Jim vs. Helen

Needed to run, needed to work with the kettlebells, and this one got posted by BrandX last week.

“Helen”
Three rounds for time of:
400m run
Kettlebell swings x 21
Pull-ups x 12

I did the pack scaling again, as in January, which meant using the 35lb bell. But I finished in 9:50, which is faster than my January time by about 50 seconds, and the fastest I’ve done this workout at any scaling by around 10 seconds.

I’ll take it.

Jim vs. Kettlebell Swings, Grinders

Did a scalded version of a Greyskull workout this morning, just because.

10 rounds for time of:
15 kettlebell swings
5 grinders (pull-up + hanging leg raise)

Finished in 9:33, so glad I scaled. My lower back will not be thanking me.

Jim vs. The Kettlebell Combat Complex

Brought this one back from last fall’s kettlebell/bodyweight hybrid workouts.

Kettlebell combat complex x 3
KB snatch x 5, KB clean and press x 5
Repeat w/ other hand
Goblet squat x 10
Goblet reverse lunge x 5/5
KB clean pull x 5, KB row x 5
Repeat w/ other hand
KB swings x 10

Oof. Rested three minutes between sets. My lower back may sue me; hope I stretched it out enough, after.

Jim vs. KB Swings, Box Jumps, Push-ups

This was an abbreviated version of this workout due to time constraints, and it still kicked my ass.

AMRAP in 10 minutes of:
Kettlebell swings (53lbs) x 10
Box jumps x 10
Hand release push-ups x 10

Finished six rounds, plus the swings and four box jumps of the seventh. Kicked. My. Ass.

Jim vs. Chipper

I’m not sure if this is really the Chipper, or simply a chipper. Frankly, don’t much care.

“Chipper”
For time:
Handstand push-up progressions* x 20
Pull-ups x 25
Kettlebell swings (35lb) x 30
Sit-ups x 35
Burpees x 40

Unsurprisingly, the burpees ate up most of my time. Helluva way to end a WOD. Finished in 9:27.

* Today’s progression saw my feet up on my 18″ box jump platform.

Jim vs. The Filthy Fifty (or at least the Terrible Thirty-Five)

It’s a long road back.

For time:
35 box jump, 18 inch box
35 jumping pull-ups
35 kettlebell swings, 1 pood
35 jumping lunges
35 Ab-Mat sit-ups
35 push press, 20lb dumbbells
35 Good Mornings
35 sandbag thrusters, 25lb bag
35 burpees
35 (jump rope x 3) (i.e. 105 reps)

This is another one I haven’t touched in over three years. Last time I did it, I did it as Rx’d (with a few substitutions based on limited equipment) and finished in just over 32 minutes. This time I was back to the scaled version, and finished in 20:00 on the nose.

Looking back, I’ve done the 35-rep version in about 15 minutes, but even then I made some key substitutions that probably made this go-round the tougher of the two.

But still: long road back.

Jim vs. Helen

It wasn’t as cold out, and I’m still annoyed by my last round of jump rope, so I did the runs on this one.

“Helen”
Three rounds for time of:
400m run
Kettlebell swings x 21
Pull-ups x 12

Not my best effort: I did the Pack scaling, which meant using the 35lb bell instead of the 53. I finished in 10:39, which is slower than my last go round in which I did use the 53. On the other hand, apparently an air temperature that’s only just above freezing is still enough to almost kick my asthma off, and that “almost” makes me feel better about this one.

But damn: I really lose my running chops fast in the winter. I may need to make time to get onto the track in Barton.

Jim vs. Pull-ups, Sandbag Thrusters, Kettlebell Swings

For Christmas, I got myself a 20 minute AMRAP. I am such a dick.

Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
5 Pull-ups
10 Sandbag thrusters, 25lb bag
15 Kettlebell swings, 35lb bell

This was actually a little tougher than the Pack scaling: I don’t have a 12-16 lb medicine ball, so I did 25lb sandbag thrusters. Yeah, I wasn’t hucking the thing up in the air, but over 100+ reps I think the 9-13 extra pounds took more of a toll.

I got through 12 full rounds, plus 5 pull-ups and 3 thrusters. Oof.

Jim vs. Back Squats, Box Jumps & KB Swings

Didn’t have much time today, but what with the world ending I thought I’d get in some back squats. (Though, since burpees prepare us for Ragnarok, I probably should’ve done those.)

Back squats
145 x 3
175 x 3
205 x 3
190 x 3
160 x 3

My knees felt damned creaky on these. Maybe they sensed the storm? I’m still sore in my back and shoulders now, so maybe it’s that, or maybe I’m sick, or something. Odd.

Oh, and my finisher:

10, 8, 6, 4, 2 of:
Box jumps
KB swings

It’s weird going back to swings with a dumbbell — this time, a 52.5lb one — instead of a kettlebell. Really don’t like it as much. Finished in 2:29.

Jim vs. Kettlebell/Bodyweight Weekend Workout #1

Yes, this is the first workout of the program I just finished. I’m not restarting, though; it’s just that the program provided 12 very cool workouts with a lot of movements I don’t tend to do. So I figure, one per weekend will be a solid complement to the mainly barbell workouts I do during the week.

Superset x 4 of:
1-arm KB clean and press, 5 per hand
Max pull-ups, changing grip each round (9-7-7-5)

Superset x 3 of:
Walking KB lunges, 12 each hand
Max push-ups (23-21-20)

3 sets of:
Hand-to-hand KB swings x 20

Run for 5 minutes

Odd: my pull-up reps went down, but my push-up reps went up. Overall, I felt more comfortable with the exercises. So, that’s that.