Hey. I didn’t realize you were still around here until I saw your message in my log.
I’d disappeared for awhile, came back, and just hadn’t seen your log.
What’s the idea behind your training right now? At a glance, it looks like you’re trying to get the best of both worlds, keeping the good stuff from the pure kettlebell training, and using the barbell training to cover the gaps.
Also, what does “This weather is absolutely horrible” mean around there? Cold? Wet? Icy? Snowy? Windy?
[quote]LoRez wrote:
Hey. I didn’t realize you were still around here until I saw your message in my log.
I’d disappeared for awhile, came back, and just hadn’t seen your log.
What’s the idea behind your training right now? At a glance, it looks like you’re trying to get the best of both worlds, keeping the good stuff from the pure kettlebell training, and using the barbell training to cover the gaps.
Also, what does “This weather is absolutely horrible” mean around there? Cold? Wet? Icy? Snowy? Windy?[/quote]
Hello friend!
Yup I’m still here, plodding along as usual. I’m following a bit of a hybrid routine right now - I’m training my lower body with kettlebells because I’ve found some exercises that work very well for me, but I’m training my upper body in the gym because I can’t train it adequately with kettlebells alone. This type of training really goes against my neat ordered tendencies lol, but it is unquestionably more effective than persisting with kettlebells alone.
Longterm I want to build up my home equipment so that I can train everything without the gym, but right now a few kettlebells in my living room cannot achieve that. I’ve spent far too long kidding myself that my minimalist home routines were enough to develop my upper body.
The weather isn’t all that bad to be honest, just pretty cold with torrential rain at times. There was a pretty good sized storm here (by UK standards) and there has been quite a lot of flooding.
[b] Week 32: Whole Body
Pull-Ups [/b]
BW: 3x5
Bench Press
100kg: 2-2-3 (spotted for a 4th)
Back Squat (Narrow Stance)
100kg: 3x3
Lat Pulldown
47: 3x10
Bodyweight: 97.0kg
I was going to do my usual upper body gym session, but the squat rack was free so I decided to take advantage and do a low volume whole body day. I’m very happy with how the bench press and squatting went - if I remember rightly the last time I squatted 100kg I managed a grind of a single with a wider stance, so I’ve clearly improved significantly since I started doing the double kettlebell front squats regularly.
My neck has been very sore since my Saturday session, and I’ve had a low level headache all day today. I did some reading on here and came across an old article that recommended training the neck with static holds so I did that - basically lean against a wall with your head, kind of like a neck plank. I did one minute each leaning to the left, to the right and forwards. Interestingly it was much harder leaning to the right, and my physic said that I was much tighter on the right side. I’m going to start doing these exercises every day and I’m also going to post up some technique videos to Pavel’s website tomorrow to see if I can get some tips. I think strengthening the neck and improving my technique are the keys here.
Week 32: Recovery
Instead of doing some kettlebell stuff today I just did a whole bunch of recovery work. Mostly static stretching of my lower body, as well as shoulder dislocates and neck work. A few issues have been accumulating over the last few weeks - my hips, shoulders and, of course, neck have been feeling progressively more beat up so this session felt really good.
Bodyweight: 96.3kg
[b] Week 32: Summary
Bodyweight: [/b] 96.4kg - too high
Training: Very good, especially at the start of the week.
Nutrition: About average overall: some great days, some terrible
A very strong week from a training point of view: a volume PR on kettlebell front squats, a high volume upper body day, a reasonable whole body gym day, an ok run and some extra work. Nutrition and bodyweight leave a lot to be desired though.
Simple and Sinister
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, as I’m beginning to feel really quite beat up. Especially my neck, but my hips and knees also aren’t great. I’ve gone right back through my previous log and read up on all of the Simple and Sinister work I did, and I know that’s overall when I felt at my freshest and least injured (although I did have occasional knee issues). I’d forgotten quite how much time I’d dedicated to the routine - I did just short of 70 full sessions, and that’s not including a lot of swing-only or TGU-only sessions. The two major disadvantages of Simple and Sinister were the lack of a squat movement and the total lack of direct upper body work. I think I could rectify that by using the 40kg kettlebell for the goblet squats in the warm-up (Pavel actually suggests using your work weight) and by continuing to do upper body gym days.
I initially felt reluctant to drop the double kettlebell front squats, but the more I think about it the more it makes sense. While they definitely have improved my leg strength, it hasn’t been to the extent I first thought. I’ve had a look back through all of my old training and when I was doing barbell squats reasonably regularly I hit 110kg for 5x5 and I came within millimetres of a 1rm of 140kg. So they aren’t working wonders like I thought they were - they don’t make my legs as strong as barbell squats and they don’t make me feel nearly as athletic as Turkish get-ups, so I’m not losing a huge amount by ditching them.
While Simple and Sinister’s flaws were pretty serious and I definitely lost significant upper body size, the gains in athleticism and functional strength far surpassed anything I’ve ever done in training (excluding my initial noob gains when I was 17). I’ll never forget the difference in my MMA strength between being a broken bench bro and at the end of my S&S training. That feeling of power and control in the clinch was such a surprise, it was really awesome.
So this week I plan to hit some reasonably high frequency Simple and Sinister, to get myself back into the swing (lol) of it. After that I’ll continue my upper/lower split with Simple and Sinister on the lower days and gym work on the upper days.
[b] Week 33: Upper Body
Bench Press [/b]
85kg: 10
60kg: 5x10
Ring Pull-Ups
BW: 5x5
Barbell Curl/Press/Row Tri-Set
20kg: 10x10/10/10
This was a good session. I was joining a friend for his 5/3/1 Boring But Big session, and we decided to do a nice pump tri-set at the end.
[b] Week 33: Simple and Sinister
Warm-Up [/b]
40kg prying goblet squats, bodyweight hip thrusts and 20kg kettlebell haloes.
One-Arm Swings
28kg: 5x10
Turkish Get-Ups
40kg: 1
28kg: 4x1
Bodyweight: ?
I finished off with a little static stretching. This was a great session today, both the get-ups and swings felt technically rusty but I’m confident that they’ll improve quite quickly. I knew that the one arm swings would be particularly bad, as they took longer to improve the first time round, but the get-ups felt almost as tricky today. I think it makes sense to take my progression slowly - I plan to use only the 28kg for both exercises until at least the new year.
The main issue with training this way is going to be space. The Turkish get-up in particular requires a lot of room, and I just don’t have much available, so that’s annoying. I did the warm-up prying goblet squats with the 40kg and the haloes with the 20kg and they felt really good - I was worried they’d be too heavy, but they actually felt much better than before when I used 28kg/10kg.
Overall this was a really successful session. My neck and hips felt really good and the movements are fun: the only thing I’m going to have to be careful about is my knees, as I have had issues with the Turkish get-ups in the past.
[b] Week 33: Simple and Sinister
Warm-Up [/b]
40kg prying goblet squats, bodyweight hip thrusts and 20kg kettlebell haloes.
One-Arm Swings
28kg: 5x10
Turkish Get-Ups
28kg: 5x1
Bodyweight: 96.5kg
This was a decent session, although my right knee felt a little off. A government survey person came round between the swings and get-ups lol, so there was a huge gap there. Technique felt solid and 28kg felt challenging.
40kg and 28kg Get Ups just seem flat out awesome to me! 55 pound Get Ups for me at the moment just seem like torture since I haven’t done one in probably over a year!
[b] Week 33: Simple and Sinister
Warm-Up [/b]
40kg prying goblet squats, bodyweight hip thrusts and 20kg kettlebell haloes.
One-Arm Swings
28kg: 5x10
E2MOM
Turkish Get-Ups
28kg: 5x1
Bodyweight: 95.9kg
Another solid session. It’s difficult to say how things are going so early on, but I feel really good right now. I think the key with Simple and Sinister is to use timed rest periods, because otherwise I tend to spend far too long on it. Every second minute worked well for the swings (it was challenging for my grip but I maintained technique). For the last three sets of Turkish get-ups I did a set every four minutes (both sides) and that seemed appropriate.
[quote]jblues85 wrote:
40kg and 28kg Get Ups just seem flat out awesome to me! 55 pound Get Ups for me at the moment just seem like torture since I haven’t done one in probably over a year![/quote]
Thanks jblues, but it’s just technique! I’m sure you have the strength :).
[b] Week 33: Simple and Sinister
Warm-Up [/b]
40kg prying goblet squats, bodyweight hip thrusts and 20kg kettlebell haloes
One-Arm Swings
28kg: 5x10
E2MOM
Turkish Get-Ups
28kg: 5x1
E4MOM
Two-Arm Swings
40kg: 2x10
Bodyweight: 96.2kg
This was a good session. I was planning on running afterwards, but a friend called in for a few hours. Unfortunately that means I probably won’t be able to run this week as tomorrow I finish at 21:00 and I’m planning to get in a gym session (upper body stuff late in the evening doesn’t keep me awake, but running does) and on Friday my fiancee is coming back from seeing family.
I’ve decided to keep doing two-arm kettlebell swings along with the basic Simple and Sinister. The main reason for this is that I’ve noticed in the past that my glutes get quite tight doing one-arm swings and two-armed versions seem to straighten that out. The other reason is that I’ve learnt not to unnecessarily drop good movements from my training!
[b] Week 33: Upper Body
Dumbbell Chest Press (Low Incline) [/b]
2x35kg: 10-10-8
Dumbbell Row
50kg: 3x5
25kg: 2x20
Dumbbell Curl
2x12.5kg: 3x10
Bodyweight: 96.2kg
Managed to get this done in my lunch break! Really enjoying my more relaxed job at the moment. Good session overall.
[b] Week 33: Run
Run [/b]
2.8 miles
Bodyweight: 95.9kg
I worked out that the distance around my apartment block is 0.7miles so I decided just to do laps around it. Doesn’t make for a very interesting route, but it’s set back from the main road that I usually run along so at least I’m not breathing straight diesel lol. I had hoped to do 3.5 miles, but towards the end of my 4th lap my calves were really beginning to cramp up. I know I could have gone further, but I didn’t want to wreck my calves for Simple and Sinister tomorrow.
[b] Week 33: Summary
Bodyweight: [/b] 96.1kg
Training: Great - 7 sessions this week (4 simple and sinister, 2 upper body, 1 run)
Nutrition: Average - good main meals, but too much snacking
This has been a really solid week. My main goals going forward are to be able to do all sets of Simple and Sinister with the 40kg kettlebell and to be able to comfortably run 3.5miles. Injury-wise I feel great, I’ve barely noticed my neck and my hips feel 100%.
[b] Week 34: Simple and Sinister
Warm-Up [/b]
40kg prying goblet squats, bodyweight hip thrusts and 20kg kettlebell haloes
One-Arm Swings
28kg: 5x10
E2MOM
Turkish Get-Ups
28kg: 5x1
E3MOM
Two-Handed Swings
40kg: 3x10
E2MOM
Bodyweight: 96.3kg
I felt exhausted today for some reason, but this was a pretty good session. My knees felt a little loose and my calves a little sore, but not enough to impact my training, and I’ll give my lower body a rest tomorrow.
[b] Week 34: Upper Body
Bench Press [/b]
110kg: 1
120kg: F
100kg: 4x3
Pull-Ups
Neutral Grip: 6x5
Regular: 5-3-2
Chin-Ups: 5-3-2
Bodyweight: 96.5kg
This was a great upper body strength session. A really smooth bench single at 110kg and I almost managed to grind out 120kg. I also did 50 total pull-ups reps.