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Simplifying with S&S

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MattBM

MattBM

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I’ve been doing some bodyweight training for the last 3 or 4 years. I’ve played with other forms of training at times, including weightlifting and kettlebells, but the majority of my strength training history has been calisthenics.

Prior to “serious” strength training I boxed competitively for 12 years or so. (some as an amateur and some as a pro)

Anyway, becoming a new dad, I have struggled to find an appropriate balance with training, and I keep drifting between too little with no goal, and too much with unrealistic goals for me right now.

On top of that, I’ve been stuck at an early intermediate level with my bodyweight training for a while and getting a but burnt out. I am ready to expand my horizons a bit, as I’ve never really dedicated time to kettlebells.

I’m doing S&S to help me minimize thing’s while also having a focused goal. So far, I’ve been doing a quick complex on the gymnastic rings prior to my S&S sessions (Muscle-Up>4-5 Ring Dips>Hang>3-5 Skin the Cats>3-5 Tucked Front Lever Rows>Hang)

Anyway, into the log:

Day 1, 9/5/21:
Ring Complex
S&S Warm-Up (16kg Kettlebell)

Swings w/ 24kg: L10, R10, L10, R10, L10, R10, L10, R10, T10, T10.

- Noticed my swing form sucks, good thing Ill be getting lots of practice. Knees bending a bit too much, and arms not loose enough.
-1H swings kill my grip, will spend more time on TH for now.
- 10 sets of 1H with a 32kg seems impossible right now, looking forward to the progress.

TGU: 4ps24kg, 1ps16kg.

- Never spent much time with these, so lots of polishing up to do.
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Day 2, 9/6/21:

Ring Complex
SS Warm-Up

Swings 24kg: T10, L10, R10, T10, T10, T10, T10, T10, T10, T10
- Swing form already improving drastically. Keeping the butt tight til the bell at my crotch is a killer cue.
- This took me 8 minutes with intuitive rest… 32kg with 1H in 5 minutes?!?!?! haha!

TGU: 4x16kg ps, 1x 24kg ps (3rd set)
——————————————————————-
Day 3, 9/7/21:

Was feeling very light headed and off today, so decided to take it easy.

Ring Complex
SS Warm-Up, replacing bridges with full bridge push ups.

Did some general stretching for 10 minutes.
———————————————————————
Today I’m going to try to hit another full session, and sprinkle some 1 handed swings within sets of 2 handed swings as I saw in an article around here.

Note: I have the original edit of the book, I bought it two years ago when I bought my first kettlebell… and never did the program. ?
 
Welcome and congrats on becoming a new dad. Best job you'll ever get, but dad training isn't the greatest to prepare for that.
 
Whosonfirst said:
Welcome and congrats on becoming a new dad. Best job you'll ever get, but dad training isn't the greatest to prepare for that.
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Thank you my friend!
Yeah, it’s taken me a few months, but I’ve realized training just needs to be different nowadays! Haha!

Simple and Sinister is a step toward finding that balance.
——————————————————————-
Todays session:

9/8/21
Ring Complex
SS Warm-Up

24 kg Swings:
- 1xT13
- 9x(T2+L2+T2+R2+T2)
- Screwed up the count on the first set, lol.

Turkish Get Up: 24kg x 5 ps.
- Need to curl wrists a bit better, and keep a better brace through the movement. On my last rep I actually stopped and rebraced at each “step”.

A couple videos, would love some critique.

Swings

TGU Right

TGU Left
 
Welcome and congrats!

I’m definitely not an SFG, but from watching your videos, I’m impressed with your swings and think those are going to progress nicely. Strong work!

From the get ups, my only critique for both right and left are the last few seconds. You start bringing the bell down before your body is all the way down and there is what Pavel would call “the broken arm position.” In fact, on the left, it looks like the bell nearly hits the wall.

I would wait until your body and head are firmly back on the ground before lowering the bell slowly. Think of it as the “reverse press,”. Exactly opposite of the very first step in a get up. Plus, you’ll spend more time under tension and reap all the benefits!
 
JamesPTA said:
Welcome and congrats!

I’m definitely not an SFG, but from watching your videos, I’m impressed with your swings and think those are going to progress nicely. Strong work!

From the get ups, my only critique for both right and left are the last few seconds. You start bringing the bell down before your body is all the way down and there is what Pavel would call “the broken arm position.” In fact, on the left, it looks like the bell nearly hits the wall.

I would wait until your body and head are firmly back on the ground before lowering the bell slowly. Think of it as the “reverse press,”. Exactly opposite of the very first step in a get up. Plus, you’ll spend more time under tension and reap all the benefits!
Click to expand...
I appreciate the feedback! That elbow to shoulder part of the get-down is always the hardest part for me. I’m not sure how to do it without kind of dropping my shoulder down.
 
MattBM said:
I appreciate the feedback! That elbow to shoulder part of the get-down is always the hardest part for me. I’m not sure how to do it without kind of dropping my shoulder down.
Click to expand...

I had 2 areas of weakness with the get ups when I was practicing S&S: first roll to elbow, as well as the lunge to standing. I could perform a full get up, but I knew that once I got to the 32 and potentially 40, I would have to work on those. SO one tactic that worked for me was this:

On alternate days of regular S&S, I would spend 10-15 minutes after the swings doing nothing but practice my 2 weak transitions with the 24kg. I did this until I was confident that I was proficient enough. Side planks also helped prior practicing.
 
JamesPTA said:
I had 2 areas of weakness with the get ups when I was practicing S&S: first roll to elbow, as well as the lunge to standing. I could perform a full get up, but I knew that once I got to the 32 and potentially 40, I would have to work on those. SO one tactic that worked for me was this:

On alternate days of regular S&S, I would spend 10-15 minutes after the swings doing nothing but practice my 2 weak transitions with the 24kg. I did this until I was confident that I was proficient enough. Side planks also helped prior practicing.
Click to expand...
Not a bad idea, probably should have done something like that today.

9-9-21


Warm-up:
- Goblet Squats: 3x5x35lb (2 curls per squat)
- Bridge: 2x5, 1x5full bridge push up
- Halo:3x5x35lb

24kg Swings: (T2+L2+T2+R2+T2)x10
- Going into this session with a wonky shoulder, these were a confidence booster. Best day of swings so far!

TGU: 2x35ps/1x53ps/2x35ps
- Didn't pack shoulder at all with 53lber....
- Wrist collapsing at bottom

Shoulder and forearm was feeling off all day, so I went into this session tentatively. Skipped my ring complex

Swings actually felt the best they have yet! I wonder how much skipping my ring complex had to do with that, saving the grip a bit.

Get ups felt like garbage today. Shoulder was feeling weak, and I felt like thinking too much about packing my shoulders actually made me even less stable.

I don’t feel bad about it though, I went into this session knowing it wasn’t gonna be a great day for get-ups, but did it since it didn’t seem to bother the shoulder once I got started.. and my swings felt awesome.
 
9-11-21

Ring Complex
Goblet Squats: 3x35x5 (2 curls p/ squat)
Bridge: 3x5
Halo: 2x35x5
- Halos bothering elbow a bit today.

Swings:
- 2x24kgx (T2+L2+T2+R2+T2)
- 2x24kg x (T1+L4+R4+T1)
- 2x24kg x (L5+R5)
- 4x24kg x (T2+L2+T2+R2+T2)

TGU: 3x24kg/ps
- Failed one attempt on 3rd right hand rep, reduce load for 4/5
2X16kg/ps

-Wore wrist wraps today because elbows and wrists havent been feeling great

- Rice Bucket after workout

Swings are just feeling better and better every day. Get-ups are kind of up and down, and the wrist and elbows aches aren’t helping. Going to take a couple of full days of rest to let that stuff regulate, and considering just using less 24kg reps for a bit.

One rep I let my right shoulder rotate internally, dropped the weight, pulling my shoulder in a bad position and nearly smashing my head… I didn’t feel weak or anything, so I’m not quite sure what happened, I guess I just wasn’t present mentally for a second.

Thankfully I got the head out of the way, and my shoulder feels fine… I’m gonna say my experience doing ring dips and daily skin the cats probably helped me here…
 
Took a couple days off, and it seems those couple little kinks I was feeling have resolved.

Also continuing to explore my relationship with training, and approach it in a way that makes the most sense to me nowadays…

With that, I will no longer regularly do a ring complex, especially as part of a “warm-up” before S&S….

I’ll probably hop on the rings randomly for fun every now and then….

Extra time hanging, false grip, and fairly high intensity pulling (tucked front lever rows) couldn’t have been helping those little elbow and wrist issues I was having….

I enjoy being able to do cool stuff on rings, so I’ll still mess with ioccasionally for maintenance..

But my values with training are different now…

What’s most important is feeling good, rather than working towards bodyweight skills that leave you pretty banged up once you reach a certain level.

I may work on those things again in the future, but it’s time consuming, energy draining, and my joints need a rest.

Those thing’s don’t align with my priorities as husband, dad, coach, and worker.

Daily moderate sessions like S&S are what suits me best, and attacking some weak links I have found, so I’ll be doing the McGill Big 3 a few times a weak (quite the difference from fancy ring stuff, lol).

In short, I’m realizing that I now value just feeling good and being capable more than trying to learn advanced skills…
 
9/14/21

Prying Goblet Squat: 3x5x35 (2 curls per squat)
Full Bridge Push Up (3s hold): 3x5
Halo: 3x5x35

Swings 24KG: R10/L10/R10/L10/R10/L10/R10/L10/R10/L10
- Need to focus more on power

TGU: 16kg/24kg/24kg/16kg/16kg


Wised up and lightened the weight on several sets of TGU. Was doing a much better job of keeping shoulders packed today.

That statue of liberty tip was a huge help for both wrist stability and a bit more comfort for the forearm.

Swing gains have been crazy so far. Grip felt super solid til maybe the last couple of reps, and did every set one handed without mixing or rest-pause.
 
9/15/21

Prying Goblet Squats (2 curls p/ rep): 35x5x3 (3 curls on last set)
Bridge: 5x3
Halo: 35x5x2

24kg 1 Arm Swings: 10x10
- Grip tiring on last set on each side

Get Ups: 24kg/24kg/16kg/16kg/16kg
- post foot too close during bridge, making the “low sweep” hard, especially on the way down.

Only got a minute for the stretches today, but my right side is already feeling much better in the QL stretch. I’m not getting much more ROM with it, but feeling a lot more relaxed.. Consistency.

I’m super happy about two consecutive days of 10x10 one armed swings! Some observations:

- While my grip maybe is a bit stronger in the week and a half I’ve been doing S&S, improved swing form is really the key… A powerful hinge takes a lot of the grip out of the equation.
 
9/16/21

Prying Goblet Squats (2 curls p/ rep): 35x5x3
- 3 curls per rep on last set
Bridge: 5x2
Halo: 35x5x2

Swings: T10x10


TGU: 16kg/24kg/24kg/16kg/24kg
- sets are per side

Swings were really knocking the wind out of me today for some reason. All felt snappy though.

Get-Ups continue to be a challenge. Realized I wasn’t focused on “breathing behind the shield” after my 4th set, so decided to give it another go with the 24kg with a focus on bracing..

It definitely made a big difference. I think this may be a big part of my Get-Up struggles.
 
Didn’t sleep well last night (about 4 hours), and I fast on Fridays (spiritual practice, not health related.)

All that said, wasn’t feeling great going into it today, but still clocked in.


9/17/21

Goblet Squat 2 curls p/rep: 35x5x3
- 3 curls last set
Bridge: 5x2
Halo: 35x5x2

Swings: R10+L10+R5L5x8

TGU: 16kg/24kg/16kg/16kg/24kg
- Wrist not feeling great
- Didn't brace well

Calluses were painful during swings, which made them hard to commit to. Grip strength seemed fine, but it’s hard to really notice when there is pain present.

Get-Ups also felt so-so. Wrist wasn’t feeling great. When I pay attention to my wrist control and bracing, I noticed the reps feel much easier.

My first reaction to this session was that I need easier “easy days”, but then I factor in the poor night of sleep and fasting… and it makes it hard to gauge.

With that said, I don’t need to adjust the “plan.” I need to just listen to my body a bit better maybe. Two handed swings and all 16kg get-ups probably should have been the move today.
 
9/18/21

Did jiu jitsu this am after I coached our boxing class. This plus yesterday being a rough session, I went into today’s SS planning to go easy.

Goblet Squat + 3 curls p/rep: 35x5x3
Bridge: 5x2

Swings: T10x10
- Focus on timing and keeping eyes forward
- Really, two handed swings seem to wear me out more than one handlers (except for the grip)

TGU: 16kg/24kg/24kg/24kg/24kg
- Did my first set with 16kg SUPER slow.
- Shoulder stability feeling way better today
- Was feeling really good about my practice today, so did an additional set of 24kg.

TGU - Right side
TGU - Left Side

Need to get my stretches in later.
TGU - Left Side
 
9.20.21

GMB Mobility - 15 minutes

QL Straddle: 2m per side
- Certainly not “comfortable” but feeling way better able to relax.
 
9/21/21

I got the 2nd covid shot this morning, and trained about two hours later. Felt good when I got started, but got super nauseous during my swings, so I finished all of my swings and waited til later to do my TGU.

Goblet Squat w/ 2 curls: 24kgx5x3
Bridge: 5x3
Halo: 16kgx5x3

1 Handed Swing: 10x10
- nauseous about 1/2 way through, this definitely made it hard for me to give it my all and do a powerful and snappy hinge
- grip didn’t seem to be a problem at all today

-Later in day
TGU: 24kgx5
-Best TGUs have felt yet.
- Right side definitely less stable than left.

Before bed:
QL Straddle: 3m per side
GMB Mobility: Hips Session
 
9/25/21

Gave myself a few days off after getting a vaccine.

Goblet Squat (2 curls p/rep): 24kgx5x3
Bridge: 5x3
Halo: 16kgx5x2

1H Swings: 24kgx10x10
- Grip didn't tire at all.

TGU: 24kg x 5 (per arm)
- Did these with no rest, got them done in just under 10 minutes. Felt very strong and stable today.
 
9-28-21

Morning Strength Sets:
1 Arm 1 Leg Push Up: 1 per side
- Drop set to 1A Push Up: 2 per side

Mixed Grip Chin Up: 1 per side
- accommodating resistance to make them as hard as possible.

S&S Workout

Goblet Squat (2 curls p/rep): 24kgx5x3
Bridge: 5x2
Halo: 35x5x2

1A Swings: 24kg x R10+L10x5
- minimal rest today
- weird lower back pump after swings
- grip feeling rock solid
- 6:20 total time.

TGU: 24kg x 5 per arm
- 1 floor press and 1 press at standing per rep.

Think I’m ready to give the 32kg a bell a try on both exercises. May try to hold off one more week.
 
9-29-21

Goblet Squat (3 curls p/rep): 24kgx5x3
- 2 curls p/rep last set
Full Bridge Push-Up: 5x2
- 3 s hold at top


1A Swings: 24kg R10+L10x5
- Untimed, talk test between sets
- Felt good, grip didn't tire

TGU: 24kg/32kg/24kg/24kg/24kg
- 32kg felt surprisingly decent, could have done more, but will keep it at one set this week.
- Floor press and standing press on 24kg reps.
 
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