Subject: Just swing a kettlebell: Undertaking the “simple” February swing challenge

Social media can be flooded with challenges—challenges of all varieties. But we did not phrase it as a challenge when StrongFirst promoted Simple and Sinister February (aka “Leap into S&S”—A play on the leap year’s 29 days of February). But quite a few gireviks accepted the challenge.


One of those who accepted the Simple and Sinister February challenge was Dave Mendenhall. Dave is an experienced trainee with multiple certifications and a background in CrossFit and other training methods. So, what could S&S February offer Dave?

According to Dave:

When the February challenge email dinged my inbox on January 30, I had already been training consistently. I had some tangible goals but wanted to complete the Simple test with a 32kg kettlebell and the SFG snatch test for my gender and age group (using a 20kg kettlebell) sometime in mid-winter. But then came that email, and it sparked a fiery intention in me. It seemed as much a mental endurance test as a physical one.

A fiery intention…very StrongFirst.


Dave continues:

“Why not?” I thought.

 

The February challenge seemed a perfect way to sharpen my training focus and test my adaptability, offering a clear path to increased volume via sound underlying strength principles and stop signs: attention to form and rate of perceived exertion (RPE), load waving, and anti-glycolytic training. It might also tidy up my Simple performance by getting more time with kettlebells in hand, and maybe it would better prepare me to “own” the snatch test at 20kg.

Click here to read Dave’s experience and results from taking on the Simple and Sinister February.

 

Start your own Simple and Sinister challenge with the Kettlebell Simple & Sinister online course, which is now available for a special limited-time offer.

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