Kettlebell Biceps hypertrophy with S&S

[Robert Noftz]

I started practicing with kettlebells as a complete beginner in October. For the first few weeks I just did light practice sessions with the 16kg to get used to the movements. I was 48 at the time and I was afraid I might injure my back or shoulder and it would affect me at work. Now I practice with the 32kg regularly and have started to work the 40kg in for swings and get ups. I'm 49 now and I feel strong and fit. I have never injured my back.

I didn't measure my biceps before I started because I wasn't concerned about developing like a bodybuilder, I just wanted to be stronger and more endurable. My weight has increased from about 178 to 197 lbs. I had to buy new cloths. All my muscles look bigger I am sure. There is no doubt that my arms are much bigger than when I first started.
I was afraid I might be just getting fat because my new pants were getting tighter around the waist and hips. Then I noticed something. My glutes are much bigger and my stomach is really solid. I was looking at how my pants fit and I noticed that when I put both of my hands together flat I could slip them in the waist band of the pants at my lower back above the glutes without stretching the pants or straining. My lower abs are really solid and my glutes and upper thighs have grown so much that they are pushing the pants out and it makes them feel tight around my hips and waist as well as my upper thighs but there is still plenty of room around the waistline.

I don't know what my bodyfat level is, and I am not very concerned. I'm obviously not ripped, but I can see some stomach musles. I can tell that my body shape and composition has changed dramatically. Hypertrophy wasn't a real concern for me when I started. I never expected to gain this much size but I have to admit I am happy with it even though I have had to spend money on new cloths. I never expected this much growth from doing Simple and Sinister exclusively and I am very pleased with the results.

 

[Robert Noftz]

So I've been following the S&S program for a number of weeks now. I'm still using the 'beginner' weights (16kg for get-ups, 24kg for swings) and am currently performing a mixture of 2-handed and 1-handed swings throughout each session.

In addition, I usually throw in a few cleans and presses with the 24kg bell throughout the day in a 'grease the groove' type routine, although this tends to be pretty low volume with only 2-3 reps per set.

In spite of there being no direct biceps work involved, except for three 5-rep sets of curls with the 16kg bell at the bottom of the prying goblet squat as part of my warm-up, my biceps have been growing dramatically (I've no photos, so you'll have to take my word for it).

I've trained pull-ups (weighted and unweighted) and various forms of biceps curl (dumbbell, resistance bands) in the past but never seen anything like this rate of growth. Don't get me wrong; I'm very pleased with these results but at the same time I'm absolutely baffled.

Is this the WTH effect in operation or is there something I'm missing? Has anyone else experienced similar unexpected hypertrophy?

I was also a little surprised with the growth of my arms from doing just swings and get ups. I do a warmup of squats, halos, hip bridges, and cobra stretches, but I got lazy about doing curls at the bottom of the squats. I rarely ever do a curl. My arm is straight the whole time I do swings but I still get development of my biceps.

In the future if someone ever asked me about it I may just tell them to focus on getting strong and endurable with overall body movements like swings and getups and don't worry about your biceps. They will get stronger with the rest of your body. Pavel says curls are for sissies. I don't know if I will repeat that in a gym but I like the sound of it now. My time is too valuable for me to spend time doing an isolation exercise for one body part.

 

[Bauer]

Regarding biceps hypertrophy a couple of things might come into play here:

First of all some of the grip muscles run below the biceps and might therefore bring the biceps more out - without the biceps actually getting bigger. On top of that, as Christopher Sommer (of gymnastics bodies) points out in the Tim Ferriss podcast, the biceps is an endurance muscle that can get bigger both from bent arm exercises and from straight arm exercisese (like the back lever). The biceps has a lot of time under tension with S&S: Bent arm with goblet squats and straight arm with both swings and TGU (as a stabilizer).

I don't know if this is the whole picture but it makes sense to me

 

[Smile-n-Nod]

Pavel says curls are for sissies.

As an aside, I remember something that Pavel T. either wrote or said about a cultural difference between Americans and Russians: when they pick up a weight, Americans want to curl it and Russians want to press it. Not sure why that would be so, but it's an interesting observation.

 

[pet']

Hello,

What about the "hard gainer" ? This is a term I often read, about folks who have trouble to get hypertrophy (but do not necessarily have trouble to get strength).

Kind regards,

Pet'

 

[Antti]

What about the "hard gainer" ? This is a term I often read, about folks who have trouble to get hypertrophy (but do not necessarily have trouble to get strength)./QUOTE]

You mean the folks who have trouble eating and resting enough?

 

[pet']

Hello,

Not especially.

Some people, even if they eat more, in order to get hypertrophy, and rest properly have trouble to notice a change in their body composition.

Kind regards,

Pet'

 

[Antti]

Hello,

Not especially.

Some people, even if they eat more, in order to get hypertrophy, and rest properly have trouble to notice a change in their body composition.

Kind regards,

Pet'

Fair enough. I'd still love to see a person eat 5000 kcal a day, of which 300 grams protein, sleep 10 hours a day, and back squat really heavy a 100 times a week and have trouble to notice a change in their body composition after a couple of months.

 

[pet']

Hello,

@Antti
Yes I admit it should work with this amount But would it be sustainable ? It would tend to focus the entire life around eating - lifting - sleeping.

Kind regards,

Pet'

 

[Antti]

Hello,

@Antti
Yes I admit it should work with this amount But would it be sustainable ? It would tend to focus the entire life around eating - lifting - sleeping.

Kind regards,

Pet'

Some people do live that way. I believe it is a rare person who it works for in the long run, the squat volume in itself gets really heavy and the diet can cause health problems down the line.

However, almost everyone can have a proper hypertrophy cycle every now and then.

 

[pet']

Hello,

To a certain extent, I do not consider S&S is a "bulk up" program. I admit some hypertrophy is possible doing it. This hypertrophy can be maximized with a proper diet. Nonetheless, if drastic hypertrophy is needed, maybe a program using bench, squat, deadlift and press could be more adapted. Plus, rep / set / rest have to be oriented to hypertrophy as well.

Kind regards,

Pet'

 

[Matts]

just as a historical note, when I started lifting weights in dark ages, it was generally considered something to develop strength and conditioning for athletes, and bodybuilding and hypertrophy were considered by many to be odd things some beach culture near LA did. It wasn't until the pharmaceutical industry and Joe Weider, Arnold, Columbu etc came along in late 70s that desiring hypertrophy became something people would even admit to in public. I'll still take strength over bulk any day. Not that there's anything wrong with it....

 

[Antti]

Hello,

To a certain extent, I do not consider S&S is a "bulk up" program. I admit some hypertrophy is possible doing it. This hypertrophy can be maximized with a proper diet. Nonetheless, if drastic hypertrophy is needed, maybe a program using bench, squat, deadlift and press could be more adapted. Plus, rep / set / rest have to be oriented to hypertrophy as well.

Kind regards,

Pet'

I do not consider the S&S a hypertrophy program. It is far from it, and it is perfectly fine that it is not one.

You are right about maximizing hypertrophy with a proper diet. Diet is the first thing and the exercise selection is the second thing when it comes to hypertrophy. Of course we can nitpick with totally sedentary people etc. but it is important to recognize the impact of proper recovery.

Nothing stimulates muscle growth like getting under the bar. Heavy weights and lots of time under tension.

just as a historical note, when I started lifting weights in dark ages, it was generally considered something to develop strength and conditioning for athletes, and bodybuilding and hypertrophy were considered by many to be odd things some beach culture near LA did. It wasn't until the pharmaceutical industry and Joe Weider, Arnold, Columbu etc came along in late 70s that desiring hypertrophy became something people would even admit to in public. I'll still take strength over bulk any day. Not that there's anything wrong with it....

I suppose I'm born to another culture. Many people of my age, maybe from watching the Arnold movies back in the day, see a certain amount of hypertrophy purely as preferable to a man. It is a matter of taste to which extent it is wanted.

However, there is of course other things than pure vanity going on with hypertrophy. It has definite benefits for certain implications. Dan John likes to talk about "armor building". It's easier to take a hit as a football player when you've got some mass of your own. Sarcopenia is an issue for much of the elderly, to which some people find aid in hypertrophy training.

Even as much as people can be vain in looking for muscle, certainly there can also be vanity in avoiding it.

 

[Chrisdavisjr]

Hello,

To a certain extent, I do not consider S&S is a "bulk up" program. I admit some hypertrophy is possible doing it. This hypertrophy can be maximized with a proper diet. Nonetheless, if drastic hypertrophy is needed, maybe a program using bench, squat, deadlift and press could be more adapted. Plus, rep / set / rest have to be oriented to hypertrophy as well.

Kind regards,

Pet'

I would say it's not so much 'bulking-up' I'm experiencing, but rather 'filling out', if that makes any sense. I'm a long way from a modern bodybuilder's physique and completely fine with that.

That said, I wouldn't mind looking like Larry Scott or Steve Reeves (perhaps with a thicker waist, though). Perhaps I'll look into putting together a hypertrophy-oriented KB training protocol once I've reached the 'simple' standard.

 

[Steve Freides]

Filling out - I like that.

-S-

 

[Sean M]

I would say it's not so much 'bulking-up' I'm experiencing, but rather 'filling out', if that makes any sense. I'm a long way from a modern bodybuilder's physique and completely fine with that.

That said, I wouldn't mind looking like Larry Scott or Steve Reeves (perhaps with a thicker waist, though). Perhaps I'll look into putting together a hypertrophy-oriented KB training protocol once I've reached the 'simple' standard.

I'll "third" that. I don't want to look like a bodybuilder, but would like to get and maintain a shoulder to waist ratio of 0.65-0.75 and waist to height ratio of 0.5. Basically keeping a "belly" off.

My wife and others have remarked in my 6 months of S&S that I look "buffer" in my upper body - but I know from measurements that my shoulders are the same circumference as the always have been...but with 5" less in my waist, the ratio makes my proportions look closer to the classic/empirical male physique.

 

[JeffC]

For S&S and Kettlebell enthusiasts it is interesting how many views and posts there are on a bicep size thread. I also notice that when Kettlebellers talk about the swing the most common attribute they talk about is the grip and forearms, not the full body power you can develop.

 

[Chrisdavisjr]

For S&S and Kettlebell enthusiasts it is interesting how many views and posts there are on a bicep size thread. I also notice that when Kettlebellers talk about the swing the most common attribute they talk about is the grip and forearms, not the full body power you can develop.

It's probably because the full body power, hamstring and back strength development from the swing is expected, whereas the increase in arm and abdominal strength and muscular growth come as something of an unexpected bonus.

 

[pet']

Hello,

Time under tension also plays a significant role.

Thanks to @Pavel Macek , I read again "Muscle Control" by Max Sick. It seems that a good combination to get both hypertrophy and strength is to use max tension training (bodyweight, using isolation or not) and weight lifting. Weight lifting has to focus on big muscle groups.

Apparently, it gives an impressive physique and very impressive strength results, including for pretty skinny guys. As an example, Sick himself:
Max Sick - Wikipedia
Max Sick -
Old School Weight Training Strength Strongman Lifting Power Vintage Bodybuilding Barbells Dumbells: MARVELOUS MAX - THE STORY OF MAXICK - By Ron Tyrell

Nonetheless, I do not have diet information about this oldtime strongman

Kind regards,

Pet'

 

[KIWI5]

I've just graduated up from performing TGU's with a 16kg bell to a 20kg bell. Wow- I did 3 each side with the 20's on my first attempt and afterwards my forearms, biceps, triceps, deltoids and traps' felt like I had changed bodies with Zar Horton. I can't believe that a 4kg weight increase would result in such a significant change of stress/pump. One of my original goals was to perform TGU's with the 20kg by the end of the year....new goal....TGU's with my monster bell, (the mighty 24kg) by the end of the year.