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Kettlebell Biceps hypertrophy with S&S

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Dan_123 said:
I can feel a lot of muscle all over my body that wasn't there 5 months ago. Still covered in chub but it's undeniable. My lats, glutes and forearms feel like slabs of concrete below.

Shockingly my bi's and tri's have grown too. More biceps I think and they feel very solid. This is a most unusual thing for me, I've found myself sitting there poking it in confusion and must look very strange to other people.
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Same here, especially since I've begun working with heavy (for me, 32kg) getups and swings. Arms and shoulders feel heftier (my wife can attest!) and dress shirts I haven't worn in a while are tighter in the arms. Keeping 70lbs overhead while maneuvering underneath will build some pretty solid arm and shoulder muscles.
 
As the saying goes: "Form follows function". These are whole body lifts. The stronger the whole body gets, the more muscle the whole body gets. The swings release HGH (human growth hormone) in the body, and the biceps work plenty on the bottom portion of the swing.
Sure my arms were bigger when I use to do more bodybuilding type training when I was young. But I don't do any isolation exercises for them other than the curl at the bottom of the goblet squat, and they're doing pretty good.
I do find chin-ups are the best bicep builder for me, but my elbows are too sensitive now that I'm older. So swings work great without the elbow pain.

Al
 
BCman said:
As the saying goes: "Form follows function". These are whole body lifts. The stronger the whole body gets, the more muscle the whole body gets. The swings release HGH (human growth hormone) in the body, and the biceps work plenty on the bottom portion of the swing.
Sure my arms were bigger when I use to do more bodybuilding type training when I was young. But I don't do any isolation exercises for them other than the curl at the bottom of the goblet squat, and they're doing pretty good.
I do find chin-ups are the best bicep builder for me, but my elbows are too sensitive now that I'm older. So swings work great without the elbow pain.

Al
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Try pull ups on rings or a similar device that allows your hands to move freely. You might find that it takes the pressure off of the elbow.
I don't see the biceps doing much work on the swing unless you keep the arm bend on the down swing. The arms should be loose like ropes after all.
 
Hello,

+1 for the ring. Basically, this taxes less the joints because they can find their natural angle. I think it can be safer on the long run.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Marlon Leon said:
I don't see the biceps doing much work on the swing unless you keep the arm bend on the down swing. The arms should be loose like ropes after all.
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Indeed they should, however I have noticed a strong involuntary contraction of the biceps and triceps whenever the finger flexors are working hard to keep their grip on a heavy bell, especially at the top of the swing: It's irradiation/co-contraction in action.
 
Sure your arms play a supporting role, but you are not getting any bent arm strength. The function of the bicep is to rotate the lower arm and flex the elbow. The clean and the Snatch have a bicep component though.

The Tricep raises the arm and straightenes the elbow. Again you are getting some supporting work, but not using the Tricep for its function. When doing a Get Up the weight should be supported on you bone structure, with the muscles doing less work. That is why you can support significantly more than you can lift.
 
Geoff Chafe said:
Sure your arms play a supporting role, but you are not getting any bent arm strength. The function of the bicep is to rotate the lower arm and flex the elbow. The clean and the Snatch have a bicep component though.

The Tricep raises the arm and straightenes the elbow. Again you are getting some supporting work, but not using the Tricep for its function. When doing a Get Up the weight should be supported on you bone structure, with the muscles doing less work. That is why you can support significantly more than you can lift.
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This is true. This is why I'm still fairly perplexed by the level of muscle growth brought about by such limited activation.
 
I don't know, I am 50 & just starting on the road to Simple. I am aiming to hit the Sinister standards, probably next year, but that is my goal. Age is a just a number, at least to me. I am fighting to lose weight, battling diabetes, as well as father time. So far, I feel like I have been winning more since I started towards the Simple standard. My body feels so much better, and "cheat days" aren't nearly as devastating as they used to make me feel. So, I figure if I can get up to the Sinister standard, I will have beaten back aging, and I will have gotten close, if not have beaten diabetes, and I will be better off than I was before I started, defying father time.

Have faith, stick to your plan to get to Simple, and see how you feel once you get to boast that you have hit a fitness goal many our age will never come close to achieving. Once you have done so. I believe that there is something inside of you that will push you towards a goal you presently view as unattainable. It will, at that point, not be as daunting as it now seems.

Just my thoughts.

jhpowers said:
Yes, I'm 48 years olds and suspect that the Sinister goals are out of my reach.
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Chrisdavisjr said:
This is true. This is why I'm still fairly perplexed by the level of muscle growth brought about by such limited activation.
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Even though the triceps is an elbow extensor and the biceps is an elbow flexor, I have noted that they both contract isometrically together when you are lifting something heavy with your hand, such as a heavy deadlift or KB swing. I guess they are just contracting to prevent the arm from being torn by the weight and keep everything tight. otherwise all the load would be on the elbow ligaments. This is probably why powerlifters have thick biceps without doing isolation.
 
Hello,

Working on agonist / antagonist pairs always help to maintain a very good joint stability during the lift (pull up/press or push up/rows for instance).

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Oscar said:
Even though the triceps is an elbow extensor and the biceps is an elbow flexor, I have noted that they both contract isometrically together when you are lifting something heavy with your hand, such as a heavy deadlift or KB swing. I guess they are just contracting to prevent the arm from being torn by the weight and keep everything tight. otherwise all the load would be on the elbow ligaments. This is probably why powerlifters have thick biceps without doing isolation.
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And then once the load is overhead they have to work together (agonist / antagonist @ pet') to stabilize the load.

Also a ton of motor unit activation and what is essentially isometric forces on all the stabilizing muscles. Even though Bent Press and TGU are skeletal support exercises, you get a huge activation of basically everything as the load increases.

Basic KB work will fire up the biceps and pecs simply holding a heavy load in the rack.
 
This thread reminds me of the old joke where the thin, young guy went to some of the big squatters by the power rack in the gym and asked "how do you guys get such big arms?" One of them says "Squat heavy," and the young guy walked away really confused, while all the squatters chuckled.
 
Jan said:
What makes you think that?
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This may be a separate thread.

I was super sedentary from the age of 25ish until I turned 44 when I picked up kettlebells and the barbell. I remember starting cleans and snatches with the 12kg bell (it was totally embarrassing because ETK suggested the men start with the 16kg). I'm just saying that I'm not someone who has a base built over decades like some of the people that I see around here, but I'm very happy with the progress that I've made. At one point I thought that Swings and get ups with the 32kg were an unreasonable goal, but I'm doing the swings without a problem and closing in on the get ups.

At 48, I'm not sure how fair the gains can continue. I know that for the SFG "masters" only snatch the 20kg bell at the cert. That makes me think that I'll start to accept more limits in the next few years.
 
Hello,

Tension also helps to lift heavy. If memory serves, Al Kavadlo can DL about 150, weighing 65, with proper technique, without specific DL training. Nonethless, even if he is ripped, skinny or whatever, he is not "hypertrophied" such as a bodybuilder

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
jhpowers said:
This may be a separate thread.

I was super sedentary from the age of 25ish until I turned 44 when I picked up kettlebells and the barbell. I remember starting cleans and snatches with the 12kg bell (it was totally embarrassing because ETK suggested the men start with the 16kg). I'm just saying that I'm not someone who has a base built over decades like some of the people that I see around here, but I'm very happy with the progress that I've made. At one point I thought that Swings and get ups with the 32kg were an unreasonable goal, but I'm doing the swings without a problem and closing in on the get ups.

At 48, I'm not sure how fair the gains can continue. I know that for the SFG "masters" only snatch the 20kg bell at the cert. That makes me think that I'll start to accept more limits in the next few years.
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Well, you are further then me than, despite the fact that I have been in physical culture all my life (if you can count gymnastics and competition ballroom dancing also part of physical culture), and there is no way I can swing a 32kg bell.
I believe there is a general faulty view that you get weaker as you grow older. We are supposed to stay agile and strong until the day we pass away. It is that way in nature, and since we are part of nature, I do not see why we as humans should crumple with age.
Regarding the weight of the bell to be used in cert's, I found that rather discriminating to be honest. Why should I, as a 52 year young, only have to handle a 20kg bell, even if I could handle more? I am not saying I can at the moment, certainly not for snatches, but I am convinced that with appropriate training I can surpass the 20kg bell. Anyway. rules are rules, so it will be the 20 for me :)
 
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