Putting this here for future reference. I need to do a bit of work on the second point.
Regarding swings before lower body lifts I’d be tempted to push reps higher rather than go to single-handed swings. I’ve only recently got back into consistent kettlebell work, but it used to be the only thing I did lol. I find that with regular two-handed swings I can do a lot of volume and it barely affects my recovery, but one-handed swings absolutely fry my grip. I think that if you start with one-handed swings you run the risk of starting your deadlifts with a well-prepared lower body but a completely shot grip. Another thing that I personally have found with one-handed swings is that I have to focus a lot more on my core and my grip and because of that my explosiveness suffers. That’s absolutely fine if you’re using the movement to train your core and your grip, but less desirable if you’re using it to prime your nervous system for heavy deadlifts. If you get the chance I’d recommend reading Pavel Tsatsouline’s book “Simple and Sinister”. It’s about a specific minimalist routine, but contains a tonne of useful information. He describes the one-handed swing (along with the Turkish get-up) as the perfect whole-body exercise in terms of total muscle recruited, but acknowledges that it is far inferior to the two-handed swing in terms of power generated. Finally - one thing I dislike about the one-handed swing, is that I personally find that it tightens up my hips rather than loosens them. I’m certain this is due to flaws in my own technique, but I’ve definitely noticed a correlation between one-handed swings and having tight hips, which in turn is resolved with sets of two-handed swings.
Also I understand your concern about going over 10 reps but I think kettlebells are different from barbell cleans etc in that you can push the reps higher without losing that explosiveness. So long as the reps feel crisp and powerful, you’re probably ok - I think 20 reps sets are absolutely fine. Alternatively you could ask the staff at the gym about whether you could buy a kettlebell yourself and store it at the gym? I’ve been to gyms before where people have their own equipment that they leave there - 50kg iron plates and things like that. And when your routine or gym changes just take it home - a heavy kettlebell is always a useful thing to have.
In any case, whatever you choose to do, your body will sooner or later adapt to it. Perhaps if you pushed your swings for higher reps then your deadlift would suffer for a few weeks, but it would soon build back up and the underlying training-effect would be greater. And likewise with one-handed swings. You can’t really go wrong with this I guess, just experiment and see what you prefer.
I think this would also work really well.
I don’t have any experience with these, but I really struggle to see the benefit. I read the t-nation article on them (I think there’s also one on using plates), but I don’t personally see the point.
Sorry for the massive rambling post. I’m absolutely no expert, and feel free to completely ignore the whole thing lol. I just wanted to give my thoughts.
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On the contrary, I’m grateful that you took the time to share your experience here. You make some very good points, particularly about the grip on the one handed swings. That hadn’t occurred to me. I think the first time I try them, it will be after deadlifts. Possibly even on a different day.
You’ve got a lot more kettlebell experience than I have, so if you think that I could probably get away with higher reps without losing the explosiveness then I might try that. Maybe reduce the number of sets until I get used to it.
I’ve heard of but never thought to look at Tsatsouline’s book, will keep it in mind.
I never really liked the idea of dumbbell swings, I was just throwing it out there. The whole point of a kettlebell is that the centre of mass is a way away from where you’re holding it. So with a dumbbell, you either lose that benefit, or you grip it by the end and risk accidentally chucking it across the gym on each rep. (Mental image made me smile much more than it should have)
As for buying my own kettlebell(s), trust me if I could afford it I would have done that ages ago haha. They are on the list for my home gym when I get my own place (if I’m lucky that will be less than fifty years in the future). At that time I’ll probably be asking you for brand recommendations, if we’re both still floating around these forums.
Thanks very much for the advice dude. I’d give you a virtual cookie if T Nation had any such system in place.
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Glad I could help! Yeah one-handed swings are a great movement, but I think they’d work better after your deadlifts.
Good idea to drop the sets initially - it’s always best to ease into these things.
He has quite a number of books, of which I own 4. While I’m a huge fan of Pavel and his ideas I do find his books generally a little disappointing - they tend to be filled with quite a lot of fluff, and I don’t particularly like his writing style. However, Simple and Sinister is definitely my favourite and I would recommend reading it if you get the chance.
Haha yeah that’s what I picture too! It just seems like it would be very awkward.
I’m afraid I don’t have much info on brands - I have just been buying whatever I find cheapest online. I have more kettlebells than I need - I started 7 years ago with a 20kg from a random website I can’t remember and then got a second 20kg so I could do double kettlebell stuff. Looking back I would have been better off skipping 20kg altogether and getting something a little heavier, but 20kg fit my budget. Then I got a “Bodymax” 28kg, followed again by another for doubles stuff. Finally I bit the bullet and splashed out on a 40kg unbranded one from a good UK-only website. I was always tempted to buy lighter kettlebells because of the lower initial cost, but the 40kg has been so much better value. Since I got it I’d say I’ve used it for 90% of my kettlebell work, using a single 28kg for the remainder.
In my experience weight matters infinitely more than brand - despite always going for cheap(er) kettlebells I’ve never had an issue with any of mine beyond a bit of paint chipping. But I’d definitely recommend saving for a decently heavy one rather than buying a light one because you can afford it. My advice when the time comes would be to buy the cheapest 24kg-32kg one you can find.
No worries at all!
Saturday February 4 - Press
20kg x 10
27.5kg x 6
35kg x 4
(superset with band pull aparts)
WORK SETS
42.5kg x 3 (This was a real grind, so I dropped the weight down)
40kg x 12 x 3 EMOM
Barbell rows - 60kg x 11, 11, 13, 12
Pushups - 17, 12, 12 (NB - when I say pushups I almost always mean knuckle pushups. Also my triceps were fried at this point, hence the large drop off in reps after the first set)
Presses were pretty easy - I got good bar speed on all 36 reps. I’ve been flailing around between 40 and 42.5 for a couple of weeks now, and the last time I got 12 x 3 with this weight it was a grind. So it is improving - it’s just going extremely slowly.
I should also mention that my phone went flat before I got to the gym, so I wasn’t actually timing my sets. I don’t think I was too far off though - I judged my rest periods by how long it took to take a few deep breaths and a mouthful of water, which is usually about right.
Sunday February 5 - Deadlift
Power Clean
40kg x 2 x 4
45kg x 3
Deadlift
60kg x 5
70kg x 3
80kg x 1
87.5kg x 12 x 2 EMOM
Happy with this. First few sets were like dynamite. Speed dropped after that, but only by a little bit.
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Hey Wolfmen (/women/NB’s)
Apologies for the recent lack of updates. I’ve been away, with a very unreliable internet connection. No training worth recording, but plenty of hiking, swimming in the ocean, playing football in the backyard etc. I will come back later and record a couple of gym sessions I managed in the days before I left, as well as the sub-par pressing I did yesterday after I got back.
Planning to hit deadlifts later today.
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Welcome back buddy. How are you doing?
Playing football in the backyard is one of my favorite childhood memories. I used to spend hours practicing dribbling around the little brother.
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@theBird Thanks mate. I’m feeling pretty good right now. In hindsight I needed the week off; I was feeling pretty run down. I probably wouldn’t have taken the break if it hadn’t been scheduled though.
I still dribble around the little brother, except he’s my big brother these days. 10 centimetres taller, 20kg heavier. I guess the only reason I was bigger than him when we were kids is that I’m three years older. God I miss those days.
TRAINING:
Tuesday February 7 - Squat
40kg x 8
50 kg x 5
60kg x 3
70kg x 9 x 2 EMOM
Wednesday February 8 - Press
20kg x 10
27.5kg x 8
35kg x 5
42.5kg x 8 x 3 EMOM (last set was a bit tough, but good speed overall)
Shitload of band pull-aparts (I do these on pretty much every press day, whether or not I remember to record it)
1 arm DB floor press
20kg x 3 x 10 (per arm - probably goes without saying but you never know)
Thursday February 9 - Deadlift
Power clean
40kg x 3 x 4
Deadlift
60kg x 6
70kg x 4
80kg x 3
90kg x 8 x 3 EMOM
Sunday 19/02 - Press
20kg x 10
27.5kg x 6
35kg x 5
42.5kg x 3 x 3 EMOM
40kg x 3 x 3 EMOM
Called it here, because I didn’t feel like anything productive was going to happen if I kept going. Possibly I was suffering the after effects of a long car trip. Possibly I was just out of the groove after the week off. Most likely it was a combination of both.
Monday February 20 - Deadlift
Power clean
40kg x 3 x 5 (I’ve definitely lost the groove on these)
Deadlift
60kg x 5
70kg x 4
80kg x 3
90kg x 9 x 2 EMOM
Pretty average session performance wise, but it did loosen up the hips quite nicely. And man did they need loosening up. Interestingly, my glutes were quite sore from Sunday’s pressing. Not shoulders or triceps. Just glutes. I guess that means I engage them when I press, which can’t possibly be a bad thing.
Thats a bit of a difference in height and weight compared to your brother.
If you dont mind me asking, what happened there?
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Fair question, I’m not sure tbh. Genetics, I guess. You’re essentially just playing a game with probability theory, and I got the short end of the stick in that regard. Just one of those things.
On the other hand, he has much less facial hair than I did at his age and I’m just generally better looking. So it all evens out.
(He reads my log, but I haven’t yet convinced him to make an account here. Maybe he’ll do so to contradict what I said above)
Lol.
Fair enough. me and my bro have similarities and yet major differences at the sam time.
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Wednesday February 22 - Squat
1 arm DB split clean
17.5kg x 2 x 3 (each side)
Squat
40kg x 7
50kg x 4
60kg x 3
70kg x 11 x 2 EMOM (this was pretty hard, but it’s an improvement on what I did just before I went away)
Thursday February 21 - Press
20kg x 9
30kg x 5
42.5kg x 5 x 3, 40kg x 1 x 3 EMOM
1 arm DB Z press
15kg x 3 x 10
Lately my left shoulder has been hurting during and after pressing sessions in a way that it sometimes does if I do too much barbell pressing - especially if I’ve also been skimping on core and upper back work. Pretty sure my upper back is in good shape right now, but my core is definitely weaker than it needs to be.
Today I cut the barbell sets short and rounded out the volume with the dumbbell presses, which didn’t hurt at all. I’m wondering if I should stop barbell pressing for a few weeks while I really hammer the pallof presses and rows. More horizontal pressing wouldn’t hurt either
Friday February 23
Wasn’t planning on training but I wound up in the gym keeping the baby brother company. Messed around with using a free barbell for hip thrusts, rather than the smith machine, which I’ve always used. Turns out the setup is a bitch whichever way you do it, but it does give a different feeling. Worked up to 90kg for five reps, and felt like I could have done more. My record with the smith machine is about 100kg for roughly the same number of reps, but that only counts the weight on the machine. I have no idea how to account for whatever force I’m generating by moving the unloaded bar on the machine, so I just ignore it.
Also tried some 1 arm kettlebell swings. @furo is absolutely right that they’re not a good idea if your focus is on an explosive hip extension. More energy goes into anti-rotation. so I think I could probably find a way to work them in in that capacity. I fully expect my obliques to be sore later.
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On reflection, the Friday I last logged was the 24th, not the 23rd. Oh well.
Saturday February 25 - Deadlift
Power clean
40kg x 5
45kg x 5, 4
Deadlift
60kg x 5
70kg x 4
80kg x 3
90kg x 12 x 2 EMOM (Note - this feels much more solid when I use my lats, and focus on keeping my ribcage pulled down)
Pallof press (anti-rotation) - 4 x 6 each way (I need to start doing these more often)
Monday February 27 - Press
20kg x 10
30kg x 8
42.5 x 7 x 3 EMOM (quite slow, but more technically solid than I’ve had for a while)
Tuesday February 28 - Squat
45kg x 7
55kg x 4
60kg x 3
70kg x 12 x 2 EMOM
Wednesday March 01 - Press
20kg x 9
27.5kg x 7
35kg x 5
42.5kg x 9 x 3 EMOM
Thursday March 02 - Deadlift
Power clean
40kg x 5
45kg x 2 x 3
47.5kg x 3
Deadlift
60kg x 5
70kg x 4
80kg x 3
92.5kg x 7 x 2 EMOM (a little slow but nothing major)
Sunday March 5 - Squat and Press
Squat
40kg x 8
52.5kg x 5
65kg x 3
72.5kg x 8 x 2 EMOM (last few sets were a bit of a grind. Technique felt pretty solid though)
Press
30kg x 8
35kg x 6
42.5kg x 8 x 3 EMOM (very happy with the bar speed here. It’s a definite improvement)
Apologies once again for the intermittent updates. To be honest, they’re probably going to be a regular feature of this log.
Presses would have been scheduled for today, but I got them out of the way yesterday because today is the day I have minor surgery on my chest. It’s only a local anaesthetic and a keyhole (or almost keyhole) incision, so I don’t think it’s going to knock me back too much. Barbell pressing might be out for a couple of weeks though. I also anticipate a problem with front squatting using a clean grip. I might need to try the ‘no hands’ version I saw Ben Bruno writing about a while back. I’m hoping deadlifts won’t be a problem.
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Surgery went fine, I’ve had no pain at all, surgeon explicitly told me no heavy lifting with the affected arm for two weeks (of which four days have already passed), but he said there are no restrictions on movement.
The first few days I had to be careful not to sweat too much due to the nature of the dressing, so I’ve avoided the gym. I’ve been doing my usual hill runs, but I’ve slowed down to turn it into technique practice. They’ve changed the dressing now though, so I’m going to hit the gym later and do all manner of DB stuff with my good arm. I might also have a go at ‘no hands’ front squats.
(Anyone has any other suggestions as to how to work around this, feel free to leave them here)
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Saw the surgeon yesterday. I’ve officially been cleared to do whatever the hell I want in the gym. Last couple of weeks I’ve been doing no hands front squats (kept it light and focused on technique), DB pressing, snatching, and rowing with my good arm, and even suitcase deadlifts, which I’d never done before. Honestly I didn’t like them much, but they served their purpose. Still running, as I mentioned in my last post. It’s time to start upping the speed again.
In fact I should probably start logging it here. I haven’t bothered so far because my weekly template is pretty much always the same - one day of hill sprints, one day of 50 metre sprints on the flats. 8-10 repeats. Balls to the wall if I feel good, slightly slower if I don’t. With the hills I shorten the rest periods to keep my heart rate up. On the flat I rest a little longer so I can focus on technique properly. Barefoot if the ground is hard, soccer boots if there’s a lot of mud. Anyway -
Thursday March 23
Press
usual warm up sets
45kg x 2 x 3 EMOM
42.5kg x 5 x 3 EMOM
40kg x 5 x 3 EMOM
Seal rows - 20, 18, 17 (I think seal rows are meant to be done with a barbell. I used a pair of 20kg dumbbells, but you get the idea). Set the bench high enough to get a good stretch in the bottom position, and paused for a couple of seconds at the top to get a nice upper back squeeze. Hurt like hell. I like these, think I’ll keep doing them.
I was pleasantly surprised at how solid the presses felt. All 12 sets went up smoothly - I don’t think 45kg has ever gone up that fast. I know that’s a baby weight for most people on here, but for me it’s a milestone. My press is slowly moving in the right direction.
24 hours later, my triceps are sore as hell. I suppose I should have expected that.
Deadlifts are scheduled for later today.
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Friday March 24
Deadlift
Power clean - 40kg x 5
50kg x 3, 3, 2
60kg x 3 x 1
Deadlift - 70kg x 4
77.5kg x 3
85kg x 9 x 2 EMOM
85 was meant to be my last warm up set before doing 92.5 (I got 7 average speed doubles at 92.5 last time), but it felt pretty heavy, so I left it at that weight for my work sets. In hindsight, I’m glad I did. The work sets were technically solid, but a bit slow.
It’s possible I slightly overdid the power cleans, but more likely I’m just out of the groove from not deadlifting for three weeks.
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Saturday March 25 - Press
20kg x 10
30kg x 6
35kg x 3
40kg x 1
WORK SETS
45kg x 4 x 3 EMOM
42.5kg x 3 x 3 EMOM
40kg x 5 x 3 EMOM
Finished up with some face pulls.
I was happy with this. Nice and explosive.
Monday March 27 - Squat
1 arm DB split clean - 15kg x 2 x 3
Squat -
50kg x 5
55kg x 4
60kg x 4
65kg x 3
WORK SETS
72.5kg x 10 x 2 EMOM
I was pleasantly surprised at how well this went. I beat what I did last session by a comfortable margin - even though that was three weeks ago. Only thing was I mistimed my entire day and wound up getting to the gym at peak hour. Miraculously, the squat rack was the only piece of equipment not in use. I did have to navigate around about ten guys doing curls right next to the dumbbell rack, however.
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Seal rows are better with dumbbells IMO (that being if your gym has dumbbells big enough)
With a barbell the range of motion becomes limited and your hands cannot be in a neutral position (hammer grip)
Neutral hand position is a good thing because it reduces the risk of shoulder injury/pain