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.