[quote]Serge A. Storms wrote:
Do you do those KB swings all the same way, sticking to the same basic “KB swing” form?
I’ve been adding more DB swings and snatches to my lifting, using pretty light weights and doing long, continuous metcon-style sets.
I’m playing around with grooving all sorts of different patterns though - every thing between a straight up snatch and a very round swing, shifting the focus around from hams to lower back to upper back to shoulders. I even use side swings. Sometimes I’ll start off a long set without using my legs at all, and gradually increase the lower body contribution as my upper body fatigues.
I enjoy this because I get the dual benefits of the conditioning/calorie burning while also being able to pump the shit out of my upper back muscles, shoulders, and traps.
[/quote]
Thanks for dropping by, Serge.
I do sort of “play around” with my swing form a little bit, similarly to what you’ve described. Sometimes I really focus on the pop coming from the hips, sometimes I make sure I feel the glutes kind of squeeze in each rep, sometimes I let myself drop a little deeper into a squat, sometimes I try to do it with minimal knee bend. It’s kind of like picking a “cue” that I’m going to focus on for each set and sticking with that, letting everything else fall into place.
Neat to hear that you’re incorporating these movements (I wonder what a “light” weight is for you?). I very much enjoy the challenge of unilateral movements like a one-armed swing or high-rep cleans and presses with the single kettlebell - it feels very “functional” (I know people hate that word, but it just fits here), like lifting a heavy stone or box or something with one arm would be. Plus, as you’ve said, they lend themselves nicely to metcon-style work. That’s why I like my little setup here - the idea of an evening workout that does a set of swings (the “15 reps per set” is where I’ll start, but I might boost those reps as I progress) alternated with a more focused pump-style exercise like a biceps curl or a lat pulldown or a chest press.
[quote]ActivitiesGuy wrote:
the idea of an evening workout that does a set of swings (the “15 reps per set” is where I’ll start, but I might boost those reps as I progress) alternated with a more focused pump-style exercise like a biceps curl or a lat pulldown or a chest press.[/quote]
Alternating sets of KB swings with sets of abs provides one helluva core conditioning workout, especially if the rest intervals are kept fairly short. Jes sayin.
Worked out with my Dad on his new bench (see previous page) and then did some assorted higher rep work to finish up. He seems happy to have a working bench again, and I’m certainly glad to have that back in our toolbox for workouts when I come home to visit. Lifting with my dad always makes me at once happy and nostalgic for my teen years.
A1. Chin-ups 5xBW
A2. Cable Curls 10x50
A3. Rope Curls 10x50 (only in first three rounds*)
*A gentleman walked up partway through my workout and began using the other side of the cable crossover where I had my rope set up for curls, so I just let these go for the remainder of the workout. Meh. I’ll do some EZ-bar curls tonight in between sets of kettlebell swings at home.
Little different structure today. I wanted to play around with a little bit higher-rep sets of pull-ups so I did them all at the start. I felt good but I was also pretty close to the limit on the 10, 9, 8 at the beginning - it would be a struggle for me to do three straight sets of 10 without a pretty long rest in between sets.
Pleased with growth of upper back and biceps. I have NEVER had anything resembling big biceps, even when I did more “heavy” lifting and could bench 365, because I’ve almost never done any direct arm work. They still aren’t “big” to most people but merely being able to flex them and see anything is progress for me.
Though it’s hard to see in this photo, my midsection is “harder” than it was a few months ago. That’s less a statement about my leanness now than it is an indictment of how soft I’d gotten before. Now the layer of fat is a bit smaller and there’s actually muscle I can feel under it, whereas before the midsection had nothing at all “hard” about it.
as I’ve noted before, my avatar photo (the kettlebell snatch) was taken at about the best combination of leanness and muscle mass that I’ve ever had (August 2013). I am still not back to that but closer than I was in May 2014 when I realized “Crap, I’ve started getting kind of fat” - so I’ve still got inspiration and work to do. I have a bit of a taper now but would like it to be more pronounced.
I’m hardly evaluating myself by stage standards here. More by “would I be proud to take my shirt off at the beach” standards. I was last year (2013). I wasn’t really this summer (2014). I will be again for 2015.
Pleased with growth of upper back and biceps. I have NEVER had anything resembling big biceps, even when I did more “heavy” lifting and could bench 365, because I’ve almost never done any direct arm work. They still aren’t “big” to most people but merely being able to flex them and see anything is progress for me.[/quote]
I know that feeling. I’ve just now, as of the last month or two, thrown in some actual direct arm training and gotten some decent results. It’s one of those things I didn’t know I even really wanted until I started seeing it for myself.
The turning point, though, was when my girlfriend came back from a session with her trainer, and her arms actually looked bigger than mine (pumped, lighting, illusions and all that, but still)… so I figured it’s time to something about it.
Seven rounds. Last chance to use the gym for awhile (closed for holiday break) - I will make do with kettlebell workouts, yoga, spinning bike at home for the next few weeks. Will be at home with my GF for a week around Christmas, which will be a combination of kettlebell workouts and yoga classes at our hometown studio. January will mark the start of the “program” (50 pullups every AM, 150 kettlebell swings every PM, both workouts supplemented with pump work) to see what kind of body transformation I can pull with 90 consecutive days of a single focus.
A1. Kettlebell Swings 15x45
A2. Lat Pulldown 8x150
Ten rounds. GF was here for the weekend and did this with me - I purchased a 25 pounder for her to use when she visits me here, so she joined for the swings and did abs while I did the lat pulldowns.
