I was going to start 2026 with The Giant 3.0, then decided to do Easy Muscle Schedule B instead. Both programs incorporate the kettlebell clean+press with a 5RM weight - i.e. a weight you can clean+press for at most 5 reps. The difference is The Giant 3.0 is focused on clean+press, while Easy Muscle B incorporates KB squat, chinups and dips. The workouts are organized into Session A, in which KB exercises are practiced, and Session B in which the chinups and dips are practiced. The greater variety of exercises is one reason I chose to do Easy Muscle B. Another reason is more opportunity for hypertrophy, because of the additional exercises. Clean+press with a 5RM weight tends to produce strength gain more than hypertrophy.
I already knew I could do 5 reps of C+P with my 20kg KB. I had to test my repetition max in the other exercises to make sure I'd be working with appropriate loading. These are the results.
- Double 16kg KB Front Squat - 10
- Chinups - 10
- Ring Dips - 8
The testing comfirmed a feeling I had of being able to do 10 reps of double front squat with 16kg KBs. My chinup and dip performances were about what I expected. Before my previous execution of Easy Muscle B, my rep max in the dip was about 6 so I had to pause during some of my dip sets. Thus my gains from dips were compromised. This time I should see better gains from the dips. This will be the first time I've done Easy Muscle with chinups so I should see gains in bicep muscle and strength as well.
After testing my double front squat, I did a workout based on Session B. I chose to do 4 reps per set of each exercise. I ended up doing 5 sets for a total of 20 reps per exercise. Since this was kind of a preview workout I rested for a generous amount of time between sets. On the following day I noticed minor soreness (DOMS) in the chest and anterior deltoids, which can be attributed to not practicing ring dips for almost 2 years.
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