Kettlebell GTG Swings?

[Oscar]

I´m doing S&S, and lately I have been doing the swings in a GTG manner throughout the morning a few times a week. I then save 10 minutes in the evening to do the TGUs. The other days I just do regular S&S.

This is how I do it: Before the first set, I do a few goblet squats, halos and bridges. Then, I do 2 sets of 10 reps every time I go to the kettlebell, so I need a total of 5 clusters to complete the 100 swings. I leave a minute or so between the two sets.

A few things I have noticed:

- I can use a heavier bell. I can easily do my swings with the 32 this way, while my normal working weight is 28.
- I recover very well from day to day.
- I feel pretty active and energetic during the morning, when I do the GTG.
- Its so short that I dont sweat, I dont need workout clothes.

I´m not sure how well it transfers to regular S&S, in particular regarding the conditioning aspect or the capacity to reduce rest periods. I think this GTG swings alternative might go very well complemented with some LSD running. Another idea would be to go even heavier for sets of 7 reps.

Have you experimented with this method, and what were your results?

Below an old thread discussing this same topic:

Have you "greased the groove" with swings?

I´ll tag a few who I think have experimented with this method: @Mark Limbaga @Steve W. @Neuro-Bob @WxHerk

 

[Neuro-Bob]

I´m doing S&S, and lately I have been doing the swings in a GTG manner throughout the morning a few times a week. I then save 10 minutes in the evening to do the TGUs. The other days I just do regular S&S.

This is how I do it: Before the first set, I do a few goblet squats, halos and bridges. Then, I do 2 sets of 10 reps every time I go to the kettlebell, so I need a total of 5 clusters to complete the 100 swings. I leave a minute or so between the two sets.

A few things I have noticed:

- I can use a heavier bell. I can easily do my swings with the 32 this way, while my normal working weight is 28.
- I recover very well from day to day.
- I feel pretty active and energetic during the morning, when I do the GTG.
- Its so short that I dont sweat, I dont need workout clothes.

I´m not sure how well it transfers to regular S&S, in particular regarding the conditioning aspect or the capacity to reduce rest periods. I think this GTG swings alternative might go very well complemented with some LSD running. Another idea would be to go even heavier for sets of 7 reps.

Have you experimented with this method, and what were your results?

Below an old thread discussing this same topic:

Have you "greased the groove" with swings?

I´ll tag a few who I think have experimented with this method: @Mark Limbaga @Steve W. @Neuro-Bob @WxHerk

From a completely anecdotal perspective, GTG swings worked well for me.

This was with the 70lb and working towards simple in....2016 or 2017.

My method was almost purely GTG. Just walk up to the kettlebell, do 10 swings, put it down and come back later. Some days I did higher rep sets - 50 or 60, at the peak. No plan or nothing, just make sure I get 100 in daily somehow.

I thought it worked very well. Wasn’t supplemented with anything else.

Have fun!

 

[Arryn Grogan]

I´m doing S&S, and lately I have been doing the swings in a GTG manner throughout the morning a few times a week. I then save 10 minutes in the evening to do the TGUs. The other days I just do regular S&S.

This is how I do it: Before the first set, I do a few goblet squats, halos and bridges. Then, I do 2 sets of 10 reps every time I go to the kettlebell, so I need a total of 5 clusters to complete the 100 swings. I leave a minute or so between the two sets.

A few things I have noticed:

- I can use a heavier bell. I can easily do my swings with the 32 this way, while my normal working weight is 28.
- I recover very well from day to day.
- I feel pretty active and energetic during the morning, when I do the GTG.
- Its so short that I dont sweat, I dont need workout clothes.

I´m not sure how well it transfers to regular S&S, in particular regarding the conditioning aspect or the capacity to reduce rest periods. I think this GTG swings alternative might go very well complemented with some LSD running. Another idea would be to go even heavier for sets of 7 reps.

Have you experimented with this method, and what were your results?

Below an old thread discussing this same topic:

Have you "greased the groove" with swings?

I´ll tag a few who I think have experimented with this method: @Mark Limbaga @Steve W. @Neuro-Bob @WxHerk

I'd second your idea of doing this with a heavier weight instead. But still heavier than the weight you could do for 7... I'd recommend going for something heavy enough to only warrant 3-5 reps.

 

[Steve W.]

A few things I have noticed:

- I can use a heavier bell. I can easily do my swings with the 32 this way, while my normal working weight is 28.
- I recover very well from day to day.
- I feel pretty active and energetic during the morning, when I do the GTG.
- Its so short that I dont sweat, I dont need workout clothes.

This is similar to my experience. The main advantages to this type of training are sustainability and practicality. I do a lot of training this way because it easily fits into my day, and I can keep doing it consistently.

Does it "work"? Yes, in the sense that it allows me to consistently engage in the training process, which is one of my two major training goals (the other being to enjoy my training).

I think this GTG swings alternative might go very well complemented with some LSD running.

In my experience this is true. I often use this fragmented GTG style during the work week, and longer sustained A+A sessions and/or low intensity aerobic sessions on the weekends, plus a few hours of full court basketball (once a week, most weeks).

Another idea would be to go even heavier for sets of 7 reps.

I generally go in the other direction, since I don't have my heavier bells in my office where I do my GTG training. Sets of 10 are good because they are NOT strictly alactic. I'll often do 2 sets of 10 with less rest than I normally would in a longer session because I will be resting for a lot longer between mini-sessions. You get a little more glycolytic action that carries over to more sustained higher density tasks, but with long rest/aerobic recovery so it is very sustainable.

However I often do go heavier with double cleans for sets of 5. I've gravitated away from pushing the load for single arm work (where grip becomes a limiting factor) and supplementing with double cleans to overload the ballistic hinge. So it's a little more polarized approach than just going as heavy as possible for lower reps per set.

 

[WxHerk]

Indeed!! I have GTG’d swings, snatches, cleans, presses, and getups using a 28kg in my office. Usually 5 explosive movements except 10 swings and 5 presses.

I like @Arryn Grogan ’s suggestion. Arryn instructed at my SFG2 in 2017. He is a man of few words but those words are accurate and to the point!! If he says 3~5 heavy swings, that’s precisely what I’d do!!

 

[Mark Limbaga]

I've done both

higher reps with longer rest
heavier weights

they both work..

all depends on what you are aiming for

 

[Arryn Grogan]

Indeed!! I have GTG’d swings, snatches, cleans, presses, and getups using a 28kg in my office. Usually 5 explosive movements except 10 swings and 5 presses.

I like @Arryn Grogan ’s suggestion. Arryn instructed at my SFG2 in 2017. He is a man of few words but those words are accurate and to the point!! If he says 3~5 heavy swings, that’s precisely what I’d do!!

 

[Oscar]

Thanks all for the replies!

@Arryn Grogan thanks to your suggestion today I did swings with 37 kg for the first time in my life. Didn't even think I could before. I did 4 sets of 5 and did all other GTG swings in sets of 10 with the 32. I don't have heavier than the 32, so I strapped 2x2.5 kg with a ratchet strap and worked great. I've been thinking about perfecting this way of strapping for a while. It looked like this and worked like a charm:

Sets of 10 are good because they are NOT strictly alactic. I'll often do 2 sets of 10 with less rest than I normally would in a longer session because I will be resting for a lot longer between mini-sessions

Steve and @Mark Limbaga thanks for your comments. I have also done higher reps per set in a GTG fashion and it worked very well for me too. I did 6 sets of 15 with the 28, which is pretty practical to get the swings done when I don't have time. I think the glycolytic aspect is beneficial because it gets washed away during the day, probably in line with @CMarker protocol for hypertrophy.

Thanks all for your comments, I'm pretty happy with this new tool in my toolbox

 

[Arryn Grogan]

Thanks all for the replies!

@Arryn Grogan thanks to your suggestion today I did swings with 37 kg for the first time in my life. Didn't even think I could before. I did 4 sets of 5 and did all other GTG swings in sets of 10 with the 32. I don't have heavier than the 32, so I strapped 2x2.5 kg with a ratchet strap and worked great. I've been thinking about perfecting this way of strapping for a while. It looked like this and worked like a charm:

View attachment 7369



Steve and @Mark Limbaga thanks for your comments. I have also done higher reps per set in a GTG fashion and it worked very well for me too. I did 6 sets of 15 with the 28, which is pretty practical to get the swings done when I don't have time. I think the glycolytic aspect is beneficial because it gets washed away during the day, probably in line with @CMarker protocol for hypertrophy.

Thanks all for your comments, I'm pretty happy with this new tool in my toolbox

Congrats on swingin' the heavier weight! Love it!

 

[Oscar]

@Arryn Grogan what kind of volume would you suggest if I do GTG sets of 5 with a heavier weight? I´ve been doing 10x10 with the 32, and I can do good sets of 5 with 37 kg. Maybe start by keeping the number of sets at 10, and then see if I can increase it until doing 20x5?

 

[Arryn Grogan]

@Arryn Grogan what kind of volume would you suggest if I do GTG sets of 5 with a heavier weight? I´ve been doing 10x10 with the 32, and I can do good sets of 5 with 37 kg. Maybe start by keeping the number of sets at 10, and then see if I can increase it until doing 20x5?

I'd start pretty easy and only do it every other day.

Day 1: 3 sets
Day 2: 4 sets
until...
Day 8: 10 sets

Then... start over at 3 sets of 6 reps, and continue until you get 10 sets again. Progress in this fashion until you make it to 8 reps per set for 10 sets. Then go up in weight by approximately 10% and start at 3-5 reps per set with the heavier weight.

 

[Abdul-Rasheed]

I'd start pretty easy and only do it every other day.

Day 1: 3 sets
Day 2: 4 sets
until...
Day 8: 10 sets

Then... start over at 3 sets of 6 reps, and continue until you get 10 sets again. Progress in this fashion until you make it to 8 reps per set for 10 sets. Then go up in weight by approximately 10% and start at 3-5 reps per set with the heavier weight.

We are talking GTG correct? Could you please comment on the rest periods? At least 15 mins between sets?

Edit: One handed or two-handed swings?

I have been thinking of starting something like this while I am in the offfice. Thank you @Oscar for this thread.

Thank you.

 

[Arryn Grogan]

We are talking GTG correct? Could you please comment on the rest periods? At least 15 mins between sets?

Edit: One handed or two-handed swings?

I have been thinking of starting something like this while I am in the offfice. Thank you @Oscar for this thread.

Thank you.

I would suggest at least 30 minutes, but an hour would be even better. Fine for any ballistics (1-arm or 2-arm swings, snatches, jerks) - really doesn't matter as long as the mindset of practice is used.

 

[Kozushi]

I've been rereading the book because of errors I've been having in my memory of it. I think this GTG method of handling the swings doesn't contravene any of the fundamentals of the program. However, it's going a bit against the idea of progressively trying to reduce the wait times between swing sets. But if for you the "wait time" between sets is 30 minutes or an hour, I guess that's your decision. This method might be part of how you move up in weight. As for it being your long term way to enjoy S&S - your decision, but I think it's missing the intensity of the swings, and the intensity of the swings is an important part of what makes you fit and ready as an athletic layman.

As for splitting up the swing and TGU portions into different parts of the day, this is in the book, as is even putting the TGUs first if you like. The reason for putting them second is really only for when you do them together at the same time of day - doing the TGUs first will make you too tired to do the swings hard, and hard swings are important.

 

[Oscar]

@Kozushi , it's just another tool in the toolbox. Some days I know I won't have 40 minutes straight to do the full routine, so I just do my swings GTG. Doing it GTG takes virtually zero time, I just do them when I take a break from whatever I'm doing. It's certainly better than taking a day off.

About swings intensity, this method actually increases it. If you see above, my S&S normal swing weight is 28 kg at the time, while I do GTG swings with 32 or 37 kg. It does reduce significantly the density, but I think that's fine since intensity is increased so sharply.

It's just another way of progressing. On normal days I do my swings with 28 at a high density. On GTG days, about 2 days a week, I do swings with 32 or 37 with low density. Both help me get stronger and fitter in different ways.

It does have a strong psychological component. The first time I did 100 swings with 32 I thought "hmm Simple might not be as far as I thought". Even more the first day I did swings with 37 kg.

 

[Kozushi]

@Kozushi , it's just another tool in the toolbox. Some days I know I won't have 40 minutes straight to do the full routine, so I just do my swings GTG. Doing it GTG takes virtually zero time, I just do them when I take a break from whatever I'm doing. It's certainly better than taking a day off.

About swings intensity, this method actually increases it. If you see above, my S&S normal swing weight is 28 kg at the time, while I do GTG swings with 32 or 37 kg. It does reduce significantly the density, but I think that's fine since intensity is increased so sharply.

It's just another way of progressing. On normal days I do my swings with 28 at a high density. On GTG days, about 2 days a week, I do swings with 32 or 37 with low density. Both help me get stronger and fitter in different ways.

It does have a strong psychological component. The first time I did 100 swings with 32 I thought "hmm Simple might not be as far as I thought". Even more the first day I did swings with 37 kg.

I'm going to try your method to progress fully to Solid.

 

[Abdul-Rasheed]

I would suggest at least 30 minutes, but an hour would be even better. Fine for any ballistics (1-arm or 2-arm swings, snatches, jerks) - really doesn't matter as long as the mindset of practice is used.

Thank you. I could easily do every one hour. One hour works best for me, since I am at work.

 

[Oscar]

Thank you. I could easily do every one hour. One hour works best for me, since I am at work.

Abdul, I just do one set every time I stand up from my desk or if I want a break. It might be every 20 minutes or 1 hour. Usually around noon I complete the number of sets for the day. I find this more practical than setting a specific time interval.