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G'Day: On the S&S Journey

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GregF

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Hi,

55 years old, Australian. Have a long history of outdoor sports, surfing, rock climbing etc. Lifted some weights in my 20s, but sporadic training since then.. Some wake-up calls of friends getting sick, and realising my 19 year old son is way stronger than me(!!) So decided to act. I'm busy like everyone, corporate job, 4 kids etc... So need to fit training in.....

I bought simple and sinister and it really resonated with me.

Simple and sinister it is.. my goal is to get to simple, stick with the plan and let you all know how it goes.
My plan is simple also: get up 45 mins earlier each day, and play with the kettlebells to start my day.

Today was day one: did the full warm up with the goblet squats, hip bridges and haloes. (The goblet squats feel good).

Then: 8 sets of 10 swings with 24 kg bell.

Stopped at 8 cause I noticed I was getting sloppy. I videoed each set on the phone and compared to examples on strong first youtube... Noticed my legs weren't snapping straight, and that my breathing wasn't lined up.... so stuff to work on.

Then: 4 sets of TGUs (ie 8 in total) with a 12 kg bell.

I can see I could cope with a heavier bell, but I am sloppy as anything.. lots to work on here.. .still I noticed that the 4th set was getting a little more familiar.

Overall, I felt good afterwards, and looking forward to tomorrow.

Strong First: thanks a lot for the inspiration etc.

I'll keep posting as I progess.
 
Day Two... 10 swings at 24
4 get ups at 12

Video of myself shows so many things to work on .. not sure what to tackle first...
 
Day three.
Full warmup
Swings 10 2h 24 kg
TGU 4 12 kg

Need to find a way to not lean back at top of swing.
 
Day five. Full warmup.
Swings 20 2H at 24 kg.
TGU.. moved up to 16 kg for the TGU.. did 3 sets. First set felt good, surprisingly easy.. but third set was shakey... so stopped there.
 
Day six
Swings 20 2H at 24 kg.
TGU.. moved up to 16 kg for the TGU.. did 3 sets.

Bought flexible steel, started on the mobility routine in the morning, and then the more full on stuff in the evening. (Yikes!!)

Day seven.
Did 10 swings and 1 set of getups.. indoor bouldering later today..

Day 8
Noticed I was a bit tired when bouldering.. so the S&S is having an effect!

Day 9

(Sunday morning) Nice slow session. Videod every set to check form. 10 swings at 24. 4 TGUs at 16, Notes on form: starting to get back more on the swing, but when I concentrate on that, other things are not as good... oh well.. time is needed for the patterns to sink in!

Noticed that TGU is not even on either side... again I presume time will tell.
Overall, felt good after the workout. Having 5 min rest between each set to look at video makes it very pleasant.

Day 10 (Monday)
Hectic kid to school morning. 8 sets of 24 swings. 2 sets of TGU. Only half the warmup.. noticed everything felt clunky.
 
Thi is the first time I have ever tried a flexibility program (as distinct from the odd stretch here and there). I am keen to see how it goes.
 
Three days of travel .. flights cancelled and similar fun.
Tried various versions of the following, all of which were fun, but not the same as swinging..

Mobility sequence.
BW squats, pushups, burpees.

TGUs with shoe .. these showed a lot of glitches that need work. Getting from elbow to arm is surprisingly wobbly.
Accurate broad jumps were fun...
 
Back to the bells.
10 swings 24 kg. Still feel like each swing could be better. Not getting right back. Not crisp at top.
Did 2 tgu. Then had to go out. Did another 3 when I got hone. Oops! Felt wobbly.

Go another week on 2 hands before trying one hands.
 
Boulder in the am 90 min session. 8 v5 to v6 problems.

Swing in pm. 8 sets with 24. Felt form failing so stopped.
1 set of tgus. Bouldering must tire some systems. As tgus felt desperate.
 
Am prior work. 10 swings 24.
3 tgus 16 kg. Tgus on right side are flaky. Right hip is not as strong.
 
Have you tried shorter sets of swings? For example, if you only do 5 reps a set, do they feel crisper / more powerful?

The TGUs are amazing at revealing stuff that isn't symmetric. First step towards improving is recognizing the problem, so even if it doesn't feel like progress, it is!
 
6 am start. Flex steel moves for 10 min. Then 3 sets of s&s warmup.

10 sets swings. All 24 kg. Tried 5 7 and 10. Notice that set of 5 is over almost before I get s groove. 10 start to get messy. 7 is sweet spot.

Need to pattern sit back in every set.
3 sets of tgus at 16. Really squeezed bell this helped.

Progress!!
 
Bouldering tonight so decided to keep morning session light. 10 sets of 5 swings 24 kg. A few swings start to feel like the unloaded pattern. Need to practice short stop drill

2 tgus. Noticed flaws at low sweep. Need to regress back to some drills. Startling how flaky I am in the hips!!
 
Bouldered last night, then beers. So 6 am was a bit grim.

10 sets swings at 24. First 7 with 10 reps. Last 3 with 5 reps. Good to drop the reps when it gets non-solid.
1 set TGUs at 16, then decided to work on drills.. 2 sets with shoe.. felt fine. Then drilled up and down on the low sweep..... right side is odd.. hip is weak or stiff... so at least I know what to work on.

Then did 3 sets of up to elbow with 16.

All in all felt good, even with last night.
 
Today was busy, so did swings in the morning... 10 x 10 x 24 with plenty of rest to get good sets in.
Waited till the afternoon, did 3 sets of unloaded TGUs for warmup, then did 5 sets of TGUs at 16 kg.

Getting better on the TGUs, but very obvious that right hip/glutes are a weak point..
 
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