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Kettlebell S&S plateau

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justin84

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I have been working on S&S for months now w/ 32KG 5-6 times a week usually. Recently I feel like I have plateaued. I tested myself this past Friday and I was able to do my swings in 7min. I wasn't easy but I didn't kill myself either. However, during my normal practice I feel almost like it is getting harder each session and I took an extra day off to have one extra day to recover.

My question is, has anyone experience the same thing and what can you suggest to get over it. Just to clarify, I am doing normal S&S not any of the advanced programs I have seen floating around.

Thanks-Justin
 
@justin84

First, few questions:

- do you use the easier deload days?
- do you use the light day options (light two hand overspeed eccentric swings, light get-ups)?
- do you practice the breathing exercises from the book?
 
@Pavel Macek

Yes to all three. And sometimes to make it easier I take more time than I usually need with the regular weight. Also, I know the book says practice almost everyday but have you found there to be an optimal work days to rest days ratio? Thanks again.
 
@justin84

OK, excellent!

What I suggest is to make a step back, come to 24 (or 28, or whatever weight you used before 28), and then gradually build up to 32 again. Think of it as a second cycle to "Simple" standards. I run into similar thing in 36 kg get-up, and it worked perfectly, now I am doing the same thing with 40 kg.

As for frequency, from my experience the almost daily practice works best, although when getting to heavier weights, I need to add more light day options.

For more tips, please check out my training log - I am practicing SAS for almost 11 months now.
 
Do you use a heart rate monitor? I plateaued too with the 32, got stuck. I thought I had my own monitoring skills well adjusted but once I started using a heart rate monitor it made me realise how wrong I was and gave me a base to work from. Still needed light days too, mind......and all the tips mentioned by others......but the heart rate monitor and subsequent diving into the science-y stuff a bit more to understand (try anyway!) what was going on. Not saying that this is the reason of course but it was my reason for plateauing......unknowingly hammering glycolysis even though I thought I wasn't ....and the heart rate monitor was the key, for me.
 
To me, the "Find your own sweet spot" is the interesting part of Kettlebellephant's post...smart of him to find his sweet spot. Picking these numbers is not an intellectual exercise or poll, but should be based on feeling good, "recharged," no soreness the next morning, etc. One reason S&S is so broadly successful, imho, is it has standards of progression based on each person's own response. From taking time to develop good form, to the talk test, progressing when not sore the next morning, to the timed standards- good guidelines. Main enemy is our innate compulsion to do too much, too soon....haha
 
Thanks for all the replies. I am going to definitely look into these suggestions especially the heart rate training.
 
The simplicity is awesome. At first I tried many different exercises every day and realized it was unsustainable. As I became more aware of my body I recognized the redundancy and started shaving things off until I was left with just swings and TGUs. Essentially I transitioned into S&S without meaning to. Being able to focus on 2 things is accelerating my gains and I believe this laser focus is a concept that carries over into life as I've noticed that many successful people live by this principle.
 
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