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Kettlebell "Giant 1.0"

John K said:
Lol last time I ran Giant the heavy day was usually more around 5-6 sets, the light day generally by the end of the month I could get 10-12+ sets. I don't think I ever got 80 reps in the 30 min time frame.
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I've said it before, I only got above 70 a few times. I was using a true 10 RM and the fact is that it exhausted me. I'm looking back now at my first run and realize I chased too many reps which caused some ugly looking presses! Not the intent of the program. I'd rather get 40 solid reps in 30 minutes than 80 shaky ones. The higher rep c+presses (6 or more reps) just gas me out!
 
Gypsyplumber said:
What I found too, when I first started the Giant I was “rep chasing” with other members. I’d see somebody banged out 100+ reps and I thought I was doing it wrong because I was gassed at 80 total reps. Then I got up to the 112 range with double 24s and thought I might blow a gasket the last set. Then moving up in bell size I decided to focus way more on quality and explosiveness and not just beating the reps. I enjoy the program and feel better like this. When I ran 3.0 with double 32s I was lucky to bang out 30 total reps but still made gains.
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I made the mistake of rep chasing on 3.0. It’s because I was amazed at how they kept increasing and took my eye off the goal. Next time I’ll do as you do, just keep getting quality reps, the number will go up naturally.
 
John Grahill said:
I've said it before, I only got above 70 a few times. I was using a true 10 RM and the fact is that it exhausted me. I'm looking back now at my first run and realize I chased too many reps which caused some ugly looking presses! Not the intent of the program. I'd rather get 40 solid reps in 30 minutes than 80 shaky ones. The higher rep c+presses (6 or more reps) just gas me out!
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How much rest do you think it’s needed to get quality reps on the next set?
I usually rest around 1-2 minutes which is generally allow me to catch my breath but not lower my heart rate to rested state. What’s your opinion on this?
 
bangtguh said:
How much rest do you think it’s needed to get quality reps on the next set?
I usually rest around 1-2 minutes which is generally allow me to catch my breath but not lower my heart rate to rested state. What’s your opinion on this?
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This is different for everyone. And it’s different between which Giant Series you are doing.
I do wear a heart rate monitor and use a timer, but I don’t pay attention to either of them when I work out. The trick is to go relative easy week 1, harder week 2, hardest week 3, and a little easier week 4.

I will say with Giant 1.0, I could easily start the next set between 100-110bpm. During 2.0, on the higher reps, I had to wait additional time, which ended up being around 90bpm
 
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bangtguh said:
How much rest do you think it’s needed to get quality reps on the next set?
I usually rest around 1-2 minutes which is generally allow me to catch my breath but not lower my heart rate to rested state. What’s your opinion on this?
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Like @JamesPTA said, it's different for everyone. I take a lot of rest, up to 5 minutes between sets.

The trick is to balance the amount of rest to get the best quality reps on the next set with the time constraint of 30 min. There's a huge difference taking 3-4 min rest can make, but I don't see much of a difference after 5 min rest (if I need more than 5 min, its just too heavy or I'm just too tired).

Don't be afraid to rest "too much," especially in week 1. I'd rather you take an extra 30s or minute of rest and get 4 awesome reps rather than rush the rest and get 2-3 OK reps and 1-2 not-so-great reps.
 
bangtguh said:
How much rest do you think it’s needed to get quality reps on the next set?
I usually rest around 1-2 minutes which is generally allow me to catch my breath but not lower my heart rate to rested state. What’s your opinion on this?
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Many times I needed 3+ minutes. This was really true using sets of 8 and 9! When I did my 10x10 romp with 32s last year I took and needed 5 minutes between each set.

I think these things are based upon many factors such as a genetic makeup (I gas out on high rep sets), resistance utilized (I started the Giant with a true 10 RM), how I felt on any given day, etc. Sometimes I caught my breath back but knew that systemically I wasn't ready to go and make all the reps safely and with good form.
 
Right everyone.
I have managed to injure my leg somehow. Been doing The Giant 3.0 & am about 1/2 way through.
Struggling to walk at the mo so cleans are out as are probably standing presses.

So I am wondering to either rest up until my leg works again & restart the program or maybe do something else while its healing like either straddle presses or kneeling presses?

Thoughts?
 
Cearball said:
Right everyone.
I have managed to injure my leg somehow. Been doing The Giant 3.0 & am about 1/2 way through.
Struggling to walk at the mo so cleans are out as are probably standing presses.

So I am wondering to either rest up until my leg works again & restart the program or maybe do something else while its healing like either straddle presses or kneeling presses?

Thoughts?
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How bad? Where’s the pain? What’s the injury?

Need to know those answers first… if it’s going to be a multi week recovery, no sense pushing through with kneeling presses or other work arounds….. if it’s going to be a week, rest and redo the previous week once healed.

In the meantime work solely on healing your leg.
 
Brenton8989 said:
How bad? Where’s the pain? What’s the injury?

Need to know those answers first… if it’s going to be a multi week recovery, no sense pushing through with kneeling presses or other work arounds….. if it’s going to be a week, rest and redo the previous week once healed.

In the meantime work solely on healing your leg.
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Pain was quite bad originally.
Feels like a really bad calf cramp.

Don't really know how I did it. Exercised Tuesday & woke up in agony when I placed my foot down.
Feels slightly better now but not by much.

Doesn't hurt when sitting or squatting deep mainly when standing & walking.
Feels like it originates mid calf
 
Cearball said:
Pain was quite bad originally.
Feels like a really bad calf cramp.

Don't really know how I did it. Exercised Tuesday & woke up in agony when I placed my foot down.
Feels slightly better now but not by much.

Doesn't hurt when sitting or squatting deep mainly when standing & walking.
Feels like it originates mid calf
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Sure you’ll be fine soon. You might not even miss many days and can continue where you left off.

Look up Bill Starr rehab protocol.
 
Good Morning.
I'm halfway through giant 1.0 and I'm really enjoying it. simplicity is fantastic.
My workout just consists of superjoints, some mobility drills, 20 minutes of giant, and finish with stretching.
I recently had tennis elbow pain in my right elbow, so I've been doing the giant with 16kg in the left arm and 8kg in the right arm. so far everything is going well.
I was thinking of adding after the giant's 20 minute workout, some forearm exercises, without straining too much, a few sets of 5-10 reps with the aim of strengthening the forearm muscles to see if I don't have elbow pain again. What do you suggest?
I was also thinking of alternating Giant with The Olympic and with KSK till the end of 2022.

Best regards
Ricardo
 
Hrungnir said:
I am closing in on finishing running 20 weeks of Giant sequentially with 24kgs. I bought pairs every 5-6 pounds with the hopes of running the wheels off the program by just increasing to the next weight and running 20 straight weeks. Should I be doing something between runs to give the C&P a rest or just keep going till I hit a wall?

I was debating about running Boulder Shoulder (might not be strong enough to run however as 24kg are my lightest bells) or Carry Me (Double rack, double farmer, single waiter for four weeks) as the break between but idk. I think a large part of my success with Giant was taking my tinkering and thinking out of the process lol. Any suggestions?
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I ran Giant 1.0, 1.1, & 1.2. It’s a good program and I got good results. That said, it is a 2 lift program and that left gaps in my training which I was not addressing (I’m a 40 y/o dad).

I think with appropriate accessory work on off days or as part of your warm up it may be feasible long term. I did the S&S warm up with 1-2 gets as my usual prep for the sessions.

But I’m thinking I need some TRX horizontal rows and maybe some TRX YTI might have been good for my shoulders.

Anyway, I switched things up for a bit and intend to return to the Giant at some point in the future.
 
@North I ended up just running Giant again with the 60#s. (Currently on my 21st week straight of Giant) I so far haven’t felt any issue with the minimalism, but I do regularly stretch my shoulders and perform pull aparts.

How do you know that there were gaps in it after 12 weeks? That seems a short time period for a muscular imbalance issue to become apparent.
 
Hrungnir said:
How do you know that there were gaps in it after 12 weeks? That seems a short time period for a muscular imbalance issue to become apparent.
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@Hrungnir Perhaps muscular imbalance was too strong, here. I still think gaps is appropriate. It’s darn hard not to have something missing with just clean & press.

Here was why I think I needed some horizontal rowing as I started to develop some clicking during the sessions and discomfort the next day in my left shoulder toward the end of the series (11/12th weeks). After some time with these added in and less pressing everything felt better.

Your band pull aparts are probably just the thing to keep this from happening to you!

We’re I to do this, again I may also combine it with Alex salkins 9 minute challenge on days or some crawling + Tim Andersons “daily 21s from “discovering you”

FWIW: I did S&S as my primary training for years.
 
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Further evidence of Geoff’s continued war against shirts with this program. All my shirts have grown tight, but now apparently I can’t even stretch without hulking out of them. Use caution running the giant if you are attached to your wardrobe. Wrapping up my 24th straight week of the program.
 
Hrungnir said:
View attachment 18720

Further evidence of Geoff’s continued war against shirts with this program. All my shirts have grown tight, but now apparently I can’t even stretch without hulking out of them. Use caution running the giant if you are attached to your wardrobe. Wrapping up my 24th straight week of the program.
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24? Wow! I’d be reeeeally interested to see a picture of 25 weeks ago versus now. You must look like a different person from the waist up. Crazy. Way to go.
 
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