all posts post new thread

Kettlebell I'm feeling completely useless

Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
aciampa said:
... I remember those.
Click to expand...

Yes, I wish I could repeat Al's exact verbage upon first trying to teach me a proper swing. Needless to say, it would get my . . . . . . ahem, rear..kicked off the forum!!

Speaking of Lebron James, I use him as an example when first teaching the swing: how many jump shots has Lebron James shot in his entire LIFE?? OK, what does he do before each game ? ? ? He practices his jump shot!! If Lebron James has to practice his shot, no matter how good I get: I for DARN sure have to practice my swing!!
 
Get yourself to an instructor or to a class. That can shave off months of frustration. If you do not have one nearby or have the resources to pay for one there are other things you can do first.

Practice the kettlebell deadlift. It is more forgiving than the swing. Also practice the goblet squat and the face the wall squat. These movements are usually easier to learn. Let them be your practice for a while. Understand that they look similar but are fairly different.

A fairly important lesson is listen to how everything is working. Never train to failure. Always stop and break before you get tired. A lot of 'working out' is trying to get that last rep in and fighting the burn, don't do this. I have personally taken a lot of 3 minute "90 second breaks".

Make sure you read a lot as well. A lot of the SFGs have YouTube channels and you can watch them teach and do their own routines.
 
Hey guys, first off I want to say thank you all so much. The help, kind words, and lack of tough guy attitude here is something wonderful and all too rare in this industry. I appreciate it a ton.

Good news! I'm now knocking out 100 swings with the 16 kg. It was a slow climb and I'm still not totally happy with my form but everything is coming together. I'm patient and it's paying off. I'm still not able to do a TGU without turning into a fish out of water but as of today I've been doing them up to the hand with my 8kg. It's not much but I see it as progress and GTG is always worth it. Did 10 total today and I'll keep that up while working my way further and further towards full TGUs.

On the note of TGUs, should I be doing anything to help me get better at them or do you think the slow study of the lower positions is okay and the sensible approach? Also since I'm only doing 8kg to the extended hand, do I really need to rest between them? It doesn't wear me out at all compared to what I'm sure the full ones do.
 
@Geoduck

Perfect is the enemy of better. Keep doing what you are doing, no rush.

Don't seek fatique - seek improvement. Have a rest, analyze your technique, shake off the tension, and focus on next rep/set. Stay in each of the phases of the get-up a but longer, find your angles and correct structure.

And keep us updated!
 
I seem to remember an article by @aciampa where he mentioned an airman who was struggling with get-ups and practicing crawling had positive effects.
 
Great hearing about your progress. Have you tried doing naked (without weight) TGU's with a shoe flat on top of your fist? It's a great way to get into the flow of the full TGU motion without the risk of injury of having a weight overhead if your form is off. Some instructors won't even allow you to use a weight until you can perform 50 or more without the shoe falling off. They helped me a lot.
 
Pavel Macek said:
@Geoduck

Perfect is the enemy of better. Keep doing what you are doing, no rush.

Don't seek fatique - seek improvement. Have a rest, analyze your technique, shake off the tension, and focus on next rep/set. Stay in each of the phases of the get-up a but longer, find your angles and correct structure.

And keep us updated!
Click to expand...

Pavel, every time I google something related to Strongfirst I find you giving excellent advice. You're a great guy and the amount of info you've shared is unreal. Thank you for everything. Your words have a way of getting right into my head and straightening out some of the mental blocks.

krg said:
I seem to remember an article by @aciampa where he mentioned an airman who was struggling with get-ups and practicing crawling had positive effects.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I'll have to read up and give it a try.

Hasbro said:
Great hearing about your progress. Have you tried doing naked (without weight) TGU's with a shoe flat on top of your fist? It's a great way to get into the flow of the full TGU motion without the risk of injury of having a weight overhead if your form is off. Some instructors won't even allow you to use a weight until you can perform 50 or more without the shoe falling off. They helped me a lot.
Click to expand...

I need to get back to that. I did it earlier on but got away from it for some reason. I'll work that in on my next training day. Thanks!
 
Geoduck said:
Pavel, every time I google something related to Strongfirst I find you giving excellent advice. You're a great guy and the amount of info you've shared is unreal. Thank you for everything. Your words have a way of getting right into my head and straightening out some of the mental blocks.
Click to expand...

@Geoduck , that's my teacher, @Pavel , not me :)

Thank you for your kind words.
 
Hi @Geoduck , fellow slow-gainer with issues :D

I am getting into S+S myself, very very slowly. I have spent the last 4 months trying to learn the swing to even start swinging... But it gets better :)

My main learning points came from awesome drills. Film yourself and try to see if you can improve your form just a tiny bit from set to set and stop when you stop improving your form.

My favourite drills so far:
a) Tall Kneeling drills by Gray Cook. Dan John calls those Kneeling Planks for a reason... they really teach you alignment. After doing them my deadlift and swing form improved a ton.
b) Work on that hinge... Dowel hinges, wall hinges (butt backs), hamstring stretches, glute bridges, deadlifts, etc.
c) Towel Swings: Really focus on those loose arms and the top postion
d) "Obstacle swings" (I dont know if they have name). Place a light and robust object between your feet that has a bit less than knee height (something like a foam roller) and try to swing that way... it really teaches you to "play chicken with the bell" and hinge late.
Instagram post by Allan Phillips • Aug 9, 2017 at 1:11am UTC
e) And the cue to "spread the floor" helps a lot, too.

Tall Kneeling:
 
Guess what guys? I’m going strong! Everything is mostly in place and while my form is certainly a work in progress I’m feeling good and gaining confidence by the day. I’ve got the entire program locked in.

Question though, is 3 a week M W F really okay? I don’t have a demanding schedule of anything outside of S&S but for some reason I like the feel and pace of the MWF setup. Sometimes I feel like I could get more out of an intense 3 day program. Another option is adding reps to S&S to counter the more often rests but I think that might not work super well. Thoughts?
 
Great to hear that you've stuck with it! That's awesome!

Yes, if you are only doing 3 days per week, you can do more than a standard S&S session, but that would be a slightly different program. Are you doing any significant physical activity on the other 4 days? What are your goals at this point?
 
Anna C said:
Great to hear that you've stuck with it! That's awesome!

Yes, if you are only doing 3 days per week, you can do more than a standard S&S session, but that would be a slightly different program. Are you doing any significant physical activity on the other 4 days? What are your goals at this point?
Click to expand...

Thank you! :)

I’m really not, everything is pretty easy going right now. Rarely ever exhausting myself or getting too much physicality outside of S&S. My goals, hmm. Good question. For the most part I want to keep losing weight, build strength and muscle. I can’t deny getting the hypertrophy bug now and then. I’m not big on vanity but you know, seeing mass in the mirror is always a fun time.

I do love S&S as mentioned but I can’t help but think I could be getting more out of a heavier routine since I really like the MWF schedule.
 
Well you can progress... slowly... on S&S 3 days per week. What weight are you using?

You would progress much faster if you do it 5-6 days/week. But if that's not a good fit for you, my advice would be to walk, run, or so some other aerobic activity on the other days.
 
Anna C said:
Well you can progress... slowly... on S&S 3 days per week. What weight are you using?

You would progress much faster if you do it 5-6 days/week. But if that's not a good fit for you, my advice would be to walk, run, or so some other aerobic activity on the other days.
Click to expand...

Right now 16kg for swings and 8kg for TGUs. I’m ready to make the jump to 24kg swings as soon as I order a new kettlebell and my TGUs are getting closer to 16kg, I’ve done a few with it so far but still feel uneasy at that weight.

That’s not a bad idea at all. I could always work in some bike cardio on Tuesday and Wednesday.
 
@Geoduck good to hear you are doing well!

Why don't you try a few more sessions of S&S per week? The program is designed to be done almost every day. Maybe you can add a few sessions here and there, and slowly build up to 5 times a week in about 8 weeks time.

One thing that has worked well for me is to increase rest periods if I'm going to increase weight or weekly volume, this helps with recovery.
 
Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
Back
Top Bottom