Kettlebell Large Jumps In Kettlebell Sizes

[masa]

Welcome to the forum @Howard D!

 

[banzaiengr]

I know what you mean @Robert Noftz, I felt the very same way when I got a 40K. I remember that day well, as I lifted the 40 from the box I ask myself what the freak am I doing.

As other's have said, you can't cheat the 40K. Ensure you own the 32 before venturing into this territory. And like other say, as you start getting closer to your max, an 8K jump is an incredible amount. In most lifting as you get close to your potential just a 5 lb. increase is a huge gain.

But I think the important thing once one reaches the 32K and even more important above it is to train correctly. Ensure you are taking the proper rest between sets and try to limit lactate as much as possible. Increase the sets with the heavier bell very judiciously. My guess is that some will disagree with this but you may find that 5 or 6 sessions per week are too many. Even if you are doing everything above correctly, it may take a toll that requires some to work fewer sessions per week.

 

[Bigfoot]

Hello everyone, this is my first post. I am not sure if I am doing the right thing with my training so I welcome all comments. I have been training with KBs for a few years now. About ten months ago I made the jump from 28kg to 32kg. And have been training with the 32 almost exclusively since then.

Near the end of this past Summer I took a break from training. I could give you many excuses but they are all lame. Four months later, as the snow fell and the cold winter set in I knew it was time to get back to training. Nothing gets me more excited to train than a new kettlebell. Because my next KB was going too be heavy (expensive) I took advantage of the Black Friday sales and bought the 2.5 pood Bigfoot. I bought this one becaue of the weight and also because of the novelty, as I have had a lifelong interest in the bigfoot phenomenon.

When the KB arrived I immediately started playing with it. After a few warm-up presses with the 32 I grabbed the Bigfoot with my stronger arm and successfully cleaned and pressed it. This effort required full body tension and it was a slow, but constant, press with good form. I then attempted to clean and press it with my strong arm. Unfortunately I failed at my attempt, only pressing it about halfway, frustrated and humbled I set the KB down. I still trained that day doing two-arm swings, deadlifts, and goblet squats, just having fun with my new toy. I loved the new weight but 2.5 pood is heavier than I thought it would be and I wondered if I could make this big jump with my clean and press. Maybe a 8kg+ jump in weight was too much.

After that day I decided to not attempt the C+P with the bigfoot until I had put in some more time with the 32. I started the Enter the Kettlebell program doing 5 ladders. On heavy days I was doing 75 reps. Some days my sets would take all day, some days my sets were completed in less than an hour. I did this for two weeks until one morning when I felt really strong. I had my doubts but I ignored them, I knew I could do it, I stepped out into my backyard and confidently C+P the Bigfoot with my strong arm, I was shocked at how easy it was, I could have pressed it 2 or 3 times! But instead I switched arms and C+P it with my stonger arm. I high-fived myself and gave out a victory yell into the cold still morning. It felt like I had reached the summit of a tall mountain. Finally I did it! After a few minutes I picked it up and did 2 reps with each arm, but knew that 3 reps wasn't going to happen, at least not with my strong arm. I continued that day doing singles with it and also doing ladders with the 32.

I have begun lifting the Bigfoot for singles on my heavy days. I press it once about every 20-30 minutes. I did 20 reps yesterday. On my light and medium days I stick with my 32 ladders. For conditioning I do my swings with the Bigfoot and my snatches with the 32. I also run a moderately easy 5k once a week. I will test myself with the Bigfoot in a few weeks. I will let you all know how well this system works.

I appreciate any and all feedback. I hope everyones KBs are keeping you warm this winter.

 

[Bigfoot]

To avoid confusion and make this discussion easier I will hereby refer to the Bigfoot kettlebell as the 40.
So has anyone out there made the jump from 32kg to 40kg or similar?

 

[Steve Freides]

@Bigfoot, welcome to the StrongFirst forum.

-S-

 

[damogari]

To avoid confusion and make this discussion easier I will hereby refer to the Bigfoot kettlebell as the 40.
So has anyone out there made the jump from 32kg to 40kg or similar?

Congratulations for such a great progress!

I did jumps from 2 to 2,5 and from 2,5 to 3 poods on strict press, mostly by doing ROP with heavy singles instead of first rungs. I think that heavy singles and doubles are the keys for improving a press, along with a lot of volume at lower intensity of course. I think that your system will set you up well for pressing the 3-pooder if that is your goal.

I am generally a fan of bigger jumps on most of the kb lifts (excluding snatch and double work), mostly because I was short on storage space and money to work with 0,25 increments, but nowadays I think that smaller increments can speed things up for some people if they have access to them.

 

[TravisS]

it is a 25% increase so yeah its big.

 

[Jan]

@Bigfoot : Welcome to the forum, and congrats on your achievement

 

[Steve Freides]

The traditional name for the 40 kg around here has been the Bulldog.

-S-

 

[Deleted member 316]

In the video Pavel says men should use 5kg plates (tenish pounds), so add twenty pounds to the bar if using a linear style pttp cycle? I thought in the book it was basically five pound jumps.

 

[watchnerd]

In the video Pavel says men should use 5kg plates (tenish pounds), so add twenty pounds to the bar if using a linear style pttp cycle? I thought in the book it was basically five pound jumps.

For barbell linear progression, I usually use 2 kg bumps (total, so 2 x 1 kg plates) for upper body presses, 4-5 kg bumps (total, so 2 x 2 kg plates) for squats and pulls.

These ratios are pretty consistent across the vast majority of linear progression programs I've read.

 

[Michael20]

It certainly makes a great deal of sense that the lighter practitioners are probably going to have a tougher go of it with the large jumps. But as noted, it really (I mean really) forces one to own the weight. A good thing in my books. Anecdotal evidence also seems to suggest that the lighter people have an easier go at it with the swings, as opposed to TGU's for instance. This corresponds to my own experience as well.

That's interesting. This has been my experience as well and I have only been involved with KB training for about 4 months.. I'm a lighter weight guy (158 lbs) and I've had a much easier time progressing with my swing weight versus get up weight.

 

[watchnerd]

That's interesting. This has been my experience as well and I have only been involved with KB training for about 4 months.. I'm a lighter weight guy (158 lbs) and I've had a much easier time progressing with my swing weight versus get up weight.

As things get truly heavy, the relative ease of swings versus getups should be true for every body weight class.

In fact, using the same weight for both upper and lower body exercises, like in S&S, is pretty unusual in the world of strength training. In barbell training, it's fully expected that you squat, deadlift, and clean more than you press.

 

[Papa Georgio]

In fact, using the same weight for both upper and lower body exercises, like in S&S, is pretty unusual in the world of strength training

Which exercise is the lower, And which exercise do you think is the upper ?

 

[North Coast Miller]

Which exercise is the lower, And which exercise do you think is the upper ?

I'd say overall swings are lower and TGU is upper, based on what tends to fail first if the set is drawn out.

Edit to add: FWIW my TGU progressed faster than my 1H Swing, maybe because I needed to learn to trust my grip more following surgery.

I could do TGU for reps w/ a 40 before I could do any 1H swings with a 32.

 

[Papa Georgio]

Maybe some of the instructors can weigh in on this too.

My experience, the heavier the bell you work with, the more activation you get throughout your whole body. For instance, my lats are sore today from one hand swings. I also aggravated my quad a couple weeks ago on my TGU.

I think this is part of the magic that Pavel mentions in the book when you go beyond simple.

The goblet squat is another example. I think it works upper and lower when done with a heavier bell. Especially when you hang out in the bottom position. If you still need more bicep activation do horn walks with the heavy bell instead of the curls with a light bell.

JMO

 

[Anna C]

I would say both the swing and the get-up are "The body is one piece" exercises.

 

[North Coast Miller]

I would say both the swing and the get-up are "The body is one piece" exercises.

Definitely whole body compounds.

I speak from when I was learning TGU specifically and used to do drop sets from 40kg down, the muscles around the shoulder girdle will fail ahead of everything else, way ahead.

With the swings is probably a little more individual, and it matters if its one or two hand (at least for me!). With two hands on heavy load its the erectors and obliques that will tell me to stop ahead of everything else. I can see where the lats would start to balk too. With a long set of lighter load my glutes fatigue first, assuming my wind stays good.

 

[watchnerd]

I'd say overall swings are lower and TGU is upper, based on what tends to fail first if the set is drawn out.

Yes, this is the usual definition.

While they're both whole body exercises (as are the squat and deadlift), the question is what is the limiting strength.

Also, if measuring, it would be which muscles are undergoing the most voluntary contractions.

For example, for TGUs, it's pretty common for people to talk about shoulder strength / stability in holding the bar up overhead the whole time, but I've yet to see anyone complain that their legs were too weak relative to their shoulders to do a TGU (i.e. they could hold the bell up, but can't stand up from kneeling).

And nobody seems to be claiming that TGUs are a good "leg builder" or "butt builder" relative to other choices (swings, squats, etc.).

 

[watchnerd]

My experience, the heavier the bell you work with, the more activation you get throughout your whole body. For instance, my lats are sore today from one hand swings. I also aggravated my quad a couple weeks ago on my TGU.

Sure...and my abs can get sore from doing barbell squats or barbell overhead presses. But that doesn't mean people classify them as "ab exercises".