1) Breaking through mental barriers of what is physically possible
I decided in early December of 2023 that I was going to train for this challenge. I had trained with kettlebells for years, having taken the RKC Certification in 2013, so I figured this would be a fun training goal. I always did get-ups in my training, usually with only 24kg or 28kg. However, picking up the 48kg early on, I would laugh, thinking I could never swing it one-handed, let alone do even one get-up.
2) Consistency beats intensity every day
I trained only three days a week for six months straight. I never missed a training session. I never went down to 2 days or up to 4 days. I maintained the goal of slow and steady progress for my three training days each week, literally just progressive overload 101. After only one month, I completed Simple on January 1, 2024. That’s when I first considered that if I keep my head down and slowly grind, I might be able to build enough strength necessary to wield the beast one day, thinking it would take another 8-10 months at a minimum.
3) Pain is temporary
As I would progressively work on different rep schemes each week, slowly building up the size of the bell each month, I realized that when I completed Sinister with the 40kg, the 44kg didn’t feel exponentially more difficult. I felt the difference by the time I hit the 8th and 9th set of swings, but it wasn’t impossible. That’s where my technical proficiency came into play to rely on technique when the pain cave set in. My goal was also to complete this training unscathed, so if I wasn’t feeling good on a particular day, I would drop down in bell size because it is one thing to complete this challenge and be broken as a result. In contrast, it’s completely different from using this challenge to get super fit, and that was the broad goal with which Sinister helped me because my time frame was self-imposed.
4) All things worthwhile require sacrifice
Realizing how my body at 42 needed a focus on recovery strategies to keep up with just the 3-day training regimen, I had to pay close attention to nutrition, sleep, and removing alcohol as vastly important lifestyle factors that were necessary for my body to respond and adapt.
Thanks again for your work with StrongFirst and encouraging this challenge!
Dr. Andy Busch
