Kettlebell "Giant 1.0"

[John K]

I think there is wiggle room in the GIANT

Oh totally, I'm not exactly a "Geoff said do it this way. This is the way!" kind of guy. I can't tell you how many variations of his programs I've "made" and run - some worked, some didn't.

I think varying the session length could at times lead to faster progress due to the increased variability.

Changing time caps can definitely increase variability in number of sets, and sometimes getting more sets by extending the time will help you compress the rest periods of the other sets. I was playing around with that with a Strong! spin off, and by the time I was working triples I was working on compressing rest periods on doubles, and by the time I was working on 4s I was compressing rest periods of 3s. Whatever the highest rep range I was working on I was using a "fixed" rest interval of on the 3 minutes, so each "heavy" day got longer, while the "light" day (heavy day minus one rep) kept getting faster and shorter.

 

[John Grahill]

I think the big temptation with more time is that you keep the rest the same, so you may or may not be progressing. You may get more sets, but the density doesn't change, and what you get in week 2 and week 3 you might've been able to get Week 1 if you had just done 25/30 minutes. Maybe not, and more is still more...

@John K I mostly agree (as I do with most of what you post) but as a person who's used the program I'd like to point one thing out I discovered in my case. I find that if I use a "good" pace through the first three weeks and make my 4th week a density week, I get better results. When I say good pace, it's a pace that leaves me fatigued but not totally destroyed. Pushing density each week crushes me. If left to "auto regulate" too much I'll become lazy. This is why I'm gravitating more toward the "Strong" Program these days.

 

[Kettlebellguy]

I think the good thing here is that we are all working out and making progress. It doesn't really matter which approach is 100% following the program and which isn't as long as you are making progress and exercising. I for an example like a lot of people here find it almost impossible to do any program like the Giant without adding a lot of extra work not because I need it but because I want to do it.

 

[John K]

@John K I mostly agree (as I do with most of what you post) but as a person who's used the program I'd like to point one thing out I discovered in my case. I find that if I use a "good" pace through the first three weeks and make my 4th week a density week, I get better results. When I say good pace, it's a pace that leaves me fatigued but not totally destroyed. Pushing density each week crushes me. If left to "auto regulate" too much I'll become lazy. This is why I'm gravitating more toward the "Strong" Program these days.

Oh 100%. Once I started using the 32s week to week progress wasn’t really happening. Last week to this I added a single rep in a 20 min block (42 to 43) and I was happy.

 

[Andrew H]

Oh 100%. Once I started using the 32s week to week progress wasn’t really happening. Last week to this I added a single rep in a 20 min block (42 to 43) and I was happy.

I too learned this with Maximorum recently going up a bell size. Week to week progress has slowed but I am trending up slowly over time.

 

[Halfakneecap]

I had to stop myself trying to beat last weeks reps when I did Giant. Once I relaxed about that, I found it easier.

I actually like both styles, the Strong style, where you don’t have to think, and the Giant style where you go how you feel on the day. Both programs gave excellent results and will again in the future

 

[Kettlebellguy]

I had to stop myself trying to beat last weeks reps when I did Giant. Once I relaxed about that, I found it easier.

I actually like both styles, the Strong style, where you don’t have to think, and the Giant style where you go how you feel on the day. Both programs gave excellent results and will again in the future

Same here I try not to look at the numbers I achieved the week prior even though sometimes I do look at them post workout but I don’t get discouraged knowing the fact that showing up and working out is more important and not every week of training should have prs.

 

[John Grahill]

Oh 100%. Once I started using the 32s week to week progress wasn’t really happening. Last week to this I added a single rep in a 20 min block (42 to 43) and I was happy.

There was one other "method" I used. I never corresponded with Geoff about it but it also was effective for me. Week 1 was 30 minutes. I went at a good pace. Week 2 I went until I got Week 1's total in less time and then I stopped. If it was 27 minutes, so be it. Each week was same reps but I tried to do them faster than the previous week.

 

[John K]

There was one other "method" I used. I never corresponded with Geoff about it but it also was effective for me. Week 1 was 30 minutes. I went at a good pace. Week 2 I went until I got Week 1's total in less time and then I stopped. If it was 27 minutes, so be it. Each week was same reps but I tried to do them faster than the previous week.

I’ve done that too! Not really “planned” so much as “wow I didn’t improve and there’s no way I’m going to able to do another full set in the time I have left!”