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Kettlebell Aesthetics

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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.

Hey Harald, as a fellow German I dig your diet :D Teekampagne is great, same here. (I am more into green tea however)

There is an easy workaround for kefir that I use: Buy organic whole milk (for example from aldi, netto or whatever) + one pack of a well tasting industrial kefir (probably Kalinka Kefir from Mueller). In your carton there is a little bit of space on top of the milk - fill that space with the kefir that you bought. Store the milk carton for two days at room temperature and you'll have a full litre of organic, well tasting kefir. Refrigerate the kefir after the two days of growing. You can then use your self made kefir for making the next kefir.

I use kefir for my muesli and produce about 3-4 litres per week, usually 2 litres at a time.
 
Hey Harald, as a fellow German I dig your diet :D Teekampagne is great, same here. (I am more into green tea however)

There is an easy workaround for kefir that I use: Buy organic whole milk (for example from aldi, netto or whatever) + one pack of a well tasting industrial kefir (probably Kalinka Kefir from Mueller). In your carton there is a little bit of space on top of the milk - fill that space with the kefir that you bought. Store the milk carton for two days at room temperature and you'll have a full litre of organic, well tasting kefir. Refrigerate the kefir after the two days of growing. You can then use your self made kefir for making the next kefir.

I use kefir for my muesli and produce about 3-4 litres per week, usually 2 litres at a time.
@Bauer this sounds great! I'm gonna give it a go, thanks
 
Some great physiques here. Congrats to you men. I think North Coast Miller's statement, "what aesthetics means to you" is the best answer.

Not to belittle some of my friends here who have done some bodybuilding, but many times it comes back to "looks like Tarzan plays like Jane". What you see is not always what you get.

Bodybuilding is a contest of extremes. Extreme size and extremely low body fat percentages that are not always kept that way year round.

Find a training regime that you enjoy, stick with it, eat right, the rest will take care of itself.
 
I imagine the physique of comic book heros are the desire of many as it is also the physique of physically functional superiority. To generalize the artistic elements of those body types:
  1. Broad shoulders minimizing the appearance of the head (a guy with a big head needs huge shoulders)
  2. Narrow waist to elongate the appearance of the limbs.
  3. Large arms for appearance of combative control
  4. Smallish legs surprisingly stronger than they appear to maintain performance while enhancing the appearances of the above traits
I imagine StrongFirst principles accomplish this perhaps easier than the specific programs:
  1. Low stress training using heavy weights with significant rest periods reduces body fat and build muscle
  2. High volume overhead will broaden shoulders and enlarge arms and chest
  3. Lower body ballistics will create legs stronger than they appear and avoid overwhelming the upper body appearance
Daily circuits keeping the heart rate and fatigue low consisting of:
TGU x1/1
Press x2/2
Snatch x3/3
Clean & Jerk x4/4
Swing x5/5​
 
@Bro Mo, I had that thought a couple weeks ago while watching the sick Grandson. He had a very high fever so when it was up and he didn't feel well I let him watch way more T.V. than I normally would. Watching some of the superhero stuff I got the same impression. I had to laugh at myself as I thought of when women complained about how the media tried to make the "average" woman look.


Narrow waist to elongate the appearance of the limbs.

This brings up a question I've had for a long time regarding swings and snatches. Frank Zane was one of the most aesthetic bodybuilders. I recall reading where he limited his use of squats, deadlifts and other lifts that he believed would "thicken" the abdomen. What is everyones thoughts on this in regard to swings and/or snatches?
 
This brings up a question I've had for a long time regarding swings and snatches. Frank Zane was one of the most aesthetic bodybuilders. I recall reading where he limited his use of squats, deadlifts and other lifts that he believed would "thicken" the abdomen. What is everyones thoughts on this in regard to swings and/or snatches?

Zane might have known what the judges were looking for, but most women don't want their man to have a smaller stomach than them...

When in doubt, refer to the Frazetta male archetype - big legs, thick midsection, thick arms top to bottom, pecs in evidence but not too heavy - built tight enough to tolerate collision with a horse and big enough you can afford to bleed a fair amount and not slow down. Easy, right?


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Wow! you dudes are settin the bar pretty high. I'm just aspiring to lose my beer gut to get to a legit dad bod. And that's just so I don't look overly disgusting in my speedo this summer. ;)

If you wanna play the alpha male card, and try to impress the bros, beef up those guns.(y)
 
@North Coast Miller I'm not sure Martin, that was usually what kept Zane from winning. He didn't have the legs that Platz had, or the arms Arnold had, or the thickness of Columbu. There always seemed to be a different look they wanted or particular style of posing each year. Who knows, but Zane was always considered one of the most aesthetic by even his peers. As @Bauer said, the look of the Greek statue.

But I'm way out of my element here because I could care less. Even the look of the Frazetta male archetype may have worked in that era but in todays world you can't be to bulky and a warrior. On the battlefield there is never enough nutrition to fuel that body.

As far as Dad bods I've seen some pretty fit old men in my day who were stocky and you would have never given them a second thought until you saw some of the acrobatic feats of strength they could perform.
 
When in doubt, refer to the Frazetta male archetype - big legs, thick midsection, thick arms top to bottom, pecs in evidence but not too heavy - built tight enough to tolerate collision with a horse and big enough you can afford to bleed a fair amount and not slow down. Easy, right?

Hahaha! That realy got me. I know know what to aspire too.
 
High volume overhead will broaden shoulders and enlarge arms and chest

I don't really think this is true. I do see that overhead defines and toughens these muscle groups, but I wouldn't say it enlarges the chest at all, or broadens the shoulders. I think you have to push (bench press) to enlarge the chest, and do bodybuilding-type programs to enlarge the arms. I'm still pondering what gives the broad shoulder look to some men, but I must admit that CrossFit seems to do it. Haven't figured out what the specific mechanism is there. though. I'll keep studying... ;)

What is everyones thoughts on this in regard to swings and/or snatches?

I think they make the midsection solid, but not overly thick unless you're wanting a bodybuilder look.
 
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I don't really think this is true. I do see that overhead defines and toughens these muscle groups, but I wouldn't say it enlarges the chest at all, or broadens the shoulders. I think you have to push (bench press) to enlarge the chest, and do bodybuilding-type programs to enlarge the arms. I'm still pondering what gives the broad shoulder look to some men, but I must admit that CrossFit seems to do it. Haven't figured out what the specific mechanism is there. though. I'll keep studying... ;)

Lateral movements, upright rows. You need to challenge the shoulder muscles laterally and don't neglect the rear delt.
 
Personally when it comes to casual aesthetics/hypertrophy most people could just periodize for mass and shift diet to improve body comp. The discussion doesn't have to immediately jump to full-house BBing.

Just train a balanced routine for size interspersed with strength and see how you turn out. It isn't going to happen overnight no matter, and whatever you do, you'll be in a range. You aren't going to get freakishly out of whack or anything, nor will you be able to pinpoint effect your physique without a lot of isolation stuff that isn't needed for the casually aesthetically minded.
 
Hahaha! That realy got me. I know know what to aspire too.

I don't think anyone here is saying this is what one should aspire too. The original post was regarding aesthetics, kettlebells, and S1 view. Mr. Freids answered quite completely for S1.

I do think it's an interesting topic given some of the movements that would be thought of as basic in a BB plan are not really present in a KB plan. Curls for instance are not generally in a plan although the curl at the bottom of the goblet squat is used as a warm up in S&S. But really for bicep work nothing beats pull-ups, rows, and even cleans. I would say tricep work is another one although I believe one could get as much tricep work as he would want pressing in a ROP fashion. Calf work?

@North Coast Miller states it as well as I believe it can be said,

Just train a balanced routine for size interspersed with strength and see how you turn out. It isn't going to happen overnight no matter, and whatever you do, you'll be in a range. You aren't going to get freakishly out of whack or anything, nor will you be able to pinpoint effect your physique without a lot of isolation stuff that isn't needed for the casually aesthetically minded.

Most of us are limited somewhat by genetics. You will reach a given amount of mass and a given amount of body fat and it will be tough to get past those markers naturally. That's just the way it is.

Personally at 59 yr. young I figure if I'm at some particular benchmarks then I'll let the aesthetics take care of themselves. I'm not into aesthetics, I'm into aging gracefully.
 
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I think it's been well established that if you eat better and a bit less you'll let your musculature show more and your natural body shape too, which both look nice as they fit the image of a human being we're born to recognize, and later in life to desire. I think though that there is quite a range of aesthetically pleasing body types with different percentage fat contents. I'm not attracted to men so I can't speak too much to that, but in terms of women's physiques I find a whole range of body sizes or fat percentages charming. I don't at all agree that there is one standard perfect, most attractive size. As the human body can change shape quite a lot naturally, I think we're programmed to see a whole range of shapes and sizes charming. It's when it gets to the extremes, and there isn't some strength to hold things together properly that I think things start to get less charming.

It's probably healthier and stronger to have a bit of fat on you, not rolls of it, hahaha, but a wee bit of chunkiness is probably good for you and from my point of view looks just fine!

I'm myself focused on strength and endurance first.
 
in terms of women's physiques I find a whole range of body sizes or fat percentages charming. I don't at all agree that there is one standard perfect, most attractive size. As the human body can change shape quite a lot naturally, I think we're programmed to see a whole range of shapes and sizes charming.

Posture seems to be the first thing I notice/am drawn to in the opposite sex.
 
Posture seems to be the first thing I notice/am drawn to in the opposite sex.
That's one of the things that attracted me to my GF when we first met, along with her self confidence (the real stuff), I like the way she walks and she has a nice smile on top of it all. :)
I'm not attracted to women who wear tons of makeup and have artificial body enhancements. She has the body of someone who's trained her whole life and it shows.
 
If were talking about being attractive to others, being a confident, interesting, with the ability converse will serve you better then Physical Ascetics ever will. though the physical stuffs a nice bonus.
 
Hello,

Frazetta male archetype mentionned by @North Coast Miller is not that far from Sandow's physique, who had both a pleasing physique and was very strong:

He got inspired by the Greek status.

His supposed training routine is in the link below:
Eugen Sandow's Workout Routine | Rippeder

He relied on strong muscle control and full contraction of a specific muscle (mental focus and strong mind-body connection) for each move. Then, despite light weigths, the training is not that simple. Below is his book "Strength and how to obtain it"
https://evilcyber.com/downloads/Strength and How to Obtain It - Eugen Sandow.pdf

Bobby Pandour also had this type of physique. He supposedly only used light weight / bodyweight. Indeed, there is no remaining of his actual routine.
Bobby Pandour
Only the Mighty: The Mighty Physique of Bobby Pandour

I do not know if this kind of physique can be build that way (light weight + muscle control). I guess it ends up with massive amount of répétitions, low rest and incredible focus.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
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