Another month has gone by in my training for the RKC and now there’s just under 3 months to go!
Halfway through December I posted a workout from my my training plan. I did 20 training sessions (4 workouts each week) and I’m really pleased with the gains I have made strength-wise. I did deadlifts, push ups and either chin ups or pull ups every time I worked out. I did front squats (with a barbell) one day each week. I did swings or snatches at the end of each workout. Keep in mind I never worked out to complete failure (I always could have done one more rep) and even though I did quite a bit of volume each week, the volume of an exercise in any given day was nothing crazy.
I thought I would get bored since I was doing the same exercises each day, but I actually found myself really looking forward to these training sessions. I loved seeing strength gains and I loved how some portions of the workout got so much easier by the end of 5 weeks that I could buzz right through them.
For comparison, here is the workout that I posted in December with my starting and ending weights included.
Turkish Get Ups 2 x 2R/2L
- First workout – 16K
- Fifth workout – 16K
Deadlift 2 x 5
- First workout – 125LB
- Fifth workout – 150LB
Pullups 5 x 2
- First workout – bodyweight
- Fifth workout – bodyweight
Pushups 4 x 5
- First workout – bodyweight
- Fifth workout – bodyweight
One arm kettlebell swing ladder 3 x 5R/5L with each weight
- First workout – (16K, 20K, 24K)
- Fifth workout – (16K, 20K, 24K, 28K)
I increased my deadlift by 25lb in just 5 weeks. In a different workout where I did a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 rep scheme, I did a 165LB deadlift for 1.
I also started swinging the 40K kettlebell with two hands and swinging the 28K with one hand for 5 reps at a time.
As you can see, I used the 16K kettlebell for TGU’s the whole way though (although I think I may attempt a 20K TGU soon). Bodyweight pull ups and chin ups as well as pushups all became significantly easier over the course of 5 weeks. I posted a video of me doing an 18lb weighted chin up and just a few short weeks later I can do a 10K weighted chin up consistently…clearly a result of greasing the groove baby. 🙂
We’re more than halfway through January already…how’s your training going so far this year?
You Rock! Deadlifts. Wow…I can’t even imagine doing that with a back like mine. I too like how you broke down your workouts. Very neat and organized.
Thanks Michelle! What’s wrong with your back?
Wow! That is awesome! I love the breakdown of your workout and updates on the weight increases. That is some great progress and I bet you look and feel fantastic!
Thanks…I definitely feel like I’m getting so much strong. Give me strength training over running any day. 🙂
Amanda, I love the way your broke down your workouts to show your progress…you made tons! It must feel so great to make such solid gains with each workout. I am also a huge proponent of leaving a rep in the tank. Training until failure feels great, but ultimately, I always burn out a few weeks into a program if I do that. Halfway through Jan, I am just training to maintain great energy levels and enjoy my workouts in these last 13ish weeks before babe gets here. That said, I still feel really fit, nimble and energized, so all is well. Happy belated birthday!
Thanks Jaya! It’s been really interesting to me to track my workouts so that I can see what type of progress I’m making as I go. Look at you with only 13 weeks left! Woohoo!