Kettlebell "Giant 1.0"

[TedM]

Finished Giant 1.0-1.1-1.2 today with 2x16kg. Feels nice to finish a 12 week program, especially one that I had to work so hard to begin. (16kg was probably my 3RM when I purchased the program.)

Feeling stronger than I ever have in pressing, will test various things next week and report back.

Fantastic!
I'm in week 3 of 1.2 with single 16.

When you write that 16 was your 3RM - do you mean single or double?

I'd love to hear how you progressed from that starting point to now.

 

[Eric Wilson]

Fantastic!
I'm in week 3 of 1.2 with single 16.

When you write that 16 was your 3RM - do you mean single or double?

I'd love to hear how you progressed from that starting point to now.

Don't know about single/double that was a few years ago.

One thing I did was ROP with my 12kg+5lb (roughly 14kg, but without the cleans). That helped a lot when I couldn't get the reps in at 16kg.

I also did this:

Which took me from 6 reps to 8, and later from 8 reps to 10.

I also did Giant 3.0 (twice) but it didn't really work for me. Also never had great success with ROP at 16kg.

 

[TedM]

Actually, this recent article may be useful. It addresses this exact problem:

A Pressing Matter | StrongFirst

Most athletes know kettlebells have many benefits, especially the ballistic skills (e.g., the swing, snatch, and clean) which are almost impossible to do with any other tool. However, what may be less known is that kettlebells give us the opportunity to improve grinds as well as develop strength...

www.strongfirst.com

 

[zstronk]

I just finished up a cycle of 2.0 using a single 28kg bell and am pleased to report that I was able to press the 40kg for the first time right after finishing the program. Very happy with this result, I didn’t do a rep max test with the 28, but it has certainly improved.

All my sessions were between 20-25 minutes. I did not chase rep goals each week but rather just let auto-regulation do its thing and almost every session I naturally was able to do more than the week before (a couple days I matched the same as the week before but never did less). C+P is my favorite movement, so I found myself really looking forward to each session. This is the most minimalist program I have done and one thing that surprised me was that each day really had its own feel, on paper I thought it would feel like I was doing the same workout the whole time but the different ladders really have their own character which provided just the right amount of variety.

I did add in some sets of pull-ups a couple days a week, I don't think that these interrupted my recovery because I used variations where grip was the limiting factor (fat grip, 2 finger, towel etc) so I was only hitting about half the reps or less of what I could do with a conventional grip.

 

[Eric Wilson]

Report on 12 week Giant (1.0-1.1-1.2) 2x16kg

51yo male, ~145, 5'9"

Before: 2x16kg as 10RM, 1 rep at 2x20kg. 10x5 took 19 minutes
After: 14 reps at 2x16kg and 3 reps at 2x20kg, both lifetime bests. Was able to do 10x5 in 13.5 minutes with medium effort, so my conditioning/recovery is way better.

Huge improvement in C&P, which is a big deal for me. Pressing improvements don't come quickly for me.

Visible gains in arms and shoulders -- not amazing, but any visible muscle gain is noteworthy for me.

I lost some in my deadlift, but not terribly. I'm not particularly worried about that, because my deadlift is naturally better and improves quickly with training.

All things considered, the Giant was a tremendous success -- I gained muscle, I improved my worst lift, and I enjoyed the simplicity of the program. Will definately repeat at the right time.

What I've learned: I get more improvement when working with my 10RM than when I'm chasing heavier weight. When I was first able to get five reps with the 16kg, I tried to build my programs around that, with very little success. Much of my improvement (getting 16kg to 10RM) came when I was willing to reduce weight and get lots of reps and sets in.

Next up: Dan John's Armor Building Formula (KB version).

 

[TedM]

Pretty spectacular results.!

Thanks for sharing your lessons learned- really helpful.

 

[Wolv3rus]

Hi Guys, me again.

So I just did the 2nd workout of 1.1 and noticed that the press is definitely my weak point in the C&P.
I could have done one or two additional sets if it were just cleans, but the 8reps really smoked my shoulders.

For future progression, should I just call it when I can't do a complete set any more or keep going and do push-presses, when the strict press is tapping out?

 

[Eric Wilson]

That's where autoregulation comes in -- go at the pace where you can finish each set that you start. Being ready for a set of 8 is different than being ready for a set of 5, obviously.

 

[TedM]

Hi Guys, me again.

So I just did the 2nd workout of 1.1 and noticed that the press is definitely my weak point in the C&P.
I could have done one or two additional sets if it were just cleans, but the 8reps really smoked my shoulders.

For future progression, should I just call it when I can't do a complete set any more or keep going and do push-presses, when the strict press is tapping out?

+what Eric said.
I just finished week 3 of 1.2. On Tuesday I failed with 9th rep on last two sets. I realized, I need to wait a full 2 minutes to recover sufficiently- at least for the last few sets. (I did an extra set just to prove my theory...)
Today, for sets of 8 - I gave myself 1:45 rest for the last 4 sets and it made a world of difference.

 

[Kettlebellguy]

Hello everyone
Week 4 of Giant X2 is done! Here are my numbers with double 24s for 30:00 lf work:
W4D1: 54 Total Reps
Today felt good. Not easy and not too hard. I always try and give myself more rest for my last set because if the time left on my timer is not too long I just rest a bit more and do a strong final set instead of doing a set and then try to squeeze one more set before the workout finishes. I did 34% more work doing the exact same workout two months ago with X1.

W4D2: 63 Total Reps

W4D3: 48 Total Reps
This day was see-saw press day and I felt good hitting those many reps because that is a pr for me.

I am really happy with my progress and now I am half way through Giant X2. Can’t wait to see how much progress I will make at the end! Hope everyone has a great week.

 

[Kettlebellguy]

Hi Guys, me again.

So I just did the 2nd workout of 1.1 and noticed that the press is definitely my weak point in the C&P.
I could have done one or two additional sets if it were just cleans, but the 8reps really smoked my shoulders.

For future progression, should I just call it when I can't do a complete set any more or keep going and do push-presses, when the strict press is tapping out?

I rest really really long between sets of 8, 9 or 10 of C&P. Anything from 4-6 minutes depending on how I feel and how many weeks I have been doing the program.

 

[Eric Wilson]

One more report on my twelve weeks of the Giant (1.0-1.1-1.2). Before the Giant I did 15 rounds of ABC OTM at 2x16kg. I've done 20 minutes before, so not great. After 12 weeks of the giant, my presses were super easy, but the DFS wiped me out. Wasn't really expecting that because 2x16kg DFS is pretty easy.

A big question I had before doing the Giant was "how will it effect other lifts?" I've got my (short term) answer now. They decrease!

Nevertheless, the Giant was great and I'd do it again. My DFS and DL will come back, probably in three weeks.

 

[Rune K]

One more report on my twelve weeks of the Giant (1.0-1.1-1.2). Before the Giant I did 15 rounds of ABC OTM at 2x16kg. I've done 20 minutes before, so not great. After 12 weeks of the giant, my presses were super easy, but the DFS wiped me out. Wasn't really expecting that because 2x16kg DFS is pretty easy.

A big question I had before doing the Giant was "how will it effect other lifts?" I've got my (short term) answer now. They decrease!

Nevertheless, the Giant was great and I'd do it again. My DFS and DL will come back, probably in three weeks.

When I ran The Giant last time, I noticed that too. I hoped DFSQ at least would be at maintenance level. I’m all into The Giant again now, but this time I added 3x8 DFSQ at the end of the 30-minute session. I really like that, and it feels like the squat adds something.

Side note: I’m really having fun with the program! I can press a 32kg kettlebell a few times, but decided to try the program with a lighter weight. I was a bit tired of struggling. As you mentioned earlier, you got progress with lighter weight. I do too. I may have gone a bit light, but it’s really fun to focus on the technique all the way.

 

[Anders]

Don't know about single/double that was a few years ago.

One thing I did was ROP with my 12kg+5lb (roughly 14kg, but without the cleans). That helped a lot when I couldn't get the reps in at 16kg.

I also did this:

Which took me from 6 reps to 8, and later from 8 reps to 10.

I also did Giant 3.0 (twice) but it didn't really work for me. Also never had great success with ROP at 16kg.

Did you try out pressing 5 times a week for a couple of weeks ? It seems like a very interesting idea.

 

[TedM]

I hoped DFSQ at least would be at maintenance level.

Why not do something a couple of days a week On off days to keep ot grooved

 

[John Grahill]

That's where autoregulation comes in -- go at the pace where you can finish each set that you start. Being ready for a set of 8 is different than being ready for a set of 5, obviously.

I agree with you wholeheartedly. I was surprised when I first hit up higher rep c+p's as to just how exhausting they truly are! Even going from 5 to 6 reps is taxing. Then you find 7 's extremely daunting..... the same thing occurs as you climb the reps upward. The draining they do increases the recovery time. Especially if you're wired like I am. I could sprint but hated distance work.

When I did the "personal challenge" from Geoff of the double 32s for 10x10, I was taking AND NEEDED a full five minutes between sets and even though the rests were quite generous, my heart rate went quite high after each bout!

The goal was finish in one hour or less. I made it in like 59:45. It destroyed me but at the same time it was awesome!

 

[Eric Wilson]

Did you try out pressing 5 times a week for a couple of weeks ? It seems like a very interesting idea.

Yes, I did. Was surprised to add a few reps to my max in such a short time. But don't forget the easy week (or two!) at the end, that made a difference.

 

[Ben Strong]

One more report on my twelve weeks of the Giant (1.0-1.1-1.2). Before the Giant I did 15 rounds of ABC OTM at 2x16kg. I've done 20 minutes before, so not great. After 12 weeks of the giant, my presses were super easy, but the DFS wiped me out. Wasn't really expecting that because 2x16kg DFS is pretty easy.

A big question I had before doing the Giant was "how will it effect other lifts?" I've got my (short term) answer now. They decrease!

Nevertheless, the Giant was great and I'd do it again. My DFS and DL will come back, probably in three weeks.

Awesome to hear about your progress. Thanks for posting you reports!

I didn't run anything in conjunction with the Giant the first time around but lately I have been adding in 2x5 DFSQ with pretty "easy" weights before or after a session. I got this from Dan John's easy strength and the rule of ten. Based on that you could also do 5,3,2 or 3x3 or rotate through these rep schemes. I find this helps keeps at least keep my squats in maintenance mode. But tbh I feel like I am still building some strength there, albeit slowly. YMMV and all that.

When doing Dry Fighting Weight I just fell in love with doing the front squats in conjunction with my presses. I feel like if I don't do them often I start to lose my ability to hold tension as well for my pressing.

 

[North]

The Olympic 2.0 was the missing link (for me) between giant 3.0 and giant 1.0. It is a 3 month programs based on your 7-8 RM. it can be found in Kettlebell Express Ultra from Geoff Neupert. It includes front squats which I love to hate.

I’ve not done strong, yet.

 

[kbgolf]

When I ran The Giant last time, I noticed that too. I hoped DFSQ at least would be at maintenance level. I’m all into The Giant again now, but this time I added 3x8 DFSQ at the end of the 30-minute session. I really like that, and it feels like the squat adds something.

......

Geoff has a program called "Easy Muscle ", actually 3 programs in the PDF.

The first is basically The Giant with a choice of squat added.