Went to the park today with the kids and Pat. Me and Pat go way back. I feel very fortunate to know Pat. Through all my fuckups he's been a true friend. Never judgemental, and he never comprised his integrity either. When I was doing drugs he always kept away from them.
Anyway due to the constraints of both our hectic lives we don't get to see one another very often. That is going to change for the better. We grabbed some kettlebells and the kids and went to the park, I paid Sidney to babysit and me and him just did some freestyle cattleballing. This really really reminded me of why I wanted to get into kettlebells in the first place.
In another life ( it seems ) I had a strong back and rough hands from real honest to goodness Manuel labor. I've done construction clean up/ demolition, landscaping in the Arizona heat, air conditioning duct work and sheet metal work, I worked for a paint factory where I would move 1000 5 gallon buckets of paint a day. I had callouses across my fingers you could put out a cigarette on.
I got tired of working myself into the ground and went into the medical field and immediatly put on 80 lbs. Sure I lifted a few weights or jogged a little now and then. But I never felt "put together" like I did when I was working.
Then I saw kettlebells. Farmers walks, cleans, rows, swings, snatches, jerks, squats, thrusters, presses, single or double kettlebell. Done work style. Do it rest some do some more pick another drill do it some rest some. I just wanted to mimick work to some degree.
Then came the great achyball debate where I sorta got depressed and gave up on bickerballs for a while. Actually I spent to much time on the Internet and not enough time swinging. No excuses I chose a bad path.
But today reminded me of two very important things. 1 working out with someone is crazy fun. 2 kettlebells rock. Don't matter what style you choose. It's the effort not the tool.
I had no set plans for the workout, what it ended up being for me was a strength test followed by a set of ballistics. I squatted and pressed double 70's swung double 70's . H2H cleaned a 70 bottoms up cleaned 70, DARC swung the 88. Snatched the 88, and did several sets of ballistics beside that. Kind of a tough set followed by an easy set. We were there for an hour.
My lungs, hips, grip, abs and shoulders are pleasently toasted.
This is what I enjoy, random practice. Some sets all out some easy, while trying for PRs in strength AND volume and endurance. I think I will constantly try to push the volume with the smaller bells and every month when me and pat meet up go balls out with the heavier stuff. But still keeping it random and working on the basics seeking out my weaknesses and trying to improve them.
Damn do I feel good right now.
