Kettlebell hypertrophy with s&s

[jca17]

We all have different perception,

Indeed! In my book he looks like an athlete. I would certainly assume this guy does some form of resistance training if I saw him. I would not assume he does heavy backsquats often. But, this also explains the different responses people get when they ask if this or that kettlebell program puts on muscle. This guy has dense, strong looking muscle, and I wouldn't say he's skinny. Of course, he's not "big".

 

[Oscar]

I understand @Kettlebelephant view... one would expect a guy who swings 48 Kg 500 times a week to be heavier. Maybe this guy is particularly careful about his weight for whichever reason, who knows.

Amazing achievement, more so at his bodyweight

 

[Kettlebelephant]

@Marc @North Coast Miller @jca17
my post wasn't meant to criticize him in any way. I'm just honestly surprised by his looks. @Oscar understood me just right, you'd expect someone who does what he does to look bigger. There are those few who are just crazy strong without much muscle mass, but it's not common.
Maybe in person the perception would be different.
My own experience, which is similar to most guys (-> read the "achieved Simple"-thread), is once you introduce the 32 you naturally start to eat more and start to pack on muscle and if you don't give in to that naturally increased hunger your progress stalls -> you'd never make it to Sinister.
The only other Sinister men I know of are Francesco Borghesi and Levi Markwardt (56Kg & almost 60K S&S ) and both of them "look the part".





All of this shows, that one routine can yield very different results for different people, which brings us back to the original question.
Yes, you can put on size with S&S, even though it wasn't designed for hypertrophy, but don't be upset if you end up crazy strong, but not much bigger.

 

[User 6372]

With regards to hypertropy, I have found a minimum of 12 weeks is needed to really notice things for me. YMMV

 

[Stuart Elliott]

Genetics is also a factor, some people naturally put on muscle better than others.

 

[North Coast Miller]

@ Kettlebelephant,
I didn't mean anything by that either. This guy appears to do a lot of S&S and is in good health, so he has been able to increase his weights as he goes. He does have a solid build, but is not really "Hypertrophic".

Most people are going to see a composition change and put on some muscle, but S&S isn't billed as a hypertrophic program. You get the results you train for, which in this case is general strength without burning out and lots of specific strength for the swing and TGU.

And folks tend to have differing views re the amount of size change that qualifies as hypertrophy.

 

[Marc]

@Kettlebelephant I know what you mean and think you are right. Fun fact: I noticed the exact same thing with the 32.

 

[Gassyndrome]

Here is that guys instagram: Stefan Löfström & Ellen Mörk (@kettlebellstefan) • Instagram photos and videos

Certainly looks pretty strong to me. He seems to be a personal trainer, though I can't read Swedish.

 

[Marlon Leon]

In regards to muscle gain.

It would be useful to quantify the statements that have been made. If someone is very skinny and has been all his life and then grows a little bit of muscle it might seem a lot, but is actually not that much. If someone goes from 70 to 732kg it might be noticeable for himself but barely visible when he wears clothes.

Because of these very subjective statements there is so much confusion about whether this or that program increases muscle mass.
So let's start to quantity to improve the conversation.

 

[North Coast Miller]

Ultimately it will be difficult to pin down until you find someone who has only done S&S - didn't come to S&S with a history of larger size especially. And then that same person who didn't mix in other programming as they got close to Simple or after reaching it.

I can gain and lose 10-15 lbs over a couple months with no change in waist size - that doesn't mean the program I'm following will do that for a deconditioned person or anyone that has never been larger than they are currently (tho they will sure see some differences).

Is a huge difference between reaching Simple and gaining mass, and getting there using only S&S - which isn't billed as a hypertrophic or stand-alone program in the absence of other work.

All that said, it would be very curious if anyone with even a minimal history of fitness did not get larger (or a change in body comp) before hitting Simple. Frequency would be one of the larger contributing factors.

 

[Michael Scott]

I think that adding mass like this might just be noticeable......just thinking aloud.....

In regards to muscle gain.

It would be useful to quantify the statements that have been made. If someone is very skinny and has been all his life and then grows a little bit of muscle it might seem a lot, but is actually not that much. If someone goes from 70 to 732kg it might be noticeable for himself but barely visible when he wears clothes.

Because of these very subjective statements there is so much confusion about whether this or that program increases muscle mass.
So let's start to quantity to improve the conversation.

 

[miraculish]

In regards to muscle gain.

It would be useful to quantify the statements that have been made. If someone is very skinny and has been all his life and then grows a little bit of muscle it might seem a lot, but is actually not that much. If someone goes from 70 to 732kg it might be noticeable for himself but barely visible when he wears clothes.

Because of these very subjective statements there is so much confusion about whether this or that program increases muscle mass.
So let's start to quantity to improve the conversation.

Gender is a factor to consider too. I've gained 10-15 lbs of muscle so far while working on Simple (I give the range because I don't get my body fat percentage measured, but in my opinion, it's probably a 12 lb gain). For me as a female at 148 lbs and the same waist size as when I was at 130 lbs - though with a much different shape, especially through my arms - that's pretty significant.

 

[ComfortableWeatherMa]

Is it possible to put on size with s&s. and if so how would it be done.

Im interested in this too. So far tinkering on my own Ive found that adding some heavier kettlebell rack squats some moderately heavy one arm kettlebell presses and some dumbbell curls on a here and there basis gets me feeling a bit of that bodybuilding pump without interfering with adhering to the simple and sinister almost daily protocols. I wish I had a pull up bar to add in something more intense for my upper back but dont have one yet. I think if you eat enough, do the work daily or almost daily, progress in weights, and then just add in maybe three to five decent sets with each of the mentioned a few times a week that you would notice size increases esp if you progressed in weight on them.