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Kettlebell Kettlebell Burn and Simple and Sinister

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blad51

Level 8 Valued Member
Hey Gang,

It seems to be a Geoff Neupert night on the Forum.

I am currently practicing Simple and Sinister.  I have accomplished the Simple goal.  I continue to practice with the 32kg bell at least 4 days a week.

My main goals are strength and weight loss.  (I now know that I must address my diet to have meaningful weight loss.)

I purchased Kettlebell Burn 2.0 I plan to begin in August. August works best for me because I have some travel coming in June and July.  Also, I want to meet with my SFG Paul Lyngso to make sure my form is proper on the new exercises.

I have read the KB Burn materials and it looks like a fantastic program.  It looks like the lifting days are fairly challenging and the nutritional portion is realistic.

My question is what do I do on the off days? 

The program provides for three lifting days.  I have an easier time sticking to a program when I am doing something everyday.  I currently do five days a week of Simple and Sinister during the work week.  On the weekends, I run on an elliptical trainer.

When I start KB Burn can I do the KB Burn lifts M,W,F, and Simple and Sinister on T and Th?  I'd like to leave the weekends for the elliptical because it allows me to watch the weekend news shows.
 
From <a title="this" href="http://kbforum.dragondoor.com/kettlebells-strength-conditioning-forum/145632-kettlebell-burn-2-0-a.html">this</a> thread:

"Ok, first, I'm surprised there is a thread this big on "Burn 2.0" - very cool.

Second, with regards to recovery - and this is a serious question - for those contemplating exercise on non-training/off days - what make you think you need to do so?

And that's not a smart-alecky question either. The three-day-a-week training template is a time-tested template - at least from the glory days of York Barbell when the US team ruled the world in weightlifting - what makes you think it won't work for you?

What is it you hope to gain by doing "extra work" on your off days?

And this isn't meant to be a jab - just some tough love. I've found, especially in the kettlebell community, that people would rather just workout than take care of other more important business, like monitoring what they eat. 

If you have extra energy from the "Burn" training program - that's excellent. Instead of putting that toward "extra workouts" - which are unnecessary for 99% of the people - put your energy into managing your nutrition program. Get that spot on, then if you have energy left over, do something that is the OPPOSITE of "Burn" - remember that whole Yin/Yang thing? Find the Yang to the "Burn" Ying.

Examples might be - relaxing stretching (no reverse clasp knife or the such), yoga (yes, I just did write that - and not the "power" kind either), or a nature walk.

But first, I strongly advise you seek to get extra rest - and by "extra" I mean the minimum 7 hours, preferably 8 or 9. 

Remember, it's not how much work you can perform - but how much you can recover from. And not only that, many people are just starting week 2 or 3 of "Burn" so there is a long, long way to go. Each subsequent phase gets harder and builds upon the previous one. So recovery is important.

Finally, if you find yourself doing all of this - perfecting your nutrition, getting 8+ hours of sleep, why not focus your energy on expanding your horizons? I know this will sound strange coming from me, and admittedly, I'm still learning this - but there's more to life than just working out. 

Hope that was helpful.

And Ben_P - do I get an invite to the social group? 

Geoff"
 
blad51, follow the program as written, as Geoff suggests in the earlier reply quoted above.

The best use of the off days is maintenance, again as Geoff suggests.  Stretch, do any "soft" practice like gentle qigong or tai chi or similar with a focus on the gentle aspect of it.  If you must do getups and swings, do a greatly reduced volume at no more than a moderate intensity, e.g., with a 24 kg, one or two getups, one or two sets of swings.

More is definitely not better in all cases here.

Hang your suit coat on the elliptical for a while before you put it out in the trash, and please disassociate exercise and entertainment.  Maybe stretching while watching TV is OK but that's about it.

-S-
 
Thanks Steve and Pnigro for your excellent advice.

Ironically, I just got a group email from Geoff Neupert addressing my question.

He wrote:

“I’m doing X program three days a week. Is it ok to do Y
program on my “off” days?"

This was a recent forum question about one of my programs.

The questioner wanted to combine it with someone else’s 
program.

Before I answer the question specifically - I want to pose
a question back to you - if you find yourself struggling
with this question.

What makes you think you NEED to do something on your
“off” days?


Are you training for an athletic competition?

Chances are better than good that you’re not so there is no
need to work out every day.

Especially not on most traditional programs - or most of 
my programs -

They’re designed to have you work hard on your training
days. 

And have you rest just as hard (and live your life) on non-
workout days.

Most training programs that are over 15 to 20 minutes in 
length are done 3 days a week.

This is a time-tested template – at least from the glory days 
of York Barbell when the US team ruled the world in
weightlifting.

This begs another question:
 
What makes you think it won’t work for you?

And… Here’s another:

What EXACTLY is it you hope to gain by doing “extra work”
on your off days?


I’ve noticed over the last - ohhhh - 9 or 10 years that many in 
the kettlebell community, that people would rather just workout 
than take care of other more important business, like monitoring 
what they eat. 

If you have extra energy on your off days - that’s excellent. 

So here’s what you should do on your “off” days:

Instead of putting that energy toward “extra workouts” – which 
are unnecessary for 99% of the people - put your energy into
managing your nutrition program. 


That’s where most people still fall down.

They still believe that nutrition doesn’t matter and the kettlebell
will magically offset poor food choices.

It doesn’t.

At least not in 95% of the time.

Get your nutrition spot on and then if you have energy left over, 
do something that is the OPPOSITE of your KB training.

(Remember the Yin-Yang symbol? Make your workouts look
like that. Hard = kettlebell. Easy = ?)

Examples might be – relaxing stretching (no reverse clasp knife 
or the such), yoga, or a long nature walk, getting some much 
needed Vitamin D.

First, however, I strongly advise you get extra rest.

And by “extra” I mean the minimum 7 hours, preferably 8 or 9. 

Remember, it’s not how much work you can perform – but how 
much you can recover from. 

Read that again.

It’s not how much work you can perform – but how much you
can recover from.


Remember, a great program is one you can repeatedly show up
for, recover from, and see results with minimum time investment.

We’re not professional athletes. 

No need to try to train like them.

Finally, if you feel the need to train more than 3 days a week,
I suggest you only add 1 day and train 4 days.

Use the tried and true template of 2 strength days and 2
conditioning days.

I’d use the “STRONG!” program on Mondays and Thursdays, 
and the “One” program on Tuesdays and Friday.

Those are going to be the biggest-bang for your training buck.

(They use a pair of kettlebells.)

Get both programs here.

Talk soon.

Geoff

I'm going to follow the advice and really concentrate on my nutrition.

Thanks again for all of your excellent replies.

Eric
 
You think . . .

 

I think it is really cool that he took the time to answer my question.  (Like you both did.)

 

BTW,  I read the entire 27 pages on KB Burn from the DD Forum that you linked to above.  Great read.
 
Hang your suit coat on the elliptical for a while before you put it out in the trash, and please disassociate exercise and entertainment. Maybe stretching while watching TV is OK but that's about it.

-S-

@Steve Freides

What made you say this?

Specifically the recommendation to disassociate exercise and entertainment?
 
@Lew, exercise should be performed mindfully, not while distracted. You can't focus on form and technique while doing something else. The only exception I make to this is a specific kind of stretching we call "waiting out the tension" that's discussed in Relax Into Stretch.

Just my opinion, of course.

-S-
 
I think he was talking about you, hehe.
No, he was talking about me!*lol*
I am back, aka gergirl2, my account did not work after the face lift of the forum, so I created a new one and picked a better name ;)Thanks for the support from the people behind the scenes!
Pleased to be back!
 
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