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Kettlebell Missing A Lot Of Training Sessions

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JeffC

JeffC

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In the last three weeks I have trained a total of six times. In the last five years I have rarely missed three days in n a row for no good reason. Work and life have been stressful, tiring, and chaotic. It has been hot and humid, for Canada, and my diet has fallen off the wagon.

Many excuses, but it's a general lack of motivation. I don't have the time, or energy as of late for gruelling 1.5-2 hour training sessions.

Today I am starting S&S by the book. I have never tried it. I thought of it as a warmup because I am used to heavy, long, and gruelling training. In my mind what can really be achieved in under an hour, but what I have been doing does not fit my life at this moment.

I will give S&S a fair shot. I have the fundamentals down, I will start simple and work towards Sinister.
 
Welcome to the fold. This is almost exactly what happened with me over the last couple of months! It's nice to look at my training and know it'll be done in around 20minutes and I don't need to think about chopping and changing it.
To be perfectly honest when I was swinging the 48kg and doing getups with the 40 a couple of years ago that was the strongest and most athletic I've ever felt. It was only stress, and shiney new things that sidetracked me from getting to Sinister.
Good luck!
 
It is good to adapt training to complement and enhance other areas of life. In the past I have been surprised by how much progress I have made doing a routine that was not grueling.
A narrowed program with only a few focused goals that leaves a session refreshed makes for good improvements. Results are fun. Fun is motivating.
If you are like me and training is one of your favorite things to do, having a set routine that is limited in either time or goals makes training much more of a "treat" that I look forward to getting to do each day!
 
I like Geoff Neupert's Express (Ultra) because of the small time investment. Did them mainly last few years, ot al least based on them, very rarely going longer than 30 minutes.
 
@Steve Freides. I am 34. I am pretty strong, and flexible, with no pain or injuries. In relatively good shape, but definitely do not get the required sleep during the week, and do not recover as easily between training sessions. I could lose about 20lbs but strength has been my focus for a few years.

I work 4-6, 10 hour shifts in a physically, and mentally demanding job per week. I train during the week at 6pm, on weekends I go earlier when possible.

I need to realign my expectations of training.
 
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I'm interested to hear your feedback on S&S!
I'm fairly confident that once you get over the smaller time frame you will be blown away. even more so when you've been following it for a few months and decide to check back with your other lifts ;)
its feels great to be energized and smoked all at the same time, and still have time to fit in everything else you have.
Welcome!
(@Geoff Chafe where in Canada do you live)
 
@King Cobra Fit I have done tens of thousands of reps of swing variations, and thousands of get ups, but never strictly followed S&S. My introduction to kettlebells was an RKC's program of swings, and get ups as warmup for Weighlifting, GPP, and strength training.

I live in NW Calgary, AB.
 
@Geoff Chafe the other part of S&S I noticed when last on it (and on a somewhat similar work schedule to you at the time) was the medatative effect. Doing getups whilst prefatigued from swings really leaves very little space to think about anything but the weight over your head - it's great to pull you out of the world for a few minutes into a place of silent mindful movement.
 
Geoff, I came to S&S in much the same circumstances. My weightlifting sessions were too demanding during my first year of law school, and I lost my desire to work out. After a few months, I found S&S, and stayed with kettlebells for a solid three years before joining a gym with a bar and bumbers this past Jan.
 
S&S is a go-to and a fall back every(wo)man constant.
DavThew said:
it's great to pull you out of the world for a few minutes into a place of silent mindful movement.
Click to expand...

It took me a good while to shift from treating training like a near death experience to a more patient practice. Either too long and too intense or too intense and too long. I'm back on some S&S therapy at the moment and it is having a steady calming influence. You will gain a lot from it, no doubt.
 
@Geoff Chafe, there comes an age when "heavy, long, and gruelling training" isn't so much fun any more. It sounds like your plate is very full. In your place, I think the first thing I might do is take a few days completely off except for whatever feels restorative to you, e.g., massage, walking, stretching, and the like.

Hang in there, it'll get better.

-S-
 
Training anxiety is a big contributer to missing a lot of training lately. I have to move some intimidating to me weight to make progress now. I am aging rapidly. I am heavier than I have ever been. It takes longer to get safely warmed up. I know it will cause discomfort. It requires complete focus. Recovery requires more time, and work. I cannot get injured. Time and other obligations interfere. All things I am not fully committed to right now.

I trained exclusively Olympic Weightlifting for 15 years, and competed regionally and nationally for about 10 years, and I learned conquering your fear is the single biggest part of making a lift or not. If do not think you can pull under, commit fully and aggressively, you will fail, it will hurt. When I started Weightlifting my coach told me "Everyone finds out why the plates are the size they are." I have more than a few times.

I had been enjoying heavy training, and keeping everything in balance until recently. I need to step back, lower my expectations, and shift priorities for a while.
 
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I will add -- 10x10 sets of 48kg swings can be plenty gruelling if you have the pleasure of doing it outside in 100 degree heat ;)
 
S&S, W1D1 in the book. I started with 27kg(60lb), set my timer for 1min X 16, and got all solid reps. Effort level was about a 6/10, so I will start slowly adding in my 30kg(70lb).

I weighed my bells on a good digital scale and they were odd weights. Some over, and some under marked weight.
 
I'm currently trying the strong medicine recommended by @Steve Freides . I think I'm in a different situation. I hit a period a couple weeks back when I hit a bunch of PRs and big jumps too. At the same time I took to Steel Scrolling and Nail bending and was just plain kicking butt on all fronts. But then, pretty suddenly my practices started to get really stale. I had to convince myself to show up. Then my wrists started to hurt, so I took a week off bending. Then I felt stiff and got on the floor to do some mobility work for the first time in who knows how long and couldn't crawl for the discomfort in both wrists. (I'm now thinking it wasn't so much the bending but perhaps the bar was too far back on a very heavy (for me) Over head support, as that is the position that is uncomfortable).

Whoa there, time to focus on recovery. I took 4 days, I wasn't enough. Still had a pretty crap practice and the wrists still hurt, though they were better. Then two days ago I came across this in Thomas Inch On Strength: "Be quick to note staleness, which attacks everyone sooner or later, and at once apply the antidote – complete rest."

Decided to try a full 7 days. It's tough though... I keep finding excuses to move my big sand bag from one part of the house to another. Just can't find the right spot :p

Geoff Chafe said:
Training anxiety is a big contributer to missing a lot of training lately. I have to move some intimidating to me weight to make progress now.
Click to expand...

Perhaps you could try substituting a couple of meditation/mental practices - That is literally go through the reps you planned in your head rather than reality. It might help the staleness and the anxiety?
 
@Geoff Chafe You're practically a neighbor! I'm a regular to the Cowtown. I think you'll be surprised by what S&S can do for you. I'm a "spoonie", so the two things I liked best about it are 1) It works the entire body in one go, so gives big bang for your energy buck, and 2) It's scalable, you can back it up or down depending on your energy and pain levels, and it will still give you some good effect. It's very motivating because you are specifically NOT to train to failure. If you don't feel like you can do 100 swings, do 80, or 70. Unless I'm very, very fatigued or very sore, I can usually manage to bang out 50 swings. S&S encourages you to keep up a good regular training schedule since you don't end up dreading it, and encourages you to save up your best effort for when you really feel motivated. Hope you enjoy the program!
 
It has so far been my favorite program that I have ever done. Partly because of how little I had to think about it. There was no anxiety of fitting this or that movement in, etc.
 
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