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

Hit the 'simple' standard after just about 4 wks
(32kg for all swings in 5 mins, and all TGUs in 10 mins after 1 min rest)

52 years old, 5'7" @ 175# bw.
SFG L1 - been training with (and teaching) KB's fairly consistently for about 6 years. not currently working as a trainer, occasionally filling in at a local HS gym. former crossfit coach/master athlete.

Started this classic SF program at home, and decided to do it 100% by the book (including the warmup, stretches, breath work, extensor exercises, etc) and by excluding most other training, outside of a couple of jiujitsu classes and some light gtg pressing and pulling.

practice almost every day, except for days when i attended jiu jitsu classes and open rolling.

started first day with 20kg swings and TGU's and started incorporating the 24kg into both on the second day. by end of first week 24 was more than manageable. might have been abel to start with the 24kg, but decided to make the first few days more about re-grooving the form for both lifts, and being patient. also did some breathing ladder days at a 20 swing/10 breath ratio, as discussed in the book.

started to incorporate the 32kg into the work by week 3, 20 swings and 2 TGUs the first two days, then 40 swing, 4 TGU's, and toggling back to the 24 for all others.

i mixed swings up to include hand-to-hand, 5/5, 5/5, 10/10, etc..

hit the simple goal at end of the 4th week by adding reps as suggested by the book.
32kg for all sets. Not easy. But solid. Will stay with the 32kg until it feels a little bit easier. Time to buy a new bell i guess! (36kg or 40kg?)

goal is to get to the 36. not sure i want (or need) to get any heavier than that. being strong and powerful for my needs is my goal. carry over to every day life and to my jiu jitsu training, which i plan to get deeper into as time, money and my recovery will allow.

it was a struggle to get thru it the first few days mixing 20kg/24kg. amazing how well it works, and how evenly one can progress by keeping it basic and consistent.

S&S is a fantastic, effective program.
 
Congratulations!
Maybe Bent&Sinister will be next ??
My heaviest KB is also 32kilograms.
 
Congrats @david quasha on your Simple achievement and welcome to the forum. If you did it in four weeks, my suggestion is that you can achieve "Solid" in no time. Buy the Bulldog.
 
I successfully achieved "Simple" today after doing this since June 2016. This has been the longest I've followed a set workout routine in my life! The words of advice through this forum are what kept me going. Even after moving across the world and living a busy life, I've progressed steadily in my path to Simple. Thank you to all who have critiqued technique videos and provided great advice. Special thanks and appreciation to Steve W, Mark Limbaga, Karen Smith, John Spezzano, and last but certainly not least, Anna C. for the in-depth, inspirational, and extremely helpful support.

Without going into too much detail, I live and work overseas "somewhere" in the Middle East with a decent crossfit area that I am able to access kettlebells. I am also an avid jiu-jitsu practitioner and balance the physical requirements of jiu-jitsu with S&S.

Learning Points
-S&S has provided multiple WTH moments. It has helped my jiu-jitsu game by allowing this white belt to roll and keep up (physically) with advanced students that are quintessential meatheads who lift way too much. S&S has allowed me to easily outpace colleagues in a "job-related" physical fitness tests, only being bested by dedicated runners and crossfit junkies.
-S&S has fit the need for a minimalist, take it anywhere routine. I feel more confident in my strength and ability to perform all physical demands required of my job or hobby.
-When traveling for weeks on end, there is no need to fret about losing kettlebell access. Taking a break from S&S helps, IMHO, and switching to Naked Warrior for a few weeks actually catapulted my S&S and accelerated me into the 32kg zone. I think it was due to the increased need to tense the muscles (NW) when doing OAPU and pistols.

Thank you also to this forum in its entirety for providing a great resource to continually reference. Looking forward to "Sinister" one day!
 
VincentDC said:
I successfully achieved "Simple" today after doing this since June 2016. This has been the longest I've followed a set workout routine in my life! The words of advice through this forum are what kept me going. Even after moving across the world and living a busy life, I've progressed steadily in my path to Simple. Thank you to all who have critiqued technique videos and provided great advice. Special thanks and appreciation to Steve W, Mark Limbaga, Karen Smith, John Spezzano, and last but certainly not least, Anna C. for the in-depth, inspirational, and extremely helpful support.

Without going into too much detail, I live and work overseas "somewhere" in the Middle East with a decent crossfit area that I am able to access kettlebells. I am also an avid jiu-jitsu practitioner and balance the physical requirements of jiu-jitsu with S&S.

Learning Points
-S&S has provided multiple WTH moments. It has helped my jiu-jitsu game by allowing this white belt to roll and keep up (physically) with advanced students that are quintessential meatheads who lift way too much. S&S has allowed me to easily outpace colleagues in a "job-related" physical fitness tests, only being bested by dedicated runners and crossfit junkies.
-S&S has fit the need for a minimalist, take it anywhere routine. I feel more confident in my strength and ability to perform all physical demands required of my job or hobby.
-When traveling for weeks on end, there is no need to fret about losing kettlebell access. Taking a break from S&S helps, IMHO, and switching to Naked Warrior for a few weeks actually catapulted my S&S and accelerated me into the 32kg zone. I think it was due to the increased need to tense the muscles (NW) when doing OAPU and pistols.

Thank you also to this forum in its entirety for providing a great resource to continually reference. Looking forward to "Sinister" one day!
Click to expand...

Congratulations on achieving Simple @VincentDC !
 
I achieved the Simple standard today. I did the 100 one arm swings and the 10 get ups in a total of 14:28. The last time I tried to achieve the standard was on March 15 according to my training diary. At that time I didn't achieve the standard. It took 16:40 and I was so exhausted I felt like it took 10-15 minutes to recover. The swings took 4:55 but I was so exhausted afterwards I had to rest to 1:30 and then it still took about 10 minutes to do the get ups.

After falling short of the time limit on March 15, I didn't worry about the time limit. I just kept practicing and working to compress the time in my practice sessions. I did try adding in the 40kg kettlebell a couple of times. Also in the last couple of weeks I started doing a little more swings and get ups in some of my practice sessions For example, last week on Saturday I did 160 swings and 20 get ups. That's 10 get ups for each arm of course.
I practice 3 or 4 times per week since I started using the 32 kg kettlebell. With my work I am just too tired to do it everyday.

When I went for the Simple standard today I did the swings in 4:50, I rested for about a minute, and then did the get ups in about 8:30. I didn't feel as exhausted afterwards as I did when I tried the time standard on March 15. After achieving the standard today I rested for 15 minutes and then did 3 sets of front squats and 3 sets of one arm military presses. I practiced developing a lot of tension in my body when I braced myself. I started adding in the front squats and the presses last week. I want a little variety.

I'm 49 years old and weigh 200 pounds and I'm 5"8 and 1/2 inches tall. I'm not real lean but I can see some stomach muscles. I know some people smaller than me can probably do this with bigger kettlebells, but I am very happy with the way I have developed considering I started practicing a few months before my 49th birthday. Pavel's methods get results and I am happy I found his book.

Perhaps I will film a video next weekend if it is practical in my practice area. I will be placing a good review for Pavel's book on Amazon. I am very happy with how my body has developed since I started using Simple and Sinister.

God bless you all in all your endeavors,
 
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