Kettlebell "Giant 1.0"

[Singlecoilquack]

Do people think you can run the Giant more or less indefinitely?

Seems like it'd be difficult to do it indefinitely if you ran it as written given that it's a progressive overload program (i.e., w/ straight-line increases in load over time). You're going to hit a wall eventually. At a minimum, it's probably not optimal. The session time schemes that have been mentioned (i.e., 20/25/30/25) will likely extend your time horizon. Same with adding in pull ups. Both of these tactics add variability. For what it's worth, 12 weeks, as written, beat me up. I got what I wanted from it but knew I needed to step away for a bit.

 

[Eyetic]

9 months here or 10 maybe.....I don't see why not even If i use it as my core programming and I schedule different works around it during the year

 

[BrianCF]

Do people think you can run the Giant more or less indefinitely?

I think the answer is maybe. What does Pavel say, run the ROP until you get 1/2 bodyweight press and 200 snatches? Made up of a hinge and press with some pullups?

Giant is the same a hinge and press. It also is only 30 minutes max vs. whatever time it takes for you to heavy day. So that makes it more sustainable than the Rite of Passage.

What also makes it more sustainable is, you can run it for 20 minutes, 25 minutes or 30. You can also do singles or doubles. You can also use variety days to do 3 sets of pullups and rows, 3 sets of squats.

Like ROP the main entree is Clean and Press. Rows, pullups and squats are nice side dishes.

Now that being said, there is nothing wrong with taking a month or two off to focus on something else and heal and recover from all the volume. 20 weeks of The Giant, 6 weeks of Kettlebell Hard. Done twice gives you a full year of training.

 

[Owen Chau]

Do people think you can run the Giant more or less indefinitely?

In my experience, there’s enough variation in the Giant programs to run them for a long time (assuming you have good technique to avoid overuse or possible strains).

Here’s my experience so far:
Starting RM Test: Dbl KB C+P 2x28kg x 10 RM
Week 1-4: Giant 1.0 - 2x28kg
Week 5-8: Giant 2.0 - 2x28kg
Week 9-12: Giant 1.1 - 2x28kg
Week 13-16: Giant 1.2 - 2x28kg
Post-RM Test: Dbl KB C+P 2x28kg x 16 RM

Starting RM Test: Dbl KB C+PP 2x36kg x 6 RM
Week 17-21: Giant 3.0 - Dbl C+PP 2x36kg
Post-RM Test: Dbl KB C+PP 2x36kg x 10 RM, 2x40kg x 3 RM
I also finally hit a 10 RM for 2x32kg for strict Dbl C+P which is a huge milestone for me.

I’m currently running the Giant 3.0 with a single 36kg kettlebell for strict presses.

 

[barrak]

Do people think you can run the Giant more or less indefinitely?

You can train holistically indefinitely, for sure. Sticking to only one movement pattern or one energy system for 6+ months is too one-dimensional IMHO.

You'll find below a screenshot of my heart rate at the end of my third month with the Giant... recorded with a chest strap during a Giant 1.1 Heavy Day. You'll notice the good recovery after every set, even though I was hitting 155-165 HR on almost every set which is 90-96% of my measured 172 HRmax (I'm in my mid-50s). That suggests a well conditioned anaerobic system.

Yet, I had no aerobic capacity to speak of at the time (HR goes to Zones 2 and 3 with the slightest effort), no agility, and limited mobility (gained previously from kettlebell and sandbag getups).

I have since learned to embrace and appreciate full-body multi-directional active mobility, LSD running, and all kinds of quick-feet skipping (had my daughter teach me that bit). I still do two Giant sessions every week, as an integral element of a holistic training approach.

 

[BrianCF]

Did the 1st heavy day of 1.1 today. Got 6 good sets in 18:30 I'm going to go with 20 minutes vs. 30 for this round. The bells got really heavy the last 2 sets.

 

[Singlecoilquack]

Did the 1st heavy day of 1.1 today. Got 6 good sets in 18:30 I'm going to go with 20 minutes vs. 30 for this round. The bells got really heavy the last 2 sets.

You still doing 24s or did you move up in weight?

 

[Gypsyplumber]

Did you do that within each session or did you alternate to where you did the Giant one day and then did pull-ups the next day?

My only reservation with the Giant is that it's one exercise with a hinge and a push. (And, no, I haven't run it. So I'm not criticizing. I just find myself concerned about becoming so laser-focused on one thing (hinge and press) without an identifiable squat and pull for months on end. I guess the only way to know would be to actually run it.) But I do have KB Express and I've run others of Geoff's programs that I've found to have more variety.

This was my biggest concern as well. I don’t look at the Giant as something id run forever, but i will rotate it through my training in spurts. I’ve done it for approximately 6 months and I haven’t lost anything in my squats. I do them on my “rest day”. That’s the beauty of the program, if you’re in decent shape you can do all 3 sessions and still manage a 4th freestyle session if you want. One thing I’ve fully come to realize is the the double clean and press is not a upper body workout. It’s a full body workout. My quads, glutes, core, shoulders, and grip all get taxed. This is the strongest I’ve ever felt at the age of 35 running this program.

 

[John Grahill]

This was my biggest concern as well. I don’t look at the Giant as something id run forever, but i will rotate it through my training in spurts. I’ve done it for approximately 6 months and I haven’t lost anything in my squats. I do them on my “rest day”. That’s the beauty of the program, if you’re in decent shape you can do all 3 sessions and still manage a 4th freestyle session if you want. One thing I’ve fully come to realize is the the double clean and press is not a upper body workout. It’s a full body workout. My quads, glutes, core, shoulders, and grip all get taxed. This is the strongest I’ve ever felt at the age of 35 running this program.

Gypsyplumber, I agree with you. One thing to keep in mind for me at least, just remember that if you start out using a true 10RM, as the program progresses you may not feel like adding more things to your workouts!

 

[BrianCF]

You still doing 24s or did you move up in weight?

Yes my kettlebells are 25kg. To get to 30 minutes, I would have sat around for 4 minutes between sets to hopefully squeeze out 2 more sets. I didn't want to stiffen up and risk getting injured. 48 reps was good enough.

 

[Hans]

Week one of 1.0 complete. I've clean and pressed more than 12 metric tons the last 3 workouts and weirdly enough my legs have taken the heaviest hit so far. Haven't done any direct leg work except prying goblet squats as a warmup. I just had a run of DFW where I C&P and squatted around 50 reps thrice a week, yet now my legs feel far more busted. Curious to see how the next weeks progress.

Think I have to increase my protein intake and sleep hours (if I find the time...).

 

[pood_swinger]

today I did D2W2 of 1.1 with 16kg x 2, didn't start the clock and went for max sets just to test the waters and got 10 sets of 8 under 45min. during the giant 1 in july-aug my max reps were 70 once.
Last week on day 3 got 10 sets of 7, also timeless. Between sets I kept moving to sweep-->mop the living room floor lol
that's a personal record for me. also to keep in perspective I was a couch potato until jun/2021 (ended after I recovered from covid19, finally made up my mind). in november/20 I couldn't press the 16kg once
I've been keeping a diary, I've worked out in average x 3 every week. Before jun/2021 I worked out 0 times per week

 

[John Grahill]

today I did D2W2 of 1.1 with 16kg x 2, didn't start the clock and went for max sets just to test the waters and got 10 sets of 8 under 45min. during the giant 1 in july-aug my max reps were 70 once.
Last week on day 3 got 10 sets of 7, also timeless. Between sets I kept moving to sweep-->mop the living room floor lol
that's a personal record for me. also to keep in perspective I was a couch potato until jun/2021 (ended after I recovered from covid19, finally made up my mind). in november/20 I couldn't press the 16kg once
I've been keeping a diary, I've worked out in average x 3 every week. Before jun/2021 I worked out 0 times per week

That's great! Congrats to you man!

 

[Jean-Marie]

Hello everyone,

So that's a wrap for my second cycle of The Giant 1.0 with 2x24kg
I peaked on the the third week with 80/60/84 reps and I've just done a very refreshing deload week with 20min sessions and 50/48/56.
I've planned to follow up with 1.1. I'm a little concerned about my endurance on higher rep sets. Recleaning the bells so many times will probably be a killer. My plan is to aim for 10 sets by the third week. So basically, I'll aim at 8 sets for the first week with plenty of rest between sets, It should give me some headroom to add a new set each week.
Even if I'm able to do more sets on the light days, I think I will try not to do more sets as during the heavy day in order to get a real wave in the workout difficulty and not just push harder on easy days.

I'm currently working on a ship for 8 more weeks, so I hope I'll be able to wrap up 1.1 and 1.2 by the time I sign off.
Can't wait to test with heavier Kettlebells when I get home.

Should be fun !

 

[Gary Wilson]

Im tempted to run a cycle of giant again, its been 7 months!
I find when i do giant i miss the calisthenics stuff i do and the variation, i also lose my pullup, dip strength
Its the same the other way round, the calisthenics doesn't carry over to the press so i know id have to start again with the giant

That being said i do miss the giant and its simplicity

 

[John Grahill]

Im tempted to run a cycle of giant again, its been 7 months!
I find when i do giant i miss the calisthenics stuff i do and the variation, i also lose my pullup, dip strength
Its the same the other way round, the calisthenics doesn't carry over to the press so i know id have to start again with the giant

That being said i do miss the giant and its simplicity

I say go for it! I can't speak for dip strength because they really hurt my shoulders when I do them (so I don't) but my pull-up strength stayed strong throughout my Giant runs. I do test them from time to time and they remained strong. Just shows how we're all different !

 

[JeanneRising]

Im tempted to run a cycle of giant again, its been 7 months!
I find when i do giant i miss the calisthenics stuff i do and the variation, i also lose my pullup, dip strength
Its the same the other way round, the calisthenics doesn't carry over to the press so i know id have to start again with the giant

That being said i do miss the giant and its simplicity

Well while Geoff doesn’t necessarily recommend doing a lot of work besides The Giant… I think an Easy Strength approach with 1-2 Exercises with very low reps afterwards should work. I do it with Front Squats and inverted Rows and don’t feel it to be detrimental for my regeneration (at least not more than the giant itself ).

 

[Geoff Neupert]

Well while Geoff doesn’t necessarily recommend doing a lot of work besides The Giant… I think an Easy Strength approach with 1-2 Exercises with very low reps afterwards should work. I do it with Front Squats and inverted Rows and don’t feel it to be detrimental for my regeneration (at least not more than the giant itself ).

This is also a good way to approach it.

I typically recommend 1-2 assistance exercises 1-2x a week, for around 10-15 reps total each exercise. (2-3 x 3-5)

 

[HUNTER1313]

This is also a good way to approach it.

I typically recommend 1-2 assistance exercises 1-2x a week, for around 10-15 reps total each exercise. (2-3 x 3-5)

Two S&S sessions. Yay or Nay? Personally, if it's a yay I'll probably split them up ala strength shortcuts

 

[Geoff Neupert]

Two S&S sessions. Yay or Nay? Personally, if it's a yay I'll probably split them up ala strength shortcuts

@HUNTER1313,

Nay.

They're redundant.

Pick a complimentary exercise like the DFSQ.