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Kettlebell "Giant 1.0"

TedM said:
Actually... Geoff just sent out a Beta that is close enough to what I'm doing that I'm going to join and see what happens.
So, I'm pushing out 12 weeks instead of 6.
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So, I finished the Beta the week before last and took a week off.
Started again with Giant 1.0 today (single bell).
I'd forgotten all the previous discussions and - since I'd gotten used to a 16kg push press for ICT, started today back with thr 16 kg and it went up great both sides!! Yay!!

Stopped at 9 sets of 6 today - didn't want to push too hard first day back. (Note: I do only 1 clean/set... my elbows don't like more.)

My goal: 24 kg single as 10 RM by end of 2024.
 
It's me again

Decided to switch to double Kettlebell after Giant 1.1 is done Starting out with Soju&Tuba and the transition to the Giant 3.0 or dry fighting weight. Is it worth it to buy an even pair? I used a 20kg and a 24kg to test if I am ready for double kettlebells and it seemed to be fine.
 
daft21 said:
It's me again

Decided to switch to double Kettlebell after Giant 1.1 is done Starting out with Soju&Tuba and the transition to the Giant 3.0 or dry fighting weight. Is it worth it to buy an even pair? I used a 20kg and a 24kg to test if I am ready for double kettlebells and it seemed to be fine.
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I would say that having an even pair is worth it. I would like to own a pair of 24 kgs. However, personally I haven't made the purchase yet. I have been using un-even bells at 20/24 kg for a while for the Giant and Dry Fighting Weight (DFW) programs. I would caution one to maybe take it a bit slower if using un-even bells at first to make sure your body is ready for the difference in loading. Also I think using bells that are 4 kg different is superior to using bells with an 8 kg difference.
 
daft21 said:
It's me again

Decided to switch to double Kettlebell after Giant 1.1 is done Starting out with Soju&Tuba and the transition to the Giant 3.0 or dry fighting weight. Is it worth it to buy an even pair? I used a 20kg and a 24kg to test if I am ready for double kettlebells and it seemed to be fine.
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Once you go double, you’re in trouble! Because it’s hard to go back to single kb work. For me anyway, both give great results

I buy kbs that are too heavy, it’s good motivation to work up to using them. Worked so far. During Covid, I basically spent a years gym membership on kbs. Don’t regret it at all, even though I’m back at the gym ( I take mine )
 
I had considered getting a pair of the Titan Fitness adjustable bells to cover a bunch of weights. Might be something to look into if you are interested. I believe they are adjustable from 12 kg - 32 kg. It's more up front but less investment over the long-term
 
John K said:
Worth it for what? You can make amazing progress and gains with a single, or mix-matched doubles, or matched doubles.
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So you see no reason to buy say a second 24kg?
Halfakneecap said:
Once you go double, you’re in trouble! Because it’s hard to go back to single kb work. For me anyway, both give great results

I buy kbs that are too heavy, it’s good motivation to work up to using them. Worked so far. During Covid, I basically spent a years gym membership on kbs. Don’t regret it at all, even though I’m back at the gym ( I take mine )
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I can only agree on that. Felt pretty nice using doubles.
Ben Strong said:
I had considered getting a pair of the Titan Fitness adjustable bells to cover a bunch of weights. Might be something to look into if you are interested. I believe they are adjustable from 12 kg - 32 kg. It's more up front but less investment over the long-term
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I already own 20,24,28 and 32kg kettlebells so the cheapest solution would be pairing the ones i already have.
 
daft21 said:
So you see no reason to buy say a second 24kg?
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No, I didn't say that at all. You asked if it was worth buying a second one, and I asked worth it for what. You can do a TON with mixed doubles. You don't NEED a second 24kg or 20kg.

If you have cash and space to spare and can run out and buy a second 20kg or 24kg, go for it.

I did not see a recent Rep Max test with the 20kg, or the 20/24 with the 24 in your weak hand. If you have not, I recommend testing. If you get less than 3 reps with 20/24 in your weak hand, I would suggest a second 20kg would be better.

And if you cannot afford to buy a second 24kg when you're "ready" after spending the money on a 20kg, you can start doing all the wonderful fun things found in Kettlebell Hard - complexes of doubles full of cleans, presses, squats, snatches and the like. "Too heavy" can be difficult to progress, but "too light" can often be made to work for a long time.

I love going heavy, but "too heavy" kettlebells sit around for a long time collecting dust.
 
@daft21 I think you should begin with a matched pair of bells. I think you will find the transition to doubles easier with a matched pair. Buy a 20k bell and then buy a 24k bell when you're ready. I have a pair of 20k bells that I find uses for many different circumstances.
 
John K said:
No, I didn't say that at all. You asked if it was worth buying a second one, and I asked worth it for what. You can do a TON with mixed doubles. You don't NEED a second 24kg or 20kg.

If you have cash and space to spare and can run out and buy a second 20kg or 24kg, go for it.

I did not see a recent Rep Max test with the 20kg, or the 20/24 with the 24 in your weak hand. If you have not, I recommend testing. If you get less than 3 reps with 20/24 in your weak hand, I would suggest a second 20kg would be better.

And if you cannot afford to buy a second 24kg when you're "ready" after spending the money on a 20kg, you can start doing all the wonderful fun things found in Kettlebell Hard - complexes of doubles full of cleans, presses, squats, snatches and the like. "Too heavy" can be difficult to progress, but "too light" can often be made to work for a long time.

I love going heavy, but "too heavy" kettlebells sit around for a long time collecting dust.
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RM for 20/24kg with the 24 in my left (weaker hand) is a conservative 2. I didn't go for the 3rd rep because i wasn't sure to make it. The cleaning part worried me more than the pressing part.
Single 20kg (weaker hand) my RM is 13 without killing myself
Goal was to use 20/24 with the Soju and Tuba template and then move on to Giant 3.0. Money and storage place is not really an issue but why spend if I can use the kettlebells i already have.
blad51 said:
@daft21 I think you should begin with a matched pair of bells. I think you will find the transition to doubles easier with a matched pair. Buy a 20k bell and then buy a 24k bell when you're ready. I have a pair of 20k bells that I find uses for many different circumstances.
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why do you think it's easier to use matched pairs?
 
daft21 said:
RM for 20/24kg with the 24 in my left (weaker hand) is a conservative 2. I didn't go for the 3rd rep because i wasn't sure to make it. The cleaning part worried me more than the pressing part.
Single 20kg (weaker hand) my RM is 13 without killing myself
Goal was to use 20/24 with the Soju and Tuba template and then move on to Giant 3.0. Money and storage place is not really an issue but why spend if I can use the kettlebells i already have.

why do you think it's easier to use matched pairs?
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That's not much different than your single 24, which I think I recall was 3/2. I would suggest running S&T with the single 24kg, and then work on making a single 24kg a comfortable 5-6RM before buying a second 24.

I'd also suggest that you practice mix-matched double cleans with the 20 and 24, then the 24 and 28, and work up to 28/32. This will build a killer rack position to press from.

(I'd also suggest practicing a couple sets of squats with your mix-matched doubles... )

As for why buy a second 20kg ... I think you'll find later that a lot of doubles work feels really good with double 20s, and for a lot of people, that seems to be the sweet spot for doubles and complexes. I'm running a mostly-doubles program with 32s and I still love using double 20s.
 
John K said:
That's not much different than your single 24, which I think I recall was 3/2. I would suggest running S&T with the single 24kg, and then work on making a single 24kg a comfortable 5-6RM before buying a second 24.

I'd also suggest that you practice mix-matched double cleans with the 20 and 24, then the 24 and 28, and work up to 28/32. This will build a killer rack position to press from.

(I'd also suggest practicing a couple sets of squats with your mix-matched doubles... )

As for why buy a second 20kg ... I think you'll find later that a lot of doubles work feels really good with double 20s, and for a lot of people, that seems to be the sweet spot for doubles and complexes. I'm running a mostly-doubles program with 32s and I still love using double 20s.
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Thanks a lot for your advice and detailed answer. Concerning upper body muscular development is there a difference if you use doubles or singles?
 
daft21 said:
why do you think it's easier to use matched pairs?
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I feel that in my double work involving a clean, the quality of my lift that follows is determined by the quality of my clean. If my clean is sloppy or forced the movement that follows will also be sloppy or forced. When I have clean with good form, any movement that follows will typically be good form too.

This is especially so when you start with doubles. If you have a balanced load your clean will typically be better. You're lifting the bells and not fighting an unbalanced load.
 
blad51 said:
I feel that in my double work involving a clean, the quality of my lift that follows is determined by the quality of my clean. If my clean is sloppy or forced the movement that follows will also be sloppy or forced. When I have clean with good form, any movement that follows will typically be good form too.

This is especially so when you start with doubles. If you have a balanced load your clean will typically be better. You're lifting the bells and not fighting an unbalanced load.
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Makes a lot of sense thank you
John K said:
Not for upper body in my experience.
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Then I really might stay with single Giant and postpone adding doubles after I can handle the 28kg or 32kg Bell. Giant with a Kettlebell was really the best program I ever did concerning time investment and results
 
daft21 said:
Then I really might stay with single Giant and postpone adding doubles after I can handle the 28kg or 32kg Bell. Giant with a Kettlebell was really the best program I ever did concerning time investment and results
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Single giant - you get a LOT of conditioning in from double the cleans. Double giant - you develop more power from the hips due to the load. As for the pressing (shoulders and triceps) and pulling (back and bicep), the load is pretty much the same.

There's really no issue with sticking with single bell giant, especially if you add in some supplemental double cleans and double squats.
 
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