[quote]furo wrote:
[quote]booksbikesbeer wrote:
Hey furo,
My training is very simple, and it is quite similar to yours (from what I can tell). I’m attracted to the minimalist programs and full body movements that Pavel, Dan John, and others like so much. I don’t really train for any specific thing, just life. I want to be fit, move well, and feel good.
As I mentioned, I’m back on S and S with the 32kg bell at the moment. I got kicked in the calf by a horse about 6 weeks ago, so this is the comeback program. I’ll probably stick with it all summer as my schedule is not consistent during that time, and I can plug these workouts in whenever I want.
Before that, I was on the ROP with my 28kg bell. I was on it for about 7 or 8 weeks before the injury. In another month or so I would have completed the 5 ladders to 5 rungs. I will definitely get back to this program, but probably not until the fall.
In January and February I had my first go around with S and S. Really liked it, and I felt great. I hit the simple standards in the book, and that was pretty tough.
In October, November and December of last year I was doing classic 5 x 5 barbell stuff. One day was zercher squat, overhead press, and weighted pullups. The next day was deadlift, overhead press, and weighted pullups. I workout in my basement at home, so all I have are a bunch of kettlebells and a barbell on the floor. Hence no exercises that require racks or spotters.
And that’s pretty much a snapshot of what I do. I’ve been doing this for a few years now. I came from an endurance background (cycling, running, nordic skiing). Now I lift and ride/train horses. I’ve put on 25 pounds of muscle in those few years, but I’m still on the thin side at 6’1" and 175 pounds. I’d like to see what another 10 pounds of muscle would look and feel like, but I’m in no rush. Just taking my time with things.
I hope that gives you an idea of what I’m up to. Feel free to ask for more specifics on anything you’d like.[/quote]
Thanks so much for the detailed breakdown! I’m really sorry to hear about your injury, but at least that makes for a good story. Not to make light of the situation. I wish you a speedy recovery!
It’s great to hear that we share such similar training philosophies and methods. I’d definitely really be interested in following a log if you decide to make one, and I’m sure many others would too!
Congratulations on hitting the simple standards! Did you time them too? How did you find fitting all of the swings into 5 minutes? That seems like the hardest bit to me, but I’m quite unfit.
What is ROP like? I’ve got Enter the Kettlebell, but I haven’t tried it. The thing that put my off was the idea of doing a lot of upper body pushing without any direct pulling. Do you find that the clean worked your back adequately? I think alternating between blocks of ROP and S&S would be an excellent way to train and I may well start doing that once I’m up to an acceptable standard on S&S.
That is awesome that you train horses. I know little about them, but I’m from a bit of a country bumpkin background myself lol. It must be hard work, but also I imagine very rewarding. I see you are from Iowa, I’d love to visit the midwest someday. It seems like my kind of place.
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I think I’m about fully recovered from the injury. I’ve only got a small knot on the outside of my shin bone. I wish I could say it came with a good story, but in this case I was doctoring an injured horse and got some “help” from a person with a less patient training philosphy than my own. The horse got agitated, and I’m the one who got kicked. I should have prevented it. Live and learn.
As far as working towards the simple standards, I did time things. But not all the time. I hit the get ups in 10 minutes very early. I’ve always been stronger on those. With swings, grip was definitely the limiting factor. For the first few weeks I didn’t time anything. Then I would occasionally time them by glancing at my alarm clock. When I noticed I was starting at like 5:16 and finishing at 5:23 I figured I was “around” 7 minutes. From there I would occasionally time them with a stop watch. I got it down to 5:50 or so in the next couple of weeks. Then I didn’t time them again until I felt super strong and just went for the sub-5. I got 4:40-something and felt quite good. I did it again a few weeks later and again felt good.
The ROP is definitely a fun program. I’ve gone through it five or six times now, though I have not hit the end goal of pressing half bodyweight and snatching the 24kg 200 times in 10 minutes (170 is my best, but I’ve only tested the 10 minutes once).
For me, the cleans definitely count as a pull, but perhaps not quite as much as a direct (maybe not the right word) pull. They work my back, traps, and shoulders quite nicely. As young n mentioned, the book does recommend supersetting your clean and press ladders with a pull, a row if need be, but preferably pull ups. Every time I’ve done the program I have incorporated the pull ups.
The book recommends getting your pull ups to a 5 to 8 rep max load. So if you can do more, then add weight. When I do this I end up suffering a bit in my elbows. So I usually just add more bodyweight pull ups. In my last go around of the ROP I was doing 5 reps after each press ladder. So on the long days I was doing 80 to 100 pull ups. If I kept this up it would top out at 125. During these weeks my shoulders and back felt better than any other time in my life. And I will definitely continue to explore this idea of high total reps through lots of light sets.
If there is one downside to the ROP it is a lack of leg work. Obviously they get worked in the swing, but there is not much range of motion. So I like to add something on the variety days. This past go around I would do double kettlebell front squats with 2-24kg bells. I started with lower reps and worked up to 10 x 10. But the big thing to keep in mind is the variety is not the main workout. I always have to consciously keep them easy and sometimes skip things if they feel like too much.
One of my favorite things about the ROP is how linear your progression is on it. Each week you’re pushing more and getting stronger (obviously other programs are like this, too). I will definitely keep using it at least once or twice a year until I hit the press and snatch standards. And I think your idea of rotating with S and S could keep you busy for a while.
You are in the UK, right? My sister in law is from Darlington, and my wife and I were lucky enough to spend a month in northern England and Scotland a while back. I can’t wait to get back and visit. The loved countryside and everyone we met was super friendly. I think you’d find something similar if you visited the midwest.