Bye bye knee injury.. Where have my reps gone?

My knee is as good as it's going to be so its back to the iron. Unfortunately all my gains have gone after taking such a long time out. My T levels feel way down too which has inspired me to train more than anything. If I compare how I feel to how I was in my Hong Kong holiday earlier in the year I'm at 30%.

There's no point pissing about with 20kg kettlebells, so I'm back on the 24's even though my strength is way down.

Here's my comeback routine in a bloody cold Warwick park.

Double 24 OHP : 1x4, 1x3, 1x4
Renegade rows : 3x10 (l,r)
Single OH lung : 1x10 (l,r) failed on the left
Double 24 squats : 3x5

Let's get back up to 5x5 overhead presses and then think about a 32kg kettlebell.

Back in..

Hmm... My left knee suffered after going back to BJJ class a couple of times and isn't quite right still but since my T levels seemed to be on the wain I thought I should start training again.

Since this is a return session I kept it light. I was also pushed for time and still unsure about the strength of my left knee.

Single KB (24kg) Mil Press (5r 3l x3)
OH KB Alternating Lunges (10 KB OH R, 7 KB OH L) then (5 KB OH R, 5 KB OH L) x2
Single KB Squat (5 R, 5 L)

Just seven sets but my knee felt alright. I might move back to twin 20kg KB for the next session.

tired stop gap work out

It's past 11pm and I've been at work all day long..

I'm tired but I wanted to work out.. Took 5mg Creapure with some orange juice an hour or so b4 workout.. Everything was done in my flat...

DB KB Squats 12, 10, 10
30kg Overhead Pull 12, 10, 12
Curls 10x3 (l,r)

felt pukey again.. need dextrose.. Just a fill in workout.. better do this than nothing

Nutrition plan

Ok.. One serving of One-stop has all my multi vits, ZMA, creatine, L-Glutamine in it but it recommends taking two servings a day?.. Why? I'm doubling up on what I need.

Each tub has 28 servings so at 2 servings a day that's two tubs a month. That's £60.

Here's a better idea.

Non training day : take one serving at night. That'll give me my creatine for the day (5g) and ZMA/Multi Vits.

Training day : One hour before the workout take 5g creatine with fruit juice. After workout make a protein shake with added fresh fruit. One-stop serving at night.

Result : one tub a month, no doubling up the vitamins. I have 3 tubs here so that's three months supply now. I will need to buy some protein powder and creatine though. My fruit intake will increase too.

5x5 success

first news

DB OH KB press 24kg 5x5! ... that's one goal reached..
Chin Ups 12,10,10,10,8

DB KB Squats 10,10,10,8.. ran out of energy..

Yep, that feeling is back.. pukey, lack of sugar, energy crash...

I'm quite curious about creatine and how to deal with it. Going to look into taking it an hour or so b4 training. It's one of the few supplements that works..

To maca or not?

Not much to say here, I'm just leaving this post as a reminder to myself. I've looked up maca as a supplement and it seems to not improve hormone levels but it does improve sexual desire through other methods after a few weeks.

Should I buy maca? no.

ZMA or not..

I thought I'd just Google Scholar search for research done on ZMA as it's one of the supplements I pay for. Basically, is it worth my money?

First impression. You make gains 95% from putting in the hard work!. I am gaining weight and having improved hormone levels mainly from my workouts, not a magic pill. But still, is it worth spending the extra on a all-in-one powder with ZMA and creatine inside?

First look.. ZMA

Brilla and Conte (2000) ran a positive research test on off season footballers that showed T and IGF-I levels increasing in the off season compared to the control group having a mild reduction in levels. Another paper had no perceptible increases in hormone or body composition. Parvin et al (1995) tested zinc on strength levels over 8 weeks on women and did not find any significant improvements.

One positive research paper doesn't prove the subject especially when there was only really one other comparable paper that had no significant results. Does it improve sleep? Maybe.. again hard to confirm.

So should I buy it? At about £10 a month, no. But if it comes as part of an all-in-one powder then its an awful lot cheaper, why not?

Chin up fella

Side strain seems to be ok... shortened work out today with just one KB

Single KB OH press l,r 5x5 (last two sets 4 reps on the left)
Chin up 10,8,6,6,6

Tried some squats but one KB wasn't heavy enough.. lunges not and option in my clothing..

One month on.. my thoughts and goals..

It's been just over a month since I started this training again. Time to quickly think about my goals.

Size : I'm a hard gainer so I shouldn't base my goals on size and appearance. I'm not a body builder (but I am a little vain)..
Strength : This is a realistic goal. Although my body isn't changing a lot, my numbers are. Keep my pride in strength and performance. These numbers encourage me.
Fitness : Gotta work on that.. ;-)
Hormones : I feel good.. I feel angresive in a good way at times..
Supplements : Just need more protein, the other stuff doesn't make much difference. One stop seems to fix my supplement cravings mainly. Separate protein, creatine, ZMA and others cost too much!

Conclusion : Train to raise numbers (Strength).. the size will follow.. Training strength seems to impact my hormones positively.

Man-Bells!!

I was injured from the last workout, something is pulled on my ribs. Still, I waited a few days and went out again. This time I'm using my brand new John Brookfield hollow bells. This things are huge!! They look much bigger than my 24's, something like 40's!! It's a real man looking thing..

Too big for me? They do look kinda comical I think to the casual viewer. Like they are blown up or something. Anyway, I've got mine filled up to 24kg each at the moment. There is room to take them up to 32kg with steel powder inside.. or much heavier with lead powder. For now I imagine that 32's are a way off for me so steel powder it is! It's cheaper too.. Will I ever get to the point where I think.. hmmm.. 32 is too light.. I need more!

Here's what I did...

farmer walk to the park
DB KB OH press 4x5, 2x4, 1x3, 1x2 (good numbers.. only just short of 5x5)
Renegade rows 2x10 l,r .. then FAIL! my injury isn't good enough to engage the core so much.
DB KB squat... FAIL! .. felt both intercostals straight away in a bad way..
Single OH KB lunges 10 alternating with right OH, 10 alternating with left OH
couple of DB jerks for skills...

So what do I take from this?... I need more volume on the presses now.. 5x5 isn't enough.. I feel I need to add volume to this.
Rows seem very inadequate.. I really need to sort out a pull up bar...
After my core is healed I need to get back to squatting... squats rule!

24's don't feel so heavy..

Not like they used to!

Db KB OH press 1x6 2x5 2x4 (rest must of done me good)
Db KB rows 5x10

Single OH Kb alternating lunges (10 steps OH right, 10 steps OH left) x3
one set swings (too painful for the skin on my hands.. )

Farmers walk to and from home..

So my OH press numbers are better.. almost 5x5 with the 24s. I liked the variation today for lunges. As an exercise it simulates shooting double legs more than squats and with the bell held overhead it strengthens the shoulder further.

I didn't get along with the swings, the skin on my palms were tearing up quickly. Looks like my hamstrings are being neglected in my training again. Let's hope the squats, lunges and occasional deadlifts will improve them..

I haven't touched my red 20's in a while which is a shame, to me they look beautiful. I'm expecting two fillable bells to replace everything I have got. They will be able to be filled up to 32kg with steel and 40kg with lead.

pushed for time..

I'm near the end of the busiest work month of my life and somehow I've managed to keep training.. Training high volume when I'm so pushed for time seems to be counterproductive. My OH press was actually worse today than earlier in the week, it could be because of the sets of squats in between tired my core and reduced my press or it could just be that my body hasn't recovered properly.

Db KB OH press (24kg) 2x5, 1x4, 2x2
Renegade rows 5x8 (l,r)
Db KB squats 1x5, 1x6, 2x8, 1x10
Farmers walk to and from the park.

I'm tired the next day and feeling a little ill. Kinda run down. I'm working now for 4 days so I'll let myself recover for all of that.

Body wise.. I'm certainly bigger than I was but I've also put on some fat too with all the eating. I wasn't expecting to make clean gains (does anyone really?). I might consider putting in one HIIT session a week or perhaps just make it to BJJ...

First blood to the 24's

Two days ago:

Front barbell squats 1x10@60kg 9x5@70kg
some dumbbell renegade rows

Today.. first go with double 24kgs KBs

Double KB Mil Press : 2x5 1x4 1x3 1x4
Renegade Rows : 5x8 (l,r)
Single KB snatch practice 3 sets each arm.
Farmers walk to and from the flat to the park.

I struggled with the press a little more than I thought kind of. Was I truly expecting to perform 5x5? Well, yes... My 20kg numbers were good and I felt strong. But I couldn't manage 5x5. That's good though.. room to improve to get to 5x5!

The bells seem light still for renegade rows.. I really could do with 32s! I must locate a way to do weighted chin ups.. it's far better for my arms and back...

First blood.. the handles on the 24's aren't as smooth as I hoped.. and I pulled off a corn.. Chalk!

Gyming away

On the cricket in Durham.. pitiful..

6x5 65kg Bench
5x5 1x2 Chin Up
40kg Lunges 6x5 (l,r)

Struggling to think of a hamstring exercise other than swings and deadlifts.. I didn't want to swing dumbbells and I thought that the lunges and deadlifts might of been too much for me today.

Little more tired than I thought but this is a seriously busy month. I enjoy kettlebell work outs much more!

The 24's will be here by Monday.. Bring on the heavy metal!

In a rush..

Had a shoulder tweak after the last workout so I was delayed getting back into it. Only 4 hours sleep and no breakfast before my workout.. and against the clock. Not ideal.

DB KB Mil Press 3x6 2x5 (shoulder felt fine)
Alternating renegade rows 4x10 (l,r)
DB KB Squat 4x10
Farmers walk to and from home

Ended up feeling a little light headed since i didn't have any breakfast.. It had to do.. Glad my shoulder is back in condition again.. Gonna gym it in Newcastle over the next 5 days..

No bell prize

Away with work so I went to the gym. It's a bit of a rip off really, every month I could buy a kettlebell with the money.. I'll really have to cancel it this week I think.

Bench 1x4 @ 70kg, 3x5 @ 65kg, 1x4 @ 65kg
Chin ups 10,8,5,5,5
Deadlifts 6x5 @ 95kg?

Sore lats and lower back 2 days later, slight twinge in my right knee. One good thing though, I'm very confident about my testosterone levels as I had a morning 'gentlemen's embarrassment' that just wouldn't go away this morning. Mike Mahler often used this as a rough indicator to your T levels and if that's so, my T levels are improving!

So what caused this? Lifting heavy? Supplementation? a combination of the two?

Probably the latter.. but whatever is happening, it's certainly happening! My biceps are pumped too, much bigger and harder. Could this be from the Creatine water intake? I certainly have gotten bigger and bulkier. I'm going to continue with what I'm taking, so I'm going to need more maca and trib. Very happy with the one-stop powder, it's very cost effective.

keeps going up!

Double OHKB press : 3x6 2x5 (keep pushing the last one and I should of got 5x6)
Alternating renegade rows : 8 (l,r)x5
Double KB front squat : 2x10 2x8 1x10 (nice improvement)
single overhead lunge steps : 5 steps (l,r) x4, 10 steps (l,r) x1. Probably do 8 steps (l,r) next time x5.
Windmills 2x6
double kb farmers walk home (instead of single alternating). Lots of burn in my forearms.. stopped several times.. very beneficial feeling.

Improvements in press and squats. Renegade rows are comfortable. Another strong workout with improvements. Dextrose intake is well done to just half a tablet. I am not getting pukie and dizzy like before..

Getting somewhere..

Today :

Double OH Press : 5x5!! made it... last rep on the last 2 sets was a real push..
Double bent over KB row : 10x2 8x3
Double KB squat : 10x2 8x3
Double KB swing : 10x2 8x3
Windmills (l,r) 6x2

Some real improvements here in my press by getting it to 5x5. I'll do it again next this week and then I'll be in the gym for about 2 weeks at least. So I'll test my 5x5 after my gym trip. If I can manage the 5x5 easily after my 2 weeks in the gym I'll consider moving up to double 24kgs... that's a real achievement.

Swapped renegade rows for another exercise to change things up. I really need to start weighted chin ups somehow..

The last set of swings were mentally hard to start.. made it though..

Is the creatine the cause of my marked improvement??

Improvement but at a cost..

Todays workout :

Double OH press 4x2 5x3 (improved reps by speeding up the press)
Alternating renegade row 8 (l,r) x5
Double KB Squat 8x5
Single KB lunge 8 (l,r) x5
Windmill 6 (l,r) x2

no finisher.. pushed for time.. The walk back with the bells was easier (essentially a 300 yard farmers walk).

Good news then, my OH lift has improved with the final 3 sets being all 5 reps. I really need to improve this as everything else I am doing is over 5 reps easily. I want to move up to 24kg bells so that my rows and squats will reduce in rep range. For now though the 8 rep range is good enough to build me up a bit and prepare my body for what's ahead.. heavy metal.

the cost?... slight headaches maybe as a reaction to the creatine. I remember having that before so I need to keep an eye on it. It's background stuff but annoying all the same.

20 kgs not enough??

Here's what I did :

Double overhead press : 4x5
Renegade rows : 5x5 (5 a side)
Double squats : 8x5
Double swings : 10x4 7x1
Windmills : 2x5 l,r

50 push up finisher..

Well, I couldn't manage 5x5 OH press with the 20kg bells but I could exceed the 5x5 protocol on all other exercises. So what does that mean? One, I've got a weak press which isn't news and two, I should be using double 24kg bells! Damn, I only just got my nice new shiny red 20's. Perhaps I would be better off with a pair of 24's and just doing sets of 3 reps for strength on the presses?

Here's what to do though. I've only just started training again so lets keep going with the 20's until I can do 5x5 OH presses. The higher rep range on the other exercises will just help my body adjust to working out again and build some muscle.

Doing overhead presses with double 24's will be sweet!

side note.. I feel really good after my workout.. sore traps a little.. nothing too wasted. Buzzing a little which is good and I was more sexually charged too after 20 mins so that's a positive sign of my T levels being heightened.

Time for doubles..

I've been using my single 20kg bell, as it is what I had... That's been going well but I finally have my doubles!

So today will be my first proper double kb workout.. 5x5 overhead press, renegade rows, squats and swings.

As for nutrition. I'm gonna stick with Reflex one stop, maca, ginseng and trib. Todays meal :

Purple brocolli
Pine nuts
Mix beans
Avocado
Brown and wild rice
Peri peri chilli, garlic, stock and celtic sea salt...

Washed down with some green tea.

I'll post some post workout thoughts..

I'm back!

Ok.. I've spent a year out of training at least, my life has changed amazingly, hopefully for the good.

One thing that has suffered is my training. I've been so busy chasing a full time degree, full time work and more that I simply haven't trained at all. I have lost a lot of body mass and weight and I look too thin. But it's spring, the season to instigate change.

I have always been a fan of kettlebells so I will get back into that to develop my physical attributes. I'm also a big fan of 5x5 training and Mike Mahler so I'll go back down that route. I wish to challenge myself with overhead KB lifts to track my progress starting with double 20kg 5x5 sets. The left side of my body will struggle with this to start out with so I expect there to be some rebalancing of my muscles before I move onto bigger weights.

Proposed workouts (twice a week) containing push, pull, quad, hamstring and core with a IGF boosting finisher.

Push - Military OH 2KB press or Chest press
Pull - renegade row or weighted pull up
quad - 2KB squat or 1KB single leg squat
hamstring - 2KB swing, 2KB lung
core - Windmill or TGU

one from each group 5x5 with 2x5 core.

Nutritionally I have spent a long time exploring myself with vegan, raw vegan, vegetarian foods. I just don't feel like I can ever move back to meat again.

Suggested supplements - Reflex One Stop, Sun Warrior raw protein, maca, trib and ginseng.

Suggested meal (like the one I'm currently eating) - half tin of organic baked beans, half tin of mung beans, brown rice with wild rice mix, spinach and half an avocado.

Sure it's not super high in protein but it doesn't have to be I think. Let's find out how well my body reacts to this. There is often something in my diet that makes me extremely windy, I suspect it to be fruit, esp. citrus fruits. I should learn what does this as such painful amounts of intestinal wind is a sure signal that I just cannot absorb certain foods.

I do need a glucose source when training to avoid post workout pukes. I am sick way too easily and I'm prone to just crashing. Taking a glucose supplement just before and during training is absolutely necessary!

This is the start. Let's see how far I can go.