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Kettlebell "I Achieved S & S Simple! Here's My Story"

Since September 2015, I started the S&S program with a 16 kg bell. I had learned kettlebell swings in the past but nothing to the level as detailed in the book. Most of my previous training was from instructors at my local gym or workout videos. Even then, the weight was limited to maybe 15 lbs at most. Back then I couldn't imagine doing TGUs with anything heavier than a 10 lb kettlebell.

But after listening to an Art of Manliness Podcast episode featuring the Stronglifts S&S program, and had gotten to the point that I wasn't enjoying the 5x5 Stronglifts Powerlifting program anymore, I decided to give the S&S program a try. From day one, I was hooked to how simple the routine was and enjoyed the fact that all I had to do nearly everyday was a 100 kettlebell swings and 10 TGUs.

I probably progressed slower than what was prescribed in the book. I wasn't really thinking I would achieve the Simple goal. I just wanted a good daily workout routine. But as I got more proficient with the bell and was able to get to and surpass the 24 kg bell, I began to believe that Simple was in my future.

Fast forward to 2/12/2018, having been working with a 32 kg bell for swings since July 2017 and 36 kg bell for TGUs, I was anxious to finally achieve the Simple goal. I posted a thread and receive a lot of advice on how I could get there. My original plan was to get there in 7 weeks.

Fast forward to today (2/26/2018), I didn't feel the best this morning.My body was a little stiff and lethargic. But I already committed myself to test weekly on Mondays so I came into today's training with a goal to complete 8 sets of swings. It took a lot of effort. I actually wasn't quite sure I make it past 6 sets. But every time the buzzer went off I just started swinging. When I got to 8 I just said, what the hell, and went for it. My last couple of sets weren't the strongest but I still got the bell up to chest level. Upon reflection, I think my body knew the amount of effort needed to get the bell up to the correct height. Even without thinking about it critically, my body knew exactly what to do.

After about a minute break, I punch out the 10 TGUs. I knew I could do these in under 10 mins without rushing the movements. However, it was still challenging considering I just got my heart rate up to at least 178 BPM and stayed in HR Zone Level 5 since at least set 3.

Now sitting at my computer looking back at my training log, I feel a great sense of accomplishment. It took about 2 years and 5 months to get to this point starting with a 16 kg bell. I remember backed then how the bell felt impossible to even do 1 TGU. Its been a great journey that has gotten me to the best shape of my life. I no longer have any random back pain moments, my cardio capacity is even better than I could ever remember.

I haven't made the decision on if I'll go for the Sinister goal next or jump to the ETK program. For now, I would like to cut weight since I did gain at least 5-10 lbs that I didn't want but I felt was necessary to have enough energy to hit the Simple goal. But I think I'll do the Simple test one more time in the next couple of weeks to really see if today wasn't a fluke.

It is not necessary to jump to ETK nor to work up to Sinister. I think the idea though is that working towards these will not detract from your already gotten gains.
 
Hi everyone, very happy to share that I’ve finally made Simple. It feels incredibly satisfying to say that, so I’ve written a longish story about my journey to here.

I started May 14th 2017 when I had just moved to Taiwan. I had just come from a round the world trip and more particularly from walking across Spain on the Camino de Santiago. During the walk, I ate the daily meals with a little too much gusto and the diet of carbs, carbs and more carbs left my looking pretty skinny fat. Coming from a running background too, I hadn’t really run in over 6 months, so was pretty out of shape from my usual standards.

I had read S&S on the Camino and was determined to give strength training a go - something I had never really done. I had always had an insecurity about being the skinny guy and going to gyms so this was a big step for my previous self. I also committed to tracking my progress on the log here https://www.strongfirst.com/community/threads/can-an-ultramarathoner-get-strong.10175/

My first session started with the 12kg bell for swings, and the 4kg bell for TGUs. I remember someone deadlifting nearly 200kg near me and thinking what a long way I had to go. I could barely lift the 32kg at this point, and didn’t feel like I’d ever be able to perform the pretzel-like movement of the TGU with that amount of weight overhead.

I kept at it pretty regularly, maybe 4 times a week, even during the height of the Taiwanese summer. I remember getting some kiddy play mats to put on the rooftop of our building and going up there in the evenings to sweat out a storm trying to do my swings and TGUs. Took about 20 sessions to move from the 16kg to 20kg and maybe another 20 to start swinging with the 24kg. Took another 45 sessions until I got some instruction from SFG Shaun Cairns in the one-day course in Singapore. I definitely recommend seeing a SFG if at all possible. If there’s not one close - save up! I had to go to a different country, so you can make it work!

Took nearly 100 sessions all up until I was ready to start working with the 32kg. There were lots of sessions in the ridiculous humidity on the rooftop, with smells of frying noodles and steamed dumplings, and sounds of scooters echoing off the high-rise walls. It was an interesting time just working away quietly, focusing on my form in this foreign land. But I had read the forums and SF blog like a good little girevik, as well as re-reading S&S any chance I got. So much wisdom in there.

The 32kg kicked my butt for quite a while. The TGUs especially were a bit scary in the beginning, and my OH swings didn’t feel stable for ages. I had to leave Taiwan earlier than expected for family reasons and bought a 32kg bell straight away once back in Aus. Kept practising pretty steadily for another month, before having to pack up and move east. Brought the bell in the car with me across the Nullarbor and stared swinging in the local park as no gyms near my new house had any 32kg bells.

My OH strength started developing really quickly which I think was due to the suitcase carry I did every session walking to and from the park - maybe a few hundred metres. After a few days of this, I felt my OH swings really develop much more quickly. Tried to go for time one day and got much closer than I expected, so went for it on my 141st session and got both the swings and TGUs in time, probably a month earlier than I expected.

Overall I feel fantastic. My back, shoulders and midsection feel stronger than ever. I’ve noticed basic life tasks are much easier - having to move the couch and bed upstairs seemed comparatively easy. Body wise, I’ve dropped the puffiness around the midsection and feel pretty solid all over, without having developed any noticeable size. Bodyweight is about the same, but I never really wanted to lose weight, so I’ve kept up the food intake. My posture is better too - long meditation sessions don’t seem to bother my back as much.

Most of all though, I’m proud of myself for committing to something I wasn’t sure was for me, and properly seeing it through without shortcuts. I feel much more confident walking around the gym now, and look forward to further strength training.

In short, this program rocks. If this thread hasn’t already convinced you by now, maybe nothing will. But if you are undecided, just commit to it, stay focused and you’ll be impressed how you can develop.

Lastly, a HUGE thank you to everyone who has contributed to this wonderful forum. I’ve had heaps of encouragement and advice along the way, as well as stacks of terrific role models that are an inspiration. I owe you all.
 
It is not necessary to jump to ETK nor to work up to Sinister. I think the idea though is that working towards these will not detract from your already gotten gains.

You're right, I don't have to do either program for my continue health. But, I've enjoyed the daily kettlebell sessions. I might as well continue to challenge myself; I just need to make a decision on the method to do so.
 
Greetings everyone !

I'm a long-time lurker on this forum and I thought that sharing my S&S story would make a good first post.

I'm a 39-year-old / 170 lbs / 5,8" male, who has the moderately busy life of a desk-jockey, husband and father of two.

Strength training is my only athletic activity, I don't do any sports nor martial arts. And the only reason why I've been striving to get stronger since I turned 30 is the belief that it might make me the only person to wipe my butt until my last day, as Al Ciampa put it.

I discovered Pavel in late 2012 and was immediately seduced by the idiot-proofness of his teachings. I attended a few courses (KB, BW and BB) with the mighty @Alexey , Senior SFG, SFG II, SFL, SFB, whom I cannot thank enough for all I learnt from him.

I have since practiced Pavel's most popular programs (NW, PM, RoP, S&S), switching from one program to the other whenever I got bored or reached a plateau. Last September, I decided to seriously commit to S&S, so I gradually incorporated the 32kg KB in my sessions and upped the number of sessions per week over the four last months of 2017. From Christmas on, I've been on a steady 6-sessions-a-week diet, using only my 32kg KB, doing swings EMOM, and alternating 2H swings and 1H swings every other session.

Over that period I noticed a significant increase in strength and endurance, but not a single time did I bother to test myself, based on the assumption that the Simple goal would remain out of my league until late 2018 at best.

Eventually, it only took a small, futile ego bruise to prove me wrong, and I owe that to the frustration I felt as the very first SGF I cert in France was held on February 23 to 25. I did not attend this event because, quite simply, I definitely don't meet the SFG I standards (for now). From the reports I read, it seems that the event was a great success and, while being sincerely happy for the candidates who showed up and earned their way to the certification, my not being ready for it left me kinda pissed.

So, on February 27, out of frustration I thought I gave it a go and, to my surprise, succeeded. Now, I most certainly didn't “own it” but feel like I did a lot better than “just surviving”. I was very surprised to see how much I recovered after only a 1mn rest between the swings and the TGU. What surprised me even more is that I was fresh and ready to go for a new S&S session the day after that.

I’ve been doing S&S as usual since then, having a hard time deciding what I wanted to achieve next : going for “Solid” or doing a RoP cycle with a 28kg KB. A few days ago I ordered both a 28kg and a 40kg KB, so I still have a little time to chose.

A big “thumbs up” to the SF community for all the information and inspiration provided on this forum !
 
Congratulations, @Seb. George for reaching Simple, and go get ready for next year's France SFG certification ! If you can do a round of ROP with a 28kg, you are very close to be physically ready !
And yes, you are right, the event was a great success. :)
 
Hello All,

This is my first post so I will quickly introduce myself.
I am 32 year old 5'11 165 pounder. I have no physical issues but stiff neck after my 8 hours in the office in front of the computer. Since I was around 10 I trained something. Be it basketball or karate. Recent few years I spent training according to cross fit bro-science in the gym. I lacked results but liked kettlebell training. So I decided to read Pavel's "Simple and Sinister" book and give it a go.

I started training on Jan 6th, 2018. Moved to 24 kg TGU after two weeks. Started using 32 kg bell around Feb 20th (and got to performing all the sets with it in about two weeks). I accomplished simple goal on April 5th and repeated the feat on April 6th and 7th.

I did not gain mass. Only noticeable difference was that trousers became loose around the waist and shirts felt tight in the shoulders. But many things I needed to move in the everyday life just became lighter. Carrying my both kids (3 and 5yr old) at the same time got much easier. I also play tennis ant I felt much more explosive on the court.

Regards,
Jakub
 
Last edited by a moderator:
@Jakub Lawik, congratulations on achieving Simple!

I have edited your original post here and created a new thread called Options After Achieving Simple, where we can address your questions about what comes next.

-S-
 
Thank you for nice welcome to the forum.

I've been doing S&S 5-6 times a week (mostly 6 times). On top of that I'm riding bicycle to work and do high intensity intervals on my way back home. The day I did not do S&S I was playing tennis. So there was some additional physical activity but no other strength training.

The hardest part was final part of the TGU get down with the bell in my left hand. It took me 2 weeks to figure out I was not using core enough and that I've tried to control the movement solely with my right arm.
 
Hey so I never posted on this thread but I guess I'll share my obtuse journey to Simple. I've done S&S on and off for about a year. I first got it about 6 months ago on a good day but it was not something I could consistly do consistly. after that I did some press, squat focused training and lost my swing standard (though my TGU's were fine). don't worry I got my swings back recently during my TSC training were I was doing S&S (with snatches on somedays, it works) and now Simple is something I feel like I could do on any normal day. not only that, but I can swing a 40kg bell, TGU/bent Press a 36kg and double front squat 28s.

Not an exciting tale but one I though id share. keep being awesome everybody!
 
I don't train the S&S regiment but I've alway had 1 hand and 2 hand swings in my programming. I was never a fan of tgu but this January I concocted a 21 day challenge with various exercises including Tgu. Over the 21 days I progressed from 24 kg to 32kg in the tgu. Since that ive incorporated the tgu once or twice weekly into my programming. My shoulders ache like hell when I'm doing them but they feel rejuvenated a few hours later. Lately I've been using the 36kg bell for them.

Fast forward to tonight. My family and I went out to eat and I totally blew my diet. I felt guilty when I got home so I thought I give the simple standard a try with the 32 kg to burn off some calories. I was able to get through with 23 seconds to spare. Anyway now I'm not as ashamed of blowing my diet. Maybe those chicken wings help power my workout. Does anyone have an idea on calories burned with S&S?
 
Greetings!
This is my first post here and this is my story how I achieved S&S Simple yesterday.

I am 42-year old female, 1.73 m, 67 kg.

At 30, I discovered yoga, which was very helpful for my back health. At 38, I discovered running. While running made many positive impacts of my life - including completing 3 marathons, I was unhappy with it being very time-consuming activity, me being always on the edge of injury, and, while my endurance improved tremendously, I was frustrated by not being any stronger. During that time, I got myself a 8 kg kettlebell and did some female workout program. Paradoxically, the more I have gotten into running (training for marathons), less time I've had for that.

Finally, after quitting with serious running, I decided to give S&S a go. Got the book, got myself into learning the TGU moves, attended a local kettlebell masterclass. Around that time, I discovered Maffetone formula, as well as StrongFirst article on combining the two. So, I had an 8 kg kettlebell, my chest strap and running watch with alert set to 139 BPM. Bought a 12 kg kettlebell, and that's how it began.

I started on November 21 - that is 7 months ago - with 2HSW @12 kg and TGU @8kg. Turkish get-ups were a very humiliating experience - I spent a week prior to that doing naked or a 2 kg dumbbell TGU.

Some milestones along the way:
  • November 21: 2HSW @12 kg, TGU @8kg
  • December 2: added 50% 1HSW; switched to 12kg TGU
  • December 15: started to add 16 kg swings into the mix
  • January 28: all 1HSW with 16kg
  • March 1: got myself a 24kg kettlebell and did a few deadlifts during the warmup. Honestly, I had a hard time believing that I am going to ever swing that beast with a single arm.
  • March 15: finally did TGU with a 16kg bell. It took me 15 minutes to complete the 10 reps.
  • March 20: switched to 24kg 2HSW
  • April 23: started to incorporate 24kg 1HSW. Feeling stronger than ever in my life.
  • May 2: did 10 sets of 10 24kg one-handed swings
  • June 23: achived S&S simple: 100 1HSW @24kg in 4:49min, 1-min rest, 10 TGU @16 kg in 8:32min
So, following the no-nonsense approach of Simple & Sinister, over the course of 7 months (working out from 3-6 times a week), I went from a weak female who had serious trouble doing a 2kg TGU to achieving Simple. What else to say? I feel more energetic and stronger than ever in my life.
 
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