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Kettlebell Kettlebell ICT

Week 8 is done! Phase 2 is done! 2/3 finished with KB ICT!

I have had mild symptom COVID for the past week. It did not impact my training. I was still able to get 5 sets of each exercise this week.

I am very thankful that my COVID was mild. It's a dangerous virus. I quarantined this week and today is my first day back at the office.

I'm running Option 2 with the advanced movements. I am using 20k bells for the conditioning. I am using 2x28s for the DMP and 2x24s for the DFSQS and Renegade Rows.

Bring on Week 9!
 

Kettlebell ICT: Week 7​


Weights used:

Session A

A1 Snatch 16kg
A2 Press 16kg

B1 Snatch 12kg
B2 Bottoms Up Goblet Squat 20kg

Session B

A1 Push Press 16kg
A2 Bottoms Up Goblet Squat 20g

B1 Push Press 16kg
B2 Supported Row 16kg

For this week I increased the goblet squat weight from 16kg to 20kg. This made me feel like I was working a little harder in my goblet squat sets. I could probably increase the load again but I suspect this is not a good idea.

The other weight increase this week was a 12kg to 16kg change in load for the KB snatch. The 12kg KB was starting to feel a little light. Still, the 4kg change in load made Session A workouts wore me out more quickly. My execution got sloppier in the last couple of sets of the workout. However I never felt in danger of losing control of the KB or my balance.

I feel I'm at a good selection of weights now for the intended goals of the ICT program.

I bought a $7 kitchen timer. I had been using the Clock app on my smartphone to time my conditioning sets. My issue with using the app was that I occasionally set the desired time then forget to tap the onscreen button to start the timer. This goes with the overall feeling of never feeling completely certain that I worked something on the phone as intended, as there little to no physical feedback, just smooth glass. The physical buttons on the cheap kitchen timer feel more reassuring than the phone's touchscreen. I can feel the start button get pressed on the kitchen timer, which eliminates the distraction of wondering if I actually started the timer as I'm practicing snatches or push presses.
 
I started week 9 yesterday, managed to put only 3 sets within each segment - there is a lot of room for adding the 4th regarding the time left but 60 seconds swings appeared to be brutal and for the first workout I decided to let it go as for the 3rd round after 40 seconds I felt decrease in the power and muscle fatigue.

The perception of the training of the 3rd phase gets for me even closer to the fast running intervals - I hate it during the set and love after the workout.
 
Week 9 is done!

I was a little anxious about this Week and starting Phase 3. I had a very good week. I was able to get 4 sets each for every segment. I am really feeling this program in my lats.

I am very glad that I went from 28s to 24s for the DFSQs in Week 7. I no longer feel like the DFSQs are my enemy. All jokes aside, I seriously doubt that had I stayed with the 28s, I would be getting sets of 4 for the DFSQs sets.

I'm running Option 2 with the advanced movements. I am using 20k bells for the conditioning. I am using 2x28s for the DMP and 2x24s for the DFSQS and Renegade Rows.

Bring on Week 10!
 
Completed Week 8. Weights used:

Session A

A1 Snatch 16kg
A2 Press 16kg

B1 Snatch 12kg
B2 Bottoms Up Goblet Squat 20kg

Session B

A1 Push Press 16kg
A2 Bottoms Up Goblet Squat 20g

B1 Push Press 16kg
B2 Supported Row 16kg

The Session A workout felt just as tough this week as it did last week when I increased the snatch weight

I felt more of a conditioning improvement in the Session B workouts. I was able to do 5 push press sets per arm, which was made possible by consistently resting less than 2 minutes between supersets.

Bodyweight is 152 lbs, down from a pre-ICT weight of 161lbs.
 
Back into it. The bug I had knocked me back a bit, so repeated week 6 and carried onwards.
I’ve found I can reduce the rest during the ballistic moves into the press or back row, but not for the squats. Also I struggle to go straight from the ballistic movement to squats without a little time.
 
Essexman said:
Also I struggle to go straight from the ballistic movement to squats without a little time.
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Glad you're back!!

I agree. My old friend the DFSQ has been mocking me during this program. The superset of going directly from the ballistic movement directly to the squat has been the most challenging part of KB ICT for me.
 
blad51 said:
Glad you're back!!

I agree. My old friend the DFSQ has been mocking me during this program. The superset of going directly from the ballistic movement directly to the squat has been the most challenging part of KB ICT for me.
Click to expand...
Cheers!
Re squats - in retrospect as squats are in every workout I’m not too worried about increasing the number of sets as total volume per week is still good.
 
Just got back home from two weeks of travel with only one day of full kb access. And lots of family doing their level best to fatten me up while visiting....
I'm going to rewind, and go back to week 10 for the duration of this week and move to 11 next week and hopefully finish w/o further interruptions.

My forearms are/remain my limiting factor in the 2HS (beginner, Option 1)
 
TedM said:
Just got back home from two weeks of travel with only one day of full kb access. And lots of family doing their level best to fatten me up while visiting....
I'm going to rewind, and go back to week 10 for the duration of this week and move to 11 next week and hopefully finish w/o further interruptions.

My forearms are/remain my limiting factor in the 2HS (beginner, Option 1)
Click to expand...
Very tough today. Doing 8 sessions of 2HS was going to be too much for me today. I quit after the first 4 = 1 segment. Chalking up to lack of sleep and jetlag... sigh...
I'm just gonna call that end of week 11 and finish up next week.
I'd have loved to do this 100% properly, but life is not a lab, and this is the best I can do.
I'm quite ready to have this be over: really takes too much out of me, the 60 second swing sessions are too draining.
 
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TedM said:
I'm quite ready to have this be over: really takes too much out of me, the 60 second swing sessions are too draining.
Click to expand...

Same here - I'm currently at week 10. I want to finish the program and will be very proud once I achieve it but it's very taxing - I managed to did total 7 sets per workout A and B and think it could be difficult to add more in one session, simply the muscle fatigue compromises the technique in conditioning sets.

On the other hand I'm surprised and satisfied with some effects - my swings improved a lot, also see a better mind muscle connection when it comes to activating core and glutes during ballistics and grinds. I didn't expect that prior starting the program
 
Started week 9 this week with 60 sec conditioning.

As always when I'm starting a new phase I really struggle with the conditioning part, but this time it's not the cardio/endurance that is the problem, but more of the grip for the swings. I had to stop around 32 1H swings as the grip started to fail, I think there is at least 3-4 more reps in me during the 60 seconds, so will be interesting to see how my grip improves the coming 3 weeks. Besides that it feels great and I can visually see upper body improvement. However my body imbalance have made some discomfort on my left shoulder so I need to warm up properly and be mindful of activating the core with the PP.

I'm doing option 2 intermediate
1H swings 32 reps @ 16kg
1H Press 20kg
Goblet squat 24kg

I managed to do 4 sets each segment, so over time I will work on lowering rest time to squeeze in a 5th set.

Very happy with this program but I'm starting to be a bit tired of it so looking forward to switch to something else. This is the longest I've been sticking to a program
 
Week 10 is done!

This was a good week. I got 4 sets of each segment. I am feeling stronger. I feel less gassed between the conditioning and strength movements.

I love having a program. It keeps me focused and on track. Last night I went to an awards banquet. I had a few beers and got in bed late. Last night I told my "fun" self that it was ok to skip this morning. I planned to make up the session tomorrow.

This morning I woke up without my alarm and got my session done. I am proud of me for staying on target.

Stay on target!

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I'm running Option 2 with the advanced movements. I am using 20k bells for the conditioning. I am using 2x28s for the DMP and 2x24s for the DFSQS and Renegade Rows.

Bring on Week 11!
 

Kettlebell ICT: Week 9​


Weights used:

Session A

A1 Snatch 16kg
A2 Press 16kg

B1 Snatch 12kg
B2 Bottoms Up Goblet Squat 20kg

Session B

A1 Push Press 16kg
A2 Bottoms Up Goblet Squat 20g

B1 Push Press 16kg
B2 Supported Row 16kg

For each Snatch rep. I held the KB overhead for about 2 seconds before bringing the KB down to finish the rep. I felt that was what I had to do to get through a 60-second set. Presses immediately after the snatches were fine with the opposite arm, but I could only manage 4 reps on the same side arm before I had to take a rest pause.

Session B also got harder with the raise in conditioning set time and strength set reps, but not as demanding as Session A.

Bodyweight is 154 lbs, down from a pre-ICT weight of 161lbs.
 
FINISHED!!

I'm glad to be done. I lost a week or so from travel and while I made up the sessions, I wasn't fully at my best. My last 2 A sessions (Beginner/Option 1) - well, i could't do the second 15 min once and the other day.... I just stopped after 3 sets - the final one was going to take too much out of me.

My summary:
Positives:
  • increased work capacity,
  • visible body comp changes (not huge, but noticeable to me),
  • challenges w/2HSwings i wouldn't have attempted on my own.
Negatives:
  • "A" days left me feeling drained and really tired for the whole day.
  • Took too much time per training day: 35 minutes + recovery of 10 or more minutes...
  • Again, A days were kinda painful and I didn't enjoy them. (Personally, I'm here to enjoy the work, not to suffer through it....)
I'm glad I did it, but I wouldn't do it again.

I'll take a week off now, and go back to Giant to pursue my goal for the press.

-->> one thing i intend to incorporate into my future work is a moderate version of the 2HSwings conditioning. I just picked up a copy of 4 hour body, and he outlines there doing 75 or 100 swings 2X/week. (as many as possible, then 60 sec break, then again as many as possible..) I'll adopt this approach so I don't lose my hard-earned capacity for swings. I go to 36 - 38 in a minute, so I can easily get to the 75 / 100 in a few minutes a week. That also solves my problem of missing the ballistics when I'm focusing on the press.
 
Week 11 is over! One more Week to go!

This was a good week. I had a very busy week at work. I got up at 4 a.m. to get Monday's session done. (I don't think my 21 year old self would be impressed with the 56 year old me getting up at 4 to lift.)

I am still feeling this program in my lats. (In a good way.) The 60 seconds for the conditioning moves are becoming more "manageable."

I'm running Option 2 with the advanced movements. I am using 20k bells for the conditioning. I am using 2x28s for the DMP and 2x24s for the DFSQS and Renegade Rows.

Bring on Week 12!
 
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