Sunday 18th July

Well it's been a big couple of days. Relocated from Newport to Pascoe Vale South. Consequently there hasn't been much to report on the training front. Did some swings last Thursday but other than that, the moving of many boxes has taken the place of the kettlebell.

Enjoyed a 30 minute run in the new surrounds. Opted to run from home along the Moonee Ponds Creek track. Didn't get a great vibe from it so I'm going to run from the Coburg Lakes precinct. Will be a bit more scenic and should have plenty of other path users.

Plan at this stage for the next couple of weeks is to continue on with the Program Minimum. Going to intersperse planks into my swing days as opposed to jogging for my active rest. Intend on running at nights as well so hopefully with a healthy diet, some swings, get-ups and running I should see some results on the waist line and body.

Friday 9th July

The past two days have gone well.

Swing day yesterday which once again saw me crank out 160 swings over 8 rounds.

This morning - cranked out 5 get-ups with each arm.

Pretty satisfied with the program thus far. No soreness. Was able to go for a run on Tuesday night without any fuss. Planning on going out again tonight for another 20 mins and maybe a spot of swimming or mountain biking over the weekend.

---------

Dragondoor Australia are hosting a couple of beginner workshops in a month or so's time. Andrew Read, an RKC, is going to be teaching the swing, get-up and goblet squat over a three hour period. Will definately attend as it will be a great opportunity to see where I'm at with my technique with the benefit of getting feedback and correction. Should be good!

Tuesday 6th July

First a summary of Monday - ETK w/up of face the wall squats, halo's and pumps followed by 12 mins of swings (20x) and 1 min of jogging. 8 rounds for a total of 160. Felt pretty good during the swings. Focusing on tightening the glutes and bracing the abs. Need to work on my breathing rhythm.

This morning was again the ETK warm-up followed by 5 get-ups in each arm. Really felt good during the get-ups. Been attempting the get-ups in the Kalos Stenhos style with the hip arch. Do need to get a copy of the Kalos Stenhos DVD as the get-up is going to be a fundamental movement for me going forward.

------

Entertaining the thought of getting back into some riding. We are moving next week so there'll be a little more time available. That and the fact that there are some good rides fairly close to home. A mate is working out a price for me on a Wilier Izouard with Ultegra (2009 model) or I'm contemplating a Giant TCR Alliance 0 from Lygon Cycles for $2299 with the '10 model Ultegra. Hmmm...

Back at it...again!!

This is almost the story of my athletic/fitness career....back at it :)

After a few fruitless months of barbell lifting, crossfitting, etc I have re-committed myself to the Program Minimum and ETK. Kicked things off on Friday morning for some face the wall squats, halo's and pumps and then 12 minutes of swings and jogging. Finished with 8 rounds for 160 swings.

Day 2 was this morning with the same warm-up with 5 minutes of Get-ups. Finished with 5 on each arm.

This program is amazingly simple and doable. Upto 25 minutes twice a week and another 2 x 15 minute sessions is very achievable. The times that I have felt great have been on the PM. I'm not giving myself a time limit. Will just evaluate it on a week by week basis.

The goal is to get back under 80kgs. This means at least an 8 kg weight/fat loss and potentially 10 kgs. I'll supplement the PM with some running, swimming and MTB'ing. Weighing up the option to purchase a road bike via a repayment scheme through work ATM. Given that we are moving in a couple of weeks and will be a lot closer to work, I will be able to allocate a bit more time to training/athletic goals. Will have to see!