Kettlebell Bjj S&S stretching
- Thread starter Gary W
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Sorry, just had a chance to look at my copy of Flexible Steel. Do you mean the "Escape Your Fighting Stance" program in Chapter 11? It doesn't seem to matter or specify what size bell to use. It's more about the movement than the bell. I'd say use whatever size facilitates the movement best for you.
Gary W
Level 5 Valued Member
So ive been playing with the 24kg for the last week or so, double handed swings are fine but anything else it feels REALLY heavy!
Getups are easy with the 16kg but near impossible with the 24
Same with single arm swing, 16 is easy.
Shall i just keep doing half getups and double handed swings for a while?
Getups are easy with the 16kg but near impossible with the 24
Same with single arm swing, 16 is easy.
Shall i just keep doing half getups and double handed swings for a while?
Can you described your session in a bit more detail? Is this a full S&S session, how many times per week, are you doing this after a BJJ session or when you're fresh, how many sets of swings and how long does it take you, what feels difficult about it, do all the get-ups feel the same or do they get harder as you go, what's the hardest part when you try to do a get-up with 24kg, etc....
A form check of your swings and/or get-ups could be useful too, if you want to link a video.
Gary W
Level 5 Valued Member
Ok will do a video when i can
Im doing it when im fresh twice a week, any more i feel beaten up with the bjj as well
Yeah its the full s&s session
The hardest part is keeping it over head with good form
With the 16 i can do 10x10 swings and 5x1 tgu each side not timed it as i always forget but its very close to the 15min mark
I assume its because im doing it only twice a week but as i do the bjj in the evening i cant get up and do s&s then go to work! Getting too old lol
Im doing it when im fresh twice a week, any more i feel beaten up with the bjj as well
Yeah its the full s&s session
The hardest part is keeping it over head with good form
With the 16 i can do 10x10 swings and 5x1 tgu each side not timed it as i always forget but its very close to the 15min mark
I assume its because im doing it only twice a week but as i do the bjj in the evening i cant get up and do s&s then go to work! Getting too old lol
Sounds good, yes progress will be slow with twice a week, but that's OK because it's not the entirety of your training, you're doing BJJ too.
Don't try to time it on most days. It should take longer than the time standards for daily practice. Swings and TGUs maybe 10-12 minutes total for each, so 5 min warm-up, 10 min swings, rest 2 min, 10 min TGUs, 5 min stretch is a good timeframe if you have that much time available.
Might want to alternate a session with 10x10 2H swings with 24kg, with a session of 10x10 1H swings with 16kg. Video of both would be good.
Yes the get-up stabilizing weight overhead is the challenge! But also part of why it's so good for the shoulders. I only do get-ups rarely these days although I'm doing plenty of other strength training. When I do them now I can clearly tell that is the most challenging part -- stabilizing the weight through the changing positions. In this case I think the 16kg is doing the job for you. Just take it nice and slow, "own each position" as Al used to say, and transition gracefully. It will come. Then add in some with the 24kg one or two at a time.
Don't try to time it on most days. It should take longer than the time standards for daily practice. Swings and TGUs maybe 10-12 minutes total for each, so 5 min warm-up, 10 min swings, rest 2 min, 10 min TGUs, 5 min stretch is a good timeframe if you have that much time available.
Might want to alternate a session with 10x10 2H swings with 24kg, with a session of 10x10 1H swings with 16kg. Video of both would be good.
Yes the get-up stabilizing weight overhead is the challenge! But also part of why it's so good for the shoulders. I only do get-ups rarely these days although I'm doing plenty of other strength training. When I do them now I can clearly tell that is the most challenging part -- stabilizing the weight through the changing positions. In this case I think the 16kg is doing the job for you. Just take it nice and slow, "own each position" as Al used to say, and transition gracefully. It will come. Then add in some with the 24kg one or two at a time.
Gary W
Level 5 Valued Member
Rather than start a new thread i thought id follow up on this one.
So after doing bjj for 2 months my kettle bell training has pretty much come to a stop.
I find doing bjj and S&S twice a week each im just tired all the time and have no energy.
I think because both get my heart rate up and i find are more cardio type workouts, just cant handle 4 workouts a week.
Im thinking of droping the swings for now and just doimg sets of getups every morning after my stretching as they feel like more of a strengh workout than a cardiovascular workout?
Any other suggestions, as i really wanna keep my strength going?
So after doing bjj for 2 months my kettle bell training has pretty much come to a stop.
I find doing bjj and S&S twice a week each im just tired all the time and have no energy.
I think because both get my heart rate up and i find are more cardio type workouts, just cant handle 4 workouts a week.
Im thinking of droping the swings for now and just doimg sets of getups every morning after my stretching as they feel like more of a strengh workout than a cardiovascular workout?
Any other suggestions, as i really wanna keep my strength going?
godjira1
Level 6 Valued Member
hey man,
you started BJJ in Nov18, that's still quite recent and it's possible you are probably going a little too hard in your rolls, leaving you beat. That kind of conditioning is needed if you want to take part in competitions etc, but you really want to become pretty smooth/technical, using about 60-70% effort in a roll. Think of it as not maxing out every session in weights, same concept.
reading thru your log your S&S sessions are full on (10x10 swings, 10x1 TGU) types. My recommendation is that you really want to take it easy and ramp it up over time. I got to Simple (I posted a link to my log spreadsheet somewhere in the "I achieved Simple" thread) by doing swings 2-3 times a week (no TGU on swing days), and just doing TGU once a week, maybe 4 to 10 reps, depending on how I feel. As long as the long term trend in form + weight is upwards, I call that progress.
TGU only is also fine, and it's a great exercise to rehab beat-up shoulders from BJJ, but it's not quite S&S. I find the KB Swing action a pretty powerful one for BJJ (sprawls, certain passes) but if you can't fit it in, that's life I suppose!
you started BJJ in Nov18, that's still quite recent and it's possible you are probably going a little too hard in your rolls, leaving you beat. That kind of conditioning is needed if you want to take part in competitions etc, but you really want to become pretty smooth/technical, using about 60-70% effort in a roll. Think of it as not maxing out every session in weights, same concept.
reading thru your log your S&S sessions are full on (10x10 swings, 10x1 TGU) types. My recommendation is that you really want to take it easy and ramp it up over time. I got to Simple (I posted a link to my log spreadsheet somewhere in the "I achieved Simple" thread) by doing swings 2-3 times a week (no TGU on swing days), and just doing TGU once a week, maybe 4 to 10 reps, depending on how I feel. As long as the long term trend in form + weight is upwards, I call that progress.
TGU only is also fine, and it's a great exercise to rehab beat-up shoulders from BJJ, but it's not quite S&S. I find the KB Swing action a pretty powerful one for BJJ (sprawls, certain passes) but if you can't fit it in, that's life I suppose!
If you're still using the 16gk and/or 24kg, something sounds off. I think you should be able to continue doing that and recover, although I don't know BJJ so I don't know how to factor that in. Anyway I'd look at your recovery -- mostly nutrition, sleep, and overall stress in your life. Also that sounds like good input from @godjira1 above.
Snowman
Level 6 Valued Member
My advice would be to keep doing a shorter, heavier version of S&S (I know, it won't truly be S&S, go ahead and stone me 
), and adjust it as your BJJ training evolves. Either split the swings and get-ups into separate sessions, like @godjira1 suggested, or do fewer of both each time you train . Maybe even drop you swings into the realm of 5-8 reps per set. In other words, cut down on the S&S volume, while still being consistent about doing very powerful swings and heavy get ups. As far as carryover to BJJ goes, I truly believe that unilateral kettlebell work is fantastic; I really don't think you need to feel like you're missing out by 'only' being able to use kettlebells.
As you get better at BJJ, the training sessions will take less out of you, and you can start adjusting your kettlebell work as is appropriate. As your technique becomes better, you may find that you don't need the sheer strength you thought you did, but explosiveness, stability, and resistance to injury are still very useful attributes.
), and adjust it as your BJJ training evolves. Either split the swings and get-ups into separate sessions, like @godjira1 suggested, or do fewer of both each time you train . Maybe even drop you swings into the realm of 5-8 reps per set. In other words, cut down on the S&S volume, while still being consistent about doing very powerful swings and heavy get ups. As far as carryover to BJJ goes, I truly believe that unilateral kettlebell work is fantastic; I really don't think you need to feel like you're missing out by 'only' being able to use kettlebells.As you get better at BJJ, the training sessions will take less out of you, and you can start adjusting your kettlebell work as is appropriate. As your technique becomes better, you may find that you don't need the sheer strength you thought you did, but explosiveness, stability, and resistance to injury are still very useful attributes.
Gary W
Level 5 Valued Member
Thank you, great advice as always.
I think, up untill a year ago i did a basic 3 day barbell split and have done for years.
So guess im just missing what i have always known.
Just to clarify, im not after strength to carry over to bjj its more to try and keep the body shape, looks i have built. Which really up untill doing bjj i didnt realise how in shape i looked compered to some of the more experienced bjj guys who have obviously never lifted a weight.
I think as im getting closer to 40 keeping a nice looking body shape is getting more important to me.
I think, up untill a year ago i did a basic 3 day barbell split and have done for years.
So guess im just missing what i have always known.
Just to clarify, im not after strength to carry over to bjj its more to try and keep the body shape, looks i have built. Which really up untill doing bjj i didnt realise how in shape i looked compered to some of the more experienced bjj guys who have obviously never lifted a weight.
I think as im getting closer to 40 keeping a nice looking body shape is getting more important to me.
Gary W
Level 5 Valued Member
Just done 4 sets of one arm swings, 10 reps per arm
4 get ups each side.
Both with 16kg
Thought id ease myself back in, surprised i found the swing quite easy concideing ive not done them for a few weeks.
Get ups ive always found fairly easy with 16kg but though with 24, just started with 24 before xmas so will try again in a couple weeks.
I think the bjj leaves me sore and tired in the mornings and thats when id normally do s&s.
I done it after work today and it felt better just hard with 2 toddlers and a dog getting in the way haha
4 get ups each side.
Both with 16kg
Thought id ease myself back in, surprised i found the swing quite easy concideing ive not done them for a few weeks.
Get ups ive always found fairly easy with 16kg but though with 24, just started with 24 before xmas so will try again in a couple weeks.
I think the bjj leaves me sore and tired in the mornings and thats when id normally do s&s.
I done it after work today and it felt better just hard with 2 toddlers and a dog getting in the way haha
Snowman
Level 6 Valued Member
Oof, that'll get ya
. My son finally understands that he needs to do his own thing while the kettlebell is moving, and that we can hang out between sets. Took a while, though. If I couldn't get it in before he woke up, I would have to make sure Mom was keeping track of him. Or stick some cartoons in front of him, which I'm not a big fan of. On the up side, they get to see you being serious about your health and physical capability. I don't have any proof, but I feel like that has to be significant.
Gravytrain
Level 5 Valued Member
My kids see it in me and they all have adopted working out as a part of life even my 7 year old.Oof, that'll get ya
Kenny Croxdale
Level 7 Valued Member
5 Minute Stretching
Glad to hear the work for you. I am not familiar with it.
With that said it doesn't make sense to me and see a bit over the top.
With that said, I am a proponent of...
PNF Stretching, Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation
For those not familiar with it, it is a very effective, aggressive and somewhat unpleasant method.
Usually, you have someone assist. However, you can perform PNF yourself.
There's plenty of online information on it.
Kenny Croxdale
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