Kettlebell S&S 2.0 Goblet Squats
- Thread starter Kozushi
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Kozushi
Level 7 Valued Member
I've come around to agree with this. I haven't come up with any sensible reason to extract the goblet squats from my S&S workouts. Me starting the thread was because my back was bothering me and I was seeing what I could get rid of from the workout that bothered my back without giving up the essence of the workout. Emotion taking over! Not good!
I think (like I thought before) that the goblet squats are an important piece of S&S. There is indeed some strength development and maintenance through a particular movement pattern. Also, it is the one symmetrical load movement to balance against all the asymmetrical ones in S&S. Also, being able to squat with good control and balance holding something is simply an important movement in life. This is why I put it in my little poem in my signature about it being about building a fortress. It's the preparation for the rest of the workout like the fortress is the base for everything else in the war. Also, if I can't do a mere 15 goblet squats with a kettlebell, I had better give up on doing 100 swings and 10 getups!
S&S is based on a huge amount of science. The goblet squat at the weight of your swings has been decided to be fundamental and not removable by Pavel. So, I'm going with Pavel about Pavel's programme.
Manuel Fortin
Level 6 Valued Member
I do goblet squats in every warmup, usually one set of 3 to 5 reps( a bit more once in a while) using 32 or 40kg. There is no structure. I just pick up the kettlebell that feels right for the day and squat until I had enough. This is part of the warmup after all. Weight and volume increased gradually over time, starting with the 24 kg 2 years ago. One in a while I would do 1 or 2 additional sets. This does not tax the legs at all for me, but I found the following benefits:
1 - Since I sit all day for work, it activates my body and allows to maintain a proper range of motion for the squat pattern.
2 - Even doing only 3-5 sets a week, I found that my ability to hold cumbersome and moderately heavy items at chest level increased dramatically over 1 year. I make wine from kits, and must handle a few times in each batch a large bucket filled with about 25kg of liquid. I usually carry it chest high by the side handles that are close to the top of the bucket, just like when we do a goblet squat. It's not that heavy, but the center of gravity is way in front of me, so this used to require some efforts. I saw the perceived effort go gradually down to the point where carrying the bucket within my kitchen, lifting it and getting is down is no longer a significant effort. I credit goblet squats with the 40 kg to have contributed to this as it really became apparent once I introduced that weight. This is surprising given how little effort I put into this. Despite having pressed overhead, done getups and done numerous exercises with heavier weights, the goblet squats were the trigger to being able to easily handle this 25kg bucket.
3 - Handling a heavy kettlebell seems to really prime my nervous system for snatching, which makes up the bulk of my kettlebell training. If I don't hold anything heavy, my first few snatches with the 32 are not as smooth as they should be. If I do the goblet squats before, my brain seems to understand that it will have to handle heavy weights soon, and the first few reps are way smoother.
These benefits were all a surprise and I started doing the goblet squats because I was really bad at them and hated them. This seemed like this was caused by not having practiced them enough with a heavier weight, and I started easy and built up from there. This was the ultimate easy strength program: 1 set at less than 50% of the reps I could do with a weight that felt light to moderately heavy. That's 1-3 minutes a week at most.
1 - Since I sit all day for work, it activates my body and allows to maintain a proper range of motion for the squat pattern.
2 - Even doing only 3-5 sets a week, I found that my ability to hold cumbersome and moderately heavy items at chest level increased dramatically over 1 year. I make wine from kits, and must handle a few times in each batch a large bucket filled with about 25kg of liquid. I usually carry it chest high by the side handles that are close to the top of the bucket, just like when we do a goblet squat. It's not that heavy, but the center of gravity is way in front of me, so this used to require some efforts. I saw the perceived effort go gradually down to the point where carrying the bucket within my kitchen, lifting it and getting is down is no longer a significant effort. I credit goblet squats with the 40 kg to have contributed to this as it really became apparent once I introduced that weight. This is surprising given how little effort I put into this. Despite having pressed overhead, done getups and done numerous exercises with heavier weights, the goblet squats were the trigger to being able to easily handle this 25kg bucket.
3 - Handling a heavy kettlebell seems to really prime my nervous system for snatching, which makes up the bulk of my kettlebell training. If I don't hold anything heavy, my first few snatches with the 32 are not as smooth as they should be. If I do the goblet squats before, my brain seems to understand that it will have to handle heavy weights soon, and the first few reps are way smoother.
These benefits were all a surprise and I started doing the goblet squats because I was really bad at them and hated them. This seemed like this was caused by not having practiced them enough with a heavier weight, and I started easy and built up from there. This was the ultimate easy strength program: 1 set at less than 50% of the reps I could do with a weight that felt light to moderately heavy. That's 1-3 minutes a week at most.
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