2009/02/02 - Day 25: Starting the last micro-cycle

My current 4x7 is drawing to a close and I have thoroughly enjoyed the incorporation of bodyweight exercises into my routine. I'm hoping to post some thoughts on the results of the cycle on Thursday.

Today I did the final moderate intensity day of this cycle and this is what it looked like:

BWER hybrid routine / 4 supersets / 90 seconds rest

Quad squat / Rocca

One legged squat / Lateral leg swoop

Pike / Crow

Reaching arch / jump squat

I concluded the session with some more slow practice of the Prasara Flock of Pigeons flow.

2008/09/10 - Moderate Intensity

Summer is coming early this year. For the last couple of years here in Joburg it seems that we totally skip spring and jump straight from winter into mid-summer. For my session today I chose exercises from the AKC protocol that puts very little strain on the hip flexors since I've been struggling with my left hip for about a week. Here is how it went:

Intuflow intermediate level

16kg / 4 minutes on / 1 minute off:

Press: 24/24
Half Snatch: 20/20
Bottom up clean: 24/22

Swing (40kg): 10/10

Twice through the Prasara Cricket flow.

2008/09/06 - Another day's training

Yesterday I worked late so I missed my scheduled high intensity day. All the sitting yesterday for some reason tightened up my left hip and it is feeling pretty uncomfortable today. I did the Intuflow beginner sequence this morning to see if it would shift something. I do feel looser but the hip is still not wonderful. I decided to train anyway and this is how it went:

Intuflow beginner sequence (I skipped the 4CBD, floor work and breathing at the end)

One arm jerk: 8 minutes @ 8rpm: 32/32
Snatch: 6 minutes @ 12rpm: 36/36

Swings (24kg): 20/20

Twice through the Prasara yoga Vine flow.

For some reason my hip felt a lot better after the jerk session. The jerks actually seemed to relax whatever was stuck a bit. The Vine flow is something else. I'm grateful nobody can post my performance on Youtube - it was ugly. I enjoy the flow a lot but it is going to take a long time before I can do any of it in such a way that it resembles yoga.

2008/08/19 - Moderate intensity and a new exercise

With the IKFF certification coming closer I'm going to have to start incorporating some neglected exercises into my schedule. Today I threw in some cleans as well as one arm overhead squats (which I haven't trained before). Ouch! Here is what I did:

Intuflow beginner level

Did the following with 1 minute rest between sets:

Press (16kg): 4 minutes: 24/24
One Arm Jerk (24kg): 4 minutes: 16/16
Clean (16kg): 4 minutes: 26/26

2,5 minutes rest

One Arm Overhead Squat (16kg): 2 minutes: 5/5
Swing (32kg): 15/15

Prasara Cricket flow x 2

The overhead squats were very difficult. I didn't have an issue with the arm above my head but it was hell of a difficult to get down low enough into the squat. I now have to figure out where I'm too tight but I suspect it might be my lower back. I'll be working on these squats in the weeks to come.

2008/08/18 - Starting the week with yoga

Today was a low intensity day. I did:

Intuflow beginner level.

7 Rounds of the Prasara Cricket flow.

1 Round of the Vine flow just as practice.

Once I am familiar with the postures and transitions of the Vine flow I will start incorporating it into my practice as well. I am really enjoying my yoga practice at the moment and keep having a feeling that I want to do more. Unfortunately every day just have so many hours and I don't want to overdo it. I'm still playing with the idea of doing a 4x7 using just yoga and other body-weight methods like Flowfit and Forward Pressure. For now I'm hard at work preparing for Steve Cotter's IKFF certification so my body-weight 4x7 will have to wait until the end of October.

2008/08/15 - Up a few notches

Today being a moderate intensity day and given my relative inactivity over the past two weeks I decided to take things up a few notches. I decided to take my working sets up in time from 3 minutes to 4 minutes but to maintain the rest periods at 1 minute. This is how it went:

Intuflow beginner level

4 minutes work / 1 minute rest / 16kg:

Press: 24/24
Half Snatch: 20/20
Long Cycle Push Press: 20/20

32kg Swings: 15/15

Twice through the Prasara Cricket flow

I was very happy with my RPM (although I have to admit that form on the Long Cycle got a tad ugly). I was also surprised that the extra minute added to each set didn't seem to make any difference. I'm not sure what to attribute that to. Maybe consistent training? Perhaps the 4x7 schedule allows my body to recover optimally between kettlebell sessions? Who knows. The fact of the matter is that this was a very enjoyable session and I seem to be fully back on track after my tummy bug last weekend. Tomorrow is the high intensity / long set day.

2008/08/07 - Low intensity Intuflow and Prasara

Today I did:

Intuflow Intermediate level
Prasara Cricket Flow x 6

This was my best Prasara session thus far. I took things slowly and held each posture briefly to try and get the form as perfect as I can at the moment. There were a few moments during the practice where I could actually experientially understand what is meant by flow.

The purpose of the low intensity day in the bigger scheme of a 4x7 schedule has a lot to do with compensatory recovery. Since kettlebells are my primary exercise modality the Cricket flow is a natural choice for me. I find that the bells impact a lot on my upper back / shoulders as well as my lower back / hip / hip flexor areas. The Cricket flow is a great hip loosener and also seems to open up and release tension in both the upper and lower back. The next flow which is a natural choice for me due to my exercise schedule is the Vine flow which also opens up the hip flexors nicely. I'm likely to start exploring it soon. Cheers for now!