Other/Mixed EASY MUSCLE (Geoff Neupert)

[jmoran01]

okay the easiest way to take that off the table is to do schedule A 20 minutes C&P and if I run it with 16s I will be progressively overloading for the next 4 weeks. Then I can add dips and chin ups and squats after each day but not a lot of volume 3 sets of 5 or something.

 

[Mark Limbaga]

What’s your thinking here? Too much volume/weight for the program overall? Too hard to recover from with this program?

A mix of both. Once 10 chinups are in your inventory, you can recycle the plan and toss them in the mix

 

[jmoran01]

A mix of both. Once 10 chinups are in your inventory, you can recycle the plan and toss them in the mix

Thank you!

 

[jmoran01]

Thank you!

Going to run schedule A then with two 16s and incorporate in a day each 3 sets of 5 reps of front squats, chin ups and dips. Those exercises on different days. Also this will be an easy to navigate with my travel plans. Can take those two bells with me on the road. My wife will love that lol.

 

[jmoran01]

Went with EM schedule A this morning. Did this level with 2x16 KBs now. Did 8 sets of 5 in 20 minutes which felt around a 7RPE. Then did 3x5 Front squats with 2x16s.

I can tell by today that I got this.

 

[GreenSoup]

I am now in week 2 and enjoying my first run through in Easy Muscle. After an injury in the past I did a lot of kettlebell swings and cleans and I was worried that cleaning my 16kg press 10rm would not allow my comparatively mighty 32kg+24kg double clean 7rm to be challenged. With my heavy KB swing/clean foundation I find that I don't need to worry about the cardio-related guardrails at all. Then I checked the manual GN said that if you are not challenged you should work harder within the workout.

My previous EM cleans were functional and sometimes even felt slow, just to get the KBs to the rack. The only way to work harder with lighter cleans meant speed. Speed as in "as fast as you can go from the hike to a braced plank." So I tried that.

HOLY SIG KLEIN! Speed is a totally different game! There is a mental component to forcing yourself to go faster but the legs and core remind you at every rep that they are working like your press. I love this and I wonder how much faster I will end up being with heavier KBs.

Is anyone else using cleans this way? What kinds of results did you have after the program?

 

[jmoran01]

Week 1, Day 2 EM with 2x16s. Going well so far. Got 8 sets at 6 reps which was harder than Monday’s 8 sets of 5 but also I finished sooner at about 19 minutes. I ended there because I want to keep it at 20 minutes or under these next 8 weeks and can always increase the minutes over time. What do most people do when they are close to their minute limit? Do you tend to start a set if it’s under 20 or stop like I did today? Curious.

Wednesday, the hard day, went well. Did not need to push press any reps! So I think I am close to my 10 RM now with 2x16.

I then did 3 sets of 4 rep chin ups. My weight today was 160.8 lbs and 15.2% BF according to my scale which is probably not accurate but should be consistent for a trend as I weigh first thing in the morning. Not going psycho about this because I’m not entering a competition by my doctor wants me to stay below 160 lbs. So trying to lean up a bit. My nutrition is good so it should work over the next 8 weeks. Plus, I am definitely gaining muscle and I don’t care what the scale says if that’s the case.

 

[Pete L]

What do most people do when they are close to their minute limit?

I stop if not enough time to rest adequately and complete a set in good form.

 

[jmoran01]

I stop if not enough time to rest adequately and complete a set in good form.

Okay that describes what I do to. Makes sense.

 

[Pete L]

Okay that describes what I do to. Makes sense.

For the high RPE week I hid the clock and avoided consciously tracking set count, trying to go just by feel.
Good luck

 

[jmoran01]

For the high RPE week I hid the clock and avoided consciously tracking set count, trying to go just by feel.
Good luck

Thanks!

Another question: sometimes I have trouble feeling the double swing in my hamstrings. Is that typical? I think my form is good. It only happens with doubles. Maybe there’s less stretch happening vs the single swing?

 

[Conor]

Thanks!

Another question: sometimes I have trouble feeling the double swing in my hamstrings. Is that typical? I think my form is good. It only happens with doubles. Maybe there’s less stretch happening vs the single swing?

If I recall correctly, the slightly wider stance that doubles call for puts a little more emphasis on the quads and not quite as much on the posterior chain. You can always post a video for feedback if you want to make sure that your form is on point.

 

[jmoran01]

If I recall correctly, the slightly wider stance that doubles call for puts a little more emphasis on the quads and not quite as much on the posterior chain. You can always post a video for feedback if you want to make sure that your form is on point.

That fits. I feel my quads are getting some work. There’s a lot of muscles involved in the double clean and press so I’m probably getting the posterior chain working without realizing it. I’m trying to be snappy with my cleans.

 

[GreenSoup]

What do most people do when they are close to their minute limit? Do you tend to start a set if it’s under 20 or stop like I did today? Curious.

I push to whatever I think I can get away with. If I know I can get a set within that time I always will, even if my previous set was ten seconds before. If not I always skip it.

My weight today was 160.8 lbs and 15.2% BF according to my scale which is probably not accurate but should be consistent for a trend

I too have a body fat measuring scale. Perhaps it is a toy more than a scientific instrument but I am surprised your doctor is concerned with 15.2% BF. With the obesity epidemic I would guess that is far less than average.

 

[GreenSoup]

Thanks!

Another question: sometimes I have trouble feeling the double swing in my hamstrings. Is that typical? I think my form is good. It only happens with doubles. Maybe there’s less stretch happening vs the single swing?

Consider this article if you want to add hamstring tension to the clean:

You Bring About What You Think About | Dragon Door

In 2008 I was presented with my first high level triathlete, Jeremy Devich. Jeremy is a machine. I have seen a lot of athletes with a “tank”, but not many have ever been as impressive as this guy. He’s a 6’3”, 190lb slab of muscle. When Jeremy and I trained together, he routinely warmed up with...

www.dragondoor.com

This is a crazy but interesting effect I can testify to with swings. When I do my next EM session I'll try it for hamstrings on the clean.

 

[jmoran01]

I push to whatever I think I can get away with. If I know I can get a set within that time I always will, even if my previous set was ten seconds before. If not I always skip it.


I too have a body fat measuring scale. Perhaps it is a toy more than a scientific instrument but I am surprised your doctor is concerned with 15.2% BF. With the obesity epidemic I would guess that is far less than average.

The doc is more focused on me being below 160 but I think that if I gained 10 lbs of lean muscle that wouldn’t be a problem. I think the doc assumes if my weight goes up it’s mostly fat. Bad assumption but probably most of the patients are like that

 

[jmoran01]

We should change the name of Easy Muscle to “Easy Muscle, But Really Easy On Fridays”.

Today (Friday) was great for me. And easy with 2x16s. Kept my set count at 8 which is what I did on Monday and Wednesday. I can tell I’m getting stronger. If this keeps up, I will be able to jump to 2x20s in 7 more weeks. Then I switch to schedule B and if 20s are my 5 RM max which I think they will be.

Week 1 EM sched A with 2x16s done!!

 

[John Grahill]

We should change the name of Easy Muscle to “Easy Muscle, But Really Easy On Fridays”.

Today (Friday) was great for me. And easy with 2x16s. Kept my set count at 8 which is what I did on Monday and Wednesday. I can tell I’m getting stronger. If this keeps up, I will be able to jump to 2x20s in 7 more weeks. Then I switch to schedule B and if 20s are my 5 RM max which I think they will be.

Week 1 EM sched A with 2x16s done!!

Those days are there for a reason! I enjoyed them and focused on form!

 

[GreenSoup]

We should change the name of Easy Muscle to “Easy Muscle, But Really Easy On Fridays”.

Today (Friday) was great for me. And easy with 2x16s. Kept my set count at 8 which is what I did on Monday and Wednesday. I can tell I’m getting stronger. If this keeps up, I will be able to jump to 2x20s in 7 more weeks. Then I switch to schedule B and if 20s are my 5 RM max which I think they will be.

Week 1 EM sched A with 2x16s done!!

It was my understanding that you autoregulate to get as much work as you can in on every day within the prescribed difficulty level. I did not thing I should match the number of sets across days. Fridays are when I get the most sets but feel freshest.

As to 7 more weeks, I started at almost the same time but have the 12 week version of the program from Strong and Fit. I plan to stick with what is in my documentation for a year or so but I am curious about the differences. In the 8 week version, is the Friday on week 7 of schedule A using a 5 rep count and the final C+P in schedule B a 2 rep count?

 

[Pete L]

I did not thing I should match the number of sets across days

I agree, why would more nominal lifts be expected.

In the 8 week version, is the Friday on week 7 of schedule A using a 5 rep count and the final C+P in schedule B a 2 rep count?

No, a 4 on B.
The Monday on Phase 1 is a 2.