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Kettlebell What Are You Training For?

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Specifically, to increase my 1RM one-arm press.

Generally, I train for health. The health benefits of exercise (strength training in particular) are numerous. I’m in “early middle-age” (31) and want a healthy remaining 2/3 of my life, and the opportunities to right the ship diminish with each passing decade.

And frankly, I really enjoy it!
 
I train for this and then I train for that and so on..

I train because it's the path I've chosen in life since I was 18. That's when the passion for it hit me. My 'friends' at the time were all doing drugs and sucking me into it, one day I was sitting in the car with a few of them at Marquette Park on the South side of Chicago. There was a guy playing frisbee catch with his dog. This guy was tan, fit, ripped and athletic. He looked like he was having a blast and thriving in every way possible.

I looked at him, his dog, the beautiful day and the whole scene, then at my friends. That's when I had the most profound life changing epiphany. That's who I wanted to be, not some lost partying fool with no good prospects for the future. These guys, my friends, were x football and hockey buddies I used to play on teams with.

Most everybody responding here said something that I agree with or want for myself in some way.

I have to say I train mostly for the sheer joy of it..
 
I'm almost 40 yrs old and I'm currently training to reach a personal goal.

Me and a few friends created a challenge on June 4th where each person had set a realistic goal that had to be completed by September 4, 2018. My personal goal was to lose 20lbs while gaining strength.

I've been using S&S to build a foundation. I've noticed by doing it daily in the morning, I feel recharged and ready for my day. I was doing swings with a 24kg and TGUs with a 16kg that I borrowed. Unfortunately I had to return the 16kg before I had built the strength to move up to the 24kg. So instead of quiting or waiting for my 16kg to arrive... I started using the 24kg. I would do a 1 rep per arm slowly, then wait 5 min, then repeat. I was amazed at how fast I adapted and now I can do 5 per arm in 11 min.

Then later on in the day I will do push-ups/chin-ups or kettlebell presses/snatches/windmills. I also try to add some walking/jogging when possible. When I do push-ups I will do 100 and alternate between doing it in the least amount of time and the least amount of sets with a 5 min wait between sets. I started out doing 100 in about 18 min and can now do them in under 12 min.

So far I've dropped 10lbs and I'm getting stronger :D
 
I train for health and injury prevention. As a medic, I'm only one back or knee injury away from unemployment. Staying strong and limber will keep me in my career. We also have weight limits to remain on the chopper roster, so that's good motivation to keep the extra weight down too.
 
I train because I've dropped out of martial arts, which I did -medicorely- for about 20 years prior. Kettlebells had always interested me, and I like the promises of both conditioning and strength building. Lately I have focused more on strength and hypertrophy.

I can't say I've seen any dramatic improvements in appearance, but I've achieved Simple and run many of the programs on these forums. At 52, I just tell myself it would be a lot worse if I was doing nothing at all, and keep plugging along.
 
I also have to add this - I believe it at least partly explains the compulsion I've had to train from an early age.

Got into my older brother's pulp novels and the cover art of James Bama permanently messed with my self image:


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Doc+Savage+Cover+Art17.jpg
 
I train to relieve My adhd and anxiety. I find that exercise helps with that,
And also to be strong in My work life (electrician, lots of work in overhead position and awkward lifts. I feel that the kettlebell is the optimal tool that translates directly into the realworld )

Used to do crossfit until i read pavels work. Now i do s&s and mobility/bodyweight training.

My goals is to be flexible and strong to keep up with My son.
 
Specifically, the TSC, and the 5 minute snatch test w/ 32kg right now. I also like to train the military press and train general endurance for events like hiking and short runs.
 
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I'm training to enjoy the pleasure of lifting kettlebells - it's its own sport. Why?
1. We all need a sport to be healthy and live long.
2. I can train kettlebells on my own at home - convenience.

Another reason is to win at judo. Kettlebells make my judo work much much better!
 
To be healthy and strong. To have better endurance and be able to handle challenging tasks in real life. To eventually be a strong husband/father that somebody can rely on.
 
MarkSch said:
I train because I've dropped out of martial arts, which I did -medicorely- for about 20 years prior. Kettlebells had always interested me, and I like the promises of both conditioning and strength building. Lately I have focused more on strength and hypertrophy.

I can't say I've seen any dramatic improvements in appearance, but I've achieved Simple and run many of the programs on these forums. At 52, I just tell myself it would be a lot worse if I was doing nothing at all, and keep plugging along.
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Give pressing a try on top of S&S. I'm seeing ridiculous changes for the better in my appearance from it.
 
Kozushi said:
Give pressing a try on top of S&S. I'm seeing ridiculous changes for the better in my appearance from it.
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Agreed - I added the Soju & Tuba press routine to my Simple & Sinister practice and it's been incredible. Even though I felt I was getting stronger, my press was very weak (still is by most standards). But I must admit that I like the idea of steadily leveling up all the lifts at once. :)
 
@Kozushi

Thanks--I've run ROP through 32KG, but never got the 1/2 bodyweight press: 40 KG in my case. ROP tends to beat me up in a way other programs don't. I haven't tried Soba&Tuba, it seems awfully fiddly to me at first read.
After I finish my current Double KettleBell Manisfesto 701 A, I may return to ROP /S&S.
 
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