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.

Piano activities

Persistent golfer's elbow issues have combined with my growing interest in improving my piano playing to spend less time playing/practicing the guitar and more time on my newly acquired Kawai ES-920 digital piano. I've taken some measures to address the golfer's elbow, which I may post about elsewhere. The majority of my piano activities have been focused on working through the updated Jazz Piano Jump Start course on Open Studio.

One of my supplemental activites is learning the electric piano part for "Josie" thanks to this video:


Great series of articles related to playing solo arrangements of song and/or accompanying a singer on piano:

How to Transform a Lead Sheet Into a Performance

10 Great Arpeggios for Left and Right Hand

How to Create Flowing Keyboard Accompaniments

The Basics of Stride Piano
I'm working through the updated Jazz Piano Jump Start. I'm enjoying the emphasis on GPS compared to the original version. An area of improvement would be the workbook for Week 5. Adam plays something that doesn't match the onscreen notation which throws me off. I think I understand why the etude is just a chord chart instead of written out like the etudes in the earlier weeks - the idea is to encourage the student to improvise the rhythm. We used to be able to ask questions in the original version of Jazz Piano Jump Start. Now you have to subscribe to Pro membership or something

Today's Giant session canceled by snow

I had to spend my weekday morning workout time shoveling snow instead of doing a Giant session with double kettlebells as originally planned. I paid extra attention to never lifting the snow-filled shovel without moving my knees, in hopes of preventing low back DOMS, which had hit me after both previous snow shoveling sessions this year. I did a bastardized version of the pole shaking technique I'd learned at a Mike Sigman workshop - start with the front knee bent, then quickly straighten the front leg while tossing the snow with the shovel. The toss should be to the left if the front leg is the left leg, otherwise to the right. By the end of the shoveling motion, the weight should be on the back leg with the back knee bent.

After shoveling was done, I tested my 20kg clean+pressn rep max with each arm. Rep max was still 3. I've only completed 2 full weeks of Giant style training so I wasn't expecting great gains from The Giant anyway.

I then did a P3 (Sore Joint Solution) session in hopes of relaxing the low back.

Giant 2.0: Week 2 completed and doing bar chin ups again

Last week I started Giant 2.0. This is one of the 4 programs that come with The Giant by Geoff Neupert. This one incorporates repetition ladders.

For the Monday session, I focused on the press portion of the double KB Clean + Press. I took the time to practice the zip-up with the racked kettlebells.

For the Wednesday and Friday sessions, I went back to focusing on the overall C+P movement, in which the KBs are cleaned into rack position, then pressed almost immediately. There is a store-and-release kind of action that happens - the cleaned KBs settling into the rack adds extra tension to the body, which is then released with the press, adding a little extra power to the press. The store-and-release action is one of the reasons KB practitioners can typically do more C+P reps than strict press reps.

My left shoulder started to bother me a bit. By Friday I realized that in my effort to improve my overhead lockout positioning, I was allowing my scapula to rise. So for Friday I focused on keeping my shoulders in their sockets

On my training days, I've been practicing chin ups, sort of in grease the groove fashion, in the afternoons after my Giant 2.0 sessions, as inspired by Geoff Neupert's video. When I first read his arguments about too much pronation leading to elbow tendonitis (golfer's elbow or tennis elbow), I felt dismissive at first, but upon further reflection, I thought this Davis's law that he mentions might be legit - maybe by doing a bit of chin up training I could get my elbow tendons to remodel themselves to tolerate chin ups. I used rings for chin up training on Monday and Wednesday. Rings allow me to start with hands in neutral grip, then pull into supinated hands at the top of the chin up. Then, later in the week, I tried chin ups on the pull up bar and was pleasantly surprised to find the concentric portion fel fine, using the spiraling technique. The eccentric portion irritated my right elbow, but not my left elbow. I finished each set with hanging for time with the supinated grip. Neupert says elbow pain from chin ups could be caused by not allowing the elbows to fully extend at the bottom position. Thus, hanging for time will hopefully lead to Davis' Law doing its work on my tendons, allowing chin ups to feel more and more comfortable; as well as providing a stretch for the lats

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

Working towards Kettlebell Burn 2.0 instead of Maximorum Master

When I recently completed Easy Muscle A with double 16kg kettlebells, I was thinking of doing Maximorum Master next with double 20kg KBs for the Clean+Press and Double Front Squat and 16kg KB for the Snatch. Maximorum Master schedules double KB C+P and DFSQ with heavy weight 2 days a week for strength training, then eventually building muscle. Snatch is scheduled on the other 2 days for power training and conditioning. It looks like a great program for improving my double 20kg C+P rep max from close to zero to 10. With my double 20kg C+P max up to 10, I would be ready to take on The Giant, Giant X, or Easy Muscle A and thus take the next step towards achieving double 24kg C+P.

Maximorum Master recommends a 5RM (rep max) weight for the double C+P and DFSQ. After finishing Easy Muscle A, I tried to assess my double 20kg C+P rep max, did not feel comfortable double-cleaning 20kg KBs, so I assessed my single 20kg C+P rep max and found it to be 3. So obviously my body was not ready for Maximorum Master. To prepare for that program, I thought I would spend some time increasing my single 20kg C+P rep max and also improving my 20kg single front squat, eventually working towards DFSQ.

I then did some more research and realized Maximorum Master is a Level 4 program in Geoff Neupert's 5-level pyramid of kettlebell skills. My struggle with the single KB front squat made me realize my Level 1 and 2 skills may not be as good as I thought. Kettlebell Burn 2.0 is a program that Neupert recommends for working Level 1 and 2 skills and improving performance of the more difficult Level 2 skills such as the Snatch. Like Maximorum Master, it promises strength gains as well as conditioning gains, but at Level 1/2 going to 3 rather than Level 4.

With all this in mind, I tested my single 16kg strict press rep max and got 9 reps with my left arm and 8 reps with my right. Kettlebell Burn 2.0 recommends a weight that can be strict pressed in good form for 4-6 reps. So I could start it now with the 16kg, or I could wait until I improve my 20kg strict press from a rep max of 1 to the 4-6 range, then do the program with the 20kg. I decided to do Giant 3.0 with the single 20kg to accomplish this strict press goal.

So, today I did a Giant 3.0 preview workout - 1 rep of single C+P on each arm, with rest determined by autoregulation, for 20 min. I got into a decent rhythm, but somehow pushed myself hard enough so that my very last C+P attempt on my left arm, I barely managed to complete the press.

Kettlebell Clean + Press vs Strict Press

Geoff Neupert recently posted a good explanation of the relative merits of Clean + Press compared to the Strict Press.

The advantages of the Clean + Press over the Strict Press are as follows:

1. Greater systemic demand (compound lift vs. compound exercise), and therefore greater nervous system stimulus for change
2. Less localized upper body fatigue, so usually, but not always, you can get more Presses in a set of Clean + Press vs. a set of Presses
3. Use “ground reaction force” or “force wave” from the Clean to increase power output in the Press. This too often decreases upper body fatigue and increases the number of Presses you can do
4. Improved conditioning effect from alternating between Cleans and Presses
5. Train the posterior chain (hips, hamstrings, erectors, calves)

The advantages of Presses over the Clean + Press:

1. If you’re focused on increasing your Press Max, then do repeat Presses
2. If you want to “just” focus on pure localized muscle building, then do “just” Presses
3. If you’re learning how to Press, you need to focus on your technique - sets of unbroken Presses are the way to do 

I tested my single KB Strict Press - aka Military Press - rep max with the 20kg KB and was only able do one. I attempted a 2nd rep and only got half way. Reviewing Geoff's explanation, it makes sense why my C+P rep max with the 20kg would be 3, but my strict press rep max would only be 1.

The reason I tested my strict press rep max is Geoff's Kettlebell Burn 2.0 program recommends a weight that can be easily pressed for 4-6 reps in good form. If I had pressed the 20kg for at least 4 reps with relative ease, I might have started preparing for Kettlebell Burn 2.0 instead of Maximorum Master for my next training block. The reason is practicing the single front squat has made me aware of possible deficiencies in what Geoff classifies as Level 1 and 2 kettlebell skills.

Having just gained the strength and muscle to press a 20kg KB, it seems like soon a good time to improve my Level 1 and 2 skills by working through Kettlebell Burn 2.0 - a single KB program - with the 20kg. I had been thinking of doing Kettlebell Maximorum Master with double 20kg KBs for the C+P and double front squat but double KB training is at Levels 4 and 5. Towards the end of last year, I got through Level 4/5 training - which is what Easy Muscle A with double KBs was - without injury but maybe I was just lucky. Having been injured before by rushing into training that my body was not ready for, I'm easily sold on the idea of taking the time and effort to improve my skills at Levels 1-3 (all single KB levels) before taking on a Level 4 program with double 20kg KBs. On the one hand, I'd love to add muscle at a higher rate sooner rather than later, by working through Maximorum Master sooner. On the other hand, there's no telling what injury might happen by going for that program sooner while being deficient in single KB skills. Kettlebell Burn 2.0 promises gains in its own right - mainly conditioning, strength, and fat loss.

With my 20kg strict press rep max being only 1 and my 20kg C+P rep max being 3, I might as well continue doing C+P instead of strict press. At this stage, the more total presses I can do in one session, the more I can progress towards the goal of 4 strict press reps; and as Geoff explained I can do quite a bit more total presses, as part of C+P, in one session than strict presses.

Kettlebell Maximorum Master readiness plan

Today my low back finally felt good enough, after recovery from snow shoveling, to do some exercise and assessment with a 20kg kettlebell. I did a modified version of the recommended warmup from Maximorum Master, subsituting the supine position exercises from P3 protocol for the first 2 warmup drills. I then suitcase carried the 20kg KB for a very short distance to the workout spot and got into position for a KB clean. Unlike last week, the low back still felt good in this position.

Like other Geoff Neupert programs, choice of kettlebell weights for Maximorum Master is determined by repetition max - the heaviest weight that you can lift for a particular number of reps with good technique. In Maximorum Master, the recommended weight for the 2 double kettlebell exercises - the clean and press and the front squat - is a 5RM (rep max) weight. Having completed Easy Muscle A just a few weeks ago, my rep max with double 16kg KBs is closer to 10 than 5. My rep max is with single 20kg KBs is 3. I could do this program with double 16kg KBs now, or try training towards 5RM with double 20kg KBs. I decided on the 2nd option.

Maximorum Master prescribes a 10RM weight for the single KB snatch. I already meet this requirement with a 16kg KB, so I don't need to do much prep for this exercise other than some TGU practice to improve the overhead lockout position.

The first activity of was 15 minutes of single KB C+P, with rest determined by autoregulation. I started with 1 rep sets. Then I started trying sets of 2 reps. I allowed myself a generous amount of rest between sets, coming off of the low back strain and several weeks of no exercise.

I then rested 5 min. with some Fast and Loose style body shakinng. Then I did the 2nd activity which was 15 minutes of front squat exercise/assessment. The first assessment was single KB front squat rep max, which turned out to be 6. Next assessment was goblet squat rep max with the KB in horn grip, which turned out to be at least 10 with relative ease. Just as Geoff Neupert described in his video, the KB feels like it wants to peel itself out of the rack when I attempt single KB front squats. He also describes asymmetries - in my case, the right leg or hip seems to work harder and I might be getting more range of motion on one side though I'm not sure which.

Based on the self-assessments and my goals of meeting Maximorum Master's double KB C+P and DFSQ (Double Front Squat) rep max requirements with 20kg KBs, I came up with a simple training program which will be done 3x a week. The workout will consist of 15 min. of single 20kg KB clean and press with autoregulation, 5 min. of rest, then 15 min. of single 20kg front squat with autregulation. This is the schedule for this week

• Monday - Activity as noted in this article
• Wednesday - C+P in 2 rep sets. FSQ in 2 rep sets
• Friday - C+P in 1 rep sets. FSQ in 2 rep sets

This is the schedule for next week

• Monday - C+P in 2,3 rep ladder sets. FSQ in 3 rep sets
• Wednesday - C+P in 3 rep ladder sets. FSQ in 3 rep sets
• Monday - C+P in 2 rep sets. FSQ in 3 rep sets

I have some idea of how I'll train the 3rd and 4th week, but I'll observe and reflect how the first 2 weeks go before finalizing the week 3 and 4 plans. At the end of the 4th week, I plan to test my double 20kg C+P and DFSQ.

Low back pain after snow shoveling

I was on vacation for the winter holidays, mostly just relaxing and not doing any serious fitness training. I returned home to find snow covering the sidewalk and driveway in front of my house. Thus my first workout of 2025 was shoveling snow.

The next day I had a dental appointment. I didn't notice any issue with my low back until it was time to get up from the chair that I was sitting and lying on for the dentaal cleaning and examination. At that very moment, the low back felt like even the slightest flex of the spine would cause pain. Getting up from the chair felt and looked awkward because I was going out of my way to not allow spinal flexion as I stood up. The low back gradually felt better as the day progressed.

The next day after that saw more snowfall, and thus more snow to shovel. My neighbor and I worked together to clear ice and snow from the previous snowstorm on the street, to make it easier to park in front of our houses. I made the classic mistake of shoveling blocks of ice that were too heavy to be safe for my low back. I eventually started picking up or even deadlifting the ice blocks but I think the damage to the low back was already done. I didn't feel much pain during the shoveling session itself. The low back soreness came the following day.

Today was supposed to be the start of my modified IsoMax 6x6 program. I did the Supine position exercises from P3 Protocol to warm up, then began IsoMax training. Zercher Lunge was more uncomfortable than normal due to the sore lower back, so I quickly gave up on it. Overhead Press was ok until I applied more force, then the low back started to feel irritated. Drag Curl was more forgiving but there was still risk of low back irritation. I finished with the remaining positions from my current level in P3 Protocol.

Thus, I don't feel comfortable working IsoMax 6x6 this week. How did this happen to my low back? I think it was the combination of not exercising during the couple of weeks I was on vacation; and the load imposed on the low back by lifting snow and ice with a shovel.d

Until my low back feels better, my fitness sessions will be from Geoff Neupert's Sore Joint Solution, which is his flagship program implementing P3 Protocol. Practcing P3 Protocol should restore the motor control for protecting my low back and preventing other injuries caused by movement compensations. The Side Lying exercises are particularly beneficial for low back rehab. The Dead Bug exercise should improve reflexive core stability for protecting the back.

After the low back starts feeling good again, I could try my IsoMax 6x6 program. Another option is to take up kettlebell training again, with emphasis on preparing for Maximorum Master training. If I take up this second option, I'll probably program my KB workout as 2 15-minute sessions with a 5-min. rest period between. The first session would be practicing single 20kg KB clean and press. The 2nd session would be squatting practice, starting with single 20kg front squat and progressing to double 20kg front squat. One goal would be to increase my single 20kg C+P rep max from the previously tested 3 reps to at least 5 reps, then achieving 5 reps of double 20kg C+P. By training with these 2 sessions per workout, I should be able to progress in my C+P and my squatting at the same time. Once I achieve double 20kg front squat, I should be ready to start working towards a 5-rep max in the double 20kg C+P

Today's Music Discoveries

Akiko Yano concert with guest musicians Naná Vasconcelos and Bill Frisell. One of the many pleasant surprises is a cover of "It's For You" from the As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls album by Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays, with Vasconcelos on percussion and vocals.

Readiness for Snatch and Double Front Squat with heavier Kettlebells

I'mn about to start a minimum 6-week block of isometric strength training on the IsoMax. After that I'm planning to do a Maximorum Master kettlebell training block

I tested my Clean and Press repetition max with single 20kg KB. My rep max here turned out to be 3. I'm confident my rep max will improve to at least 5 by the end of the IsoMax block.

After testing my C+P rep max, I tested my snatch rep max with a 16kg KB and was able to do 10 reps with each arm. Maximorum Master recommends a 10-rep max weight for the snatch sessions. I'd been thinking of testing my snatch rep max with the 20kg on some date closer to the start of the Maximorum Master block, simply by attempting to snatch the 20kg and count how many times I can do that. But then I saw Geoff Neupert's video. Here he recommends a more thorough assessment of readiness for snatch with a heavier KB:



The prequisites for KB snatch at a particular weight are being able to do the following movements with that weight:

• 1-arm swing - 10 sets x 10 reps
• Turkish get up - 10 sets x 1 rep in 15 minutes or less
• Single KB C+P - 10 sets x 5 reps

I'm already able to do 16kg KB snatch for 10 reps. I'm confident I can still pass the 1st and 3rd prerequisites. I just finished Easy Muscle A with double 16kg KBs so I know I can pass the 3rd prequisite. I'm not sure about the 2nd. In any case, even though I can already snatch a 16kg KB for 10 reps, I've started practicing the TGU again with an 8kg and will eventually work back up to 16kg TGU. The TGU benefits are explained in another video and they all apply to the snatch.

The video also has guidelines for progressing to front squat with heavier KBs. I know I can do goblet squat with single 24kg KB, having done it a lot under Easy Muscle B last year, so I can skip the goblet squat step with the 20kg. Anyway, this is the progression towards double KB front squat:

1. Goblet squat - 5 sets x 10 reps
2. Single KB front squat - 5 sets x 10 reps

I'm thinking of starting my single KB front squat training with 5 sets of 5 reps with a 20kg KB. Each week, I'll add a rep to each set. So in about 6 weeks I will have progressed to 5x10 reps. Then I can progress to double 20kg front squats, and thus be in good shape for testing double 20kg C+P since the double front squat training should shore up any lower body defiences in the double KB C+P

I do plan to test my C+P rep max with double 20kg KBs before starting Maximorum Master. I think the rep max will be at least 5. But in the unlikely event the rep max turns out to be 10, I'll reconsider choice of weights for this program.

2024 Fitness in Review

January-April: Kettlebell ICT block

Kettlebell ICT is a program under development by Geoff Neupert. Customers who had previously purchased Neupert's fitness programs were invited to beta test Kettlebell ICT for $9 so I decided to take the offer. The objective of the program is to reduce bodyfat while maintaining or even increasing strength at the same time. At the time I'd just recovered from my latest low back injury, so I had to make conservative weight choices for the snatch, goblet squat, and row. Even with the lighter than normal KB weights, I still lost 5 lbs. bodyweight, lost 3/4" off my waist, and gained overhead pressing strength. Honestly, I don't enjoy pushing my endurance as hard as this program demands, so I'm not sure when I'll do KB ICT again. The most likely occasion in which I'd do it again is after I'd just completed an isometric 6x6 block, and my double KB C+P rep max that is way over 10 for Easy Muscle, but can't do close to 5 reps with double KBs at the next weight up.

April-May: IsoMax 6x6 block

Best results were in the Overhead Press, which improved from around 103lbs to around 130lbs. Gains in the Zercher Lunge and Bicep Curl were more modest. The bar was set too low for the Zercher Lunge, which resulted in time and effort being wasted trying to squeeze myself under the bar and set up the body for productive training. The effort resulted in some unusual hip/glute soreness. Setting the bar one slot higher shifted the load more to the quadriceps, so the effort was spread more evenly betwen the thigh and hip/glute. The bar may have also been one slot too low for the Bicep Curl, as the abs were working much harder than the biceps.

May-July: Easy Muscle Schedule B block

I chose Schedule B with single 24kg KB Clean + Push Press and Goblet Squat. I thought I didn't have the mobility to press double KBs without irritating my shoulders so I chose to go with single KB. Also, I was really curious if push pressing the 24kg KB under this schedule would stimulate enough strength/muscle gains to press the 24kg KB outright after the end of the block. The answer was no. I still gained 0.5" in arm circumference from this block. Perhaps if I had higher rep maxes in the dips and pullups, I could have put in more volume on the calisthenics days and got more muscle gains.

The biggest mistake in this training block: Goblet squats with the 24kg KB held bottoms up. This caused damage to the elbows which would take months to recover from. Another mistake was not testing my double 16kg C+P rep max at the end of the IsoMax block. The test would have told me whether I had the mobility for double C+P in the first place. Then I would have at least considered the option of doing the block on Schedule A with double 16kg KBs. Another mistake was doing goblet squats with the 24kg KB held bottoms up - this resulted in golfer's elbow like soreness. Yet another mistake was going overboard with shoulder dislocates with resistance band and stick, which irritated my left shoulder.

At the end of this block, I tested my double 16kg C+P rep max. I did 7 reps safely, and could have done an 8th rep, but my lower body was fatigued enough that I didn't want to risk an accident. So my rep max was 8.

July-August: Chest Expander block

Because of how the shoulder and elbows were feeling, in addition to hearing about the new Rollon chest expander model, I decided to do a chest expander block, hoping this training would help my shoulder and elbows feel better. I did assisted pistol squats with rings on the in-between days to work my lower body. I observed strength gains in Overhand Vertical Pullapart, Back Press, and Sideways Extension, as measured by number of springs. This was probably carryover from the muscle and strength gains from the Easy Muscle block. I did not test my strength on the IsoMax to see if there was any carryover from the chest expander strengh gains. The reason is, towards the end of the Chest Expander training block, I suddently remembered I was only able to do 8 reps of double 16kg Clean + Press when I tested my rep max in that movement in late July. That experience let me know my lower body was lagging behind my upper body on the quest to progress to double KB C+P at weights heavier than double 16kg. That in turn led to my conclusion that doing sets of assisted pistol squats twice a week was probably not going to improve my lower body strength and conditioning as effectively as double 16kg KB cleans and squat as least twice a week. Thus I consider the chest expander experiment, this time around, to be an incomplete test.

Late August: Forced time off

COVID-19 forced a two-week pause in training - about a week of rest, then a week of P3 mobility and light KB suitcase carries because the inactivity had left my lower back vulnerable.

September: KB Strong! Foundation block

Foundation is one of the programs included in the Kettlebell Strong! anniversary bonus package. The objective is develop proficiency in 3 fundamental double KB movements - the double clean, double press, and double front squat. The idea here was to improve my double 16kg rep max from 8 to at least 10. Unfortunately, my left shoulder started slipping out of its socket by the 2nd week. I'm not sure if the cause was simply weakness of the shoulder girdle from inactivity, or wear and tear on the joint. In any case I decided to end the Foundation block and switch to IsoMax training. Overcoming isometrics has been a reliable way to train while easing joint pain at the same time.

September-October: IsoMax 6x6 block

Whenever I added muscle via a hypertrophy training block before starting a 6x6 block, I've enjoyed the best strength gains - as much as 30% increase in force output. However, before this particular 6x6 block, I did not add muscle muscle mass, and in fact may have lost muscle mass back in August when I was sick with COVID-19. Thus I wasn't expecting significant strength gains. What I could expect from this block, at best, was improvement in how my joints feel. I'd thought about putting in at least 6 weeks of 6x6, but at the end of the 4th week, I retested my double 16kg kettlebell Clean+Press repetition max on a whim. The left shoulder not feeling like it'd slip out of its socket made me feel confident enough to attempt another double KB C+P based training block. By the end of this block, I observed minimal gains in my overhead press and Zercher lunge. I started feeling uncomfortable tingling sensations during my reverse curl reps, so I eventually switched to drag curl. I was just trying to pull with as much force as I could without irritating the elbows. No gains of note there.

October-December: Easy Muscle Schedule A block

My double 16kg KB clean + press rep max was still 7, short of the recommended 10. I felt however I could get away with it because I wouldn't be asked to do 7-rep sets for the first 4 weeks of Easy Muscle A. I figured 4 weeks was sufficient time to improve my strength and conditioning enough to handle the 7-rep sets starting week 5. It worked out pretty well for me. By the end of this block, the circumference of my arms were back to where they were in July. I tested my overhead press 1-rep max on the IsoMax and scored about 120 lbs. which is quite an improvement from my tested 107 lb. 1-rep max back in September. My Zercher lunge 1-rep max went up about 8 lbs. despite double KB C+P being the only exercise working the legs for this Easy Muscle A block. My drag curl 1-rep max was a more modest 91 lbs. but being able to pull with that much force without irritating the elbows is pretty good for me.

In summary, a training block focusing on double KB Clean + Press for building muscle (hypertrophy), followed by a training block focusing on overcoming isometrics on the IsoMax for increasing force output (strength), followed by another double KB focused block, and so on; continued in 2024 to be an effective strategy for progressing in strength and muscle development. There might be a better time to do clean + push press with a 24kg KB but this year was not the year. This was also not the year to train with the steel string chest expander.

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.