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Kettlebell Kettlebell Strong Results

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Jordan Skinner

Jordan Skinner

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Hey Gang,

Just want to see if anyone can shed some light on why my strength doesn't seem to have progressed with the KB Stong program (specifically the strength portion).

I have just finished the strength portion of KB Strong. Before starting I tested myself with a pair of 24kg bells and completed 6 clean & presses with the 6th rep being really sketchy.

I have since worked my way through all 8 weeks of the strength portion of the program. The only variation was that I did not always have one day of rest in between workouts, some times I had 2 or 3 days of rest between workouts depending on work and travel commitments. Nevertheless, I completed every workout, every rep.

This brings me to my final test which I completed today. The result: 5 solid clean and presses with a pair of 24kgs with the 6th being very sketchy.

It feels like I have made zero progress in strength. I was at least hoping to make 9 or 10 reps.

Has anyone else experienced this and is there something I am blatantly doing wrong? Would be great to hear your thoughts @Geoff Neupert.

Thanks, Jordan
 
If you were monitoring your HR on both occasions can you check how much your HR spiked? Also how much were you resting between each set during the program?

if you dont have HR, then remember what was your RPE when you did 5 reps? Also did you lose weight and muscle mass in the two months? And how fresh were you before you RM test? Typically everyone i've read at least improved their RM by 2-3 reps ! including @John K who recently did it with double 32s. I got a similar bump with double 28s last year.
 
mvikred said:
If you were monitoring your HR on both occasions can you check how much your HR spiked? Also how much were you resting between each set during the program?

if you dont have HR, then remember what was your RPE when you did 5 reps? Also did you lose weight and muscle mass in the two months? And how fresh were you before you RM test? Typically everyone i've read at least improved their RM by 2-3 reps ! including @John K who recently did it with double 32s. I got a similar bump with double 28s last year.
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Exactly.. you didn't really "not improve" if your RM didn't go up but you got lighter in the process
 
I'll also add to the diet option.

The same thing happened to me when I tried to run Strong! My job makes it difficult to keep a consistent training plan with the correct diet. I had to stop the program mid-way because I could not recover and was making little progress. Make sure you're eating enough, and your recovery is adequate.
 
You used too light a load for me. Rest for 2 or 3 days, then try to do a test with the doubles 28. If you do 4 reps repeat phase one with the doubles 28
 
Jordan Skinner said:
Hey Gang,

Just want to see if anyone can shed some light on why my strength doesn't seem to have progressed with the KB Stong program (specifically the strength portion).

I have just finished the strength portion of KB Strong. Before starting I tested myself with a pair of 24kg bells and completed 6 clean & presses with the 6th rep being really sketchy.

I have since worked my way through all 8 weeks of the strength portion of the program. The only variation was that I did not always have one day of rest in between workouts, some times I had 2 or 3 days of rest between workouts depending on work and travel commitments. Nevertheless, I completed every workout, every rep.

This brings me to my final test which I completed today. The result: 5 solid clean and presses with a pair of 24kgs with the 6th being very sketchy.

It feels like I have made zero progress in strength. I was at least hoping to make 9 or 10 reps.

Has anyone else experienced this and is there something I am blatantly doing wrong? Would be great to hear your thoughts @Geoff Neupert.

Thanks, Jordan
Click to expand...
@Jordan Skinner ,

Without knowing your circumstances, training history, and injury background, it's impossible to say for sure.

However, as the others have pointed out, your lack of progress could be due to:
  • Lack of sleep
  • Poor diet
  • Poor recovery
  • Body weight loss
Other things:
  • Poor technique
  • Some underlying structural issue where your body is literally preventing you from loading it
  • Illness
If you can address some or all of these issues, we can help you sort this out.

Hope this helps.
 
The only variation was that I did not always have one day of rest in between workouts, some times I had 2 or 3 days of rest between workouts depending on work and travel commitments. Nevertheless, I completed every workout, every rep.
Click to expand...

So I re-read the whole post..

You forgot to factor this in

Travel and stress must always be factored in. If you didn't lose any strength despite a stressful 2-3 weeks and you're constantly on the road, that's still a job well done..

What you can do for cycle 2, try to rest shorter between sets this round
 
First of all, thankings for posting @Jordan Skinner . I think there are circumstances, where people don't (seem to) progress, and then people respond differently to different stimuli. And if we only hear about classic success stories, we might develop unrealistic expectations and take spectacular improvements for granted.

Anyway, assuming that you did not get stronger, others have already given plenty of reasons which factors might have contributed.
Maybe you got lighter and are therefore stronger in relation to your bodyweight.
Maybe you just didn't taper enough and therefore your real gains could not show.
Maybe you are not build for strength "endurance" or hypertrophy work and have trouble shifting gears doing grinds for more than 5 reps.
You definitely increased your work capacity for pressing.
You might even have increased your limit strength (1RM).
You might even have had a mild (or not so mild) infection in the background and your training allowed you to maintain your strength. (Recently I was close to finishing ROP but then got sick and had to go back two whole months. But in the end that is ok, I got lighter and I have improved my technique and resolved some joint issues along the way.)
Maybe your body needs a specific stimulus or different context factors to realize the intended development. For example, more density. Or less density. Or better post-workout recovery/food intake.
 
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Hey @Bauer, @Geoff Neupert, @Mark Limbaga, @mvikred and crew

Thanks so much for all your help and input.

SoIfeel kind of silly now but I have been in a caloric deficit since roughly march this year. and during the 8-week program, I have lost approximately 6kg of fat. So after reading everyone's comments I think it's safe to say this is the reason for the lack of progress.

But also maybe it's not a lack of progress as I have lost weight but my strength has started the same?

I have 2 kg left to lose to reach my target weight. Should I repeat the strength phase altogether when have finished cutting weight or just move on to the hypertrophy phase asap?

Again I really appreciate everyone help.

Jordan
 
Jordan Skinner said:
Hey @Bauer, @Geoff Neupert, @Mark Limbaga, @mvikred and crew

Thanks so much for all your help and input.

SoIfeel kind of silly now but I have been in a caloric deficit since roughly march this year. and during the 8-week program, I have lost approximately 6kg of fat. So after reading everyone's comments I think it's safe to say this is the reason for the lack of progress.

But also maybe it's not a lack of progress as I have lost weight but my strength has started the same?

I have 2 kg left to lose to reach my target weight. Should I repeat the strength phase altogether when have finished cutting weight or just move on to the hypertrophy phase asap?

Again I really appreciate everyone help.

Jordan
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Repeat the strength phase again, rest a bit less this round (if you were resting 2 minutes last cycle rest 1:45 this round)

And yes, once you drop 3-4kg expect to take a minor maximal strength dip so if you lost 6kg but strength maintained the same that's a good job right there
 
Jordan Skinner said:
Hey @Bauer, @Geoff Neupert, @Mark Limbaga, @mvikred and crew

Thanks so much for all your help and input.

SoIfeel kind of silly now but I have been in a caloric deficit since roughly march this year. and during the 8-week program, I have lost approximately 6kg of fat. So after reading everyone's comments I think it's safe to say this is the reason for the lack of progress.

But also maybe it's not a lack of progress as I have lost weight but my strength has started the same?

I have 2 kg left to lose to reach my target weight. Should I repeat the strength phase altogether when have finished cutting weight or just move on to the hypertrophy phase asap?

Again I really appreciate everyone help.

Jordan
Click to expand...
@Mark Limbaga knows what he's doing, but before repeating Phase 1 - how hard/easy was your 10 sets of 3?

If 10x3 was a super struggle AND you were already resting 4-5 min between sets, then I'd lean on repeating Phase 1.

If 10x3 was challenging but doable - especially if you've been using short (less than 3 min) rest periods - I'd move on to building up your sets of 4 as per the plan in Phase 2 Slow and Steady, and just plan on bumping your rest periods up to 4-5 minutes between sets as needed. I don't generally recommend resting more than 5 minutes, I don't see much benefit and it would make the workouts very long and tedious.
 
Jordan Skinner said:
I have 2 kg left to lose to reach my target weight. Should I repeat the strength phase altogether when have finished cutting weight or just move on to the hypertrophy phase asap?
Click to expand...
Others are advising you well here, but I want to point out that you have directly experienced why periodized training can be more effective strategy to realizing goals.

Keep that in mind moving forward and you'll have better returns from your time and effort.
 
Hang on- Did you say that you lost 6kg while your on the first phase of KB Strong??? Or is that what you have lost total?

If the prior is correct, then that's not lack of progress. That is progress. You are 6kg lighter and still pressing the same amount. You should be proud of that.
 
Aj Bhardwaj said:
Hang on- Did you say that you lost 6kg while your on the first phase of KB Strong??? Or is that what you have lost total?

If the prior is correct, then that's not lack of progress. That is progress. You are 6kg lighter and still pressing the same amount. You should be proud of that.
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This, and then some. 6kg down and keeping the same strength is definitely winning, congratulations.
Now imagine what the results would be if you were in calorie surplus?
Good for thought! (Pun intended ).
 
Mark Limbaga said:
Repeat the strength phase again, rest a bit less this round (if you were resting 2 minutes last cycle rest 1:45 this round)

And yes, once you drop 3-4kg expect to take a minor maximal strength dip so if you lost 6kg but strength maintained the same that's a good job right there
Click to expand...
Thanks @Mark Limbaga

I will shed these last few kg and try again with a shorter rest. I was actually resting 5 minutes bvetween sets so ill half that.
 
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