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Other/Mixed Pavels' Advice for Dumbells

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
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Kozushi

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Given what the S&S has done for me, and that I'm looking forward to learning his "Naked Warrior" programme for when I'm away travelling and on business, I'd love to know what Pavel's method is for if you have a dumbbell or two and you want to maximize your exercise potential with them, like how we are doing it with the kettlebell. I'm assuming it will be just two exercises again - maybe the Turkish Get Up and something else???

Why do I want to know? Because I might be able to get to gyms where they only have dumbbells for a few weeks, and not kettlebells.
 
Hmmm, I don't know what a good pull movement is with a dumbell. Clean and press could be the go to for pressing movement (and gets a ballistic hip hinge too). Front squats and overhead presses for minimalism. Adding in rows would probably be good.
 
Oh, right! One leg deadlift is surely the way to go for posterior chain with a dumbell. Gray Cook had said if he could only have someone doing 4 exercises to combine both strength and healthy movement, one would be the get up, one would be the one leg deadlift (I think the other two were cable chops or something).
 
If the one leg deadlift with the same side leg as the weighted arm or the opposite leg???

I'm sure the getup can be done with a dumbbell, so I'm sure that's one of the (probably?) two exercises that Pavel would choose.
 
Also there is another book" Power to the People ". It is barbell related but I'm sure you could use dumbbells to the same effect. It covers a press ie; military press , side press bent press or floor press whichever you chose and deadlift. That's the reason I offered those original ideas in my previous reply .being dumbbells won't be as heavy as a plate loaded barbell I think the one leg deadlift would be better. IMO . I'm not a trainer so maybe check into it yourself but consider reading that book from Pavel lot of good info in it. Good Luck!!
 
I'm so darn impressed with Pavel's work! Lots of science, trial and error, deep thought, experimentation, study, research behind his stuff and now I'm in great shape, for the first time since I was in my early twenties.
 
Same side or both hands if dumbbells are smaller
I've found the contralateral version, e.g. right hand with left foot or vice versa, is the most difficult and often the most beneficial for most people, most of the time.

@Kozushi, StrongFirst doesn't have a dumbbell book or program and my guess is not to expect one any time soon. Naked Warrior is our program for no equipment; I think most people will be better off focusing on those two lifts than on the one-legged deadlift, although the one-legged deadlift is a great exercise.

-S-
 
I am not Pavel (T.), but I would suggest following:

- get-ups
- bent-presses
- one-leg deadlifts
- snatches (I would personally do heavier, and dead stop, not to scare the knees)

If the gym has a barbell, I would do barbell deadlifts + dumbbell bent presses. No equipment? The Naked Warrior. I do these two when I am on holiday.

Here is a nice photo series of a dumbbell snatch with a dip (called swing back in the old days) from my collection, enjoy:

snatch.jpg

I bet @Iron Tamer will have some good tips.
 
I am not Pavel (T.), but I would suggest following:

- get-ups
- bent-presses
- one-leg deadlifts
- snatches (I would personally do heavier, and dead stop, not to scare the knees)

If the gym has a barbell, I would do barbell deadlifts + dumbbell bent presses. No equipment? The Naked Warrior. I do these two when I am on holiday.

A funny thing is another concern of mine is head room as many rooms in Asia have low ceilings. The bent press works even in these kind of rooms. The dumbbell snatch, I had naturally forgotten, is very similar to the kettlebell swing. Thank you for the pictures! At least I can fall back on the Naked Warrior method if I can't find weights or the necessary time or space to use them in.
 
I've found the contralateral version, e.g. right hand with left foot or vice versa, is the most difficult and often the most beneficial for most people, most of the time.

@Kozushi, StrongFirst doesn't have a dumbbell book or program and my guess is not to expect one any time soon. Naked Warrior is our program for no equipment; I think most people will be better off focusing on those two lifts than on the one-legged deadlift, although the one-legged deadlift is a great exercise.

-S-
Awesome. I super appreciate your helpful responses! And, I did get a Pavel to answer too if not the Pavel, hahaha! You Strong First guys are wonderful! :)

So it's starting to look like a lot of one armed pushups and one legged squats when I'm away from home! Interesting! Exciting too!

By the way, I've nearly achieved the "Simple" goals of the S&S programme. All that's left is to turn all of my swings into one armed ones. I'm doing both exercises with the 32kg kettle bell now. I'm thrilled!
 
The one-legged DL (contralateral version as Steve Freides suggests) is one of my favorites. I also like the stiff-legged version that is more hamstring intensive, similar to a barbell RDL.

Pistols are the king of the one legged exercises, but take time to work up to. I recommend using a light bell (kettle or dumb) to counter balance yourself as you build up to doing it without weight.

I'm a big fan of the bent press and highly recommend David Whitley's book on the lift. It has a great progression to get you from locked up shoulders and T-spine to successful bent press. I use this progression more than the press itself for my students, and still use it myself as well!

Safe travels!
 
I would focus on the dead hang/dead stop snatch with a DB for pulling and DB push press, side press, bent press for pressing. Works many muscles and allows you to (eventually) use heavy weight. You could try something like the S&S-template for the DB snatch and iff you do the Naked Warrior routine follow Pavels advice and include exercises for the lower back (hint: dead hang snatch ;) )

If you want something very flexible look up the old Russian Kettlebell Challenge PM:
  • Train 2-7 times a week, complete workouts in 45min or less, vary length of workouts
  • Each session do as few or as many exercises as you wish but do not work equally hard on every one of them
  • Perform your exercises in a circuit and allow at least a few minutes of rest between sets
  • The order of the drills in the rotation is up to you but it is a good idea to alternate harder and easier exercises
  • Start your practice with the most technically demanding exercises
  • The total number of sets is up to you, anywhere from three to as many as twenty sets per exercise are acceptable but should be varied
  • Never go to failure but vary the difficulty of your sets
  • Generally perform no more than five reps per set in various presses
  • Snatches, cleans and jerks can be performed for any number of repetitions, from one to hundreds. Leave all the sets of more than ten reps for the very end of the workout to avoid their negative effect on your presses
  • Periodically speed up or slow down the movement from the comfortable pace
 
That list answers a number of the questions I've had lingering in my mind. Especially the parts about for presses a) max 5 reps per set and b) anywhere from 3 to 20 sets and c) do not ever go to failure. That's awesome! I was really driving myself nuts wondering about these things.
 
The one-legged DL (contralateral version as Steve Freides suggests) is one of my favorites. I also like the stiff-legged version that is more hamstring intensive, similar to a barbell RDL.

Pistols are the king of the one legged exercises, but take time to work up to. I recommend using a light bell (kettle or dumb) to counter balance yourself as you build up to doing it without weight.

I'm a big fan of the bent press and highly recommend David Whitley's book on the lift. It has a great progression to get you from locked up shoulders and T-spine to successful bent press. I use this progression more than the press itself for my students, and still use it myself as well!

Safe travels!

Regarding the bent press - do you fully extend your arm by the end or do you strictly leave the dumbbell where it started which might entail not extending the arm fully by the end of the movement?
 
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