Old Forum Windmill reps and progression

[Aaron]

Hey folks. I have a progression question for those of you that are familiar with the KB windmill. For lack of being able to find other information on the subject, I have decided to adopt a ladder progression that I learned in the etk book years ago. Next week I'll be up to the highest ladder and step so I plan to move to my next KB, which is 70lbs.

I'd like folks opinion on progressing this quickly. Since I started, the wm has become my favorite lift and the results are good. It's just that I only see folks doing this with low rep/low weight.

Does anyone know if going high rep/high weight is a bad idea? Anyone you know ever had a bad experience?

 

Thx

 

[Jason Ginsberg]

I wouldn't say it's a bad idea per se, just that it's overkill. I think skills like windmill, bent press, and getup can thrive on much lower volume than the pressing ladders of ETK. In other words, you'll reap the benefits and be able to jump to the next bell size a lot sooner. So, I usually progress people a lot faster in the windmill than the pressing of ETK ROP. That having been said, if it's working for you, by all means keep doing it. There's more than one right way to go about things, and you are an experiment of one.

If you like the windmill, I would recommend getting David Whitley's bent press book when it comes out, the bent press book from sinew and steel, and also practicing the high-low windmill. There's also a nice complex you can do with the windmill and the getup that I'm quite fond of.

 

[Aaron]

Thx. I'll check it out.

 

[Steve Freides]

Aaron, it's like the getup - you can go up to around 5 reps but I wouldn't go higher unless the weight was very light.  Like the getup, you've got something heavy overhead and the focus is on supporting it, so I don't think you'll see a lot of benefit from going more than 5 reps, and the risk is that you're in a vulnerable position if something goes wrong - shoulder is vulnerable as is your back, not to mention your head.  In sum, I'd just try to stay a little fresher and don't push it as hard as, e.g., you might push presses on heavy press day.

-S-