Managing KB workouts and the gym?

[proudsoccermom]

Hey everyone,

Had a bit of a hiatus on here. Had some knee pain I had to work through, but I've been back to working out with KBs, and my gym membership unfroze from when my daughter was born and I moved to just doing garage workouts.

I'd like to get back into the gym since I love the social aspect and good old bro lift every now and then lol, but want to keep doing some KB work (plus I bought a sandbag I want to use).

I'm curious how a split would work with these two training styles? I'm used to hypertrophy/body building style so it was like if you worked a muscle one day, you avoided it the next, but KBs hit everything so just wondering how that works?

I'm thinking M/W/F gym, doing a mix of strength and hypertrophy training. Then T/Tr/Sa doing KB, sandbag, conditioning stuff.

Would love to hear how others have navigated this!

 

[ant0099]

@proudsoccermom You can Def just follow a traditional strength program & replace movements with the bells. I flip between gym & homework outs all the time.

Just know what movement the program has written & if you wanna do a kb move instead, flip it with a similar kb variation.

For instance, in Base Strength, for the base of a cycle, Bromley writes out 3 x 6+ on a main shoulder press movement. He states it should be around a 15 rep max.

If I don't wanna military press with a barbell or dumbbells - that's around 140lbs for me on the bar - I can go grab my 32's and use it for that same exact rep range.

You can also do the same with similarly difficult calisthenics too. Honestly, in strength training movements are very interchangeable.

I'd probably just blend everything together, cycling in kettlebell movements whenever you felt like it.

If you want 2 books to learn how to program this all yourself - Base Strength by Bromley is fantastic. For conditoning ideas - Tactical Barbell II.

If your goals are more specific than a coach may be applicable.

 

[roseprince]

@ant0099 Second that on tactical barbell. It's awesome

 

[kail]

@roseprince Third it. TBII felt like cracking the code.

 

[proudsoccermom]

@ant0099 Thanks for the tips! I’ll check out those books.

I like the idea of just subbing the movement out with whatever equipment is available, I have a 12, 2 24s and a 32 so a decent variety, plus an 80lb sandbag

 

[jamesfaithpeter]

@proudsoccermom There's a bunch of people saying these days that you don't need to have as much rest for your muscles as previously thought.

Jeff Nippard has done a few videos on it.

Full body 3-6 days a week is also the basis of the stronger by science program.

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/program-bundle/

I'd suggest taking one of the SBS programs, cutting down some of the volume and then interspersing with Kettlebells.

 

[proudsoccermom]

@jamesfaithpeter Thanks for the resources! I see if volume and fatigue are managed, more frequent training can work!

 

[llama0079]

@proudsoccermom When I was doing both gym and kettlebell, I’d use KBs in my warmup and then hit my lifts. Obviously this would be hard, with you doing KBs and sandbags at home, but could be an idea.

I think light Tu/Th/Sa conditioning at home would be good with a bro split MWF, but could take up a ton of time (unless you’re used to training 6 days/week).

 

[proudsoccermom]

@llama0079 Before my daughter was born I was easily at 5-6 days a week, but schedules change lol. I’m just doing it at home now 4-5 days a week

 

[llama0079]

@proudsoccermom If you have the space at your house, look for a squat rack and bench on FB marketplace so you can have a whole gym setup at home. I bought a full setup (350lbs of plates, bar, squat rack, and bench) for $300, it just took some time to find it. Take up almost no space in my garage so I can bro out when I want to haha

 

[proudsoccermom]

@llama0079 I don’t have the room unfortunately for those things at the moment

 

[jessey123]

@proudsoccermom You can also do lighter bells on conditioning days to not take away from your strength.

 

[proudsoccermom]

@jessey123 My only lighter bell is a 12kg which I use for warm ups, but it feels awkward trying to do swings or anything else because it’s so light lol. Definitely could use a 16 or 20 soon

 

[jessey123]

@proudsoccermom Single hand swings. Single hand overhead. Single hand with flips.

May be light but you could work on coordination with basic juggling movements.

 

[jayparis]

@proudsoccermom Recently I was hitting full body at the gym 3 times a week, in between was The Wolf at home with my bells.

My gym has a sandbag I use too.

 

[proudsoccermom]

@jayparis Bro how did you do the Wolf along with gym workouts? I died doing that program

 

[jayparis]

@proudsoccermom I don't do it on the same day man. Although The Wolf with some lighter bells would be a great finisher.

 

[proudsoccermom]

@jayparis Yeah I just can’t imagine doing anything on the off days lol

 

[pbahchevanov]

@proudsoccermom I am in a similar situation. Used to do bodybuilding, now got a son and the second one is on the way, lol. I train mostly in my garage with kettlebells and macebells. Started doing only full body workouts lately, even when I occasionally go to the gym, like 1-2 per week. All together i train like 6 days per week. Sometimes I just do a quick and intensive 30-45 min workout when at home. At the gym I try to focus and train stuff I cannot at home like barbell squats, bench press and deadlifts, or focus and isolate some muscles I think I don’t hit at home. Since I train almost daily I rarely go 100% or until failure and I can tell you I never felt better, plus I started seeing progress on my overall physique. I was thinking that with this kind of training I will loose all my muscle gains but this never happened. And by the way, I was just thinking to buy a sandbag as well.

 

[raidxx]

@proudsoccermom OP thanks for asking this question. I was just about to make a post regarding this.