DAN JOHN "EVEN EASIER STRENGTH" PROCESS TRACKER PT2

[adelita]

Hello, I am back. Since I cannot edit my original post (after edit post gets too long) - I created new one. Initial post with initial mindset and weeks 1-4 can be found here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/kettlebell/comments/1acb4sr/dan_john_even_easier_strength_process_tracker

This post will consist of week 5-8 of EE.

-----------------------------------------------WEEK 5--------------------------------------------------------

21TH DAY (2x5)

• Swings 20x(w/20kg)/20x(w/24kg)/15x(w/32kg)/15x(w/32kg) EMOM;
• 2x5 KB clean and press (5x w/20kg and 5x w/24kg);
• 2x5 Pull up (5x w/25kg and 5x w/30kg);
• 10x TGU EMOM (w/20kg);
• 100m farmer carries (w/32kg);
• Leg raises 1x10.

Comment: I missed a rep on 5th pull up w/30kg. Grip felt strong as never before, but lats/back did not perform – grip made me believe that I could do it. Further more I think grip was so amazing today because of snatches which I performed 3 days in a row prior. Snatches are great for grip strength for sure – I did not feel anything like this related with my grip/fingers strength before... And by the way this sort of sequence of presses (1H/2H alternate/2H) is really good – would recommend.

22TH DAY (2x5)

• Swings 20x(w/24kg)/20x(w/32kg)/20x(w/32kg)/20x SNATCHES(w/20KG) EMOM;
• 2x5 Pull up (5x w/25kg and 5x w/20kg);
• 2x5 KB clean and press (5x w/24kg and 5x w/24kg);
• 10x TGU EMOM (w/20kg);
• 100m farmer carries (w/32kg);
• Leg raises 2x5.

Comment: I feel like pulling exercise as first in workout is safer than press for me. Its something about increased stability while pressing after pull ups – something simillar happened to me in the past when DIPS after some sets of dumbel presses were always cosier and easier on shoulders than doing DIPS as first exercise. Today I also strained midle back a bit with snatches. And it happened even after 20 min of warmup and 3x swing sets which was done prior. It looks like snatch is one of those exercises which I would prefer doing at the end of workout as finisher. In addition to that I feel like swings/clean and presses/pull ups/TGUs combination is way heavier on upper/mid back than all other combinations which were done before. And finally – pull up is hardest pull variation for me – feels like I lack strength in last phase while with other combinations I am way stronger in last phase (I.E. with chin up/neutral grip pull up). Btw sometimes its seems that for easier reps I lack conditioning – can do 3 first reps out of 5 fast and then have to pause a bit to catch some breath so that technique would be sustained. Conditioning, strength endurance, endurance, strength all are really closely related.

23TH DAY (2x5)

• 2x5 Pull up (5x w/20kg and 5x w/20kg);
• 2x5 KB clean and press (5x w/20kg and 5x w/20kg) + 1H KB press with 32KG KB 2x each hand;
• 10x TGU EMOM (w/20kg);
• CIRCLE: 50m farmer carries-swings-leg raises-swings (w/24kg KB) , 50m farmer carries-swings-leg raises-swings (w/32kg KB);

Comment: After warm up I kind a had impression that I am not in the mood today and decided to go lighter – everything was freakin heavy. But then after second Cpress set I felt the urge of dopamine or something – last set felt realy crisp. So I grabbed 32 KG and to my suprise I managed to do 2x presses each hand. Amm.. to be fair I believe I could do 3x. I think that final result of the program will be really surprising.

24TH DAY (532)

• Swings 20x(w/24kg)/20x(w/24kg)/15x(w/32kg)/15x(w/32kg);
• 532 Pull up (5x w/20kg, 3x w/25kg, 2x w/35kg);
• 532 KB clean and press (5x w/20kg, 3x w/24kg and 2x w/32kg (1H));
• 8x TGU EMOM (w/24kg);
• 100m farmer carries (w/32kg);
• Leg raises 2x5.

Comment: Pull ups are way harder to do than chin ups and neutral grip pull ups for me. It seems that with 45kg neutral I should do pull ups with 25/30 without big struggle – but it does not feel as easy as it was with different grips. Pull ups are hardest and its strange to progress so slowly after two prior weeks in which I pulled bigger weights all the way up.

25TH DAY (1x10)

• Snatches 4x20 w/12KG KB;
• 10x Pull ups (Body weight);
• 2x10 KB clean and press (10x w/12 kg and 10x w/16 kg);
• 16x TGU EMOM (w/12kg);
• 120m farmer carries (w/24kg);
• Leg raises 2x5.

Comment: I decided to go light today. Felt a bit tense after 532. I would definetly suggest massages for everyone who want to recover faster. It helps for sure. I feel that my strength endurance and conditioning sucks. I am adding walking/running on the top of the program.

-----------------------------------------------WEEK 6--------------------------------------------------------

26TH DAY (2x5)

• Swings 4x20 (w/24kg);
• 2x5 Clean and press (w/24kg);
• 2x5 Pull up 5x (w/25 kg) and 5x (w/20 kg);
• 10x TGU EMOM (w/20 kg);
• 80m waitress carries (w/20kg) + 80m luggage carries (w/20kg);
• Leg raises 2x5.

Comment: I have to say I feel like I am regressing with pull ups. If neutral grip/chin ups numbers were raising - pull ups are not. I feel like I progressed with other grips while with pulls ups I have to decrease weight every other session. It seems that pull up in this format should have some supplementary lifts to progress. I am afraid that other grips due to pull up will regress as well...

27TH DAY (6x1)

• Swings 2x20 (w/24kg) and (2x15) w/32kg;
• 2H KB press 2x1 (w/20kg), 2x1 (w/24kg) and 2x1 1H press (w/32kg);
• Pull ups body weight 6x6x6 5x5x5 4x4x4 (pull up/neutral grip/chin up);
• 6x TGU without stops (w/24 kg);
• 120m farmer carries (w/32kg);
• Ab roller 2x10.

Comment: since weighted pull ups stalled and I do not feel comfortable while doing them with bigger weight AND they are hurting my back a bit today I decided to go for body weight pull up circle. Its interesting how from strength endurance pull ups I shifted to max strength pull up style so quickly. I can do ~5-10 explosive pull ups (chest higher than a bar) without big effort but if it repeats in short periods of time I am pumped very fast and cannot continue – INTERESTING thing to note. Fancy words: „lack of aerobic capacity and strength endurance“ formed for sure. Happy to say that few more weeks and I will shift back to complexes and running.

28TH DAY (532)

• Swings 2x20 (w/24kg) and 2x15 (w/32kg);
• 2H KB press 5x (w/24kg), 3x (w/24kg) and 2x 1H press (w/32kg);
• Chin up 5x (w/25KG), 3x (w/30kg), 2x (w/35kg)
• 6x TGU EMOM (w/32 kg);
• 120m farmer carries (w/32kg);
• Ab roller 1x10.

Comment: Emphasis on 32KG TGU. Came back to chin ups because in this combination of exercises pull ups is simply doomed to stall. Doing chin ups again was awesome. Between 27 and 28 day there was a rest day (gonna exercise on weekend) so I allowed myself to repeat heavy day after rest day.

29TH DAY (1x10)

• Snatches 4x20 (w/16kg);
• 1x10 1H KB press (w/24kg);
• 1x10 Kb rows (w/24KG);
• 1x10 DFSQ (w/16 kg);
• 60m farmer carries (w/16kg) with curls and shrugs in between;
• Ab roller 1x10.

Comment: It was not tonic day regarding press, but all the other stuff was easy. After TGUS w/32KG today I decided to skip this exercise intentionally. At this point of time I have to say that I feel like my grip is significantly stronger. Sometimes I squize something unintentionally so hard that my fingers are at the brinch of tweaking. I should have measured my grip strength before the program for sure.

30TH DAY (2x5)

• Swings 20x(w/24kg)/20x(w/24kg)/15x(w/32kg)/15x(w/32kg);
• 2x5 Chin up (w/25kg);
• 2x5 KB clean and press (w/20kg);
• 10x TGU 10sec breaks in between (w/20kg);
• 120m farmer carries (w/32kg);
• Ab wheel 1x10.

Comment: I am heading to final phase of 2 weeks. Up until now I managed to pull myself with 45 kg already once, do 2x 1H KB press with both hands using 32kg KB, do 6x EMOM TGUs with 32kg KB. This is pretty damn great progress. 5-6 th weeks I had to mix things up a bit from the initial plan because exercise combination with weigth simply felt bad on my whole back. Snatches are amazing, but each time I do it my back feels like shit the very next day.

-----------------------------------------------WEEK 7--------------------------------------------------------

31TH DAY (2x5)

• Swings 20x(w/24kg)/20x(w/24kg)/15x(w/24kg)/15x(w/24kg);
• 1x5 KB press (w/16kg), 1x5 1H KB press (w/24kg);
• 2x5 KB 1 arm rows (w/24kg and w/32kg);
• 2x5 DFSQ (w/16 kg);
• Luggage carries (stairs w/24kg);
• Ab wheel 1x10.

Comment: Last chapter started light because had to workout at home. Before this program 16kg KBs did not feel that light - now its like a toy. Its my 4th workout in whole cycle when I do rows instead of pull ups. I will register all missed reps and things which went not according to the plan on the final review.

32TH DAY (2x5)

• Swings 20x(w/24kg)/20x(w/24kg)/15x(w/24kg)/15x(w/24kg);
• 2x5 KB press (w/16kg) and 2x5 dips (w/20kg west);
• 2x5 Chin ups (w/20 kg west);
• 2x5 DFSQ (w/16 kg);
• Luggage carries 200m (stairs w/20kg);
• Ab wheel 1x10.

Comment: Today it was demotivational day. Usually I do weighted chin ups with weight under my bell and the bar is a bit thicker. Today I did chin ups with 20KG weighted west and on different bar. Results: I failed second set last rep – it was so much harder to do chin ups with weighted west. Overall I feel like I am progressing in very narrow field –small changes makes such a huge difference. Since I pressed only 16KG today decided to add some dips which was damn hard as well.

33TH DAY (2x5)

• Swings 20x(w/24kg)/20x(w/24kg)/15x(w/32kg)/15x(w/32kg);
• 2x5 KB press (w/20kg and w/24kg);
• 2x5 Chin ups (w/20 kg);
• 2x5 DFSQ (w/24 kg);
• Luggage carries 100m + Waitress carries 100 m (w/24kg);
• Ab wheel 1x10.

Comment: Today was a good day. Greased that groove. Tomorrow it will be harder day-looking forward to it. I feel like waitress carries and luggage carries are amazing exercises to supplement my other lifts. I feel like I would need strength belt in order to work with 32kg bells occasionally-atleast at the beginning.

34TH DAY (532)

• Swings 20x(w/24kg)/20x(w/24kg)/15x(w/32kg)/15x(w/32kg);
• KB press 5x (w/20kg), 3x w/(24kg), 2x w/(32kg)(1H);
• DFSQ 5x (w/24kg), 3x (w/32kg), 2x (w/32kg);
• Chin up 5x (w/20kg), 3x (w/30kg), 2x (w/40kg);
• Luggage carries 100m + Waitress carries 60 m (w/24kg);
• Ab wheel 1x10.

Comment: This workout was different because I tried belt which made it easier to play with 32kg kbs significantly.

35TH DAY (2x5)

• Swings 20x(w/24kg)/20x(w/24kg)/15x(w/32kg)/15x(w/32kg);
• 2x5 KB press (w/20kg and w/24kg);
• 2x5 Chin ups (w/25 kg and w/30kg);
• 2x5 DFSQ (w/24 kg);
• Luggage carries 100m + Waitress carries 60 m (w/24kg);
• Ab wheel 1x10.

Comment: Today felt strong in chin ups! Before the final week I start to believe that I will be able to do 1x chin up with 50kg... I cannot fully explain why but when there are alot of gym bros around and they watch you doing hard exercises you are simply able to do more than you would alone Working out with heart monitor is amazing. I started to track recovery between sets according my heart rate and workouts feels alot different. Interesting thing to note – while doing 5x30kg chins my heart rate almost reached maximum – did not feel anything but was interesting to observe.

-----------------------------------------------WEEK 8--------------------------------------------------------

36TH DAY (2x5)

• Swings 20x(w/24kg)/20x(w/24kg)/15x(w/32kg)/15x(w/32kg);
• 2x5 KB press (w/24kg);
• 2x5 Chin ups (w/30kg-failed last rep) did +10BW chin ups;
• 2x5 DFSQ (w/24kg);
• Circle: Luggage carries>Waitress carries>AB roller. Went for 2 rounds ~300m.

Comment: I started working out with HR monitor and its interesting to observe the rythm. Pauses seems more natural now I am not fixed to certain period of resting time as such. Its like autoregulation but with added information which helps to make decision more objectively when its time to start. I am not proud of missed rep (chin ups). Tomorrow it will be interesting day.

37TH DAY (6x1)

• KB press 1x(w/12kg), 1x(w/16kg), 1x(w/20kg), 1x(w/24kg), 1x(w/32kg-1H), 1x(w/32kg-2H);
• DFSQ 1x(w/12kg), 1x(w/16kg), 1x(w/20kg), 1x(w/24kg), 1x(w/32kg), 1x(w/32kg);
• Chin ups 1x(w/10kg), 1x(w/20kg), 1x(w/30kg), 1x(w/40kg), 1x(w/50kg FAIL) did +10BW chin ups;
• Circle(4x): Swing>Luggage carries>Waitress carries>Leg raises (all w/32kg).

Comment: Did 2H strict press w/32kg KBs! Feeling great. Failed 50KG attempt but I was very close. Stuck in the upper part of the motion.

38TH DAY (1x10)

• Swings 4x20 (w/24 kg);
• KB press 1x10 (w/16 kg);
• DFSQ 1x10 (w/16 kg);
• Chin ups 1x10 (body weight);
• Farmer carries 120 m (w/20kg) KBS + 2x5 curls;

Comment: went easy today – did some aerobic work for 30 min afterwards. Feeling excited before last days of the program.

39TH DAY (532)

• Swings 20x(w/24kg)/20x(w/24kg)/15x(w/32kg)/15x(w/32kg);
• KB press 5x (w/20kg), 3x (w/24kg), 2x (w/32kg)(2H);
• DFSQ 5x (w/20kg), 3x (w/24kg), 2x (w/32kg);
• Chin up 5x (w/20kg), 3x (w/30kg), 2x (w/40kg);
• Luggage carries 100m + farmer carries 60 m (w/32kg);
• Ab wheel 1x10.

Comment: I am near the RM testing. I allow myself to try a bit harder. Today I hit PR. Feeling amazing. Struggled a bit – right hand raised quicker second time. Nevertheless I am very happy with the results. Before trying RMs I know that I hit them more than three times already.

40TH DAY (2x5)

• Swings 30x(w/16kg)/20x(w/24kg)/20x(w/24kg);
• 2x5 KB press (w/16kg);
• 2x5 KB rows (w/16kg);
• 2x5 DFSQ (w/16kg);
• Circle: Farmer carries>curls>shrugs (w/16kg). Went for 2 rounds.

Comment: Went light before RM test. Now day off and same test as at the very beginning.

I believe there are text limits in reddit so final results will be provided with final review of the program.

Did RM day today and I am very happy and amazed with the progress and results.

 

[ska88]

@adelita I implore you to ask yourself why there is a text limit on Reddit posts.