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Kettlebell Kettlebell STRONG (Neupert)

Hi. All. In a few month i will start the STRONG program. So i read the book and there is a recommendation to train STRONG 3 days a week. What are you usualy train in your off days? If i remember correctly (it was 10 years since i read that) in ETK Pavel also reccomendet 3 training days a week. And some easy training between the days without any heavy lifting.

What are you training in your free days? How heavy can you go without suffering in STRONG? What should absolutly be avoid?
Probably @Geoff Neupert or @John Grahill will advise you better but for what it’s worth:

Don’t add. Do STRONG and that’s it.

Strong already asks you to do Ab work if you feel like you need it.

Plan is to become strong. Tool is Clean & Press, which happens to be one of the best exercises to become brutally strong.

I did Sore Knee Solution because I had to. Then I was doing ab work religiously but after doing both I’ve noticed that best ever exercise to keep my “midsection” together when doing overhead work is Deadbugs and that is what I do each and every day after falling off the bed in the morning. 100-120 reps in as many sets as I want to.

Stay focus on the goal. If you clean and press correctly for prescribed volume and weight is right…I don’t think you’ll have appetite to do much more.
 
Hi. All. In a few month i will start the STRONG program. So i read the book and there is a recommendation to train STRONG 3 days a week. What are you usualy train in your off days? If i remember correctly (it was 10 years since i read that) in ETK Pavel also reccomendet 3 training days a week. And some easy training between the days without any heavy lifting.

What are you training in your free days? How heavy can you go without suffering in STRONG? What should absolutly be avoid?
Nothing. Just walking and being
 
I generally get one session of swings and getups in, on off days. If I have a busy week, I’ll skip the swings or getups but not the Strong sessions. That’s it, and walking with my wife once or twice.
 
I think it is also OK to do 2 days a week of Strong and 2 days of something else that is either complementary or low impact on the body. STRONG, over time, definitely gets a bit much to recover from. I was over ambitious and added a bunch of things on the STRONG training days and the other days as well. When I reflected I realized I should have been a bit more conservative with my training and allowed myself to recover from it better.
 
Yesterday I finished workout 19 of phase 1; it was easy and I started cutting the rest down to about 2:15 between sets, and I probably could've done it with 2 min rest easily. Workout 18 (sets of 3) I bumped the rest up to 3:00-3:30 between sets and it made it pretty easy (especially compared to 2:30-2:45 between sets from workout 16).

I've been very busy lately and training has been super barebones - Strong! M-W-F and a run T-Th-Sa. It also coincided with training being in the evenings after my last client ... and with some very easy Strong! sessions ... couldn't be related, cutting out extra work and the sessions getting easier... nah that's just crazy ... Must just be the late nights ... ;)

It is definitely nice having a program that can be done when you're busy and have minimal time to spare.
 
You can combine Strong with The one, a swing conditioning program. It’s in the book/pdf. I’m seriously thinking about doing it now I’m back doing swings. I’ll finish my current run of Strong first though, and hopefully up the bells next time.

I’m terrible at cardio/fitness, but kb swings are easy conditioning I believe and work great.
 
Probably @Geoff Neupert or @John Grahill will advise you better but for what it’s worth:

Don’t add. Do STRONG and that’s it.

Strong already asks you to do Ab work if you feel like you need it.

Plan is to become strong. Tool is Clean & Press, which happens to be one of the best exercises to become brutally strong.

I did Sore Knee Solution because I had to. Then I was doing ab work religiously but after doing both I’ve noticed that best ever exercise to keep my “midsection” together when doing overhead work is Deadbugs and that is what I do each and every day after falling off the bed in the morning. 100-120 reps in as many sets as I want to.

Stay focus on the goal. If you clean and press correctly for prescribed volume and weight is right…I don’t think you’ll have appetite to do much more.
If I may add to what @bgn said....his statement of not wanting to do much more....if you've used a true 'tough' 4 or 5 rep max to start the program as is prescribed then I can't see wanting more work as the program progresses!
 
I think it is also OK to do 2 days a week of Strong and 2 days of something else that is either complementary or low impact on the body. STRONG, over time, definitely gets a bit much to recover from. I was over ambitious and added a bunch of things on the STRONG training days and the other days as well. When I reflected I realized I should have been a bit more conservative with my training and allowed myself to recover from it better.
I discovered the same thing!
 
Yesterday I finished workout 19 of phase 1; it was easy and I started cutting the rest down to about 2:15 between sets, and I probably could've done it with 2 min rest easily. Workout 18 (sets of 3) I bumped the rest up to 3:00-3:30 between sets and it made it pretty easy (especially compared to 2:30-2:45 between sets from workout 16).

I've been very busy lately and training has been super barebones - Strong! M-W-F and a run T-Th-Sa. It also coincided with training being in the evenings after my last client ... and with some very easy Strong! sessions ... couldn't be related, cutting out extra work and the sessions getting easier... nah that's just crazy ... Must just be the late nights ... ;)

It is definitely nice having a program that can be done when you're busy and have minimal time to spare.
@John K I kind of did the same thing. We get so used to the belief that a productive workout needs to leave you sweaty and huffing that we sometimes rush the sets......take your time, get stronger and worry about work capacity in phase 2!
 
@John K I kind of did the same thing. We get so used to the belief that a productive workout needs to leave you sweaty and huffing that we sometimes rush the sets......take your time, get stronger and worry about work capacity in phase 2!
StrongFirst .... it is the base on which you can build other stuff .. so yes .. i completely agree with this statement.
 
....Case in point. I did workout 20 of the "Slow and Steady" this morning. Took full 2 minutes rest between sets. The last set was brutal. May need 2.5 to 3 minutes in later rounds.....6 or 7 years ago this would have really bugged me. Now I don't care....I'll get the work sets done as quickly as I can without form deterioration and get the work day's volume in.

Back to today's workout. I was done in 19 minutes including a 6 minute warmup. I was breathing heavily and my forearms and traps were pumped like mad. Add to it? I think not. I'm only human and in my 50s!
 
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....Case in point. I did workout 20 of the "Slow and Steady" this morning. Took full 2 minutes rest between sets. The last set was brutal. May need 2.5 to 3 minutes in later rounds.....6 or 7 years ago this would have really bugged me. Now I don't care....I'll get the work sets done as quickly as I can without form deterioration and get the work day's volume in.

Back to today's workout. I was donevin 19 minutes including a 6 minute warmup. I was breathing heavily and my forearmsand traps were pumped like mad. Add to it? I think not. I'm only human and in my 50s!
I just had a quick look at the sets and reps of Phase 2. Woah, lots of volume haha. 7 sets of 5, is a lot, and that’s just under halfway!. You’d have to be ready for bigger bells after doing phase 1 and 2 back to back.
 
I just finished my SFG1 cert last weekend and happy to share that I got that in the books. This week I have been doing a few easy workouts to give my body some rest. Wondering what to do next and obviously I wanted to finish my KB Strong program. However, I left my double 28s in another location, so I tested my RM with double 32s. I got a not so tough 4 reps .. maybe if I really pushed it I would've got a very shaky 5th press. cleans were no problem. And I was wondering if 4RM is ok to start the Ph1 of KB Strong?

What would the fine folks here recommend?
 
....Case in point. I did workout 20 of the "Slow and Steady" this morning. Took full 2 minutes rest between sets. The last set was brutal. May need 2.5 to 3 minutes in later rounds.....6 or 7 years ago this would have really bugged me. Now I don't care....I'll get the work sets done as quickly as I can without form deterioration and get the work day's volume in.

Back to today's workout. I was donevin 19 minutes including a 6 minute warmup. I was breathing heavily and my forearmsand traps were pumped like mad. Add to it? I think not. I'm only human and in my 50s!
I wrapped up Workout 20 of Phase 1 tonight, sets had 3-3.25 min rest between, and it wasn't until the 8th and 9th that it started getting hard - and even then it wasn't that bad. That was it for training today, apart from work and life stuff, and I'm beat.

Speaking of forearms - when I was being more strict with rest, my right forearm would almost start to cramp toward the end of a session. Not a comfortable sensation! I should add that this was also when I was doing fat grip pullups as "active rest" between sets of clean and press. ROFL
 
I just finished my SFG1 cert last weekend and happy to share that I got that in the books. This week I have been doing a few easy workouts to give my body some rest. Wondering what to do next and obviously I wanted to finish my KB Strong program. However, I left my double 28s in another location, so I tested my RM with double 32s. I got a not so tough 4 reps .. maybe if I really pushed it I would've got a very shaky 5th press. cleans were no problem. And I was wondering if 4RM is ok to start the Ph1 of KB Strong?

What would the fine folks here recommend?
I would say congrats on passing SFG!

I think you could take a run at Phase 1 of Strong!
 
I just finished my SFG1 cert last weekend and happy to share that I got that in the books. This week I have been doing a few easy workouts to give my body some rest. Wondering what to do next and obviously I wanted to finish my KB Strong program. However, I left my double 28s in another location, so I tested my RM with double 32s. I got a not so tough 4 reps .. maybe if I really pushed it I would've got a very shaky 5th press. cleans were no problem. And I was wondering if 4RM is ok to start the Ph1 of KB Strong?

What would the fine folks here recommend?
Yes. :)

And congrats!
 
I thought I'd write up my experience using Strong and Giant protocols with snatches.
I used 2x24kg bells, 20 minute sessions.
I am 56, 5'7", and best described as 'dumpy', despite practicing Strongfirst and Mr. Neupert's programs for years. Oh well, it would undoubtedly be worse without kettlebells

I did this because I like snatches although they beat me up badly, and I wanted the heavier bells.
I began with at best 3-4 shaky reps.
I did Strong as written, also doing One as written. In retrospect, I would have simply done Strong. One gets pretty brutal and deserves its own focus.
On off days for both Strong and One, I only did some walking, and often the 9-Minute KB and Bodyweight Challenge from Aleks Salkin. This too is great, and it fit in nicely with my doing Original Strength type exercises for warmups.
I ended Strong with a solid 12 reps, then another 6 after a short break, mainly because I couldn't believe it myself.

On to Giant 1.0, again with 2x24Kg:
Huge success, and fun to boot.
Rep counts increased by 36% to 16 %, and raw numbers by 25 to 16 reps.
I never felt beat up. Well, not for long-- high rep days are a challenge.
If anything, I was conservative and left a bit in the tank, as the progression really adds up when you "add a set" each week.

Best of all, snatches in volume used to really rip up my hands, especially in an odd place in the center of left, which always developed a nasty rip. That is completely gone: no callus rips, no blisters, barely even a hot spot. Strong was a fantastic training resource.

And! One hand 32KG snatches were merely a fantasy prior to these sessions. After a week or so of Strong, I tried one in the middle of my session, and it just flew up. Simply by adding some reps throughout Strong, in a very conservative manner, I now have solid 4 /3 on strong/stronger arm.

I'm now two weeks into Giant 1.1, and there's another surprise: I've dropped 4-5 pounds since beginning. I absolutely was not trying for this, and in fact have been doing a little too much beach and beer to expect it. I have been trying to eat less, and better. but nothing systematic. I personally rarely see any change in body composition or looks except for my default of 'dumpy', but I feel great.

In summary: I had a good time, made excellent --for me-- progress, lost a little weight,and was never rushed, hurt, or exhausted. A++ .
 
I thought I'd write up my experience using Strong and Giant protocols with snatches.
I used 2x24kg bells, 20 minute sessions.
I am 56, 5'7", and best described as 'dumpy', despite practicing Strongfirst and Mr. Neupert's programs for years. Oh well, it would undoubtedly be worse without kettlebells

I did this because I like snatches although they beat me up badly, and I wanted the heavier bells.
I began with at best 3-4 shaky reps.
I did Strong as written, also doing One as written. In retrospect, I would have simply done Strong. One gets pretty brutal and deserves its own focus.
On off days for both Strong and One, I only did some walking, and often the 9-Minute KB and Bodyweight Challenge from Aleks Salkin. This too is great, and it fit in nicely with my doing Original Strength type exercises for warmups.
I ended Strong with a solid 12 reps, then another 6 after a short break, mainly because I couldn't believe it myself.

On to Giant 1.0, again with 2x24Kg:
Huge success, and fun to boot.
Rep counts increased by 36% to 16 %, and raw numbers by 25 to 16 reps.
I never felt beat up. Well, not for long-- high rep days are a challenge.
If anything, I was conservative and left a bit in the tank, as the progression really adds up when you "add a set" each week.

Best of all, snatches in volume used to really rip up my hands, especially in an odd place in the center of left, which always developed a nasty rip. That is completely gone: no callus rips, no blisters, barely even a hot spot. Strong was a fantastic training resource.

And! One hand 32KG snatches were merely a fantasy prior to these sessions. After a week or so of Strong, I tried one in the middle of my session, and it just flew up. Simply by adding some reps throughout Strong, in a very conservative manner, I now have solid 4 /3 on strong/stronger arm.

I'm now two weeks into Giant 1.1, and there's another surprise: I've dropped 4-5 pounds since beginning. I absolutely was not trying for this, and in fact have been doing a little too much beach and beer to expect it. I have been trying to eat less, and better. but nothing systematic. I personally rarely see any change in body composition or looks except for my default of 'dumpy', but I feel great.

In summary: I had a good time, made excellent --for me-- progress, lost a little weight,and was never rushed, hurt, or exhausted. A++ .
Awesome work man!
 
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