Next KB weight and Q&D recommendation

[Komrade]

Thank you for having this community with some of the professionals participating in discussions.

Other than (almost) daily 2mi walks I do no other exercise other than this program. Don't own much gym equipment either.

I am 6ft tall and 235lb.. weigh roughly the same as when I started.
Started Q&D with alternating pushups (with pushup bars) and 24kg KB swings 10 reps each every 90 secs for 4 sets in early Jan.
progressed with alternating pushups and KB swings 10 reps each set every 60 secs for 15 sets in about 6 weeks (150 swings and 150 pushups <30mins overall)
Upgraded Q&D difficulty with raised legs ring pushups and 32kg KB 10 reps every 90 secs early March starting with 6 sets.
Up to 11 sets and starting to squeeze that 90 secs rest to 60 secs for first few sets as of this writing.

Based on past performance, probability is high I will be able to achieve 150 swings and 150 pushups in 30 mins in the next two - three weeks.

I started to plan upgrading the ball to 100lb (45kg or so) and add a weighted 40lb vest to my pushups..
On the ball the thinking was
a) while it's a 43% jump in weight, previous jump was 30%.. was hoping I could manage.. maybe even push a bit further with 32kg.. or try 1H swings (haven't done any yet)
b) read somewhere on this forum that should be able to do half my weight.. and 100lb is getting up there.
On the weighted vest thinking was
a) with rings shouldn't be much in the way
b) should help me upgrade ring pushups to ring dips later.

However, today I stumbled upon a post that more than 1/3 the body weight is not recommended.

So which one is it, 30% or 50%, and what do you recommend I do next.

I want to be able to do similar quantity of dips and maybe try hand pushups (as in standing on my hands) and also to be able to do ring pullups beyond single digits and high reps eventually.

I appreciate all the input. I realize my Q&D routine may not be 'by the book'.

 

[John K]

Other than walking I do no other exercise. Don't have much gym equipment either.

I am 6ft tall and 235lb.. weight roughly the same as when I started.
Started Q&D with alternating pushups (with pushup bars) and 24kg KB swings 10 reps each every 90 secs for 4 sets in early jan.
progressed with alternating pushups and KB swings 10 reps each set every 60 secs for 15 sets in about 6 weeks (150 swings and 150 pushups <30mins overall)
Upgraded Q&D difficulty with 6 sets of raised legs ring pushups and 32kg KB 10 reps every 90 secs early March
Up to 11 sets and starting to squeeze that 90 secs rest to 60 secs for first few sets.
Based on past performance, probability is high I will be able to achieve 150 swings and 150 pushups in 30 mins in the next two - three weeks.
I started to plan upgrading the ball to 100lb (45kg or so) and add a weighted 40lb vest to my pushups..
On the ball the thinking was
a) while it's a 43% jump in weight, previous jump was 30%.. was hoping I could manage.. maybe even push a bit further with 32kg.. or try 1H swings (haven't done any yet)
b) read somewhere on this forum that should be able to do half my weight.. and 100lb is getting up there.
On the weighted vest thinking was
a) with rings shouldn't be much in the way
b) should help me upgrade ring pushups to ring dips later.

However, today I stumbled upon a post that more than 1/3 the body weight is not recommended.

So which one is it, 30% or 50%, and what do you recommend I do next.

I want to be able to do similar quantity of dips and maybe try hand pushups (as in standing on my hands) and also to be able to do ring pullups beyond single digits and high reps eventually.

I appreciate all the input. I realize my Q&D routine may not be 'by the book'.

I would not recommend jumping fro 32kg to 100lb. I would not suggest more than an 8kg jump (to a 40kg/88lb bell). While the percentanges might be similar, the absolute load is not. And that makes a huge difference.

For Q&D, it is all about speed. Heavy bells just don't move fast enough for most people. The sweet spot for maxing weight and the speed seems to about 1/3 BW - heavier starts slowing down. I have never seen the 50% bodyweight swing "standard," but the 104lb/48kg bell is the "pinnacle" of Simple and Sinister and would be very reachable for you.

It looks to me that you are leaving Q&D behind, and that is fine. I would suggest finding a 40kg/88lbs bell and start working on sets of 10 swings. Try to, while passing the talk test, be able to do 100 swings in 10 minutes. Feel free to do the weighted pushups, but go ahead and start practicing static holds on the ring dips, and depending how those go, negatives and even singles. Do these before the pushups - e.g. ring dip static hold at the top, a couple negatives or a couple singles, then your pushups.

 

[Luis T. Gonzalez]

Try to, while passing the talk test, be able to do 100 swings in 10 minutes.

I would second this. Consider one day doing a timeless 40-100 with 32kg. One day 10x10 OTM and see if you can get that in 10 minutes. And on one day try to get 200 in 20 minutes. Mix in 2h swings as needed. The majority should be 1 hand.

 

[Brett Jones]

One-arm or two-arm swings?

 

[Komrade]

One-arm or two-arm swings?

haven't done any 1H swings so far.

 

[Brett Jones]

haven't done any 1H swings so far.

For two-arm swings your weight jump will likely work.

Another option is to start working on and building the one-arm swing at the lower weights to give you two different training days.

 

[Komrade]

Based on your kind feedback so far, I no longer believe I need to rush into another KB purchase, but utilize all the potential of existing KBs (24kg and 32kg) instead.

Once done with what I wanted to achieve--150 2H 32kg swings and 150 elevated ring pushups (as it takes enough tall on me) based on your recommendation(s) will start doing 24kg 1H swings (as well as review suggested protocols), and see if I can upgrade them to 32kg later while continuing improving form and avoiding injury.

I can still proceed with weighted pushup progression, and/or start upgrading to dips with suggested hangs and maybe swapping some pushups for dips in the routine as I gain more confidence/strength.

 

[Halfakneecap]

I find 8kg jump is ok with 2H kb swings, but only on 2H swings. Any other movement i go 4kg.

 

[Komrade]

The single hand swings seemed to cause/aggravate tennis elbow even with a smaller 24kg/16kg ball, especially on left hand side (and I play tennis once a week), so I did end up getting a bigger KB of 40kg (up from 32kg) and stuck with 2H swings... it does feel like it was the prudent decision/jump in weight.

I am also still unable to do sufficient quantity of ring dips to replace pushups within QnD (10 is my rough limit to failure), so after doing a series of alternating pushups and non-ring dips on handles of my treadmill that I seldom use (dip-swing-pushup-dip-swing-pushup.. etc up to 70 dips and 70 pushups and 140 swings with 32kg every 60 secs), today I started doing just non-ring dips and 2H swings with 40kg ball.. First session with 50 non-ring dips and 50 swings in 10mins called for a good long nap/rest afterwards

I decided to stay away from weighted pushups due to time logistics, and extra sweating/discomfort caused by the vest.

I am hoping to get to about 150 non-ring dips and 150 2H swings before I try a series of ring dips and 40kg swings.. The 40kg swings do feel like a challenge, but in a good way (so are the dips!). I am likely to mix in ring pushups with ring dips before I get to just alternating ring dips and swings, so that's another 2-3 months of progression in the plans..

I am probably going to postpone trying single hand swings until after summer when any potential tendon soreness/injury won't affect my tennis outings.

I played my first tennis session of the season yesterday, and barely felt any soreness today, so this QnD program/combo seems to keep me relatively fit.

I felt similarly good (fit) about skiing for the first time in two years in mid-Feb, while my (bit older) buddy felt pretty sore the next day.

 

[Steve Freides]

I find 8kg jump is ok with 2H kb swings, but only on 2H swings. Any other movement i go 4kg.

I made the 8 kg jump from 32 to 40 kg with one-handed swings a few weeks ago. I wouldn't describe this as a fun thing to do, but I've made it up to 18 minutes of 4's OTM for the first time yesterday, and although my grip is almost never my weak link, grip on my non-dominant side was why I stopped when I did.

I'd describe the benefit of the big jump as "rude but in a good way." It forces you to rethink, reevaluate. For the first few times, I was sore in places I didn't even know I had, but after about 3 sessions that went away. It's been something like 10, 12, 16, 10, 18 minutes for me with the 40 so far.

I regularly think about going back to a smaller bell but siren song of the heavier weight keeps beckoning me.

-S-

 

[Golder]

I decided to stay away from weighted pushups due to time logistics, and extra sweating/discomfort caused by the vest.

If you have access to barbell plates, putting (resting) a plate on your back makes a decent weighted push up

 

[Smau6785]

I decided to stay away from weighted pushups due to time logistics, and extra sweating/discomfort caused by the vest.

Give banded pushups a try.
Bands are inexpensive and space efficient, take no time to wrap them around your back, and you can keep them in place when you rest between sets (try a few places to find where they sit comfortably; I tried around my upper back, but found the perfect spot in my lower back instead)

Also, if you do fast power pushups, there's 0 chance they'd fall off your back like a weight plate might

 

[Bauer]

Based on your kind feedback so far, I no longer believe I need to rush into another KB purchase, but utilize all the potential of existing KBs (24kg and 32kg) instead.

Also reread the last chapter ("Each chooses for oneself"), where different types of variability are introduced (banded swings, 15 reps per set, or the 015 plan, for example).