Old Forum Eight weeks with S&S

[vizzini]

I'm finishing up eight weeks with S&S today. I am a 50yo lady, so not typical here. More Edna than Joe.

I did ETK last summer with a 14k, then VWC with up to a 16k, then Kettlebells for Women. Before that I spent over a year doing the New Rules for Lifting programs. I've lost 70 pounds over the last few years. My goal is to maintain a healthy weight, maybe lose a little, and to age well.

When I started my heaviest bell was 16K. One thing this program has done is to give me permission to use heavier bells. I hit the simple goals after about four weeks.  I'm now doing 4 of my 5 sets of swings with the 32K. I do all of my tgus with a 20k, but they aren't all beautiful. I've attempted tgu with a 24. I got up on both sides, but was not able to get back down with both sides.

I flipped the crazy switch this week with the 24k and did 200 swings non-stop.

My right shoulder is feeling a little beat up. I'm not in pain, just a little sore. I need to back off of the get-ups. I think I should back off to 16,20,20,20,16, then build back up. I ramped up too quickly.

I lost about 5 pounds over the eight weeks. I had it to lose after the holidays. I am tighter. My arms are just better. My abs are tighter. I definitely feel stronger.

I haven't decided what to do next. I'm considering continuing with S&S, switching to RoP with a 14k, trying the 10,000 swing challenge, or doing the Total Tension complex for a while. I plan to slowly advance with tgus on variety days.

 

[brian d]

That is super strong, vizzini.  Amazing work.

I'm curious, are you doing your 32kg swings one handed or two?

Let us know what program you end up doing next (or if you stick with S and S for awhile).  I recently hit the simple standards and have shifted back over to the ROP.  Kinda excited about it, but after 10 days, I also kinda miss the S and S stuff.

 

[vizzini]

One handed, and just about five minutes. The swing has been progressing much faster than the tgu for me.

 

[vizzini]

btw, thank you for your comments, brian.

I've decided to lay off the shoulder for a week, then decide. I'm going to spend a little time on Dan John's swing challenge, with goblet squat, push-ups, body row, and assisted pistol as my strength movements. No kettlebells overhead for a little while.

 

[brian d]

Nice work on those swings!  That's really awesome.  I'm almost 20 years younger than you and also a guy, and are swings are just about even.  But only even in weight, you are knocking on the door of the Sinister standards.  I'm jealous.

That is probably a good idea to skip some overhead work for a little while.  The 10,000 swing program looks pretty cool.  There have been some nice write ups here, and there is a forum thread about it over at T-Nation, too.  The cool think about the program is that you can also mix some overhead work in if you feel ready.  Throwing in some ladders of 1, 2, 3 on the clean and press with a light (for you) weight could be good.  Or perhaps doing some lighter get ups could also work.  Of course, taking a full month off of overhead work would probably help, too.  These things always get tricky.

 

[Pavel]

Strong, Vizzini!

Yes, back off in GU weight.

Please do me a favor and post a review of S&S on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Kettlebell-Simple-Sinister-Pavel-Tsatsouline-ebook/product-reviews/B00GF2HP9G/ref=cm_cr_dp_see_all_btm?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

 

[vizzini]

Did my first 500 swing day today. Then I read other's experiences. Here's mine, after S&S.

I completed my 500 swings in 19 minutes. I did the first 100 swings with a 24k KB, then dropped 20k for the next 200 and 16k for the final 200. I did each set with the 10/15/25/50 pattern. Grip on 50 swings with the 24k was a challenge, but not a struggle.

My heart rate peaked at 155, which is about 84% of my max, and averaged 139. I was comfortable. I was challenged, but not wiped out.

I haven't seen anyone else close to 20 minutes, so I just went and rechecked my timer. Yep, 18:57. And I know I did all the sets because I count with a clicker.

So, at the end of S&S, my conditioning is pretty good. I"m kind of astonished.