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Kettlebell Program Hopping

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Adam R Mundorf

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Hey StrongFirst,

As some of you may know, I have huge problems with program hopping and have currently been on S&S 2.0 for three weeks.

I am sticking to my plan, thank God, but it wasn't without literally writing up a whole rite of passage plan and almost changing direction again.

Does anyone have any insight or opinions on why I'm like this? Is it a lack of discipline or maybe just my handling of stressors in my life?

Thank you, Adam
 
I'm a bit the same way TBH. I find that the best way to stop myself from veering off track is to scratch the itch in a minor way, ie I've started doing the FPP in addition to my S&S training. If I find something that I enjoy and have convinced myself that I "need" to be doing it, don't fight the urge. I think intelligent programming can let you have your cake and eat it too.

Part of my issue I guess is progress on S&S can seem slow, but then looking back through my training book to see where I've come from helps with that too.

My 2c
 
Guilty of that too. Got the swings in S&S and while waiting for my getups to catch up moved to the giant. Loved it, but now I’m going back to S&S as my main program until I can do the 32kg getups. I may have a day of “practice” with the snatch or clean and press but only light and not much volume. Not going to do any other program until I can comfortably do timeless simple

Don’t worry, it’s normal I think
 
I program hop because there's a conflict between what I need to do (rehab injuries, fix dysfunction and imbalances), what I want to do (get stronger on certain lifts) and what I can do (stress-free weeks I'm a dynamo, high-stress weeks I can feel my workouts doing more harm than good). And I'm never quite sure which one of those is going wrong until later, so trying to correct it in the moment is a guessing game that rarely goes my way.
 
I'm very prone to this...

Now I just have to picture Dan John's voice in my head, "Keep the goal the goal"
That said I still try to program hop. Just recently I shoehorned S&S into my endurance block for a bit because I really wanted to bridge that gap between timeless and timed simple. Even though I know that it always aggravates my shoulder (and sure enough, after week two my shoulder started acting up again).

When I take a step back and look at periods where I stuck with one thing for 12 or more weeks, I always made the best gains towards my goals. So I have to do that on a regular basis too to reassure myself that switching to the program with better ad copy isn't going to get me moving towards my goals faster. Which sucks because I'm subscribed to a ton of people who write amazing copy and I read it because sometimes I need to write copy. And it is so good that I want to switch programs.
 
Now I just have to picture Dan John's voice in my head, "Keep the goal the goal"

That was another personal program I had with S&S: I had no desire to do a single minimalist program for a long time, nor did I have a burning desire to be a kettlebell specialist.

I still like to revisit S&S about once a year for a 4-8 week block. It's always fun to see how other training translates (or doesn't).
 
It has never been my problem since I have quite an obsessive personality so while I'm on a program, I devote to it.
Maybe having it written down and monitoring your progress, ticking the sessions done or sth like this would help? This way you could switch from a, let's call it, client mindset ("I want to be entertained") to a scientist mindset ("I want how this stimulus affects my body").
I think the Best All-Around Training Method Ever could be your pick, since it calls for two days of training. You can make the third day a variety day and do whatever you want.
Do you have a log on this forum? Maybe you would feel more accountable.
Besides that I would think how to detach entertainment from training and get it somewhere else. Maybe a martial art, some agility training or even some intellectual endeavor?
 
Hey StrongFirst,

As some of you may know, I have huge problems with program hopping and have currently been on S&S 2.0 for three weeks.

I am sticking to my plan, thank God, but it wasn't without literally writing up a whole rite of passage plan and almost changing direction again.

Does anyone have any insight or opinions on why I'm like this? Is it a lack of discipline or maybe just my handling of stressors in my life?

Thank you, Adam
Tell us more about your life stressors..

Have you actually had anyone write you a program and keep you accountable?

Do you have any issues with anxiety?
 
Maybe having it written down and monitoring your progress, ticking the sessions done or sth like this would help? This way you could switch from a, let's call it, client mindset ("I want to be entertained") to a scientist mindset ("I want how this stimulus affects my body").

This is why I like doing my own programming.

I get to be both client and scientist at the same time.
 
I have the same problem. I started S&S around 1,5 years ago, But in the meanwhil I kept on hopping. Because of this I've improved from 16 to a 24 kg. But when I think back and have kept on the program, I would have made Timeless Simple with ease.
The reason why I keep on hopping has a few reasons: I really want to do RoP, but I think S&S is a good base to start RoP. So S&S is not my first choice. Next reason I only have 3 time a week to train. The progression on S&S is a bit slow, but with 3 sessions a week, it's even slower. Which makes it even more tempting to change programs.
Two weeks a ago I made a plan for the comming years. First S&S till timed Simple (maybe even Timed?), then alternating between RoP and Q&D till I reach the RoP goals, and finish with KB Strong till 2x32kg. Maybe a bit ambitious and It'll take me a couple of years (I guess at least 5), but I hope with a clear path foreward I will stick with the program.
 
At any given time, I usually have a structured minimalist program (1-3 drills that I really enjoy, which for me means no swings or get ups) that I follow no matter what, and then a bunch of variety "modules" that I can plug in around it, as my non-training schedule and stressors allow.

For most of the past year, I'm finding that a 3x/week program works well for the structured program. I can nearly always get my 3 sessions in, no matter what else I have going on, and if that's all I do in a week, I still call it good. 3x/week is enough to give me a degree of consistency and continuity even when I'm really busy and stressed. But most weeks, I do have time to accumulate a substantial volume of variety stuff. Maybe not as much as if I was focusing on it, but usually enough to maintain or even progress it.

If it was more than 3x/week, then I'd probably end up missing some sessions and have to work around that, plus I'd have the added stress of feeling like I wasn't keeping up with the program. More than 3x/week also means that I have less time for all the other stuff that I enjoy doing, so the main program starts to feel like a burden.

This structure helps me stick to the main program without feeling like I'm missing out on other stuff (because I'm not).

I've done a lot of programs and gone through a lot of different phases in my training over the years. But although I've done my share of program-hopping (switching programs without giving each one a thorough run), I've sustained a lot of them for long periods of time. I'd say the factors that keep me on track are:
--The experience of getting better at things I do consistently, and the positive reinforcement that comes from that.
--Figuring out what I really like to do (in terms of both drills and programming).
--Picking programs that logistically fit my current life circumstances.
--Enjoying the feeling of liberation that comes with making a decision and then just putting in the work. Variety and novelty can be fun, but constant decision-making is stressful.

Does anyone have any insight or opinions on why I'm like this? Is it a lack of discipline or maybe just my handling of stressors in my life?

Not knowing you, I have no insight into why you are like this. I will say that, in general, I find discipline overrated.

By far my first priority in my training is whether it is fun. Life is short and in many situations we don't have free choice. In choosing training drills and programs we do. One of my favorite quotations is by GK Chesterton: “It is not only possible to say a great deal in praise of play; it is really possible to say the highest things in praise of it. It might reasonably be maintained that the true object of all human life is play. Earth is a task garden; heaven is a playground.”

Discipline is a fine thing, taken in moderation. Sometimes you just have to suck it up and do what you have to do. However, I don't really want to live my life on the basis of forcing myself to do things I'd rather not do. And I certainly would not like to live my life with the mindset that every moment and decision is a test that I have to pass by forcing myself to make the less pleasant choice.

It's good to have discipline when you need it, but I'd rather be able to avoid needing it as much as possible.

One of my life rules is: "Set the alarm for the time you want to get up and get up when it rings. The snooze button does not exist."

I get up at 3:45 every workday. This is not at all a matter of discipline, and takes zero willpower. I have to be at work early, don't like to feel rushed, and like some quiet time to shower, dress, walk the dog, make and eat breakfast, have coffee, read the newspaper, and mentally prepare for my day. So I get up early enough to do those things. Instead of considering this discipline, I look at it as doing things the way I prefer (as opposed to discipline being forcing yourself to do something you would prefer not to do).

IMO, the key to sticking with a program is picking a program you can stick with. Make it what you want to do, instead of what you need to force yourself to do, whether it's committing to specific structured program, or designing a framework for more freestyle programming (or anywhere in between).

This takes a bit of honest self-reflection to figure out, but it's a lot easier, and takes a lot less willpower and discipline, to do something you really want to do. Then, once you make the decision, you can set your mind that there isn't any more decision making from that point forward (or at least for a reasonably long period before you reevaluate). If you have to make a new decision every day to stick to a program, that takes a lot more willpower and discipline than just deciding once. It's very liberating not to have to make a choice.

Maybe this is all just a semantic game I play with myself, but I think there's actually a substantive difference between having a little person inside your head cracking a whip and yelling, "You HAVE to do this!," and having a little person inside your head saying, "Now you GET to do this!" Partly it's a difference in mindset, but more than that it's figuring out how to make compromises (almost everything in life is a compromise) that are easier to live with rather than harder to live with.
 
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This is why I like doing my own programming.

I get to be both client and scientist at the same time.

The last manufactured program I did was from Weider and I was 12 or 13. For most of my adult life I didn’t even know there was such a thing as “programs” one could purchase, and trained mostly by principles and based on available equipment.

Regardless, if one is having trouble with consistency it is most likely the program is not engaging, it doesn’t align with your goals, it isn’t producing a desired effect.

Start with a goal and find or build a program to suit.
 
I have written in my training journal, "Know what doesn't tear my hands up or make my shoulders ache? S&S. Know what gives me results that are at least as good as anything else? S&S. Know what I am not doing right now? S&S"

It's still hard to make myself stick to it. Partially because I don't particularly enjoy swings or Get Ups for their own sake, while I think snatches and LCC&J are just fun to do.
 
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