Wyanokie
Level 5 Valued Member
I suppose this is my personal version of "things are going so well, help me screw them up".
About me (copied from another thread): 49 years old, good shape and good mobility. Primary activities are muay Thai, hiking, and kettlebell lifts. Have been working with kettlebells, Indian clubs and mobility routines consistently for the past two years. 4 years ago I had a movement screen and scored a 78%, two months ago had the same movement screen at the same location and scored a 92%, plus I'm stronger now than 4 years ago. Things are looking up!
About my goals: I realize that this is a bit nonspecific, but the best way to describe my goals is that over the course of my life, I want to continue to learn new strength skills, get stronger and maintain or improve mobility, as long as I am still conserving quality of movement and not being injured. IOW I don't want to pursue any endeavors that would trash my body in the long-term for short-term gains. Dan John's quote of "I want to dance with my daughter at her wedding" resonates with me more than the idea of any PR's, etc. I want to carry my own groceries, hike with my grandchildren, and pick myself up off the floor in case of a fall when I'm in my 80's. That being said I don't want to be so conservative that I don't challenge myself and push myself enough to get stronger in different ways, and have fun doing it!
Back in April I was working on a steady progression through Simple and Sinister, got tendonitis in my right knee which knocked TGUs off my list and limited my swings. With the help of a SF coach we put together a different program which I worked on until late May and continued progressing. At that point I went to an olympic lifting gym and worked my way up to being able to reasonable snatch and C and J the 45 lb bar in about 6 weeks. The coaches were complementary about my technique and mobility, and things were looking up, then the tendonitis started to rear its ugly head again 2 weeks ago ?. I went back to PT and upon his recommendation I won't be resuming any strength training until about the 2nd week of August.
Now here's my crossroads: I won't be doing the O lifts right away, I'll have to work back into them slowly down the road. I do have the choice of working towards a basic barbell program (considering Faleev's 5x5) or staying with the kettlebells (possibly ROP or one of @Geoff Neupert 's C and P programs), or doing a hybrid of both KB and BB (which I'm leaning the most towards). I'm so far down the hole with analysis paralysis at this time so I need to impose on the good nature of the group here and ask some questions:
First question: considering my age and goals, is it really ever necessary for me to pick up a barbell again? Part of me feels that the kettlebell and bodyweight exercises offer enough variation and full-body benefit to pursue only them for the rest of my life. I haven't even been on a KB C and P/front squat-based program as of yet (I've practiced the movements but not made them my focus), nor have I been on a KB snatch-based program yet. I've worked with barbells before but NOTHING has ever made me feel as good, strong, and mobile as kettlebell work. Am I screwing up a good thing by switching, or will barbells complement the kettlebell work perfectly and progress me to my goals more quickly?
Second question: besides the benefit of greater overall strength (i.e. you can load more on a barbell than a kettlebell), are there any advantages that a barbell has over a kettlebell?
I think I'm going a bit stir-crazy because I haven't worked out in almost 2 weeks, and haven't been on an actual program in about 2 months. I want to push myself and don't want kettlebells to become a comfort zone, but at the same time I recognize that they take years to master and it's a great path to be on. Agh! I'd really appreciate any help for planning the path ahead!
About me (copied from another thread): 49 years old, good shape and good mobility. Primary activities are muay Thai, hiking, and kettlebell lifts. Have been working with kettlebells, Indian clubs and mobility routines consistently for the past two years. 4 years ago I had a movement screen and scored a 78%, two months ago had the same movement screen at the same location and scored a 92%, plus I'm stronger now than 4 years ago. Things are looking up!
About my goals: I realize that this is a bit nonspecific, but the best way to describe my goals is that over the course of my life, I want to continue to learn new strength skills, get stronger and maintain or improve mobility, as long as I am still conserving quality of movement and not being injured. IOW I don't want to pursue any endeavors that would trash my body in the long-term for short-term gains. Dan John's quote of "I want to dance with my daughter at her wedding" resonates with me more than the idea of any PR's, etc. I want to carry my own groceries, hike with my grandchildren, and pick myself up off the floor in case of a fall when I'm in my 80's. That being said I don't want to be so conservative that I don't challenge myself and push myself enough to get stronger in different ways, and have fun doing it!
Back in April I was working on a steady progression through Simple and Sinister, got tendonitis in my right knee which knocked TGUs off my list and limited my swings. With the help of a SF coach we put together a different program which I worked on until late May and continued progressing. At that point I went to an olympic lifting gym and worked my way up to being able to reasonable snatch and C and J the 45 lb bar in about 6 weeks. The coaches were complementary about my technique and mobility, and things were looking up, then the tendonitis started to rear its ugly head again 2 weeks ago ?. I went back to PT and upon his recommendation I won't be resuming any strength training until about the 2nd week of August.
Now here's my crossroads: I won't be doing the O lifts right away, I'll have to work back into them slowly down the road. I do have the choice of working towards a basic barbell program (considering Faleev's 5x5) or staying with the kettlebells (possibly ROP or one of @Geoff Neupert 's C and P programs), or doing a hybrid of both KB and BB (which I'm leaning the most towards). I'm so far down the hole with analysis paralysis at this time so I need to impose on the good nature of the group here and ask some questions:
First question: considering my age and goals, is it really ever necessary for me to pick up a barbell again? Part of me feels that the kettlebell and bodyweight exercises offer enough variation and full-body benefit to pursue only them for the rest of my life. I haven't even been on a KB C and P/front squat-based program as of yet (I've practiced the movements but not made them my focus), nor have I been on a KB snatch-based program yet. I've worked with barbells before but NOTHING has ever made me feel as good, strong, and mobile as kettlebell work. Am I screwing up a good thing by switching, or will barbells complement the kettlebell work perfectly and progress me to my goals more quickly?
Second question: besides the benefit of greater overall strength (i.e. you can load more on a barbell than a kettlebell), are there any advantages that a barbell has over a kettlebell?
I think I'm going a bit stir-crazy because I haven't worked out in almost 2 weeks, and haven't been on an actual program in about 2 months. I want to push myself and don't want kettlebells to become a comfort zone, but at the same time I recognize that they take years to master and it's a great path to be on. Agh! I'd really appreciate any help for planning the path ahead!