On page 10 of the print version of Q&D, it states that "Q&D is not for beginners...experienced athletes improved the most." The reasons for this were three-fold:
- "Q&D training demands a foundation of strength...a rock-solid midsection that comes from paying dues...(as a) way of expressing one's max power."
- "Power is a learned skill. " An athlete needs "to just explode against a moderate weight."
- Finally, personality. Are you a "cat," a "dog," or a "persistence hunter?"
So, if you have pursued an athletic lifestyle and been around StrongFirst for a fair while, can generate explosive power in your exercises, and preferably are a "cat" or at least a "dog," then you seem to be a candidate. Now on to detailed entry requirements.
To those that have access to an accelerometer or force plate, the tests are 5 reps at a time for swings, pushups, and/or snatches with various resistances to determine the resistance that yields the highest power for starting weights.
For those of us without the above technologies, it is a matter of "sprinting" for 20-30 seconds to determine a starting resistance for the swings, pushups, or snatches. It is important that these movements all be explosive and that you understand the difference between normal and explosive.
That said, I am presently in my second iteration of Q&D. The first time I did Q&D was this time last year and, of course, I did not achieve S&S timeless, Simple, or Sinister, or even close prior to starting Q&D. However, I have had an active life of 30 years in the military (SF), MA, running, weights, and about 17 years on and off with kettlebells. I know how to put power in a movement and explode. And, I am a "cat"; while I consider myself a cool "cat," some of you may consider me an old "cat" at 78 years of age.
One serious problem kept me from starting earlier than I did: I could not do sufficient explosive pushups. In my late 50's I started power lifting and like so many of us, I succumbed to incorrect bench lift form and wound up with rotator cuff injuries. Curiously, while I could execute military presses (single or double) or even dips, bench presses were painful. So as part of recovery, I avoided pushups. Years later when I tried to do pushups I would experience loud snapping sounds in both elbows. This was diagnosed as "slapping triceps syndrome." In later years this friction and noise led me to avoid pushups completely.
I could avoid the friction and slapping by generating a tremendous amount of tension and slowly grinding out only about 5 strict pushups that were nowhere near explosive. Still, I wanted to do Q&D. Building up pushups from this level looked like too long a time for me. However, the pushup long sprint test states that if "unable to sustain high power, high tempo, and impeccable technique for at least 20 seconds, the resistance is too high...repeat the test with a band deload." WHOA!
@Fabio came up with a BRILLIANT deload by looping a band around the pelvis that actually helps you maintain strict body position while giving a slight boost to your pushups. This was a game changer for me. I went from 5 grinding pushups in 30 seconds to 21 reps with the band without the accompanying slapping triceps. These were executed with a lot of power and felt like when I did the clapping pushups eons ago. After 12 weeks of Q&D, I increased the band assisted pushups to 28 reps despite lowering band resistance. I also went from the aforementioned 5 unassisted pushups to 18 within 30 seconds. BTW, swings increased from 17 one-armed swings to 20, and 19 two-armed to 22 for 30 seconds.
There seems to be a lot of mythology and folklore being promulgated by the doctrinists about having to complete S&S prior to Q&D, an inference at best. Life is too short not to taste and try things of interest. I will say that I have had the pleasure of experiencing many of Pavel's and other StrongFirst programs. Q&D ranks as one of the best and most enjoyable if you are comfortable and disciplined enough to follow the schedule exactly.