Here’s my S&S sob story, feel free to skip.
At a time when depression got so bad I could barely think, I found S&S and long walks helped keep me afloat. It’s a great program for the non-weightlifter/powerlifter. It all comes down to “why.” I did barbell programs from around 15-25 years of age, but never stuck with it for more than a 3-6 months at a time because I would eventually ask myself, “why?” I would then give up the program, and injuries, some my fault and others not, didn’t help. Looking back, barbell squats were the only worthwhile lift for me, and that was while I was a basketball player, but you grow and realize grown men throwing orange leather balls through hoops is a coping mechanism for some other deficient aspect of their life, and you move on, and then the “why’s” change (yes, I have been reading Dan John lately!).
S&S was perfect for my state of mind. The simplicity of just practicing the swings and get ups, not even worrying about reps but just power and form, was so refreshing for a beat-up mind. Depressed people don’t exercise because the mental capacity to literally put shoes on can be too much sometimes. If you’ve never sat in front of your front door staring at your shoes for a half hour trying to will yourself to just put them on, not even go anywhere, just put them on, and you just sit there and stare at them and they’re RIGHT there and you can’t do it, you can’t move your hand to even touch them, you just sit there. You just there and ask yourself, “why?” S&S gave me momentum. Bought a couple of bells, then told myself all I had to do was some goblet squats. Just one. More days than not, I could do that. Goblet squats lead to swings. 5-10 reps, 5-10 sets. Always about practice, never cared what the book said about timers or testing. Get ups until I was forced to go do something else to stay alive. Contemplating life in between sets, and more importantly looking back, feeling deeply into my body while doing the reps at I time when I didn’t necessarily feel like I was in my body. By that point, I had built up some momentum and could go for a walk, and walking can lead you to physically, mentally, and spiritually to new places. Ironically, kettlebells are not limited to just physical momentum. Keeping life simple keeps your head above water. Depressed minds need boredom, ironically, because the routine frees up mental/emotional capacity, and strengthens it over time. It got me out of my own head and into my hands and feet. For those who don’t care where we go but need to go somewhere, S&S is a blessing. I may not be competitive in a meet or be a D1 athlete, but I would argue those who strive for that are coping for a lack of something in their own lives, and it keeps us attached to unhealthy behaviors that hold us back. We are directed into approved outlets for our anger or lack of meaning in life (even alcohol is approved or it wouldn’t be sold), instead of confronting problems head on, as a group. Divide and conquer is a strategy as old as time and you don’t realize you’ve been had until you find yourself as a grown man caring how man times you can throw that synthetic leather through an arbitrarily-high hole. You can literally chop wood and carry water to get a better workout then any gym routine so, I ask, why are all the good, strong ladies and gentlemen still concerned about their pr’s and various bodypart sizes? Why do we still care about weightlifting meets and crossfit and...money...when the foundations of everything those things are built on continue to crumble?
S&S was a beautiful experiment in simplicity that helped me realize that the games I was playing were rigged from the start, and it gave me the space to realize that and the capacity to start playing better games. Base-building and foundations are always talked about here more than most other places. Strong foundations make strong people. Strong people make strong futures. Strong futures ensure strong children and continued strength (feed-forward ;]) enduring. The concept behind Simple and Sinister is anything but boring. It can be a gateway to new life and regeneration.