inspiringmedia
New member
I just wrapped up Geoff Neupert's popular The Giant program, which only focuses on the clean & press, and I wanted to give it a quick review.
Background
As a bit of background, I was in between bell sizes for the better part of 2023. To start the year, I could hit 12 reps on the C&P with my 20kg bells, and right around 7-8 with my 24kg bells.
I did a bunch of other things, but in the back of my mind I knew I wanted to periodically test my max reps with the 24s and that the moment I hit 10, I'd run The Giant.
Back in early September, I hit 10 reps in the morning and printed off the Giant in the afternoon to run it on my next training day.
The Program
Since it's a paid program, I don't want to give away too many details, but I only ran 1.0 and 1.1.
I listened to my body, but as much as possible, I tried to always ensure I got in more work than the prior session. So if I was able to do 10 sets on day 1 the first week, then I'd aim to do 11 the following week in roughly the same allotted time by slightly shortening my rest periods.
That didn't always work, but in the example above, since I ran it for 25 minutes, that means week 1 day 1, I did sets every 2:30 (10 total), and then week 2, day 1, I did sets every 2:15 (11 total).
I stuck to 3 days per week (M/W/F), and I'd usually do 10 minutes of dynamic warm-up (swings, band work, mobility drills), 25 minutes of the Giant, then 5-10 minutes of light accessory work if I had the time/energy (a set or two of easy front squats, pull ups, ab wheels, etc.), and then 5-10 minutes of cool down.
All-in, each workout lasted about 45 minutes.
Results
In terms of results, in my first session, I did 50 reps in 25 minutes, and in my best session, I did 84 reps in 27 minutes.
Perhaps even more strikingly, I just tested my RM on the C&P with my 24s and was floored with the results.
Going into my recent max rep set, I thought "I bet I can eke out 12, maybe 13 reps" and blew through that and hit 15. Hence, my Giant WTF moment.
I would've never expected a 50% improvement in a little over two months, and in some ways, I feel like I either could've done more than 10 reps at the start, or 15 reps was a weird anomaly. Regardless, the program clearly worked.
I don't have any pics, but I did pack on some weight per the scale, and my shoulders and back feel larger. Maybe not "noticeably" larger, but definitely larger.
My only negative (as others have said) was the repetitiveness finally wore me down and I did not complete 1.2. I did two weeks of 1.2 and then finally said "I'm ready for something different."
That's a bit rare for me since I love completing things, routine, and structure, but after 30 workouts doing only one exercise, I was ready for a change.
Conclusion
The Giant is an extremely worthy use of $19, especially if you're looking to increase your strength and endurance on the clean and press.
I can't guarantee you'll see identical results, but if you stick with it, you'll certainly see something.
This is not sponsored or anything of that sort, but if you want to pick it up, here is the link to the program.
Background
As a bit of background, I was in between bell sizes for the better part of 2023. To start the year, I could hit 12 reps on the C&P with my 20kg bells, and right around 7-8 with my 24kg bells.
I did a bunch of other things, but in the back of my mind I knew I wanted to periodically test my max reps with the 24s and that the moment I hit 10, I'd run The Giant.
Back in early September, I hit 10 reps in the morning and printed off the Giant in the afternoon to run it on my next training day.
The Program
Since it's a paid program, I don't want to give away too many details, but I only ran 1.0 and 1.1.
I listened to my body, but as much as possible, I tried to always ensure I got in more work than the prior session. So if I was able to do 10 sets on day 1 the first week, then I'd aim to do 11 the following week in roughly the same allotted time by slightly shortening my rest periods.
That didn't always work, but in the example above, since I ran it for 25 minutes, that means week 1 day 1, I did sets every 2:30 (10 total), and then week 2, day 1, I did sets every 2:15 (11 total).
I stuck to 3 days per week (M/W/F), and I'd usually do 10 minutes of dynamic warm-up (swings, band work, mobility drills), 25 minutes of the Giant, then 5-10 minutes of light accessory work if I had the time/energy (a set or two of easy front squats, pull ups, ab wheels, etc.), and then 5-10 minutes of cool down.
All-in, each workout lasted about 45 minutes.
Results
In terms of results, in my first session, I did 50 reps in 25 minutes, and in my best session, I did 84 reps in 27 minutes.
Perhaps even more strikingly, I just tested my RM on the C&P with my 24s and was floored with the results.
Going into my recent max rep set, I thought "I bet I can eke out 12, maybe 13 reps" and blew through that and hit 15. Hence, my Giant WTF moment.
I would've never expected a 50% improvement in a little over two months, and in some ways, I feel like I either could've done more than 10 reps at the start, or 15 reps was a weird anomaly. Regardless, the program clearly worked.
I don't have any pics, but I did pack on some weight per the scale, and my shoulders and back feel larger. Maybe not "noticeably" larger, but definitely larger.
My only negative (as others have said) was the repetitiveness finally wore me down and I did not complete 1.2. I did two weeks of 1.2 and then finally said "I'm ready for something different."
That's a bit rare for me since I love completing things, routine, and structure, but after 30 workouts doing only one exercise, I was ready for a change.
Conclusion
The Giant is an extremely worthy use of $19, especially if you're looking to increase your strength and endurance on the clean and press.
I can't guarantee you'll see identical results, but if you stick with it, you'll certainly see something.
This is not sponsored or anything of that sort, but if you want to pick it up, here is the link to the program.
