@lostscaredme Interesting... Why do you think that? I was looking to get back into S&S again.
I don't understand S&S strength standards
- Thread starter khohanguc
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lostscaredme
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@khohanguc This is why I come to Reddit. A lengthy series of comments on a niche fitness standard. Thoughtfully and passionately discussed by players who care. Reminds me of an old Powerlifting Forum called Go Heavy. I really miss some of those original bulletin boards when communities first started on line. My thought on this topic is I understand why a standard offered by a leading coach gets in your head. I'm same way. If somebody says it can be done, and others have reached it, then I want to. What I learned is the struggle is really what we are looking for. Maybe we hit the standard and maybe not, but at least we are in "the arena" as Teddy Roosevelt would say.
@khohanguc If I can play Devil's Advocate, or I guess in this case Pavel's advocate, Pavel likes to make things "real world." For example, if you were a soldier in combat and one of your buddies was wounded, his family won't take comfort in the fact that you left him on the battlefield to die because of your age and lack of strength.
This is the rationale used for the Tactical Strength Challenge. The TSC tests the following: max powerlifting deadlift (three attempts), pullups for max reps (palms forward, no kipping, chin or upper chest must touch the bar) or flexed arm hang for time (in the Novice Women’s category), and kettlebell snatches for max reps in a 5:00 time period. The TSC has no weight classes or age divisions. The idea is that the lighter competitors will do better on the pullups while the bigger competitors will do better on the deadlift. All competitors will need some aerobic fitness to do well on the snatches. I actually like this as a test of military fitness because it doesn't favor the skinny cardio freak, nor does it favor an overweight powerlifter. It forces the skinny guys to gains some strength and the bigger guys to lose fat. A test like this would simplify fitness testing in the military and could do away with height-weight standards.
Anyway, hope this doesn't sound too harsh. FWIW, I'm 20 years older than you, and while I'm no longer eligible to serve in the military I now have to fight the battle against aging. The Simple standard is an interesting goal that may be worth my time to pursue.
This is the rationale used for the Tactical Strength Challenge. The TSC tests the following: max powerlifting deadlift (three attempts), pullups for max reps (palms forward, no kipping, chin or upper chest must touch the bar) or flexed arm hang for time (in the Novice Women’s category), and kettlebell snatches for max reps in a 5:00 time period. The TSC has no weight classes or age divisions. The idea is that the lighter competitors will do better on the pullups while the bigger competitors will do better on the deadlift. All competitors will need some aerobic fitness to do well on the snatches. I actually like this as a test of military fitness because it doesn't favor the skinny cardio freak, nor does it favor an overweight powerlifter. It forces the skinny guys to gains some strength and the bigger guys to lose fat. A test like this would simplify fitness testing in the military and could do away with height-weight standards.
Anyway, hope this doesn't sound too harsh. FWIW, I'm 20 years older than you, and while I'm no longer eligible to serve in the military I now have to fight the battle against aging. The Simple standard is an interesting goal that may be worth my time to pursue.
@jllcml That doesn't sound harsh at all, it's one of the best comment and makes me happy to have created this thread.
I get it. Seriously I do. It's not a "sport" strength standard with weight classes and such like powerlifting. But it' a "real life" standard so it's fixated whatever your own physical stat are. It makes sense viewed like that.
The test you mentioned above sounds balanced, I'd add some distance running in there because the snatch tests is still strength-endurance not pure endurance. But all in all sounds good.
Thanks a lot !
I get it. Seriously I do. It's not a "sport" strength standard with weight classes and such like powerlifting. But it' a "real life" standard so it's fixated whatever your own physical stat are. It makes sense viewed like that.
The test you mentioned above sounds balanced, I'd add some distance running in there because the snatch tests is still strength-endurance not pure endurance. But all in all sounds good.
Thanks a lot !
mir2017lma
New member
@khohanguc Meh, so what? What's next, measuring hand/finger length and specifying the diameter of the handles? Length of the handle relative to length of forearms? It doesn't matter. Moving objects in the real world doesn't care about your body weight or proportions. S&S isn't a competition so no need to worry about weight class. Like others said, they are arbitrary benchmarks. Just get better as often as possible.
@khohanguc I'm 5'6 135lbs.. Started 2.5 years ago with s&s using a 12kg. I'm now using 32kg for swings and tgu, although timeless. It takes me 45mins-1 hr from warmup to finish stretching. So it's not impossible. There's also this sfg Pavel Macek who hit sinister at 5'7, he's not big at all.. Consistency is key. I don't know if I'll ever get to sinister, but I'm getting ready to throw my 36kg in the mix.
@darlene1 Yeah I know about Pavel Macek. He does bent presses with 48kg that's impressive. He's same height as me but a lil bit heavier at 68kg. I used to weigh the same but I lost some weight because of life stuff.
Honestly your message is a breath of hope. I'm the same stats as you but I only started 3 months ago. Hope I'll get to 24kg by end year and maybe 32kg after 2,5 years or so like you. Thanks for the motivation
Honestly your message is a breath of hope. I'm the same stats as you but I only started 3 months ago. Hope I'll get to 24kg by end year and maybe 32kg after 2,5 years or so like you. Thanks for the motivation
@khohanguc Yes that's it.. I remember when I was 3-6 months in, my palms would hurt at night because it was still getting used to holding kettlebells. Also when I got to 28kg for get ups, my forearm could not take that weight resting on it and felt like it would break. Now it's all good, no pain.. So it is a long process. BTW I forgot to mention I'm 40yo now so I was even older than you when I started. So you definitely got this. The best thing I did though was work with an SFG coach to get my technique on point
@khohanguc If you're curious as how the weight progression went, it was far from a steady pace.. I moved up to 24kg fairly quickly every few weeks but the 28kg and the 32kg took a long time to get there. The higher the weight, the longer I had to stay there to get ready for the next one. It will probably take me six months to a full year to get all sets up to 36kg based on my experience
theweebabyjesus
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abandonedmemory
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@khohanguc As many other have said before me, there is a lot of markeing going on. I would like to emphasize this for you: someone called kettlebells a "simple but sinister" tool and Pavel decided to write his book under this cool expression. 32kg is far from simple, although it is said to be reachable for most of the population.
@abandonedmemory Thanks for the reply I'll keep that in mind
@khohanguc I hear what you're saying but ultra minimal, ultra simplified programming is part of Pavel's whole thing. Complicating the standards with bodyweight percentage calculations wouldn't fit his style. Sounds like 24kg is the perfect goal for you at this stage.