Kettlebell S&S and back development

[thedaologist]

After my recent post on beginning my kettlebell journey, I received SO many replies mentioning starting with S&S 2.0. I read the book twice and have been practicing for two full weeks now, and I feel great.

I recover way better from almost-daily 100 swings and I feel more connected to the movement. I love the idea of recharging yourself with these.

That being said, I was wondering if this program would leave some of the back muscles not working much. I basically want to care for my posture and avoid imbalances.

Do you have any thoughts on back development with somewhat long-term S&S? Does adding pull-ups, rows or carries does the trick?

 

[Pete L]

After my recent post on beginning my kettlebell journey, I received SO many replies mentioning starting with S&S 2.0. I read the book twice and have been practicing for two full weeks now, and I feel great.

I recover way better from almost-daily 100 swings and I feel more connected to the movement. I love the idea of recharging yourself with these.

That being said, I was wondering if this program would leave some of the back muscles not working much. I basically want to care for my posture and avoid imbalances.

Do you have any thoughts on back development with somewhat long-term S&S? Does adding pull-ups, rows or carries does the trick?

Some folks want to do all the basic movement patterns each workout or week. To achieve that you can run S&S in conjunction with other strength training.

I ran S&S with a 24 kg for around two years prior to the pandemic as a light day between barbell training. Limited by the bell sizes at my municipal gym.

Since shifting to training at home it has always been sufficient as a standalone programme, practicing three or four times a week as my only strength training during that block.

The muscles of the back are adequately loaded in my opinion. Especially as you get heavier.

 

[FTL]

If you're asking about hypertrophy of the muscles on your back: assuming you are a newer trainee without much serious resistance training under your belt, your entire body will experience growth. The growth won't be staggering, especially without anabolics, but you will notice a change especially in your forearms, upper back, hamstrings, glutes, core and shoulders. For me, these changes became obvious once the 32kg started to get easy to handle.

Your diet, genetics, age and lifestyle factors will play a considerable role in how much muscle mass you will build while you do the program, as is the case with any dedicated resistance training practice.

 

[Dayz]

Posture and back development are/ can be two very different, but possibly connected things. Upper back hypertrophy could improve or worsen posture, depending on the situation.

That said, goblet squats, swings and get ups work every muscle in the upper back, and in a way that should improve posture. They also effect core strength and hip opening (not to mention the hip bridges). This can impact upper body posture too. The spine is a connected, curved S; changing the lower curve can change the upper curve.

This article is really helpful from Pavel:

Posture: An Easy Way to Up Your Performance | StrongFirst

In a great majority of athletic events and real-life tasks, a ramrod straight posture, or at least its approximation, greatly improves the efficiency.

www.strongfirst.com

 

[JW513]

throw in some pull ups....

 

[Adachi]

I will say I didn't notice my abs until the 32kg bell came into the picture.
Getups with the 32kg bell for me was a big jump.
I suspect the carry of a bell overhead will be that way for many persons upper backs. Overhead work with a kettlebell correlates tightly with my back becoming more developed.


I benefitted from doing a few extra presses and overhead carries to strengthen the top of my getup. But my traps really came in when I did a cycle of presses and deadlifts. Focusing on sets of 5s. If I had it to do over again. I would have done triples and been more patient on the progression. My left shoulder has developed some pain and discomfort. So I'm laying off for a while.

 

[JW513]

I forgot to say, yes add in some carries too.. I also find sledgehammer swings really work the upper back. I aim for 200, 3 times a week after work..... I love S&S because its allowing me to work on other goals, while slowly progressing with the swings and get ups at the same time..

 

[barrak]

After my recent post on beginning my kettlebell journey, I received SO many replies mentioning starting with S&S 2.0. I read the book twice and have been practicing for two full weeks now, and I feel great.

I recover way better from almost-daily 100 swings and I feel more connected to the movement. I love the idea of recharging yourself with these.

That being said, I was wondering if this program would leave some of the back muscles not working much. I basically want to care for my posture and avoid imbalances.

Do you have any thoughts on back development with somewhat long-term S&S? Does adding pull-ups, rows or carries does the trick?

The two major posture issues relate to anterior pelvic tilt and excessive thoracic spine flexion and stiffness. I had both for a while. S&S did well in fixing the former, but not the latter.

Dealing with my flexed /stiff thoracic spine needed a lot of goal-specific exercises. Lately, I had good success using unilateral band pull-aways and pull-downs from anchor points above head level and pulling along multiple directions.

 

[Nick Stevens]

S&S is the first serious program I stuck with and made progress in (timeless 40kg); I dabbed in various fitness things for a few years before StrongFirst/S&S but never really progressed much on any lift/in my general fitness.

Personally, I never really knew my lats until I was one-hand swinging and getting up with 32kg.

I also think that 2h swings - done with a focus on keeping the chest open in the hinge and a good standing plank - improve my overall posture.

Not an expert opinion though, just my experience!