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Kettlebell "Giant 1.0"

I have a silly question about the Giant Series. I am just finishing Week 4 of 1.0 and enjoying it very much.

It might be inconsequential but I noticed that 1.0 follows a M, H, L cycle (5, 6, 4) but 1.1, 1.2 follow a L, H, M cycle (6,8,7 & 7,9,8 respectively). 2.0 is L,M,H. (ladders to 5,7,8) And 3.0 is back to M,H,L (2,3,1). Is this intentional?
 
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Hi there, asking for some opinions. I understand this is a 10RM program. I have a pair of 16's that I can Clean and Press 15 times although on the last 3 reps the form probably suffered a bit. I have access to a 24kg bell but I don't think I can press that for more than 2 or 3 reps. Would I benefit from running this program with the 16's in terms of strength / hypertrophy or would it be more of a conditioning program doing it with 15RM weights? I am looking for some strength / hypertrophy gains. I think It would be best for me if 1 had a pair of 20's but funds are a limiting factor right now..
 
If you look at the Giants reps as a percentage of a 10RM, you could convert the program to match at least in turns of RPE. I don’t know if you would see them same hypertrophy/strength benefits in the higher rep ranges, as I do think those rep ranges were deliberate choices by Geoff.

ie, if the day is 6 reps then that is 60%. Converting your 15RM to 60% would make that day 9 reps.
 
Hi there, asking for some opinions. I understand this is a 10RM program. I have a pair of 16's that I can Clean and Press 15 times although on the last 3 reps the form probably suffered a bit. I have access to a 24kg bell but I don't think I can press that for more than 2 or 3 reps. Would I benefit from running this program with the 16's in terms of strength / hypertrophy or would it be more of a conditioning program doing it with 15RM weights? I am looking for some strength / hypertrophy gains. I think It would be best for me if 1 had a pair of 20's but funds are a limiting factor right now..
Welcome to the forum!
Two options -
1. What @Hrungnir suggested. I’ve done that successfully for 8-16RM. Works really well. Even down to a 5RM, but there’s a LOT of rounding.
2. Do the reps as prescribed and realize you’re going to stack up a LOT more reps and you’ll be resting a lot less. Still will be effective but you’re sliding more towards conditioning with a little growth.
 
I think it’s fairly apparent from my other posts in here, that I have fully drank the koolaid on this programming. I still want to share some of my shower thoughts.

One of the most common things I’ve seen in here is the complaint of feeling the need to push for a PR every week. I was guilty of this on my first run though, but PRs were fairly easy to come by and I don’t think it detracted from the program. On this run through I decided to cut weight after finishing 1.0, so I started keto dropping my calories to 2k and kept my carbs under 20g.

My lifting numbers plummeted over night, I ran 2.0 and 1.05 (Easy Muscle Schedule 1 Phase 2), I wasn’t anywhere near my numbers on 1.0. In addition I got sick and kept lifting through the illness which dropped my numbers even more. I was struggling to just maintain my numbers week over week and while I was sick I went backwards. I told myself this was part of the auto regulation and to not restart the cycle, just to keep on. This week on my final day of 1.05, I tied my PR from 1.0. This tie was thirty pounds of Bodyweight lighter and 15 more reps than I managed the week before while sick.

I know I’m preaching to the choir a bit, but autoregulation has proven to me that it works for me. Just put in the work consistently and you’ll have that day where it just clicks and you ball out. That I’m able to hit the same numbers so much lighter felt vindicating.
 
I think it’s fairly apparent from my other posts in here, that I have fully drank the koolaid on this programming. I still want to share some of my shower thoughts.

One of the most common things I’ve seen in here is the complaint of feeling the need to push for a PR every week. I was guilty of this on my first run though, but PRs were fairly easy to come by and I don’t think it detracted from the program. On this run through I decided to cut weight after finishing 1.0, so I started keto dropping my calories to 2k and kept my carbs under 20g.

My lifting numbers plummeted over night, I ran 2.0 and 1.05 (Easy Muscle Schedule 1 Phase 2), I wasn’t anywhere near my numbers on 1.0. In addition I got sick and kept lifting through the illness which dropped my numbers even more. I was struggling to just maintain my numbers week over week and while I was sick I went backwards. I told myself this was part of the auto regulation and to not restart the cycle, just to keep on. This week on my final day of 1.05, I tied my PR from 1.0. This tie was thirty pounds of Bodyweight lighter and 15 more reps than I managed the week before while sick.

I know I’m preaching to the choir a bit, but autoregulation has proven to me that it works for me. Just put in the work consistently and you’ll have that day where it just clicks and you ball out. That I’m able to hit the same numbers so much lighter felt vindicating.
Great post! Thanks!
 
On this run through I decided to cut weight after finishing 1.0, so I started keto dropping my calories to 2k and kept my carbs under 20g.
That's pretty extreme for most folks. I've never tried to keep carbs less than 50 when doing keto, and just as a general guideline, it can be tough to change a lot of things at once. Maybe try keeping calories the same and carbs at 50 when switching to keto, and get used to keto before you change anything else.

-S-
 
That's pretty extreme for most folks. I've never tried to keep carbs less than 50 when doing keto, and just as a general guideline, it can be tough to change a lot of things at once. Maybe try keeping calories the same and carbs at 50 when switching to keto, and get used to keto before you change anything else.

-S-
I have ran keto fairly often on weight cuts back when I used to compete in weight classes.
 
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Has anyone thought of running the Giant on a 3-day A/B schedule with two different exercises? For example:

A: Double Clean + Press
B: Double Front Squat

Choose the weight for each exercise independently based on RM. I'd post a full specification below, but that would give away the set/rep scheme for the Giant... Suffice it to say, you would keep the same schedule, with the same sets/reps/time, but plug in a different exercise each session. It would take two weeks instead of one to repeat a session. For example:

MondayWednesdayFriday
Week 1DC+PDFSQDC+P
Week 2DFSQDC+PDFSQ

I love the Giant as is, absolutely brilliant program, but being a beginner using a light press weight, I don't feel it's hitting my lower body adequately. In time, I've no doubt it would (say, double cleans with 32s), but for now I'm missing some lower body action and looking for a modification.
 
Has anyone thought of running the Giant on a 3-day A/B schedule with two different exercises? For example:

A: Double Clean + Press
B: Double Front Squat

Choose the weight for each exercise independently based on RM. I'd post a full specification below, but that would give away the set/rep scheme for the Giant... Suffice it to say, you would keep the same schedule, with the same sets/reps/time, but plug in a different exercise each session. It would take two weeks instead of one to repeat a session. For example:

MondayWednesdayFriday
Week 1DC+PDFSQDC+P
Week 2DFSQDC+PDFSQ

I love the Giant as is, absolutely brilliant program, but being a beginner using a light press weight, I don't feel it's hitting my lower body adequately. In time, I've no doubt it would (say, double cleans with 32s), but for now I'm missing some lower body action and looking for a modification.

The “getterupper” 1.0. This would be an entirely different program that seems legitimate for the people who feel like their legs aren’t getting hit hard enough. I assume when you say “legs” you mean “quads.” I wouldn’t think the Giant would be the program of choice if that’s an area of concern.

I actually found that with both high rep sets with a 10RM and low rep sets with 5RM required me to find tension in all parts of legs. Quads and calves included. Everything would feel tight and strong after each phase of Giant.
 
Has anyone thought of running the Giant on a 3-day A/B schedule with two different exercises? For example:

A: Double Clean + Press
B: Double Front Squat

Choose the weight for each exercise independently based on RM. I'd post a full specification below, but that would give away the set/rep scheme for the Giant... Suffice it to say, you would keep the same schedule, with the same sets/reps/time, but plug in a different exercise each session. It would take two weeks instead of one to repeat a session. For example:

MondayWednesdayFriday
Week 1DC+PDFSQDC+P
Week 2DFSQDC+PDFSQ

I love the Giant as is, absolutely brilliant program, but being a beginner using a light press weight, I don't feel it's hitting my lower body adequately. In time, I've no doubt it would (say, double cleans with 32s), but for now I'm missing some lower body action and looking for a modification.

I'm also curious whether it would be better to alternate cycles of DC+P / DFSQ instead of trying to mix them. An A/B schedule like I outlined above has the benefit of hitting both movement patterns in any given week, but the drawback that it takes 8 weeks to do as much work for each as you could have packed into 4 weeks. Surely that has an impact from a weekly density perspective - too much recovery time and not enough work?

But if you were to cycle between two movements in a longer-term fashion, it would take a while to get back to the same movement again. You might do a 20-week cycle (3.0, 1.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.2) with DC+P and then a 20-week cycle with DFSQ. Would that be detrimental to making long-term gains on either? I guess you could maintain one movement while running the other, and then switch. Say, 3x5 DFSQ before each DC+P session, then on the next cycle 3x5 DC+P before each DFSQ session.

Or, maybe the DFSQ cycles should be a lot shorter and focused on only one end of the rep range, just to top up and give a bit of a break from DC+P before the next cycle. 20 weeks of DFSQ sounds brutal anyway. Maybe 16-20 weeks of DC+P then 4-8 of DFSQ? And repeat.

I'm just thinking out loud... For now, running Giant 3.0 with DC+P while grooving a few DFSQ before each session. This thread has been an invaluable resource to me so far; thank you to everyone who has contributed!
 
The Giant programming for sure works. I retested my max with 24kg recently and went from 7 rep to 10 rep max in about a month. I will stay with 3.0 for awhile then retest with my 28kg. Just using single bell version.
Nice!! I am almost finished a block of 3.1. Excited to test my RM, started with a 7RM so I'm hoping to get a 10 RM in order to start 1.0 using double 20's. Seeing results in physique already, my wife has commented how much bigger my legs and arms look!
 
Nice!! I am almost finished a block of 3.1. Excited to test my RM, started with a 7RM so I'm hoping to get a 10 RM in order to start 1.0 using double 20's. Seeing results in physique already, my wife has commented how much bigger my legs and arms look!
What is 3.1?
 
Funny I just had 4 or 5 days off due to some neck pain. Also had a stiff and sore lower back. Did a session yesterday and woke up with back pain gone!!
 
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