Saturday 6.7: Metcon of kettlebell presses and swings, squats

Saturday. Prasara yoga: elbow lever progressions. Metcon of kettlebell presses, swings and air squats. Time 13.38.

We are spending the weekend at the countryside. The surroundings are perfect as always. This weekend I'm gonna leave barbells alone and concentrate in bodyweight movements and kettlebells. To warm-up I did elbow lever progressions and then a metcon with kettlebells and air squats.

Elbow levers. This looks easy but is very demanding on the shoulders. I mean very taxing. I got way better this time with the movement than before. Only few seconds of staying still but I got much better control over my body than earlier. My shoulders were on fire after having completed this part. Worked on the lever progressions for about 10 minutes. Having the skill to balance your body with the help of your core is nothing short of spectacular. I'm gonna keep this one on my schedule in order to develop as an all-around athlete.

Metcon. Time 13.38

• 3 rounds of:
• 20 kettlebell presses, 20kg
• 50 air squats
• 20 kettlebell swings, 32kg
• 50 air squats

We packed our kettlebells with us, one for Pauliina, two for me. In this workout I did the presses with 20kg bell and swings with 2 pood bell. Between kettlebells there were 50 air squats to pressure my legs. Times for those 3 rounds were approximately as follows:

• Round 1: 4.10
• Round 2: 4.50
• Round 3: 4.40
• Total 13.38

The presses were completed in sets of 5 reps per hand, then changing hands. All kettlebells unbroken, both movements. Air squats were more difficult. There were 300 of them. First set unbroken, then I believe I had to break it. Usually the first attempt was 20, then 15 and something else. My hamstrings were killing me in the end. Hard to believe such a simple movement can cause such a tremendous burn. Air squat is a genius move!

This workout got my heart pumping blood in my veins and lunges also had to do work. It was a warm day and it was awesome to do this outdoors. The only thing bothering were the flies and other bugs flying around me :) Easy to swing a kettlebell when a bug is eating my calf…

I was tempted to practice on my handstand walk but now I just wanted to relax for the rest of the day. We put chicken skewers on the grill and enjoyed a food feast at the terrace. It was an easygoing and relaxing day with Pauliina!