36/36 vo2 max protocol with the 24kg bell.

Tough one this, much tougher than anticipated. Previous attempts with the 16 and 20 kg bell had led me into a false sense of security with the 24. This was a whole new level of intense for me. Not that I haven't been here before because I have. A flat out 1k, 2k or 5k on the concept 2 rower has seen to that as has the RKC snatch test and the SSST. But this was a gruelling 36 minutes of intense cardio, forearm pain, a torn palm and intense mental and physical endurance.
My target was 30 total sets right from the off as opposed to 50 sets with the 16 and 20. As soon as I started I knew it was going to be tough, My heart rate was up at 160 plus after 4 rounds. Once it peaked over 170, that's where it stayed, dropping only a few beats between rounds. At the half way stage I was hitting 180 heart rate and my grip was suffering especially on my left arm. It was my right hand however that was starting to tear. The torn sock over the palm wasn't really helping as my grip was suffering by the latter stages and I had too much slippage.
The final few sets were really, really tough. I was struggling to hang on to the bell but was absolutely determined to see the 30 sets out.
Once finished, I decided to opt for the passive recovery route as opposed to active even though I know that's not ever recommended.
Now it's all done and I can reflect on my efforts, I feel proud that I stuck through it. It would have been easy to quit but that is simply not in my nature.
I will probably now go through the weights again but with the 15/15 protocol.
A little bit of hand recovery will be required first before I snatch that volume again. Below I have listed the stats for the 3 different weights used for the sake of comparison. If anyone knows how to compile a list on this blog format, please let me know because this is crap!!


Weight used:--------24kg----------16kg------------20kg
Time:---------------36 minutes----1 hour----------1 hour
Average heart rate:-167---------- 139-------------154
Peak heart rate:--- 181-----------156-------------172
Total reps:-------- 450-----------802-------------762
Weight lifted-------10800kg---- 12832kg---------15240kg
Reps per set:------ 15------------15-17-----------15-16
Total sets:-------- 30------------50--------------50

36/36 vo2 max protocol x 2

Two sessions to write about today, one relatively easy the other moderately tough, both interesting. I have done the following based on what information I have gathered from various internet sources, mainly Dragondoor.com
The 36/36 (15/15) protocol was developed by Kenneth Jay and comes in two forms. 15/15 and 36/36. This is all based around snatching and involves in the case of the latter 36 seconds snatching on the left followed by 36 seconds rest and then 36 seconds snatching on the right again followed by 36 seconds rest (1:1 WORK/REST RATIO) This is then repeated for a set amount of rounds usually 10-20.(I believe one round is one work period and one rest period as opposed to a left arm and right arm work period)

The first thing you have to do is to establish at what snatch cadence you come the closest to eliciting your VO2max. This is done by doing an incremental test that lasts 6 minutes. Basically you just start out slow and for each minute you increase the cadence. When you have get to the 6th minute you go all out snatching as many times as you can without stopping for at least one minute. The test might look like this but is subject to individual differences:

1st minute: 10 reps left arm
2nd minute: 12 reps right arm
3rd minute 15 reps left arm
4th minute: 17 reps right arm
5th minute: 18 reps left arm
6th minute: 26 reps right arm (all out effort)

The 6th minute reflects your VO2max cadence, hence that will be your interval training tempo. It is very important for the protocol that you continued snatching for the entire 6th minute. (make sure afterwards you balance out the numbers of snatches performed on each side so each side get a total equal amount of work).

My result was 27 repetitions. You then take 60% of this figure and use that as your cadence throughout the test. In my case this was 16.

My first attempt at the 36/36 test was with a 16kg bell. The amount of sets I achieved was way above what I was supposed to do simply because I was in the zone and enjoying myself. I achieved a total of 50 rounds totalling 800 repetitions. This took me one hour to complete. My average heart rate was 139 and I peaked at 156. The total weight lifted was 12800kg.

My second attempt was with a 20kg bell. Once again, despite my expectations I achieved another 50 sets totalling 762 reps. This time my average heart rate was 154 and I peaked at 172. Total weight lifted was 15240kg.

I will attempt the 24kg bell next but will have to bring the total volume of work down.

Doing this amount of reps would normally be very hard on the hands but I didn't have an issue with the 16kg bell. With the 20kg bell I chose to fine tune the technique of dropping the bell down into the fingers for the descent. This is the beauty of multi rep snatching, it enables you to really fine tune your technique. Dropping the bell down into your fingers prevents the pinching of any calluses you may have on your palm area. You basically give the bell a bit of a push out on the descent and catch it on the fingers therefore just clearing the palm. It takes a bit of practice but you get plenty of that with this method. Toward the end of the 20kg 36/36 test I was actually getting issues with my fingers blistering and therefore had to resort to the cut off sock method. This is just a short sock with the toe section cut. I just slip this over my palm area. I enables the bell to rotate freely in the palm whilst still having a good grip on the bell due to your fingers being exposed.

I am now quite proud of my snatching technique. Once the bell is driven up through my hips it feels weightless until the point where I catch it at the top of the movement. I now lean back more on the descent to minimise the outward arc and smooth out the transition on the bottom part of the movement.

I will post the results of the 24kg test as soon as I have done it.

Session 16th August 2010

Quick session today just focusing on BUP's (bottom up presses) and some mobility before trying my Achilles heel, the sots press.
The BUP's press went very well today. I had no intention of re-visiting the 32 today so just concentrated on working for reps with multiple sets.
The gains in strength I have made since my first attempt have surprised me and today I increased my rep count on the 24kg bell to sets of 8 on the right and sets of 5 on the left. I then repped out 20 on the left and 25 on the right with the 16 for the last set. OK, I did the following.

BUP's
1: 12kg x 10 left and right
2: 16kg x 8 left and right
3: 20kg x 8 left and right
4: 24kg x 5 left and 8 right
5: 24kg x 5 left and 8 right
6: 24kg x 3 left and 5 right
7: 16kg x 20 left and 25 right

I then moved onto some SMR rolling on my thoracic spine area and also on my quadriceps. When I first used the roller on my back a few weeks ago it was extremely painful and I had a multitude of tight spots. Now, I can roll the whole length of my thoracic spine pain free which is great.

After this I moved onto some free standing squats. These were rock bottom squats with the bottom position held for a few seconds.
Following this I incorporated a broom handle above my head and proceeded to squat trying to maintain the position of handle, not easy.
I then moved onto the Sots press. A very difficult exercise for me to do, presumably due to an inflexible thoracic spine preventing my scapula from rotating freely.
I managed to rep out a few 12kg presses but I have to anchor myself down with the opposing arm with a 16kg bell to prevent myself from falling backwards.

Todays session Friday the 13th

The only thing unlucky about today was the weather, it was crap, persistent rain right up to the point where I finished my workout. Sometimes I envy you people living in hotter climates. Would I miss the seasons here in the UK, Hell no!
Anyway, leg day today. I rigged up my garden umbrella to shelter myself from the rain and set up my TRX on the post.
Today was going to s lunge day, suspended ones at that. This is a great exercise and can create a big pump in the thighs. It's quite an advanced version of the lunge requiring strength, stability, balance and co-ordination. Highly functional in nature, it's worth working up through the progressions to reach this point as it's a tremendously beneficial exercise especially if you're involved in any team sports or racket sports requiring good single leg strength and stability.
I started with bodyweight initially and got 25 per side. I limited myself here because I wanted to use a kettlebell today for added resistance.
I then did the following:

12kg kettlebell 20 per side
16kg kettlebell 17 per side
20kg kettlebell 15 per side
24kg kettlebell 12 per side
bodyweight 30 per side.

This was extremely tough. I find it hits my glutes first and then my quadriceps, both in equal measure. This left me very shaky on my legs which was certainly the effect I was after.
It astounds me sometimes just how effective the TRX and kettlebell sessions can be.
As an ex bodybuilder once capable of 400 lb plus squats, I find it humbling how a bodyweight lunge can 'kill' your thighs. Adding a bit of weight just makes an already tough exercise even tougher.
Following the lunges I did the following:

TRX suspended hamstring curls for 4 sets.
TRX hip raises for 3 sets.

That was it today, not a lot set wise but pretty tough to do. As we all know, it's not about volume but intensity and those few sets were intense for sure.

Todays session 11/Aug/2010

My love for the bottom up press continued today. I had no intention of making a proper workout out of them but thought I would see if I could work up to the 28kg bell. So, with my scheduled session on hold for half an hour I ran through some mobility work and warm ups before starting with the 12k. 10 reps a side and it was on to the 16. Here I minimised my reps in,order to stay fresh, to 5 per side.
20 up next and 3 reps per side. 24 also for 3 per side. OK now I was in new territory.
I grabbed my 28 out of the shed and got into the start position. I wasn't using my regular Wolverson bell here simply because I don't have a 28 kg size, so instead I had to use my Jordan bell. It's certainly not my bell of choice but in actual fact the thicker handle helps with the grip in this exercise.
I swung it up to the start position and steadied myself for the press. Up it went, first time, not easily but with no appreciable side bend, pretty much straight up which was pleasing. What wasn't so good was the photo taken at the top position missed the lockout. I pushed out 3 more reps before I was happy with the picture. This may have hampered my attempt at the 32 due to fatigue, I don't know, that's my excuse anyway. I swung and held the 32 in position quite comfortably but on the press only managed to get it half way up. I reckon I could have ground it out if I could have maintained the balance but unfortunately I couldn't.
Nevermind, fact is I had achieved a new weight with the 28 and that was enough for now.

On to the actual workout: This has become a favorite of mine and can be done with single or double kettlebells. On this occasion I used double 16's

Swing
Snatch
Clean/Squat/Press

1 rep of each in that sequence then 2 then 3 right up to 5 and then 4, 3, 2, 1.
It's a 5 minute non-stop sequence which sees my heart rate to 170 plus the first time round. I Took a good 3 minute rest then went again with the double 16's
That's it, 10 minutes of work and a thorough beasting was had.
I decided I wanted to snatch my 32 today as well so after a 10 minute rest I knocked out 5 sets of 20 reps with a 2 minute rest inbetween. That was it for today but actually quite a high volume of work overall.

Todays session

No kettlebells today! Started off with a 2k row on my Concept 2 rower. This hasn't been used as much recently so I thought I would try a 2K to see how it felt. This wasn't going to be a max attempt however as I was going to train core chest and core afterwards. I warmed up for 1 K and then hit the 2 K reasonably hard. My goal was a time of 7 minutes dead and I was therefore trying to hit 1 minute 45 second 500 metre splits. I was 5 seconds in arrears at 1500 metres and therefore blitzed the final 500 hitting a split of 1.38. So 7 minutes was the target and that's what I achieved. Not a great time but then that wasn't the goal. I finished very strongly and that was encouraging as I felt as though I could have gone a further 3-400 at the 1.38 pace. It's a tough game though rowing and it did bring back memories of the previous ball busting efforts I've had in the past.

OK, row done, it was time to hit the TRX in the garden.
I did the following:

5 sets of TRX chest press with ever increasing shallower angles to the ground. The final set almost flat. This is where my faith in my TRX post (and the TRX) is really tested.
I then moved on to single sided chest press as a precurser to the upcoming core session and finally some flyes.
Next up was core and here, as I often do, I followed a fairly unstructured workout consisting of a solid ten minutes work.
I incorporated TRX suspended crunch, TRX suspended oblique crunch, suspended pike and some static holds in the form of planks.

Bottom up press

A recent addition to my exercise portfolio and one I have instantly fallen in love with is the kettlebell bottom up press. Wow, what a great feeling exercise, very satisfying to do and it makes my shoulders feel terrific.
Yesterday I cranked out no less than 7 sets, a bit excessive yes but I was well in the zone!
My first set was with a 12k bell and I knocked out 12 each side. I then progressed to the 16k and done another 12 a side. Next up, you guessed it, the 20 k. Once I'm here I start to notice the strength and stability differences between my two shoulders. On the right side I knocked out a good 10 reps while on the left I achieved 7
Next set was better, I managed 12 on the right and 8 on the left. Set 5 I upped the weight to the 24 on the right and managed 6 reps. On the left I stuck to the 20 and got another 8 reps.
Set 6 I got 24 x 5 on the right and 20 x 9 on the left.
Finally on set 7 I downsized and cranked out 15 reps left and right with the 16k.

So, overall very pleased with my efforts. I did a couple more reps after for the photos shown here.

This is my version of how to do a bottom up press.
First of all, take a weight that is significantly lighter than your usual military press weight. Believe me, it's a whole different ball game when you're having to balance a kettlebell up on it's end.
Now, the way I did it, I did a swing clean between each repetition. So once the bell is swung into position (see bottom photo) grip the bell hard, this exercise is all very much about body tension, you need to be 'tight' everywhere, no leakages please!! So, now you're all under tension, press the bell up slowly, exhaling on the way up remembering to keep those abs tight, keep a neutral grip so your thumb is at the back. Once you reach the top, pause momentarily before slowly pull the bell back down. This, I feel is very important as this exercise is all about mastering tension and staying in complete control. Once it's down with your hand at shoulder level, swing the bell back between your legs and back up coming to rest in the same starting position. That's it you're all ready to go again. I would advise that you keep an eye on the bell the whole time especially when it is near your face. I have attempted to use my peripheral vision once the bell starts to go up but presently find it a lot harder. This may come with practise.
OK, give them ago, believe me they are terrifically challenging to do and as a result a lot of fun. Good luck and keep tight.

06/08/2010 Tough session

A very tough session today, certainly tougher than it looked on paper.
Now, this may have been partly due to not eating prior to training for a period of 7 hours!! Don't quite know how this happened but for some reason events conspired against me to prevent me from eating.
Anyway session consisted of the following:
500 metre row
40 snatches (20 left 20 right)
12 pistols on left and right
15 wide grip pull ups
40 press ups
This was then repeated another 2 times for 3 circuits in total.
I did the 3 rows in an average of 1 minute and 37 seconds.
I used a 20 kg bell for the snatches.
A 12 kg for the pistols and bodyweight for the pull ups and press ups.
The idea was to run through the entire circuit without a pause but it was too tough. The row really took it out of me and combine that with the snatches and I was struggling to cope with the cardio overload.
Each circuit took about 12 minutes as a result.
Calorie burn was a good 500 with an average heart rate of 160.
Fortunately afterwards, I had a nice bit of fillet steak to cook up and that tasted great!

Kettlebell health and safety

I have put together a small feature on kettlebell health and safety. Even if you are a well conditioned gym goer, don't take the safe use of  kettlebells too lightly. A lot of the movements have a strong dynamic element to them as opposed to traditional gym work where weights are moved relatively slowly.

Never start a kettlebell program without following adequate instruction, ideally in a one to one format.


Be sure to start with a manageable weight.
Ideally this is 8 kg for a woman and 12 kg for a man.
If you have previous experience of training with weights then you may be able to progress quite quickly to a 12 kg and a 16kg respectively.

Always make sure you have adequate space around you to swing your kettlebell. These are dynamic movements, not always slow and controlled as in the weights room. Believe me; it is difficult to suddenly alter the path of a swinging 20 kg bell! You need a space of approximately 6 ft by 6 ft around you, and if training indoors, especially if you’re tall, good ceiling height. I f you're over 6 foot tall and you have a fairly standard UK house, you will not be able to snatch a kettlebell without hitting the ceiling!!

My advice would be to train outside (weather permitting) as this will enable you to move aside and simply drop the bell in case you get into difficulties. Trying to recover a wayward bell can easily result in a training injury. If you are training indoors whilst stood on an expensive oak floor and get into difficulties, you will automatically try to recover a wayward bell even if it means injuring yourself!! That's instinct for you.

Don’t buy cheap kettlebells! Please ask me for advice on where to get your kettlebells

Always warm up thoroughly to elevate your heart rate and then mobilise your joints before training.

Never use running shoes for your kettlebell training. Train either barefoot or with flat soled shoes. This enables you to have good sensory communication with the ground in order to receive feedback on correct positioning etc, which is important in kettlebell training.

Start with the basic kettlebell exercises. The swing, the clean, the press, the squat and the Turkish get up.

Look after your hands. You will get calluses, especially at the start. Get yourself a pumice stone and file them down and use plenty of hand cream. Build up your numbers slowly to allow your hands to adjust gradually.

Always warm up and mobilise your joints first. For mobility this can include arm circles, leg swings, hip circles and other similar type movements. Squatting and lunging make for great warm up exercises.

Leave your stretching until you are finished and make this a part of the cooling down process.

Please use common sense with all your kettlebell training. Remember, it’s all about the form, not how much weight you can lift.

Session 5/08/2010

Interesting session today.
Decided to concentrate on Turkish get up's as I have probably not done these as much as I should have.
Started with a 16k and worked up to a 32KG bell. That's a new size for me so I was a bit apprehensive. Working up through the weights though definitely helps.
Following this I decided to try something completely new.
The bottom up press. Only really messed about with this exercise in the past but today I was going to nail it and decided on 6 sets. A bottom up press is where you effectively press the bell upside down. This means that you have to stabilise the bell. This works the shoulder and the forearm as a result of this stabilisation.
I cleaned the bell each time before pressing it. Occasionally The bell would topple and I didn't count the rep unless it swung back through my legs.
I seemed to get the hang of it pretty quickly. Initially I was spotting the bell the whole way up and down to help with balance (and to protect my face)After about 3 sets I had the balance and confidence to just use my peripheral vision. I spotted the bell whilst at the bottom position next to my face but then left my gaze there while I executed the press.
This seemed to work well and I managed to work up to 20kg.
Next up some abdominal work. I started with some Russian twists and then finished with some mountain climbers.

Turkish Get Up's
Set 1 16kg 3 per side
Set 2 20kg 3 per side
Set 3 24kg 3 per side
Set 4 28kg 3 per side
Set 5 32kg 3 per side

Bottom up swing and press
Set 1 12kg 12 per side
Set 2 16kg 10 per side
Set 3 20kg RH 10/ 20kg LH 10
Set 4 20kg RH 9/ 16KG LH 10
Set 5 20kg RH 8/ 16KG LH 9
Set 6 20kg RH 8/ 16KG LH 8

Core
Russian twists
Set 1 12kg x 20
Set 2 16kg x 16
Set 3 16kg x 14

Mountain climbers
Set 1 1 minute
Set 2 1 minute
Set 3 1 minute
30 seconds rest between sets.

Session 04/08/10

Out on the decking today for a slightly damp session. Our summer here in the UK had come to a temporary end or so it would seem. I really should be living in a hotter country!!
After my usual warm up and mobility exercises I decided to crack on with some clean and jerks. This is not an exercise I have practised that much for reasons I'm not too sure about.
OK, I did the following, I had a one minute rest in between each set.
Set 1: 20kg x 20 left and right
Set 2: 24kg x 15 left and right
Set 3: 28kg x 12 left and right
Set 4: 32kg x 10 left and right
Set 5: 32kg x 10 left and right
Set 6: 32kg x 9 left and right
Set 7: 32kg x 8 left and right

This was followed by Cleans:
Set 1: 32kg x 20 left and right
Set 2: 32kg x 18 left and right
Set 3: 32kg x 16 left and right

At this point my forearms felt like jelly so I took a good 5 minute rest.
It was then my intention to snatch the 24,28 and the 32 for a few sets but there was a slight tear on a callous on my hand and it was bleeding so I had to quit after one set of the 32's.

2nd August 2010

Tough workout today which for reasons I'm not too sure off has left me with a tenderness in the crook of my elbows, especially the left one. It's right at the bicep insertion and I can only assume it's because I didn't warm up properly prior to snatching the 24k bell. I was warmed up in all other regards however so didn't think I would have a problem.
The workout today was a replica of a session I did one day last week except I started with a 24, which if I'm honest was too heavy.
The session was as follows.
3 exercises, Swing, Snatch and clean squat and press (done as one sequence)
Starting on the left arm I did one rep of each, then 2, then 3, 4, 5 and then back down to 4, 3, 2, and finally 1 rep. Then without rest, swapped to the right hand.
This is a good 8-9 minute sequence so is quite taxing.
I then took a 2 minute rest and repeated with the 20 k. I had every intention of doing a third set with the 16 but was worried about the pain in my lower bicep area.
All told, just over 20 minutes for the session. The 24 is a bit heavy at the moment and I struggled to complete the sequence with that weight.
On completion, I iced my left arm and will continue to do so for the next 24 hours and then ascertain how it feels. Hopefully it's not actually injured.
Twinging a bit right now as I write this which is a bit odd! Fingers crossed!