Tried the Turkish Get Up for the first time in years

I practiced the Simple and Sinister kettlebell exercise program from February 24, 2019 to May 27, 2020. There are only 2 exercises in the program – the Swing and the Turkish Get Up. Looking back, I can’t believe I stuck with S & S for 15 months. What finally made me stop doing it was knee pain from allowing the bent knee to collapse too much while the foot remained in place on the rug I was using.

I bought both the original Kettlebell Simple & Sinister book, and the revised edition, aka S&S 2.0. Both books promised strength gains from practicing the Turkish Get Up. The 2.0 book attempted to present a more detailed plan for progressing to heavier kettlebell weights but I found that plan difficult to comprehend. In any case, I began S&S not being able to do the full TGU movement, due to lack of experience and understanding of the body mechanics, and frankly lack of strength as well. Even attempting the movement with just a shoe balanced on my fist was difficult. By the time I stopped S&S training, I was able to do the full movement with the 16kg KB, and just getting started with working the supine to either the elbow-supported position or to the tall sitting position with a 24kg KB.

My knee pain eventually subsided, and felt healthy enough for the resumption of TGU practice. However I did not feel that 15 months of practicing the TGU delivered satisfactory strength gains, so I dropped the TGU from my fitness lifestyle altogether.

Since I've been thinking of doing the Maximorum Master program in the near future, I was checking out some videos on Geoff Neupert's channel in which he talks about the KB snatch, and in one of those videos he recommended the TGU as one of the exercises to practice before learning the snatch. In this other video, he covers 11 benefits of the TGU. He also mentions how P3 method (implemented in the Sore Joint Solution program) improved his TGU and that he does TGU on his active recovery days.

Thus Neupert's shoulder "mo-stability" argument sold me on doing the TGU again, as an exercise to do on active recovery days rather than a main strength exercise. But what really sealed the deal was discovering a TGU variation that would allow me to practice the TGU on my living room floor, without having to use a rug or the interlocking foam tiles which I originally got for TGU practice, but found they do take some time to put togoether. This variation is taught by Zach Henderson. The big change compared to how I learned it from the S&S book, is replacing the windshield wiper move of the rear leg, with a stop of the front leg. This really reduces the pressure on the rear knee, and as Henderson states, allows greater control of positioning of the front foot for the lunge position.

I tried this TGU version with empty hand first, then with an 8kg KB. The right side will take more practice but I didn't expect to perfect this newer version right away. I look forward to routinely practicing this TGU on my active recovery days.

Easy Muscle A Results

Week 8, which was the final week of Easy Muscle Schedule A, went fine. I was able to do 7 sets on the 7-rep day, which is a good improvement from only managing 5 sets due to needing so much rest time between sets

The circumference of my arms increased back to around 13", which was their size before I went down with COVID.

Results from IsoMax testing under the 1-rep Max protocol from The Ultimate Isometrics Manual, compared to 1-rep Max tests in September 2024:

• Zercher Lunge - 78.93, up from 71.53
• Overhead Press - 120.867, up from 107.53
• Curl - 91.2. Tested reverse curl instead of curl back in Sept.

I typically do 1-rep Max protocol tests at the start of an IsoMax 6x6 training block, so some of the strength gain were from 6x6 training. Double Kettlebell Clean + Press only training did not result in a loss of leg strength, which is a typical concern expressed by people who have not done it before, let alone tested leg strength before and after.

As expected of double C+P only training, the biggest strength gain was in the overhead press. I did not get anywhere close to 120 lbs. during the previous 6x6 block, so a lot of the gains came from the Easy Muscle A block. Adding muscle mass helped, but frequent practice of the movement has been known to increase strength as well.

I then tested my C+P rep max with a 20kg KB. I thought about testing with double 20kg KBs but I didn't feel confident in my double clean technique with these heavier KBs. I was able to do 3 reps with the left arm. I did 3 with the right arm, then put the KB down, since my double C+P performance is only as good as my left arm's performance. I had feared I wouldn't be able to press the 20kg at all, so I was feeling pretty good about being able to press it for 3 reps with each arm, and that gave me the confidence to try a double clean with the 20kgs. After taking a minute or two to rest, I attempted a double clean and immediately failed to land both KBs in the rack. I then took another break, shaking my body in Fast And Loose style, then attempted another double clean, just time landing both KBs in the rack. I did one more double clean to build confidence, before putting the KBs away.

I then tested my snatch rep max with a 16kg KB. The Maximorum Master program recommends a 10 rep max weight for the snatch sessions. I did 10 with my left arm then put it down. I could have done 1 or 2 more reps but I was satisfied with the 16kg as the weight of choice for the snatch sessions. I then did 10 reps with the right arm just to check.

My next training block will be a 6x6 IsoMax block focusing on strength, trying a modified 6x6 protocol that steals the triple wave concept from Giant X1. Instead of waving reps, I'll be waving the load. I'm very confident that at the end of this block, I will have gained the strength to C+P double 20kg KBs for 5 reps. Maximorum Master recommends a 5-rep max load for the double KB sessions.

For the next training block after 6x6 IsoMax, which as usual I'd been pondering Easy Muscle B vs. Maximorum Master. Both programs recommend a 5 rep max weight.

Pros in favor of Easy Muscle B are the 8-week duration vs. the 12-week duraction of Maximorum Master and the opportunities to practice chin-ups and dips with eventual progression to weighted versions of those movements. OTOH, watching Geoff Neupert's video on chin-ups and pondering it afterwards got me thinking that another multi-week training block with lots of pull-ups might set back my elbow health even more. When I did Easy Muscle B earlier this year, I chose pull-ups as my calisthenic pulling exercise although the manual actually recommends chin-ups, because my elbows felt uncomfortable when I attempted a chin-up. During the 8 weeks of Easy Muscle B, my elbows felt fine. I used the spiraling force technique taught in this Red Delta Project video, which has a bonus of increasing bicep activation. My forearms however started getting more and more sore from the goblet squats with the 24kg KB in bottoms up position. It was after completiion fo the Easy Muscle B block that I noticed elbow pain when I attempted a bicep curl on my chest expander. I'd blamed the bottoms-up KB goblet squat for the elbow pain, but according to Neupert, all those pull-ups, with of course the palms in pronation, may have built up less tolerance for supinated pulling too. Thus it may not be worth spending more time on pull-ups without regaining pain-free chin-ups. But if I can't do pain-free chin-ups yet, then attempting Easy Muscle B won't make any sense.

Thus, I'm leaning towards Maximorum Master, which is an all-KB, no calisthenics program. As Neupert suggested in his video, I'll practice chin-ups on rings, starting with sets of 2 reps, on the days I practice the double C+P, probably in the afternoons. At present, starting the chin-up with a neutral grip at the bottom, and pulling the rings into supinated grip at the top, feels fine.

Geoff Neupert on Chin-Ups and Elbow Pain

My post on Easy Muscle Week 5 was rejected by Blogger because I linked a Geoff Neupert article on elbow pain, how to avoid it in your kettlebell training, etc. and the website was thought to have a virus. One of the takeaways was to try the supine position from his P3 mehod with palms up instead of down.

While searching for similar online resources that would not be flagged as virus infected, I found Geoff's video on chin-ups and elbow pain. He mentions Davis' Law which states that tissues model along lines of stress. Thus his argument that too much activity with pronated palms (palms facing away from you or facing down) results in your tissues being modeled for pronated palms and thus they have more difficulty with chin-ups or other activity with supinated (palms facing you or facing up). In other words, he saying chin-ups feel uncomfortable for my elbows because too much of my activity has been done with pronated palms.

He says for chin-ups to benefit your elbows instead of hurting them, you need to make sure you lower yourself all the way down - meaning your arms are fully straight.

After a kettlebell clean and press session, he recommends starting with 2-3 sets of 2-5 reps. He also recommends a thumbless grip.

If chin-ups are too tough on your elbows, he recommends training on gymnastic rings/suspension trainer or other apparartus that allows a neutral grip. The idea is to work with neutral grip until supinated grip feels more comfortable. I tried chin-ups with the Duonamic rings. Starting with neutral grip in the bottom of the movement, and pulling into supinated grip at the top felt fine for me.

Based on what Neuprt said about making sure you lower yourself all the way so that your arms are straight, I was inspired to change my dead hang practice from pronated palms to supinated palms with thumbless grip

Started doing Shoulder Dislocates again

I first learned about the Shoulder Dislocates exercise in the book Super Joints by Pavel Tsatsouline. Olympic weightlifters use this exercise to develop the mobility to hold the bar overhead with locked out arms, while squatting or lunging. The book has photos of Pavel doing it with a bungee cord. For reasons I cannot recall, I did not practice shoulder dislocates for long, and eventually forgot about the exercise.

More recently, I got Kettlebell Strong! by Geoff Neupert. There is a whole section devoted to improving overhead reaching mobility for the double kettlebell jerk. One of the recommended exercises is... the shoulder dislocates, though with a stick. So I attempted to do the exercise with a stick and could not move the arms all the way to the back with the stick touching the back. Heck, my range of motion was so limited, I got the stick barely past my head.

I then tried shoulder dislocates with the light resistance band that was shipped with the IsoMax. I was not able to do the full movement and irritated my shoulders while trying to do the movement. I was lucky to avoid injury.

I then watched the part of this video where one of the recommended variations was to start the movement with the hands in back instead of the front. The person in the video recommended using a resistance band for shoulder dislocates, if you lack the mobility to use a stick.

The video inspired me to try shoulder dislocates with the band again, starting with the hands behind me instead of in front of me. I was able to do the full movement, although I cheated by putting hands inside of the band, instead of gripping the band as shown in the video. I quickly found that to avoid tweaking my shoulders, I had to pull my hands apart and maintain that pressure throughout the movement. Pavel's advice in Super Joints to keep the chest up also helped protect the shoulder. I also found that gripping the band as shown in the video delivers a closer experience to gripping a stick for the same movement. Cheating by allowing the hands to rotate does not help prepare for practicing the movement with the stick.

I read or saw somewhere else that shoulder dislocates can be also be practiced against a wall, one arm at a time. I found this version of the exercise to be the least error prone, as all I have to do to protect the shoulder is keep the chest up and maintain the pressure of the pinky side of my palm against the wall. There is less chance of an accident from suddenly relaxing the tension on the resistance band at the worst possible angle.

My overheard reaching mobility progressed well enough this year to allow me to practice double kettlebell clean and press with both arms locking out to prevent shoulder injury. However there is still an arch to my upper back from tight lats. There may also be some other upper body tightness I'm not fully aware of. Geoff Neupert recommends shoulder dislocates as one of the exercises to improve overhead reaching. Practicing shoulder dislocates should help me continue improving this mobility.

Easy Muscle Weeks 6 and 7

Not much to report, other than steady progress, in terms of ease of effort, and rest time between sets as determined by autoregulation.

My shoulders have been holding up, with occasional irritation in the left shoulder, which seemed to be alleviated by focusing on standing up more with the arms locked out overhead. Being used to contracting the chest muscles to initiate the press also helped.

I've settled on the following cooldown exercises:

1. Lat stretches as shown in this video by Fitness FAQs. In Week 7 I switched to the hanging version using a ring.
2. Cobra pose with fingers pointing backwards - stretch wrists and extend spine
3. Standing forward fold - stretch low back and hamstrings
4. Modified pigeon pose - stretch hip rotators
5. Seated twist - more stretching for low back and T-spine
6. Frog stretch - hip flexors

Achieving Planche Before Handstand

It was interesting to see that some folks achieved planche before achieving handstand, as reported in this Reddit discussion.

I had assumed that handstand needed to be achieved before one could work on planche but this assumption is obviously not true. My takeaway from the discussion is that it doesn't matter which goal one chooses to pursue first. Handstand requires a certain level of strength and poses a greater balance challenge than planche. Planche requires a higher level of strength than handstand and is not as challenging to balance.

One of long-term goals is to achieve not only the planche, but also the planche pushup. This goal was originally inspired by Scott Sonnon, who posted this video to the old Rmax forum. Before I saw this video, I had no idea what a planche pushup was, or that it was even possible for a human to perform one. Of course, not just any human can do it - only those who have trained appropriately for it.

I would like to eventually achieve a handstand, but I've always been more interested in achieving planche pushup first.

I've seen various ideas for achieving a planche pushup. Some are based on bodyweight-only exercises. Others incorporate band-assisted planche pushups. Others incorporate weighted dips or push ups. Yet others incorporate a combination of bodyweight-only training, weighted calisthenics, and band-assisted planche pushups.

My path will not be as direct, due to my current preference for kettlebell training to build strength and muscle and overcoming isometrics for building strength. The double kettlebell clean + press has become my favorite upper-body muscle building exercise over any equivalent calisthenic exercise, because of the lower body power training aspect, and the way it works the core. I will continue practicing the double KB C+P until I've done it with double 32kg KBs. 64kg is close to my full bodyweight. I've found that doing an overcoming isometric training block with the IsoMax, after adding muscle mass, results in strength gains of 20% or even greater.

I do believe training specific to the planche pushup is required to achieve a planche pushup - that is practicing movements specific to the planche pushup. However, based on what others have reported, people who start planche pushup training with a higher strength base will progress through plamche pushup specific training faster than people who start the same traihing with a lower strenght base.

GMB Mobility session for shoulders

Today I did the GMB Mobility session for shoulders. The stretches mainly target the chest, rotator cuff, and posterior shoulder capsule. They're fine stretches. However, for stretching the chest I prefer the kettlebell armbar to GMB's main choice of chest stretch in this session, or the seated clasped hands extension, which works on shoulder extension as well as stretching the chest.

I'll continue with GMB Mobility for the time being. The next time a shoulder session comes up, I'll keep the L-Arm stretch for the rotator cuff and posterior shoulder capsule, and substitute the the kettlebell armbar and bent armbar for the prescribed chest stretches. I'll probably keep the crab walks for the Play phase of the session. I was surprised they went with crab walks over the bear movements, but I'm sure they had their reasohns

Easy Muscle Week 4 Complete

Not much to report, other than my shoulders continue to hold up

I added standing forward bend to my cooldown routine. I like doing this stretch on the stairs, so that my hands can hang freely in the air. If I did this stretch on the living room floor instead of the stairs, my fingertips would touch the floor. My low back has been sore the day after my Clean + Press sessions, though not in a way that signals injury. I figured standing forward bend, followed by sphinx pose, would help reduce post-workout back soreness.

I also started hanging from the pullup bar for some spinal decompression, lat stretch, and rebuilding my grip endurance.

Today's Music Discoveries

Ten Supreme Fender Rhodes Albums

Easy Muscle Week 3 complete

Easy Muscle allows you to choose the total time for a given workout. The first two weeks, I set the timer to 20 minutes. This week I increased the time to 25 min, which should increase the number of sets done, and thus the training volume. Training volume will go up in 2 weeks, so I need to ramp up towards that volume increase

Not much to report this week other than my shoulders continue to hold up decently, compared to my first attempt at Easy Muscle A, during which I had to give up double clean + press and switch to single clean + press.

Lymphatic Tapping

Heard about this form of self care for the first time today.

Easy Muscle Week 2 complete

Double kettlebell Clean + Press training has been more enjoyable since the mid-week switch from The Giant X1 to Easy Muscle Schedule A. I don't feel a need to go back to Week 1 of Easy Muscle, because the Giant X1 Week 1 training was actually more difficult than Easy Muscle Week 1 training would have been.

On the recovery days, which are the days between the C+P training days, I tried some workouts from the GMB Resilience program, which aims to make one's joints and connective tissues more resistant to injury, as well as improve proprioreception, motor control, etc. to help avoid accidental bumps and falls. It's intriguing but I think it's a better fit with my overcoming isometric strength training blocks, because some of the exercises require me to exert a surprising amount of force. In my hypertrophy training blocks, I have to be careful about piling on too much extra training, which could affect recovery from hypertrophy workouts.

So on my recovery days, I'll do a GMB Mobility session. GMB Mobility changes focus areas from session to session. Today you might be working on hips. Next session you might be working on spine. Next session after that you might be working on rotation and side bending. The C+P is a full body exercise, so mobility improvement in any of the focus areas for the GMB Mobility session of the day should be beneficial to C+P performance.

I still like the P3 method but I also like changing my mobility training from time to time.

Switching from The Giant X1 to Easy Muscle as my current training block

I got through the Monday Giant X1 workout fine but the sets that prescribed reps close to my Clean + Press rep max of 7 were pretty tough for me. I took at look at what Giant X1 prescribes for my Wednesday workout, and did not feel I could handle it.

I then took a look at other Geoff Neupert hypertrophy programs that incorporate the C+P, and thus share similar characteristics to The Giant X. I wanted to continue trying to build muscle with the C+P but under a program that would not be as difficult for me as The Giant X.

• Easy Muscle Schedule A: 8-week C+P only program that I'd previously attempted with double 16kg kettlebells, but then had to switch to single KB training because not having the mobility for double KB press was hurting my shoulder.
• The original The Giant - specifcially 1.0 and 1.1: The Giant comes with 5 training schedules, each lasting 4 weeks: 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 2, and 3. 1.0 is the lowest difficulty level and is practically identical to the first half of Easy Muscle A. 1.1 is meant to be done after 1.0 if you want to do another 4 weeks of The Giant, but the difficultly level jumps a little more from 1.0 to 1.1

Between Easy Muscle A and original The Giant 1.0 I decided to switch to Easy Muscle A. I liked the ladder concept in Giant X1 but I underestimated just how difficult it would be for trainees working with weights that they cannot already C+P for 10 reps. Easy Muscle Schedule A also recommends training with the heaviest weights you can C+P for 10 reps, but it does not ask you to train too close to your rep max as early on as Giant X1 does.
The load cycling in Giant X is supposed to produce faster results compared to the original Giant but the higher rate of progress does not come for free - you're going to work harder for those faster results. While I'm not built right now to handle the demands of Giant X, I'm not ruling out trying again in the near future. One possible scenario is finding a C+P rep max of 3 with double 20kgs and a rep max higher than 10 with double 16 kgs - in this case I'd favor the ligher weights because I know the lighter weights would allow me train with consistently higher volume compared to the heavier weights. I'd probably be looking for a more challenging way to train double 16k C+P than Easy Muscle and Giant X would be a possible choice. One of the original Giant programs is also a possibility as some of them are challenging in their own right. Those programs are all 4 weeks long - I could choose of 2 or even 3 of them. For example I could do Giant 1.1 then 1.2 for 8 total weeks of hypertrophy training, with the option of following 1.2 with Giant 2 to extend my hypertrophy block to 12 weeks.

While Easy Muscle Schedule A is more suitable to my current fitness level, it's still a routine that requires effort to produce results, and it's effort that will make me sweat, get my blood pumping, and make me breathe harder. Completion of this schedule should get me closer to my goal of being able to double C+P 20kg kettlebells, which itself would be yet another step towards the more ambitious goal of double C+P with 32kg KBs.

As it is, the Wednesday workout under Easy Muscle looks less daunting than it would have been if I stuck with Giant X1.

The Giant X1: Week 1

Day 1 was fine. For my cooldown I did modified pigeon stretch to address the outside hips and half pancake stretch to address the side muscles,lats, and hamstrings. I forgot to do a backbend stretch such as the sphinx. I felt DOMS in the lower back and shoulders the following day.

Day 2 was more of a challenge because of one of the sets (ladder rungs) was very close to my C+P rep max. The first time I did that rung, my form degraded after the 5th rep but I managed to complete it without incident. I was only able to do the ladder for that day twice. The 2nd time I did the hardest rung, I felt more in control and did not notice as much form degradation. For cooldown I did a P3 session. I felt lower back DOMS the following day. Thus, it doesn't seem to matter whether stretching or a P3 session is better for cooldown from a Giant X1 session.

For Day 3 I managed to do 50 total reps

New Training Block: The Giant X1

This past Saturday, I decided on a whim to test my double 16kg kettlebell Clean + Press repetition max. The result was just like before: I was able to do 7 reps safely, but because of accumulated fatigue I did not feel an 8th full rep would be safe to attempt. This was really 2 tests in one - the other thing I was testing was whether my left shoulder would hold or if it would start feeling like it's slipping out of the socket again.

The shoulder passed the test, at least for that day. So I decided to start The Giant X1. It is an 8 week hypertrophy program, and thus barring any accident or other unexpected event, I should be able to complete it before the end-of-year holidays. Tape measurement confirmed what I suspected - that coming down with COVID-19 towards the end of this past summer, and the inactivity that followed, resulted in loss of muscle mass and strength. So hopefully I can do a complete block of Giant X1 and regain some muscle mass, then leverage the new muscle mass into new strength gains by doing 6x6 on the IsoMax again. This latest block of 6x6 resulted in improved stability of the left shoulder, reduction in elbow pain, but only a modest gain in terms of strength. In the case of my overhead press, I tested in around 111 lbs, hit a PR of 119 lbs., but generally continued to perform in the 110-115 lb. range. I should note this 6x6 block was only 4 weeks long. If I did 6 weeks it's possible my overhead press may have improved to the 115-120 lb. range.

There are some similarities in programming between The Giant X1 and Easy Muscle Schedule A. Both are based on the C+P, whose are summarized here by Geoff Neupert and Mike Mahler here. Without giving too much away, the main difference appears to be ladder repetitions. You would be doing a higher rep set earlier in Giant X1 compared to Easy Muscle Schedule A, but because of the ladder concept, you would not be doing the same number of reps on every set. Giant X2 looked like an interesting alternative to X1 but it seems like double clean volume would be sacrificed for more upper body exercise variety. I haven't done enough double clean work this year, hence the choice of X1

Today's inaugural session went fine. I managed to do 3 full ladders plus one set of the lowest rep rung of the ladder within the session time. More importantly I didn't feel my shoulder slip out of the socket.

IsoMax 6x6: Week 4 complete

I continued gradually working up the target load for Zercher Lunge and Drag Curl, staring at 34 lbs. and ending at 38 lbs. My Zercher Lunge numbers were consistenly around 80 lbs for both legs. My Drag Curl numbers were inconsistent like last week, but I hit a new high of 99.8 lbs on Friday without irritating my elbows.

Overhead Press performance was worse compared to last week. I'm not sure if it's because of the usual nonlinear nature of progression through overcoming isometrics, or because I was changing the target load too much. For next week I'll stick to 78 lbs. as the target load until I hit more than 115 lbs. 3 sessions a row.

IsoMax 6x6: Week 3 complete

I continued training Zercher Lunge and Drag Curl at low target load, except at 32 lbs for this week. Performance in Zercher Lunge peaked Wednesday with a max of 81.6 lbs on the left leg and 77.8 on the right leg. When training Drag Curl, I was in elbow rehab mode so I was more interested in applying as much force as possible short of pain, as opposed to pushing the limits of my pulling strength.

Progress in the Overhead Press was fine. I thought I'd try a bit of load waving by lowering the load to 76 lbs. on Friday, and gradually working back to to 79 lbs the following week. Anyway I got my best result yet on Friday with a max of 119.8 lbs.

On my in-between training days I practiced Geoff Neupert's P3 method, within his Sore Joint Solution program. It's primarily a motor control program, which promises gains in mobility among other things.

I found this Using Turkish Get Up for mobility training video, which includes a drill for improving mobility for holding a kettlebell overhead

Video examples of Spread Triads for technical studies/soloing

Rodrigo Gouveia spread triad exercise

Eric Johnson incorporating spread triads whenever and wherever he feels like it

IsoMax 6x6: Week 2 complete

I'm enjoying Zercher Lunge training at the low load of 30 lbs. No danger of cramp/strain of the quads. The bar is getting a little too easy to trigger though. The last rep force numbers are roughly the same as last week's despite the drop in load.

I was able to ramp up pulling force in the Drag Curl without irritating the elbows. The bar is also getting a little too easy to trigger here. I'll try bumping up the load to 32 lbs. for both Drag Curl and Zercher Lung

Overhead Press performance was roughly the same as last week, albeit with the increase in load from 76 lbs. to 79 lbs.

IsoMax 6x6: First session with new tweaks

Zercher Lunge with the target load dropped down to 30 lbs. was more enjoyable. With such a low setting for triggering the IsoMax beeper, I didn't feel like I had to apply so much force with my leg and thus I didn't feel any danger of inducing a cramp in my quad. I saved max effort for the last rep and got almost 78 lbs on my left leg and 81 lbs on the right leg.

I'll continue training the Zercher Lunge at 30 lbs. until holding the position feels less tiring. When that finally happens, I'll start increasing the target load.

I just got a ProBand BandIT which is a brace that you wear on your forearm in hopes of relieving pain from elbow tendonitis, carpal tunnel, etc. Before the Drag Curl, I put the BandIT on my left forearm since my elbow tendonitis flares up more in this forearm than in the right forearm. The IsoMax was already set to a 30lb. target load from the Zercher Lunge training, so I went ahead and did my Drag Curl set at 30lbs. With the BandIT on my left forearm, I had to pay more attention to my right elbow when I started ramping up the force. I managed to avoid irritating it with the exception of my 3nd or 3rd rep. My last rep max was just under 50 lbs.

I'll probably keep training Drag Curl at 30 lbs. for at least a week. I'll continue paying close attention to how hard I can pull before either elbow starts feeling irritated, and quickly back down if that happens.

I increased the target load for Overhead Press to 79 lbs. because my last rep max was 112.6 or higher for 3 consecutive sessions. This isn't a rule I saw in the Ultimate Isometrics Manual or other writing on isometric training - just somethign I made up which seems to work for me. I got almost 116 lbs. on my last rep.

For the rest of the day I did this hammer exercise. This one is taught differently compared to other videos teaching a rehab exercise with a hammer, in that there are 5-second holds and a gradual increase in lever length.

IsoMax 6x6: Program Tweaks starting Week 2

One issue I have with Zercher Lunge is my quads start feeling sore by the 3rd or even just 2nd rep, then I feel like I'm about to get a cramp for the rest of the set. Zercher Lunge with the bar set to slot 7 is just such a demanding position to be in. Just holding the position with only bodyweight can be a challenge. So what I'm going to try is dropping the target load to a value so light that the barest amount of force will set off the beeper in the bar. I think 30 lbs. is a light enough load. Chances are just getting into position and holding it for 6 seconds will still be a challenge so I might be working at 30 lbs for a while. If it turns out to be easier than expected, I'll raise the load by 2 lbs for the following session.

The other program tweak is switching from Reverse Curl to Drag Curl with a light load. The reason is I get a tingling sensation in my left hand between the thumb and the index finger when I attempt the Reverse Curl. I had a similar problem when I did Seated Row with an overhand/pronated grip. I don't want to risk a pinched nerve. I don't want to risk aggravating my elbow tendonitis either, which can happen when I do curls with supinated grip, but I can manage the risk more easily by simply training with a light load. I could not figure out a technique to prevent the tingling sensation when I do reverse curls, despite trying thumb over bar, thumb under bar and over fingers, and thumb under bar and under fingers. Either way, I won't be able to work on my max pulling strength. However, working on Drag Curl with as much force as I can pull with, up to the limit allowed by my elbows, at least has a chance of a rehab effect.

I'll use Red Delta Project's spiraling technique which removes much of the load from the elbows, although it's still possible to aggravate the elbows if too much force is used. I should be able to feel when I'm reaching the threshold of too much force. I'll drop the working load from 99 lbs to 30 lbs and train at 30lbs for a while, and maybe increase the load in 2lb increments as strength and confidence increase.

IsoMax 6x6: Week 1

This first full week of 6x6 reminded me how taxing 6 sets of 6-second muscle contraction in the Zercer Lunge position can be. For this exercise I have the bar set to slot 7, which is low enough to set the quads, calves, and glutes at decent length, but too low. Last time I did 6x6, I had the bar set to slot 6 which lengthened the target muscles even more, but also made getting into position quite a struggle. One of the reason I haven't logged consistent progress with the Zercher Lunge was always changing bar position in attempts to find the best position for training. This time I'm leaving the bar at slot 7 for the duration.

My first Overhead Press session produced a last rep max force of 107 which was the same as my tested 1-rep max of 107 lbs. However I beat it for the next 2 sessions. This is a typical pattern for me when I do 6x6.

The Reverse Curl gave me the most problems because there an an unpleasant pinching sensation in my left thumb. Having thumb over the bar eliminated most of this sensation but hand placement seems to be the trick for avoiding that sensasion

Dan John's Single Kettlebell Armor Building Complex

Dan John's Armor Building Complex is a popular double kettlebell routine. In response to questions about how to do ABC with a single KB, he posted this video introducing the single kettlebell version of ABC:

The Easy Muscle program has a choice of 2 KB Clean + Press schedules - one with a 10 rep max weight, and another with a 5 rep max weight. Kettlebell Maximorum also has a 5 rep max weight. When I'm ready to move up to heavier KB for C+P, I might not be able to do 5 reps right away. Single KB ABC for a couple of weeks might be the ticket to work up to a 5-rep max.

Max Force Tests For Next 6x6 Training Block

Today I tested my max force in my usual selection of exercises for 6x6, using the 1-rep Max protocol as described in Paul Wade's book The Ultimate Isometrics Manual. These are the results in lbs:

Zercher Lunge - 71.5
Overhead Press - 107.5
Reverse Curl - 142

My Zercher Lunge and Overhead Press results were lower than the force levels I was generating towards the end of my previous 6x6 taining block. For example my overhead press was in the 125-133 lb. range. I think the drop in force output is just a consequence of not practicing overcoming isometrics for several months. With renewed practice, the force numbers should go back up.

I tried the regular curl but I felt some irritatoin in my left elbow. So for this training block I'll be doing reverse curl instead.

Stopping Kettlebell Training For Now

Today I did another Foundation session. It was the 2nd session in a row that my left shoulder felt like it was intermittently slipping out of place during my double kettlebell press sets. Pulling the shoulders back and down and engaging the rotators did not help as much as in the previous session. Yesterday I did 3 sets of KB arm bar with 30-second holds with the 12kg KB. As part of warmup this morning, I did a 40-second KB arm bar hold on each side with the 8kg KB. Thus the KB arm bar work did not prevent the left shoulder stability issue.

I tested my double KB press rep max before beginning the Foundation session. I did 7 reps safely. I could have attempted an 8th rep but did not feel my form was good enough anymore to do the movement safely.

Next week I will switch to overcoming isometric training under the 6x6 program with the IsoMax. This should give the joints a break and hopefully restore stability to them. In the past I have certainly experienced relief from joint pain after a 6x6 session.

Also, 6x6 gives me an alternative route to achieving a 10 rep max with double 16kg KBs. After increasing my force output via 6x6, the KBs should feel lighter, and therefore it should be easier for me to do more reps with them.

Another issue I've been dealing with is elbow tendonitis, in both elbows. My elbows have been feeling fine, except when I attempt do a bicep curl with supinated palms or attempt a dead hang from a pullup bar. They also flare up intermittently when I do motions that have the palms facing each other side to side, like when I wash my hands. The left elbow occasionally flares up when I play guitar as well when I get careless. I've gotten good at using my upper back muscles to provide finger pressure on the guitar fretboard, so most of the time I don't feel pain when I play guitar. It seems like my elbow problems started when I was doing goblet squats while holding a 24kg KB bottoms up, as part of Easy Muscle Schedule B. The KB's weight was challenging for my hands, and I occasionally let the KB tip over when my grip endurance ran out. I think the damage to my elbows accelerated when I started dead hanging from a pullup bar 5 days a week, 2 or more sets a day.

Tried replacing Kettlebell Arm Bar in my warmup

As part of warmup for today's workout, I tried replacing the kettlebell arm bar with another T-spine mobility exercise. It's one of the exercises recommended in Geoff Neupert's Kettlebell Strong! for improving mobility for the double KB Clean + Jerk - basically just lying on your back and moving tucked knees side to side.

My left shoulder felt uncomfortable during practice of the double KB press. It was as if my arm bone was a bit out of the shoulder socket. Paying stricter attention to the zip-up technique did not pull the arm back into the socket. I fixed the shoulder issue by adding an extra step to the zip-up: Engage the external rotators to really pull the shoulders back.

It seems that I have to resume including the KB Arm Bar in my warmup routine to help ensure my left arm doesn't wander away from the shoulder socket again. I think I'm starting to understand why the KB Arm Bar is thought of as a shoulder stability exercise, because my left shoulder sure didn't feel as stable as it did in previous KB pressing sessions. I did do the KB Bent Arm Bar, but that obviously did not prevent what happened with the shoulder today. I think part of it is the Bent Arm Bar stretches the front of the shoulder more, while the Arm Bar stretches the chest more. The Arm Bar also seems to work the rotators and other stabilizing muscles more intensely due to the straight arm being a longer lever than the bent arm.

Today's Music Discoveries

Double KB Foundation: Week 1

Completed Week 1 of the Foundation program from Kettlebell Strong! X by Geoff Neupert. I can't give away too much about Foundation but maybe it's ok to report that it focuses on the same fundamental double kettlebell exercises that make up Dan John's popular ABC (Armor Building Comnplex) - the double clean, the double press, and the double front squat.

So far my shoulders have held up just fine. I can't really claim that my current level of overhead reaching mobility is good enough for a pain-free Easy Muscle training block with double KBs, because the training volume this week was low. I can lock out my arms, but my upper back still arches a bit. Last year, not being able to lock out the arms led to shoulder pain. I try to work on my overhead pressing ROM (Range Of Motion), by pulling my arms back after locking them out.

The lower back has held up during and after the double clean and double squat practices. However, I found ATG split squat on stairs is still an essential warmup exercise, and should be done as the first exercise of the warmup. Something about how it loosens the hip flexors dramatically reduces the odds of a back spasm or other unexpected strain on the back.

One unexpected gain was in the number of pike pulse reps I could do when I practice pike pulses for hamstring flexibility. The reps jumped from 8 to 12. This is is one of the easier variations of the pike pulse exericse - one leg while leaning back. I'm guessing the gains came from resuming practice of double KB cleans.

Next training block: Double 16kg Kettlebell foundation work

After completing my latest Easy Muscle training block, I attempted a single 24kg kettlebell press and failed. Then, I tested my double 16k KB Clean + Press repetition max. I did 7 reps. My upper body still felt good for more reps but my lower body was fatigued enough that there was risk of hurting myself if I attempt an 8th rep. I did the test to assess whether Schedule A with double 16kg KBs would be an option. I also needed to assess whether my overhead reaching mobility, while still not ideal, had improved enough for double KB pressing without shoulder pain. I believe the shoulder pain that I suffered the last time I attempted Easy Muscle Schedule A with double 16s was caused by not being able to lock out both arms overhead.

I was so keen on working with the Baraban expander again that I forgot about the double 16kg KB C+P test, until I started thinking again about the next Easy Muscle training block, and what my choice of schedule should be: Should I do Schedule A with double 16kg KBs, or Schedule B again, push pressing a single 24kg KB? I decided to go with Schedule A with double 16kg KBs, even though it looks like a step backwards for my upper body development. That rep max test showed me that my lower body is lagging in strength/conditioning compared to the upper body. If I want to progress to double 24kg KB C+P, I need to get better at double 16kg KB C+P. If I can't clean double 16kg KBs for 10 reps, I'll struggle even more with double 24kg KBs, assuming I don't hurt my back in the process.

Before I start Schedule A, I want to increase my double 16kg KB C+P rep max from 7 to 10. If I don't do this, I might end up having to take breaks in the middle of sets like I did in the previous Easy Muscle block, because of my lower body tiring too early. The more breaks I have to take, the less volume I'll be able to put into the training session.

The way I plan to improve my C+P rep max is by working with the Foundation program from Geoff Neupert's Kettlebell Strong! X. It's focused on building proficiency in the double KB clean, double KB press, and double KB squat. I don't think I'll need to work through all 6 weeks of Foundation - I only need to progress to a double 16g KB C+P rep max of 10. On every other Friday, I'll retest my double 16g KB C+P rep max. If I fall short of 10, I'll proceed with the Foundation workout of the day. If I do hit 10, I'll spend the rest of the session working on overhead mobility and start Easy Muscle Schedule A the following week.

I had to take a break from training for almost 2 weeks because I came down with COVID-19. Half that time was spent lying in bed because of fever, headache, and fatigue. This inactivity left my low back more vulnerable to strain, which I realized when I lifted a pitcher to pour myself a glass of water. This past Wednesday I tried to do a Foundation workout, but my low back felt a little too sensitive when I tried to set up for a double clean, even with pulling my chest up and hinging at the hips to avoid lower back flexion. So what I did instead was do 3 sets of 1-minute 16kg KB suitcase carries.

On the next day I did a P3 mobility session to try to reduce whatever tightness was causing the low back to be suspect, and restore reflexive core stability to help protect the back.

My back felt good enough for a Foundation session on Friday. Since it was my first double KB workout in a year, I took a generous amount of rest between sets. The only mishap was during the double KB front squat. I held the KBs too close together, which resulted in my elbows flaring out a bit and causing my right shoulder to go a little too far forward. I corrected by holding the KBs a little further apart, which resulted in the shoulders being pulled back and down more and the elbows fitting more easily between the thighs at the bottom of the squat. The shoulder felt sore immediately after the workout, but felt better after it snapped back into place.

Looking ahead, after completing Easy Muscle Schedule A with double 16kg Kbs, I'll do an IsoMax 6x6 training block to improve my force output (strength). After that, I should hopefully be ready to train with double 20kg KBs. Given my injury history with the back, it just seems safer to spend at least 8 weeks training with double 20kg KBs before attempting to progess to double 24kgs.

Today's Music Discoveries

Chest Expander Workout 8/21

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - 4 springs - 7 reps, with at least 3 going all the way to a nice T-pose stretch.

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 back off set - 3 springs

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 3 springs - 16 reps first set, 10+ second set. Will try 4 springs next time.

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set - 2 springs

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 mechanical drop set - 2 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set - 1 spring

Back Press - 1 set - 5 springs - 7 reps

Back Press - 1 back off set - 4 springs

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 set - 4 springs - 7 reps

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 back off set - 3 springs

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 finisher set - 2 springs

Reverse Curl - 1 set - 3 springs - 8 reps

Reverse Curl - 1 back off set - 2 springs

Bicep Curl - 1 trial set - 1 spring

Bicep Curl - 1 trial set - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 1 finisher set - 1 spring

Starting to feel stronger in the Overhand Vertical Pullapart. Seems like focusing my power on the pinky side of my hands leads to the best performances.

Tried bicep curl with just one spring, just to see if I can do curls again, albeit with drag curl technique, which is how I've was doing bicep curls on the Baraban expander before my elbows started to hurt. As previously noted, the elbow pain did not appear after the last time I d did bicep curls on the expander, but after my latest Easy Muscle training block, in which I frequently held a 24kg kettlebell bottoms-up for goblet squats. Also as previously noted, elbow pain flared up a bit when I attempted bicep curls, even with one spring, at the start of this current chest expander training block. This time the elbows felt mostly fine during the 1-spring trial set. During the 2-spring trial set I had be stricter about my drag curl form

Chest Expander Workout 8/14

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - 4 springs - I might have managed 3 full reps. Only way to confirm is to try it again next time.

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 back off set - 3 springs

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - 3 springs

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - mechanical drop set - 3 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set - 2 springs

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 mechanical drop set - 2 springs

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 mechanical drop set - 2 springs

Back Press - 1 set - 5 springs - 7 reps

Back Press - 1 back off set - 4 springs

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 set - 4 springs - 5 reps

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 back off set - 3 springs

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 finisher set - 2 springs

Reverse Curl - 1 set - 3 springs - 8 reps

Reverse Curl - 1 back off set - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 2 finisher sets - 1 spring

I decided to treat this day as my "heavy" day, really pushing to failure on the 5-spring Back Press and the 4-spring Sideway Extension.

I posted a while back that I'd given up on doing the regular Bicep Curl on the chest expander, due to elbow pain. Then found this video on straight-arm exercises for bicep strength and muscle gains:

Out of the exercises presented, I decided to try Supinated Grip Front Raise, which is the 2nd exercise presented in the video, with the elastic band that was shipped with the IsoMax. This band offers light resistance for most exercises, but for the front raise the resistance is too heavy.

I did 3 sets of isometric Supinated Grip Front Raise with my IsoMax. My lower body was working just as hard as my shoulders and biceps, if not harder, just to maintain my balance. Next time I'll try isometric Bicep Curl and see if my elbows hold up.

Chest Expander Workout 8/12

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - 4 springs - Managed 2 nearly full range reps.

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 back off set - 3 springs

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - 3 springs

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - mechanical drop set - 3 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set - 2 springs

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 mechanical drop set - 2 springs

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 mechanical drop set - 2 springs

Back Press - 1 set - 5 springs - 3 reps

Back Press - 1 back off set - 4 springs

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 set - 4 springs - 3 or 4 reps

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 back off set - 3 springs

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 finisher set - 2 springs

Reverse Curl - 1 set - 3 springs - 6 reps

Reverse Curl - 1 back off set - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 2 finisher sets - 1 spring

After a weekend of rest, I was still feeling DOMS in the upper back and shoulders from last week's chest expander workouts. I realized I had not been varying my effort very much. Except for the very first workout in this training block, I've been training with high effort every workout - going to failure on every set and not taking much rest between sets. So for today's workout I did not push myself to failure on all sets. I stopped short of failure on the higher effort sets such as the 5-spring Back Press.

I posted a while back that I'd given up on doing the regular Bicep Curl on the chest expander, due to elbow pain. Then found this video on straight-arm exercises for bicep strength and muscle gains:

Out of the exercises presented, I decided to try Supinated Grip Front Raise, which is the 2nd exercise presented in the video, with the elastic band that was shipped with the IsoMax. This band offers light resistance for most exercises, but for the front raise the resistance is too heavy.

I then decided to try using my IsoMax to do an overcoming isometric version of the Supinated Grip Front Raise. Any isometric version of the front raise should be less risky to suspect elbows than any dynamic version, due to the elimination of joint abrasion.

I set up the IsoMax with the strap attached to the bottom newel of the stairs, and the bar held behind my body to put the shoulders, biceps, and forearms all at a stretched position. For this first session, I set the IsoMax in Load mode with load set to 10 lbs. for the first rep and tried to exert force to failure within 30 seconds. I then looked at the average force, with was close to 17 lbs. then reset the load to 17 lbs. and tried to sustain a minimum 17lbs. of force for up to 45 seconds, for each of the remaining reps. It was only on the last rep that I remembered to focus on activating the biceps so that my shoulders are not doing too much of the work. I am not expecting dramatic gains in bicep size doing this isometric front raise, but it's better than relying only on the Reverse Curl to try to stimulate bicep gains.

Chest Expander Workout 8/9

I did not skip the 8/7 workout. There just wasn't anything in particular to report. Today's workout:

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - 4 springs - About 4 attempts. Failed on the 1st, 3rd, and 4th attempt. Succeeded on the 2nd.

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 back off set - 3 springs

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - 3 springs

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - mechanical drop set - 3 springs - Extra practice of this movement should help.

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set, followed by mechanical drop set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 backoff set w/ 1 spring

Back Press - 1 set - 5 springs - Managed 6 reps

Back Press - 1 back off set - 4 springs

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 sets - 4 springs - Yes! Moved up to 4 springs and managed 5 reps.

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 back off set - 3 springs

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 finisher set - 2 springs

Reverse Curl - 1 set - 3 springs - Managed 8 reps per arm

Reverse Curl - 1 back off set - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 2 finisher sets - 1 spring

I managed to do one full rep of Overhand Vertical Pullapart with 4 springs. After that one full rep, I guess I no longer had the energy to do another full rep. My technique in this movement still needs work, so I decided to do an extra set as a mechanical drop set after a set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart.

Next session, if I'm still struggling with the transition to a 4-spring Overhand Vertical Pullapart, I will try doing the mechanical drop set of Overhand Vertical Pullapart after my first set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart. To try to avoid overtraining, I will cut the back off set of Horizontal Pullapart. These changes will only be in place until I can do more than one clean rep of Overhand Vertical Pullapart with 4 springs.

I'm getting a better feel for the groove of the Sideway Extension. It's harder with 5 springs of course but the movement doesn't feel as awkward as the first time I tried it. That very first attempt was a failure because I didn't have the mobility to stretch the springs behind my head like that. That was with 2 springs. Now I'm up 5 which is decent progress.

The shoulders are fatiguing faster than the triceps in the 5-spring Back Press. Perhaps the tricep strength gains will carry over to Back Press performance, thus allow the shoulders to work hard for more reps, leading to shoulder gains

Chest Expander Workout 8/5

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 3 springs

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 3 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set, followed by mechanical drop set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 backoff set w/ 1 spring

Back Press - 1 set - 5 springs - Was worried I might fail do do a rep, but I ended up doing 5

Back Press - 1 back off set - 4 springs - .

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 2 sets - 3 springs - Did 14 reps first set.

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 set - 2 springs

Reverse Curl - 1 set - 3 springs - Managed 7 reps per arm

Reverse Curl - 1 back off set - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 1 set - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 1 back off set - 1 springs

I went back to doing the overhand version of the Vertical Pullapart first. I tried doing the underhand version first with 4 springs and failed. I had been doing the underhand version first because it felt easier to do than the overhand version. The overhand version felt more awkward. I've realized the overhand version felt more awkward because I was trying to make the expander move in the same way it moves when I do the underhand version. In the underhand version, all the springs end up against my chest. I was trying to force all the springs to touch my chest in the overhand version, just like in the underhand version. However, there's no real reason to try to force this to happen. When I try to force it to happen, the shoulders internally rotate too much, which in turn leads to the uncomfortable feeling in the shoulders. I notice when Alex Leonidas does the overhand version, his palms end up facing the floor. This is probably the best ending position for the overhand version. Turning the palms away from me would just put some springs up in my face. Turning the palms towards me would be too much internal rotation.

If I focus on executing the Overhand Vertical Pullapart with a feeling of pressing out to the sides, and not just pulling the handles apart, anf finishing my palms down, I should be able to avoid shoulder discomfort and more effectively leverage my triceps. The triceps are the difference makers in the amount of force that can be applied to the vertical pullapart with the overhand grip, compared to the underhand grip, which does not allow the the triceps to be used as effectively. Thus, I should have a better chance of doing the Vertical Pullapart with 4 springs with the overhand grip rather than the underhand grip. For the next session I will not attempt the overhand vertical pullapart with 4 springs. By not expending effort on such an attempt, I should have more gas in the tank to do more reps of the overhand version, and thus get more practice. Hopefully that will stimulate enough strength and muscle gain to a successful 4-spring attempt on the following session.

Being able to do 15 reps in one set proved to be a more reliable indicator of readiness to move up a spring, than being able to do 2 sets of 12 reps. I did 15 reps for my first set of Back Press, with 4 springs, last Friday, and today I was able to do 5 reps with 5 springs. Today I did 14 reps of Sideway Extension with 3 springs. I will see if I can do at least 1 rep with 4 springs next session.

Each spring supposedly has 10kg of tension. So I am apparently able to Back Press 5 springs for 50kg of tension, which is 25kg per arm. So I was curious about whether that meant I can now press my 24kg kettlebell overhead. I quickly found the answer was no. I was not surprised as I have an understanding that stretching springs that have 50kg of resistance is not the same as lifting a 50kg weight. Springs deliver more resistance as you stretch them, with the most resistance being at the end range of the movement. A weight delivers the least resistance towards the end range because at that point it is moving at a high enough velocity that the muscles do not need to exert much force to keep it moving. The muscles have to more force at the beginning of the movement to change the weight's velocity from zero to some positive value. So if/when I move up to a 6-spring back press, I will once again attempt to press the 24kg KB. Anyway, I'm still pretty happy to move up from 4 springs to 5 springs

Chest Expander Workout 8/2

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 3 springs - Attempted a rep with 4 springs, but could not complete it. Did 12+ reps per set with 3 springs.

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 3 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set, followed by mechanical drop set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 backoff set w/ 1 spring

Back Press - 2 sets - 4 springs - Did 15 reps first set, 9 2nd set.

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 2 sets - 3 springs

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 set - 2 springs - Managed 3 reps with left arm

Reverse Curl - 1 set - 3 springs - Managed 7 reps per arm

Reverse Curl - 1 back off set - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 1 set - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 1 back off set - 1 springs

This workout is based on Alex Leonidas' old school workout. In this or his intro to chest expander video, Alex says you add a spring to a particular exercise for your next workout if you have achieved one of 2 milestones: 2 sets of at least 12 reps, or one set of 15 reps. The first requirement does not seem to work for me. I have never been able to complete one rep with an added spring, in the very next session, after achieving 2 sets of 12+ reps. I went up in springs for some exercises early in this chest expander training bloack, due to gains from previous training blocks - the most recent 8-week Easy Muscle block, the 6x6 IsoMax block before that, and so on. I think the other milestone - one set of 15 reps - might turn out to be the more accurate one. I am wondering if I do 2 sets of an exercise, and can do 15 reps in the first set, if it matters where or not I can do 12 reps in the 2nd set.

Chest Expander Workout 7/31

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 3 springs - Did 12+ reps with relative ease

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 3 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set, followed by mechanical drop set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 backoff set w/ 1 spring - This was too easy so I might just repeat the set + mechanical drop set next time.

Back Press - 2 sets - 4 springs - Stopped first set at 12 reps, thinking I'd bank reps for the 2nd set.

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 2 sets - 3 springs

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 set - 1 spring - Felt light, but managed less than 10 reps per arm.

Reverse Curl - 1 set - 3 springs

Reverse Curl - 1 back off set - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 1 set - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 1 back off set - 1 springs

I decided to drop the regular Bicep Curl from this routine for the remainder of this chest expander focused hypertrophy training block. I believe the best medicine for the affected areas of my elbows at this time is rest.

I did the Underhand Vertical Pullapart sets before doing the Overhand Vertical Pullapart sets. The UVP sets did not appear to have any kind of pre-exhaust effect on my OVP performance.
Alex Leonidas says in his chest expander videos that a high volume program is not necessary or even desirable with the chest expander, which implies that the more usual rules of exercise programming that apply to lifting weights or calisthenics may not apply to chest expander training. I stopped my first Back Press at 12 reps because 2 sets of 12 reps is one of Leonidas' suggestions for knowing when it's time to add a spring; and because I thought maybe Red Delta Project's rep backfill strategy would apply here. However I think maybe I should have continued that first set up to failure instead of stopping at 12. If we are generally doing only 2 sets per exercise on the chest expander, maybe we should go to failure on both sets to stimulate the most muscle gains we can get from that one workout.

Chest Expander Workout 7/29

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - 4 springs - Could not complete the rep, so went back down to 3 springs.

Overhand Vertical Pullapart (backdown set with one less spring) - 1 set - 2 springs - About 12 reps

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 3 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set, followed by mechanial drop set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 springs

Horizontal Pullapart (1 spring less, no following drop set) - 1 set

Back Press - 2 sets - 4 springs

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 set - 3 springs

Sideway (Tricep) Extension (backdown set with one less spring) - 1 set - 2 springs

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 set - 2 springs - Left tricep was so pumped and burned out, could not do one rep. Could do 2 with right triceps.
Reverse Curl - 2 sets - 3 springs - Managed to do 2 sets of 5 reps with very high effort.

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 2 sets - 2 springs - Was able to do 5 reps but could not get the handle to shoulder height.

Bicep Curl - 1 sets - 1 spring - I did about 30 reps per arm

After one set of Bicep Curl, my elbows were feeling sore already - the tendonitis kind of soreness. I think at this time I should just let my elbows rest - no overspeed eccentric curls, no Flexbar work, etc. - as much as possible.

For the next session, I'll do the 2 Underhand Vertical Pullapart sets first, then do 2 Overhand Vertical Pullapart sets. The reason is last week I was strong enough in the OVP to move past 3 springs, but today I was not strong enough to do OVP with 4 springs. By doing the UVP sets first, perhaps there will be some kind of pre-exhaust effect on my OVP performance. Pre-exhaustion was one of the strategies mentioned by Alex Leonidas in his videos, for getting more mileage out of the Baraban chest expander when one has progressed to working with all 7 springs. Perhaps it can also be employed as a strategy for progressing when one is too strong for the current spring count, but too week work with an added spring.
Another thing I will try is doing the 2nd OVP set with the same number of springs, instead of as a backdown set.

Yet another thing to change for next session is to go ahead and remove a spring if my triceps have nothing left for Overhead Tricep Extension.
I think I'm starting to understand the point of back off sets. When the load for the first set is so heavy that you can do only about 4-6 reps with higher than normal effort, dropping the load for the 2nd set allows for more reps, which means more practive of the movement and more potential stimulus for muscle adn strength gains. Thus for next session, the 2nd sets of Reverse Curl and Deltoid Raise will both be back off sets (1 spring removed).

Today's Chest Expander Workout

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - 3 springs - Easily did 12+ reps

Overhand Vertical Pullapart (backdown set with one less spring) - 1 set - 2 springs - Did almost 20 reps

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 3 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set, followed by mechanial drop set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 springs

Horizontal Pullapart (1 spring less, no following drop set) - 1 set - Damn, forgot again to do this one.

Back Press - 2 sets - 4 springs

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 set - 3 springs

Sideway (Tricep) Extension (backdown set with one less spring) - 1 set - 2 springs

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 set - 2 springs

Reverse Curl - 2 sets - 2 springs - Easily did 12+ reps both sets

Bicep Curl - 1 set - 2 springs

Bicep Curl (1 spring less) - 1 set - 1 spring

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 2 sets - 1 spring - Easily did 12+ reps both sets

I reversed the order of the Bicep Curl and Reverse Curl. Due to the current condition of my forearms/elbows it is unlikely I'll be able to practice the Bicep Curl for muscle and strength gains during this current training block. The best I can do is train the regular curl as an overspeed eccentric exercise - as fast as possible, and as many reps as possible, with a resistance level low enough to allow pain-free high reps. Upon further reflection, I'll move the Bicep Curl all the way to the end of the workout, working with only 1 spring, and aim for 50 reps per set before moving up to 2 springs.

Pushing to failure on both sets of Overhand Vertical Pullapart affected performance on the other pullapart exercises but not as much as I thought. I felt my delts got a good amount of work, but I still had enough energy to do both sets of Delt Raise easily.

I'm realizing that chest expander exercises need to be done as explosively as possible. This should emphasize the Type 2 muscle fibers. Louis Simmons and the Westside Barbell folks believed overspeed eccentrics would caused tendons to grow and become more resilient to injury, but there doesn't seem to be any recent research that backs this up. Recent research does back up the notion of slow eccentrics for recovery from tendonopathy. OTOH again, Simmons stated that Westside experimented with slow eccentrics vs. overspeed eccentrics and found overspeed eccentrics superior for their strength and hypertrophy goals. So, I'll just try the overspeed approach for at least a month and see how my aching forearms/elbows feel then.

Next Training Block: 6-8 Weeks of Chest Expander Training

Yesterday, I went a little overboard playing with shoulder dislocates with a light resistance band and with a stick. As a result, my left shoulder felt sore and unstable. Also, both my forearmms/elbows have persistent soreness from weeks of holding a 24kg kettlebell in bottoms up position for goblet squats and working with the 24kg KB in general. I think the 2 weeks of passive hangs 3-5 times a day, 5 days a week also affected my forearms/elbows. The conditions of the shoulder and the elbows made me reconsider doing 6x6 on the IsoMax for my next training block.

I decided instead to train on my Baraban chest expander for 6-8 weeks. I think my connective tissues will feel better with the eccentric loading offered by the expander. Also, because I was unable to press the 24kg KB, I don't think my delts got enough stimulus for size and strength gains in this latest Easy Muscle block. The chest expander routine is sure to work the delts much more thoroughly. So in short, what I hope to achieve with this chest expander training block is increased deltoid muscle mass and strength. The workout is also designed to stimulate strength and muscle mass gains for the triceps and upper back. I'm fine with the gains I got from Easy Muscle for the triceps and upper back but I'm not going to say no to more gains in those areas.

I thought I'd test my overhead press on the IsoMax. The high intensity reps on the IsoMax should relieve some of the soreness. I also decided to test reverse drag curl as well just for fun.

Overhead Press: 101, 118, 115.8
Reverse Drag Curl: 79, 110.2, 101.4

The overhead press numbers were down compared to the end of my last 6x6 training block when I was pressing in the high 120 to low 130 range. I think this is just exercise specificity at work. To get my overcoming isometric pressing force back into the high 120lb range, I have to practice generating overcoming isometric force. In any case, my shoulder felt better after the IsoMax tests. Now on to the chest expander workout itself:

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - 3 springs

Overhand Vertical Pullapart (backdown set with one less spring) - 1 set - 3 springs (oops, forgot to remove a spring)

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 3 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set, followed by mechanial drop set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 springs

Horizontal Pullapart (1 spring less, no following drop set) - 1 set - oops, skipped this.

Back Press - 2 sets - 4 springs.

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 set - 2 springs, which felt so easy that I'll try 3 next time.

Sideway (Tricep) Extension (backdown set with one less spring) - 1 set - oops, skipped this

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 set - 2 springs

Bicep Curl - 1 set - Tried 3 springs, but was too painful for forearm/elbow, so removed a spring and did about 20 reps

Bicep Curl (1 spring less) - 1 set - oops, skipped.

Reverse Curl - 2 sets - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 2 sets - Totally forgot to do this.

So, kind of a sloppy chest expander workout, albeit the first one in months. Despite the mental miscues, there was definitely carryover from the preceding training blocks: the 8-week Easy Muscle block, the 6 week 6x6 block before that, and so on. The Overhead Vertical Pullapart, Sideway Extension, and Reverse Curl in particular felt noticeably easier to execute compared to my last chest expander workout. The improved performance in those exercises seem to correlate with improved performance in pullups, dips, and 24kg kettlebell clean + push press via Easy Muscle training.

I suppose it would be natural to wonder why not just stick to Easy Muscle, instead of messing around with the chest expander. The main reason is that all 3 Easy Muscle schedules are 8 weeks long and I lack the expertise to tweak any of the schedules to, say, an 12 week, 16 week or whatever schedule longer than 8 weeks; in such a way that the schedule produces desirable results in muscle mass and strength. If I create a 16-week schedule derived from Easy Muscle but it doesn't produce results at Week 16 that are measurably superior to results at Week 8, it would be a waste of time and effort. Simply repeating the last 2 week of Schedule B is not going to work because of the Law of Adaptation as documented by Vladimir Zatiorsky. The body will eventually adapt to the training stimulii - and thus no longer progress in strength, muscle mass, or whatever fitness goal is desired - unless sufficient changes are made after a certain amount of time.

Updated Chest Expander Routine and The Rollon

I watched Alex Leonidas' chest expander workout video yet again, to try to catch details I've missed before. Some things I'd missed include the backdown set of Sideway Extension and the 2nd Bicep Curl set being a backdown set (1 less spring).

Leonidas kind of explains what a back off/backdown set it in his videos but leaves out the info on when to do a back off set in your routine. So, my guess is this: If your perceived effort is high during your first set, your next set should be a back off set. I like GMB's Ease and Quality scales for evaluating exercise performance. So using these scales, if your Ease is Challenging/Maximum Effort or your Quality is Broken/Rough on your first set, your next set should be a back off set. Doing a back off set allows you do to more reps compared to your first set, and thus gives you more opportunities to practice the movement and possibly stimulate more muscle gains than if you had done your 2nd set at the same load. Conversely, if your Ease is Solid/Relaxed and your Quality is Smooth/Snappy for your first set, a 2nd set at the same load might be preferred over a back off set. I may have to watch Leonidas' videos again but I think he says in at least one of them that going for high reps does not buy you much on a chest expander - so I do say 10 reps with Solid Ease and Snappy Quality in the first set, then I might be better off doing a 2nd set at the same load - in which I might hit 8-10 reps, than dropping one spring and going for say 23 reps in the 2nd set.

Here is what I think is the corrected routine:

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - May optionally be back off set with one less spring

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 2nd set optionally a back off set with one less spring

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set, followed by mechancial drop set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart

Horizontal Pullapart (back off set) - 1 set - All these pullapart exercises should stimulate strength and muscle gains in the upper back to improve shoulder stability, as well as pre-exhaust the delts and triceps.

Back Press - 2 sets, with 2nd being optionally back off set - improves behind the neck pressing mobility, as well as working the shoulders and triceps. Whether the mobility gain translates to improved mobility for double KB press, double KB jerk, etc. remains to be seen.

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 set

Sideway (Tricep) Extension (optionally done as back off set) - 1 set

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 set. Should be enough to finish off the triceps, which are probably feeling pumped by this point.

Bicep Curl - 1 set

Bicep Curl (optional back of set) - 1 set

Reverse Curl - 2 sets, with 2nd being optionally a back off set - All these curl variations are for stimulating strength and muscle gains for the biceps and forearms. There is no direct benefit for pressing but these exercises should help improve elbow health and performance in the kettlebell clean, as the biceps help control the descent of the KB out of the rack position into the bottom position.

Lateral Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 2 sets - Finish off delts which have been pre-exhausted by the earlier exercises, to stimulate muscle growth.

Alex Leonidas has another chest expander video in which he introduces the chest expander and has some advice on exercise programming, favorite exercises, etc. I didn't find any info on how often to do the routine, so I'll just do it 3 times a week.

Leonidas mentioned Fred Rollon - aka The Human Anatomy Chart - in his chest expander videos. Rollon was a bronze era bodybuilder who claimed to have developed his anatomy chart physique using only chest expanders and cables. He reportedly started lifting weights eventually... years after he developed that physique. Rollon reportedly trained with chest expanders with as much as 140kg (about 308lbs) of tensile strength. I am only one of several - or perhaps many? - satisfied owners of the Baraban Chest Expander, which comes with 7 springs, each of which has 10kg of tensile strength, for a maximum of 70kg. In the time I've owned mine, I've figured 70kg is more than enough for me. However, I just found out that Robert Baraban has started selling a new version of the steel string chest expander called The Rollon.

Now it is possible to work up to Fred Rollon's level of strand pulling strength and beyond. What is also interesting is Baraband is also making foot stirrup attachment for his chest expander models. With 2 chest expanders, 2 foot stirrups, and 2 or more of the "super springs" that come with The Rollon, it should be possible to do exercises that may require more than 70kg of tensile strength such as shrugs, deadlifts, and squats.

Easy Muscle Results

My pullup and dip repetition maxes at the start of the program were well short of the recommended number. The consequence was not being able to perform a set without having to pause to take a break, before resuming. This in turn led to not being able to do a desirable volume (reps x sets x load) for stimulating muscle mass gains.

I chose the 24kg KB Clean + Push Press option because I wanted to see what gains I would get with this option, combined with the 2 calisthenic exercises per Schedule B.

Tape measurement showed about 1/4" increase in arm circumference and 1/2" increase in chest/lat circumference. Perhaps the gains might have been greater if I had higher pullup and dip rep maxes at the start of the program. Despite that I'm satisfied with the hypertrophy.

I tried to press the 24kg KB but could not press it past the midpoint. Clean + Push Press works the triceps and traps more than the deltoids, because the use of the lower body to launch the KB upward eliminates the work that would have been done by the chest and delts. During this training block, I tried to actively "pull" the KB down on the eccentric to try to increase my KB pressing strength. However, one training block of this combination of C + PP and "active eccentric" was not enough. That said, this is another opportunity to try using 6x6 training on the IsoMax to increase my force output (strength) to a high enough level for a complete 24kg KB press.

I tested my double 16kg KB Clean + Press. I was able to do 8 reps. The 16kg KBs felt light in my hands after 8 weeks of training with the 24kg. Pressing double 16kg KBs took little effort for my upper body. My lower body fatigued more quickly than my upper body. I was able to lock out both arms on the double press, which I took as a sign of improved mobility compared to last year, when I couldn't lock out the arms. There is still room for mobility improvement in that I still have an arch in my upper back at the top of the press.

I could have, and probably should have, done this Easy Muscle training block on Schedule A with a single 16kg KB. I didn't have the mobility to work with double 16kg KBs. I think my rep max with a single 16kg KB would have been ideal per program guidelines. However I don't regret the choices I made for this training block, because I just had to satisfy my curiosity regarding training the 24kg KB C+PP. Also, I was itching to do pullups and dips again.

My next training block will focus on strength, with 6x6 on the IsoMax once again being the program of choice.

After that will be my next hypertrophy training block. What I will do for that training block will be determined by the results of re-testing my rep maxes with the single 24kg KB and double 16kg C+P:

1. 24kg C+P 4-6 reps. Program: Easy Muscle Schedule B with single 24kg KB
2. 24kg C+P 0-3 reps and double 16kg C+P 8-12 reps. Program: Easy Muscle Schedule A with double 16kg KBs.
3. 24kg C+P 0-3 reps and double 16kg C+P 13+ reps. Program: Chest Expander routine. In this case, I'm not strong enough for option 1 and too strong for option 2, so I think it might be fun to devote a 6-8 week training block to chest expander training and see what strength and muscle gains might be had from it.

I might do my next Easy Muscle training block on Schedule A with double 16kg KBs, unless my rep max turns out to be 15 or higher. I'm also going attempt to press the 24kg KB again, depending on how I progress in my 6x6 training block. If by the time I test for my next Easy Muscle block, I have a rep max of 12 on the double 16kg C+P and a rep max of 2 on the single 24kg C+P, I'd go with the double 16kg KBs. If however I have a rep max of 17 or something like that on the double 16kg C+Ps but I still can't press the 24kg C+P, I might go with Schedule B with the 24kg C+PP and calisthenics again again... we'll see.

Easy Muscle: Week 8

For the final kettlebell session, I held the kettlebell in the normal goblet squat grip, for the goblet squats, because my forearms were feeling beat up from the combined work of holding the KB in the bottoms up position, the calisthenics work, and hanging for time.

I managed to do 35 total reps of pullups and dips for the Monday calisthenics session. For the Friday session, I managed to do 40 total.

I got quite a spike in appetite after my calisthenics sessions. I presume it's because the workouts stimulated muscle growth.

I'll give my body a few days to recover, then evaluate the following:

• 24kg KB press repetition max
• Double 16kg KB overhead press mobility
• Arm width

Current Mobility Training

I've been starting my workouts with a mobility warmup, starting with a warmup of the legs and hips. For my hip/leg warmup I've been doing most of the exercises from the GMB Muay Thai mobility routine. They make my hips feel good.

I occasionally change up my hip/leg warmup by instead doing prying goblet squat for 5 reps, then cossack squat until my legs/glutes start to feel a little burn - with the 8kg kettlebell held bottoms up.

I then move on to kettlebell arm bar and bent arm bar for t-spine mobility and loosening up the chest and front of the shoulders. T-spine mobilization seems to loosen up my lats despite not directly stretching the lats all that much. This article by Jon Engum lists 4 items on which to focus for the kettlebell arm bar, with the 4th item being the arm on the ground, which is supposed to be moved to your rear as much as possible and stretch the lat.

One of the latest mobility exercises I've added to my routine is the kettlebell pullover, which is supposed to help improve mobility for overhead lockout. There are straight leg and hip bridge variations taught in this video:


Doing the hip bridge variation first for about 3-5 reps seems to increase ROM (Range Of Motion) for the straight leg variation.

I did passive hangs in the past, but gave up on them because I thought of hanging as a lat stretch and found the quadraped side bend to be more productive for getting the lats to loosen up. This FitnessFAQs video inspired me to try hanging again. I don't agree that total hanging time per day should be 5 minutes, as that looks like an arbitrary number rather than a number backed up by research. However I do agree that the 2 sets of 20-30 second holds I was doing 3x a week might not have been enough to improve grip strength or lat mobility. 2 weeks of hanging 5 days a week, 3 or more sets per day resulted in my left elbow being less susceptible to tendonitis pain from playing guitar. However this week I'm taking a break from passive hangs because of accumulated soreness in my forearms - which might be caused by hanging combined with bottoms-up goblet squats and other work with the 24kg kettlebell.


My hamstrings are not particularly flexible. I've tried various stretches and other mobility exercises in the past with some improvement, but have admittedly not focused much on improving hamstring flexibility, other than the Muay Thai routine above. One of the exercises that I attempted was pike compression - aka "pike pulses" - which were just too hard for me. In the below video, Eugene Teo shows easier pike pulse variations, and how to progress in difficulty. I've been doing 3 sets of pike pulses on my recovery days, as well as after my Easy Muscle calisthenics days.

Easy Muscle: Week 7

Not much to report, other than showing up to do the workouts.

Easy Muscle: Week 6

The Monday calisthenics session prescribed a number of reps per set that was pretty much my rep max in both movements at the start of this Easy Msucle training block. I managed to do 3 sets of each exercise. While doing the 4th set of pullups, I had to stop 2 reps short, rest for a bit, then do the final 2 reps. I also had to pause while doing the 4th set of dips. After the calisthenics session, I once again did a mini circuit of hand-elevated tuck planche and ring-assisted pistol squats. Hand-elevated tuck planche is shown here by Simonster:

Simonster's video inspired me to try the hand-elevated tuck planche and assess where I am in the progression towards the tuck planche. I can get my knees level with my hands. However, I decided to play it safe with my shoulders and stop practicing it. My shoulders have not manifested ill effects from doing it so far, but I will wait until I've gotten strong enough to press the 32kg kettlebell overhead before thinking about trying it again.

The Wednesday kettlebell session went fine. The 24kg kettlebell began to feel lighter as the session went on, which was interesting.

The Friday calisthenics session prescribed a lower number of reps, so I was able to do more sets, and thus a higher total number of reps, compared to the Monday session. I managed to do 7 sets.