Monday 7/3
SQUAT 5/3/1: 1’s DAY
Back Squat
5x135
5x225
5x275
3x305
1x335
1x335
Doubled up on the single today. Just felt like I had another since I shortened the warm-up a bit.
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Tuesday 7/4
STRONGFIRST PRESS: WEEK 3, DAY 1
Kettlebell Snatch
10x53 (each hand)
Kettlebell Press
3x70
5x70
3x70
5x70
3x70
5x70
3x70
Kettebell Swing
5 x 10 x 97
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Wednesday 7/5
EASY DEADLIFT
Sumo Deadlift
5x135
4x225
3x315
2x405
1x440
EDIT to add: also, will not be logging this, but I have started doing a bit of “grease the groove” pull-up work. Since I work from home and have my pull-up bar outside, whenever I have a few minutes, I’ll pop out and do micro sets of 1-3 pullups (aiming for 5-10 sets per day, intending to “never struggle” on a rep - so I’ll start with just singles this week, then maybe up to doubles and triples, but as I understand it the point of GTG work is really never struggling so if It has to be just singles and doubles that’s what it will be). I will do a focused pullup workout on Sundays, the GTG stuff Monday-Friday, and take Saturdays off from pullups to rest before the focused Sunday workout. Hopefully after a month of this my pullup strength has popped back up to the point that the one weekly focused workout will be enough reps to keep things moving in the right direction, but I think I need something to give me a bit of a kick start until I consistently have 5+ pullups in the tank for a couple of sets.
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Thursday 7/6
STRONGFIRST PRESS: WEEK 3, DAY 2
Kettlebell Snatch
20x44 (each hand)
Kettlebell Press
2x80
3x80
2x80
3x80
2x80
Kettebell Swing
5 x 10 x 97
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Friday 7/7
CONDITIONING
Kettlebell Snatch
10 x 10 x 44
Did a quick EMOM today (this basically works out to about 30 seconds on, 30 seconds rest). Gonna work my way up to doing 100 snatches unbroken (and eventually would really like to crank out 200 unbroken in 10 minutes). Time to really improve my overall kettlebell game.
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Saturday 7/8
STRONGFIRST PRESS: WEEK 3, DAY 3
Kettlebell Press
6x18
7x26
8x35
6x44
7x53
8x62
Kettlebell Snatch
60x44
Notes:
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The press workout obviously was meant to be done entirely with the 62 pounder. My right shoulder felt sort of wonky all morning so I took it slow and worked up. Not sure if it’s all the pressing, the addition of snatches or just something else - I’ll keep an eye on this in the weeks to come.
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For today’s snatches, I did 60 straight reps (without putting the bell down), but I did change hands every 10 reps (allowed in both RKC and SFG testing, though not in Girevoy Sport - only allowed one hand change period in GS). Partially did this to keep the counting more manageable, also times up nicely with a hand change about every-30-seconds at my current snatch cadence without a rush.
Sunday 7/9
KETTLEBELL MOBILITY
Turkish Get Up
10 x 1 x 15 (each side)
Bottoms Up Press
3 x 10 x 15 (each side)
Have decided it’s time to start doing some more mobility / prehabilitation type stuff with kettlebells in addition to just pressing them. The gym I work out at on Sunday mornings only has lighter kettlebells (mostly 15’s and 30’s - probably get more use as part of boot camp circuit type classes) which will actually be perfect for me to do a dedicated workout for mobility & prehab. The Turkish get up and bottoms up press seem like a great place to start.
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Hey! Glad to see you’re still around.
All the kettlebell stuff seems cool. I’ll be interested to see where this mobility stuff takes you.
I’m thinking about adding some one-arm overhead squats in, along with the windmills I’m currently doing. You have much experience with either?
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I don’t! Honestly, though I’ve had kettlebells around forever, I’ve really only used them for pressing, swinging and (to a lesser extent) snatching. My gentle foray into this stuff is inspired by a few things:
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wife has gotten really into kettlebell training in the last year. She always did barbell squat and deadlift from the time we got married but last year she decided to really get into KB as a way to diversify, improve conditioning and movement skills. She’s now working with a StrongFirst certified trainer in our area and has been making some great progress. She still does the big movers (swings, snatches, presses) but also includes offloaded squats, single leg work, etc.
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seeing that, recognizing that I’m getting older, and that “movement skills” will be as important as how much I can deadlift, I’ve accepted (begrudgingly…) that I would also benefit from some of this stuff. So maybe I’ll join you in those one-arm overhead squats…
For this week, to give my one cranky shoulder a break, I think I’m gonna do all the scheduled press workouts as bottoms-up presses (even if that means using just an 18 pounder). If things feel a bit better next week I’ll go back to the regular program but keep a Sunday session with lots of TGU’s, bottoms-up presses and maybe some other stuff like you’ve mentioned here.
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Monday 7/10
SQUAT 5/3/1: 5’s DAY
Back Squat
5x135
5x225
5x255
5x255
5x280
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Tuesday 7/11
STRONGFIRST PRESS: WEEK 4, DAY 1
Kettlebell Bottoms-Up Press
3x18
5x18
4x18
5x18
3x18
5x18
4x18
5x18
Kettlebell Swing
10 x 10 x 70
For the presses - with one cranky shoulder, this week I plan to treat as sort of a deload/recovery thing and do the scheduled press reps as “bottoms-up” presses with the 18 pound kettlebell. I am hopeful my cranky (right) shoulder feels a bit better next week and I can resume the program as intended, without being an idiot who decided to also chuck in some snatches, pull-ups and bench pressing. If that works, I’ll go back to just the presses and swings for awhile before adding that other stuff again. Reminder for older trainees: add things one at a time, then you know (or at least have a pretty good idea) if a specific thing seems to aggravate you at all.
As for the swings, this was 10 minutes of 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off. In most rounds I actually got 11-12 swings and put the bell down just before the buzzer, but I’ll just log it as “10 x 10” most of time. I would like to get up to performing 10 x 10 with a 97 pounder, but might go back and rebuild this now that I’m doing it as a 10-minute finisher instead of a 5-minute one.
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Your shoulder feeling any better after doing that? That many bottoms-up presses seems like some serious grip work.
Maybe throw some one-arm rows in too? I’m only echoing stuff from the world I’m currently in (early 1900s strength/strongman scene), but flared-elbow rows were a common staple along with the kettlebell pressing. One-arm kettlebell rows with a hand on a bench, and normal bent over barbell rows. Main difference was the elbows were flared and the bar brought up high on the chest.
I guess I’m technically borderline “older” now. 
Good advice.
Also, I realized I seem to be very far from anything resembling a one-arm overhead squat. Just holding an empty bar overhead for awhile is enough for me, for now.
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It was a blow for me one day to realize that this website has a forum dedicated to the “over 35 lifter” and realize that I, now, fall into that category…which must make me an “older” trainee.
Seriously, it was dumb of me - already doing a fairly intense pressing program - to decide I could just chuck in some extra snatches, and pull-ups, and bench pressing all at once. I’m hopeful I caught myself before I made my shoulder too angry and that one week with all that nonsense taken back out + just light bottoms-up presses will make them happier again, then I can resume the pressing program as before, with some swings as a finisher, and once I get all the way through this cycle of the pressing program, maybe then will be the time to add a new wrinkle.
Oh, and my shoulder felt fine doing the bottoms-up pressing with the 18, but I think I need the week off from doing anything heavier just the same.
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Wednesday 7/12
EASY DEADLIFT
Sumo Deadlift
5x135
4x225
3x315
2x405
1x440
Thursday 7/13
STRONGFIRST PRESS: WEEK 4, DAY 2
Kettlebell Bottoms-Up Press
2x26
3x26
2x26
3x26
2x26
3x26
Kettlebell Swing
10 x 10 x 70
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Friday 7/14
EASY DEADLIFT
Sumo Deadlift
5x135
4x225
3x315
2x405
1x440
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Saturday 7/15
CONDITIONING
Kettlebell Swing
15 x 10 x 70
Traveling with family for a day trip so I just brought the one kettlebell along and did an EMOM swing workout.
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Sunday 7/16
KETTLEBELL MOBILITY
A1. Turkish Get-Up 1x15/30
A2. Bottoms-Up Press 5x15/30
A3. Single-Leg Deadlift 5x15/30
Six total rounds. Used 15 pounder for the first three rounds, 30 pounder for the last three rounds.
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Monday 7/17
SQUAT 5/3/1: 3’S DAY
Back Squat
5x135
5x225
3x255
3x285
3x310
Squats are moving nicely. I know I sort of started light and built from the ground up with 5/3/1, but so far it’s paying dividends. Feels very sustainable. I am going to stick with the prescribed reps (not chasing “+” or “AMRAP” myself…not at this stage of life) and see if I can keep leveling up 5 pounds at a time on a rotating 3-week cycle (5’s, 3’s, 5/3/1, repeat) to the end of the year.
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Tuesday 7/18
RKC SHOULDER REHAB: WEEK 1, DAY 1
A1. Overhead Squat 3x18 (each arm)
A2. Row 6x35 (each side)
A3. Push-Up Plank x 1 minute
A4. Single-Leg Deadlift 3x35 (each side)
A5. Bottoms-Up Press 3x26 (each arm)
A6. Suitcase Carry x 44 (each arm)
Three rounds of the above.
Unfortunately, my right shoulder has remained cranky for over a week now. Not content for my pressing program to just work its magic, I stupidly threw in bench press, pull-ups, and snatches all pretty hard around the same time and that’s what I get.
So before it gets any worse, I’m gonna back off the heavy presses entirely for a bit and follow a program I found called “How I Finished Rehabbing My Shoulder With Kettlebells” (not linking here, but should be findable via Google) for a few weeks. Honestly, this is probably good - I’ll use my light kettlebells more, move my body in some different ways, and probably come away better for it. If this works the way I hope, I would re-start the StrongFirst press program from the beginning in September (just the KB presses as written) plus one weekly day that looks about like this for preventive rehab, maintenance, movement, whatever you wanna call it.
For now the key is proper movement, not pushing reps or weights much on these the first week or two as I get used to the movements. I shouldn’t touch a kettlebell heavier than my 44 for the next few weeks. Kinda fun to play around with smaller ones for a bit.
Squats and deadlifts feel fine and will remain as usual. It’s just the KB days that will switch from “heavy press program” to “fucking around with light weights and different movements” for a little while.
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