40s male/ Height: 1.85m/6'0"feet and 89 kg/195 lbs.
Summary:
About ten years ago I worked out at a KB-specific gym for nearly a year. Due to driving time, I switched to a closer CrossFit gym for the last eight or nine years. About ten months ago, I decided to use S&S when coming back from a foot injury which required a few weeks in a walking boot. I decided to use S&S as a foundation since I knew I had some muscular and mobility imbalances that I wanted to address.
Given my strength background, it took three weeks to meet the Simple standard. I had a decent strength base from CrossFit though it wasn't my focus for the last few years. I spent one week focused on technique with a 24kg. I then spent the next two weeks incorporating the 32kg and by the end of the second week met the Simple standard. I followed the warmup and instructions very closely throughout the process.
Overall, I think the program is excellent, and I have consistently recommended it to others.
I like that you don't have to think about programming. The simplicity is a feature, not a bug. There are just a few things to think about as you do each movement. When you have the same movements, it is easier to focus on quality technique and power over quantity. I was always thinking about my mental checklist - packed shoulder, knees in proper position and not floating forward on swings.
Also, there is much more you can do to play around with it than you think. For example, slowing down TGU obviously makes a tremendous difference. At first, I was determined to repeat every workout 32KG, but as time went along, I appreciated having a de-load day.
When I started, I had some imbalances and tweaks to make. One side was weaker. For example, when doing a left-side TGU, my opposite leg was coming off the floor. And when doing a left-handed swing, my left knee was coming forward, and my left shoulder was not as active as it needed to be. (Yes I know S&S is about "strong" and "stronger" sides but for clarity, I will use weak vs. strong!). Shoulder strength and health are significantly better. All of the time in the TGU has helped my shoulders.
For my setup, I built a simple floor mat by cutting a 4x8 plywood sheet in half and gluing rubber gym tiles to it. Cutting it in half makes it easier to move around. I park my car in the garage so I can lean the 4x4 sections against the wall.
Frequency:
In general, I've averaged S&S 3-4 per week. I never did it every day. My peak was a two week period where I did it five times per week. I had noticeable results with that frequency.
With 2-3 S&S sessions per week along with other work, I can meet the Simple standard. However, I've since found that I don't "own it" when I only do it twice a week. I need four sessions per week to "own it."
Results:
I saw a significant jump in grip strength. In particular, my weaker side grip strength improved though it is still not equivalent to my dominant side. I noticed that I have to work harder on my weak side to keep my wrist neutral in the TGU. I love the little things you can discover with the program.
I did not do the max effort swings very often. The last time I did, it was about six weeks in and did 205 reps at 24kg. I do need to re-test it.
I never felt sore or wiped out. Occasionally, I had days where I felt a bit more tired but that could be other lifestyle factors like sleep and work stress. On those days, I did the eccentric swings or a light workout like riding a bike.
WTH:
While doing S&S, I hadn't done a barbell deadlift in months. When I gave it a try, the bar felt very light at 85% of my old 1RM. I didn't push it that day but felt very comfortable, and I think I could have set a PR.
Problems and concerns:
TGU were irritating my knees. I felt like I was grinding my kneecap a bit at the windshield wiper to lunge. I switched to the modification of moving my front foot instead of sweeping my back leg. I also, added knee pads.
Other thoughts:
Get an instructor - It was a busy time when I got into it, and I wish I had gotten a few visits into a KB class or with an instructor. I don't have significant technique problems due to my previous time at a dedicated KB gym, but I always want to dial in technique.
Adding squats- I do goblet squats as part of the warmup routine but have occasionally experimented with 5x5 Goblet Squats at the end of an S&S session. I eventually reached 48KG, but I would not recommend adding it until achieving Simple. One reason I like S&S is that I do not want to be "gassed" at the end of every session.
What's next:
I'm now contemplating the next stage of activity. I'm working on ROP instead of the Sinister standard. I think the "easy" gains have been made and getting to Sinister will require focus.
I'm also adding some interval run training - I'm not as fluid in my running and want to rebuild some speed.
Lastly, I'm also thinking of getting the FMS as I want to make sure I have quality movement and I want to prevent injuries. I'm also curious about that vs. SFMA, but I haven't done enough research.
Thanks for reading my long-winded tale of achieving Simple!
