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Kettlebell Kettlebell STRONG (Neupert)

Is there any anatomical reason why the press should be performed with palms forward and not palms to the head. Especially if you're performing with one kettlebell rather than doubles. Many people recommend performing with the palm to the head. My question is not related to the standards, but for a purely mechanical and anatomical reason.
 
Dydo said:
Is there any anatomical reason why the press should be performed with palms forward and not palms to the head. Especially if you're performing with one kettlebell rather than doubles. Many people recommend performing with the palm to the head. My question is not related to the standards, but for a purely mechanical and anatomical reason.
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My guess:
Palms facing to the head might cause or contribute to excess external rotation & rounded shoulders.
Palms facing forward makes it easier to avoid that.
Actively creating external rotation also works and strengthens the Trapezius, Posterior Deltoid, Rotator Cuff muscles, Levator Scapulae and the Rhomboids, thus you don't mess up your shoulders due to high load / high volume.

Try both press variations with lighter weights and try to actively "feel the difference", you might be surprised.
 
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Thanks for the reply. Obviously, performing a press with palms facing forward has its arguments. That's exactly why I asked this question.
I've tried both and feel better with palms facing forward.
 
lucasmreis said:
And today was my last Strong! day :)

I did it with Double Kettlebell Front Squat, two 50lbs kettlebells. I started on April 11th with 10x1, and finished today with 10x6 - both in 26 minutes!

It was a wild ride. Some of the challenges I faced:
1. I noticed I was getting out of breath before getting my muscles tired. So I started working out with a heart monitor and added cardio on the "off" days (indoor rowing).
2. I started to have some serious pain in my left shoulder, I almost stopped everything. I went to the physical therapist, and I added shoulder exercises to my routine after the squats and rowing. It made a huge difference, and I would say that in a month it got 90% better.
3. I had lower back issues in the past, and in the last month I started "feeling" my lower back again. Following my successful physical therapy experience, we changed our focus from shoulder to my lower back. Ended up adding more core-oriented exercises to my routine, replacing some of the shoulder ones.

I do an Original Strength reset-inspired set of exercises and 5 minutes in the rowing machine as warm-up, and 5 to 10 minutes stretch as cool down. I work out Monday to Saturday, from 6 to 7am.

And that's it! I gained weight, but I look leaner and more muscular. I definitely got stronger, and got a big boost in self confidence.

I will admit that the last month I got HUNGRY, and might have gained an extra 3 or 4 pounds, hehe. I will try to focus on losing weight in the next month before holiday season.

Thank you all and thank you Geoff!

Some pages from my logs:
View attachment 19365 View attachment 19366
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Appreciated!
 
I find it difficult, for me, to maintain and recover from 3 sessions a week with Strong! @2x32kg. With 2x24kg I was doing 2 sessions a week in addition to running and that suited me fine. I'd like to try and maintain 3 sessions a week, but replace a Strong! session with one of these options:
- Q&D 044
- AXE with snatch or swings
- KBSF single Clean and Jerk
And perhaps with a logic of progression as running events approach?
What do you think?
Thanks
 
DrG said:
I find it difficult, for me, to maintain and recover from 3 sessions a week with Strong! @2x32kg. With 2x24kg I was doing 2 sessions a week in addition to running and that suited me fine. I'd like to try and maintain 3 sessions a week, but replace a Strong! session with one of these options:
- Q&D 044
- AXE with snatch or swings
- KBSF single Clean and Jerk
And perhaps with a logic of progression as running events approach?
What do you think?
Thanks
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure @Halfakneecap was running Strong! twice a week, not sure where he ended up with it though
 
DrG said:
I find it difficult, for me, to maintain and recover from 3 sessions a week with Strong! @2x32kg. With 2x24kg I was doing 2 sessions a week in addition to running and that suited me fine. I'd like to try and maintain 3 sessions a week, but replace a Strong! session with one of these options:
- Q&D 044
- AXE with snatch or swings
- KBSF single Clean and Jerk
And perhaps with a logic of progression as running events approach?
What do you think?
Thanks
Click to expand...
If you’re running, then do whichever option suits your running without affecting recovery for Strong.
 
DrG said:
I find it difficult, for me, to maintain and recover from 3 sessions a week with Strong! @2x32kg. With 2x24kg I was doing 2 sessions a week in addition to running and that suited me fine. I'd like to try and maintain 3 sessions a week, but replace a Strong! session with one of these options:
- Q&D 044
- AXE with snatch or swings
- KBSF single Clean and Jerk
And perhaps with a logic of progression as running events approach?
What do you think?
Thanks
Click to expand...
I ran phase 2 of Strong with 2x24 last summer and did it two days per week. I also did 2 days of 1H swings and 2-3 days of Z2 running. Worked great. I did a 10 mile trail race at the end of the summer and felt well prepared for it.

I’m doing Iron Cardio with 2x28 at the moment (2 days a week, plus swings and Z2), but plan to run phase 2 of Strong with the 28s this spring or summer, again 2 days a week, since it worked well.
 
Same feeling of being well prepared after phase 2 for a 50-miler last year with 2 sessions a week.
I'll gradually introduce Q&D 044 over 6 weeks and see how recovery evolves. Then probably 6 weeks of AXE with snatches and/or hill sprints.
 
Just wrapped up Phase 1 of Strong with double 32’s for the C&P. Began at the start of the year with a 4RM (4th rep a little shaky). Tested my RM yesterday and got 6 solid reps, though rep 6 was a long grind. It still felt more solid than the 4th rep of my previous attempt.

I don’t feel super confident jumping in to Phase 2 with only a 6rm and having to work with sets of 4. I’m thinking I’ll take 4 weeks of The Giant 3.0 and see if I can get another couple of reps before jumping into Phase 2.

Thoughts?
 
jdcollins said:
Just wrapped up Phase 1 of Strong with double 32’s for the C&P. Began at the start of the year with a 4RM (4th rep a little shaky). Tested my RM yesterday and got 6 solid reps, though rep 6 was a long grind. It still felt more solid than the 4th rep of my previous attempt.

I don’t feel super confident jumping in to Phase 2 with only a 6rm and having to work with sets of 4. I’m thinking I’ll take 4 weeks of The Giant 3.0 and see if I can get another couple of reps before jumping into Phase 2.

Thoughts?
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If you timed your rest periods for ph1, you can redo it with shorter rest periods then retest again after

I'm pretty sure by then you'll have a 7-8rm
 
I think your idea is a sound one. I've jumped into phase 2 not feeling confident as you describe and I paid the price.

Doing the Giant 3 would most likely give you more reps per session than phase 1 Strong so you'd get more practice for a lack of a better word.

For the umpteenth time today I am embarking on a Giant venture, starting with the 3.0. I've never done the 3 series before but need the low rep "practice" sessions.

My kettlebell training has been derailed so many times in the past 2 years. I need to change back to what works for me.

Sorry for changing the thread. Didn't mean to. @jdcollins I think your plan will work well.
 
John Grahill said:
I think your idea is a sound one. I've jumped into phase 2 not feeling confident as you describe and I paid the price.

Doing the Giant 3 would most likely give you more reps per session than phase 1 Strong so you'd get more practice for a lack of a better word.

For the umpteenth time today I am embarking on a Giant venture, starting with the 3.0. I've never done the 3 series before but need the low rep "practice" sessions.

My kettlebell training has been derailed so many times in the past 2 years. I need to change back to what works for me.

Sorry for changing the thread. Didn't mean to. @jdcollins I think your plan will work well.
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Thanks for the advice based on your experience. I'm thinking I'd like more time with sets of 2 & 3, which is why I'm leaning towards Giant 3. Also, I originally planned to run Giant 3 at the start of the year, but only hit 4 reps on my test which is why I even started with Strong Phase 1.

Long term goal is to two-fold:
  1. Make 32kg feel "light" by end of 2024.
  2. Press the 40kg each side, preferably by May (40th birthday) but at least by the end of 2024.
 
jdcollins said:
Just wrapped up Phase 1 of Strong with double 32’s for the C&P. Began at the start of the year with a 4RM (4th rep a little shaky). Tested my RM yesterday and got 6 solid reps, though rep 6 was a long grind. It still felt more solid than the 4th rep of my previous attempt.

I don’t feel super confident jumping in to Phase 2 with only a 6rm and having to work with sets of 4. I’m thinking I’ll take 4 weeks of The Giant 3.0 and see if I can get another couple of reps before jumping into Phase 2.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
I'd just trust the program as written and stick to it, as long as you don't have any injuries. You may be surprised how effective the sets of 4 are. If you "miss" maybe 2- "heavy days" in a row (by "miss", I mean, you can't complete the session; not that you didn't bother to start it), then maybe re-evaluate; but even then, I'd just repeat the Heavy-Light cycle you're in 2-3 times and then try to advance forward again. Personally, "finish the program" is becoming my greatest incentive. If I allow myself to pick a new one every time the one I'm doing gets hard, I'd turn pretty quickly into a beer-guzzling couch potato.

That said, I was unable to complete 8-sets of 5 on Friday (so I am a little more than half-way through P2) and am also struggling with elbow tendonitis so thinking of taking 2-4 weeks off of C&P completely (probably will just row-erg, which I haven't done in a few months). I was totally unsure I'd be able to do sets of 4 when I got there; and a few weeks later, 10 sets of 4 is, not easy, exactly, but I'm now starting to compress the rest periods and no longer concerned that I can DO them.
 
Chris Mills said:
I'd just trust the program as written and stick to it, as long as you don't have any injuries. You may be surprised how effective the sets of 4 are. If you "miss" maybe 2- "heavy days" in a row (by "miss", I mean, you can't complete the session; not that you didn't bother to start it), then maybe re-evaluate; but even then, I'd just repeat the Heavy-Light cycle you're in 2-3 times and then try to advance forward again. Personally, "finish the program" is becoming my greatest incentive. If I allow myself to pick a new one every time the one I'm doing gets hard, I'd turn pretty quickly into a beer-guzzling couch potato.

That said, I was unable to complete 8-sets of 5 on Friday (so I am a little more than half-way through P2) and am also struggling with elbow tendonitis so thinking of taking 2-4 weeks off of C&P completely (probably will just row-erg, which I haven't done in a few months). I was totally unsure I'd be able to do sets of 4 when I got there; and a few weeks later, 10 sets of 4 is, not easy, exactly, but I'm now starting to compress the rest periods and no longer concerned that I can DO them.
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Thanks for this as well. So far, no injuries. And I've also been trying to be fairly strict on rest times. So I could always move into Phase 2 allowing a bit more rest on the 4's days while keeping rest times lower on the 3's days. Another good option.

I guess the reality is that either way is probably a good option. Just need to put in the work.
 
jdcollins said:
Thanks for the advice based on your experience. I'm thinking I'd like more time with sets of 2 & 3, which is why I'm leaning towards Giant 3. Also, I originally planned to run Giant 3 at the start of the year, but only hit 4 reps on my test which is why I even started with Strong Phase 1.

Long term goal is to two-fold:
  1. Make 32kg feel "light" by end of 2024.
  2. Press the 40kg each side, preferably by May (40th birthday) but at least by the end of 2024.
Click to expand...
I just turned 40 and have exactly the same goals! Pressing 40k for 40 sounds cool.
 
Phase 2 builds some pretty brutal volume. Giant 3.0 or re doing phase 1 would be smart I think. I dropped to twice a week on phase 2 occasionally as it was tough.
 
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Hi gentlemen,

I just want to share my experience with Kettlebell Strong!

I started the Phase 1 of the program with my 5-6 RM with 2x24 kg of DCP in January and finished as written in 8 weeks exercising 3x a week.
I did the 1s every 90 seconds, 2s every 120 seconds and 3s every 150 seconds.
My RM moved to 7-8 repetitions. And my personal weight moved from 90 kg to 93 kg :)

Right now I am in the 3rd week of the Short Course of Phase 2 and I continue to exercise 3x times a week. I did all my series in the first two weeks in 120 seconds. My big learning from doing the 7th workout (10x5) is Save the energy!:
- do not crush the handles when not necessary
- do not be as tight as possible when not necessary
- do the C&P quickly and use the "force wave" to press more easily

I had to go slower - every series in 150 seconds (30 seconds work, 120 seconds rest), since my forearms were twice as big as usual.
After applying those changes especially in the second half of last workout, I was less fatigued and more fresh today morning. However my weight moved to 95 kg, so I am wondering whether that is all water. I started supplementing creatine last week, so I have a suspicion that is the main reason.
 
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