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Kettlebell Opinions of Training Plan Moving Forward

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acutaiar12

Level 7 Valued Member
Hello everyone! I’m on my 3rd of 4 weeks away from my kettlebell, and missing it a lot. I haven’t been away from one since March 2020. During this time, I’ve just done NW and LSD running to get something in.

One of the ways I have coped with being away from my bells has been studying @Pavel Macek ‘s training log, which is a goldmine of information. It got me thinking a lot about my training and my training goals. For the past past 8-10 months, my goal has been “Timed Sinister”. I thought that was the only goal worth pursuing. Then, I saw this post here:

The Sinister standard is not a destination, it's a "North Star" to keep you "on course"... a finger that points the way. Get your head out of the map, look around, take on the scenery and enjoy the journey.

So, the Timed Sinister standard still is a goal that guides my training, but not something that needs to be pursued so intensely right now.
This changes my training goals. In two weeks, I start student-teaching and working full-time. My training goals are now to be minimalist and get the most out of my training with the time I have available.

Then, I read this post here:

My thoughts today:

There is something very liberating about 1 man 1- kettlebell.

Swings get easy? Switch to power swings. Easy again? One hand swings. No sweat? Snatch! Get-ups get easy? Add a 5-10 second pause at each of the stages. Do some overhead walk. Practice your cleans and sooner or later you will be ready for ROP. If I had to choose only 1 bell today, 32 would be it. I hope next year I will write 36.


This is perfect since I have a 36kg bell, which is a little less than half my bodyweight. I am thinking about following the plan outlined in this post:

1. Continue training S&S until I own the timed standards with 36kg. I have achieved the timed standard once with this weight, but it was not pretty and I am not satisfied with it. I could continue training the usual 10x10, 10x1 S&S method. Or, I can start waving the load. I won’t be in a rush to own this standard. I want to be able to complete this standard any day of the week, no matter how I feel.

2. Then, I will start the original ROP with the same bell. C&Ps and swings and snatches. There are so many ways to make the C&P easier or harder that I feel as though I can constantly be gaining in this movement. And for the snatches….200 in 10 minutes with 36kg sounds impossible right now, but why not go for it? I’ll just need a pull-up bar to add in pull-ups as well. On variety days, I can practice regular S&S training; windmills, side presses, and eventually bent presses; bottoms up drills. Imagine finishing a ROP cycle with bottoms up presses or bent presses? I could also add in some kettlebell juggling in the summer, pistol squats, there are a lot of cool thing to add.
I wouldn’t be in any rush to finish these goals. I would just enjoy the training process and train. I’m not sure if these are reasonable goals or not. But, it’s something to shoot for. I’d like to hear some of your opinions if that’s possible.

Quick background: 21 years old, ~80kg bodyweight, 1000 pound total before pandemic (~88kg bodyweight then); half-marathon during pandemic; ROP cycle with 28kg C&P and snatches; 8 months S&S; own timed standards 28kg; achieved once timed standards 36kg; some Timeless Sinister sessions (but sore the next day). The bells I have available are my 36kg bell, a 48kg bell (which would be put on the back burner) and a “longevity 20kg bell”.

Thank you for your time to read and respond!
 
I would think that you won’t be able to do the ROP as written with the 36. I have a 5 RM with a 24 on my weak side and it is a challenge to get through 3 ladders to 3.

You can probably get creative with push presses and/or C&J. I think that would be very interesting, but I suspect you will not be able to structure the workouts like ROP.
 
I would think that you won’t be able to do the ROP as written with the 36. I have a 5 RM with a 24 on my weak side and it is a challenge to get through 3 ladders to 3.

You can probably get creative with push presses and/or C&J. I think that would be very interesting, but I suspect you will not be able to structure the workouts like ROP.
I was thinking something like this for the beginning, I agree with you. That’s what’s great about C&P is that there’s many options of making it easier at first, then harder afterwards.
 
I was thinking something like this for the beginning, I agree with you. That’s what’s great about C&P is that there’s many options of making it easier at first, then harder afterwards
There was a recent thread discussing ROP heavy weight. It was pretty interesting hearing from people who had managed to do it with impressive weights.
 
I actually just had an interesting idea about how to do this. Just the raw outline, so no hurt feelings if we all decide it’s garbage. Basically, do ROP backwards and start out using push presses, but instead of adding rungs of presses you would take away a push press and replace it with a strict press. So if you are going from 5x(1,2,3,4,5) of push presses w1; heavy day w2 would be 4x(1,2,3,4,5) PP then maybe 1x(1,2,3) or whatever you feel is a good place to start with a single press ladder. Maybe it’s not that great now that i have it written out, but maybe it sparks an idea.
 
I actually just had an interesting idea about how to do this. Just the raw outline, so no hurt feelings if we all decide it’s garbage. Basically, do ROP backwards and start out using push presses, but instead of adding rungs of presses you would take away a push press and replace it with a strict press. So if you are going from 5x(1,2,3,4,5) of push presses w1; heavy day w2 would be 4x(1,2,3,4,5) PP then maybe 1x(1,2,3) or whatever you feel is a good place to start with a single press ladder. Maybe it’s not that great now that i have it written out, but maybe it sparks an idea.
Interesting idea. Curious how the kettlebell veterans around here will think, but this is my first thought:

That’s a LOT of push presses with a weight you can’t strict press (5 x 1,2,3,4,5). I’d wager that some sort of ramp-up to that volume would be a better way to start, then something like you’re thinking.

Another twist on it might be to do ROP as outlined, with push presses, and simply accentuate the eccentric portion of each rep. Use a metronome to keep the tempo on track.

-two cents!
 
Interesting idea. Curious how the kettlebell veterans around here will think, but this is my first thought:

That’s a LOT of push presses with a weight you can’t strict press (5 x 1,2,3,4,5). I’d wager that some sort of ramp-up to that volume would be a better way to start, then something like you’re thinking.

Another twist on it might be to do ROP as outlined, with push presses, and simply accentuate the eccentric portion of each rep. Use a metronome to keep the tempo on track.

-two cents!
That makes a lot of sense, was kind of typing faster than i could think there.
 
Hello everyone! I’m on my 3rd of 4 weeks away from my kettlebell, and missing it a lot. I haven’t been away from one since March 2020. During this time, I’ve just done NW and LSD running to get something in.

One of the ways I have coped with being away from my bells has been studying @Pavel Macek ‘s training log, which is a goldmine of information. It got me thinking a lot about my training and my training goals. For the past past 8-10 months, my goal has been “Timed Sinister”. I thought that was the only goal worth pursuing. Then, I saw this post here:

The Sinister standard is not a destination, it's a "North Star" to keep you "on course"... a finger that points the way. Get your head out of the map, look around, take on the scenery and enjoy the journey.

So, the Timed Sinister standard still is a goal that guides my training, but not something that needs to be pursued so intensely right now.
This changes my training goals. In two weeks, I start student-teaching and working full-time. My training goals are now to be minimalist and get the most out of my training with the time I have available.

Then, I read this post here:

My thoughts today:

There is something very liberating about 1 man 1- kettlebell.

Swings get easy? Switch to power swings. Easy again? One hand swings. No sweat? Snatch! Get-ups get easy? Add a 5-10 second pause at each of the stages. Do some overhead walk. Practice your cleans and sooner or later you will be ready for ROP. If I had to choose only 1 bell today, 32 would be it. I hope next year I will write 36.


This is perfect since I have a 36kg bell, which is a little less than half my bodyweight. I am thinking about following the plan outlined in this post:

1. Continue training S&S until I own the timed standards with 36kg. I have achieved the timed standard once with this weight, but it was not pretty and I am not satisfied with it. I could continue training the usual 10x10, 10x1 S&S method. Or, I can start waving the load. I won’t be in a rush to own this standard. I want to be able to complete this standard any day of the week, no matter how I feel.

2. Then, I will start the original ROP with the same bell. C&Ps and swings and snatches. There are so many ways to make the C&P easier or harder that I feel as though I can constantly be gaining in this movement. And for the snatches….200 in 10 minutes with 36kg sounds impossible right now, but why not go for it? I’ll just need a pull-up bar to add in pull-ups as well. On variety days, I can practice regular S&S training; windmills, side presses, and eventually bent presses; bottoms up drills. Imagine finishing a ROP cycle with bottoms up presses or bent presses? I could also add in some kettlebell juggling in the summer, pistol squats, there are a lot of cool thing to add.
I wouldn’t be in any rush to finish these goals. I would just enjoy the training process and train. I’m not sure if these are reasonable goals or not. But, it’s something to shoot for. I’d like to hear some of your opinions if that’s possible.

Quick background: 21 years old, ~80kg bodyweight, 1000 pound total before pandemic (~88kg bodyweight then); half-marathon during pandemic; ROP cycle with 28kg C&P and snatches; 8 months S&S; own timed standards 28kg; achieved once timed standards 36kg; some Timeless Sinister sessions (but sore the next day). The bells I have available are my 36kg bell, a 48kg bell (which would be put on the back burner) and a “longevity 20kg bell”.

Thank you for your time to read and respond!
I like the whole idea of just using one bell, and then using it for all kinds of different exercises. You could really experiment with that exercise and trying to really own the bell.

You seem to be quite strong. You could definitely start with 36 and see how that goes. I have myself tried to experiment with what for me was a heavy weight. For me this did not work that well. The training became quite hard and not that amusing. Too much work and no play. And the results were also quite modest. If I were to do this I would start relatively light and then try to really own that weight it all sorts of ways. And when I had done that, I would have moved up four kilos. For me it is more of a psychological thing. I like to get a flying start.

As I am sure you know, if you choose a heavy weight your sets will be shorter, so you will have to add more sets to get the same effect, and that might result in the whole training session being longer. I always feel it is better to quit the training session while it is still fun.

PS: I also studied Pavel Macek training journal to see what was the secret behind his success. I found out that the secret is consistency. He sticks to the same program day in and day out UNTIL the goal is achieved. He is separating entertainment and training. It has taken me 36 years to realize this wisdom.
 
I like the whole idea of just using one bell, and then using it for all kinds of different exercises. You could really experiment with that exercise and trying to really own the bell.

You seem to be quite strong. You could definitely start with 36 and see how that goes. I have myself tried to experiment with what for me was a heavy weight. For me this did not work that well. The training became quite hard and not that amusing. Too much work and no play. And the results were also quite modest. If I were to do this I would start relatively light and then try to really own that weight it all sorts of ways. And when I had done that, I would have moved up four kilos. For me it is more of a psychological thing. I like to get a flying start.

As I am sure you know, if you choose a heavy weight your sets will be shorter, so you will have to add more sets to get the same effect, and that might result in the whole training session being longer. I always feel it is better to quit the training session while it is still fun.

PS: I also studied Pavel Macek training journal to see what was the secret behind his success. I found out that the secret is consistency. He sticks to the same program day in and day out UNTIL the goal is achieved. He is separating entertainment and training. It has taken me 36 years to realize this wisdom.
“The secret”

Consistency
 
The road to perdition is FOMO and FOBO.

I think the secret is consistently doing almost the same thing for a long, long, long time. Imagine Mike Tyson suddenly saying in the middle of his training: Maybe my talent is in golf instead.
 
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