Like today. I did squats yesterday and expected to be worked today, but I got on the bike after my last meeting and felt awesome so did an intensive FTP workout, 5x 6 mins on, 1 min off.
Compared to the last time I did a workout like this (last week), I got out:
So who knows!
Ok, didn’t get my weekend session in as had to work on Saturday. Monday night here now tho. Dropped the cardio warmup. Went straight into SS warmup with the 8kg. 10x10 with the 12 (felt fine but like I was working) and did 2 TGU each side with the 10kg which was TOUGH. Adding in 5x5 box jump sets and that’s my session sorted.
Will stick this for the next couple of weeks then push that 8 to the 10, 12 to the 16 and the 10 to the 12. I like the 10. An 8 to 12 jump is big.
Pavel recommends 8kg jumps for me and 4kg jumps for ladies. There is no way I can do a 8kg jump and the 4kg jump that I do end up doing is hard (at least it has been so far). So yeah, given that, I can see why you like the 2kg jump to 10kg. I’m waiting patiently for my next bell… 24kg should arrive soon. Just going to stare at it for a while. Keep at it. It’s just a matter of plugging away, eroding the weight away over time.
I’ve been staring at my 16 for months!!!
You’ll get there! It’s yours.
I was so close to swingingit pre Covid. Only a few weeks away from teying it I hope
The day is here!
12kg full warmup (halos still 10kg)
Swings aleternated between 10 with the 12kg and 10 with the 16kg. 12 suddenly feels so light the 16kg is a BEAST tho. I will be sore tomorrow.
TGU still with 8s as no 10kg at the gym and I’ll decapitate myself with a 12.
Maybe I’ll just do 1x arm up with the 12 on each side once I’ve done 2 full TGU each side with the 8. Maybe
Well there I was thinking that with a forced week off work (our poor daughter came down with Covid on Saturday, the day after my wife and I had our second booster!) this would be an ideal week to spend lots of time studying the book and ensuring I had great form as I moved from other strength training to KBs. (Was also going to line 2 sheds.) Had a great cycling and KB workout (base moves) yesterday but alas went to bed feeling I had a cold and Surprise! my morning HRV is in its boots and my resting HR way up. Yep, both the C and T lines are showing up today. I guess it’s going to be a super easy week …
Oh no @Craig.Quarmby definitely rest up and take it easy. I’m SO glad I was good and took plenty of time at zone 2 after I recovered. So good to be able to push hard now.
Thanks Dame Lisa. I don’t plan on being a hero so I’ll take it really easy. Last year post shoulder surgery I did loads of Z1/ 2 volume before increasing the intensity and I really think it played a big role in my increased numbers this year.
Hi Team, how are we all progressing?
I’m about to shift to all 100x swings with the 16kg. The 16 is starting to feel confortable. The 12kg is definitely too easy. Still sticking with yhe 8kg or a 10kg on TGUs. And a mix of 12 and 16kg for my warmup (halos on the 12).
Plus box jumps and doing one set on the 60cm and the rest on 50cm.
What weight are you all using for your TGU relative to your 2 armed swing? Am trying to work out if being two bells lower for my TGUs is the norm?
Hi Gang!
It’s been a decent summer of racing bikes and still lifting here in North America. Hot as hades, but still good. I’ve been pretty disconnected from social media, but saw an email about this forum update and thought I’d check in.
Having achieved Simple earlier this year, I decided to drop S&S from 5x a week to 2x. Glad I did, the weight of the 40kg does not lend itself to the same pace/frequency as the lighter weights. I was getting overuse stresses on my knees, shoulder, and forearms. Dropping to 2x a week was also modified by a heavy day at the start of the week and a lighter day towards the end of the week.
Heavy days are single arm swings with the 40 as well as TGU. I have found that my TGU feel stronger than my single arm swings most days - attributing that to the MTB riding I do that is probably pushing the rear delt functional adaptation pretty hard.
Light days are with the 32 and I do single arm switches 10/10 back to back with 20 seconds rest for effectively 5 sets of 20. TGU are done 1/1x5 all back to back, no breaks.
At this point, I’m about to go to the 44kg/96lb bell. I’ve only been going up 4kg at a time. As I’m not going to risk all this progress on my wonky shoulders by too big of a jump. They like to ease into heavier weight.
My goal is to attempt Sinister before Spring/Summer 23. Honestly, I’m back and forth on it. It’ll depend a lot on how the 44kg feels. Some days the 40kg feels too heavy and I drop to the 36 or even the 32. Some days I feel like the 44 would be easy if I had it.
One thing I’ve learned for sure is never lift these things if my mind isn’t 
there or if I can’t detach from my world for 35-45 minutes.
Nothing makes you feel alive faster than a 40kg twisting past your control.
Dropped my 36 on my mat and put another crack in my basement floor because my mind wasn’t 100 there. Going to get some thicker gym pads for this platform later this year.
Great to be reading about everyone’s progress! Keep it up!
Nice progress! Love hewring how everyone is doing.
I have also seen some big gains on my sprint power as a result of doing the KBs. Much bigger gains than lifting free weights.
Thanks to you and the crew here, @DameLisa, I have started KBs this week. I was challenged to go to 24kg from 16kg by someone on reddit after I posted a form check. So each day I do 10 x 10 x 24kg.
I think I will get some formal coaching, more so I don’t injure myself. I’ll progress to TGUs and then one arm swings after August. This is just a start but enjoying it so far. Certainly gets the heart rate up.
Welcome and yay, the more the merrier. I am progressing quite slowly but mostly because I am petrified of injury. But progressing all the same. I love that KBs get the HR up and also that they are so time efficient!
Also forgot to add, did Half Monty last weekend and cracked by highest indoor tested FTP and MAP ever. And THIS time, I feel like I have so much further to go. Am convinced it is because of all the weights work. A buddy started trawling through my sprint power bests and looks like that is really getting there as well. It sure does make a difference, I just need to be way more consistent.
I was away for the summer on holidays. I did go to another coach though to work on my swing and tgu form. Got lots of help on the swing and a few tgu things to improve. I was sore for 3 days after that 90 minute session as I ended up using slightly different muscles on the swing because of the form changes. The swing felt amazing though when I did it with him. Then fell of the wagon during the rest of my holidays. Just back in Japan again now though and did my first S&S workout again yesterday. I used the 24kg for the 2H swing. I faded though in the last few sets. Form felt good on the swings but I’d love a few more coached sessions to really tie it down. I used 20kg for the TGUs. Happy to still be able to do that. Anyway, gonna continue to work back into my routine again and now that I am back on the train.
Nice work. No KB coaches here that I can find and I’m sure my form is rubbish. Some coaches will check via facetime I suspect. Maybe I should look into that.
Amazing your TGU weight is just one behind your double arm swing weight. Mine is still 1.5 weights behind. Bigger relative gap for me, so am really impressed with your TGU.
So how much do KBs work ones fast twitch muscle fibres? I’ve no idea how my form is but e.g. on the warmup bridges, I do these with 16kg on my hips and I snap the bridge up fast.
Had cadence builds today. For years, my cadence has maxed out at 130. And I found that hard. Today I found spinning to 130 easy and I briefly saw 175 rpm flash up. 4DP classes me as a sprinter. I think KBs is really helping me realise that rider class with the higher cadence
My 1H swing is still 20kg. I can swing the 24kg for a few and then it goes flying through the window as my grip gives away… I feel that with the 2H swing I could probably do more but the 24kg bell is the biggest I have right now. It’s also my sexiest bell so far. I will probably look at getting a 28kg bell once I can do TGU with the 24kg bell. I’m still pretty far off that though it seems. Happy to hear you are back on track and seeing results.
Well I have some news.
Warmup is now:
Goblets and Bridges with the 16kg. I do 4x5
Halos with 12kg. Feeling like I can do 16kg soon
Alternating 10x swings with the 16kg and the (drum roll please) 20kg!!!
TGU now (just) successful with the 12kg. Form has deteriorated with the heavier weight but I’ve mastered the tendancy for my wrist to over twist on the way back down and the form is improving.
So I finally got rid of the 10kg KB a couple of weeks ago. Was enjoying do my workout with just 2 kettlebells, but am back to 3 again with the 20kg now in the mix. I am nearly an average women! 
