ali
Level 7 Valued Member
Ah but if moustached circus strongmen had the opportunity to wear Terminator shades they may have had a shave and donned some sunglasses ...
Kettlebell Aesthetics
- Thread starter SMason22
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Ah but if moustached circus strongmen had the opportunity to wear Terminator shades they may have had a shave and donned some sunglasses ...
Marc
Level 6 Valued Member
The basic exercises done with 1x24:
-get up (obviously this is redundant due S&S)
-swing (same as above)
-snatch: preferably 100 in 5mins but owning them for a few solid reps is good as well
-cleans: solid reps (preferably sets of at least 5)
-front squat: solid reps (preferably sets of at least 5)
-press: solid reps (preferably sets of at least 5)
This is just my personal definition.
Deleted member 316
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I also strive for the SFG kettlebell physique/look of an awesome, strong, capable, and rugged physique. But to play devils advocate and no offense but Jon Engum isnt shredded or buff but I know for a fact he'd whupp my a#@
Anders
Level 6 Valued Member
There is nothing wrong in wanting to focusing on aestetics. Still I think it is healthier to Chase strength and Health and then get aestetics as a by Product, then to Chase aestetics directly. That is at least the experience I have had.
There is also some compromises that has to accepted. If you want Maximum of strength and hypertrophy than obviously a barbell work-out is a must. Then you must stick With that for some years and eat a lot, and healthy and you will probably get very good results.
But if the goal is more mix of different Things and you are more patient then kettlebell can also give you good aestetics.
Personally I would also like to get the results fast and big as quickly as possible, but I just love working out With my kettlebells in my Apartment, and there is just no way I will take the effort to travel to crowded commercial gym four-five times a week just so that my chest will be a little bigger. For me at least kettlebells gives good enough results. They give good enough aestetics.
I am not longer seeking the Perfect solution or the Perfect result. I am just seeking constant improvement.
So the question for you is just what is Your most important goal in terms of training.
I hope that helps.
There is also some compromises that has to accepted. If you want Maximum of strength and hypertrophy than obviously a barbell work-out is a must. Then you must stick With that for some years and eat a lot, and healthy and you will probably get very good results.
But if the goal is more mix of different Things and you are more patient then kettlebell can also give you good aestetics.
Personally I would also like to get the results fast and big as quickly as possible, but I just love working out With my kettlebells in my Apartment, and there is just no way I will take the effort to travel to crowded commercial gym four-five times a week just so that my chest will be a little bigger. For me at least kettlebells gives good enough results. They give good enough aestetics.
I am not longer seeking the Perfect solution or the Perfect result. I am just seeking constant improvement.
So the question for you is just what is Your most important goal in terms of training.
I hope that helps.
North Coast Miller
Level 9 Valued Member
Relative to the OP, might be time to recognize you aren't actually sticking with either venture as you keep starting more of Strength program but default to BB it means you aren't committing to either, or you haven't found a good blend of both.
There is absolutely no reason to think you can't have it both ways through a progression, both will help each other. Training with an eye for aesthetics is liable to keep you more well-rounded in some respects as you will be more inclined to use different modalities and movement patterns, as well as possibly being more mobility minded (also a good thing).
You will not improve in BB without getting stronger and gaining muscle endurance - its not possible. Likewise if you improve limit strength and spend any time on endurance you will gain some size if you eat more, and your limit strength will increase more readily with more bodyweight.
Instead of chasing one or the other, might be time to find an approach that addresses both, or alternate/periodize. Train for your goals, not someone else's. If you went to a trainer and told them I want "XYZ" outcome, they put you on program to achieve "ABC", you not only won't stick with it but you'd be rightly upset with your trainer once you realized what was (not) happening.
There is absolutely no reason to think you can't have it both ways through a progression, both will help each other. Training with an eye for aesthetics is liable to keep you more well-rounded in some respects as you will be more inclined to use different modalities and movement patterns, as well as possibly being more mobility minded (also a good thing).
You will not improve in BB without getting stronger and gaining muscle endurance - its not possible. Likewise if you improve limit strength and spend any time on endurance you will gain some size if you eat more, and your limit strength will increase more readily with more bodyweight.
Instead of chasing one or the other, might be time to find an approach that addresses both, or alternate/periodize. Train for your goals, not someone else's. If you went to a trainer and told them I want "XYZ" outcome, they put you on program to achieve "ABC", you not only won't stick with it but you'd be rightly upset with your trainer once you realized what was (not) happening.
Im out
Level 5 Valued Member
i think he is a great example of sf physique.
thegoldengod
Level 5 Valued Member
Zar Horton (on SF homepage) is a pretty good example of physique as well.
Curious to know what his diet is? You can google/youtube his workouts, they are intense.
Curious to know what his diet is? You can google/youtube his workouts, they are intense.
Harald Motz
Level 8 Valued Member
diet something like this:
three meals
breakfast usually 2 big cups of muesli with organic whole milk (3,7% fat) or 500g glass of my self mixed Quark (cottage cheese, I usually mix
4kg with lots of pressed lemon juice and 1,5kg of frozen berries and fill it in big glasses and store it in the fridge and this lasts 5-6 days) almost a Liter of Darjeeling.
lunch some meat or fish, potatoes, past, rice, different vegetables
dinner some slices of whole grain bread with cheese, or herring, or 4-6 eggs, or 300g warm porridge with cinnamon. 3/4 - 1L of milk
So I am a no no carb guy, and a bunch of it is high fiber whole grains.
training
I train or do something on any day. The last years around the thumb 70% Kettlebells (around 70%single bell work), 20% barbell (deadlifts, zercher squat, sometimes Jefferson deadlifts, last year I liked doing Steinborn squats), 10% bodyweight ( a bit of ring work: skin the cat, some ring muscle ups a bit of levering, I liked freestanding handstandpushup a lot, sometimes a bit of paralettes work).
2014/2015 I did lots of S&S. Since 2016 I am appreciating A+A more, the more I do it. I think I am not exaggerating by much that I did 1000+ snatches on most months mostly with 40kg for the last 2 years. The get up is a staple, and since four months I am into bent pressing.
I believe in minimalism and simplicity in training as a pull and a press, a grind and a ballistic, one or two lifts a day and the importance of easy relaxed aerobic base work.
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ali
Level 7 Valued Member
@Harald Motz ...as I remember you were once into kefir. ....has the quark replaced that now?
Darjeeling, eh? ......a fine choice.
Darjeeling, eh? ......a fine choice.
Harald Motz
Level 8 Valued Member
the kefir, damn I need to get some cultures again. Kefir is so crazy, as it crows exponentially. and for Darjeeling I get some kilo bags from teekampagne.de, they have a business model, to buy in organic Darjeeling in greater amounts and minimize the costs of packaging advertisement and some other things and the sell in greater amounts of 250g, 500g or 1000g. The bigger the bag, the cheaper. Writing this, I am enjoying a cup of first flush 2018. And it's a great booster to psyche up pre training, bro.
Bret S.
Level 9 Valued Member
I'll be 60 in 4 mos and don't train for hypertrophy, most of what I do is strength endurance as limit strength is no longer worth chasing for me, the risk of injury costs are more than I'm willing to tolerate as I don't want to have training interrupted even for a day.
About 80% of my kettlebell work is pulls as they're more body friendly. I'm 6'2" and weigh 188 lbs. I could chase more muscle but choose to stay on my current training path instead. I have weighed 245 lbs in the past with the same body fat percentage, these days I like to be lighter and move better, especially related to MA training, I can still jump pretty well but the landings are getting rougher.
About 80% of my kettlebell work is pulls as they're more body friendly. I'm 6'2" and weigh 188 lbs. I could chase more muscle but choose to stay on my current training path instead. I have weighed 245 lbs in the past with the same body fat percentage, these days I like to be lighter and move better, especially related to MA training, I can still jump pretty well but the landings are getting rougher.
MikeTheBear
Level 6 Valued Member
SMason22
Level 4 Valued Member
I'll be 60 in 4 mos and don't train for hypertrophy, most of what I do is strength endurance as limit strength is no longer worth chasing for me, the risk of injury costs are more than I'm willing to tolerate as I don't want to have training interrupted even for a day.
About 80% of my kettlebell work is pulls as they're more body friendly. I'm 6'2" and weigh 188 lbs. I could chase more muscle but choose to stay on my current training path instead. I have weighed 245 lbs in the past with the same body fat percentage, these days I like to be lighter and move better, especially related to MA training, I can still jump pretty well but the landings are getting rougher.
View attachment 6351
You look great - congrats. What diet do you follow?
somanaut
Level 5 Valued Member
That is a good looking upper back! For any age, be especially impressive for your age.I'll be 60 in 4 mos and don't train for hypertrophy, most of what I do is strength endurance as limit strength is no longer worth chasing for me, the risk of injury costs are more than I'm willing to tolerate as I don't want to have training interrupted even for a day.
About 80% of my kettlebell work is pulls as they're more body friendly. I'm 6'2" and weigh 188 lbs. I could chase more muscle but choose to stay on my current training path instead. I have weighed 245 lbs in the past with the same body fat percentage, these days I like to be lighter and move better, especially related to MA training, I can still jump pretty well but the landings are getting rougher.
View attachment 6351
Bret S.
Level 9 Valued Member
Thanks @SMason22 and @somanaut for your kind words.
My diet isn't anything special, fasting (I have coffee + a little half-n-half creamer) an average 16 hrs/day so essentially I eat in an 8 hr window (usually). If I feel underfed in the morning I'll eat earlier and cut fasting short to have more training energy, the cues are usually flat muscle, fatigue and/or creaky joints etc.
I seem to do best eating meals at least 6 hrs apart, so I never have that overfull feeling where digestion is struggling to keep up with food intake. This I believe is key and allows me to indulge in huge meals occasionally without having to feel stuffed or bloated. I eat moderate protein, fat and some slow burning carbs along with a moderate intake of vegetables, nothing fancy and I never weigh or measure food, mostly I'll eat by instinct and avoid processed flour, sugar, wheat or flour based bread (Ezekial bread occasionally), pasta (occasionally have some), diet soda (occasionally have some). I avoid beer and wine but occasionally love a good Pilsner beer (2 at most) and usually sip whiskey or tequila on weekends, drinking during the week saps my energy too much and I don't need the extra calories.
After training I like to eat at least 20g protein with some fat and maybe a little carbs (usually later).
Thank you Somanaut, lots of pulling in training along with consistent pull-ups is key for me to feel strong, also training the sub-scapular musculature is very important I believe for strength and injury prevention.
My diet isn't anything special, fasting (I have coffee + a little half-n-half creamer) an average 16 hrs/day so essentially I eat in an 8 hr window (usually). If I feel underfed in the morning I'll eat earlier and cut fasting short to have more training energy, the cues are usually flat muscle, fatigue and/or creaky joints etc.
I seem to do best eating meals at least 6 hrs apart, so I never have that overfull feeling where digestion is struggling to keep up with food intake. This I believe is key and allows me to indulge in huge meals occasionally without having to feel stuffed or bloated. I eat moderate protein, fat and some slow burning carbs along with a moderate intake of vegetables, nothing fancy and I never weigh or measure food, mostly I'll eat by instinct and avoid processed flour, sugar, wheat or flour based bread (Ezekial bread occasionally), pasta (occasionally have some), diet soda (occasionally have some). I avoid beer and wine but occasionally love a good Pilsner beer (2 at most) and usually sip whiskey or tequila on weekends, drinking during the week saps my energy too much and I don't need the extra calories.
After training I like to eat at least 20g protein with some fat and maybe a little carbs (usually later).
Thank you Somanaut, lots of pulling in training along with consistent pull-ups is key for me to feel strong, also training the sub-scapular musculature is very important I believe for strength and injury prevention.
Brookes
Level 5 Valued Member
Hey Bret, can you explain the concept of "flat muscle". Maybe it´s since I´m a non native speaker but I never heard of flat muscle before. Is it meant literally flat? Do you know the exact reasons for that appearance?
Compliments to your physique as well. A few of my friends, which are pensioned older and still very sporty military guys, maintain similar bodys, but yours looks especially well rounded. Good job on keeping and looking healthy!
Bret S.
Level 9 Valued Member
Thank you Brookes for the great compliment, I truly appreciate it.
Flat muscle to me is probably more a feeling than an appearance thing, that said I can tell by looking at myself whether or not the muscles are 'fuller' or 'flatter' on a given day.
The feeling I could describe flexing a given muscle for instance, if it feels solid, tight and hard to the touch I know I have fuel to train. If it feels tweaky to flex and I can't flex hard without some cramping, discomfort or pain twinges then I know some fuel is needed. If I can't fuel up in those instances before training I'll still train but use moderate loads, volume and density for the session. I have noticed after fueling up the muscles following one of these sessions they blow up and feel super good and solid.
It's knowing how my body reacts after 4+ decades of weight training, after awhile you just know..
MikeTheBear
Level 6 Valued Member
@Brookes When eating a normal diet, and especially when eating a surplus of calories, the muscles are filled with glycogen and water making them "fuller." When dieting, and especially on a low carb diet, the body tends to deplete the muscles of their glycogen, which also releases the stored water. This makes the muscle appear less full or "flat." The muscle will look and feel smaller. There is no actual loss of muscle tissue, just water and glycogen.
Hung
Level 8 Valued Member
"physique along the lines of antique statues'broad shoulders with just a hint of pecs, back muscles standing out in bold relief, wiry arms, rugged forearms, a cut-up midsection and strong legs without a hint of squatter's chafing."- i read that in the past, in Beyond bodybuilding. that was an inspiration for 15 year old boy
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