Tom Flint
Level 6 Valued Member
I’ve always logged my own training for myself but the result of a changing preference for ‘how’ has meant that I’ve gone through paper diaries, loose sheets, laptop documents, and on my iPhone Notes app for the last few years. Looking back at my methods for my own reference is now impossible, which is annoying as some of my strongest phases were recorded in those now-lost paper diaries. Never again. From now on I’ll be keeping it all right here so I can reflect on my n=1 records and work out what to toss and what to keep.
To quickly summarise my background, I played field hockey as a child and teenager, though with very little talent or fitness (music has always been my thing, and thankfully it paid off as I’ve ended up making a career out of it). I took up rowing when I was 14 and discovered that I was stronger than some of the other kids as I matured a little earlier. It also turned out that while ball/team sports were a low point for me, I actually wasn’t too bad at pacing myself for a 2000m rowing race and co-ordinating my power generation and my oar with the other rowers – quite a revelation for someone who was generally picked nearly last in team games! I stuck with this for a few years and did reasonably well at it at school. In hindsight, you could say it probably gave me the first inkling that there was a style of training that I really enjoyed – ergometer and weights sessions to complement the time on the water.
Kung fu was my next passion and I was committed to it from the age of 21 to 35, though it took a back seat when I moved from Australia to the UK where there was no class. I kept training on my own (as I always had at home between the two classes per week) but the feeling I was cementing poor technique through a lack of correction kept nagging at me, and with some heavy heartedness I would say I finally admitted to myself last year that I was no longer a practitioner.
With more relevance here, in 2005 I was scouring the internet researching the most efficient tools for fat loss, conditioning, strength and muscle gain combined when I stumbled on this ball of iron with a handle, promoted by a Russian man with his ‘comrade’ this and ‘the Party’ that. To say I was sold immediately is an understatement as I ordered my first 16kg and the Russian Kettlebell Challenge book and DVD that very afternoon. When it arrived, I realised how weak I was; pressing that thing for 5 reps was a serious struggle but I kept at it. I practised my swings and my snatches and my presses and windmills and all of that stuff with real diligence, and in the scheme of things it wasn’t long before I was doing it all with a 24kg. And then a 32kg. And then doubles with another 24kg. And then with another 32kg. In some ways I couldn’t believe how strong I’d become when I started at such a low level – going from struggling with 16kg overhead for 5 reps to putting 64kg overhead for 75 reps in a session - but when I considered the work I’d put in and with such a smart choice of implement, it made sense.
Over the years I shifted focus a few times. In 2008 I earned my qualifications as a Personal Trainer and took up training with barbells and dumbbells with the (almost) sole aim of hypertrophy and strength. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this and I gained plenty of muscle, buying my own power rack and other assorted gear along the way, and I kept up a maintenance level of kettlebell training alongside. Then in 2011 I moved to England to pursue my singing career with my wife. Given we only brought a suitcase each with us, there was definitely no room for weights so I picked up a couple of cheap 24kg KBs to keep things going. We had more belongings shipped over a few years later and I was finally reunited with my decent KBs, including my beloved 32s. Then I bought some adjustable dumbbells to mix things up. For some time that summed up my home gym – six kettlebells, two dumbbells up to 52kg, a stand-alone bench and a doorway chin-up/dip bar and dip belt.
That fairly minimalist combination of tools kept me in pretty good condition for years, and it confirmed my ideas that you don’t need a complex set up (or a gym membership) to achieve your physical training goals, though I did really start missing my barbell and power rack.
Now I’m back in Australia with all of my equipment reunited – and it’s a wonderful feeling. To get back into my barbell training, I ran a variation of Stronglifts 5x5 (with accessory lifts) for a few months and gained my technique and barbell strength back. Then I reassessed my needs and trained ‘park bench’ style with my KBs to see where I was at with my strength and conditioning levels. In the process I tested myself for the Simple standard – and surprised myself by achieving it without much difficulty. What I decided to at that point is to run the Rite of Passage program (I’m a great lover of the press) and here we are.
My plan going forward is to keep to the StrongFirst ideal in all of my training. As a 36-year-old father of two, I can no longer justify beating myself up – I simply want to be strong, mobile, and fit for the remainder of my life, and the StrongFirst approach is the way to do it!
[EDIT] Beginning stats:
H: 181cm/5’11.5
W: 83kg/182lb
BF: approx 20%
To quickly summarise my background, I played field hockey as a child and teenager, though with very little talent or fitness (music has always been my thing, and thankfully it paid off as I’ve ended up making a career out of it). I took up rowing when I was 14 and discovered that I was stronger than some of the other kids as I matured a little earlier. It also turned out that while ball/team sports were a low point for me, I actually wasn’t too bad at pacing myself for a 2000m rowing race and co-ordinating my power generation and my oar with the other rowers – quite a revelation for someone who was generally picked nearly last in team games! I stuck with this for a few years and did reasonably well at it at school. In hindsight, you could say it probably gave me the first inkling that there was a style of training that I really enjoyed – ergometer and weights sessions to complement the time on the water.
Kung fu was my next passion and I was committed to it from the age of 21 to 35, though it took a back seat when I moved from Australia to the UK where there was no class. I kept training on my own (as I always had at home between the two classes per week) but the feeling I was cementing poor technique through a lack of correction kept nagging at me, and with some heavy heartedness I would say I finally admitted to myself last year that I was no longer a practitioner.
With more relevance here, in 2005 I was scouring the internet researching the most efficient tools for fat loss, conditioning, strength and muscle gain combined when I stumbled on this ball of iron with a handle, promoted by a Russian man with his ‘comrade’ this and ‘the Party’ that. To say I was sold immediately is an understatement as I ordered my first 16kg and the Russian Kettlebell Challenge book and DVD that very afternoon. When it arrived, I realised how weak I was; pressing that thing for 5 reps was a serious struggle but I kept at it. I practised my swings and my snatches and my presses and windmills and all of that stuff with real diligence, and in the scheme of things it wasn’t long before I was doing it all with a 24kg. And then a 32kg. And then doubles with another 24kg. And then with another 32kg. In some ways I couldn’t believe how strong I’d become when I started at such a low level – going from struggling with 16kg overhead for 5 reps to putting 64kg overhead for 75 reps in a session - but when I considered the work I’d put in and with such a smart choice of implement, it made sense.
Over the years I shifted focus a few times. In 2008 I earned my qualifications as a Personal Trainer and took up training with barbells and dumbbells with the (almost) sole aim of hypertrophy and strength. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this and I gained plenty of muscle, buying my own power rack and other assorted gear along the way, and I kept up a maintenance level of kettlebell training alongside. Then in 2011 I moved to England to pursue my singing career with my wife. Given we only brought a suitcase each with us, there was definitely no room for weights so I picked up a couple of cheap 24kg KBs to keep things going. We had more belongings shipped over a few years later and I was finally reunited with my decent KBs, including my beloved 32s. Then I bought some adjustable dumbbells to mix things up. For some time that summed up my home gym – six kettlebells, two dumbbells up to 52kg, a stand-alone bench and a doorway chin-up/dip bar and dip belt.
That fairly minimalist combination of tools kept me in pretty good condition for years, and it confirmed my ideas that you don’t need a complex set up (or a gym membership) to achieve your physical training goals, though I did really start missing my barbell and power rack.
Now I’m back in Australia with all of my equipment reunited – and it’s a wonderful feeling. To get back into my barbell training, I ran a variation of Stronglifts 5x5 (with accessory lifts) for a few months and gained my technique and barbell strength back. Then I reassessed my needs and trained ‘park bench’ style with my KBs to see where I was at with my strength and conditioning levels. In the process I tested myself for the Simple standard – and surprised myself by achieving it without much difficulty. What I decided to at that point is to run the Rite of Passage program (I’m a great lover of the press) and here we are.
My plan going forward is to keep to the StrongFirst ideal in all of my training. As a 36-year-old father of two, I can no longer justify beating myself up – I simply want to be strong, mobile, and fit for the remainder of my life, and the StrongFirst approach is the way to do it!
[EDIT] Beginning stats:
H: 181cm/5’11.5
W: 83kg/182lb
BF: approx 20%
Last edited: