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Kettlebell Kettlebell AXE - general discussion

Question for @Pavel - I took a break from kettlebells this summer to focus on bodyweight movements. I’ve had experience with both Q&D and A+A in the past – which should I focus on first upon getting back into the weights?
 
Pavel said:
Thank you, Ege.

I suggest that you attend our Programming Demystified seminar online (live attendance sports have sold out).

www.strongfirst.com

PROGRAMMING DEMYSTIFIED | StrongFirst

In-Person and Online Seminar with PAVEL Tsatsouline, FABIO Zonin, HECTOR Gutierrez Jr. Get ready for heavy learning. You will leave Programming Demystified with an arsenal of plug-and-play strength and muscle hypertrophy plans, barbell and kettlebell—some classic, others radical, all proven. And...
www.strongfirst.com

A simplified short answer, if you have two goals, alternate the focus every 6 weeks, ~3 sessions per week for one and 1 for the other.
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Sir, appreciate your answer and for sure I will take the course. Thanks and best regards. Ege
 
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Pavel said:
Hot chips, go for it. Especially hill sprints. An 80% effort, stop when you are no longer accelerating.
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The general takeaway here seems to be to understand the principle of explosive effort and adequate recovery regulated by not letting velocity fall too much, and then apply it to whatever explosive movement you can.

I can see huge potential in taking this principles based approach to sprints for example. Maybe even swimming! Cycling etc. Not just kettlebells. Much better than the suicides and shuttle run I did to exhaustion (could barely walk due to lactic buildup) as a young soccer athlete. Or the burnout "warmups" we have all done in martial arts classes.
 
09/29/23 AXE swing test x4 OTM

Prep:
OS resets... a lot of neck nods, 6pt rocks, birddogs, & cross crawls

1 leg glute bridge
1/2 kneeling BU press

Push-ups

Training: AXE swing test

Took the 40kg (roughly my 12-15RM) for the AXE swing test... x4 OTM for 10-20NR... I hit 20NR pretty smoothly! I'm not surprised since I've been doing 5s OTM

MP @24kg (2,4,6,1)

I will hit a Niko Niko jog tomorrow and retest Monday with x6 OTM for the swings

I'm going to run the program to a "T"... I'm assuming that I will fail around 16NR with the 6s OTM Monday

My log from BWAS ^^^
 
Hello Pavel,

I have read the book once but need to re-read it countless more times to understand the nuances!

If you allow me 2 questions:
- how does the presented AXE program compare to the SF C&J program linked before (I have the course). What would each one enable one to do or rather how to choose between them purely for GPP/health?
- I have previously reached and maintained S&S timed simple for swings but not for getups… how would I best add getups to this if my gosl is to reach timed simple with the 32 (I am solid with the 24kg but the 32 is rather elusive… weight is 68kg)

Thank you very much!

Claude
 
guardian7 said:
The general takeaway here seems to be to understand the principle of explosive effort and adequate recovery regulated by not letting velocity fall too much, and then apply it to whatever explosive movement you can.

I can see huge potential in taking this principles based approach to sprints for example. Maybe even swimming! Cycling etc. Not just kettlebells. Much better than the suicides and shuttle run I did to exhaustion (could barely walk due to lactic buildup) as a young soccer athlete. Or the burnout "warmups" we have all done in martial arts classes.
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Over the summer I had my daughter doing OTM A&A Jump Squats twice a week and Push Ups twice a week to get her ready for Field Hockey and it worked very well. She isn't the biggest athlete on the field, but the extra strength and explosive ability has helped her to be able to withstand contact from the taller and larger girls and be able to break away and out sprint them when needed.
 
ShawnM said:
Over the summer I had my daughter doing OTM A&A Jump Squats twice a week and Push Ups twice a week to get her ready for Field Hockey and it worked very well. She isn't the biggest athlete on the field, but the extra strength and explosive ability has helped her to be able to withstand contact from the taller and larger girls and be able to break away and out sprint them when needed.
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Love this idea. I've been trying to think of a fun way to get my 7 yo daughter doing some PT since her P. E. class is skimping on the Physical. I think she'll take to OTM jump squats once or twice a week once I get her comfortable doing body weight squats. Thank you.
 
That book is epic!
Everything that has been written so far on A+A / AXE in articles, forum threads, plus the science backing it up, is now available at such a cheap price.
It will take some time to savour.

Among all the lines that caught my attention, here is one :
"An option: Train single kettlebell jerks on Tuesdays and Fridays following the same plan as for swings."
I like it. Swings + jerks, original combo.
 
How long should a set last if one is sprinting or cycling--until one of the 5 stop signs is reached vs a numerical option?
 
I purchased the Kindle version even though I am not contemplating doing the program in it any time soon. As I anticipated, I picked up information that I can apply to what I am currently doing.

As always, Pavel's work is information dense. There is a reason for every single thing he puts in his work, and he gives enough depth of knowledge to apply principles to other areas.

I find the value of Pavel's work to be head and shoulders above any other fitness author's works I have read.

I have also found, surprisingly (cough, cough) that I make my best gains when I just do what he says to do, just the way he says to do it.
 
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George Vrotsos said:
Love this idea. I've been trying to think of a fun way to get my 7 yo daughter doing some PT since her P. E. class is skimping on the Physical. I think she'll take to OTM jump squats once or twice a week once I get her comfortable doing body weight squats. Thank you.
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No problem. Just have to make sure that the surface you are using is not too hard. I used a regular grass field instead of the turf she usually plays on.
 
Reposting this from a few months ago in case Pavel comes back to this thread.

Really hope Pavel does Dr. Peter Attias podcast The Drive when promoting the book. I know Pavel rarely does podcasts but this is a perfect fit.

In Attia's new book Outlive he briefly discuses the importance of mitochondria health in muscle cells. A+A bread and butter right there. Host and guest would both get to discuss their new books and they share a connection with Tim Ferris, he could make the intro if needed.

I have a feeling the knowledge that would come out of this conversation would be phenomenal
 
Cochran said:
Question for @Pavel - I took a break from kettlebells this summer to focus on bodyweight movements. I’ve had experience with both Q&D and A+A in the past – which should I focus on first upon getting back into the weights?
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Cochran, definitely not Q&D, as it demands max power and cadence and therefore plenty of recent practice with the chosen exercises.

Either AXE or S&S will work.
 
Antti said:
Great to see responses from @Pavel .

How would the book and the programming suit the enthusiastic/competitive powerlifter? There's only so many days in a week, and so many rabbits to chase. But if it improves performance...
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Antti, it is unlikely AXE will improve your lifts if you are doing serious PL training. It is likely to help you stay healthy though.

Limit your AXE swings to 20min twice a week. When your PL load is hypertrophy focused, swing 12-24 hours before SQs or DLs; when nervous system focused, 12-24 hours after. Stop before a meet; how soon, you will need to experiment.
 
guardian7 said:
The general takeaway here seems to be to understand the principle of explosive effort and adequate recovery regulated by not letting velocity fall too much, and then apply it to whatever explosive movement you can.

I can see huge potential in taking this principles based approach to sprints for example. Maybe even swimming! Cycling etc. Not just kettlebells. Much better than the suicides and shuttle run I did to exhaustion (could barely walk due to lactic buildup) as a young soccer athlete. Or the burnout "warmups" we have all done in martial arts classes.
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Guardian7, when you read the book, you will discover that one of the earliest successful experiments was done with swimmers.
 
ClaudeR said:
- how does the presented AXE program compare to the SF C&J program linked before (I have the course). What would each one enable one to do or rather how to choose between them purely for GPP/health?
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Claude, both programs are AXE (note the broad definition in the book); the differences will mostly due the different exercises.

The C&J is more comprehensive because of the jerk. When you swing, you need to do something for the upper body.
ClaudeR said:
- I have previously reached and maintained S&S timed simple for swings but not for getups… how would I best add getups to this if my gosl is to reach timed simple with the 32 (I am solid with the 24kg but the 32 is rather elusive… weight is 68kg)
Click to expand...
Many ways to do it, e.g., the GU part S&S, or of Kettlebells StrongFirst.

GU after the SW, although not necessarily right after.
 
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