Dan John's 10K swing challenge doing half the reps with an 18kg , and the other half with a 28kg (don't ask why)
Some overly complex stuff combining Joe Daniel's Outer Limits Protocol and Leg Lava complex (do not, again, ask why)
Geoff's 12-weeks MBKMP with 24's.
I'm now on the verge of completing (once again) Geoff's 12w MBKMP with a set of 28's. My objectives and preferences are the following:
I have 3 sets of KBs : 2x18s, 2x24s, 2x28s. I'd rather not buy another set, as I eventually want to migrate towards Barbell stuff.
I love double KB C&J and double KB clean and presses.
My squats are my weakest lift. I Dislike them very much but am aware of their importance.
I'd like to improve the maximum number of reps I can do with the 28s with respect to the double clean and jerk, strict press and front squat.
I'd like to lift around 3x/ week.
I'm going to consider my next program as a transition-thing until I find/dedicate myself to a longer-term strength program. I'd love to be able to overhead press my own weight and be able overhead squat my body weight 15 reps by the time I'm 40. I doubt I'm going to be able to achieve that solely with the KBs I own.
What would be some of the best options out there? I have looked briefly at the Giant 3.0 and Dry Fighting Weight but I'm unsure if it best fits my needs. Any guidance will be greatly appreciated.
@kennedy Considering you want to lift three times a week, how much you like c&p and how you want to work on squats, between the two programs you’ve looked at so far, I’d go with DFW. It actually has squats programmed.
@kennedy You could look into a pair of adjustable kettlebells, which go up to 32kg. Will give you a bit more mileage before you move to barbell work, while also giving you the flexibility to maintain your kb conditioning here and there. Will also allow you to sell off your other bells except for maybe one 18kg bell for warm ups.
For people following programs using one set of bells at a time, they’re solid.
@hunter101 As of now I’m following the time limits prescribed in the program (20 mins on swing days, 30 mins on Squats/OHP + warmups which consists of pull-ups and goblet squats)
Max reps are about 12 front squats (with the 28s), 8 OHPs (with the 28s), 12 C&Ps with the 24s (never tried with the 28s). I can do maybe 15 double KB swings with the 28s?
@kennedy 8 presses with the 28s is pretty good! If I were to guess you'd probably have like a 65kg barbell press within a week or two of barbell training.
My experience with jerks is still limited, but for C&P I'm such a big fan of The Giant. The Giant 1.0, 1.1 and 1.2 are 4-week blocks meant to be run in succession for a 10RM C&P, but with an 12RM that means you'll just get in even more volume. It's great for conditioning too. You could also do a maxtest with the 28s, The Giant 3.0 is a 4-week 5RM program. Though in my experience 1.0-1.2 is awesome, while 3.0 is merely kind of okay.
For squats, I think the way to go about it is finding a way to make them more palatable for you. Is your the primary issue here boredom, or is it how much high-rep squats suck? I can definitely think of ways around the former, but the latter may be more difficult.
You could also cut out squats for a bit and focus on C&P and snatches. And then maybe do 2-3 hard sets of squats 2-3 times a week.
@hunter101 I had a quick read at your review of the Giant and it was my original choice but I was concerned by the lack of squats (though I think that has been covered - and addressed - multiple times). My main problem with them is that I have very bad flexibility issues (mostly related to quad tightness, hips aren’t so bad) and, therefore, my form is atrocious. I’ve got some exercises prescribed by a physiotherapist so I could maybe do them - in addition to light goblet squats - on my rest days just to get the movement right? Or do what you say.
Oh and btw congrats on the snatch achievement and pressing your bodyweight! Among my top goals (15x overhead squat with my BW being the holy grail).
I’ve got some exercises prescribed by a physiotherapist so I could maybe do them - in addition to light goblet squats - on my rest days just to get the movement right?
That's another option. A PT will often be happy to help you get more active, so you can probably get some good advice there.
If I have limited ROM for something I'll usually work on that (static and dynamic stretches), and then do some strength work in the ROM that's available to me. But of course, PT > some rando on the internet, so if they have different ideas discard everything I'm saying.
@hunter101 Oh shit wait I remember you! You commented on the only other post I’ve ever made on this sub like 8 months ago, back then I couldn’t even clean my 28s. I think of you every now and then. Hows it going man
I've had more of a barbell emphasis in my training the last month and a half, and am within 1kg of a bodyweight overhead press.
I also managed to snatch a 40 and press double 40s on the 30th and 31st of December. A New Year's miracle! I'll build up my press and snatch a bit more, and then probably do a run of DFW and DFW for snatches at home, with more of a barbell emphasis at the gym.
@kennedy You have quite diverse goals. It would help if you established concrete benchmarks and built up towards them. You already mentioned the press and the overhead squat, but those seem to be barbell specific.
In your case I would largely stay with kettlebells, as you can still gain a lot with them. Maybe for the squat/deadlift it makes sense to introduce barbell. But even then, you could run volume cycle for squats and get results. Let’s say, you can run DFW and add one extra rep to each squat set. Or you could keep DFW as is for tracking purpose, and introduce weighted pistols as a separate training piece.
The fact is that options with kettlebells our numerous and can be quite effective relative to your goals. Don’t think that the barbell is the next evolutionary step. You gain some, you lose some.
@ilovejeshua I don’t think I’ll get rid of my KBs anytime soon, there’s too much to do with them. I haven’t even touched snatches and weighted carries yet. It’s just that I’m a very simple man and the linearity of progressive overload is attractive to me.
@kennedy All the best stuff is still coming!
If you are interested, we are developing a kettlebell app to track progressions: https://powercrafttraining.com/
@kennedy Drop the doubles for a while. Work with singles for 4 weeks doing something like Iron Cardio, before easing back into doubles. You might find you have some imbalances that singles work will sort out.
@kennedy Just here to say that it’s a wonderful thing to see the KB and redscarepod venn diagram continuing to overlap.
Also yeah, DFW remix is a standard good one. You said you don’t like squats but understand their importance, and DFW works in plenty of front squats to help with that.
