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Kettlebell Geoff Neupert asks for beta testers for THE GiANT X and KETTLEBELL MAXIMORUM

Bottom line, I think it’s a rest issue. I know you’re assuming you’re getting sufficient rest, but maybe you’re not resting long enough.
/\ THIS.

Unfortunately, many, if not most guys STILL "race" their sets - try to get as many sets as possible, come hell or high water. I routinely get emails asking me "how many reps per workout" they should be doing, or "how many reps/sets per workout is 'good'".

They *think* they are practicing autoregulation, but they're still pressuring themselves to "get the reps in" instead of listening to the feedback their bodies are giving them in the moment. As a result, they start their sets too early, and run out of gas or miss reps.

The truth is, the number of reps you get, or the number of ladders you complete compared to anybody else is irrelevant. The outcome is dependent on the individual, and his/her strengths, weaknesses, training background, and genetic makeup.

I have stated before that you guys would be surprised how few sets I can do compared to most of you. But that's the way I'm "wired."
I am resting longer than I would have thought for the beta. I’d keep going with the weights you’re using, rest more, and log how you’re feeling and performing. That’s useful data for Geoff. If you started with a true 5RM (or whatever Giant X calls for) and are missing reps, he needs to know. Maybe the programming is too aggressive. If we all adjust the programming or bell selection so we know we’ll complete it instead of taking the parameters he gave us and working within them, he doesn’t know if his parameters will work. Rest more and if you still miss reps, you’re giving him good data for his experiment.
This is 100% spot on. Thank you for pointing this out, @mightstone2k.

Hopefully this makes sense and helps.
 
This is my experience with all the Giant programs. There is no set expectation anymore for how many sets i should get that day, ideally I try and add one each time but the body doesn’t always agree. When I miss a rep (it’s normally on the higher portion of the ladder), I will rest a bit longer do recovery breaths (nasal) and shake it out. Then I’ll proceed with the lower end of the ladder. Or depending on how long the session is, if it’s near the 20 min mark I just call it quits. That’s the auto regulation part is knowing when it’s better to stop for the day and let the CNS recover. I tweak things easy now so I’m more cautious.
 
/\ THIS.

Unfortunately, many, if not most guys STILL "race" their sets - try to get as many sets as possible, come hell or high water. I routinely get emails asking me "how many reps per workout" they should be doing, or "how many reps/sets per workout is 'good'".

They *think* they are practicing autoregulation, but they're still pressuring themselves to "get the reps in" instead of listening to the feedback their bodies are giving them in the moment. As a result, they start their sets too early, and run out of gas or miss reps.

The truth is, the number of reps you get, or the number of ladders you complete compared to anybody else is irrelevant. The outcome is dependent on the individual, and his/her strengths, weaknesses, training background, and genetic makeup.

I have stated before that you guys would be surprised how few sets I can do compared to most of you. But that's the way I'm "wired."

This is 100% spot on. Thank you for pointing this out, @mightstone2k.

Hopefully this makes sense and helps.
Perfect example of this was my recent week 8 heavy day I completed 2 ladders, and that was it. Almost 30 min to get through only 2 ladders but I didn’t miss any reps.
 
The Giant X is my first true auto-regulation program. (Or at very least, it's the first program that I've done where I paid close attention to the auto-regulation part of a program.)

X1 for me was a learning process with auto-regulation. I am doing significantly better with auto-regulation in X2.

I am a work in progress!
 
Week 9 day 4 of maximorum today. I probably should have terminated after my last 5rep rung but wanted to hit that last rung. I got to 5 and felt like I didn’t have another one in me so i stopped there not going for the final rep. I had been so proud of myself for taking it easy and not chasing (may have been due to helping pour my kids cereal as they woke one by one) but still did in that final rung…it is a sickness, lol. Idk if i would have missed the rep ultimately but it would not have been quality.
 
EXACTLY how it should be done.

Thanks for pointing this out, @Gypsyplumber.
So I may have been resting inadequately between the lower rungs of the ladders.

Despite a good five minutes rest pre top rung set, there will have been an accumulation of fatigue leading to a missed rep.

I rested longer from the get go today and didn't miss any reps.

It's almost auto-forecast-regulation.

Regulating behaviour now between THIS set based on how I forecast, from experience from previous weeks, I will feel in 10 or 15 .minutes?
 
With respect to these recent posts....I'm completely in agreement with @Gypsyplumber and @Pete L ..... hitting up high rep repetition clean and presses with 'challenging' weight is exhausting. @Gypsyplumber I had trouble adding reps and/or ladders on 8, 9 and 10 rep top rung sets. I needed several minutes to get going again. There's no way I could have gotten 100 total reps! 40-50 reps in 30 minutes with 'tough' bells is more than plenty! Kind of why I stopped posting how many reps I hit in each session.
I haven't been training with kettlebells lately but plan on a spring return.
 
I’m glad I’m reading these comments before tackling week 10, day 4 of Maximorum next week. Big ladders, and my overall volume will definitely be going down, but now I’ll be sure to focus more on auto regulation without giving thought to that.
 
Today I did W8D2 of Giant X1. Was happy with the result. Got 3 full ladders. Wednesday will be my last session. And over the weekend, probably sunday for some extra rest, I will do a new RM test.
Curious what my RM will be at the test. But when I started X1 my RM with double 20's was 9. So after todays result I can say for sure that I got stronger.
 
As of today's session I am now half done with X2 and half done with Giant X!

As I have stated in this thread, I decided that I would do the whole Giant X program. I want to roll from X1 to X2 to X3. I completed X1 on January 6th and started X2 on the 9th.

I love the variety of lifts in X2. I rolled from all 3 phases of Strong! into Giant X. I have a had a steady diet of 2x24k DCP since April. So I have enjoyed the new lifts.

I am being strict about the auto-regulation during X2. (Auto-regulation certainly makes the ladders late in the session on Heavy Days more doable.) I have also dialed in my diet for X2. I have lost fat during the first 4 weeks of X2. I will have more detail in my write-up of X2 at the end of the phase.

This week has been the most challenging of Giant X. I tweaked my back shoveling snow on Sunday. I didn't realize it was an issue until Monday's X2 session. I just thought my back was tight. (I was experiencing pain in my left lat) I pushed through and finished the session. I realized during the day that I had an issue. During Wednesday's session (Week 4 Heavy Day) I completed my warm-up and then began the session. I completed the first lift. I experienced some pain/tightness in my left lat. After I recovered, I cleaned the bells and I had a flash of wisdom (rare for me) when I felt pain in my lat again. I put the bells down and aborted the session. By Friday, I was able to complete Week 4 Heavy Day. Today I completed week 4 Light Day. I have some travel coming up in May so I need to keep myself on track because I want to finish Giant X before I go.
 
As of today's session I am now half done with X2 and half done with Giant X!

As I have stated in this thread, I decided that I would do the whole Giant X program. I want to roll from X1 to X2 to X3. I completed X1 on January 6th and started X2 on the 9th.

I love the variety of lifts in X2. I rolled from all 3 phases of Strong! into Giant X. I have a had a steady diet of 2x24k DCP since April. So I have enjoyed the new lifts.

I am being strict about the auto-regulation during X2. (Auto-regulation certainly makes the ladders late in the session on Heavy Days more doable.) I have also dialed in my diet for X2. I have lost fat during the first 4 weeks of X2. I will have more detail in my write-up of X2 at the end of the phase.

This week has been the most challenging of Giant X. I tweaked my back shoveling snow on Sunday. I didn't realize it was an issue until Monday's X2 session. I just thought my back was tight. (I was experiencing pain in my left lat) I pushed through and finished the session. I realized during the day that I had an issue. During Wednesday's session (Week 4 Heavy Day) I completed my warm-up and then began the session. I completed the first lift. I experienced some pain/tightness in my left lat. After I recovered, I cleaned the bells and I had a flash of wisdom (rare for me) when I felt pain in my lat again. I put the bells down and aborted the session. By Friday, I was able to complete Week 4 Heavy Day. Today I completed week 4 Light Day. I have some travel coming up in May so I need to keep myself on track because I want to finish Giant X before I go.
I'm really enjoying the variety as well
 
As of today's session I am now half done with X2 and half done with Giant X!

As I have stated in this thread, I decided that I would do the whole Giant X program. I want to roll from X1 to X2 to X3. I completed X1 on January 6th and started X2 on the 9th.

I love the variety of lifts in X2. I rolled from all 3 phases of Strong! into Giant X. I have a had a steady diet of 2x24k DCP since April. So I have enjoyed the new lifts.

I am being strict about the auto-regulation during X2. (Auto-regulation certainly makes the ladders late in the session on Heavy Days more doable.) I have also dialed in my diet for X2. I have lost fat during the first 4 weeks of X2. I will have more detail in my write-up of X2 at the end of the phase.

This week has been the most challenging of Giant X. I tweaked my back shoveling snow on Sunday. I didn't realize it was an issue until Monday's X2 session. I just thought my back was tight. (I was experiencing pain in my left lat) I pushed through and finished the session. I realized during the day that I had an issue. During Wednesday's session (Week 4 Heavy Day) I completed my warm-up and then began the session. I completed the first lift. I experienced some pain/tightness in my left lat. After I recovered, I cleaned the bells and I had a flash of wisdom (rare for me) when I felt pain in my lat again. I put the bells down and aborted the session. By Friday, I was able to complete Week 4 Heavy Day. Today I completed week 4 Light Day. I have some travel coming up in May so I need to keep myself on track because I want to finish Giant X before I go.
Are you running X2 with the same weights as X1? I finished X1 this week and I will test my RM tomorrow. But on the heavy day of week 8, I felt like I had atleast 1 or maybe 2 good reps in me. That would mean my new RM could be 12.
At the one hand, I'm curious about running X2 because I liked X1 and the variability of X2 sounds like a fun change of pace. On the other hand, if the loading is not heavy enough, wouldn't I be better of with a different program until the next pair of bells will be a new 10RM?
 
Yes I am running X2 with the same weights as X1. I have basically decided to devote a year of my training to the 2x24k bells.

Good luck with your rep test tomorrow. Let us know how it goes.

Here is my progression over the last year:

I began Strong! last April with the 24s. I got a solid 5 reps during my reps test. (I might have been able to have gotten a 6th rep.)

On June 10th, at the end of Strong! Phase 1, I got 10 solid reps with the 24s and 2 Reps with the 28s in my rep test.

On September 30th at the end of Strong Phase 2, Slow and Steady, I only tested the 28s and 32s. I got 5 reps with the 28s and 1 rep with the 32s. I tested my Double Snatch because before the Beta Test for Giant X, I planned to run Ballistic Beatdown. I got 20 reps with 2x16k bells for the double snatch.

I didn't do a rep test after Phase 3 of Strong! because I planned to run Ballistic Beatdown.

On January 8th, at the end of X1, my rep max test was 2x28k: 9 Reps, 2x32k: 1.5 Rep and 2x24k: 12 Reps
Happy with my progress because for 2023 I want the 28s to be my 10 RPM and the 32s to be my 5 RPM.

I plan to run the original Giant with the 28s this year. I am not sure what I will run between Giant X and the Giant with 28k bells.
Maybe @Geoff Neupert will have released Maximorum to the general public by May and I will give that program a go!!
 
Did the test this morning. My RM increased from 9 to 13 reps.
And prior to running Giant X1, I did some practise for one arm pushups, but never very consistent. Before X1 I never got more than 1 controlled eccentric rep, but never the consentric part. During X1, I never tried a one arm pushsup. For fun I tried it out today. Got 3 full reps with my right and 2 with my left.
I must say, that I'm happy with the strength gains I made during this program and wil surely run it (or X2/X3) again in the furture. But I think that a 13rm is not heavy enough for going back to back? And at the moment I don't have a heavier pair.
 
Did the test this morning. My RM increased from 9 to 13 reps.
And prior to running Giant X1, I did some practise for one arm pushups, but never very consistent. Before X1 I never got more than 1 controlled eccentric rep, but never the consentric part. During X1, I never tried a one arm pushsup. For fun I tried it out today. Got 3 full reps with my right and 2 with my left.
I must say, that I'm happy with the strength gains I made during this program and wil surely run it (or X2/X3) again in the furture. But I think that a 13rm is not heavy enough for going back to back? And at the moment I don't have a heavier pair.
Hell yeah!!! Great work!

Nice WTH effect with the one arm push ups!

I get what you're saying about the 13 rep bells now. I own 28s and 32s so I can/will advance. Though, I am trying to lose fat at the moment, so I decided to stay in a calorie deficit and bang out more ladders.

And.....I feel like I am solidifying my foundation of strength. (I am 55 and I have set a goal to be as strong as @JohnGrayhill is at 57 when I am 57!)
 
Finished-sort of Giant X. Need to redo week 8 because i got sick and missed day 3, but the results are still solid enough for me to share.

I finally understand regulation in rest. I am sure it can be confirmed through body tracking metrics (e.g., HR) but i don't care to.

2x 12kb. Had a shoulder injury so i'm starting over light, and a bit new to programming. I got the flu in there somewhere and skipped a week, and then got sick my last day of week 8 so i'll do it over. You can see the results though.

Thanks to all of you for your advice in how to do this!

(deleted attached image)

what's the best way to share results (start / end) w/o sharing the overall program?
 
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