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Kettlebell Kettlebell Long Cycle

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WOW, my biggest take away from my first full week of only focusing on LC training is "embace the suck" haha.
moderately heavy carriers, lighter high rep: C&Js, Snatches, cleans, jerks, C&P and my personal fav for the mental aspect is the fan bike! And then realising that each rep durning the comp has to be perfect to count is now in the back of my head. trying to keep technique and form tight. learning tention has been a big help in the lockout position. I have a pair of 26 Kgs and am picking up a pair of 12's and 16's this week. (business expense ;)
Love the shift that I've had to make in my mentality. And love the strength that I've built with S&S and ROP over the last year and is helping a tonne. Shoulders feel great, and I'm already seeing a change in my work capacity, whether thats an actual change or a "placebo" effect of just learning to push myself in a different way reamains to be seen.

But things are going along swimmingly. we'll see how much of this momentum I can keep when deployed in two weeks.
 
There's a competition coming to my town in April and I'm going to start doing 10 minute snatch sessions myself. I'm working with a 12kg KB right now, but I'd like to move to 16 soon.

Anyone have advice on how to train for competitions while still training S&S? Is it too much for the muscles to stick with S&S 5-7 days a week and throw in a 10 minute snatch session every other evening?
 
There is blog article by Steve Matthews who combined long cycle and S&S that is first one long work set for long cycle and then S&S.
 
All this talk of S&S inspired me today.
todays workout:
-10 min rack walk changing sides every 1:30 (0:30s per side on last min) w/ 22 Kg (50 Lbs)
-5 min C&J with 2 X 14 Kg (pace of 4 per min) - that was tough but made it. couldn't two weeks ago
then with todays inspiration checking in with S&S (practiced it for six month last year then on and off between then and now).
-Made simple goal with my 26 Kg bell (14:45)!

5 mins or less rest between each

was tough but felt so good to get it all. I'm seeing def imporvments from last week.
 
Thanks Marlon and Mach. I wrote the article referenced above. S&S has helped me a lot in my long cycle training. I have modified my approach a bit from when the article was written, because I have changed the focus of my long cycle training. I have dropped the weight and increased the reps in long cycle, which has effected my swings and getups. I'll explain.

Most of my long cycle sets are 10 minutes now. I dropped back to the 16k bells, and mastered 80+ reps in 10 minutes. I did it so many times it became "easy" (relatively speaking). I did thirteen 80+rep sets before moving up to the 18k's. Right now I'm hitting 60 rep, 10-minute sets, and plan to work my way up to 80 reps. I plan to cycle through the 20k's, 22k's, and 24k's like this. After that, the bells get heavy, so we will see what happens.

After 10 minutes of long cycle, the swings from S&S are a great way to extend the set. If I use lighter bell, like the ones I'm using for long cycle, they are a great way to keep my heart rate elevated and increase the metabolic demand, while reducing the workload to a manageable level. When I do this, I immediately transition from long cycle to swings and just keep going. When I use a heavier Kettlebell, I rest a minute or two. I usually go longer than 5 minutes, because I'm using a lighter bell and my goal is increased conditioning. Adding swings can turn a 10 minute set into 20 minutes of cardio.

After 20 minutes of long cycle and swinging, getups would have to wait. I'm not currently doing getups after these sets, but if I wanted to keep getups in the rotation, I'd rest at least 5m after long cycle and swings.

I realize that I'm not really doing S&S anymore, but the advice in the article is still solid for beginners in long cycle. If I recall correctly, King Cobra is training for a 5-minute LC event, so his sets would range from 3-5 minutes most days. S&S after that would be perfect.
 
@Physical Culture May I ask what made you down in weight? And do you use any specific assistance exercises, specific to long cycle?

Thanks for asking! My motivation to go down in weight was motivated by my desire for more reps. I stalled out with the 24k bells in long cycle. I hit 50 reps once, but that was a max, and I'd been struggling to remain in the 40's for a while. Every time I tried to push for more reps, something would give- knee pain, elbow tendonitis, shoulder soreness. I'm 38 and did not have an adequate base for high rep ballistic work of this nature. I decided that a philosophy of "lifting lighter, longer" would serve me well. Indeed, it has. My conditioning has never been better. I could struggle to get 40 reps with 2x24k (1920k of work), or I could sail through 80 reps with 2x16k (2560k of work) in the same amount of time. The faster pace and higher total workload have agreed with me- I feel great, without the niggling aches and pains I had with higher weights. I hope that by the time I work back up to higher weights, I will have worked through these issues and be ready for high reps without injury.

This approach is not strictly compatible with the "strong first" philosophy, as a pair of 16k's will not get a grown man very strong. However, I have seen improvements in my resiliency, explosiveness, and conditioning which compensate for a theoretical drop in my max strength. I can still press a 32k for a few reps with either arm. I have also done a lot of high rep clean and presses with 16k. For example, every so often I'll do 30 minutes of continuous clean and presses at a pace of 8rpm, switching hands with swing every rep. This gets me 30 minutes of cardio, along with 120 swings, cleans, and presses per arm.

I also incorporate bodyweight training (dips and chins, mostly, along with high rep, easy knee pushups) and some dumbbell isolation exercises to keep my elbows happy.

There are specific assistance lifts for long cycle, but I don't currently do them. Black cleans are one I have used in the past. Because it is cold, I have not been running or doing outdoor steady-state cardio like I should.
 
I love the culture of Kettlebells. And Strongfirst is such a great example of this. Everyone is so willing to ask and share. What works, what doesn't (individuality aside) and why we try the things we do. It's so inspiring.
If I recall correctly, King Cobra is training for a 5-minute LC event, so his sets would range from 3-5 minutes most days. S&S after that would be perfect.
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I'm actually training for 10 min LC. which is so much more challenging than I had realized (haha ego....stupid ego) but its is such an interesting challenge and I am really enjoying it.
 
I love the culture of Kettlebells. And Strongfirst is such a great example of this. Everyone is so willing to ask and share. What works, what doesn't (individuality aside) and why we try the things we do. It's so inspiring.
.
I'm actually training for 10 min LC. which is so much more challenging than I had realized (haha ego....stupid ego) but its is such an interesting challenge and I am really enjoying it.

I did not mean to sell you short! 10m of long cycle is a killer- mentally and physically.
 
It's a classic methodology in GS training to start with a weight you can get 4-6 minutes with, work up to 10 minutes, then increase the pace, and only then move up in weight. You really want to "own" a GS weight before going heavier, at least based on both my own experience and what I've heard GS coaches recommend.

-S-
 
It's a classic methodology in GS training to start with a weight you can get 4-6 minutes with, work up to 10 minutes, then increase the pace, and only then move up in weight. You really want to "own" a GS weight before going heavier, at least based on both my own experience and what I've heard GS coaches recommend.

-S-

This is true, and I'm finding that a man can get a lot of mileage out of a pair of "light" bells. Most of my training these days are with 16k and 18k kettlebells, with some occasional heavier swings and presses. I have a farm, and the usual chores include carrying two 5-gallon buckets of water (about 40 pounds each), throwing hay bales, and carrying/loading 50 pound feed bags. A Kettlebell workload of 70-80 pounds for high reps has given me strength enough to do all these things with no problem. Unless he wears a uniform or works in certain trades, a pair of 16k kettlebells is heavier than anything most men will lift on any given day.
 
My training the last couple of days has looked like this: 5 X 2min C&J (16K's) 1 min rest between sets, followed by S&S with 26K and today 6 X 2 min Snatch (16K), 10 mins on Assault Air Bike :s and (impromptu) S&S. These were tough practice sessions for me. really learning to turn off or ignore that voice that says "stop, this sucks" is a big step. But its getting easier haha
 
My training the last couple of days has looked like this: 5 X 2min C&J (16K's) 1 min rest between sets, followed by S&S with 26K and today 6 X 2 min Snatch (16K), 10 mins on Assault Air Bike :s and (impromptu) S&S. These were tough practice sessions for me. really learning to turn off or ignore that voice that says "stop, this sucks" is a big step. But its getting easier haha

Good work. What's your long cycle pace? If you own 2m, you may be able to drop a rep or two a minute and add some time. And yes, the mental battle is the hardest part. Ten minutes is a long time to stand there and listen to your mind trying to give up. In my experience, if I can make 8 minutes, I can usually make 10. The hardest minutes on my head are the early ones. Three minutes in, you are thinking "seven more minutes of this?". But seven minutes in you think "just three more minutes!"
 
I'm on 4/min. Locking out on :15, :30, :45 and :00. Been really focusing on the lockout. Trying to keep it strong and "quiet" as well as the "double dip". Really my biggest struggle right now is grip and holding the rack. Well, not that any of it is easy haha
 
I'm on 4/min. Locking out on :15, :30, :45 and :00. Been really focusing on the lockout. Trying to keep it strong and "quiet" as well as the "double dip". Really my biggest struggle right now is grip and holding the rack. Well, not that any of it is easy haha

4 rpm is about as slow as you can get in long cycle. If the rack is bothering you, but your S&C are up to it, you might feel more comfortable at 5rpm (locking out at :12, :24, :36, :48, and :00). Less time in the rack, but more work for the grip. Your mantra should be "breathe, relax". Say it again and again until you can breathe and relax.
 
That's just crazy enough to work haha. I'll give that a try next week. Thanks @Physical Culture, really appreciate it.
I've been working on relaxing and finding enjoyment in the training. I've also been focusing on breathing for a while now But a great thing to keep running through my head for sure. Thanks again
 
Ok, an update. I made my first full 10mins with my pair of 16k's.
I think I got about 49 reps. (filmed myself)
A few take homes that i learnt:
1-Absolutly "Breath and Relax" even more important than I thought
2-Faster pace is actually "easier". I was on about a 4/min pace for the first 6ish mins and then I picked it up to 6ish per min for the last few mins and it bacame a battle with conditioning rather than the rack position.
3-I recorded myself and I'm sure not all of my reps would have counted but at least i have a baseline for techn. and form.
4- for two mins after i was done I hated it......after that, I wanted to go again. haha
Anyway, I've got a ways to go but I'm very encouraged!
 
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