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Kettlebell Having kettlebell at the office

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Nacho

Nacho

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Even if S&S doesn’t take much time, sometimes my schedule is very tight and I might struggle a bit to fit it to my day. I have been on the program now for about 3 months and done the routine maybe 5 times a week on average. Im trying to do it every day.

I was thinking of taking one kettlebell to the office. Of course I wouldn’t be doing S&S as such, but doing 10+10 swings 5 times during the day would not be a problem.

This would be sort of ”better than nothing” type of solution for very busy days.

Has anyone tried out anything like that? What do you guys think?
 
During the school year (I'm a teacher), I do most of my weekday training like this. I have a couple of bells in my office, so during my prep periods when I'm doing work at my desk, I periodically get up and do a set or small block of sets.

It's actually very effective and I can often accumulate a lot of volume during the week. Luckily I have an office with the space to do this and can wear clothes to work that I can lift in.
 
I think its a good idea. I´m also doing S&S, and when I dont have time I just do grease the groove swings. I might do sets of 10, or sets of 20, or sets of 5 with a heavy KB. By the end of the day I might do 3 TGU each side, or not. It works very well for me when I dont have 40 minutes straight for training.

I would be careful with mobility and technique though. If you need a ton of mobility preparation before S&S, maybe this approach is not for you. But if your mobility and technique are okay, you can give it a try.
 
I was planning to do the same. I would practice with my kettlebell when I have no students, instead of drinking coffee...
 
I've frequently kept at least one bell in my office and done just about every movement. Disclaimer: I'm military so such activity is not frowned upon in any way, plus the locker room is right across the hall so I can shower. Regardless, I can easily pop out 10 swings or a couple getups in my flight suit....snatches not so much.

But, to OP's point, such activity is classic GTG. What a terrific way to get stronger and better!
 
I WFH today to rest as I pulled a hamstring last night playing softball.

I won't be able to practice S&S for a while so I took this opportunity to GtG press my new 20kg bell over the course of the day. If I could do that while at the office, I'd love it. I agree with all here and say do it if you're able!
 
I’m also a teacher and have done this with swings, squats and presses. I found it beneficial to do as much as I had time for. Because my time varies day to day, it’s pretty much waving the volume. No more than 10 swings at a clip and 5 squats/presses
 
Oscar said:
I think its a good idea. I´m also doing S&S, and when I dont have time I just do grease the groove swings. I might do sets of 10, or sets of 20, or sets of 5 with a heavy KB. By the end of the day I might do 3 TGU each side, or not. It works very well for me when I dont have 40 minutes straight for training.

I would be careful with mobility and technique though. If you need a ton of mobility preparation before S&S, maybe this approach is not for you. But if your mobility and technique are okay, you can give it a try.
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Nacho, like Oscar said here, as long as your mobility and technique are dialed in then I say go for it as well.

As you can see it's definitely doable - I'm on the same side as everyone else here. My thought is that if you're at the point in your training where you could jump into swings/TGUs without any warmup, and if that would most likely be how you'd approach it at work, then go for it. If you customarily spend 5-10 minutes on mobility/warmup before S&S because you need to and would not be able to fit that in (physically and time-wise) at work I say it's a red light. Like everyone else here has said though, if you can GTG throughout the day sans warmups then by all means.
 
You can do GTG presses and prying goblet curls also quite easily, without necessarily breaking a sweat.

For me the problem with the swings would be the sweat factor. It's rude to be sweaty and smelly at work I think. However, grind exercises that don't get the heart rate up much and don't make you sweat, they're fine.
 
ARMcLagan, yes I believe I have a good enought mobility to do this. Haven`t noticed any problems so far.

Kozushi, I agree 100% on the sweat point. :)

I brought a couple of kettlebells with me and I have been doing on average maybe 1 set an hour. 10+10 1 arm swings or 20 two arm swings.
This doesn`t make me sweat at all. I wouldn`t do like 5 sets in a row cause the sweat would break even just a little bit.

So far Im loving this! Im noticing that I feel better through out the working day and my body feels quite strong.
I currently have a little wrist injury so I havent done any TGU`s for a week, but I have done some swings again at home later in the evening before hitting the shower.

Before the injury I had a couple of quite busy days when a did my 5-7 sets of swings during workday and then in the evening just 10 TGU`s and some swings.
Kind of day when it would had been very easy to skip exercising, but this way I got some done atleast.
 
Nacho said:
So far Im loving this! Im noticing that I feel better through out the working day and my body feels quite strong.
I currently have a little wrist injury so I havent done any TGU`s for a week, but I have done some swings again at home later in the evening before hitting the shower.

Before the injury I had a couple of quite busy days when a did my 5-7 sets of swings during workday and then in the evening just 10 TGU`s and some swings.
Kind of day when it would had been very easy to skip exercising, but this way I got some done atleast.
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Very cool Nacho. I felt the same thing too when doing 5 minutes of snatches on lunch break at work. I really couldn't fit exercise in at any other time, and after doing them at work it was like the dark clouds parted and the sun started shining through, and I felt like life was going to be ok again :) Ah, the beauty of kettlebells. Glad to hear you're maintaining as best you can, and hope the wrist rehabs soon.
 
Kozushi said:
For me the problem with the swings would be the sweat factor.
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Yes, I am very cognizant of not breaking a sweat. The HVAC in my building is very inconsistent. It's centrally controlled, and sometimes my office is like a walk-in freezer, sometimes like a sauna. So I adjust the training I do accordingly, and it can be limiting. When it's cold, I can get away with a lot more.
 
OK, so few weeks has passed and I have found some new ways to get stronger. I have been introduced to GTG with this topic, and its great!

I have an extra 26kg kettlebell at the office now. ( I`m using 22 & 26 for S&S. )

What I did for previous 3 months:
-S&S 5-6 times a week. Progressed from 14kg to 22-26kg ( Using like half of sets 22 and half 26 )
-I never actually timed my exercises, but Id say 1:1 ratio on exercise/rest is pretty close.

What I have done for the past 3 weeks:
-S&S as written about 2 times a week
-S&S "GTG style" 2-3 times a week. Meaning I got 100 swings + 10 TGU`s done during the day.
-Bodyweight GTG 1-2 times a week, 1 exercise a day. ( Focusing on legs / hips / glutes )

Pros & Cons based on my own feelings:
+ This is the most fun I have ever had working out.
+ I find GTG an awesome way to learn new movements. I have really improved my one legged DL which I have done just with bodyweight slowly focusing on form. (GTG during workday)
+ I feel good and fresh and I feel its easy to maintain, because basically every morning I decide what to do that day based on how I feel.
- I have not made that much progress in S&S, but its only been 3 weeks and I suppose the progress was going to get slower at this point anyway... ?
- Im a bit concerned if I get enough conditioning done this way compared to daily S&S as written... ?

Any feedback and opinions are welcome. :)
 
@Nacho
so I've never GTG S&S but I can attest that it is a fantastic way to get strong. I followed Naked warrior for about 2 months and most of my strength improved. One thing I would say is don't be afraid to up or wave the volume. for example Monday your really busy so 30 swings and two get ups; Tuesday is slower so 140 swings and 13 GU etc. I did 40-50 OAPU using GTG without much or any stress (and I couldn't/wouldn't do that with a normal routine)

As far as conditioning If its a concern you could do the following: at the end of your day as the last thing you do bust out 40-60 swings (10 swings every 30 seconds) you will most likely produce liquid awesome (sweat) so maybe do it when you get home. Or don't worry about.
 
If you're concerned about progress, there's nothing wrong with setting your GTG up in some progressive manner. Like try to increase your weekly volume each week, or such.

When it comes to your exercise selection, how many are you doing? If I got you right you're doing at least three. The way I've understood GTG the less exercises you use it for at a time, the better.
 
Nacho, it seems you are doing great, keep doing what you are doing. I wouldn't worry much about cardio, I think GTG has its hidden cardio benefits. If you are being able to progress and keep fresh, just keep at it.

Nacho said:
-I never actually timed my exercises, but Id say 1:1 ratio on exercise/rest is pretty close.
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About this: keep in mind that 1:1 work/rest is intended only every now and then when you test yourself. On a daily basis, Rest time is about 2-4 times the work time, so you end up doing your sets of swings every minute or every 1:30 or so. If you are doing 1:1 on a frequent basis and steel feel fresh and recover well, it's a good indicator thar you can move up in weight. When you move up, use longer rest periods.

Great work!
 
Maine-ah KB said:
@Nacho
As far as conditioning If its a concern you could do the following: at the end of your day as the last thing you do bust out 40-60 swings (10 swings every 30 seconds) you will most likely produce liquid awesome (sweat) so maybe do it when you get home. Or don't worry about.
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I´d like to second this suggestion. You can always do sets of 2-Hand-Swings with you heavier bell as a finisher or if you find 10 minutes of time. Go until you recognize that your form is falling apart. Do diaphragmal nose breathing until you can breathe easily again. Than do another set, and so on. I´m doing this since a few weeks as a finisher and this is reaaaaaaally a game changer for me. Much better conditioning, more work capacity and also lost around 4 lbs. Great sweat fest, quick regeneration between the sets and not as taxing as the 1H-Swings.

My experience with S&S by the book is, the conditioning part is surely there for a not very trained person, but I get better conditioning by half an hour runs 2-3times a week. Since a injury I´m not able to run right now and that´s why I tried the approach above.
 
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