The problem with that is..: September 2013

After the month of July and and 11,000 one arm kettlebell swings, I didn’t think I could look at a kettlebell again for a long time. Then something possessed me on the morning of July 30, I decided that August would be a good month to do 5000 one arm snatches with a 20kg kettlebell.

In the month of August I was taking a 12 day road trip from Western PA to Colorado Springs and back, I was driving through 12 states in 12 days. Easy enough, bring along the kettlebell, it travels well. You can do snatches along the roadside and at the hotel. I also knew my month would be cut short since I was traveling back to Colorado Springs the last three days of the month. I could have put the 20kg kettlebell in a bowling ball bag and checked it as luggage (paid for the extra bag) and taken it along. I decided against that move as this was parents weekend at the Air Force Academy and the trip was meant to visit our son Cadet Viktor Rymniak. My wife Tanya may have had me committed to a mental institution plus I really needed the rest/recovery.

My sons room never looked like this when he lived at home

Proud Parents

Nothing is more motivating than a Parade

The goal of 5000 KB snatches didn't seem that overwhelming. Going in I figured I would need at least 6 complete rest days, so I had 25 training days ahead of me, so the average would have to be 200 snatches per training day. Easy enough, right? Well, easy but not simple. This was a maiden voyage for me attempting this type of kettlebell snatch volume. One snatch at a time, became my new motto. Away we go.

The Snatch Statue, Buffalo Thunder, Santa Fe NM

Building up the volume. The first 15 days of the month I was on the road and my intention was to build up the volume., slow and steady. I missed too many training days during this time. When I did snatch the ‘bell I hit decent numbers but I was still building up the volume and conditioning. So the overall total suffered.

On the road in the middle of America

Some of the places I did snatches were:

The parking lot of the Hampton Inn in Hays, KS, think Wizard of Oz. 8/3

The parking lot of a Laundry Mat in Colorado Springs, CO, interesting place. 8/7

The parking lot of a Cracker Barrel in Van Buren, Arkansas, got a lot of strange looks. 8/10

The gas pumps at a nasty gas station in Forest City, Arkansas, my wife had to go? 8/10

My room in the Hotel Peabody in Memphis, TN, ah, air conditioning. 8/11

A Love’s truck stop southwest of Nashville, TN, every trucker should have a KB. 8/12

A Love’s truck stop south of Elizabeth, Kentucky, interesting talk with a guy smoking cigarettes. 8/12

My friends drive way in Loveland, OH, felt almost like home. 8/14

Falcon Stadium, Colorado Springs Co

I snatched when I could and when I felt like it during the trip. I had some interesting conversations with people along the way that approached me when I was doing the snatches. Not sure if I converted anyone to the lifestyle of kettlebells, but it was fun.

Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo TX

I got back home on the 14^th woefully behind schedule on hitting the 5000. I was at 1085. At first I was going to abort the mission, instead I stepped on the gas for the next few days hitting 300 reps. I tapered off to the 250 and came into the finish line on August 28 with 100 reps.

August 1 through 14 performed 1085 reps, majority were sets of 10/10, with rest.

August 15 through 28 performed 2915 reps, started doing sets of 15/15 and 25/25.

That is 90 tons snatched over 28 days.

I missed too many days while I was traveling and when I did the reps I didn’t hit the numbers I needed too at the time. I did 4000 reps in 19 training sessions an average of 210 reps. I learned many training lessons on the way. I wasted some training days early in the month while I was travelling. Looking back I could have toughened up and did more reps on the road. The trip was fantastic though. I missed the last few days of the month, again travelling. I am certain I could have hit the 5000 with a little less travel and slightly more discipline.

Here is a recap of the month:

The snatch takes a lot more out of me than the one arm swing. For me the snatch is 2 times as taxing on my body as the one arm swing with the 20kg bell. The first consecutive days that I did 300 snatches I was beat up needed a complete rest day to recover properly. I was behind and might have pushed it a little too hard when I got back home.

My hands and grip took a beating. There really isn’t anything you can do but condition your hands and strengthen your grip by snatching. When I was traveling one of the main reasons why I didn’t do more snatches was my hands were not conditioned enough. They were sore and I didn’t want to tear open my calluses. Once I got back home I started using Anti-Monkey Butt powder and cut off socks to protect my hands on high volume days.

Once you get in the volume your technique starts to get sharper. I always went for that perfect rep, one snatch at a time. The 20kg bell is my RKC test bell. That bell is pretty light for me so I was able to keep up the volume once I got going. My hip drive and lock out became smooth. The movement seemed to flow.

On the 25^th I did the RKC snatch test. Results: 100 reps in 4:08 without setting the ‘bell down, this was a PR and this was the first time I did the 100 reps straight through. I felt good about that time, no world record but respectable.

The carry over effect to my golf game was outrageous. I am now re-thinking the best movement to increase shot distance and control is the kettlebell snatch versus the kettlebell swing. I am hitting the golf ball so much further with less effort. My body control, balance, stability, and power have all increased from the snatch volume.

I also did 9 Easy Strength sessions during this journey. The snatches helped my overall strength. My dead lift and bench press numbers went up slightly. My double kettlebell military press went up I am now using 28kg bells. Dead Hang Pull Ups became easier for me.

My diet wasn’t all that strict during the month of August, travelling, anniversary, birthday and just general over all indulgence. One thing that I found was doing high volume snatches seemed to suppress my appetite. I’m not sure if it is the met-con effect or after you get done you just do not feel like eating anything for a while. The downside was I discovered a taste for Memphis BBQ and a great Manhattan.