Kettlebell When 36 kg is too light but 44 kg training is going to slow...
- Thread starter dnguyen411
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dnguyen411
Level 5 Valued Member
My guess is I would have to widen my stance slightly if I was going to use this setup for swings.
You could also use both bells... ;-)
i.e. Week 1-2: TGU x2 @ 44, x3 @ 36
Week 3-4: TGU x2 @ 44, x2 @ 36, x1 @ 44
Week 5-6: TGU x3 @ 44, x2 @ 36
Week 7-8: TGU x2 @ 44, x1 @ 36, x2 @ 44
...
You get the idea.
Having said, good idea with the ankle weights.
i.e. Week 1-2: TGU x2 @ 44, x3 @ 36
Week 3-4: TGU x2 @ 44, x2 @ 36, x1 @ 44
Week 5-6: TGU x3 @ 44, x2 @ 36
Week 7-8: TGU x2 @ 44, x1 @ 36, x2 @ 44
...
You get the idea.
Having said, good idea with the ankle weights.
Deleted member 5559
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I don't feel anything is too light with enough volume.
dnguyen411
Level 5 Valued Member
That may be true but I do have a constraint with time in the morning. I don't think my boss would look to kindly if I'm always late for work.
What is the most difficult part of the get-up for you?
dnguyen411
Level 5 Valued Member
At 44 kg, in the order of difficulty:
- Dealing with the overall weight of the bell (it feels like a ton of bricks to me)
- From the Initial Press to Elbow
- From the Lunge Position to Standing
- Reversing the entire movement without losing control of the bell.
In each case, the weight of the bell and how strong/tight I feel through my lats seems to be what gets me to standing. By set 3, I'm feeling tired and not as strong/tight. I know the partial solution would be to spend more time resting. It's tough when you are time constraint. I could always concentrate on doing sessions with just TGUs but I hate to lose the benefits of swings before hand. The initial goblet squat/bridge/halo warm-up is good but I feel like I need at least 2 good sets of swings for me to feel fully ready.
WhatWouldHulkDo
Level 8 Valued Member
My limited experience is that there's no way to deal with this other than time. Transitioning between the 32 and the 40, I think it must have taken half a year before it stopped feeling like the 40 was threatening to snap my wrist if I wasn't careful. It may just take a lot of time for the isometric bracing muscles in the arm to develop that strength. I'm feeling the same thing now with going from the 40 to the 48. Have been at it for a couple months, and the 48 still feels pretty brutal.
I encourage myself by taking great pleasure in how light the lighter bell feels after doing a set with the heavier one.
My suggestion:
In the get-up, alternate following sessions
Session A:
- Regular get-ups with lighter weight, with a pause in each phase
- After the main practice, do few roll to press (= floor press) sets with the heavier weight. Again, hold the press for few seconds. 5 sets each side.
Session B:
- doubles of half get-ups (to the palm) with the lighter weight. Pay attention on the get-down - it will teach you many important lessons for the get-up. 5 sets each side.
- and again, do few roll to press (= floor press) sets after, with the heavier weight. Again, hold the press for few seconds. 5 sets each side.
When it gets really easy and comfortable, let me know - and I will tell you how to proceed.
Manuel Fortin
Level 6 Valued Member
I am myself moving to doing get-ups with the 40 from the 32. After a few weeks, I came to the conclusion that there are 3 aspects to this:
1 - Programming
2 - Technique
3 - Getup variations.
I think I will not outdo @Pavel Macek 1 and 3. I am not doing exactly what he suggests, but the idea is the same. I only go heavy once a week and do what I can in term of complete get-ups on that day. If it's only 2, it's only 2. I can also do partials on that day with the 40 (to tall sit and lunges). The other sessions are a mix of work with the 32, either continuous get-ups or doubles.
Regarding technique, I noticed that I must really ramp up the tension and keep it there for a successful heavy (to me) getup. I stayed with the 32 for a long time. I can easily do multiple doubles with that bell or do alternating get-ups with no rest, continuously, for more than 10 minutes. My body has learned that I can wave the tension at various stages to get a bit of rest here and there. However, there is no such thing when the bell gets heavy. I must be braced strongly through the whole movement. Things that help me are:
1 - Brace the "core". The whole breath behind the shield thing.
2 - Actively pull my shoulders in their pocket.
3 - When doing the difficult transitions (to elbow and the lunge), imagine you are gripping a post and pulling yourself up. That is, the unloaded side is also tensed. Your free fist should be closed as if you were gripping a post and you should really pull with the unloaded arm.
If I start the lift without maximal tension, the bell feels much heavier. From the moment I start moving the bell, all my body is tensed. If I don't do this, it's like my body thinks that I'm in trouble and that there is not enough strength to do the movement, so it tries to fool me into not even trying. If I'm really tense, my body feels safe and gives me the "go ahead". The bell feels lighter.
1 - Programming
2 - Technique
3 - Getup variations.
I think I will not outdo @Pavel Macek 1 and 3. I am not doing exactly what he suggests, but the idea is the same. I only go heavy once a week and do what I can in term of complete get-ups on that day. If it's only 2, it's only 2. I can also do partials on that day with the 40 (to tall sit and lunges). The other sessions are a mix of work with the 32, either continuous get-ups or doubles.
Regarding technique, I noticed that I must really ramp up the tension and keep it there for a successful heavy (to me) getup. I stayed with the 32 for a long time. I can easily do multiple doubles with that bell or do alternating get-ups with no rest, continuously, for more than 10 minutes. My body has learned that I can wave the tension at various stages to get a bit of rest here and there. However, there is no such thing when the bell gets heavy. I must be braced strongly through the whole movement. Things that help me are:
1 - Brace the "core". The whole breath behind the shield thing.
2 - Actively pull my shoulders in their pocket.
3 - When doing the difficult transitions (to elbow and the lunge), imagine you are gripping a post and pulling yourself up. That is, the unloaded side is also tensed. Your free fist should be closed as if you were gripping a post and you should really pull with the unloaded arm.
If I start the lift without maximal tension, the bell feels much heavier. From the moment I start moving the bell, all my body is tensed. If I don't do this, it's like my body thinks that I'm in trouble and that there is not enough strength to do the movement, so it tries to fool me into not even trying. If I'm really tense, my body feels safe and gives me the "go ahead". The bell feels lighter.
This is super important for moving heavy weight. I learned the lesson with heavy kettlebell get-ups, and have found that it is very true for heavy barbell lifts as well. If I unrack the weight and it feels light because I'm tight and tense and totally in control of it from the start, I am much more likely to execute the lift well.
Manuel Fortin
Level 6 Valued Member
Funny, I learned this in the reverse order. I learned this lesson from the barbell squat. I then applied it to the other lifts. It really applies to everything heavy. Even in "real life". If I have anything heavy to lift, I now automatically tense everything. If it's really heavy, I purposefully apply max tension. Better to have too much and release a bit if the weight is lighter than anticipated than the opposite. Also, it's really difficult to estimate how hard something will be to lift in real life. If there is a rock in my garden that I need to move, how much does it weight? Where is the center of mass relative to my body? If you don't lift rocks for a living, these things are hard to estimate.
Back to lifting weights, it's the same thing with kettlebells. If you go from 32 kg to 40 kg with a get-up, the first one is really unknown territory. There is no comparison. Our body and mind are good at interpolation: what will it feel like to lift a 28 if I now how to lift a 24 and a 32 before. They're bad at extrapolation: what will happen beyond what I know. It's very tricky and depends on the lift you perform. The first thing I did with the 40 is to pick it up with two hands, then one. It did not seem much heavier than the 32. When I tried to do a get-up, just assuming the press position on my back with the bell up taught me that I was wrong. the 40 is very different... The second rep is even worse. Now you know it's really heavy.
I prepared a bit the transition to the 40 by doing doubles with the 32, but it's not the same. Same thing with continuous get-ups. You can do 15 minutes continuously with the 32 and be on the verge of dropping the weight because you are too tired, the 40 will not feel like your last rep with the 32. The only solution is to assume the worst case scenario and tense to the max. If that's too much tension, you can always release a bit.
To @Pavel Macek 's reply, I'll also add single-leg deadlifts with a pair of bells and some occasional hanging leg raises. Both will help the "1/2 kneel to stand" part of the movement.
dnguyen411
Level 5 Valued Member
I started training with your suggestion. It's definitely not easy and comfortable yet, but I'll keep at it.
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