Old Forum Long Cycle

[charlton13]

When does Long Cycle become Long Cycle?

What is unique about training like this?

Is long cycle specific to certain exercises or does it apply to any of the KB movements?

Thanks.

 

[Physical Culture]

Charlton,

Long cycle is a specific combination of two lifts: the clean, and the jerk.  When you clean one or more kettlebells, then jerk, then drop to the rack and clean and jerk again, you are doing long cycle.  If you clean the bell(s) and do multiple jerks, that's the short cycle jerk, or just jerks.

Long cycle= clean, jerk, clean, jerk, clean, jerk.....

Long cycle applies specifically to the clean and jerk.  Other lifts are not long cycle.  Long cycle is generally used to develop work capacity and full body explosive strength.  It works the muscles that pull (clean) and the muscles that push (jerk), as well as core stability and cardio.  Add in a full squat and some rotational stuff, and it may be all you need, in my opinion.

Hope this helps.  I compete in long cycle, so I'd be glad to answer any questions.  Others here have quite a bit of experience with this lift as well.

 

[BrianCF]

Good explanation Steve as well as seeing you using the green bell 24's!

I was going to say it becomes a long cycle after the first rep.  As in, I can't believe how long this set of ten is taking  

Great exercise but it knocks the stuffing out of you even when you rest in the rack.

 

 

[charlton13]

Thanks for the post Steve.  I look forward to trying a GS style event in the future. Never thought it would be possible, but with the gains in thoracic mobility and shoulder range of motion I figure I'll try it at some point.

I looked around and found what I found via internet searches. Where can I find a competition?

 

[Physical Culture]

Brian- yes long cycle give you nowhere to hide.

Charlton- Thoriac, shoulder, and hip flexor mobility is essential for GS.  Without it, you can't rest anywhere.  There is a Facebook page called "Girevoy Sport Competitions", which aggregates meets from different organizations and keeps a list running.  That's your best bet for finding meets.

 

[Rtokumura]

I've decided to dust off the old 53's for my current cycle of work capacity.

I get a ton of fatigue in my anterior delt, do you have any experience with this?

I'm going to try some SMR with a tennis ball and continue to hammer my tspine.

Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[Physical Culture]

Rob,

Fatigue in the anterior delt comes from overworking that area.  In my experience, this happens in three ways with the jerk.  First, in the rack, if you are holding the weight up with the arm, the anterior delt takes the strain.  GS athletes rock back and rest the weight on their bodies to take the strain off the delts and low back.  In "Return of the Kettlebell", Pavel explains the hardstyle rack, which is a little different.  I can't say that I understand it well enough to explain it, but someone here can, I'm sure.  If you are actively working to hold up the weight in the rack, your delts will tire first.

The second problem comes in the launch.  if the upper arms are disconnected from the torso, then the force generated by the legs travels up the spine and into the arms through the shoulders.  The anterior delts have to fire to transfer the force into the bells.  GS athletes anchor their elbows to their hips to transfer force directly from the legs to the bells.

The third problem is in the lockout.  If you lack the shoulder flexibility to lock out with the biceps behind the ears, you will hold the bells out in front of you, rather than directly overhead.  The delts will have to work overtime.

It's probably one of these three problems.  A video could help us determine more specifically.