all posts post new thread

Kettlebell Maximorum Master Thread

Finished Week 4 today. I got through more sets of C&P/FSQ today than I expected, given that the ladders go up to 5. The sets with 5 C&P were still pretty hard though. Last week I pushed my snatch effort a little too high I think, and ended up with a bad tension headache for two days. I went a little easier this week and felt much better afterwards.

Weekly totals to date:

Week 1Week 2Week 3Week 4
Snatch (28kg - 10RM)162170180168
DC&P (2x20kg - 8RM)60606575
DFSQ (2x24kg - 10RM)60606575
 
After finishing week 3 today, so far I like how I feel but I haven't really noticed any changes so far. Weight, measurements, and my 5RM C&P are all the same so far. Not that they won't come, and certainly the holidays and my poor eating habits recently have contributed to my lack of progress.

One thing I have noticed that I was not expecting is that the grind days seem to be more metabolic than the ballistic days, as those are the days that I keep sweating for 30-45 minutes after I'm done, even after showering in the middle of the winter. The ballistic days, when the bell gets set down I have a few minutes of recovery and I feel back to normal and ready to start my day (I practice first thing in the morning).

It's funny, I'm only a few days ahead of you but I've had the opposite experience.

I haven't taken measurements or weight, but I was thinking yesterday that this can't possibly still be a 5RM based on how my C&P sets feel. I'm sure I could comfortably do 6 and maybe 7. I guess we'll find out soon.

And it's the ballistic days that leave me sweating and exhausted, while after the grinds I feel fresh and like I could keep going I wanted to. I couldn't, my last couple of sets are always really tough, but my breath and energy recover very quickly.
 
Just finished 1st week, program feel refreshing, specially like the mix of the three different movements. I took it easy and as usual I'm not counting reps/sets at all (sorry for that Geoff :( ), I'm not that proficient snatching either so started with a light weight there as well to avoid unnecessary injuries.
 
Wrapped week 3 yesterday. Snatches at 24kg and C&P, DFSq at 2X28kg

Rep totals:
Day 1: 144
Day 2: 24/24
Day 4: 120
Day 5: 30/30

I decided to back off the snatches a little bit on day 4, I think I’ve probably been pushing those a little too much for this early in the program. But as I mentioned I’m prepping for the Snatch test, so that’s where I want the most results. I think I may try that split again next week, harder intensity on Day 1, medium/light on Day 4 so that I have a mix of heavier days split between the exercises.
 
After finishing week 3 today, so far I like how I feel but I haven't really noticed any changes so far. Weight, measurements, and my 5RM C&P are all the same so far. Not that they won't come, and certainly the holidays and my poor eating habits recently have contributed to my lack of progress.

One thing I have noticed that I was not expecting is that the grind days seem to be more metabolic than the ballistic days, as those are the days that I keep sweating for 30-45 minutes after I'm done, even after showering in the middle of the winter. The ballistic days, when the bell gets set down I have a few minutes of recovery and I feel back to normal and ready to start my day (I practice first thing in the morning).

Time under tension is what that effect is. With the ballistic the time under tension is small. A1A2 you're shouldering the weight longer. Longer session to boot.

The gains definitely come. Halfway in and my body is looking totally different.
 
This last two weeks I have been unable to do the four workouts a week and I managed just two sessions a week (you know, hollydays and kids, that means family time).
I am about to start the last week of phase one. What do you think, should I go back and perform the last week as written or may I keep going with the last week and then start phase two? @Geoff Neupert
 
This last two weeks I have been unable to do the four workouts a week and I managed just two sessions a week (you know, hollydays and kids, that means family time).
I am about to start the last week of phase one. What do you think, should I go back and perform the last week as written or may I keep going with the last week and then start phase two? @Geoff Neupert
I can empathize with a lot of holiday madness and weight gain. Pretty sure this program and the work i put in prior to the holidays are the only reason I didn’t tip the scales to a new high (or low depending on how you look at it). I would say go back a week. I managed to get them all in over the holidays but my days/rest got tweaked.

The program in whole is great though. I just wrapped up phase one and am looking forward to phase two. Noticeable changes to the upper body, feel big and shirts feel tight. Aesthetically no real improvements due to poor diet/lifestyle over the holidays. Initially my grinds were increasing a lot and snatches had been stagnant. However my snatches showed a jump in week 6 and grinds had become stagnant. I think the fatigue/increased rest required in high rep grinds is all from holding those bells in the rack/time under tension. I’m running the program with uneven bells (24/28k) and i could feel that 28k angling towards the floor in my last two sets of high rep squats. I wish i would have done single bell rm before as well as this has me wanting to test my single bell press too. I’ve started incorporating some easy ab work to balance out all the posterior work, also a lot of hip stretching. Hope everyone is doing well!
 
Reflecting on phase one got me thinking about what i will do next. I want to do giant+ksk (have not run either yet, just got em before maximorum beta came out and program hopped) block training at some point in the near future but not necessarily directly after. Just curious what other people are planning on after this. I’m currently thinking/leaning towards a hypertrophy focussed one ala MKM (leaning towards clean em up) followed by giant/ksk. Would love to hear @Geoff Neupert thoughts on this as well. Thanks!
 
Reflecting on phase one got me thinking about what i will do next. I want to do giant+ksk (have not run either yet, just got em before maximorum beta came out and program hopped) block training at some point in the near future but not necessarily directly after. Just curious what other people are planning on after this. I’m currently thinking/leaning towards a hypertrophy focussed one ala MKM (leaning towards clean em up) followed by giant/ksk. Would love to hear @Geoff Neupert thoughts on this as well. Thanks!

Maximorum again after a week off. Keeping the bells in the front rack in the bottom of the squat has my abs lit up! If another round isn't recommended I'll likely go with the wolf. Might also freestyle for a 6 week chunk while working on a 5k program then go back to maximorum.
 
Reflecting on phase one got me thinking about what i will do next. I want to do giant+ksk (have not run either yet, just got em before maximorum beta came out and program hopped) block training at some point in the near future but not necessarily directly after. Just curious what other people are planning on after this. I’m currently thinking/leaning towards a hypertrophy focussed one ala MKM (leaning towards clean em up) followed by giant/ksk. Would love to hear @Geoff Neupert thoughts on this as well. Thanks!
I thought of doing a 4-6 week body weight program after finishing KB-Max and then give it another go, depending on what is going by then (workload, MT-training etc.)
 
I’ll have a month of PT test prep (running, push-ups, and sit-ups) before I get back to any kettlebell work. What I do next depends on what my DC&P RM tests are. I’d like to run Maximorum again, but not recycling with double 24kg bells. Maybe I’ll run a four-week cycle of Hec G’s The Russian Bear before getting back to the C&P or snatch.
 
Midway through week 8. Here’s a recap of the past 6 sessions:

24 kg for everything.
Week 7 day 1: 58/45/45. RPE 8.
Week 7 day 2: 168. RPE 9. Went hard.
Week 7 day 4: 48/40/40. RPE 8, bigger sets than Monday though.
Week 7 day 5: 144. RPE 8.
Week 8 day 1: 54/43/43. RPE 8.
Week 8 day 2: 162. RPE 8.
 
That's a lot of snatches in 20 minutes with a ~10RM weight!
Thanks - I wasn’t very confident with the snatches when I started this. I did snatches every Monday with a 20 kg bell over the summer when I did ROP, but otherwise hadn’t done them. Now I feel like my form is dialed in - powerful hip drive and T. rex arms and punching through the top - so Im sure my RM would be a lot higher with the 24 today.
 
Was just looking at my numbers and thought I’d share. Just to be clear on my NL, they equate to total number of snatches+CnP+DFSQ for any given week. I’m not counting cleans off of the squats. Week 1 is low due to misreading some instructions and i was doing 20;00 sessions for cnp days too.

Program/progress review
W2NL=262
W3NL=360
W4NL= 362
W5 NL=372
W6NL=370 this could have been better but Monday’s snatch session was low.
 
I am curious how people are eating during this program. The first 6 weeks I upped the protein and kind of cut loose for the holidays. I added some weight, but in ways that barely added girth.

Now is time to cut some, but I do not want to ruin or seriously slow my gains. Currently I am Pretty low carb with lots of protein and healthy fats (tallow, lard, bacon grease).

Curious how you folks are approaching this after the holidays.
 
Random question: where does everyone feel it after the doubles days? I would have imagined I’d have some more localized soreness or tiredness, but I don’t. Just a general “worn out” feeling spread across my whole body. I don’t really feel my abs or my glutes, which makes me (a person who excels in finding fault in myself) start to wonder if I’m doing something wrong, given Pavel’s typical advice on bracing and clenching.
 
I am curious how people are eating during this program. The first 6 weeks I upped the protein and kind of cut loose for the holidays. I added some weight, but in ways that barely added girth.

Now is time to cut some, but I do not want to ruin or seriously slow my gains. Currently I am Pretty low carb with lots of protein and healthy fats (tallow, lard, bacon grease).

Curious how you folks are approaching this after the holidays.

Train in the morning fasted, black coffee and water until somewhere around 2pm to 4 where i eat a bowl of lentils then another bowl of brown rice and more lentils bunch of veggies and either chicken or beans or tofu. Then dinner varies - buritos, tacos, burgers, pizza pasta a few times a week then heathier a few - sushi, poke bowls, pozole, rice and beans bowls with veggies avocado and cheeses. Sometimes I'll have a shake and skip one or the other meal. Snacks of fresh fruit during the feeding window and nuts and seeds. Other allowances are occasional fresh ipa and red wine and chocolate, they always pair with the endulgant meals. Sometimes ill have something early but it's happening less and less and when i do my body feels like it doesnt really like it anymore.
 
Back
Top Bottom