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Kettlebell Alactic + Aerobic

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I have always found it a refreshing wake up to realize I am not the alpha predator on the scene. Wolves, mtn lions, white sharks...can't say exactly fun but more of that they lend a philosophical perspective on everything. ;)
 
Running is too boring. There must be another way, and I will find it.

One could find a walk to the library boring unless they find it a time to meditate, reflect, plan. Even in the city there are things that can be brought to our attention during any time outdoors. Certain folks would find a walk or hike through the boundary waters canoe area boring I suppose but I regress.

If you find running boring try being in the best shape you've been in for over 10 years and have an accident take that away from you. Think running is boring try 60 min. on a freaking Airdyne. Be thankful you can run, get out and do it, and listen to Mr. Ciampa.
 
One could find a walk to the library boring unless they find it a time to meditate, reflect, plan. Even in the city there are things that can be brought to our attention during any time outdoors. Certain folks would find a walk or hike through the boundary waters canoe area boring I suppose but I regress.

If you find running boring try being in the best shape you've been in for over 10 years and have an accident take that away from you. Think running is boring try 60 min. on a freaking Airdyne. Be thankful you can run, get out and do it, and listen to Mr. Ciampa.
Well said Carl...!!
 
One could find a walk to the library boring unless they find it a time to meditate, reflect, plan. Even in the city there are things that can be brought to our attention during any time outdoors. Certain folks would find a walk or hike through the boundary waters canoe area boring I suppose but I regress.

If you find running boring try being in the best shape you've been in for over 10 years and have an accident take that away from you. Think running is boring try 60 min. on a freaking Airdyne. Be thankful you can run, get out and do it, and listen to Mr. Ciampa.

Carl! How are you doing man? I miss seeing you around....
 
At the risk of looking completely ignorant what is A&A. I haven't heard of this as I am new to the forum.
 
Alactic work followed by Aerobic recovery, or longer sessions of short, high-power repeats followed by adequate recovery.
 
Carl! How are you doing man? I miss seeing you around....

I'm great Terry. Hope the post didn't come off as bitterness. I'm cool with where I'm at. I take long walks with the dog and come home and have my oatmeal everyday. : )

P.S. Well actually the walks aren't that long. They aren't everyday either, on Fri. I go to the casino and play bingo.
 
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Alactic work followed by Aerobic recovery, or longer sessions of short, high-power repeats followed by adequate recovery.
I know that I’m like broken record. Everybody praises a+a training, but nobody ever tells what are real benefits of that kinda training.
Propably some conditioning, propably strenght/power, improved skill, maybe hypertrophy because volume can be pretty high with pretty heavy weights, improved muscle endurance?
That kinda training also feels good, but perhaps you could tell specific reason to do a+a kettlebell work :)
 
I know that I’m like broken record. Everybody praises a+a training, but nobody ever tells what are real benefits of that kinda training.
Propably some conditioning, propably strenght/power, improved skill, maybe hypertrophy because volume can be pretty high with pretty heavy weights, improved muscle endurance?
That kinda training also feels good, but perhaps you could tell specific reason to do a+a kettlebell work :)

Some thoughts from my last a+a program which was snatch based.
  • Shoulders look bigger.
  • Lower back and hips hurt less (probably not applicable to everyone but important to me)
  • >2kg weight gain, but maintained the same BF% - pretty happy with that result considering my diet was fairly decedent in the last couple of weeks. (This was done around the winter holidays)
  • Longer staying power in martial arts sparing
 
I know that I’m like broken record. Everybody praises a+a training, but nobody ever tells what are real benefits of that kinda training.

In my case, doing A+A kettlebell swings (7-10 swings followed by complete rest until breathing normalised at about 122 bpm) led to:
  1. Increased strength.
  2. Getting stronger, quicker.
  3. Increased cardio fitness.
So, a person might say, 'well I can get this doing other stuff or routines'.

To which, I would say the kicker is there was much less fatigue, much less effort, a faster recovery, a greater sense of vitality, rather than feeling worn by a HIIT session, and less strain on the sympathetic nervous system, which is already strained in today's world. I know of one well-known kettlebell coach who fried his central nervous system. Couldn't swing for a year. Why? Because his routines were too intense.

Someone on here, it might have been @Anna C, said A+A almost feels like cheating, and it does.

If you think about it this way, from my real-life example, I started with the 32 kg kettlebell, I swung it 10 times, then I rested until my breath was normal, then did another ten swings, then rested, then swung, and so on. In my first session, 10x10 took me about 18 minutes. The next session, the breathing returned to normal a few seconds faster. After three weeks or so, it now only took me 7 mins 30 seconds, for me to do 10x10 with the 32 kg bell, with my breathing returning to normal between sets. I dare say if I had tested, and gone flat out, I would easily have done it within five minutes.

Therefore, over three weeks, I had demonstrably got stronger and fitter, with very little effort. Once I got to the 7 mins 30 seconds mark with normal breathing. I normally go up a bell size and start over, with my time going up accordingly.

How many sets of A+A? Be guided by your breath and fatigue. Some days you may show up and only do 5-7 sets, other days you may go for 40 minutes and do 30 or more sets.

Another advantage, I found, is that form is better and injury risk is lower. This is because you are rested between sets. The body is not fatigued. Every swing is crisp, hard, under tension, braced, and tight.

For me, this form of training is almost miraculous. Couple it with low intensity cardio, meaning nasal breathing, or HR around 60-70% of max, or even walking, plus mobility and barbell work for strength, it becomes a pretty complete system.

I'd say try it for a few week with the swing, just make sure you are doing it right. On the minute swings can be A+A, but equally might not be A+A. It all depends on your breath.

All of the above I've glean off @aciampa posts. They have been invaluable.
 
Really great stuff in here!

In my case, doing A+A kettlebell swings (7-10 swings followed by complete rest until breathing normalised at about 122 bpm) led to:
  1. Increased strength.
  2. Getting stronger, quicker.
  3. Increased cardio fitness.
So, a person might say, 'well I can get this doing other stuff or routines'.

To which, I would say the kicker is there was much less fatigue, much less effort, a faster recovery, a greater sense of vitality, rather than feeling worn by a HIIT session, and less strain on the sympathetic nervous system, which is already strained in today's world. I know of one well-known kettlebell coach who fried his central nervous system. Couldn't swing for a year. Why? Because his routines were too intense.

Someone on here, it might have been @Anna C, said A+A almost feels like cheating, and it does.

If you think about it this way, from my real-life example, I started with the 32 kg kettlebell, I swung it 10 times, then I rested until my breath was normal, then did another ten swings, then rested, then swung, and so on. In my first session, 10x10 took me about 18 minutes. The next session, the breathing returned to normal a few seconds faster. After three weeks or so, it now only took me 7 mins 30 seconds, for me to do 10x10 with the 32 kg bell, with my breathing returning to normal between sets. I dare say if I had tested, and gone flat out, I would easily have done it within five minutes.

Therefore, over three weeks, I had demonstrably got stronger and fitter, with very little effort. Once I got to the 7 mins 30 seconds mark with normal breathing. I normally go up a bell size and start over, with my time going up accordingly.

How many sets of A+A? Be guided by your breath and fatigue. Some days you may show up and only do 5-7 sets, other days you may go for 40 minutes and do 30 or more sets.

Another advantage, I found, is that form is better and injury risk is lower. This is because you are rested between sets. The body is not fatigued. Every swing is crisp, hard, under tension, braced, and tight.

For me, this form of training is almost miraculous. Couple it with low intensity cardio, meaning nasal breathing, or HR around 60-70% of max, or even walking, plus mobility and barbell work for strength, it becomes a pretty complete system.

I'd say try it for a few week with the swing, just make sure you are doing it right. On the minute swings can be A+A, but equally might not be A+A. It all depends on your breath.

All of the above I've glean off @aciampa posts. They have been invaluable.
 
Really great stuff in here!

Thanks. But the credit goes to you. I'd never heard of it before.

I should also add to my original post: Do not look at the clock, do not use a Gym Boss, or internal timer on your phone, or stopwatch. Never time the intervals between sets, nor go after a certain amount of time has passed. Start the next set only when you are breathing normally. Be guided by your breath.

It is useful to see how long a session has lasted. This way you know that the time taken to do 10x10 swings is less, and that you are getting stronger, and fitter. But remember it's not a race: you are not trying to beat your previous time. Let it happen of its own accord. And it will happen.

Likewise, sometimes it's useful not to time a session, as you might be able to do A+A for much more than 10x10, without the body getting fatigued. Besides, without clock watching the session has a natural, graceful flow, and is somehow less stressful. For me, it's as if I get into the flow, then 'melt' into the training.

I've trained in a lot of ways over the years. I've never come across something so effective, while allowing the body to remain vitalised, stress and fatigue to be low, and no sense of overtraining.

I'm not in a physically demanding job, but if I were, like the police, or a firefighter, or a park or forest ranger, then this is type of training I would want to do. This is because it allows a person's muscles to be still fresh for demanding tasks, rather than sore from maxing out, or training to hard. Yet, it still gives enough 'umphf', such that if you need to sprint (even for a train) or you need to carry an old person down or up some stairs, then you have enough training and reserve to be able to do so.
 
To further add, then I'll quit.

I've been fortunate to be trained and taught the deadlift by Andy Bolton (for those that don't know, the first person to ever lift 1000 lbs).

We asked him how much rest to take between deadlift sets: 2 mins? 3 mins? five mins?

His reply was a shrug of the shoulders and, 'don't look at the clock, wait until your breath has recovered, and you're ready to go'.

This strikes me as A+A strength training: an explosive lift (and believe me, in the flesh it feels like the whole gym shakes when he lifts, even when he lifts very light, because of the amount of force he generates), followed by a period of recovery, then repeat.

His intensity percentage is also very interesting for such an elite lifter. He's not training intensely, he's not maxing out. He trains at an average of 72% of his maximum lift (at that time) for his strength days, and at only 50% of capability for his volume/speed days. He only tests his max twice a year.

This figure of 70% (or thereabouts) keeps cropping up in A+A training, especially the endurance component. When I look at my HR monitor after an A+A swing session, obviously there are spikes and period of recovery, but the average HR is pretty much around 70%. The HR graph has a lovely up and down wave to it.

It's almost as if there is something magical about 70% and A+A: serious progress, without serious intensity, but with serious commitment and recovery.
 
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I know that I’m like broken record. Everybody praises a+a training, but nobody ever tells what are real benefits of that kinda training.
Propably some conditioning, propably strenght/power, improved skill, maybe hypertrophy because volume can be pretty high with pretty heavy weights, improved muscle endurance?
That kinda training also feels good, but perhaps you could tell specific reason to do a+a kettlebell work :)

For me A+A training allowed me to see some of the best benefits from my training without overtraining.

Having said that, I realize there will be some who say there is no such thing as overtraining. I have trained all of my adult life and would see limited improvement until I broke down. I knew little about what the other stresses, diet, and unusual sleep pattern played in this. Many of those things were out of my control due to my occupation.

Just stress alone can be out of control for a young man with a young family. A new job, death of a loved one, a move across country are all examples.

Diet can be controlled but seems to be the biggest thing that causes most of us to not get the most out of our training, myself included. When I was young no one thought that a high fat diet was healthy. We believed that your diet should be high in complex carbohydrates and protein. We can only be guided by the information we have at hand at one particular time.

A big player for me was an unusual sleep pattern that would take more time than I have or anyone would want to read to explain. Just trust me on that.

But what A+A did for me was allow me to train at a very high volume with weights that allowed for strength gains, aerobic improvement, and a general wellness that I had never seen before.

At the age of 55 I ran my first half marathon in 2 hr. 17 min. by only running twice per week and the other training I did was A+A swings and snatches. I can tell you from experience that had I trained as I did previously in my life that I would have ended up with some sort of injury training for this endeavor.

Many here do not want to utilize the dishonor of aerobics in their training. I had gotten to that point as when I added running to my programs in the past I would see back issues arise. A+A training allowed me to train and complete this goal simply because I wanted to run a half marathon with my daughter.

A+A training may not be for everyone depending on your goals. The bodybuilder or powerlifter may need a progression of other styles to accomplish their goals. But if just general wellness is your goal then this training is the cat's a#@.

Check out some of my posts. You'll find that I was not always convinced that A+A was the best way for me to train. I just didn't get why there was this running portion of it included. I suppose there doesn't have to be. That would be a question best answered by Mr. a ciampa. One could see benefit from just doing snatches I suppose. Or like in my case by utilizing walking and an Airdyne. Or many of the folks who have added rucking to their agenda. But there are folks on this forum who lift some tremendous weight for a long period of time at heart rates that are resting HR's for many Americans (that's an exaggeration). Who wouldn't want to be strong as hell and have a very efficient pump station?
 
I should also add to my original post: Do not look at the clock, do not use a Gym Boss, or internal timer on your phone, or stopwatch. Never time the intervals between sets, nor go after a certain amount of time has passed. Start the next set only when you are breathing normally. Be guided by your breath.
Yes.

It is useful to see how long a session has lasted. This way you know that the time taken to do 10x10 swings is less, and that you are getting stronger, and fitter. But remember it's not a race: you are not trying to beat your previous time. Let it happen of its own accord. And it will happen.
definitely.

This figure of 70% (or thereabouts) keeps cropping up in A+A training, especially the endurance component. When I look at my HR monitor after an A+A swing session, obviously there are spikes and period of recovery, but the average HR is pretty much around 70%. The HR graph has a lovely up and down wave to it.

It's almost as if there is something magical about 70% and A+A: serious progress, without serious intensity, but with serious commitment and recovery.
The same with my sessions, around 70% it is.

That kinda training also feels good, but perhaps you could tell specific reason to do a+a kettlebell work
a reason or the reason I am into it is trust. First I trusted Al for his experience and wisdom he talks no superfluous words, when I started January 2016 with heavy swing protocols. Then my trust developed as I measured significant progress. All the months I gained trust in myself as the practitioner. Currently I just snatch on a daily basis, and do some locomotion work. Basic base work. I do that because of faith and habit, and to have something to think and do about.
 
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