forearms - which might be caused by hanging combined with bottoms-up goblet squats and other work with the 24kg kettlebell.


My hamstrings are not particularly flexible. I've tried various stretches and other mobility exercises in the past with some improvement, but have admittedly not focused much on improving hamstring flexibility, other than the Muay Thai routine above. One of the exercises that I attempted was pike compression - aka "pike pulses" - which were just too hard for me. In the below video, Eugene Teo shows easier pike pulse variations, and how to progress in difficulty. I've been doing 3 sets of pike pulses on my recovery days, as well as after my Easy Muscle calisthenics days.

Easy Muscle: Week 7

Not much to report, other than showing up to do the workouts.

Easy Muscle: Week 6

The Monday calisthenics session prescribed a number of reps per set that was pretty much my rep max in both movements at the start of this Easy Msucle training block. I managed to do 3 sets of each exercise. While doing the 4th set of pullups, I had to stop 2 reps short, rest for a bit, then do the final 2 reps. I also had to pause while doing the 4th set of dips. After the calisthenics session, I once again did a mini circuit of hand-elevated tuck planche and ring-assisted pistol squats. Hand-elevated tuck planche is shown here by Simonster:

Simonster's video inspired me to try the hand-elevated tuck planche and assess where I am in the progression towards the tuck planche. I can get my knees level with my hands. However, I decided to play it safe with my shoulders and stop practicing it. My shoulders have not manifested ill effects from doing it so far, but I will wait until I've gotten strong enough to press the 32kg kettlebell overhead before thinking about trying it again.

The Wednesday kettlebell session went fine. The 24kg kettlebell began to feel lighter as the session went on, which was interesting.

The Friday calisthenics session prescribed a lower number of reps, so I was able to do more sets, and thus a higher total number of reps, compared to the Monday session. I managed to do 7 sets.

Easy Muscle: Week 5

The Monday kettlebell session went fine.

The calisthenics session also went fine. At the end of the session, I got into the top position of a dip on the rings, then attempted to get as close as possible to tuck planche by contracting my abs and pulling up my hips and knees, and held the position for as many seconds as I could. Simonster in this video advises to start working on tuck planche with hands elevated - as they would be at the top of a dip - instead of with the hands on the floor. That's where I got the idea. I then practiced ring-assisted pistol squats. My real leg workout in this Easy Muscle training block is the KB goblet squat, so in this case I only did a couple of reps per leg. I then did another little circuit of regressed tuck planche hold and assisted pistol squats.

The Friday kettlebell session was a bit more challenging than the Monday session, because I had to do 4 reps per set. Each 4-rep set in this session drained more of my energy compared to the Monday session. I managed 3 sets in the prescribed time period. For the goblet squat portion of the workout I managed to complete all sets without letting the kettlebell flop over.

Easy Muscle: Week 4

This week called for pushing oneself a little harder than normal. It basically amounts to taking shorter than usual breaks between sets.
The calisthenics workout scheduled for Monday presented a bit of a dilemma. 6 reps per set were prescribed. Last time I attempted 6 reps per set, I was able to complete all 6 reps for first couple of sets. For the remainder of that workout, I could not complete each set without taking breaks. But per the guidelines I had to push myself for this week. I think I found a reasonable balance in the Monday workout - not resting too long and at the same time doing the 6-rep sets without stopping during the set.

The clean-and-push press workout was relatively easier. I aimed to do at least 10 total reps per arm and I achieved that. I stopped counting reps after that as I wanted to focus on good quality execution during the prescribed workout time instead of chasing reps. I think I did 13 per arm. The squat workout mostly went fine, although my hands tired enough to allow the kettlebell to flop over on one of the later sets. One thing I changed was setting up my feet wider apart, about where the feet would be if I were doing a double kettlebell front squat. I haven't been squatting with the feet this far apart for a while. I figured I'll eventually progress back to double KB front squat so might as well ge used to the foot placement since double KBs require more space between the feet for the double KB clean to set up for the squat, and then the reverse clean to park the KBs on the floor.

The Friday calisthenics workout called for 4 reps a set. I pushed for as much volume as possible, and even raised the training time an extra 5 min. I was able to do 8 sets of pullups and dips. This should help prep me for doing more sets of 6-rep sets.

Red Delta Project on lower back isolation exercise

I just watched this video posted by Matt (Red Delta Project) on his channel a few months ago.

Matt contends that the lower back is more like a joint, so saying "work the lower back" is like saying "work the knees". Just as "feeling the knees working" is a sign that something is wrong with your knees (joints), "feeling the lower back working" is not a good sign either. Matt does teach exercises that target the posterior chain, which includes the lower back, but at the same time, he also teaches that you should engage your lats, glutes, and hamstrings - so that force travels through the lower back instead of being concentrated on the lower back.

One question that often comes up is What calisthenics exercise is an alternative or replacement for the barbell deadlift?. Matt does not mention it in the video but I think the majority of the people who asked Matt about lower back isolation exercises were thinking about the barbell deadlift. The barbell deadlift is believed by quite a few people to be a lower back exercise. The muscles that actually do the heavy work in the deadlift are the glutes and the legs, with emphasis on the hamstrings although other leg muscles such as the quadriceps also contribute. What we think of as lower back muscles are the spinal erectors and transverspinalis groups - both muscle groups just work to stabilize the spine when the deadlift is done in proper form. If you mess up and try to use the spinal erectors and/or transverspinalis to lift the barbell, you'll probably injure your back - I unfortunately learned this from direct experience.

There was a time that I too wondered what calisthenics exercises might be good substitutes for the barbell deadlift. This was when I still believed in the deadlift as the best low back exercise ever invented by humankind. However I eventually realized that the deadlift is really a good dynamic exercise only for the leg and glutes - because if you attempt to use it as a dynamic exercise for your low back, you could very well destroy your lower back instantly. The deadlift is at best a decent isometric (static) exercise for the low back. Some people have a good reason to practice the deadlift. If you care more about "lower back strength" than, say, achieving a double or triple bodyweight deadlift, you probably don't need to practice the barbell deadlift

The Red Delta Project channel and other Youtube channels like Knees Over Toes Guy have videos teaching posterior chain or "lower back" exercises. But if you pay close attention, most of those exercises do not involve dynamic movement of the lower back itself, but instead have you keep the back fairly straight and have other muscles - typically the hamstrings, glutes, hips, and/or lats - do the dynamic work.

One dynamic exercise for the lower back that seems to be in fashion at the moment is the Jefferson Curl - however just about all the coaches that advocate that this exercise advise training with light weight - this is not an exercise in which you should be working towards a double bodyweight lift! In fact, just about all the advocates say you should start with no external load at all. Another dynamic exercise that has always been in fashion are side bending exercises such as the one advocated by Knees Over Toes Guy. Knees Over Toes Guy posted their latest lower back exercise video here, including the side bending:

Easy Muscle: Week 3

I was able to do 5-rep sets of the calisthenic exercises without pausing before the last or 2nd to last rep. This is an improvement over the previous week.

I also noticed improvement in performance of the kettlebell exercises. Still a little slop here and there, but noticeable improvement over the previous week.

Easy Muscle: Week 2

The first calisthenics day prescribed a number of reps that was very close to my 8 rep max for both pullups and ring dips. I managed to do all the reps for 3 sets for each exercise. For the last couple of sets, I was able to do 4-5 reps, then I had to pause before attempting another rep. I tried to do one more set per exercise when the timer rang, and managed to do 4 reps. I could feel that was it for the day for both exercises.

The kettlebell day prescribed clean-and-push press singles. I thought I might be able to just do singles left and right, over and over without break, for the prescribed number of minutes, but I did end up needing some rest between singles. The prescribed reps per set for squats seemed daunting for bottoms up goblet squat, but my hands were able to hold up, though the very last set required noticeable effort to keep the KB from flopping over. I tried to think of keeping my weight under the KB, which helped.

The 2nd calisthenics day prescribed 4 reps per set of pullups/dips, which was easier for me compared to the first day. I think I managed 5 sets of each exercise within the prescribed period. I didn't keep count because the idea is to do as many sets within the time period as allowed by autoregulation guidelines, rather than to go for a specific number of sets

I started doing these exercises again with the Flexbar because of intermittent elbow pain, which is sometimes manifested during guitar playing or working with the 24kg kettlebell. I'm not sure if the cause was overuse from too much guitar playing or practicing isometric drag curls with the IsoMax.

Easy Muscle: Week 1

Week 1 is now in the books.

The calsthenics day mostly went fine. I was unable to do all the prescribed reps for the last set of ring dips, so I just did a rest pause - about 15 second rest - then finished the set. I have a tendency to lean too far forward on the dip, so I've been working on not looking down so much, and turning the rings out at the bottom of the dip to engage the shoulder external rotators to help protect the shoulders. For the remainder of the week, I had DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) in the chest and anterior deltoids from the ring dips.

The 2nd kettlebell day prescribed a slightly higher number of reps per sets of Clean And Push Press. I realized that on the 1st KB day I was not really doing the Clean And Push Press - I was actually cleaning the KB once then doing reps of Push Press. Doing a clean before a push press on each and every rep ramped up the level of effort. By the end of the prescribed minutes of training, I was starting to fail with my normally stronger arm, because of accumulated fatigue, even though I was resting a generous amount of time between sets under autoregulation guidelines.

Suspension Shoulder Extension

This exercise on rings or similar suspension trainer looks fun. Here Matt introduces it primarily as a hypertrophy exercise - that is, an exercise for increasing the size of shoulder and upper back muscles. He recommends the pike pushup or other overhead pressing exercise as the main exercise for this purpose, paired with the Suspension Shoulder Extension as a finisher or as a pre-exhaust.

Matt also mentions that it can be used as a mobility exercise because it stretches the lats. That caught my attention. I'm currently following Easy Muscle, which, unlike other hypertrophy programs, is not built on muscle exhaustion, but I like the idea of doing a set or 2 of suspension shoulder extensions as part of a warmup for Easy Muscle.

Easy Muscle: Day 1

Today was the start of my latest hypertrophy training block, under the Easy Muscle Schedule B program. The exercises and training load, based on program guidelines and testing:

Clean and Push Press - 24 kg

Bottoms Up Goblet Squat - 24 kg

Pull Up - unweighted

Ring Dip - unweighted

The CPP (Clean and Push Press) practice that I did a couple of weeks ago was good preparation for this first session. I still need to keep working on driving more of the weight from the lower body. There were a couple of CPP attempts that failed because I didn't generate enough force from my lower body to help my upper body press the KB to lockout. However, I was able to complete the majority of my CPP reps on each arm.

I chose the Bottoms Up Goblet Squat because holding the KB this way lets the KB act as a counterbalance, so that the torso can lean back. As Mark Wildman explains in this video, keeping the torso fairly vertical in this way allows for greater squat depth and reduces risk to the lower back. Towards the end of the squat session, my hands began to tire and thus I started having a harder time keeping the KB from tipping over. Review of the video shows I should have squeezed the glutes and pulled up the kneecaps at the top of the movement.

Easy Muscle Prep/Rest Week

For Monday training, I did 20 minutes of ring dips and ring pull ups with autoregulation. I did 2-3 reps per set of dips and 2 reps per set of pull ups. The main purpose here was to practice these movements, in hopes of being able to execute them competently when I start Easy Muscle next week. I then did 5 minutes of ring-assisted pistol squats.

For Tuesday training, I did 5 sets of ring dips and 5 sets of assisted pistol squats, alternating between the two exercises and resting as much as I wanted between sets. The lower part of the chest and the front deltoids accumulated quite a bit of soreness so I stopped at 5 sets.

I thought of doing some more ring dip practice on Wednesday but I still felt sore in the chest and front delts and so decided to just walk for about 20-30 min, then take the rest of the week off from training.

IsoMax 6x6: Week 6

For the Monday session, I decided to only do the Overhead Press on the IsoMax. I was still feeling that residual soreness in the hips/groin/glute areas from Zercher Lunge training, and soreness in the abs from Drag Curl training, so I decided to take a break from both exercises. I raised the target load for the Overhead Press from 80 to 82 lbs. because I did 117 lbs. or more 2 sessions in a row.

For the Wednesday session, I tried the Zercher Lunge and decided I was done with it after 5 reps, because of how the glutes/hips were feeling. My Overhead Press performance was the best so far. I hit 134 lbs. on one of the 6 reps and 133.2 lbs. on the last rep. My weakest rep was 124 lbs. I also tried the Drag Curl and did 3 reps before deciding that was enough, because the abs were sore after just 3 reps.

Because of my Overhead Press performance, I decided to try pressing the 53 lb. (24kg) kettelbell. I was able to press the KB a little closer to half way, compared to when my overhead press was in the 115 lb. range.

For the Friday session, I decided to test my clean and push press on the 24 kg KB. My technique was rusty but I had the strength to push press the KB, compared to the first time I tried to push press it last year and simply lacked the strength to consistenly push press it all the way. I then decided to cancel my IsoMax session for the day and move on to testing my readiness for the KB focused days in Easy Muscle Schedule B. I was able to do 7 reps of Bottoms Up Goblet Squat with the 24kg KB before I lost control of the KB. While I didn't get to 10 reps before form breakdown, I felt the performance was close enough to go ahead with 24kg for this exercise. I could have tested the clean and press with the 20kg KB instead but this 20kg KB is powder coated, and I don't feel comfortable doing 15 min. of clean-and-press with the powder coated handle, as opposed to the smoother handle of the 24kg KB. I then did 10 min. of 24kg KB Clean and Push Press practice with autoregulation to practice the movement. Thus ends this IsoMax 6x6 training block.

IsoMax 6x6: Week 5

Kicked off the week with a decent workout. My abs were still feeling the effects of last week's training, especially the curls. It's the kind of soreness that you don't feel until you start applying full-body tension for isometric exercise. The glute/hip area is in a similar situation - no soreness when not doing strenuous exercise, but once I start applying full-body tension, here comes the soreness.

I recalculated my overhead press training load because I logged 115 lbs. or higher for 2 sessions in a row. Thus the new load is 80 lbs. which is 70% of 115. My max for the first rep was 102 lbs. My max for the 2nd rep was 123 lbs. Then my max force numbers dropped until my 6th and last rep which produced 128.4 lbs. I guess the way the CNS (Central Nervous System) works is it can produce the highest possible force once or twice a day, then it needs a day or two to "recharge". My guess could be totally wrong but that's how my CNS seems to work at least. Thus, just because I pressed for 128 lbs. once does not mean I will be able to press 128 lbs. again that same day. Even so I decided to test press the 24 kg kettlebell. Once again, I was able to press the KB just under half way. I think I'll wait until I press 120 lbs or higher for at least 4 reps before I try another test with the 24 kg KB, because consistent numbers at a certain force level is a probably more accurate indicator of whether I can reliably apply that same level of force to dynamic movement.

By the end of the week, I had accumulated quite a bit of soreness in my abs from doing the curls and soreness in my hip/groin area from doing the Zercher lunges. I felt this soreness intermittently rather than constantly. I decided to let my abs and lower body take a break for the Friday session and did only the overhead press. My force numbers were generally in the 115 to 117 lb. range, but hit 122 lbs. on the last rep.

IsoMax 6x6: Week 4

For the Monday session my overhead press max was 113 lbs. That was the 2nd session in a row that my max was 113 or higher, so I treated 113 lbs. as my new 1-rep max, and increased the overhead press target load from 74 lbs. to 79 lbs, which is 70% of 113 lbs.

For the Wednesday session, my press was in the 119 to 122 lb. range, so I tested my progress on the 24 kg. kettlebell press. It might be wishful thinking but it seemed like my press got stronger. I was able to press the KB just short of 1/2 of the way up, compared to 1/3 of the way up as tested last week, when my press was in the 115 lb. range.

I was curling in the 160 lb. range or higher last week, so I decided 160 lbs. was my new 1-rep max, and thus increased my target load from 108 lbs. to 112 lbs., which is 70% of 160. Having to work harder to get the IsoMax beeping made me a bit wary of injuring my low back. My abs work so hard in this exercise, that I fear they might quit on me if I pull too hard. At any rate, my max force numbers dropped with the raise in target load, but trended up by the end of the week.

I've been wondering if I've been setting the IsoMax bar too low for the Zercher Lunge. I've been feeling my hip/glute area working the hardest in this exercise. The soreness in this area has accumulated to the point where the soreness starts on the first rep, and lasts for seemingly days on end. I haven't been feeling my quads working anywhere as hard. So for the Friday session, I raised the IsoMax by one slot. I still felt my hip/glute working hard because the position was still low, but I also felt my quad working. The force numbers were lower but the exercise felt more like a proper lunge than, say, a Bulgarian split squat.

IsoMax 6x6: Week 3

For the Monday session, I raised the target load for the curl from 108 lbs. to 112 lbs. I'd been curling at around 160 lbs. or higher consistently up to last week. My initial 1-rep max in the curl was 154 lbs.. 112 lbs. is 70% of 160 lbs.

We take up strength training in hopes of, well, getting stronger. However, progression from say, lifting 75lbs to lifting 100lbs., is not linear. Progressions is more like a wave, with weaker results on some days and stronger results other days, but with an overall upward trend. I've found this to be true for the 6x6 program for isometric strength training. The Monday and Wednesday sessions produced force results that were lower than last week's. Before the Friday session, I was thinking of switching from 6x6 to Bruce Lee style, which would be doing 1 rep - instead of 6 reps - of a 6-second hold for each exercise. I wasn't sure if the drop in performance was just the usual progression I've experienced before under 6x6, which is to log peak performance on some days, but have drops in performance between those peak days... or if my body needed more recovery time. When I do Bruce Lee style, I'm only doing 1 rep per exercise instead of 6, and thus can recover much more quickly between workouts.

The Friday session resulted in the best performance of the week. I logged a max of 87.6 lbs in the Zercher Lunge, a PR for my right leg. I I logged a max of 118.8 in that drill, a PR for my left leg. I scored 115.4 lbs. in the overhead press, yet another PR. I did not achieve a PR in the curl, but I wasn't expecting one because of the raise in target load.

With the new PR in the overhead press, I just had to test my progress towards pressing the 24kg kettlebell. Where before my pressing force was just enough to move the KB up about a centimeter, today I was able to press the KB closer to the midpoint (arm and forearm at right angle). So for, that's the difference that being able to generate 9 lbs. more force makes.

This the mobility routine I've settled on for the recovery days:

• GMB Muay Thai mobility routine except for the last 2 exercises in the interest of saving some time
• Kettlebell Arm Bar
• Tall Kneeling Arm Raise to Side
• Quadraped Side Bend
• Locomotion

I found that working on thoracic spine mobility before any lat stretch seems to loosen up the obliques and lats. The Kettlebell Arm Bar is my choice here for t-spine mobility, as well as stretching the chest. Viewing this StrongFirst video and I can see some details that I missed before. Zack Henderson has a video that walks through the movement with pretty much the same details. One detail I've tended to skip is pausing in the side lying position with the upper foot hooking on the lower leg (thigh) and the upper knee folded over, to check the stacking of the shoulders and hips. I've also skipped the step of sliding the knee up past 90 degrees of hip flexion and pausing there with a few deep breaths. I think I've been making one of the common mistakes of letting the shoulder slip forward. What should be happening instead is the shoulder stays stacked on top of the other shoulder, even if I straighten the top leg and try to bring the top hip to the ground.

The Tall Kneeling Arm Raise to Side, Quadraped Side Bend, and Locomotion are all from GMB's shoulder restriction article, and recommended for people whose low backs arch when reaching overhead. One detail I missed with the Quadruped Side Bend was I should be actively pressing the hand of my working side away from my torso, instead of just reaching with that hand. Actively pressing the hand makes a difference in this stretch. Another difference maker is expanding the ribs during a 4-second inhale, and thus gently increasing the stretch - in addition to stretching on the exhale. I start the Locomotion section of my mobility routine with Monkey 180 or Monkey 360, then do Twisting Bear forward and Backward Bear backward, then finish with Sumo Frogger.

My double arm overhead reach is getting better. My arms improved from about 45 degrees away from vertical to 30 degrees.

One-arm Pullup/Chinup Perspectives

Discussion between two accomplished calisthenics athletes on the one-arm pullup. They agree working on weighted pullups for some time before starting on assisted one-arm pullup training:



This guy shares his discoveries of the biomechanics of this movement which helped him achieve his one-arm pullup/chinup - for example, the angle of the chest to the bar. Interestingly, he too advises putting the assistance band directly under the working hand, and he also found pulleys not to be that useful.


Interesting video by Frinks who did a survey of people who achieved one-arm pullup. After Frinks and his friend collected survey data, their analysis found that those who successfully achieved a one-arm pullup were able to do weighted pullups with external load of about 75% of their bodyweight. After further research and testing, Frinks concludes that a weighted pullup with 60% bodyweight as external load is the recommended prerequisite before transitioning to one-arm pullup specific training. Among those who are still unable to perform a one-arm pullup/chinup, the highest external load they are using for weighted pullups is 90% bodyweight. The guys in the first video did not state what the external load should be before transitioning from weighted (bilateral) pullups to assisted one-arm pullups. The guy in the second video felt the external load should be 50% of bodyweight.


The One-Arm Pullup is an interesting skill I would like to achieve someday. Given my history of left elbow tendonitis, I would be content to put off the switch to assisted unilateral pullup training until the day I can do weighted pullups with external load of 75% of my bodyweight. Heck I might wait until I'm doing weighted pullups with 90% of my bodyweight. I plan to practice pullups, and eventually weighted pullups under the Easy Muscle program, because the load will generally not be high enough to be a danger to my tendons/joints. Achieving strength goals gets easier with muscle added on by a hypertrophy program like Easy Muscle. The guys in the above videos make good points regarding biomechanics and specificity of movement - the amount of strength required to achieve this skill can be diminished by learning and training the most efficient movement pattern. Still, there's no denying that possesing more strength, as measured by how much weight you can pull in weighted pullups, increases your odds of success in this skill.

In theory I might be able to speed up my progress in pullup strength by practicing overcoming isometrics with the lats in a stretched position. This could be done by wearing a dip belt, and securing a heavy kettlebell to the dip belt. The KB would have to be heavy enough to prevent me from being able to complete a full-range pullup - if my 32kg KB is not enough I'd just add another KB. Partial movement would be ok and might even be desirable because your CNS (central nervous system) allows your muscles to work harder if muscular effort produces even the slightest movement, and will put the brakes on the muscles if there is no movement at all no matter how hard the muscles work. The main thing is to pull hard and as far up as the weight will allow, and sustain the hold at that position for 6 seconds. It might be possible to rig the IsoMax bar to measure the force being applied via dip belt but it seems convoluted, plus the weight of the kettlebell(s) is already available for assessing the force being applied. So if I do my isometric pullup with a 32kg KB and manage to pull it up with me even just a few millimeters, I know I'm applying at least my bodyweight plus 32kg of force.

Then again, the lats will probably be getting some gains in strength, along with muscle mass, by just training under Easy Muscle. I might try this isometric idea with the KB the next time I do a Bruce Lee style isometric training block.

IsoMax 6x6: Week 2

Zercher Lunge performance has been good with the left leg. I finished the week with a PR of 109.6 lbs. Right leg performance did not quite match the left leg but that's ok. One or more of the glute muscles on the right side developed a soreness that persisted over more than one followup session. Another issue is by the 4th rep, I was too tired to figure out whatever body adjustments needed to be made to get the rear knee off the ground.

Overheard Press performance was also great, with max force logged in the 106-112 lb. range

Curl performance was decent. I'm holding back a little out of concern for my elbow tendonitis and low back. With all the attention paid to squeezing the glutes, working the abs hard, keeping the chest up, and initiating the pull from between the shoulder blades, rotating the shoulders out while pulling through the pinkies, risk to both issues is minimized. I don't feel any tendonitis effects immediately afterward at least. However I do start to feel the spinal erectors a bit if I let the glutes slack off. I want to make sure the abs do not give out at any point because if they do, bye by low back. The abs do work pretty hard in this exercise.

One change I made to how I do 6x6 is getting rid of the 1-rep max retest sessions. The reason to retest 1-rep max is to reset the target load. So if your 1-rep max test result is 100lbs, your target load would be 70%, or 70lbs. Later if you retest your 1-rep max, and it's now 110lbs, your new target load would be 70%, or 77lbs. Instead of giving up a regular training sessino for 1-rep max testing, I just decide when to increase my target load. So in the case of my overhead press, my initial 1-rep max was determinded by testing to be 102 lbs. AFter recording a 106lb. or higher max force for 2 sessions in a row, I decided to reset my training load to 70% of 106lbs, which is 74 lbs. I similarly raised my curl training load.

If I can press with 106 lbs. of isometric force, does that mean I can press a 53 lb. kettlebell?

The answer is no.

106 lbs. is roughly the weight of 2 24kg (approx. 53lbs) kettlebells. Because I've been getting close to 106 lbs. in my overhead press force during my IsoMax 6x6 sessions last week, I thought I'd take a look at my max force after every overhead press rep during today's morning 6x6 session. I hit a max force of 106lbs or higher for at least half the reps today.

So in the afternoon, I tried to press a 24kg kettlebell. I was able to press it about an inch upwards - or less... probably less. I was a bit disappointed but not surprised, because the force we can generate at the bottom of the overhead press is higher than the force we can generate at the middle position; and greater still than the force we can generate near the top (lockout) of the press. I discovered this within the first few months of training on my Isochain - my first overhead press (aka shoulder press) sessions were near the middle position, then one day I tried lowering the bar to a position close to the start of the press and was surprised to discover a significant different in pressing force.

Thus, scoring a 106lb. max force reading at bottom position just means I can press a 53lb. KB with one arm for only a short distance, which is what happened this afternoon... and it probably means my max force at the middle position is quite a bit less than 106 lbs. and thus not strong enough to press the KB to full lockout overhead. So the middle position is most likely a better position than the bottom for assessing my readiness for pressing a 53lb. KB with one arm. I set the IsoMax to Feedback mode and tried pressing as hard as I could, and it read a max force of only 68lbs. Max force reading at middle position is not a perfect assessment either, because a 16kg KB is about 35 lbs. and thus I should have - in theory - needed a 70lb. max force at middle position to press a 16kg KB. But in reality I was doing sets of 4-6 reps of 16kg KB presses while I was working through the ICT program. That's because when one is pressing a KB overhead, the KB is actually in motion at the middle position. The greater the velocity of the KB, the less force is needed to keep the KB moving. Thus I probably don't need to press with 106 lbs. of force at middle position to be able to press a 53 lb. KB - the actual required force will be less than that because the KB's velocity will not be zero at middle position, assuming I have the strength to even get it going as high as middle position. So it will be interesting to see how much max force I need to be able to generate at bottom position in order to send the KB upward at a high enough velocity so that I can press it all the way to lockout.

I'm not so concerned about the near-lockout position because current thinking in exercise science is fast concentric stimulates greater strength gains - when I get strong enough to press the KB explosively up to the middle position of the movement, it will likely have a high enough velocity at the near lockout position to require relatively lower force to keep it going all the way to lockout.

I will still do my main overhead press training at the bottom position because that is where the primary muscles (chest, triceps, anterior delts) are at their longest lengths, and as previouly mentioned, research found greatest hypertrophy and carryover to dynamic performance from isometric training with muscles at longest possible lengths. To assess readiness for pressing the 24kg KB, I'll try one overhead press rep in Feedback mode at the middle position once a week - maybe sooner if I see a sudden jump in bottom position performance.

Less disappointing results for today was performance in the Zercher Lunge with the toes of the rear foot pointing back so that the instep is touching the ground instead of the toes. Performance on the left leg dropped very slightly, while performance on the right leg, which had been lagging by as much as 15 lbs., improved to even with the left leg. I tried to keep the rear knee from touching the ground, but I don't think there's any real reason to do so, because then the exercise would be more like the bottom of a Shrimp Squat - one of the regressions for Shrimp Squat has both arms forward and the knee of the rear leg "kissing" the floor before standing back up. I'll probably experiment and see if there's any difference in force production.

IsoMax 6x6: Week 1

After 12 weeks of tossing a kettlebell for conditioning, it's been nice to change to isometric strength training with the IsoMax under the 6x6 program. Just apply as much force as possible for a few seconds, and repeat a few times per exercise, and finish the workout feeling energized rather than wiped out.

My disappointing ring dip test made me think about what I need to do to regain my previous skill with that exercise. So I decided to warm up with knee raises and reverse shrugs on the rings. I got the idea from Red Delta Project's video on how to achieve your first ring dip or improve your ring dip performance. These are the same exercises I practiced last year to regain the ring dip skill. This time though I'm not doing ring pushups because I'm already doing the isometric overhead press as part of this 6x6 training block.

In any case, I want to do Easy Muscle Schedule B for my next training block. Easy Muscle requires testing for repetition maxes in each of the scheduled exercises. The dip is one of the Schedule B exercises. In the case of the dip, rep max testing will determine whether or not the dip will be done with only bodyweight, or with a dip belt with added wieght, and if so how much added weight. I wouldn't mind doing Easy Muscle with bodyweight-only dips but I want to make sure my rep max test is not impacted by poor stability on the rings. Practicing knee raises and reverse shrugs on rings as part of my warmups for 6x6 should ensure my dip rep max won't be affected by stability issues on the rings.

I had forgotten how demanding 6 seconds of high effort in the Zercher Lunge position can be. I was sweating by the 3rd rep. Since I hadn't practiced training in this position for a while, I struggled a bit with balance and alignment. Adding extra challenge is the pressure on the toes of the back foot. Every video I've seen of the Zercher Lunge shows rear foot dorsiflexion (toes bending towards shin). I cannot find a reason to justify dorsiflexion of the back foot while practicing isometric Zercher Lunge. Thus I'm thinking of pointing the toes of the back foot to the rear, which would be much more comfortable for that back foot. Then pressure on the back toes would be one less thing to worry about - freeing my mind to focus more on keeping the chest up, squaring the hips, and maintaining balance.

My performance in the overhead press is in the 102 lb. range which is close to the goal of 106 lbs. This is about the weight of double 24kg kettlebells. On the day that I press at least 106 lbs. I will try to press a 24kg KB. It will be interesting to see if a 106 lb. press at the lowest possible position of the overhead press means I can dynamically press half that weight overhead with one arm.

My curl perfomance is in the 170lb. range. The high amount of force is probably the result of combining forces from the upper back, abs, and biceps. I feel the abs working harder than before. It will interesting to see if any increase in curl force will correlate with an increase in pullup rep max.

IsoMax 6x6: 1-Rep Max Testing

After 12 weeks of dynamic exercise for conditioning, fat-burning, and strength, I decided it was time for an isometric training block to give my joints a break. I chose the 6x6 program for strength, some hypertrophy, and hopefully tendon strength. Chrys Johnson has a good video explaining the what, why, etc. of 6x6.

1-Rep Max Test Results in Pounds:

Zercher Lunge - 80.4 (based on weaker leg scores)
Overhead Press - 103.4
Curl - 154.7

The plan is to do each exercise with the target muscles at the longest possible lengths, as inspired by recently published research that found greater carryover to dynamic performance, compared to isometric training at shorter muscle lengths. Thus the IsoMax strap numbers and body positions for the 3 exercises are:

Zercher Lunge - Strap #6 - I copied what Red Delta Project does in this video, except I don't use a weight vest, and the bar is set lower, to get my body as close as possible to the bottom of an ATG split squat, while still being able to get under the IsoMax bar. The quads and calf muscles are at a pretty good length

Overhead Press - Strap #20 - This is very close to the start position of the double kettlebell press. The triceps, anterior delts, and chest muscles are at a good stretch.

Curl - Strap #9 - The IsoMax bar is as low as possible, so it practically rests on the thighs. Thus the arms are close to straight, so that the biceps are at a pretty good length. To prevent any flareup of elbow tendonitis, I use the spiraling external rotation technique taught in this video. To protect the back, I imagine my chest being pulled up, and squeeze the glutes nice and hard, before I even begin pulling the bar. Finally to ensure bicep activation, I pull my elbows back. The combination of the external rotation technique, hard-working core (abs, glutes, etc.), and stretched biceps results in a 150-ish lb. force output, compared to when I first tried a bicep curl on the Isochain in late 2020 and was struggling to generate 30lbs. of force. People who prefer to isolate the biceps more in their training might consider what I'm doing to be cheating, but since I no longer feel isometric rowing is safe for my low back, this curl variation is all I have left for working on pulling strength, with as much force as possible. My pullup rep max is currently 8. It will be interesting to see if the rep max goes up after a couple of weeks of training with this isometric curl variation. In theory there should be an increase, because I use the same muscles (abs, external rotators, upper back, biceps) - especially in the upper half of the pullup - and the same spiraling external rotation technique when I do pullups. Presumably there will be some sort of relationship between any increase in max force in this curl, and repetition max - but data gathering will have to come later.

Kettlebell ICT: End of Program and Results

Completed Week 12, which is the final week of Kettlebell ICT, without incident. This program is based on research on Integrated Concurrent Training (ICT), which is also referred to as Integrated Concurrent Exercise. One of the findings is that ICT was found to burn body fat, especially stomach fat, without dieting. Thus as part of my test of this program, I did not make any special changes to my diet. My dietary habits haven't been perfectly clean, but I haven't been going overboard on unhealthy foods either.

Before I started Kettlebell ICT, my body was in good health. However, it had just recovered from a back injury so to be safe, I chose weights for the snatch, goblet squat, and row that were relatively light.

Results:

Bodyweight: approx. 5 lb. loss.
Arms: approx. quarter inch diameter gain

Waist (at navel): approx. 3/4" loss

Overhead Press: approx. 15lb. gain in max force

The objectives of the Kettlebell ICT program are to reduce bodyfat while maintaining or even increasing strength. The results show that both objectives were accomplished. I believe I can interpret the loss in bodyweight combined with reduction in waist diameter as signs of fat loss. Pants now feel more loose at the waist. I figured there would be some gain in pressing strength but I didn't expect this much.

I had read that high volume KB snatches could improve pullup performance. This program did require me to do lots of KB snatches, so a couple of days after finishing the program, I did a set of pullups and found my repetition max to be 8, which was about the same as it was before I started the program. I was snatching a 12kg KB for more than half the program. Perhaps I need to snatch a heavier KB for the same amount of work to improve my pullup rep max. In any case, increasing one's rep max in the pullup was not an objective of this program.

I also tried a set of ring dips to see if there was any change in performance. I did 2 reps before I started losing control of a ring. The ring dip is just one of those exercises that require good technique. I don't do ring dips for 3 months, I get rusty at them and need to retrain my body to stabilize on the rings and execute properly. Successful execution of a ring dip depends not only on strength but also proper coordination to smoothly lower oneself down and push back up, while maintaining stability on the rings. Oh well, increasing rep max in ring dips was not a program objective either.

I would consider training under this program again in the future. I was satisfied with the amount of bodyfat that I lost but I think I could burn more if I worked with weights determined by proper testing under the program guidelines - eg. 10-rep max for goblet squat, 20-rep max for snatch, etc. instead of holding back a bit out of fear of reinjuring the low back. It was gratifying to find that I gained strength and maybe even a little muscle as well.

Kettlebell ICT: Week 11

My conditioning improved enough to let me do the presses immediately after the snatches, without taking a rest pause, for the first two supersets of my Session A workouts. I still needed to take rest pauses for the rest of that segment.

I'd been hanging from a pullup bar as part of my recovery routine with pronated grip. This week, I saw a video in which the coach recommended slow eccentric chinups (supinated grip) as part of his suggested routine for improving mobility for overhead press. I was still feeling a bit beat from the workout so instead of doing eccentric chinups I thought I'd try just hanging with a supinated grip. This has been an uncomfortable position for my shoulders in the past, but this time I felt fine. I don't know if the improved feeling in my shoulders has been the result of ICT itself, or the drills I've been doing to warm up for ICT and to recover from it - drills like KB arm bar, various t-spine mobility drills, etc.

Otherwise the weights were the same as last week. One more week to go!

Kettlebell ICT: Week 10

Weights used:

Session A

A1 Snatch 16kg
A2 Press 16kg

B1 Snatch 12kg
B2 Bottoms Up Goblet Squat 20kg

Session B

A1 Push Press 16kg
A2 Bottoms Up Goblet Squat 20g

B1 Push Press 16kg
B2 Supported Row 16kg

Focused more on leg drive in the Push Press. I'd been doing this exercise as more of a leg-assisted press, which I guess is ok, but I thought dialing up the leg drive would dial up the conditioning aspect. This did result in me breathing harder after each set, though snatch sets still feel harder.

One of the days after a Session B workout, I had unusual tightness in the side of a knee when I started a walk around the neighborhood. This was fixed by stretching in the bottom of an ATG split squat - just great all-around mobility drill for solving knee, hip, and ankle tighntess.

Bloopers included starting a Session B workout then realizing I forgot to bring up the 20kg KB for the squats... and doing extra sets of strict press in a Session A workout after the 5 min. break before realizing I was supposed to be squatting. At least I didn't hurt myself.
Bodyweight holding steady at 154 lbs, down from a pre-ICT weight of 161lbs.

Kettlebell ICT: Week 9

Weights used:

Session A

A1 Snatch 16kg
A2 Press 16kg

B1 Snatch 12kg
B2 Bottoms Up Goblet Squat 20kg

Session B

A1 Push Press 16kg
A2 Bottoms Up Goblet Squat 20g

B1 Push Press 16kg
B2 Supported Row 16kg

For each Snatch rep. I held the KB overhead for about 2 seconds before bringing the KB down to finish the rep. I felt that was what I had to do to get through a 60-second set. Presses immediately after the snatches were fine with the opposite arm, but I could only manage 4 reps on the same side arm before I had to take a rest pause.

Session B also got harder with the raise in conditioning set time and strength set reps, but not as demanding as Session A.

Bodyweight is 154 lbs, down from a pre-ICT weight of 161lbs.

Kettlebell ICT: Week 8

Weights used:

Session A

A1 Snatch 16kg
A2 Press 16kg

B1 Snatch 12kg
B2 Bottoms Up Goblet Squat 20kg

Session B

A1 Push Press 16kg
A2 Bottoms Up Goblet Squat 20g

B1 Push Press 16kg
B2 Supported Row 16kg

The Session A workout felt just as tough this week as it did last week when I increased the snatch weight

I felt more of a conditioning improvement in the Session B workouts. I was able to do 5 push press sets per arm, which was made possible by consistently resting less than 2 minutes between supersets.

Bodyweight is 152 lbs, down from a pre-ICT weight of 161lbs.