Sooo....what's happening?

Does anyone feel it? The 500 snatches with a light weight. I did it Friday with a #3 and Saturday with a #2. I am noticing some serious metabolic demands. Maybe coupling them with the burpees it triggered something but my bodyweight is down and I have woken to my alarm for the past two days and that never happens. So, I think were on to something here. I am going to continue it for as long as it seems reasonable. I have been wanting to drop some body fat before my re-certification in July. I did the 500 snatches again today with the #3. I think I will alternate the 2 and 3 while snatching 500 daily. That is 13,200 lbs of work one day and 17,600 lbs the next. Today it took me 20:45 min to get the 500 snatches. That is an awesome work return on a very small time investment. Now I am off to get my burpees. Get yours. 34!!

BTW....The SSST is on the Calendar !! Time to bust up your number

Some thoughts....

First, I want to introduce a guy that really puts forth an effort. This is John. John and I went to H.S. together and (as fate would have it) ended up in the same series in Marine Corps Boot Camp. John is a good guy and generally nondescript. HE is a pilot for a major airline and a good family man. If you met him in a bar you wouldn't expect this kind of brilliant behavior from him UNLESS you knew him. He is stealthy, to say the least. I love this picture of him. There is another picture I love as well but I will let this one sink in and maybe post the other one tomorrow. In Johns own words," No winkies were hurt during the photo shoot."

The Burpee Progression started yesterday. Today you perform two burpees. I am dedicated to sending out and email everyday for the next 99 days to remind you. Keep the count going at home during non-class days. Class days we will start our training with the burpees due that day. If you come to class and you have already done the burpees for that day it will just be extra training for you as you do them with the class (the love never ends). The progression has drawn out some forces. We are actually 8 days behind Steve and Brenda. They started the progression unknown to me. Cap is throwing in a push-up progression and Cat' is with us in spirit. She is going to bust them out independently.

The SSST was a monster success. Everyone did better than they thought and creating new approaches based on their individual performances. Multiple requests for a follow-up test have surfaced. I will announce it again. Very soon. Weeks, not months. Personally I am still really tight in the trap'z bilaterally. tonights training will put this to bed as we work lighter pairs. I have put very specific time aside tomorrow to get the record board up on the wall. Out pet project will be to start targeting the categories and filling in the board.

Because They Asked.......

I couldn't be more proud. Our cycle of training has been higher than usual. It all started Jan. 1st and ramping things for the Saturday boot camp. After boot camp we had the heavy snatch day. I had comments on both days to have another boot camp or another heavy snatch day. It would seem the punishment cannot be too great. Last night was a moderately heavy press day to get the shoulders back in the game. This morning I get a request for the Secret Service Snatch Test (SSST). What ?!? More over the top efforts ? What is Feb' going to look like ? Okay...SSST it is. The request wasn't actually for the SSST. It was for the SSST, THIS MONTH !!! I think we are in a groove.

Let's review. The SSST is a timed event. It last 10 minutes. In order to pass...just 'pass' the individual must complete 200 snatches in 10 minutes. Men use a 24kg bell (#5) and ladies use a 12 kg bell. This is the SSST. NO ACCOMMODATIONS FOR AGE !! Although I think it's wonderful your in your twilight years, you can mention that as you boast your numbers. The SSST is a standard. It is hard. It is not meant to be easy. If you get <100...it's a lethargic effort. Thank you for playing. Enjoy the beer. 150 reps gets you in the game. That is one snatch every 4 seconds...half the pace/rate of the VO2. Heart is pumping and body is shaking and taking a hit. 200 let's you know you've been somewhere. It is a tad slower than the VO2. It is not an easy path. You will feel it all over. Your heart will feel like it is jumping out of your chest. The room will spin. Your stomach will flipped. Your hammies are fried. IT'S MISERABLE...for a reason. We want to get the greatest 'suck factor' out of that ten minutes. You will want to die. But, it's only 10 minutes. The bell can be placed on the ground for a rest. Do not rest more than 5 breaths or you will suffer getting the bell moving again. Resting overhead is best. It's only 10 minutes. We will partner up. Your partner will count for you. You don't have to count...just focus on the next rep, and the next, and the next, and the next. The KB stud men and women get numbers in the 230-250 range. Hard-core nuts get the 260-280 range. I have never seen or heard of anyone breaking 300. That would be the VO2 pace for 10 full minutes. One rep every 2 seconds. In-freaking-sane. Personally, I don't know where I stand. I have not attempted the SSST in a long time. I don't know how many over the 200 I can get these days. We'll find out.

Here's what will happen...someone will walk up to me and tell me they "quit early", "rested too much", "they could have done more but".....BUT NOTHING. It's 10 minutes. Dig deep and pull this out out. It's the mother event. We will do this on Monday, 31st. We will do it in both classes. It is the only thing we will do. A nice easy day. 10 min drill. 15-20 minute rest for those that finished. 10 minute drill 15-20 minute rest. Enjoy the rest of the night.

Get some rest.

SSST and ULTIMATE SSST

Here is the official/unofficial site for keeping track of the numbers. I was talking to Robert Budd RKC-TL a while back when he was trying to get on the list. He was a little annoyed it was taking so long to get his effort posted. So, it must be an important site to get published on if you want to post the numbers. Either way, the numbers are impressive.