| | | Since the start of this year, I’ve been doing S&S practices exclusively, except for a six-week block during which I kind of just messed around. Early on, I think I pushed up the weight too quickly, but I’m now back on track and six weeks into following the progression schedule exactly as written in the second edition of S&S. I’m using a 20kg kettlebell and adding in sets of 24kg, aiming to use the 24kg for all sets around December. A couple of times a year, I take my kids to some climbing walls where there are different holds/grips, etc., which change the difficulty of each wall. Any time I’ve gone before my grip has been the limiting factor stopping me from getting up some of them. I went yesterday, and my grip is so much better! I could get up walls, but I definitely couldn’t the last time I was there, and my grip never gave out once! I have lost some weight, too, which will also have helped, but I can’t believe how much grip just wasn’t an issue this time. My plan was to reach the five sets with the 24kg by the end of the year and move on to ROP, but now I’m curious as to how strong my grip would be by hitting the simple standard with the 32kg kettlebell instead. | | I’m 49 years old, 5'8 tall, and around 180lb. I started S&S after two years of being in the worst condition of my life, physically and mentally. I was then 46 years old, and prior to this, I’d only dabbled with kettlebells; most of my exercise came from running, cycling, calisthenics, etc. I started with a 16kg bell and moved up to 24kg in about three months; I hit the Timeless Simple after ten months, at my best, doing the one-arm swings in about 9 minutes and the get-ups in around thirteen (from memory). I then stalled shortly afterward and dropped back to 28kg to keep momentum. Now, I run S&S once or twice a week, alongside a clean and jerk program. The upshot for me is that S&S brought me back to a level of health and well-being that I had lost, but it also took my strength to new levels, enabling me to branch into new training programs. I don’t feel the need to push to the timed standards, but I will always keep S&S as part of the mix. | | My conditioning went right up doing S&S, and I’m notoriously bad at “cardio.” I felt great, too, joint mobility-wise. | | I’ll preach to the choir. I’m about a year into my kettlebell journey, just about to introduce the 32kg kettlebell into my swings and get-ups after spending around three months getting comfortable with the 28kg. This past week included a trip to the Boundary Waters, a fairly rugged and remote portion of the upper Midwest that requires one to paddle a canoe, ruck a not-insignificant pack, and portage between lakes (carrying a 40lb canoe over one’s head, sometimes up to a quarter mile). The cues I often give myself during S&S workouts reappeared over the last week: pack the shoulders, engage the lats, hinge at the hips, etc. After having been relatively fit my entire life, I was pleasantly surprised by the level of strength a year of S&S sessions has brought, giving truth to the term “antifragile.” Most of why I train is to enjoy a life largely outdoors, and S&S has taken me much further to that end than anything else. | | I’m a bit sidelined at the moment with some health issues, but S&S was my main program focus for more than 6 months this past year.
The program results way exceeded my expectations. Without even trying, I put on about eight pounds of muscle. My shoulders and back/post chain felt way stronger, more mobile, and more durable than I’ve felt in years. Power and athleticism are on a fantastic trajectory. Overall full body results. Enough that people around me were noticing and asking about it.
The WTH Effects have been pretty amazing. I started doing pistols (bodyweight and weighted) without progressions/regressions. Kayaking improved greatly. The last time I randomly did pullups out of curiosity, they felt nearly effortless, pulling my chest fully to the bar. On a 21-day trip rowing the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon (private/self-guided trips down the Grand are a LOT of work), at 43, I was in better shape (more strength and endurance) than the 23-year-olds on the trip.
I know there are a lot of ways to skin a cat. And I won’t claim to know “what’s best,” but holy bananas, S&S has worked wonders for me. And definitely has been way more effective than anything else I tried before discovering StrongFirst.
I’ll be picking it back up when the Dr. gives me the green light. | Metal Tuesday is approaching…your best opportunity of the year to stock up on everything StrongFirst. | |
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