Old Forum A good way to mix barbells and kettlebells?

[R.Chandler]

Hello all. I'll try and keep this as brief as possible while getting in the pertinent information.

I trained up until I was 29 and the last thing I did was PTTP. I can't say I saw much strength gains on it, but I only did it for around 6 weeks until I took a brief layoff that lasted 10 years. However, I did like that I always felt like a Viking warrior ready to conquer the world after I left the gym. Always fresh and feeling strong. At 39 I knew I needed to lose a lot of weight so I got a 16kg bell and ETK and was able to lose about 60 lbs. and then got the bug to barbell lift again. After much trial and error and a lot of resets along the way due to rushing back in and getting little pissant injuries I was able to build a solid base using Rippetoe's SS method. I can't recommend it highly enough if you have the time to rest properly and eat big. It is a very solid program for strength gains.

However, I still need to lose another 75-80 lbs. and in between eating below maintenance and working 12-14 hour days recovery proved to be unattainable so I switched to another really good program if it fits into your lifestyle, the Starr HLM routine and that was a little better, but with me being lucky to get 6 hours sleep in a night it does leave me feeling beat up most of the time. This brought me back to thinking about PTTP and the lower volume/higher frequency style as a better way to go for someone in my situation. I have no problem getting to the gym everyday, I just don't have an hour and a half to two hours to spend there. Most days it's around 30-40 minutes and sometimes around an hour on a good day. I have access to KB's all the way up to 70lbs., but only singles of each bell and a full gym for barbells and the like. I have my diet lined out, now I'm looking for what will give me the most bang for my buck. I really enjoy working with KB's but also enjoy the 4 powerlifts even more, especially deadlift and press.

So, that brings me to my question. What would be a good way for me to go forward mixing barbells and kettlebells with fat loss being my number one goal and preserving as much strength and muscle as possible being a close secondary goal? I have PTTP and ETK and Beyond Bodybuilding and I'm thinking I'll order Simple And Sinister this weekend if y'all think I should and it covers ground not already covered in the books I currently have.

Sorry for the length and thanks in advance for any responses.

 

Rod

 

[JZB]

PTTP 5(ish) days a week followed by varying kettlebell finishers that are done in five minutes or so.  Snatches with a 24, single hand swings with a 32, uneven farmer walks, etc.

 

[R.Chandler]

That's in the vein of what I was thinking, but unsure if that would be a good way to go. I would like to incorporate all 4 of the main power lifts as well. I'm wondering if that would be wise or just take 2 at a time. My thoughts are an A/B split

A. Squat/Bench

B. Press/Deadlift

Week 1

A-B-A-B-A

Week 2

B-A-B-A-B

 

[Phil12]

In Easy Strength, there's a suggestion to try two-week blocks of PTTP and the ETK PM. Perhaps that, with but with S&S? I do recommend ordering S&S regardless, some excellent instruction on the TGU and goblet squat in there that is not in ETK.

As someone who's lost a lot of weight while gaining strength, I think you're on the right track. The lower intensity of the individual workouts is key so you can recover from workout to workout. I've also found that backing off on the weight loss and just maintaining for a few weeks helps me break through lifting plateaus.

 

[JZB]

I'd be curious to hear peoples' opinions on deadlift and press for two weeks and then squat and bench for two weeks or the alternating each workout schedule like you mentioned.  I think PTTP probably works best with a continuous practice of the lifts each day for two weeks.

 

[Al Ciampa]

Rod,

That you were at one time at least 135lbs overweight means that you probably laid down additional adipocytes, which will be screaming for trigs via leptin.  I say this because if this is your case (it may not be), it will be very difficult to get down to normal adipose levels without substantial energy deprivation ... and combined with your lifestyle, you'll overtrain quick.

Diet and nutrition is the key to fat loss ... just pull and press easy strength-style in an attempt to fight for strength; do lots of swings to promote fat loss.  When you reach your goal, ramp up your lifting as your lifestyle/recovery allows.

 

[Marino]

Rod

I found that doing the high intensity very low frequency mass building routine in the 4 hour body book by Stephen Ferris led to fat loss (which wasn't my intention but was a welcome bonus).

I would also suggest doing near daily Simple & Sinister style sets of swings with a kettlebell (i.e. 10 sets of 10 within 5 minutes using full power).  To do this in 5 minutes I found required 20 seconds of swings with 10 seconds rest multiplied by 10 which I later realised strongly resembled the Tabata protocol.

The rest would come down to diet - again, the four hour body book has lots of advice on this.

 

[Pavel]

Rod, I like Al's solution.  ES + S&S.  The former twice a week, the latter four times.

 

 

[R.Chandler]

Thanks for all the responses and tips for moving forward. Al, I think I'll go with your recommendation of ES and SS. Since the man who wrote the books seconded your advice, it would be foolish of me not to heed it. I'll order them both straight away. Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply. It is greatly appreciated.

 

[R.Chandler]

Ok. I ordered the kindle versions and spent the weekend reading both S&S and ES. Both very good. I like that S&S is clear and concise and dare I say idiot proof. I look forward to tackling it. Easy Strength, I have not quite finished, but can see reading this book all the way through many more times to glean all the nuggets of great advice and information.

So I wanted to see how y'all would split it up if I do it 4 days of SS and 2 days of ES.

Maybe Mon./Tues./Thurs./Fri of SS and Wed./Sat. Do ES? Or does it matter how you split them just so long as you do them? Also, I was a little unclear on structuring the barbell days. Pull on one push on the other, or do a push/pull movement for a total of 10 reps at both sessions? For instance Wed. Squat/Bench and Sat. Deadlift/Standing Press. Finishing each of those sessions with something like the ab wheel for 5 reps?

Thanks in advance for your responses.