16kg :15/:15 MVO2 6 reps: 80 sets

Part one of my 2009 MVO2 goal has been met!

I hadn't been training MVO2 very much at all lately, but I decided I wanted to get it done, no matter how difficult it was. And it WAS difficult. :)

Thankfully, I had the good sense to recruit a friend to endure the 80 sets with me. (She did 5 12kg swings every set.) I CANNOT overemphasize the difference it makes to have someone there with you to get through a grueling endurance set. I'll be writing a blog post about 'training buddies' in more detail in the coming days - it's completely worthy.

How it went:

The weather was perfect. Zero hand protection, and left with just one moderate un-broken blister, which really started to threaten around set 70. By that time, of course, I didn't care if I lost half my palm - I was going to get to 80!

(Unfortunately, I did rip it open while demonstrating a clean the following evening during class. D'oh!)

Dizziness set in around set 20, and did not abate. I had to not let the palm trees make me dizzier, and I tried to not walk in circles during the all-too-fast 15 seconds rest. Focused on long, deep breaths.

Form felt great all the way through. Lungs/dizziness were by far the biggest challenge.

The end: 5 minutes of jogging/walking, followed by maybe 3 minutes of cobra, followed by about 10 minutes of supine immobility, followed by 2 celebratory pints of stout. (I couldn't help myself.) :)

Once the blister is healed, I'll move on to the 7 rep MVO2 training. Until then... deadlifts, get-ups, swings, pistols and presses.