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Kettlebell Geoff Neupert "THE GIANT" ??

North said:
From what I’ve been reading – if you complete the Giant Series you might be able to dance!
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Hard to tell if it has WTH effects on my belly dancing.

Weirdly, though, Sunday, I found myself doing barre moves with a barbell in the rack, right before I tried a 1 arm barbell shoulder press and whacked myself in the back of the skull with the twisting bar.
 
watchnerd said:
If my reps stop being snappy / start getting ugly, I'm done with the set.

If it happens on the next set, after extra rest, I'm done with that weight for the day.

If I'm mostly also done with the time limit, I call it a day.

If this happens with significant time left (like 5-10 min left), I drop down a bell size and continue to put in the work at a lighter weight.
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@Eric Wilson -

This is a great "algorithm."

I do the same, except I never drop down a bell size. I just walk away.
 
Coyotl said:
Basically, this allows for 1-2 "bad" training sessions, but if I hit 2-3 "bad" training sessions in a row it usually means I need to take a step back and look at stuff - for me The Big Three are usually sleep (clocking in less than 7-8 hrs), eating too little, and doing too much (adding those snatches as extra work).

I also have found that I work in 3-4 week cycles. Week 3 is usually my worst week, or at least my hardest. So it doesn't surprise me when I start having off days then.
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"The Big Three" - this is VERY SMART.

Many trainees aren't aware of those.

And for further elaboration on the "doing too much," -

Many trainees "add in extra stuff" without even realizing it, or they justify it, then it falls into the "doing too much" category. Then, more often than not, they say, "I tried XYZ and it didn't work for me..."
 
watchnerd said:
I think Geoff referred to him as 'the skinny Russian guy' in one of the podcasts. ;)

But I don't think Geoff looks like a muscle head to me. More like a wrestler (which he was) or mid-weight O-lifter (which he also was).

He's not football player or bodybuilder big.
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That's right, I did.

And not in a "disrespectful" way either.

When I first made the decision to go to the RKC back in 2005, I was 230lbs, had just taken a cortisone shot in my right hip for a torn labrum, and was sidelined from training for Oly lifting. (The day I tore my labrum in January 2005, I'd just finished Power Cleans for 16 singles with 60s rest w/140kg, so that might give you some idea of my frame of mind for the "Skinny Russian Guy" comment.)

I competed in the 91kg, 99kg, and 105kg categories in Olympic lifting.
 
Steve Freides said:
@watchnerd, not directed to you in particular but to the conversation in general:

The "skinny Russian guy" has helped more than one SHW (super heavy weight) world champion powerlifter. Geoff has fat-burning, muscle-building, and strength-increasing programs.

I'm a music teacher - you can rest assured that I don't play or practice all the kinds of music some of my students like. I've also gotten to the point where, even in a room full of fellow musicians, sometimes people ask what my "main" instrument is because they assume everyone has a singular focus. (I'm sort of "entry level professional" at several of them, good enough to get paid and good enough to teach, but a long way away from world-class.)

It's kind of fun for me in the world of training/strength/conditioning because no one looks at me and thinks I look like a powerlifter, let alone one who holds some records for his age and weight. People watch me stretch and ask me if I do yoga, or they look at my build and assume I'm a runner. The best one was when someone watched me doing some hip mobility circles, which look sort of like belly dancing, and asked me if I was a dancer - my wife started laughing when she heard that someone might think I could dance.

Book, cover, don't judge. :)

-S-
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@Steve Freides ,

I'm sure you had some similar moments, but when I was at my RKC, my mind was blown watching Pavel teach the squat (pre-Goblet Squat - when we called it something like "the Steering Wheel Squat" or the "Hold-It-By-The-Horns" Squat) and he taught hip socket distraction combined with the active negative.

We watched the "victim" (as they were called back then) go from an above parallel squat to a rock bottom, ATG squat with a ramrod straight back.

I think that was the moment that "sealed the deal" for me.
 
Geoff Neupert said:
"The Big Three" - this is VERY SMART.

Many trainees aren't aware of those.

And for further elaboration on the "doing too much," -

Many trainees "add in extra stuff" without even realizing it, or they justify it, then it falls into the "doing too much" category. Then, more often than not, they say, "I tried XYZ and it didn't work for me..."
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Yup, saying I added this or that and eliminated those but added these......it becomes not the "program" at all. Then trash it when it doesn't work!
I've learned to do as written so as to avoid the many pitfalls of not doing it as written.
 
Geoff Neupert said:
@Steve Freides ,

I'm sure you had some similar moments, but when I was at my RKC, my mind was blown watching Pavel teach ...
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OMG, yes. After being a relatively early RKC adopter, I also was hooked. I made it my business to register for every new kind of workshop as soon as they were announced because I knew there would be those kind of experiences. There was the first flexibility workshop, there was the first CKFMS, the first Level 2, the first Easy Strength workshop, the first US SFL, and I taught at the first US SFB. I’m sure I’m forgetting some, too.

-S-
 
I found a downside to the Giant:

Swings are so boring now.

Even double KB swings.

Sure, there is always the art of perfecting the form, which is never ending.

And double KB swings are a nice change of pace, but compared to C&P, it feels a bit like I'm just wasting my time or doing a warm up.
 
I have a technique question: During higher-rep sets in 1.1, I've found that I've started to enjoy taking an extra breath in the rack after the press, but before the clean. I generally only resort to this tactic towards the end of difficult sets. What do we think of that?

I saw a video of @Geoff Neupert doing a set of ten in a garage or shed. It looked like he paused in the rack before the last clean and press, but I can't find the video for reference.
 
Erik W said:
During higher-rep sets in 1.1, I've found that I've started to enjoy taking an extra breath in the rack after the press, but before the clean.
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It should be fine. The concern we have is when people clean, then wait a while, then press - there's nothing "wrong" with this but one loses the benefit of the stored tension from the clean in the coming press.

-S-
 
Geoff Neupert said:
And not in a "disrespectful" way either.
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Just to be clear my previous comment is supposed to be funny and does not have any sense of disrespect. But seems like I'm not careful with my words :)
I learn a lot from both the skinny guy and the ex-weightlifter/wrestler. I have Geoff's program, I asked him several questions and he gave me great answers; I still apply his principle from the Strength Shortcut and it helps me a lot.
Thank you Geoff for all your great work.
 
Primarily directed at @Geoff Neupert , but I would appreciate the feedback of other folks here as well...

As someone who started out at over 385 lbs and dropped a bunch of weight through running (4x marathoner at 240 lbs), adopting strength work has been a relatively new thing for me. Since starting kettlebell work some months back, my appreciation for strength only grew.

I am currently about 250 lbs and could easily get down to 215-220. I have heard about the idea of "dry fighting weight" and love the anti-metcon mentality.

As someone who could stand to lose 30 lbs or so, is there a program or programs that might work better than others?

I will say, I do enjoy lifting heavy (sets of 5/side). I will add that I only have single KB. No doubles.

Thanks in advance.
 
ThePhoenixRises said:
Primarily directed at @Geoff Neupert , but I would appreciate the feedback of other folks here as well...

As someone who started out at over 385 lbs and dropped a bunch of weight through running (4x marathoner at 240 lbs), adopting strength work has been a relatively new thing for me. Since starting kettlebell work some months back, my appreciation for strength only grew.

I am currently about 250 lbs and could easily get down to 215-220. I have heard about the idea of "dry fighting weight" and love the anti-metcon mentality.

As someone who could stand to lose 30 lbs or so, is there a program or programs that might work better than others?

I will say, I do enjoy lifting heavy (sets of 5/side). I will add that I only have single KB. No doubles.

Thanks in advance.
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I also have struggled with my weight my entire life and controlled it (somewhat) with running and cycling.

I tried DFW and really enjoyed it but found the squats to be really hard on my knees and my recovery. Keep in mind, however, that I am 71 and recovery is probably a bigger challenge for me than it would be for you.

I have found Geoff’s “Giant” program more effective than the DFW, at least until I become leaner.
 
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Bit of an odd question. I already have Kettlebell Express which contains the Giant programs, so I was wondering if there is there a need to buy the separate Giant document. Does it contain anything apart from the programs?

From past experience I know that Geoff's advice on how to run the program would probably justify the cost.
 
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