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Kettlebell "Giant 1.0"

Well, i was doing good until mid week 3 and somehow pulled a lower back muscle so a few days out then week 4 deload.

Annoying thing is i felt fine during the workout and all day until i woke up the next morning!
 
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Cearball said:
Pretty much peed coca cola.

Happened a few days apart & came & went suddenly.

Could likely be kidney stones according to doc but for the sake of playing it safe I took a week off & consulted a few doctors.

First session back today.

I'm going to run giant 1.2 as 20 mins sets & take it easy & focus on quality over quantity.

The "intensity" of 9,7,8 rep sets can do the work to force adaptation.
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Update to anyone reading this .

Can confirm its not rhabdo but I am peeing blood on a semi regular basis.
 
Well, after a week off for vacation, week 1 of Giant 1.1 with 2x24 KG is substantially harder, and my reps and total weight are down noticeably. The higher rep schemes really seems to take it out of me.
However, I feel pretty good when its done and I have a short rest, and subjectively it feels like I am tightening up in all the right places.
I also want to re-quote this, because it's so true as the reps get higher:
WxHerk said:
Again, a press is very rarely better than the clean preceding it. My terminology is that the clean “coils the spring” to enable the press.
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6was9 said:
I get it now. My problem is that I don't use programs with prescribed parameters. Neither I call programs by names. The Giant is the first program I bought in probably ten years, and I did it out of interest triggered by the activity around it on this thread.

Browsing the Net I stumbled across the Wolf, which apparently is another popular cookie cutter program on SF. I see now that my suggestion of adding a front squat to the Giant and limiting the number of sets per session would turn the program into some sort of cross between the Giant and the Wolf. Perhaps... But only if... But then again... (a joke)

Jokes aside, I have been wondering for a while if the effect of complex lifts depends on the sequence of its components. For example, are 5 x C&P the same as 5 cleans followed by 5 presses? I am guessing there is a difference, due to the accumulated fatigue in uninterrupted lifts. More so with complexes with more components perhaps. Did anybody experiment with different sequences?
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For me, 5 cleans followed by 5 jerks is way easier than 5 C&J. Like a whole other ball game. The effects seem to be less pronounced at lower reps and more pronounced at higher reps. Again, just my two cents.
 
Dayz said:
Anyone have advice for running the Giant while intending to lose a few lbs of fat?

I'm thinking about restricting my carbs on non- lifting days and fuelling myself normally on lifting days so I can do quality work. Only hoping to lose 3kg (~6lbs) after gaining 9kg (~18lbs) over the last 4 months.

Thoughts?
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Geoff says that directly in a newsletter article. He thinks the metabolic effect is underated in weight loss. So if you do the giant and eat more you will get more mass. If you do the giant and restrict or just don't add calories you will torch the weight off. The time under tension and work in the physics sense is huge. Think of Grahill's 10*10 with 32s. 64 * 100/ 141 pounds * 100 ! However, what I find is that it is also one of the few programs that allows for moderate hypertrophy AND moderate weight loss at the same time, which is perfect for my goals. I want a bit of functional mass but don't need significant weight loss. I want to improve my lean mass to fat ratio at slightly lower weight.
 
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MarkSch said:
Well, after a week off for vacation, week 1 of Giant 1.1 with 2x24 KG is substantially harder, and my reps and total weight are down noticeably. The higher rep schemes really seems to take it out of me.
However, I feel pretty good when its done and I have a short rest, and subjectively it feels like I am tightening up in all the right places.
I also want to re-quote this, because it's so true as the reps get higher:
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It's certainly ok. I think too many have missed the idea....just do what you can and cleanly add to it each week, even if it's the same number of reps done 30 seconds faster.....it's still improvement.
 
guardian7 said:
Geoff says that directly in a newsletter article. He thinks the metabolic effect is underated in weight loss. So if you do the giant and eat you will get more mass. If you do the giant and restrict or just don't add calories you will torch the weight off. The time under tension and work in the physics sense is huge. Think of Grahill's 10*10 with 32s. 64 * 110 / 141 pounds * 100 !
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I went on a "diet" in the fall when I started the Giant Journey and it worked pretty well at knocking off some blubber!
 
Dayz said:
Anyone have advice for running the Giant while intending to lose a few lbs of fat?

I'm thinking about restricting my carbs on non- lifting days and fuelling myself normally on lifting days so I can do quality work. Only hoping to lose 3kg (~6lbs) after gaining 9kg (~18lbs) over the last 4 months.

Thoughts?
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This should work. It's a tactic I've used for probably 20 years.

Just make sure you don't overcompensate w/ fat - "healthy" fats or otherwise on non-lifting days.

The key to dropping fat/losing weight is to create some kind of deficit over some period of time - weekly, bi-weekly, monthly...
 
guardian7 said:
Geoff says that directly in a newsletter article. He thinks the metabolic effect is underated in weight loss. So if you do the giant and eat you will get more mass. If you do the giant and restrict or just don't add calories you will torch the weight off. The time under tension and work in the physics sense is huge. Think of Grahill's 10*10 with 32s. 64 * 110 / 141 pounds * 100 !
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Yup, and to add further:

Some people get hungrier on these types of programs, eat more, and add a lot of mass/muscle.

Some people lose their appetite on these types of programs, eat less, and drop fat.

Hope that helps.
 
guardian7 said:
It seems to me that the main value of the Giant and its variations is to work at a medium-heavy, medium-high rep range. This is the range that produces the metabolic effects. I am definitely feeling the 8 rep day in a good way today. I would build a base first with straight sets before enbarking on any type of challenging program. The benefits of starting one at less than your full ability would be small but the costs high if you reinjured your shoulder. It is tough to be patient. I have had sports injuries, but best in the long run.
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I hear you on the patience advice. I will cautiously experiment with sets of 2x (3C+1P) with 2x16K. One such set every 2-3 minutes should give me a decent overall loading without aggravating my shoulder, I hope.

So basically, I'll be doing The Giant.
 
Cearball said:
Update to anyone reading this .

Can confirm its not rhabdo but I am peeing blood on a semi regular basis.
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Your doctor must figure out the cause. Kidney stones, glomerulonephritis or something more nasty. Pretty much every renal condition, if untreated, eventually leads to renal failure and dialysis. Most of them are curable. Make sure you get a diagnosis and appropriate treatment.
 
John Grahill said:
As the program progressed, yes I became ravenous by dinner time!
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Can confirm as well. Giant 1.0 is making me so hungry.

Speaking of which, I thought I'd share my results from weeks 1-3 of Giant 1.0 (I plan to reduce time from 30 to 20 min. in the 4th week to "deload" before starting 1.1 after). I am performing double clean and jerk with 40lb bells.

Week 1: 60-53-68 (average 60) = 181 reps
Week 2: 80-66-72 (average 72) =218 reps (+37)
Week 3: 85-78-80 (average 81) =243 reps (+25)

I'm having so much fun with it. At the start of every single week, when I'm about halfway through a session, I feel really gassed and think I'm going to have fewer reps. Then, when I finish the 30 minutes, I realize I got multiple sets more than the previous week. Pretty awesome!
 
MarkSch said:
Well, after a week off for vacation, week 1 of Giant 1.1 with 2x24 KG is substantially harder, and my reps and total weight are down noticeably. The higher rep schemes really seems to take it out of me.
However, I feel pretty good when its done and I have a short rest, and subjectively it feels like I am tightening up in all the right places.
I also want to re-quote this, because it's so true as the reps get higher:
Click to expand...

My experience has been that the difference of one rep looks so small that it is deceivingl. The high rep day is the money set. There is an immediate drop in volume but then within a couple of weeks you compensate and the volume recovers. I think your experience is typical. For example, on Giant 1.0 the 6 rep day was very challenging, but now in Giant 1.1 I look forward to the 6 as an easy day after an 8 day.
 
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