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Kettlebell Iron Cardio

Anders said:
What are decent and what are impressive goals to reach in Iron Cardio ?
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mfbunch said:
This is a fascinating question / discussion. My goals: continue to progress. Don't injure myself. This may sound snarky. It isn't. I've found that they go hand-in-hand, and I've never accomplished either in 30+ years of training.
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+1

Being able to train consistently beats every other variable and absolutely depends on not getting injured.

-S-
 
Have any of you ever experienced stiffness in your lower back after performing a high-volume single kb front squat?
It's quite strange, I have the impression that my lower back tends to stiffen up because of the asymmetrical load, when the volume of work is high (last time, 60 sets on classic IC in 30 minutes). It doesn't do that to me at all after the double kb front squat, and I've never had that with other asymmetrical movements (like the one-handed swing or the snatch). I checked on video: my back doesn't move and I'm really trying to "lock in" everything at the midsection.
Strictly speaking, it's not back pain, but a sensation of stiffness on either side of the lumbar vertebrae...

Matthieu
 
Matthieu said:
Have any of you ever experienced stiffness in your lower back after performing a high-volume single kb front squat?
It's quite strange, I have the impression that my lower back tends to stiffen up because of the asymmetrical load, when the volume of work is high (last time, 60 sets on classic IC in 30 minutes). It doesn't do that to me at all after the double kb front squat, and I've never had that with other asymmetrical movements (like the one-handed swing or the snatch). I checked on video: my back doesn't move and I'm really trying to "lock in" everything at the midsection.
Strictly speaking, it's not back pain, but a sensation of stiffness on either side of the lumbar vertebrae...

Matthieu
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Matthieu

I have not had this from the unilateral front squats.

For single bell work do you use your squat stance for the entire sequence?
 
I hadn't thought of that. It's true that when you move your feet... everything moves, even if just a little, which would mean that the problem isn't the squat. I'll give it a try at my next heavy session, this Friday.
 
First session of my last week:
Clean, press, squat and snatch, single 24kg KB alternate sides, did 80 reps (40 each side) in 40 minute session.

Was hard, but good recovery after the whole thing. Each set of reps was about 14/15 seconds giving me 16/15 seconds of rest which was just about enough for my breathing to settle.

Tomorrow is:
Clean, press, squat and pull-up, double 20kg KBs (bodyweight pull-up), aiming for 80 reps again in 40 minute session.

Last session is:
Clean, press, squat and snatch, single 24kg alternate sides doing travelling 2s, aiming for 80 reps again in 40 minute session which works out much higher than 80 reps, need to do the maths for total!
 
Red_and_Black said:
First session of my last week:
Clean, press, squat and snatch, single 24kg KB alternate sides, did 80 reps (40 each side) in 40 minute session.

Was hard, but good recovery after the whole thing. Each set of reps was about 14/15 seconds giving me 16/15 seconds of rest which was just about enough for my breathing to settle.

Tomorrow is:
Clean, press, squat and pull-up, double 20kg KBs (bodyweight pull-up), aiming for 80 reps again in 40 minute session.

Last session is:
Clean, press, squat and snatch, single 24kg alternate sides doing travelling 2s, aiming for 80 reps again in 40 minute session which works out much higher than 80 reps, need to do the maths for total!
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80 sets is rather high volume IMO.

I've only hit 80 sets once and that was 40 sets of swings and 40 sets of IC (alternating weight) so different than 80 sets of IC straight through.

80 sets of double KB is a lot—I think I hit 50 or 51 sets on a birthday session with double 32kg and as soon
as I recover from it I'll do it again ;-]

JMO
YMMV
 
Yeah, it's about my limit with good form and with it not feeling like some awful killer metcon!

I started with a rep every 60 seconds in the first week, then every 50 seconds the second week, then every 40 seconds last week. I know it's supposed to be self paced/as you feel and I have done it that was before, but just doing this block slightly differently.

I did 60 last week (rep every 40 seconds for 40 minutes) and that was pretty steady, but it's a big jump to a rep every 30 seconds / 80 reps. If it feels too much I'll just ignore the clock and slow down and follow my breathing more. It's my last week of the 4 week block though so I don't mind something that's a bit more of a challenging test!
 
Red_and_Black said:
Yeah, it's about my limit with good form and with it not feeling like some awful killer metcon!

I started with a rep every 60 seconds in the first week, then every 50 seconds the second week, then every 40 seconds last week. I know it's supposed to be self paced/as you feel and I have done it that was before, but just doing this block slightly differently.

I did 60 last week (rep every 40 seconds for 40 minutes) and that was pretty steady, but it's a big jump to a rep every 30 seconds / 80 reps. If it feels too much I'll just ignore the clock and slow down and follow my breathing more. It's my last week of the 4 week block though so I don't mind something that's a bit more of a challenging test!
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I don't know how well you've kept your form when speeding up between reps, but be careful to not sacrifice the form for a few seconds faster, it's like driving, if you've in unsafe conditions it's not worth to speed up the ride / workout
 
Fleurpink said:
I don't know how well you've kept your form when speeding up between reps, but be careful to not sacrifice the form for a few seconds faster, it's like driving, if you've in unsafe conditions it's not worth to speed up the ride / workout
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Thanks, yeah, I'm very wary about chasing anything nowadays (I'm 52!) apart from a good night's sleep! I'm not a big strong lifter muscle bound type, I'd say strength endurance and cardio are my stronger sides (my max ever BB lifts are pretty modest for BW of 77kg even when I was training that much more and when younger) so IC fits me well and probably plays to my strengths.
 
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serjetto said:
@Brett Jones What is your opinion on combining IC and swings? In this sequence: 10-15 min. IC, swings 10X10 and again for 10-15 minutes. IC. Similar to Pavel's Red Zone program.
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That looks like a good option.

During S&S February I started doing an IC + Swing combo
IC sequence left
one-arm swing left x 3-5 reps
IC sequence right
one-arm swing right x 3-5 reps
(set the bell down and shake and recover between all sets)
 
Brett Jones said:
I prefer to do my single bell work in my squat stance to reduce the "moving parts."
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No stiffness after this session!
I did as you recommended, using squat distance from the start. it makes the clean a bit "awkward" (I have long legs) but the problem is solved.

I also used the free hand to secure the kettlebell, like you. Maybe that also took some tension off the spine.

Thanks a lot @Brett for this quick fix !
Matthieu
 
I finished my 4 week block (as mentioned above). Was feeling pretty tired so slacked off the last session of travelling 2s.

Planning another 4 week block starting tomorrow. Thinking 3 sessions a week of:

A) Clean, press, squat, pull-up 2 x 24kg.
B) Clean, press, squat, snatch 2 x 20kg.
C) Clean, press, squat, snatch 1 x 28kg.

Edited: I did my first A) session today. Thought a rep every 90 seconds or so might be about right but actually I felt good and had less rest nearer the end and completed 32 reps over the 40 minutes.
 
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