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Kettlebell Muscle Memory?

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Lew

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I am a 53yo male, 6'0", 271lbs. Wrestled, shot put and discus in high school.

My doctor cleared me to exercise and told me directly, "Stop being fat and you'll stop being a type 2 diabetic."

I have no recurring aches or pains. My only issue is my legs seem to "collapse" when my knee bends less than 90'. Probably an IT band issue.

I have an active job as a courier for 25+ years. I handle several thousand pounds of freight a day, walk several miles, ascend/descend 30-50 flights of stairs a day.

For the past month I have done a 1 mile Farmers Walk with 20lbs each hand 3-4x week.

I recently bought S&S. First session I barely swung 100 times with 10lbs, and only did 1TGU each side.

I can do my job for 10 hours a day, but 25 minutes with a 10lb kettlebell will leave me breathless? My job would be a perfect example of "greasing the groove" if I understand that concept correctly!

My first overall goal is to reach the Simple level and then start Obstacle Course Racing, like the Spartan Race.

I know, I'm a late bloomer. My youth is gone, but I want to do more and since I buried one of my 17yo sons last May, I want to finish strong for my remaining 6 children.

I will follow S&S strictly, and accept whatever time it takes to finish it as is.

My question is, should I continue my Farmers Walks in the evenings? Are they detracting in any way from my S&S practice in the mornings?
 
Lew, welcome to StrongFirst!

I'd look into your diet, and suggest recording everything you eat as a first step. There are online ways to do this or you can use old-fashioned pencil and paper.

A getup for someone your weight is lot of exercise even without a weight. I would consider working only on parts of the getup, and not using any additional weight until you can get 5 reps each side, then build from there by doing more of each getup. E.g., just come up to your elbow to start, and when you can do 5 of those, starting moving up to your hand, and so on.

I don't think a 10 lb. kettlebell is going to do much for you - I'd go for a 16 kg for your swings.

Most Important: I would find yourself a local SFG or work with one of us over Skype. If you want to do it right, there's no better way than getting guidance that's specific to you from a certified instructor.

-S-
 
I would also suggest looking at Original Strength. You may need to rebuild your reflexive strength and that is a fun and easy way to do it.
 
Hi Lew,

Sounds like you are in need of a good lifestyle change - good for you for recognizing it and taking action.

To answer your question about Farmers, I don't believe that the Farmers Walk that you are doing will take away from your S&S practice, but i also do not believe that long Farmers with light weight are giving you any benefit. It sounds like you get a lot of walking through your job already, you need to build strength and balance. S&S is a great program for doing just that. Also, as MikeMoran stated, look into Original Strength as an assist- i believe you would get a much greater benefit from crawling then you would from long/light farmers walks at this point. Once you are comfortable grabbing and holding a lot more weight in each hand then maybe mix in farmers, but short heavy ones - Farmers are a strength building exercise and you should be focused on recruiting your entire posterior chain as well as your abdominal wall - Farmers should be a HEAVY DUTY full body exercise - when you walk on a track for a mile with 10LBS in each hand your body is focused on finding comfortable positions so you can maintain the activity for the necessary time, which probably takes you 15 to 20 minutes to complete, Farmers walks should have you struggling to maintain an upright position by 25 yards. Those types of heavy Farmers will compete with your S&S, but you dont need to do both right now. For now, S&S with a goal of the Simple Standards, some crawling and a great eating plan will serve you well - basically shop on the outside of the super market only - and if you overeat anything make sure its green. With S&S and any new strength training i will caution you - do not think that more is better - it's NOT. from my experience this is where many trainees get off track. S&S was created as a bare bones program which covers all of the bases, follow it to the letter, rest when your body tells you to, and convince yourself that less is more. Stick with it, move up to larger bells as you are able, do not be overly focused on the time it takes you, just focus on staying with the program, give it a good solid year and it WILL give you back so much more. Best of luck.
 
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Lew, if you've been doing a physical job and still gained a lot of weight and developed type 2diabetes, that shows how important the food side of the equation is. Make that a huge priority. Everyone knows what to do now: lean proteins, healthy fats, lots of veggies, some fruit, avoid "white death" and junk food, and lots of water. Don't try to be perfect, but just keep improving all the time.

All great advice above: follow the S&S program to a T, get the heavier 16kg bell as Steve suggested, start at the 5x10 swings as the program states (emphasizing form), and break the getup into basic steps and perfect them one at a time. Might take you a month or more to do a whole getup (like me), but it's worth it to build a solid foundation. Some OS crawling would give your getup a boost, and vice versa, but the learning and perfecting getups should be plenty on your platter for awhile. Being over 50, with reduced capacity from the diabetes, and a physical job, you'll have make sure you're recovering from your workouts properly. Stay the course, and you'll get there. I saw lots of benefits in S&S rather quickly; this will give you lots of positive reinforcement.

ps- condolences for loss of your son...that's a tragedy. Doing your best to get healthy and live your life to the fullest is a tribute.
 
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Hello All,

I'm new here, as well. I've never played any organized sports, but was relatively active as a youth.

At 17 I joined the US Navy which kept me fit for 4 years. Afterwards I started a new life as a desk jockey. Fast-forward 15 years and my weight had nearly doubled - going from 187 lbs (85 kg) to 330 lbs (150 kg). I tried to clean up my diet a bit and began Aikido. This combination brought me down to about 250 lbs (115 kg). After seven years I got stopped going Aikido due to a nagging toe injury. Within a couple of years I found myself at about 300 lbs (136 kg) again.

I was 49 when my wife informed me we were having our 4th child. I would be 50 by the time the baby arrived. While I was very happy at the news, I couldn’t help but worry that I wouldn’t be around to see him graduate high school. I began trying to lose weight with little success. Last December my wife brought more good news - we had another bun in the oven.

I started researching & trying different diets that might be effective, healthy and maintainable. In May of this year I weighed 297 lbs (135 kg) at about 40% body fat. My Hemoglobin A1C was at 6% indicating pre-diabetes. I began a strict diet on June 1st eliminating starchy foods and refined sugar. I set a target of about 1800-1900 calories per day which would achieve a weight loss 2 lbs (1 kg) per week for someone of my age & weight.

I bought a pedometer which nags me every 15 minutes if I haven’t moved. I put in my 10K steps per day.

Today I weighed in at 253 lbs (115 kg) and have been losing a steady 2+ lbs (1kg) per week for 16 weeks. Body fat is down to about 29%. I will have my HA1C tested again in October - I expect an improvement.

I did some strength training about 18 months ago in the form of Wendler's 531 program. I made some strength gains: Bench 275 lbs (125kg)/Deadlift 425 lbs (193 kg - all the weight I had)/Press 165 lbs (75 kg)/Squat 285 lbs (130 kg). The squat caused some recurring knee pain which took longer to recover from each time it flared up.

I considered getting some pro coaching to help with my squatting form, but while doing research I came across some of Pavel’s work. I decided to give S&S a try instead.

My kettlebells arrived yesterday and I swung them around a bit (felt awesome - especially my forearms). I was able to press the 24kg on my right side, but I think the left side turned into a side press of sorts. I also tried a (what I think may have resembled a) snatch with the 24kg on my right. Got a bruise on my forearm for my trouble. The TGU on my right wasn’t too bad. I made it to my feet on the left side but it wasn’t pretty. Wobbly. Swings with the 24kg didn’t feel bad at all. At any rate, I think I’ll take it step by step as outlined in S&S from now on, and work up to the program minimum. I hope to attend the Modesto clinic in November.

My goal is to be as healthy, flexible and energetic as possible for as long as possible. I want to be around to see and play with my grandchildren. I would like my weight to be under 187-198 lbs (85-90 kg) with low bodyfat.
 
beephsupreme, sounds like you are on the right track now. Keep at it, stay with S&S, and enjoy the journey.
 
Hi Lew,

Sounds like you are in need of a good lifestyle change - good for you for recognizing it and taking action.

To answer your question about Farmers, I don't believe that the Farmers Walk that you are doing will take away from your S&S practice, but i also do not believe that long Farmers with light weight are giving you any benefit. It sounds like you get a lot of walking through your job already, you need to build strength and balance. S&S is a great program for doing just that. Also, as MikeMoran stated, look into Original Strength as an assist- i believe you would get a much greater benefit from crawling then you would from long/light farmers walks at this point. Once you are comfortable grabbing and holding a lot more weight in each hand then maybe mix in farmers, but short heavy ones - Farmers are a strength building exercise and you should be focused on recruiting your entire posterior chain as well as your abdominal wall - Farmers should be a HEAVY DUTY full body exercise - when you walk on a track for a mile with 10LBS in each hand your body is focused on finding comfortable positions so you can maintain the activity for the necessary time, which probably takes you 15 to 20 minutes to complete, Farmers walks should have you struggling to maintain an upright position by 25 yards. Those types of heavy Farmers will compete with your S&S, but you dont need to do both right now. For now, S&S with a goal of the Simple Standards, some crawling and a great eating plan will serve you well - basically shop on the outside of the super market only - and if you overeat anything make sure its green. With S&S and any new strength training i will caution you - do not think that more is better - it's NOT. from my experience this is where many trainees get off track. S&S was created as a bare bones program which covers all of the bases, follow it to the letter, rest when your body tells you to, and convince yourself that less is more. Stick with it, move up to larger bells as you are able, do not be overly focused on the time it takes you, just focus on staying with the program, give it a good solid year and it WILL give you back so much more. Best of luck.

Thank you KL.

The farmers walks at a mile with 20lbs in each hand is a social activity I do with up to 3 of my sons at one time.
It also has some cardio benefit as it gets my heart rate up.
Thank you for your thoughts. I will NOT go heavy on those while I am getting Simple.
My forearms have already started filling out.
I'm Lovin' it!
 
Hello All,

I'm new here, as well. I've never played any organized sports, but was relatively active as a youth.

At 17 I joined the US Navy which kept me fit for 4 years. Afterwards I started a new life as a desk jockey. Fast-forward 15 years and my weight had nearly doubled - going from 187 lbs (85 kg) to 330 lbs (150 kg). I tried to clean up my diet a bit and began Aikido. This combination brought me down to about 250 lbs (115 kg). After seven years I got stopped going Aikido due to a nagging toe injury. Within a couple of years I found myself at about 300 lbs (136 kg) again.

I was 49 when my wife informed me we were having our 4th child. I would be 50 by the time the baby arrived. While I was very happy at the news, I couldn’t help but worry that I wouldn’t be around to see him graduate high school. I began trying to lose weight with little success. Last December my wife brought more good news - we had another bun in the oven.

I started researching & trying different diets that might be effective, healthy and maintainable. In May of this year I weighed 297 lbs (135 kg) at about 40% body fat. My Hemoglobin A1C was at 6% indicating pre-diabetes. I began a strict diet on June 1st eliminating starchy foods and refined sugar. I set a target of about 1800-1900 calories per day which would achieve a weight loss 2 lbs (1 kg) per week for someone of my age & weight.

I bought a pedometer which nags me every 15 minutes if I haven’t moved. I put in my 10K steps per day.

Today I weighed in at 253 lbs (115 kg) and have been losing a steady 2+ lbs (1kg) per week for 16 weeks. Body fat is down to about 29%. I will have my HA1C tested again in October - I expect an improvement.

I did some strength training about 18 months ago in the form of Wendler's 531 program. I made some strength gains: Bench 275 lbs (125kg)/Deadlift 425 lbs (193 kg - all the weight I had)/Press 165 lbs (75 kg)/Squat 285 lbs (130 kg). The squat caused some recurring knee pain which took longer to recover from each time it flared up.

I considered getting some pro coaching to help with my squatting form, but while doing research I came across some of Pavel’s work. I decided to give S&S a try instead.

My kettlebells arrived yesterday and I swung them around a bit (felt awesome - especially my forearms). I was able to press the 24kg on my right side, but I think the left side turned into a side press of sorts. I also tried a (what I think may have resembled a) snatch with the 24kg on my right. Got a bruise on my forearm for my trouble. The TGU on my right wasn’t too bad. I made it to my feet on the left side but it wasn’t pretty. Wobbly. Swings with the 24kg didn’t feel bad at all. At any rate, I think I’ll take it step by step as outlined in S&S from now on, and work up to the program minimum. I hope to attend the Modesto clinic in November.

My goal is to be as healthy, flexible and energetic as possible for as long as possible. I want to be around to see and play with my grandchildren. I would like my weight to be under 187-198 lbs (85-90 kg) with low bodyfat.

There was a time when my T2D was high and I was suspended from my job.
They told me it would take me 4-6 months to get back on the road.
They didn't know me very well.
I was off work so I had perfect macros, worked out at the perfect time 4x daily relative to my food intake and sleep schedule, and I went from a 10.6 A1C to 6.4 in 41 days.
I haven't had an issue since, but it was good to know that it was that easily addressed.
I float in the low 7 range and my doctor says I will lose the T2D as I lose the weight.
Some long explanation about andipose fat was involved.
Someone early in my life said kids will keep you young.
They lied.
Best of luck to you.
 
Lew, if you've been doing a physical job and still gained a lot of weight and developed type 2diabetes, that shows how important the food side of the equation is. Make that a huge priority. Everyone knows what to do now: lean proteins, healthy fats, lots of veggies, some fruit, avoid "white death" and junk food, and lots of water. Don't try to be perfect, but just keep improving all the time.

All great advice above: follow the S&S program to a T, get the heavier 16kg bell as Steve suggested, start at the 5x10 swings as the program states (emphasizing form), and break the getup into basic steps and perfect them one at a time. Might take you a month or more to do a whole getup (like me), but it's worth it to build a solid foundation. Some OS crawling would give your getup a boost, and vice versa, but the learning and perfecting getups should be plenty on your platter for awhile. Being over 50, with reduced capacity from the diabetes, and a physical job, you'll have make sure you're recovering from your workouts properly. Stay the course, and you'll get there. I saw lots of benefits in S&S rather quickly; this will give you lots of positive reinforcement.

ps- condolences for loss of your son...that's a tragedy. Doing your best to get healthy and live your life to the fullest is a tribute.

Matts,

The food side is huge, just about as big as I am. ;-)

I am addressing it now, but obviously the last 5 months I have not cared and I lost control.

I swallowed a lot of grief and now I'm just generally pissed off. I'm using S&S to channel some of that anger as well as address my weight and health issues.

Thank you for your condolences.
 
Lew, I'm sorry about the loss of your son and I hope S&S helps you on your journey. I believe it will.

I second Mike M's suggestion of Original Strength. Rocking, head nods, and crawling are great movement prep exercises and complement S&S very well.
 
Welcome to StrongFirst, gents!

Thank you all for your welcome and input.

These are the steps I am taking differently from my first post in this thread.

I have downloaded an app, MyNetDiary, that looks like it will do a very good job tracking my food/macros for me.

I have actually swung 16kg ten times and therefore will start there.

I have found my local SFG1 instructor and have sent him an email asking for help with my Swing and TGU.

I have purchased Original Strength and will now use that to help me as well.

My evening Farmers Walks of one mile with 20lbs each hand will remain as an aerobic walk under tension
and as a way of finishing for the day before I perform my two S&S stretches before bed. I will keep this weight relatively light.


Now I have another question.

Throughout the day today, 4x specifically, I picked up the 16kg and swung it just 10x.
That felt really good.

Is this 'greasing the groove' as I understand it?
Would it be encouraged or discouraged with the S&S program?


Pavel, I have the utmost respect for your presentation and style.

I look forward to meeting you in 2017 when I come for my SFG1 certification.
 
Ask any bodybuilder what muscle memory means and they will readily answer that it is the ability to regain muscle mass more quickly after a period of inactivity than it took to gain the same mass originally. However, if you type the term "muscle memory" into a search engine on the internet, you will find there are many different interpretations of this term. And depending on which authority you consult, the meanings are diverse.
 
Thank you KL.

The farmers walks at a mile with 20lbs in each hand is a social activity I do with up to 3 of my sons at one time.
It also has some cardio benefit as it gets my heart rate up.
Thank you for your thoughts. I will NOT go heavy on those while I am getting Simple.
My forearms have already started filling out.
I'm Lovin' it!
Any time spent with your kids is time well spent - its fantastic that they accompany you with some of your training - my hat's off to you.
 
I took a walk yesterday afternoon with my 4yr old daughter. She weighs about 45 lbs. I ended up carrying her on my shoulders about 3/4 mile. Talk about a living weight! My shoulders were on fire by the time we got home. She promptly went inside and informed her mother that SHE was tired!
 
Any time spent with your kids is time well spent - its fantastic that they accompany you with some of your training - my hat's off to you.
KL,

I read with interest your post on achieving simple.

Congratulations!!

If you used a HRM what bpm range did you use?
 
KL,

I read with interest your post on achieving simple.

Congratulations!!

If you used a HRM what bpm range did you use?
thanks Lew - i did not use a monitor - for most of my swing training i used the breathing test - when my breathing settled down between sets i would begin the next - and i did not focus on time - for TGUs i would never take a break between reps to stand up and walk around - i found slowly moving right into the next rep with the opposite arm to create a very comfortable pace and kept my mind from wandering and this always seemed to get my TGUs completed between 7:30 and 9 minutes, so i never felt any urgency when "testing" the get ups. for swings this changed when i would attempt a test to determine how close i could come to the Standard time parameters, during those sessions (once every 2-3 weeks) i would try to limit the break between swing sets to 3 to 5 deep breaths and then plow forward with the next. i am not against HR monitors, think its a great idea, i just dont have one. if i could pass on one thing which i believe has been most impactful to my training - it's focus. during the swing i first picture what a perfect swing should look and feel like, and i set myself up tight and ready to attack before the first set (you wrestled so you get the idea of controlled aggressiveness)while i am in the process of the movement i have a constant directive driving me to squeeze my glutes, lock down my abs, keeps arms straight and loose, keep my eyes straight ahead, using my lats to keep my shoulders packed, upper arms glued to ribs, lower legs straight up and down, loading the hamstrings, pushing my a#@ out aggressively to initiate the hinge, breath in through nose, out through the mouth. for TGUs it's the same drill, a constant focus on technique technique technique. i figure i set this small amount of time to focus purely on myself, the rest of the day is for my family, friends, work, but this 20-30 mins is time i set aside for me and i dont want to waste a single moment of it, so i shut everything else out and obsess on the small things which will make the big difference, this makes every single training session a great use of my time and i end the sessions fully satisfied. all of the cues i use are listed by Pavel in S&S or ETK - he gives you all you need and more. paying strict attention to the details had made all the difference in my training. all the best.
 
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(you wrestled so you get the idea of controlled aggressiveness). all of the cues i use are listed by Pavel in S&S or ETK - he gives you all you need and more. paying strict attention to the details had made all the difference in my training. all the best.

KL,

Thank you for your reply.

I was the "Waterboy" of wrestling if you remember that movie with Adam Sandler.

I'm claustrophobic. Whenever I ended up on the bottom I would go bat excrement crazy and escape almost every time!

Thank God I lost the last match at County, or I would have gone to State and probably been turned into a pretzel! Lol

I have ETK, but haven't opened it. Would it be considered a good companion to S&S?
 
Lew, duplicate posting - please delete one of them.

I fixed the problem with the quotations.

-S-
 
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