Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Long Jerk Set

"Being unconquerable lies with yourself...."  Sun Tzu, Art of War

I have been slowly reading Art of War and came across the above quote.  It really hit home for me in so many ways both professionally and personally.  We live in a "what have you done for me lately" society.  Everybody is looking for the easy way out, very few want to, or are willing to, put in the hard work needed to succeed.  This quote also hit home today as I performed my first 8 minute jerk set with the 20kg bells.  I am quickly learning that there is more to GS style kettlebells than strength and endurance.  The mental game is also very critical.  It is easy to put the bells down when things get uncomfortable, but to be truly unconquerable one must fight through the pain and the mind games telling you to stop.  If the initial pain and mental doubting that occurs  half way into a long set can be endured, one enters a zen like state centered around the rhythmic breathing and repetitive nature of the jerk/snatch.  Time no longer matters.  The pain becomes bearable.  Suddenly the set is completed, the timer sounds, the bells are set down, and you are one step closer to becoming unconquerable both mentally and physically.

Todays Workout

Jerk(20kg) 6 RPM x 8 minutes
Jerk(20kg) 10 RPM x 3 minutes
Jerk(20kg) 10 RPM x 3 minutes
Swing(24kg) 40/40
Swing(24kg) 30/30

Z I-phase hip/pelvis

Hand position in the rack was better today.  Still need to get my hand further into the bell.  Although my hands/wrists were less fatigued today, they still are my weak spot on the longer sets.  My two 3 minute sets at 10 RPM really drove up my heart rate.  This was the first time jerks have gotten me close to my max rate.

2 comments:

papatom said...

Excellent post, Matt. Are you starting to write down and keep a little book of quotes that speak to you?

Here's one from mine--"Perfection is not obtainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence'.
Vince Lombardi

Tonya B said...

It's been over 2 years since you published this post, but this is a timeless sentiment and a big reason why I train.