Kettlebell S&S - New Corollary Exercises Please

[Lehrskov]

Hi everyone!

I'm on a strict diet of cabbage and S&S. Love it. Doing 32/40 on 1HSW and TGU getting ready to move to the 48 on getups.

To be honest I've not paid too much attention to the corollary exercises in S&S before sometime early this year when I started going through _all_ of the warm up and stretches post-workout. Which is fine. I'll do it as written.

But....

I'm quite flexible, which means that I can do rock-bottom squats with no 'tail bend', including chinese wall squats with feet a foot apart. The halo never feels like it do anything except eat a few minutes of my time as I have very good should mobility. The hip bridge is good for me, simply to activate glutes, which is one of my 'things'.
On the stretches I simply lie flat across my leg in the 90-90 stretch feeling, well, no stretch at all, even with outside twisted torso and after re-reading the book a few times. Almost the same with the QL straddle - I can get my lat to touch my knee, which does produce a tiny stretchy feeling...

Som my question is this: do you guys think I should just keep at it as it is - and if so: why? I need some reason to hold on to mentally.

And if no: what can I substitute with that keeps me growing?

Thanks for all your wisdom!
/Ulrik

 

[Kettlebelephant]

DeFrancos "Simple 6", "Agile 8" or "Limber 11" work well as warm-up + flexibility/mobility routines

 

[Rambro1*]

I like crawling (on feet and hands), goblet squats, some lunges, and some naked get ups for a warmup.

 

[Joe L]

Hi Ulrik,

Are there specific movement patterns that you've identified issues with and are hoping to address with further mobility/flexibility training?

It's just you sound like you've got some great mobility already, so I'm curious why you want to take it further, unless you feel your mobility is holding you back in some way.

Having said that, if you want to take things further I like the materials of Kit Laughlin, of Stretch Therapy.

*EDIT* Jon Engum's book 'Flexible Steel' also has some excellent info and draws on concepts from Pavel's books 'Super Joints' and 'Relax into Stretch'.

 

[Steve Freides]

Your S&S training has enabled you to build a solid foundation - time for putting up the rest of the building now. How about a barbell?

-S-

 

[Lehrskov]

Hi Guys

Thanks for the input - I'll have to spend a few evenings reading up on the stuff suggested here and put some thought into it. Great starting points.

And @Steve Freides : as soon as I hit 5:00mins with my KB swings (which I haven't yet because 'glutes'!, but will soon..) I'll reorient myself towards new goals... which might very well be some deadlifting, which I've sorely missed for the past 18 months.

Thanks for an always great community!

 

[Matt Griffith(Griff)]

I was having this discussion with a friend a few days ago so I can't help but add my 2 cents.

In my mind, the magic of S+S is the progressions that are used for the swing an get up, the warm ups and stretching are optional but provide a good framework from which to work if you know what your goals are. Those goals can be strength, mobility, rehabilitation or whatever. Once you know what you want to improve with your training the rest is easy.

For example let's look at halo's. I also don't get much of a mobility benefit, but I use them on occasions to strengthen my triceps. Gymnastic training separates upper body movements into straight arm strength (SAS) and bent arm strength (BAS). I have never been a gymnast but I find the concept useful. Halo's can provide a much needed bent arm component to the program which helps strengthen the triceps which will translate into bigger presses when you're finished with S+S. When I was doing S+S a few years ago with the 40kg bell (the largest bell I own) I would perform my final set of halos with the 32kg bell.
My friend followed S+S as written for about 18 months, using mostly 12-16kg for halos. He achieved the Simple goals. By the time he was ready to move on to something else he decided to test his press. He struggled to press the 20kg bell even after spending months performing TGU's with 32kg.
There is no reason to insist on performing halo's though. You can instead focus on dips or muscle ups with body weight or a weighted tricep extension if you prefer. Just don't over do it, you still have to do your TGU's and you don't want your arms quivering.

For the goblet squats you can think about substituting airborne lunges or step ups, or doing a set of double front squats in your last set. Again, think about what will have the most benefit toward your next goal.

It sounds like you already have good flexibility. Can you control it? Instead of stretching you may want to try something like "controlled articular rotations".


The thing to remember when substituting is moderation. There is no need to set a PR with these movements. We are simply identifying potential week links and working them.

Keep up the good work.

 

[JeffC]

Instead of halos I like Dislocates, and up and arounds with a dowel rod. I like halos as a GH joint prehab exercise but not as a warmup.

Glute bridge does nothing for me. I do heavy barbell hip thrusts to strengthen and activate the glutes, and superset with a hip flexor stretch. I will sometimes do standing band hip thrusts, and/or band pull throughs as a swing warmup. Focusing on pushing the butt back, keeping the chest up, and back tight.

The prying goblet squat is a must for me though. I also do a few one arm KB front squats, and single leg deadlifts per side.

For the get up I really like half kneeling windmill band archers, or reach throughs with a light dumbbell, dead bugs, bird dogs, and bent/arm bars. A few light bottoms up get ups help focus on form and efficient transitions.