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Kettlebell "Giant 1.0"

Dude, you're gonna be rocking those 32s for sure. Run some cleans for a whole and wait until your neck feels better and hit em up in the 3.0.....in the meantime run up some reps with the 28s! Trust Geoff's programming!
That’s my plan. Problem I keep finding as I approach 40 is I don’t heal as fast lol. When I woke up with my neck hurting I figured I’d be good a day later lol. Not the case! I used to wakeboard all summer and I’d smash my face into the water from 8ft in the air and my neck would hurt for a half a day, now a days I scrub my truck for too long and my neck/traps hurt for 2 weeks haha go figure.
 
That’s my plan. Problem I keep finding as I approach 40 is I don’t heal as fast lol. When I woke up with my neck hurting I figured I’d be good a day later lol. Not the case! I used to wakeboard all summer and I’d smash my face into the water from 8ft in the air and my neck would hurt for a half a day, now a days I scrub my truck for too long and my neck/traps hurt for 2 weeks haha go figure.
Well, I certainly understand that as you approach 40. Wait until your mid 50s!
 
Might be coming to the end of my giant journey.

Ran The Giant 2 with 2 x 20kg KB.

Worth noting that the 4 weeks got extended to 5 as I missed 1 workout during 2 of the 4 weeks & wasnt able to catch up by doing 4 workouts in the remaining 2 weeks.
Added a 5 week of 2 workouts.

Tested my RM today & got 11 with 2 X 20kg KB. Previous test I got 12 so it looks like the progress has stalled.

I would probably move onto another programme now under normal circumstances however looks like I'm moving house in a week or two.

Initially moving into my partner's place while we try to sell that to do a combined purchase of a house together so it makes sense for alot of my gear to end up in storage.

However I will keep a 20 & 24 kg KB handy so I will probably end up running The Giant as a single KB programme until the house stuff is squared away.
 
Might be coming to the end of my giant journey.

Ran The Giant 2 with 2 x 20kg KB.

Worth noting that the 4 weeks got extended to 5 as I missed 1 workout during 2 of the 4 weeks & wasnt able to catch up by doing 4 workouts in the remaining 2 weeks.
Added a 5 week of 2 workouts.

Tested my RM today & got 11 with 2 X 20kg KB. Previous test I got 12 so it looks like the progress has stalled.

I would probably move onto another programme now under normal circumstances however looks like I'm moving house in a week or two.

Initially moving into my partner's place while we try to sell that to do a combined purchase of a house together so it makes sense for alot of my gear to end up in storage.

However I will keep a 20 & 24 kg KB handy so I will probably end up running The Giant as a single KB programme until the house stuff is squared away.
First, you're going through a life changing event. Moving. That leads to a lot of extra stress. Getting 11 is great, just life gets in the way. There is always a point where a stall out occurs. This event, however, that's not the case.

Second, how much room does a kettlebell actually take up? Keep 3. Bury the one that you're not using in the closet.

Run a different program for a month that is less stress, come back and re-evaluate.
 
First, you're going through a life changing event. Moving. That leads to a lot of extra stress. Getting 11 is great, just life gets in the way. There is always a point where a stall out occurs. This event, however, that's not the case.

Second, how much room does a kettlebell actually take up? Keep 3. Bury the one that you're not using in the closet.

Run a different program for a month that is less stress, come back and re-evaluate.
They might be the case that it's not a real stall.
Moving house + large maintenance shutdown in work with 12 hour nightwork means stress is high ATM.

I liked the idea of single bell giant as I wanted to test my theory of it being a better fatloss programme.
 
They might be the case that it's not a real stall.
Moving house + large maintenance shutdown in work with 12 hour nightwork means stress is high ATM.

I liked the idea of single bell giant as I wanted to test my theory of it being a better fatloss programme
I have been itching to run the Giant as a single bell program. I think @Cearball may be right about the fat loss thing.....using a heavy bell and doing the right and left sides one after the other is a lot of time under tension. I always made gains with unilateral training.....for what it's worth, Dan John loves the 1 arm press....Google Dan John 1 arm press and you'll see he's a big fan.

I know that conventional wisdom says that 1 arm presses won't help your double presses but I personally don't know if that's true in my case. Several years ago I did the ROP press program with a 40 and my double 40 press capability improved.

This is on my radar post "Dumbbell Strong".....
 
Looks like I'm late to the party here but I'm planning on getting started with the Giant on Monday.
Been running some barbell stuff for the past 6 months and I feel like I need a break from that, knees and lower back are beginning to get a few niggles.

I figured the giant would be a good program to run alongside some 5km run training as it's light on the legs.

Will update on progress
 
They might be the case that it's not a real stall.
Moving house + large maintenance shutdown in work with 12 hour nightwork means stress is high ATM.

I liked the idea of single bell giant as I wanted to test my theory of it being a better fatloss programme.
During my busiest times I’ve found popping out 100 swings a day with a few push ups is very beneficial maintenance. Just what works for me. Also I’m one of those people who when stress is high I need harder training sessions to get those endorphins.
 
Did my second workout doing 2.0. The magic is in the 7 rep set. The conditioning from the double cleans made my heart pound. Did 68 reps, which is my all time high for reps. I chose this over 1.1. I think the ladder style, building up to 7 and 8 reps is easier than just doing straight, 7's/8's. Understanding what a set feels like when finished and then doing an easier set of 3 or 4 puts one in better condition to do the straight sets of 1.1.

Any other thoughts on this?
 
@BrianCF, absolutely agree. Ladders are great for volume and are even better at providing a mental benefit. I started 1.2 this week and am completely dreading tomorrow's 9 rep session. I expect at least one failed set and don't have the safety net of knowing that the next set will be fewer reps.
 
Did my second workout doing 2.0. The magic is in the 7 rep set. The conditioning from the double cleans made my heart pound. Did 68 reps, which is my all time high for reps. I chose this over 1.1. I think the ladder style, building up to 7 and 8 reps is easier than just doing straight, 7's/8's. Understanding what a set feels like when finished and then doing an easier set of 3 or 4 puts one in better condition to do the straight sets of 1.1.

Any other thoughts on this?
Brian....I started the whole Giant Journey last year with the 2.0. It "eased" me into higher rep clean and presses. I think it's a great idea to do the 1.0, the 2.0 then the 1.1.....or the 2.0 first followed by the 1 series. Especially important when you're using a challenging set of bells! Climb to the top which is tough, especially above 6 reps, but your next set is the bottom of the ladder keeping you fresh!
@BrianCF, absolutely agree. Ladders are great for volume and are even better at providing a mental benefit. I started 1.2 this week and am completely dreading tomorrow's 9 rep session. I expect at least one failed set and don't have the safety net of knowing that the next set will be fewer reps.
Don't sweat the missed set....take liberal rests. I think my first time through I got like only 5 sets and rested a lot.....even with generous rest periods by your last set you're wiped out!
It's not where you start out but where you'll be in 4 weeks!
 
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I know that conventional wisdom says that 1 arm presses won't help your double presses
I've never heard that before. FWIW, my take: one-arm presses allow many people with high-mileage shoulders to find a groove they can still press in, and you certainly won't press doubles of a weight you can't press for a single on both side (or if you can, you have an issue that needs to be addressed separately, IMO).

Of course, you still need to practice doubles in order to be able to press doubles well.

One could make a nice training plan out of first increasing one's one-arm press strength and then backing down a kettlebell size or two and trying to work back with doubles.

-S-
 
I've never heard that before. FWIW, my take: one-arm presses allow many people with high-mileage shoulders to find a groove they can still press in, and you certainly won't press doubles of a weight you can't press for a single on both side (or if you can, you have an issue that needs to be addressed separately, IMO).

Of course, you still need to practice doubles in order to be able to press doubles well.

One could make a nice training plan out of first increasing one's one-arm press strength and then backing down a kettlebell size or two and trying to work back with doubles.

-S-
Steve, great points!

I was referring to several articles I've read indicating that double bells are superior to single bell work for muscle and strength. Read that double bell work will have carry over to single bell work but not vice versa. In my case I didn't find that at all.....found that single bell presses made my double bell presses stronger! Im referring to using a single 40 kg made my double 40 stronger........didn't think it would happen! Can't explain it other than we all are wired differently I guess.
 
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I have a question on the longer term effect of higher volume programs like the Giant.

So I did my first Giant session yesterday, I have decided to alternate my C&Ps with Rows as I find if I neglect the rows at the expense of more pressing, my shoulders hate me for it.

In session 1 week 1 I got 50 presses and 50 rows.

That's a significant amount of volume already and it's only going to go up from here.

My question is this......What are the longer term implications of this. Will I still see progress using a lower volume program in the future or is it a case of, once you ramp up the volume, assuming you continue training consistently you need to keep volume high.

I realise intensity needs to be factored into this discussion I'm just not sure of the interplay.

Any thoughts appreciated.
 
@Stu , like you said, intensity might be the primary factor in this scenario. I started Giant because I wanted a hypertrophy program. Presumably strength is increased as a matter of course, which means to that you will still see progress with a lower volume program assuming you capitalize on those strength gains by pressing a heavier weight. Hope that makes sense.
 
I have a question on the longer term effect of higher volume programs like the Giant.

So I did my first Giant session yesterday, I have decided to alternate my C&Ps with Rows as I find if I neglect the rows at the expense of more pressing, my shoulders hate me for it.

In session 1 week 1 I got 50 presses and 50 rows.

That's a significant amount of volume already and it's only going to go up from here.

My question is this......What are the longer term implications of this. Will I still see progress using a lower volume program in the future or is it a case of, once you ramp up the volume, assuming you continue training consistently you need to keep volume high.

I realise intensity needs to be factored into this discussion I'm just not sure of the interplay.

Any thoughts appreciated.
I started doing pull ups with the C&P, now the Giant has its days and i'm just doing warm ups before doing them and left the pulls for other days (I normally recover well from one day to the other so no problem there). Having said that, the rows will restrain your performance when a certain volume is reached, even now if you just do the C&P you will reach more reps/volume if you leave out the rows for some other time.

Regarding longer term, I've been into the program 8 months or so and for me its ok, I started cleaning and jerking the 24 kgs bell and now I completely own it adding the 16kgs as well, I could work 1.0 with the 34kgs+24kgs but I'm still waiting. My reps range even if i dount count it everyday is somewhere in between 60 to 100 reps per session, for me thats the sweet spot, I keep gaining strenght, my conditioning is good and have hypertrophy results, if I add pull ups in between I couldn't manage that number of reps and I'm sure I wouldn't recover and perform well the c&p.

If you split up both works the volume would be ok under my opinion.
 
I have a question on the longer term effect of higher volume programs like the Giant.

So I did my first Giant session yesterday, I have decided to alternate my C&Ps with Rows as I find if I neglect the rows at the expense of more pressing, my shoulders hate me for it.

In session 1 week 1 I got 50 presses and 50 rows.

That's a significant amount of volume already and it's only going to go up from here.

My question is this......What are the longer term implications of this. Will I still see progress using a lower volume program in the future or is it a case of, once you ramp up the volume, assuming you continue training consistently you need to keep volume high.

I realise intensity needs to be factored into this discussion I'm just not sure of the interplay.

Any thoughts appreciated.
Don't know if this answers your question but back in June I did an "experiment" for Mr. Neupert....I ran the Giant 1.0 and alternated c+p's with pullups. I developed soreness in my elbows and left shoulder. Now admittedly I do have some training "mileage " on me......I found no such issue (s) doing the program without an additional pull.. ........double bell presses done the way SF advocates with an active pull down to the rack position kept my pull up strength fairly well in tact but the additional pullups created soreness.....just food for thought.
 
@Stu , like you said, intensity might be the primary factor in this scenario. I started Giant because I wanted a hypertrophy program. Presumably strength is increased as a matter of course, which means to that you will still see progress with a lower volume program assuming you capitalize on those strength gains by pressing a heavier weight. Hope that makes sense.
Thanks for the response. Yes I think you are right, I might even move on to Strong once I finish the giant to prove this to myself.
 
I started doing pull ups with the C&P, now the Giant has its days and i'm just doing warm ups before doing them and left the pulls for other days (I normally recover well from one day to the other so no problem there). Having said that, the rows will restrain your performance when a certain volume is reached, even now if you just do the C&P you will reach more reps/volume if you leave out the rows for some other time.

Regarding longer term, I've been into the program 8 months or so and for me its ok, I started cleaning and jerking the 24 kgs bell and now I completely own it adding the 16kgs as well, I could work 1.0 with the 34kgs+24kgs but I'm still waiting. My reps range even if i dount count it everyday is somewhere in between 60 to 100 reps per session, for me thats the sweet spot, I keep gaining strenght, my conditioning is good and have hypertrophy results, if I add pull ups in between I couldn't manage that number of reps and I'm sure I wouldn't recover and perform well the c&p.

If you split up both works the volume would be ok under my opinion.
Thanks for sharing your experience, definitely worth further consideration.

I wonder if the horizontal pull of the Row will be more appropriate to mix with the Clean & Press given the Pullup is a very similar movement pattern.
 
Don't know if this answers your question but back in June I did an "experiment" for Mr. Neupert....I ran the Giant 1.0 and alternated c+p's with pullups. I developed soreness in my elbows and left shoulder. Now admittedly I do have some training "mileage " on me......I found no such issue (s) doing the program without an additional pull.. ........double bell presses done the way SF advocates with an active pull down to the rack position kept my pull up strength fairly well in tact but the additional pullups created soreness.....just food for thought.
Likewise, thanks for sharing this John....food for thought.
 
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