gatorbait
Level 5 Valued Member
@Halfakneecap …. Congrats on your progress! Hope the shoulder is done giving you problems.You might find a month long break between is good for you. My intention when I finish phase 2 is to do try A&A with heavy dbl cleans, to give my shoulders a break.
I kept waiting for a point all last year where I felt like I needed a break from cleans and presses but it never came…. Still don’t feel like I need it (especially since my STRONG! Training sessions take less time than my GIANT sessions! I think I’m just kind of feeling a bit of “this is too good to be true” paranoia, so maybe it just has me stuck in my own head.
@johngrahill….. this is re-assuring to hear! Thank you!As to your last paragraph I had been on a steady diet of C+P (push presses done at times too) with kettlebells for several years.
Same here, I’ve had a lot of dings and dents from college sports and then the grunt life in the military….. DC&P just make me feel good!I found the clean and press was a movement I could do that didn't aggravate the dings and dents I have from years of training "abuses" in that they didn't aggravate my shoulders (kettlebells and dumbbells that is), didn't annoy my knees and wrists, etc.
I'd say i'm in the same boat.... I'm just focused on longevity for the next 40+ years; injury prevention, muscle mass, strength, body fat, resting HR etc.; and want to achieve those goals as simply as possible. Geoff's programs and eating approaches seem to be getting me there with minimum effort. Lost a bunch of weight and put on a good amount of muscle with THE GIANT. Now 5 weeks into STRONG! Phase 1 and I'm down 4lbs in those five weeks with 3 workouts a week that have taken 10-15 minutes a piece and doing some IF fasting and carb cycling on lifting days!I'm not a competitive lifter, couldn't care less as a matter of fact (but I respect those that do). I was just looking for an exercise protocol that would deliver many fitness benefits and discovered the ROP and subsequently Geoff's programs focusing on a combination of cleans with an overhead movement and reaped many benefits. Now I'm certainly no fitness model but I gained some muscle in the shoulders and got my resting pulse into the 40s.
As to things like pullups and other movements I can say this. I was able to maintain most of my pulllup ability for a long time focusing on programs like "Strong " and "The Giant" without adding them into the mix.
Trust his process.
To be clear; I DO NOT WANT TO ADD ANYTHING TO THE PROGRAM. I guess it just all seems to be good to be true and that has me paranoid in thinking I can run these cycles for several years as I work to double 48's, because as I searched through the forum it seems like not many people have stuck with it for more than 1 or 2 run cycles. So this made me wonder if I'm missing something.
In the manual @Geoff Neupert states "How strong do you think you would be if you could do that workout with a pair of Beasts?" (mentioned in the ONE program, but I believe applies to STRONG! just as much.) I want to do just that because I believe its a long-term simple and effective path to get me to my long term goals. I'm was just afraid I might be a bit naive, but I will take your advice and just "Trust his process."