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Kettlebell ROP support group

Nice work, @Stu. My recommendation: continue the 24 kg ROP, but on light and medium days, use the 28 kg for any rungs of 1 or 2, e.g., instead of 24 kg x 1-2-3, do 28 kg x 1-2, 24 kg x 3. Finish your 24 kg ROP this way. If you feel particularly strong, you may also use this strategy on heavy day. Feel free to adjust as needed, e.g., on your first ladder, you use all 24 kg. On your 2nd and 3rd ladder, you use 28 kg for some rungs, but then you feel tired, so you go back to 24 kg for all rungs to finish the day.

Test again when you're finished the program, take a week off, then start the program again with 28 kg.

-S-
 
Nice work, @Stu. My recommendation: continue the 24 kg ROP, but on light and medium days, use the 28 kg for any rungs of 1 or 2, e.g., instead of 24 kg x 1-2-3, do 28 kg x 1-2, 24 kg x 3. Finish your 24 kg ROP this way. If you feel particularly strong, you may also use this strategy on heavy day. Feel free to adjust as needed, e.g., on your first ladder, you use all 24 kg. On your 2nd and 3rd ladder, you use 28 kg for some rungs, but then you feel tired, so you go back to 24 kg for all rungs to finish the day.

Test again when you're finished the program, take a week off, then start the program again with 28 kg.

-S-
Thanks @Steve Freides I like this suggestion a lot, it allows me to maintain the higher volume to assist with hypertrophy but also allows me to begin working in the 28kg when I'm feeling strong.

Cheers, I'll update on here again after i've worked through the remainder of this round.
 
I finished my first cycle of ROP with 24kg week ago and tested last week with the 32kg and got 3 reps left and 4 reps right. Before the program I got one really shaky rep with left and two shaky reps right.

Starting new cycle with 28kg and plan doing the 1 rep rungs with 32kg. Goal is to press 40kg for multiple reps next year.

Swing practice has been inconsistent and I've mainly done 32kg two hand swings for the dice roll-time. Many times I've dropped it because of time constraints and because the secret service snatch test doesn't interest me that much.

I did 5 min snatch test with 16kg and got 90 reps.

I really like doing this program so I continue with it one cycle at a time.
 
FWIW I started a round with 32kg last week. I have learned so much more about pressing from the last and legs. The weight, while challenging, no longer intimidates me as it once had. I have full confidence when I line up to clean it. I am gaining more than strength. I am gaining technique.

Like you, @SantaClause , I started a few weeks ago with the round of 28kg and sprinkling 32 in there. When I got to 1 and 2 rungs with the 32, I decided to give 32kg a go. The 28kg was a brief bridge between 24 and 32. I didn't feel I needed a full round with the 28. I was right.
Like you, my goal is to get to 40kg as my working kb. Hope you and i surprise ourselves.
 
Pro for hypertrophy - the time between press reps shortens.

Con for strength - the time between press reps shortens.

Likewise, the clean should give you more stored energy from which to rebound - good for strength, and I would argue also good for hypertrophy since you can move more weight with a C&P than with just a press, all other things being equal and your clean and your press technique being solid.

And the clean is additional work, so it has that benefit if that's what you're looking for, hence, because we know one heavy day per week is a solid approach for both strength and hypertrophy, the ROP recommends C&P on heavy day and offers the possibility of substituting the MP for lighter days.

-S-
 
@Steve Freides I've wondered about this.

By "move more weight with a C&P" do you mean "move more weight for more reps with a C&P"? Because for me, the "additional work" you reference to re-clean saps my energy for C&P'ing for reps. Or put another way, my C&P rep-max total is only 1-2 reps more than press (no re-clean) rep-max.

I do agree with the notion that cleaning and then pressing a kettlebell is more achievable than if someone else (for example) held the bell at rack height and I was "handed off" the bell and then had to press it without having cleaned it. I just personally haven't experienced a huge boost to rep-max with re-cleaning compared to just pumping it up and own.
 
@Sean M, the clean is an additional weight-lifting 'thing' so it's more work being performed - more calories burned, more conditioning, and all that.
the "additional work" you reference to re-clean saps my energy for C&P'ing for reps. Or put another way, my C&P rep-max total is only 1-2 reps more than press (no re-clean) rep-max.
Aren't you saying contradictory things here? Perhaps I'm misunderstanding, but if your C&P rep-max is more than your MP rep-max, that means the clean is helping you, no? "only 1-2 reps more" is still more. It's more work but it results in more reps overhead at the same weight. I think the "saps" problem would mean it's limiting your total work capacity for a given session, week or other time period. Again, properly applied, it should then help build more work capacity, no?

-S-
 
Looking for a bit of advice.

I am on my last week of my current ROP cycle, targeting 5 x (1,2,3,4,5) next heavy day. Was then planning on running one more week and doing a final test day next Saturday.

I have been making great progress and I know I can hit the numbers this week but I am really beginning to feel some accumulated fatigue in my left shoulder (teres minor region). I feel like I need a deload week sooner rather than later. Whats the best way to go about this with the intention of finishing the last couple of weeks of ROP straight after?

Thanks
 
Final results after test day:

Full details of progress can be found in my journal here on the forum.

Really pleased with my progress during my first cycle:

Before:
24kg - 5r and 5l

After
24kg - 10r and 10l
28kg - 6r and 6l
32kg - 2r and 1l

Stu
Well done. That is progress to be proud of.
 
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@Stu, congratulations, and your experience agrees with mine. 24 kg ROP, when 24 kg is the recommended starting weight for your ROP, yields a 32 kg single at the end of the program.

-S-
 
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OK. Brought my bell to work today, and I realized something I stupidly ignored before. I have a period each day set aside for lesson planning and the like. Well, today, instead of sitting at my desk hacking away at stuff, I performed my RoP work (light day) got some work done for a while, rinse and repeat. Then toward the end of my prep, I rolled the dice, and since I'm working on the Fast Tens principle from Easy Strength I just completed the number in sets instead of minutes. Again, could get some work done during the breaks. I think this new development is going to be a game changer for me.

I also teach and have my own office. I recommend GTG pushups and bottom up presses or holds with a KB that you have "grown" out of. You don't need to worry about work clothes or sweating and they can be done in a minute or two.
 
Hello,

Disclaimer: I never ran RoP, but hit Simple.

I recently stumbled across this Eric Frohardt's article:
What the Hell Effect Military-Style | StrongFirst

He describes his RoP journey. What amazed me:
- It seems that cleans (though fairly lighter than S&S swings for instance) have similar effects than heavy swings when we observe the deadlift results
- Same goes for max pull ups and weighted pull ups
- It maintains an excellent level of "conditioning" (running, etc...)

To a certain extent, would it be possible then to consider RoP as a "GPP" programme such as S&S ?

Did you also notice such impressive results running RoP only ?

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Hello,

Disclaimer: I never ran RoP, but hit Simple.

I recently stumbled across this Eric Frohardt's article:
What the Hell Effect Military-Style | StrongFirst

He describes his RoP journey. What amazed me:
- It seems that cleans (though fairly lighter than S&S swings for instance) have similar effects than heavy swings when we observe the deadlift results
- Same goes for max pull ups and weighted pull ups
- It maintains an excellent level of "conditioning" (running, etc...)

To a certain extent, would it be possible then to consider RoP as a "GPP" programme such as S&S ?

Did you also notice such impressive results running RoP only ?

Kind regards,

Pet'
I found it to be quite well rounded until I got into the final “step”: the 5-ladder(s) heavy day and subsequent 3- and 4- ladder light and medium days. That’s when it really felt like a press-specific program.

I think limiting the volume through keeping ladders to three total (waving the rungs), or keeping rungs to three (waving number of ladders) but making the chins/pull-ups mandatory, would check a lot of boxes for GPP. Especially if swings and snatches are just in there for strength-endurance/conditioning “finishers” and not for power.
 
Hello,

@Sean M
Thanks for the info and insight !

How much time did your sessions last ?
Did you notice some improvement in different areas ?

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Hello,

@Sean M
Thanks for the info and insight !

How much time did your sessions last ?
Did you notice some improvement in different areas ?

Kind regards,

Pet'
Heavy day took 40+ minutes just for C&P when at the 5-rung stage.

I got stronger in the press, and got a lot more hungry.
 
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