ps_bond
Level 1 Valued Member
The rambling bit:
A while ago I lost the use of my left arm due to spinal issues. This left me pretty much unable to do anything for most of 2 years as any movement would cause severe neurogenic pain - slightly frustrating. That was eventually repaired and I got most of my function back (still have some numbness/neurogenic pain in my left hand, but nothing that generally impedes things). Anyway, I've spent some time rebuilding myself - initially with cardio, but moved onto kettlebells (had to drop back to a 12kg initially before going back to my 16kg). Sourced a 20kg ball just before lockdown in the UK, then was introduced to simple/sinister so started working through that - I'd found that ETK's programme knackered me too much to do the swings. Finally managed to source a 28kg towards the end of June, by which time I'd ended up heartily fed up with the 20kg as it wasn't providing enough resistance in S&S. Couldn't floor press the 28 on the LHS initially, so worked on that. Had a mishap similar to the gentleman who broke his wrist - last stage of getting down my left arm folded unexpectedly, caught the bell with my RH and my elbow impacted the floor. Got away with it but might not have done.
Anyway... I've added in the 28 faster than the programme recommends (currently at 80 of the swings, 6 of the getups) purely because the 20 is far too easy for me to feel it's there. I'll stick with 80 swings until I'm happy with 8 getups, then sync properly with the recommendations again. I'm using a HRM, peaking at ~135BPM +/- (180 - age +5) and allowing it to come down to <110 before restarting; the rest periods are getting shorter, but I'm still at about 1.5mins between sets. My weight has stayed annoyingly static despite reduced calorie intake & increased protein (but there's less fat).
One concern I have is that when I'm ready to move to the 32, that's only a 4kg jump (lack of availability hasn't been helpful to following exactly), which similarly means any deloading is only 4kg - or do I need (for certain values of need) a 24kg too?
Another is that when I finally hit timeless simple, I'm not specifically targeting sinister but I do want to do timed simple - do I need to practice with a 40kg to develop the ease of use of the 32? Despite re-reading the book I've not seen that explicitly.
And finally - my left side is still weaker. LH getups are not as crisp with the 28 as the right (especially the initial roll; part of that is not leading with the bell as precisely as on the RHS). While I can military press the 28 on the right for 10 reps, I can't get it out of clean on the left. Even the 20 gives me some gyp still with that - can't yet hit 10. Are push presses a suitable progression?
Still can't do a single pullup unassisted either, which continues to annoy me.
Either way, when we are able to return to the mats (whenever that ends up being) I should be able to give one or two people in my jiu jitsu club a surprise...
A while ago I lost the use of my left arm due to spinal issues. This left me pretty much unable to do anything for most of 2 years as any movement would cause severe neurogenic pain - slightly frustrating. That was eventually repaired and I got most of my function back (still have some numbness/neurogenic pain in my left hand, but nothing that generally impedes things). Anyway, I've spent some time rebuilding myself - initially with cardio, but moved onto kettlebells (had to drop back to a 12kg initially before going back to my 16kg). Sourced a 20kg ball just before lockdown in the UK, then was introduced to simple/sinister so started working through that - I'd found that ETK's programme knackered me too much to do the swings. Finally managed to source a 28kg towards the end of June, by which time I'd ended up heartily fed up with the 20kg as it wasn't providing enough resistance in S&S. Couldn't floor press the 28 on the LHS initially, so worked on that. Had a mishap similar to the gentleman who broke his wrist - last stage of getting down my left arm folded unexpectedly, caught the bell with my RH and my elbow impacted the floor. Got away with it but might not have done.
Anyway... I've added in the 28 faster than the programme recommends (currently at 80 of the swings, 6 of the getups) purely because the 20 is far too easy for me to feel it's there. I'll stick with 80 swings until I'm happy with 8 getups, then sync properly with the recommendations again. I'm using a HRM, peaking at ~135BPM +/- (180 - age +5) and allowing it to come down to <110 before restarting; the rest periods are getting shorter, but I'm still at about 1.5mins between sets. My weight has stayed annoyingly static despite reduced calorie intake & increased protein (but there's less fat).
One concern I have is that when I'm ready to move to the 32, that's only a 4kg jump (lack of availability hasn't been helpful to following exactly), which similarly means any deloading is only 4kg - or do I need (for certain values of need) a 24kg too?
Another is that when I finally hit timeless simple, I'm not specifically targeting sinister but I do want to do timed simple - do I need to practice with a 40kg to develop the ease of use of the 32? Despite re-reading the book I've not seen that explicitly.
And finally - my left side is still weaker. LH getups are not as crisp with the 28 as the right (especially the initial roll; part of that is not leading with the bell as precisely as on the RHS). While I can military press the 28 on the right for 10 reps, I can't get it out of clean on the left. Even the 20 gives me some gyp still with that - can't yet hit 10. Are push presses a suitable progression?
Still can't do a single pullup unassisted either, which continues to annoy me.
Either way, when we are able to return to the mats (whenever that ends up being) I should be able to give one or two people in my jiu jitsu club a surprise...
Last edited:
