mightstone2k
Level 6 Valued Member
I train alone. That's a blessing (much more self-sufficient) and a curse (no support structure). This seems like a happy medium.
Me: a recently 30-year-old male. A martial artist-turned lawyer-turned Airman, with pretensions as an amateur philosopher. Oh yes, I'm 6'1" and stand around 190 lbs. My calipers tell me I have 8.4% body fat, but the mirror tells me the percentage is higher. I should revert back to the tape test.
Training history: I gained the freshman fifty in my first semester of college, and reversed course with a crash diet and lots of running my second semester. That summer, I finally got smart (and realized that only my ignorance saved me from starvation). I spent seven years hopping from program to program, modality to modality, before finding Simple & Sinister in January 2015. In the 3-1/2 years since, I have been more or less constant with kettlebells: mostly S&S, with two cycles of RoP in for variety. There were some breaks for things like basic training, moving, and training for my annual PFT. This summer, I lost some skin off my finger while doing one-handed swings (OHS), and switched to bodyweight training. I really enjoyed it, but kettlebells have done a ton for my general physical capacity. I love to hike, and I can go farther with more energy for longer on steeper elevations and rougher terrain, thanks to kettlebell training.
My program: I am combining bodyweight and kettlebells in a 6 day/week program. My goals are to achieve the Simple standard, a OAOLPU, pistol squats, and to improve my weighted pull-ups.
M-W-F: bodyweight strength training. I'm combining this program for OAPUs with these progressions for pistols with the 3RM Fighter Pull-up Program. Dan John recommends three days a week for pull-ups here, so I am not doing them every day and I don't feel bad about it.
Current capabilities:
The "why": I'm going to get personal here for a minute. I have been doing S&S for over three years (maybe closer to 2-1/2, with the breaks), but still have failed to achieve Simple. I saw an SFG a few times about it, and still haven't gotten there. I've seen people on the forums and in articles talking about how they got to Simple fairly easily, or in a year, or the like. And, of course, Pavel Macek's article talks about all the benefits he reaped from just following the book. The advice I hear is almost always, "read the book. Apply the book. Profit." It's not been that easy for me, and I don't understand why. I read those success stories, I see people in the gym moving some impressive weight, and I just keep trying and trying and not succeeding in achieving what this community considers a fundamental standard. I feel inadequate; as if there is a level of strength that I am incapable of achieving. And that's a pretty low level to top out at. So I feel weak and inadequate.
I want to combine the two modalities, even though I recognize that it's not optimal. Got it. Check. But over the summer, I was at a six-week professional development course. At the end, there was a mock PFT. I switched to bodyweight training at the beginning of that course because I ripped skin on my finger swinging and didn't want to aggravate it. When I was doing just kettlebells, I had to take a month off to just train for the PFT if I wanted to guarantee passing. I did zero training using Air Force-standard form for this mock PFT and achieved the same results I had gotten on my last PFT. So... that was clearly beneficial. But as I mentioned above, kettlebells have done phenomenal things for me. So I'm not giving them up. I will achieve Simple, eventually. It may take me longer by only training KBs three days a week. But after 3-1/2 years, what's a little extra time? Besides, Simple & Sinister itself contemplates reduced frequency if you are pursuing a serious strength program (p. 90; see also p. 5).
The issue with my foot slipping on the 24" box OAPUs starts to raise the specter of inadequacy again, but I'm going to keep it tamped down to the best of my ability and focus on the process. I recently unpacked my books, so I'll be rereading Naked Warrior to drill down on the form for OAPUs. And I will trust the process. Both my OAPU and pistol plans are based on (if not stolen directly from) Karen Smith, so trust is justified. I just may have some entries where I express some angst about a session. It's been a long road, and that black dog has been sniffing around me for a while. Bear with me, please. Part of why I'm starting this log is because my past reaction has been to journal about it, which means it stays locked with me. If I'm open about it and get a sanity check every once in a while, to remind me that every journey comes with struggle and setbacks, and that it's not the doom I perceive it as, it'll break me out of the rabbit holes I run down in my mind.
And, of course, there will be some philosophy and random stuff posted in here.
Me: a recently 30-year-old male. A martial artist-turned lawyer-turned Airman, with pretensions as an amateur philosopher. Oh yes, I'm 6'1" and stand around 190 lbs. My calipers tell me I have 8.4% body fat, but the mirror tells me the percentage is higher. I should revert back to the tape test.
Training history: I gained the freshman fifty in my first semester of college, and reversed course with a crash diet and lots of running my second semester. That summer, I finally got smart (and realized that only my ignorance saved me from starvation). I spent seven years hopping from program to program, modality to modality, before finding Simple & Sinister in January 2015. In the 3-1/2 years since, I have been more or less constant with kettlebells: mostly S&S, with two cycles of RoP in for variety. There were some breaks for things like basic training, moving, and training for my annual PFT. This summer, I lost some skin off my finger while doing one-handed swings (OHS), and switched to bodyweight training. I really enjoyed it, but kettlebells have done a ton for my general physical capacity. I love to hike, and I can go farther with more energy for longer on steeper elevations and rougher terrain, thanks to kettlebell training.
My program: I am combining bodyweight and kettlebells in a 6 day/week program. My goals are to achieve the Simple standard, a OAOLPU, pistol squats, and to improve my weighted pull-ups.
M-W-F: bodyweight strength training. I'm combining this program for OAPUs with these progressions for pistols with the 3RM Fighter Pull-up Program. Dan John recommends three days a week for pull-ups here, so I am not doing them every day and I don't feel bad about it.
Current capabilities:
- OAPU: 30" box. I can do OAPUs on a 24" box for singles, but they are ugly. The foot on the same side as the working arm slips, costing me stability and strength. So I have to nail down technique on the 30" box so I'm strong enough to do it well on 24".
- Pistol: Right now I'm working on the narrow squat/alternating leg balance drill with a 12 kg counterweight and single-leg deadlifts (SLDLs).
- Pull-ups: Yesterday I knocked out 5 sets of 3 with an 8 kg kettlebell.
The "why": I'm going to get personal here for a minute. I have been doing S&S for over three years (maybe closer to 2-1/2, with the breaks), but still have failed to achieve Simple. I saw an SFG a few times about it, and still haven't gotten there. I've seen people on the forums and in articles talking about how they got to Simple fairly easily, or in a year, or the like. And, of course, Pavel Macek's article talks about all the benefits he reaped from just following the book. The advice I hear is almost always, "read the book. Apply the book. Profit." It's not been that easy for me, and I don't understand why. I read those success stories, I see people in the gym moving some impressive weight, and I just keep trying and trying and not succeeding in achieving what this community considers a fundamental standard. I feel inadequate; as if there is a level of strength that I am incapable of achieving. And that's a pretty low level to top out at. So I feel weak and inadequate.
I want to combine the two modalities, even though I recognize that it's not optimal. Got it. Check. But over the summer, I was at a six-week professional development course. At the end, there was a mock PFT. I switched to bodyweight training at the beginning of that course because I ripped skin on my finger swinging and didn't want to aggravate it. When I was doing just kettlebells, I had to take a month off to just train for the PFT if I wanted to guarantee passing. I did zero training using Air Force-standard form for this mock PFT and achieved the same results I had gotten on my last PFT. So... that was clearly beneficial. But as I mentioned above, kettlebells have done phenomenal things for me. So I'm not giving them up. I will achieve Simple, eventually. It may take me longer by only training KBs three days a week. But after 3-1/2 years, what's a little extra time? Besides, Simple & Sinister itself contemplates reduced frequency if you are pursuing a serious strength program (p. 90; see also p. 5).
The issue with my foot slipping on the 24" box OAPUs starts to raise the specter of inadequacy again, but I'm going to keep it tamped down to the best of my ability and focus on the process. I recently unpacked my books, so I'll be rereading Naked Warrior to drill down on the form for OAPUs. And I will trust the process. Both my OAPU and pistol plans are based on (if not stolen directly from) Karen Smith, so trust is justified. I just may have some entries where I express some angst about a session. It's been a long road, and that black dog has been sniffing around me for a while. Bear with me, please. Part of why I'm starting this log is because my past reaction has been to journal about it, which means it stays locked with me. If I'm open about it and get a sanity check every once in a while, to remind me that every journey comes with struggle and setbacks, and that it's not the doom I perceive it as, it'll break me out of the rabbit holes I run down in my mind.
And, of course, there will be some philosophy and random stuff posted in here.