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Kettlebell Soju and Tuba and low vs high volume presses

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rickyw

rickyw

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All,

Has anyone not had success w/Soju and Tuba? I tried working through it a couple months ago w/32kg but it really drained me. Once I hit 2 reps w/ 32kg, it was such a grind and I felt like I was stalling out. It felt like I was hitting my 2 RM with every set. So I dropped it, went back and worked through RoP again w/24kg, condensing the rests. Then I went through the latter end of Soju and Tuba w/28kg. Then I started in w/32kg again a few weeks ago. But here I am again at sets of 2 reps, feeling essentially the same, except my press feels stricter in terms of form. Wednesday I did 3 sets of 2 reps and I was wiped. I am wondering if these words from Pavel's blog post on the best press exercise apply very much to me:

"The kettlebell military press is the healthiest in the line-up, thanks to its shoulder mechanics. Its downside is, it demands a high volume of training to keep moving. There are men and women who have succeeded in pressing a heavy kettlebell or a pair of them on a low volume regime, but they are an exception, rather than the rule. Usually it takes 50-100 weekly reps to keep progressing."

What are your experiences w/high vs low volume pressing?

Thanks,

Rich
 
High volume (rop) works, but it's very hard. Low volume works too, but progress is much slower.
If you really want decent progress then you should do what chief says. :)
 
I'll concentrate on addressing the question in particular:

I find that both instances work. To summarize, it is a question of quality. First of all, correct form is of paramount importance. The next big thing I find to be total volume, as in kg. Surprisingly to my instincts, my experience has shown that it is not necessarily only the single rep weight but the total weight that can have a big influence on your pressing.

To minimize my vodka-influenced rambling, let me give you two examples. When I first started dabbling with kettlebells, about ten years or so ago, a friend showed me some moves and got me to by a 16 kg kettlebell. Fast forward a month or two and I, excited, went to buy a new kettlebell. I decided, with extreme insight, that the best way to pick the size of the new kettlebell was trying to military press it. I bought a 28 kg kettlebell.

Later on, after I had become accustomed to my new 28 kg kettlebell, as hard at start as it was, I eventually bought a 32kg and the same day even ordered a 40kg kettlebell to save on postage. I had been doing plenty of cleans and presses on the 28kg, and on a 24kg as well, which I had bought on sale in the meantime. When the new bells arrived, I was excited to try on the 32kg. I did a couple of rounds of five on the 24kg. Then I proceeded to clean and press the 40kg twice.

That was a bit of drunken rambling, but I hope you still got the point.

In my experience, it is the total volume that counts. 5*5*32kg equals 800kg. In the same time one could possibly do 5*10*24, which equals 1200kg. Now, by no means do I presume or think that it is only about the total kilograms, far from it. But, I do stress, that in my experience lower absolute weight workouts absolutely can help one cope with higher absolute weight as well. I, however do admit this with the caveat that since I only have the experience of myself, I do not know how much better I would have accomplished this goal training with other methods, and that other, much more acclaimed coaches have a much bigger base of trainees. So take this all with a grain of salt.

Still, I believe, that it is all a question of total pressing. Press what you have. Press it as much as you can. Press as heavy as you can.

Lastly, I'll get down to what I mentioned earlier on, which is form. Never press in bad form, regardless of the weight. I sincerely believe that that is one of the biggest and most contributing insights I had. Always follow the guidelines in the Naked Warrior. GTG all the way.

PS. Sorry for the vodka-influenced ramblings.
 
@rickyw

Have you considered just running the ROP or RKC Ladder from BB with the 28kg? If it's working for you, why change?
 
@JonS , it was a matter of letting the shoulders rest after the high volume at the end of RoP and seeing if I would then make gains w/S&T.

Started RoP again w/ 28kg today :)
 
Was chatting with Joe DeLeo and he mentioned a similar case. I gave him an adjustment..

Remember that the S and T is a hybrid step-wave cycle so if you feel jumping up to doubles is killing you, you have two options:

1. Go back down to singles then work on compressing density.

2. Recycle the doubles but only do one set of two reps initially then do singles for the remainder.

Let me know if you have any further questions
 
What if you were to work through RoP at one bell below your S&T bell for a few weeks and then restart S&T where you left off?
 
rickyw said:
What if you were to work through RoP at one bell below your S&T bell for a few weeks and then restart S&T where you left off?
Click to expand...

That is another option you can explore...

Or... How about this...

Do a few weeks of easy strength and use your S and T bell for the six singles initially?
 
Hello,

rickyw said:
What are your experiences w/high vs low volume pressing?
Click to expand...
I think it depends of the move and the person.

From my experience, related to the grind, I progress more using relatively low volume (wave principle or daily dose). Higher volume programs, such as RoP are too difficult for me because it would dip into my rest for other routine.Then do you have another routine ? How is your rest ?

Related to the press, I use the program reworked by Steve, which consists in 10 lifts (press) per side a day. I went from 24 1RM to 5 or 6 singles @28.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Tony De Wall said:
If you have access to a BP, I would recommend it as it helped me jump one kettlebell size in the overhead
Click to expand...
That's interesting Tony. Currently no access to one but thank you.

@pet' , I have used the 10 press method before, but just when I was so close to hitting a 32kg press and I needed a little something to push me over edge. I do not know if it would be as effective at getting me a strong press w/ a bell I am not even close to pressing yet.

pet' said:
Higher volume programs, such as RoP are too difficult for me because it would dip into my rest for other routine.Then do you have another routine ? How is your rest ?
Click to expand...

When I do RoP press ladders, everything else takes a back seat.
 
Hello,

@rickyw
rickyw said:
I have used the 10 press method before, but just when I was so close to hitting a 32kg press and I needed a little something to push me over edge
Click to expand...
I understand. Because I prefer low volume approaches (less exhaustion, fit better with other routines, etc...) I think I will give a try to S&T in some days. Indeed, the 10 press method will be over soon. I gained 4 kilos with it. Maybe S&T will give me some other 4 !

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
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