Easy Muscle B: Week 4

2/16

Chinup - 30 total reps
Dips - 30 total reps

2/18

20kg Clean+Press - 20 total reps
Double 16kg Front Squat - 48 total reps

2/20

Chinup - 36 total reps
Dips - 36 total reps

Thus ends Phase 1 of Schedule B. For the final KB session I actually did 19 reps with the right arm. On one of the reps, my technique was so sloppy that I wasn't able to press the KB all the way up. For the final calisthenic session, I went ahead and did 2 more sets of dips and chinups after the 20 min. timer rang. Week 4 is supposed to be a high effort week, so for this last session I increased the effort by simply increasing the training time to ensure I did more work than usual.

One change I made to my dip technique was to fold my legs in front of me instead of behind as I descend into the dip. I practice the dip on rings that hang from a doorway. The rings cannot really be set high enough to ensure I can keep my legs straight at the bottom of the dip. I'd been folding my legs behind me like most other people I see doing dips, but that seems to cause my body to swing on the rings. With the legs in front I can engage more core more easily.

Another change I made this week was the choice of single leg exercise for my warmup on my calisthenics days. I changed my single leg exercise to ring-assisted pistol squat. I like the greater range of motion for the glute and knee compared to hover lunge/shrimp squat variations. However I also found 1 set per leg to be enough for a warmup. 2 sets per leg left me feeling more tired than I would like to be for the start of a main workout.



I had unexpected DOMS from the 2/17 side plank micro workout, especially in the obliques. So on 2/20 I began to attempt a single leg deadlift with the 20kg KB as my last warmup exercise before beginning Easy Muscle training, but the DOMS made me reconsider.

Easy Muscle B: Week 3

2/9

20kg Clean+Press - 16 total reps
Double 16kg Front Squat - 36 total reps

2/11

Chinup - 30 total reps
Dips - 30 total reps

2/13

20kg Clean+Press - 15 total reps
Double 16kg Front Squat - 40 total reps

Looking at the results from previous weeks, I can see modest progress in all exercises.

One of the days prescribed 3 reps per set of clean+press. On the 2nd or 3rd set, I was unable to do 3 consecutive reps with my weaker arm. I paused, shook my body fast-and-loose style and exhaled smoothly to calm down; then completed the set. I think my struggle was caused by rushing the movement. So for my last 2 sets, I took the time to let the kettlebell settle into the rack position, and then pressed it up. When we practice the KB press, we are not just applying brute force from the muscles to press up the KB - we also search for the perfect movement path for the KB. Rushing the movement, so that the KB almost skips the rack position, can somehow mess up that path. Hopefully the solution of pausing the KB in the rack position for at least a second before pressing, will still work the next time the program asks me to do 3-rep sets.

Video with good technique tips for dips and chinups

My takeaways: Practice the active negative in the dip. Row yourself down, keeping the shoulders away from your ears, and gradually pulling your elbows back. Extend your shoulders as much as possible while not allowing them to shrug. This stretches the chest as well as works on the end range of shoulder extension. Reducing chest tightness and improving shoulder extension improves overall shoulder ROM for lifting a KB or any other weight. As you push yourself up from the dip, allow the scapula to move out of retraction

Red Delta Project (Matt Schifferle) also uploaded a dip technique video. Matt also mentions anti-shrug, or packing the shoulders down and back at the scapulae at the top fo the movement, then retraction of the scapulae on the way down. A key detail that he advises is tilting the torso forward on the way down while engaging the back muscles. For me this solves the problem of shoulders kind of sneaking up into a shrug on the way down:



I'm currently doing dips as part of Easy Muscle Schedule B. I've had good results from this program before but one question I had, for which I could not find the answer in the manual, is why the parallel dips is the pushing exercise of choice for the calisthenics day. Geoff posted this video a few months ago that answered this question:



In the above video he's talking about Rebuilt After 40, which is very similar to Easy Muscle. I thought the answer would be the unloading of the spine that few other pushing exercises offer, but that's only one reason. Another reason is mentioned in the above video that I wouldn't have thought of, which is FAB (Functional Antagonistic Balance). So in the video, dips are mentioned as the FAB of the front squat. I guess dips could be the FAB of any KB squat variation you choose for Easy Muscle - goblet squat, single front squat, or double front squat.

Easy Muscle B: Week 2

1/19

Chinup - 24 total reps
Dips - 24 total reps

1/21

20kg Clean+Press - 15 total reps
Double 16kg Front Squat - 35 total reps

1/23

Chinup - 28 total reps
Dips - 28 total reps

I changed my warmup routine to the GMB 15-minute mobility boost. I was inspired to try it again after seeing a recent GMB video about warmup carryover to your main workout. The 15-minute mobility boost is sort of an advertisement for GMB's program called Mobility. However the 15-min. routine features some exercises that I didn't notice appearing too much or even at all in Mobility - for example World's Greatest Stretch. Anyway, I'll stick with it for now.

Another change I made this week was to resume practicing the hollow body hold, after each Easy Muscle session. I'd previously achieved a 60-second hold but last week when I tried it, I was barely able to do 25 seconds. I did 3-4 sets of 15-20 seconld holds.

Beginning my 2026 fitness journey with Easy Muscle B

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.

The Giant 1.2: 4th and Final Week

I was able to do 63 total reps on both the Monday and Wednesday sessions. At first glance, these number look similar to the Week 4 performance during my previous iteration of The Giant 1.2. However, upon further review I can see I did 63 total reps on this latest Monday session vs. 56 on that other Monday session; and it took me less time to complete 63 reps on the latest Wednesday session, compared to the previous iteration. After completing The Giant 1.2 with a 16kg in April, I was able to press the 20kg for 3 reps. Being able to do the same amount of work in a little less time might be a sign that I've gotten stronger.

Friday was the last day of The Giant 1.2, I decided to test my 20kg Clean+Press repetition max instead of doing a The Giant session to assess my readiness for my next planned program, which is Kettlebell Burn 2.0. After my usual warmup routine, I followed the Modified Delorme method for the rep max test, which is to do a 5-rep set, then a 7-rep set with the 16kg kettlebell; taking as much time as I wanted to rest after each set. Then I tested my rep max with the 20kg KB. I was able to do 5 reps on each side without too much effort. Kettlebell Burn 2.0 recommends a weight that can be used on most exercises for a 5-rep max so I'm ready to do that program with the 20kg KB.

Once again, doing The Giant with a single kettlebell increased my C+P performance with a 4kg heavier kettlebell.

The Giant 1.2: Week 3

My work capacity improved compared to last week. I needed a little less time to rest between sets of clean-and-press, and so I was able to do more volume. I'm on track to replicate the amount of work I did in Weeks 3 and 4 of my previous iteration of The Giant 1.2.

From what I understand, improving overall flexibility for straddle split/straddle sit can involve improving not only hamstring flexibility, but also the flexilbity of the hip muscles, such as the hip adductors and hip flexors.

So I decided to start practicing the horse stance. Horse stance is supposed to improve hip flexibility as well as leg strength. GMB has a good horse stance article. I've seen other resources/videos on horse stance but I like GMB's here because they're not as dogmatic as other coaches who say you must hold horse stance for 2 minutes or longer. GMB says if you can do horse stance for only 5-10 seconds at a time, it's fine.

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: 1-Rep Max Test Results

I tested my 1-rep max for each of the following exercises, using the protocol in the book Ultimate Isometrics Manual. The results in pounds:

• Zercher Lunge - 70.13
• Calf Raise - 142.06
• Overhead Press - 76.8
• Bicep Curl - 46.07
• Standing Shoulder Extension - 24.4

These are the exercises I have selected for a new IsoMax program that I am calling Tendon Burn Count. The name is inspired by the Burn Count program in Ultimate Isometrics Manua. Burn Count features 20-45 second isometric holds, which is similiar to the hold time in Tendon Burn Count, but otherwise has several differences. More details soon.

• Zercher Lunge - One of the exercises recommended in Matt Schifferle leg strength article. When I train with kettlebells, most of my squatting is bilateral, so when I train with IsoMax, I tend to go with Zercher Lunge for addressing asymmetries on top of stimulating leg strength gains.
• Calf Raise - My Achilles tendon feels fine but I'm hoping this exercise will help relieve various aches and pains I've had in my feet which seem to have started after stubbing my toes too many times on Judo/Aikido/BJJ mats
• Overhead Press - Not sure exactly what tendons will be targeted by this exercise. I just wanted to do at least one pressing exercise in Tendon Burn Count. Any tendons strengthened by this program should contribute to dynamic pressing performance. There may be some muscular strength and muscle size gains as well.
• Bicep Curl - The regular bicep curl can cause my golfer's elbow to flare up. For this exercise I tried to set the bar so that the injured elbow tendons would be stimulated to heal and get stronger - while not being too irritated - and the biceps would be at a decent length for possible strength and size gains.
• Standing Shoulder Extension - Found this exercise in another Matt Schifferle article, which is about how he fixed his shoulder issues. Matt found this exercise, which he also calls "standing lat pull", improved lat activation for pressing, as well as overall shoulder stability. In today's 1-rep max test, I struggled to find body positioning for this exercise that felt relatively safe for my low back. Then I saw the article comment section in which Matt confirmed this exercise and the front lever should feel the same as shoulder extension exercises. Next time I try this exercise, I will try setting up my body almost as if I were doing a tuck front lever - feet at hip width or even closer together, knees bent, belly in contact with thighs, torso parallel to floor, tense the triceps to ensure straight arms. I might have to add one more cue which is to try to bend the bar, which should add external rotation to the shoulders.

I decided to switch from 6x6 to Tendon Burn Count after watching this video. This latest 6x6 training block produced decent gains in drag curl and Jefferson lift. Overhead pressing performance was not improving however, and starting to regress a bit. Whether it was because I wasn't using the lats enough to activate the chest, or because I stopped eating the 20g protein bars for breakfast doesn't really matter at this point. I was intrigued by the idea of improving shoulder stability by strengthening the tendons instead of just training for muscle size/strength.

The Giant 1.2: Results

For the last week of The Giant 1.2, I challenged myself do more than 60 total reps in one session.

I did not quite make it on Monday. I did 56 total reps, after which I ran out of gas.

I broke the 60 rep ceiling on Wednesday. I set the timer to 30 min. I allowed myself a generous amount of rest after the first set, then after the 3rd set started to pick up the pace by resting less between sets. By the time I'd done 6 sets, there was about 2 min. left on the timer. I let the timer count all the way down, and continued to rest until I felt ready to do the 7th set, which took my rep total to 63.

I did 64 total reps on Friday.

Arm circumference increased by a quarter inch. Most of the growth was in the triceps, particularly the long head.

Back in January I tested my 20kg kettlebell strict press rep max and was only able to do 1 rep. Today I retested my 20kg strict press rep max and was able to do 3 reps. I did not use any of the 3 methods recommended by Geoff Neupert. All I did was bring up the 20kg KB after my IsoMax rep max testing, and tried to press it for as many reps as possible.

My next training block will be 6x6 style overcoming isometric strength training on the IsoMax. There's something about overcoming isometrics that makes joints and tendons feel better. I've had elbow tendonitis ever since I did 8 weeks of bottoms-up 24kg KB goblet squat as part of Easy Muscle last year. I've made sure my arm is completely straightened on the backswing of KB cleans - bent elbow on the backswing is a known cause of elbow tendonitis. I've noticed the elbow gets irritated during pressing if I don't make the effort to squeeze harder on the pinky side of the hand and bend the wrist a little more to the front and to the pinky side. At least 6 weeks of IsoMax work will improve the feeling of my elbows.

The next training block after that will be the single KB program known as Kettlebell Burn 2.0. As noted earlier, the recommended weight is a weight that can be strict pressed for 4-6 reps. I can strict press the 20kg KB for 3 reps now, so I'm on track to press to the 20kg for at least 4 reps after I finish the 6x6 block.

The Giant 1.2: Week 3

Not much to report, other than I consistently did 54 or more reps per session

The Giant 1.2: Week 2

I kind of took it easy for the Monday session

For the other 2 sessions I increased the training time from 25 min. to 30 min. to see if I could do more sets, especially the 9-rep sets. As it turned out, the extra time allowed me to do an extra set, resulting in 54 or more total reps for each of those sessions.

I continued doing chin ups on the afternoons of my The Giant days, for the purpose of conditioning my tissues for doing high volume chin up sessions in the near future. I didn't have a timeline for progressing from 2 sets of 2 reps to 5 sets of 5 reps, which is the most Geoff Neupert recommends. However this week I found myself doing 4 reps instead of 3 reps per set. I wasn't thinking of trying that 4th rep - I just found myself doing it.

For warmup and cooldown, I switched from P3 Protocol (Sore Joint Solution) to SCT4KB (Systematic Core Training For Kettlebells). There is some overlap between P3 and SCT4KB so the switch was fairly smooth. Sore Joint Solution and SCT4KB both promise improved mobility. SJS is more focused on movement restoration. SCT4KB is more focused on strengthening the core. Both have you start with diaphragmatic breathing as your base. I decided to switch from P3 to SCT4KB because if either one will lead to improved shoulder mobility and range of motion, especially flexion - the ability to put your arm straight up over your head - it makes sense to focus on core strength. So far it seems like SCT4KB sessions, as a bolt-on to The Giant sessions, take less time than P3 sessions. When I do a P3 session after a The Giant session, I tended to do the diaphragmatic breathing and head movement exercises for 2-3 body positions. SCT4KB has me working out of one body position at a time.

Giant 1.2: Week 1

The Giant 1.2 is the continuation of The Giant 1.1. It's the same programming as Giant 1.1 except with a bump up in difficulty.

The hardest session of the week prescribes 9-rep sets. I was able to do the 9-rep sets just fine. However I needed quite a bit more rest after a 9-rep set compared to an 8-rep set.

The session before the 9 rep per set session didn't call for as many reps per set. I pushed myself a bit to prepare myself for the 9-rep per set session.

I continued doing The Giant sessions in the morning, 3 times a week, and doing chin ups on the same day, but in the afternoons. I did chin ups on breaks from work. One thing I changed this week was doing 2 sets of chin ups on my break instead of one set. I'd do one set, then some mobility work like ATG split squats on the stairs, hip circles, etc. then do the 2nd set. My elbows typically felt better during the 2nd set.

Giant 1.1: Week 4

This is the last week of The Giant 1.1. I pushed myself a little bit more this week, but not too hard. After a set, I've rested until the burning sensation in my lungs is gone, then waited until my heartrate and breathing dropped close to normal, before starting another set. All I changed this week was wait for the lungs-on-fire sensation to go away, then rest for less time after that compared to previous weeks. It helped that my conditioning improved so that I didn't feel like I needed as much rest compared to week 1 of The Giant.

Requiring rest less between sets allowed me to do more sets overall within a 25-min. session. For all 3 sessions this week, I was able to do 50+ total reps. This led to a slight increase in appetite compared to previous weeks.

On my The Giant days, one activity I've doing sometime after a session is chin ups in sets of 2-3 reps, to try to condition my elbow tissues for pulling with supinated hands. When I first heard of the argument that too much activity with hand in pronation, and not enough activity with hands in supination will lead to elbow tendonitis, I was admittedly dismissive. Then I learned more about Davis' Law, which states that tissues model along lines of stress. Thus, I've been doing chin ups to compensate for all the pronation involved in high volume kettlebell clean + press, as well as condition the tissues for supination. I feel some pain in my right elbow when I do chin ups, but oddly enough, no pain at all in my left elbow when I do chin ups. The left elbow can be irritated when I play guitar, as I use my left hand for fretting notes - this is one of the reasons I've been spending more time practicing on piano than on guitar. Anyway, the pain in my right elbow during chin ups has gradually decreased over time. has the info about Davis' Law, pronation vs. supination, recommended sets and reps, etc.

Also on my The Giant days, another activity I've been doing later in the day is shoulder dislocates with a stick. This is one of the exercises Neupert recommends for improving overhead reaching mobility. I'd been using a resistance band for shoulder dislocates, but it comes with a risk of shoulder injury without strict attention to keeping the chest forward as the arms rotate to the rear. I tried using a broomstick but just couldn't get a good range of motion. Then I picked up one of the orange 76" long Stick Mobility sticks and attempted the movement on it. It's quite a bit longer than the broomstick. The longer width allows me to hold the stick with a wide enough grip to do the movement with a full range of motion.

Giant 1.1: Week 3

My conditioning seems to be improving. Compared to last week, I did at least one more set per session, because I needed just a little less time to rest between sets.

My warmup was the supine and side lying positions from P3 protocol (Sore Joint Solution). For cooldown, I lay in an easier variation of supine from P3 and practiced diaphragmatic breathing - typically 15-20 breaths, until I felt my heartrate slow down to closer to normal speed. Then I practiced the Phase 2 exercises from P3 protocol.

I assumed I'd have to wait for another year or so before I could advance to Phase 2, but then I reread the Sore Joint Solution manual and found these sentences:

Some people really struggle with side lying, but supine and prone are relatively easy. In that case, move up to Phase 2, but start each session with side lying until you hit the target reps.

Giant 1.1: Week 2

StrongFirst has the Victorious course by Fabio Zonin on 25% off sale. Victorious is focused on the fine points of pressing a heavy kettlebell. My kettlebell training in the past couple of years has been mostly influenced by Geoff Neupert. I continue to be a fan of Neupert's teachings but I see Zonin also enjoys a lot of respect in the kettelbell training community, and so I've been curious about how he teaches kettlebell lifting. While Neupert is a former StrongFirst coach and Zonin is a current StrongFirst coach, each coach inevitably has their own perspective which may be useful to study.

For the Monday session I tried incorporating the Victorious pressing techniques. I realized why Zonin advises a rebuild from the ground up approach to learning and practicing the Victorious style of pressing. This style makes sense but it's hard to switch to it without putting in the time into the pressing techinque rebuilding process as advised in the Victorious course.

Also my left shoulder was feeling less stable and more irritable after trying the Mark Wildman style of kettlebell clean. It doesn't seem to respond well to the internal rotation that the Wildman style forces onto the shoulder. So for the Wednesday session, I switched back to the Neupert style of KB clean. Another thing I did to try to improve shoulder stability was, after the The Giant session, do 30 seconds per arm of waiter carry. This is just walking around with the KB held overhead with locked out arm. I got this idea from Steve Cotter and Dan John. Dan John in particular stated in this article that it does wonders for the shoulders. GMB has additional thoughts on loaded carries here

I also switched back to Neupert's style of KB press for the Wednesday and Friday sessions. Without practicing the recommended foundational exercises in Victorious beforehand, it didn't make sense to switch to the Victorious pressing style. Victorious appears to be intended specifically for improving at pressing a heavy kettlbell, and comes with recommended assistance exercises and unique techniques to practice. Victorious might be more useful for when I start pressing the 24kg KB, which at present is too heavy for me to press to full lockout. At present though I'm working through The Giant 1.1, with the intention to follow up with Giant 1.2. I do note need to switch to the Victorious pressing style now.

Giant 1.1: Week 1

The soreness in the elbows that I feel when I shovel snow or do any activity in which the hands supinate while carrying something continues to persist. One possible cause is allowing the elbow to be bent on the backswing of a kettelbell swing/clean/snatch. I like to think that I am not doing that, but to eliminate that possibility, I switched to the thumb-back style of the KB clean favored by Mark Wildman. Wildman has plenty of videos that show how he wants you to clean the KB but this recent video goes into more detail. As Wildman states in his videos, the purpose of turning the thumb back for the backswing, it is it forcces the arm to stay straight on the backswing. The tradeoff is that it also takes the shoulder into internal rotation. The internal rotation was uncomfortable for my shoulder the first time I tried Wildman's style, which is why I adopted Geoff Neupert's style in the first place. Neupert teaches the clean with the KB handle held at a diagonal, so the thumb points diagonally, which avoids internal shoulder rotation, but places more responsibility on the trainee to pay attention to the arm being straigth on the backswing.

As I anticipated, my volume under The Giant 1.1 has been higher than under The Giant 2.0. I did 40 or more total reps per workout under 1.1, compared to under 40 reps per workout under 2.0. The Giant 2.0 is built on ladder reps, which allows some people to do higher volume, depending on the person's conditioning. The manual for The Giant suggests doing 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, then optionally 2.0 for people like me with low endurance. For people with good endurance, the option of skipping the 1.x programs and going straight to 2.0 is suggested. I understand now why the manual makes these recommendations.

Continuing The Giant KB training but switching fro double KB to single KB work

My low back still feels fine after the snow shoveling session that interrupted my kettlebell training midweek. I think working on my shoveling technique, followed by the P3 session for cooldown/restoration helped my low back keep feeling good.

My previously injured shoulder however continues to have intermittent soreness. Being able to lock out both arms in the double KB press has protected the shoulders to an extent. But stacking the locked-out arms on top of the shoulders and lats has been a struggle. While my overhead reaching mobility has improved over the last 12 months, it hasn't improved enough to allow me to lock out both arms without too much arch in the upper back.

According to Geoff Neupert's 5-level pyramid, all double KB training is at Level 4 and above.

For those who have the mobility to practice double KB clean + press safely, the advantages of double KB C+P over single KB C+P include more load for the lower body/posterior chain, potentially greater muscle gain, and time savings from working both arms simultaneously in every set. It was for these reasons I sort of rushed into double KB training, without thinking too much about the consequences of jumping to Level 4 without properly working through Levels 1-3.

However, I decided to continue Giant style training but with single instead of double KB. I believe I can still stimulate muscle and strength gains training The Giant style with single KB, with less risk to my shoulders. While Mark Wildman teaches KB technique a little differently than Geoff Neupert, I think he might be right about people needing a significant amount of time practicing single KB C+P before taking on double KB C+P, because it just takes time for tendons and ligaments to adapt to the top position of the press. This and other thoughts by Wildman can be found in his video on how KBs can fix rounded shoulders

Furthermore, I'm switching from Giant 2.0 to Giant 1.1. Giant 1.1 programming is based on straight sets. 2.0 is based on ladder sets. I had believed that ladder sets would always produce more volume than straight sets. I've realized that this is not always true. Trainees don't have good endurance need more rest between sets compared to trainees with good endurance. Thus, trainees with good endurance can do more volume in one workout, and take better advantage of ladder sets. In other words, my volume was just under 40 total reps per Giant 2.0 session. I believe my volume will be higher doing 1.1 compared to 2.0.

The goal I'm working towards is still the same - to be able to strict press the 20kg KB for at least 4 reps. An intermediate goal before that is to be able to clean and press the 20kg for at least 5 reps. I believe this is doable because I can C+P the 20kg for 3 reps already. The road to get there is:

1. Train under Giant 1.1 until I can C+P the 20kg KB for 5 reps, or until I've done 1.1 for 4 weeks, then train under Giant 1.2 until the 5-rep C+P is achieved
2. Train under Giant 3.0 with the 20kg KB. This should get me to the 4 rep minimum strict press goal.

Switched from single 20kg Kettlebell Clean + Press back to double 16kg Clean + Press

I closed out my 2024 fitness training with double 16kg kettlebell Clean + Press under the Easy Muscle A program. This resulted in the ability to C+P a single 20kg for 3 repetitions, being able to press it only half way on the 4th attempt.

I decided to do another Geoff Neupert program, Kettlebell Burn 2.0, with a single 20kg KB. In order to do it productively and safely, I need to be able to strict press the 20kg at least 4 reps. I tested my strict press rep max with the 20kg and was able to do one rep, only being able to press it partially on the attempted 2nd rep.

Until the beginning of this week, I was doing 20 minute C+P sessions with the single 20kg to try to improve my strict press performance. I can do more slightly more C+P reps than strict press reps with the 20kg, thus I can do more total reps (higher volume) of C+P than strict press in a 20 min. session. Some coaches, including Neupert, advise practicing strict press instead of C+P to improve strict press technique. So a question to ponder here is which approach will be more efficient for achieving my goal of 4 strict press reps with the 20kg? My hypothesis here is C+P would be more efficient because of the higher volume. More total reps means more practice pressing the KB, which should lead to faster progress.

Then on Wednesday morning, I woke up with the idea of switching back to double 16kg C+P training to help improve my strict press of the 20kg. I'm capable of C+P training at much higher volume (weight x sets x reps in one session) with double 16kgs compared to single 20kg. I've found that high volume training works very well for stimulating muscle growth as well as strength gains. Here "strength" is understood to be the amount of muscle force that can be generated. Single 20kg C+P training should in theory improve my 20kg press performance because 20kg is heavy enough to force my CNS (central nervous system) to recruit more motor units, and to repeatedly practice motor unit recruitment. This training would focus more on strength gain as opposed to muscle gain. By comparison double 16kg C+P training could stimulate more muscle mass gains in a 4-week period because of the higher volume. Then when I switch back to single 20kg training, progress towards the 4-6 rep strict press should be faster because my CNS would have more muscle to work with. There

The choice of training routine with the double 16kg comes from another Geoff Neupert program called The Giant, which focuses on C+P. The Giant comes with 5 different training routines, each meant do be done for 4 weeks: Giant 1.0, Giant 1.1, Giant 1.2, Giant 2.0, and Giant 3.0. Giant 1.0 and 1.1 are meant to be done in order and are similar in design and promised results to Easy Muscle A. Giant 1.2 or 2.0 are recommended after 1.1. Giant 2.0 incorporates ladder repetitions for potentially higher volume (more overall reps) than Giant 1.2. Having completed Easy Muscle A recently, I figured I could do 1.2 or 2.0. I decided on 2.0 for the higher volume potential.

Thus I ended up doing Giant 2.0 sessions on Wednesday and Friday. The Wednesday session went pretty well. I was able to do 3 rounds of the prescribed ladder, plus 2 more sets for a total of 53 reps. I felt pretty good the rest of the day and the following day, though that night I got crazy hunger pangs shortly after dinner. I ended up devouring a cup of blueberries, a protein bar, and quite a bit of trail mix. The Friday session prescribed one more rep per rung of the ladder. I managed to complete only one full round on Friday. The highest rung was for the Friday ladder was 8 reps, which I barely completed, and needed more time to rest afterwards