Manuel Fortin
Level 6 Valued Member
People on the forum ask all the time how kettlebells and barbells can be mixed. I spent the first 6 weeks of 2017 doing the vodka and pickle deadlift program: Kettlebells and Deadlifts Go Together Like Vodka and Pickles. Pavel states in this blog post that we are on our own for upper body work. Well, it turns out that a good program incorporating the press was posted recently by Craig Marker on the blog: A Science-Based Plan to Prepare You for the SFG Level I and SFG Level II. I simply took the press portion, figuring that the volume and intensity of hinges in the vodka and pickle program would be comparable (of course, not identical as deadlifts are much heavier, but they are in lower volume) to the swings in the SFG prep program.
So, for 18 training sessions, I did:
- Train Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
- I like splitting my training in two sessions, a short one in the morning, right before lunch, and a longer one in the afternoon, right before dinner. So, deadlifts as per the program were done in the morning. Then, in the afternoon, I would do the presses, followed by the accessory work programmed in the deadlift program. I chose 1H swings with 32, 10 sets of 10, and double kettlebell front squat. I was still in the process of learning this last movement, so I started at a small volume, 4 sets of 2 with a 20 and a 24 as I don't have two bells of the same size, and built up to 4 sets of 5 with the same bells.
- Other stuff: not much. This program is taxing. I walked between 30 and 90 minutes each week, depending on weather and time available, and would play outside with my daughter, the only hard part of which being when I pull her in her sled. I did light getups once a week (16kg), only a few reps.
- I had to skip training twice, not on consecutive training days because of a bad cut on one finger and a cold.
- The 18 sessions added to the complete press program, and 3 complete deadlift cycles plus a taper before testing.
I am very happy with the results. One of my resolution this year was to only deadlift with very good form. As soon as my back curves even a little and even in the upper back, I stop. At the beginning, I could deadlift 315 for 1 rep with this perfect form. I could press 28kg once with either arm. I almost had 2 reps with my right arm, but it stalled at eye level. So, 28 was my 1RM.
I tested my deadlift and press yesterday. I sprained a finger on my right hand Friday. This means that I did not trust my grip for a 1 RM in the deadlift. However, I found when warming up that I could deadlift with no pain at least 285. So, I went for a max rep with 315 and got 3. I may had had a fourth rep in, but it would not have been with good form, so I stopped. For the press, I tried the 32 and almost got it on the right, but it would not move on the left. I rested 10 minutes and got 2 nice reps with 28 on the left. On the right, I called it a day as I had already spent a lot of efforts to get the 32 up, and technique was not very good because of my finger injury which prevented me from crushing the handle hard.
A few take-aways from this program:
- It works! Really well. My goals for 2017 are to deadlift 345, or 315 for 5, and press the 32. It's only February and I can see these goals achieved well before the end of the year, at least for the deadlift.
- It is taxing. I was hungry all the time during the first two weeks and was starting to feel tired all the time. I started eating more and everything fell into place.
- I stayed at the lower end of the squats and kettlebell pulls ranges mentioned in the deadlift program blog. My intention was to slowly increase the volume, especially for the swings, but I changed my mind rapidly on that.
- Splitting the sessions into two was wise. Twice I had to do everything in a single session because of schedule issues, and the swings at the end of these sessions were not as good as usual. Even if we think of the press as an upper body move, the way it is performed at strong first really makes it a full body lift as I tried to exert maximal tension on every rep. The deadlifts were also performed in this manner. Even with 65 percent of my max, I approached the bar as if I was going for a 95% max lift. The last 20-40 swings on those two days were not very crisp as I was getting too tired.
Will I run it again? You bet!
So, for 18 training sessions, I did:
- Train Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
- I like splitting my training in two sessions, a short one in the morning, right before lunch, and a longer one in the afternoon, right before dinner. So, deadlifts as per the program were done in the morning. Then, in the afternoon, I would do the presses, followed by the accessory work programmed in the deadlift program. I chose 1H swings with 32, 10 sets of 10, and double kettlebell front squat. I was still in the process of learning this last movement, so I started at a small volume, 4 sets of 2 with a 20 and a 24 as I don't have two bells of the same size, and built up to 4 sets of 5 with the same bells.
- Other stuff: not much. This program is taxing. I walked between 30 and 90 minutes each week, depending on weather and time available, and would play outside with my daughter, the only hard part of which being when I pull her in her sled. I did light getups once a week (16kg), only a few reps.
- I had to skip training twice, not on consecutive training days because of a bad cut on one finger and a cold.
- The 18 sessions added to the complete press program, and 3 complete deadlift cycles plus a taper before testing.
I am very happy with the results. One of my resolution this year was to only deadlift with very good form. As soon as my back curves even a little and even in the upper back, I stop. At the beginning, I could deadlift 315 for 1 rep with this perfect form. I could press 28kg once with either arm. I almost had 2 reps with my right arm, but it stalled at eye level. So, 28 was my 1RM.
I tested my deadlift and press yesterday. I sprained a finger on my right hand Friday. This means that I did not trust my grip for a 1 RM in the deadlift. However, I found when warming up that I could deadlift with no pain at least 285. So, I went for a max rep with 315 and got 3. I may had had a fourth rep in, but it would not have been with good form, so I stopped. For the press, I tried the 32 and almost got it on the right, but it would not move on the left. I rested 10 minutes and got 2 nice reps with 28 on the left. On the right, I called it a day as I had already spent a lot of efforts to get the 32 up, and technique was not very good because of my finger injury which prevented me from crushing the handle hard.
A few take-aways from this program:
- It works! Really well. My goals for 2017 are to deadlift 345, or 315 for 5, and press the 32. It's only February and I can see these goals achieved well before the end of the year, at least for the deadlift.
- It is taxing. I was hungry all the time during the first two weeks and was starting to feel tired all the time. I started eating more and everything fell into place.
- I stayed at the lower end of the squats and kettlebell pulls ranges mentioned in the deadlift program blog. My intention was to slowly increase the volume, especially for the swings, but I changed my mind rapidly on that.
- Splitting the sessions into two was wise. Twice I had to do everything in a single session because of schedule issues, and the swings at the end of these sessions were not as good as usual. Even if we think of the press as an upper body move, the way it is performed at strong first really makes it a full body lift as I tried to exert maximal tension on every rep. The deadlifts were also performed in this manner. Even with 65 percent of my max, I approached the bar as if I was going for a 95% max lift. The last 20-40 swings on those two days were not very crisp as I was getting too tired.
Will I run it again? You bet!
