I have not been 100 percent in several months. Late in January there was the hernia, then the hernia surgery, and then just as I was okay to train again in early March I got a cold that turned into bronchitis. So I’ve been to a handful of yoga classes and swung kettlebells just a few times over the past two months. My head is still congested, but I was finally ready to train again today. I ate a boiled egg at about 10:30 and got busy at noon.

Historically, I push too hard when coming back after a layoff. I did not want to have to take several days off to recover from overuse injuries, so I targeted a modest 30 minute workout.

Warmup:

Face-the-wall squats – 20 reps
Windmill stretch – 20 reps

Workout:

Two-handed swings
16 kg kettlebell – 5 x 20 = 100 reps, 3500 pounds
Double front squat
16 kg kettlebells – 5 x 5 = 25 reps, 1750 pounds
Snatch
12 kg kettlebell 5 x 12 = 60 reps, 1560 pounds
Farmer carry
20 kg kettlebells – 1 x 100 paces, 88 pounds
Pullups – 5 x 1 = 5 reps
Incline pushups – 1 x 25 = 25 reps

Weight: 6898 pounds

Notes: My glasses kept sliding down my nose during swings. I need to get them adjusted.

I could feel the strain on my abs while doing double front squats. I could probably have done twice as many reps, but the last time I restarted training, I burned my quads doing too many double front squats. Not today.

My left shoulder is wonky and I did not like how it felt when I had the kettlebell at the top of snatches. I’m not sure if this will ever get better, so I am mostly focused on not making things worse.

The 100 paces of farmer carry was relatively easy, but I did not have time to do a second set

My pullup capacity has nearly disappeared. I could do 5 reps in a row almost a year ago and now I can only manage 1 rep at a time. I guess that is what happens when you go from doing 60 or 70 pullups per week to zero for months at a time.

I do incline pushups on my stairs. They were probably too easy today and I should start doing them on the floor.