The Giant 1.2: Week 2

I noticed slight improvement in my stamina, in terms of how much rest I needed between sets.

My golfers elbow reappeared since the start of this current block of The Giant. I feel it the most on the first set of chin ups that I do after a session of The Giant, The pain on a scale of 0-10 is a 2 at worst, which is not as bad as it was before I did the tendon stress relaxtion program (Tendon Burn Count) for 11 weeks. The pain subsides with each subsequent set.

KB cleaning technique is a possible cause of elbow pain, so I studied Mark Wildman's most recent KB clean video, tried the preparatory exercises, then tried doing the clean his way. The main difference compared to Geoff Neupert's technique is the thumb pointing back on the down swing. This ensures the elbow is locked straight on the down swing and in theory should help prevent elbow pain for some people, as allowing the elbow to be bent on the down swing is a typical cause for pain. The tradeoff is that the shoulder is pulled into internal rotation, which is an irritation for my left shoulder. This is why Wildman coaches the engagement of the lat to keep the shoulder in its socket. Paying attention to the lat did help my left shoulder remain painless during the practice of Wildman style cleans. However I woke up next morning with left shoulder soreness. Also I did not notice much reduction in elbow soreness compared to Neupert style cleans. The golfers elbow tends to manifest more when the palm is facing to the side - as in the KB rack position - than when the palms are supinated, although even the worst pain is still only a 1 out of 10. So I decided to stick to the Neupert style, because it never cause problems for my shoulder. What I did get out of studying the Wildman style was more awareness of how the KB rotates during the clean. It rotates horizontally when done properly, regardless of whether it's Wildman or Neupert style.

What's more annoying is soreness in the right hip - the hip flexor, psoas, or both - not sure. It appears intermittently and it when it does it's enough to make me limp a bit when I walk.
This was my my supplementary exercise routine on my The Giant days last week.

1. Chin Ups - 2-3 reps to at least partially compensate for pronation, per Geoff's video.
2. Passive hang from pullup bar with pronated hands - at least 40 sec. for lat stretch and spinal decompression
3. Sore Joint Solution Phase 2 exercises if time allows
4. More sets of 2-3 chinups followed by passive hang in the afternoon - not necessarily once an hour but typically 3 times.

This week I still did the passive hang after The Giant then tried these approaches for hamstring flexibility on different days:

• Sore Joint Solution Sitting Level 3 - this is sitting in a straddle, as in the start of a pancake stretch
• Standing hamstring stretch with PNF, as taught in this Tom Morrison video
• GMB Fitness 5-minute locomotion routine for hamstring mobility - they also teach hamstring stretches but in this case they offer this GMB Elements-based routine as a fun alternative to stretching.

I liked the idea of doing a Sore Joint Solution session after The Giant. Then I progressed past Level 2 of the sitting position to Level 3, which is a straddle sit. The guidance is to just sit on a block or some other elevated surface if it's difficult to keep the back from getting rounded. This, I tried practicing Level 3 sitting on my Ableton Push 2 case, which made it easier to keep the back from rounding, but the hamstrings and adductors still felt tight. I could have tried stacking some puzzle mat tiles underneath the Push 2 case to reduce the tightness of muscles that are typically stretched by the straddle, but I figured I'd try another approach for improving hamstring flexibility that would take less time than a full SJS session. The standing PNF stretch should work but it's not as fun as the GMB 5-minute routine.

The Giant 1.2: Week 1

This was the first week of The Giant 1.2 with a single 16kg kettlebell. The goal is to improve my 20kg kettlebell press repetition max from 3 to at least 4. I was aware that a program called Soju And Tuba, presumably done with a 20kg KB, was another option for achieving this goal. Fabio Zonin's program Victorious was yet another option. I chose The Giant 1.2 with 16kg KB over Soju And Tuba with 20kg and Victorious, because previous experience gives me a good idea of what results to expect from the first option, while I'm not sure what results to expect from the other 2, due to lack of previous experience. Another reason is this option lets me do the most pressing volume - more volume means more practice of the pressing movement and more potential for muscle growth. Yet another reason is the 1st option is only a 4-week program. Soju and Tuba is a 6-week program and Victorious is 8 weeks.

I could have done The Giant 1.1 instead, then 1.2 afterwards, but I was confident that I could handle the Wednesday sessions. The Giant is a 3 days per week program, with a different prescribed number of reps per set for each of the 3 days. Wednesday has the most reps per set, which in the case of 1.2 is 9 reps. I got through it fine, being able to do 5 sets of 9 reps. On 2 of those 5 sets, I struggled a bit with the 9th rep but was able to complete it.

I set the timer to 25 minutes, did whatever number of sets I could manage until the timer beeped, and did one more set after that. Since this was the first week, I didn't push myself too hard. I took a generous amount of time to rest between sets, especially after the first set. I've noticed my body likes to start slow and ramp up over time.

By the Friday session, my stamina had improved enough that I was able to do 6 sets.

This was my warmup routine on The Giant days. The side lying exercises are from the P3 protocol taught by Geoff Neupert in Sore Joint Solution and Systematic Core Training For Kettlebells, though the SJS version is a bit less demanding:

1. Diaphragmatic breathing in child pose - 1 min.
2. Side lying for 10-12 diaphragmatic breaths per side
3. Side lying with 20-24 neck nods per side
4. Side lying with 20-24 neck rotations per side
5. The Pump (optional) - 1 min.

I experimented with including and not including The Pump. When I did not include The Pump, I had to contract my lats harder at the start of the KB press to keep the shoulder in place. I like to feel the lats getting stretched the hips are up in the air, I'm pushing back with straight arms, and I'm raising and lowering my heels. Something about how I do The Pump seems to set up my historically loose shoulder to stay in place while pressing the KB.

For cooldown I did a bit of walking around and shaking my body to catch my breath, then did the following:

1. Chin Ups - 2-3 reps to at least partially compensate for pronation, per Geoff's video.
2. Passive hang from pullup bar with pronated hands - at least 40 sec. for lat stretch and spinal decompression
3. Sore Joint Solution Phase 2 exercises if time allows
4. More sets of 2-3 chinups followed by passive hang in the afternoon - not necessarily once an hour but typically 3 times.

On the active recovery days I continued my active recovery day routine, which is practicing Turkish Get Up with a 16kg KB for 1-3 reps, then Hollow Body hold training.

Tendon Burn Count: Week 11

For this program I've been doing these 5 exercises in a circuit:

1. Zercher Lunge - Ramp up to max effort within 6 seconds
2. Supinated Grip Calf Raise - Sustain target force for 30-45 seconds
3. Overhead Press - Sustain target force for 30-45 seconds
4. Bicep Curl - Sustain target force for 30-45 seconds
5. Standing Shoulder Extension - Sustain target force for 30-45 seconds

When I'm able to sustain the target force for 45 seconds, I increase the target force by 1-2 lbs. for the next set.

I do the circuit for 3 rounds, so I get 3 sets per exercise. For the last session of Week 10, I completed the 3 rounds early, so I was able to do extra sets of Overhead Press and Bicep Curl. This led to a little quicker progress. I gain did extra sets of both exercises in 2 of the 3 sessions I did this week.

To decide when to end the Tendon Burn Count program, I tested my pain score from 0-10 in two activities: Lifting mattress to change bedsheets and chinups. At the start of the program the pain scores were 5 and 5. A couple of weeks ago the pain scores were 1 and 1.5. Today the scores were 0 and 0 so I decided to terminate the program.

Kettlebell Burn 2.0 includes Turkish Get Up training. Thus, if I want to do Kettlebell Burn 2.0 with a 20kg KB, I need to be able to do TGU with a 20kg KB. I've been practicing TGU with the 12kg KB, then with the 16kg KB. This is the week that I finally attempted a 20kg TGU. I did two TGU per side with the 16kg to warm up, then successfully attempted 1 TGU per side with the 20kg. Now I have the confidence to practice the TGU with the 20kg on my recovery days next week.

I tested my 20kg kettlebell strict press rep max to assess readiness for the Kettlebell Burn 2.0 program. Kettlebell Burn 2.0 recommends a weight that can be strict pressed for 4-6 reps. I was able to do 3 reps with the left arm. I then tried testing my right arm and was able to do 4 reps. I warmed up using the modified Delorme method described in Geoff Neupert's video. I did a set of 5 reps per arm with a 16kg KB, then a set of 7 reps per arm, then finally tested my rep max with the 20kg. I rested between sets for as long as I needed, to feel reasonably fresh for the next set. The test was a little disappointing. Perhaps changing the IsoMax position instead of sticking to the same position for 11 weeks affected progress.

To improve my 20kg press, I decided to do The Giant 1.2 next. The 16kg KB feels so light that I'm confident I can jump into The Giant 1.2 without working through The Giant 1.0 and 1.1 again. The last time I did The Giant 1.1 and 1.2 with a single 16kg KB, my 20kg strict press improved from 1 rep to 3 reps. High volume Clean+Press training with the 16kg has thus been proven to lead to better 20kg pressing.