Showing posts with label enter the kettlebell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label enter the kettlebell. Show all posts
Friday, October 16, 2009
RTK Heavy Press Day OWNed me: another frickin' learning experience session
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I've said that so far each session of Return of the Kettlebell has been a 
learning experience. Usually it's been about technique. The start of this latest block, it was about reading comprehension. But no matter the type of learning, the result goes to the body - and the mind.
The first time i did the RTK pressing block i did it wrong. I did it as ETK with two kb's. Even as such, double 12's for me for five rungs, five ladders on heavy day was challenging, but it didn't hurt my brain. After this last C&J block, the ETK book arrived and so in reading it from cover to cover, rather than the Plan that is on the DVD, i noticed that my interpretation of the pressing block was in error.
I have now adjusted accordingly, such that the heavy day, the final one of the week, is double 16's. Snatching two 16's - for me- is on a whole other plane from double 12's or alternating a 16 with any other lesser size doubles work, no matter the hand.
Is this my Beautiful House?
I consider that half a year ago i was struggling to press a two consecutive left arm presses with the 16 (as part of the perfect rep quest series). Now, i'm doing DOUBLE frickin' 16's with a SNATCH at the start of each rung? When i thought about it, my brain did do a bit of a tilt. But excuse me if this is being a sissy, but again, for me, double snatching 16s is an exercise at this moment as much in intestinal fortitude as it is in strength. And also mental stickiness. By five ladders were not total 5's of 5. They were (sounding like figure skating scores) 4,4,3,3,3. Owned. Toasted. Perhaps basted.
THis is so intriguing to me: gals test with single snatching the 16 for the RKC cert, yes? so we are familiar with hiking this thing back and way up, either side. But does the physics change or what at that weight in a way that is dfferent from double 12s - and if it's not 12's for you, imagine whatever your snatch test bell is or say higher bell if it is that is at the sort of top of your single pressing for reps bent. Weird. Glad only to go there once a week. But also looking forward to seeing how this feeling changes with more reps.
Forget Something?
And speaking of mental stickiness, i'd just like to know, how many people forget to squat after the last ladder rung of a set and dash to reclaim the bells before they get all the way to the ground? Hmm? is this just me?
And may i say that on heavy day, doing those squat sets with the double kb's well i can see where someone might say it will make a man out of you. But it's really the mental toughness i think because it's doable, challenging, but not a form killer. it's a nicely balanced edge, but it's also just not nice.
KB swings for in between set Active Recovery, strength and Owning My Swing.
Continuing on from the last update, i again used a light kb to get in 100 perfect swings between ladders. I focussed on form, muscle awareness and experimented with eye position and movement for what the smoothest feel was. It did not wear me out. It was great. I'm getting in 600 swings a workout this way more or less for free, alternating standard speed with overspeed eccentrics.
I'm doing this keep the heart rate up for two reasons: one, to test the this will kill DOMS theory and two to test the Cardio Between Sets Improves Strength Gains.
I make no claims here as i will have nothing to compare against my results of not doing cardio between sets. That said, i KNOW my oxidative capacity will go up - it can't not physiologically from that kind of forced exertion. So that's nice. IT's only about 12 mins worth of cardio all told, so not a biggie, but not nothing either - plus it's 600 more opportunities every other day to own my swing.
When i get to a place where a day's RTK workout is "practice" rather than "new learning experience" i'll be sure to shout.
anon.
Related Posts
learning experience. Usually it's been about technique. The start of this latest block, it was about reading comprehension. But no matter the type of learning, the result goes to the body - and the mind.The first time i did the RTK pressing block i did it wrong. I did it as ETK with two kb's. Even as such, double 12's for me for five rungs, five ladders on heavy day was challenging, but it didn't hurt my brain. After this last C&J block, the ETK book arrived and so in reading it from cover to cover, rather than the Plan that is on the DVD, i noticed that my interpretation of the pressing block was in error.
I have now adjusted accordingly, such that the heavy day, the final one of the week, is double 16's. Snatching two 16's - for me- is on a whole other plane from double 12's or alternating a 16 with any other lesser size doubles work, no matter the hand.
Is this my Beautiful House?
I consider that half a year ago i was struggling to press a two consecutive left arm presses with the 16 (as part of the perfect rep quest series). Now, i'm doing DOUBLE frickin' 16's with a SNATCH at the start of each rung? When i thought about it, my brain did do a bit of a tilt. But excuse me if this is being a sissy, but again, for me, double snatching 16s is an exercise at this moment as much in intestinal fortitude as it is in strength. And also mental stickiness. By five ladders were not total 5's of 5. They were (sounding like figure skating scores) 4,4,3,3,3. Owned. Toasted. Perhaps basted.
THis is so intriguing to me: gals test with single snatching the 16 for the RKC cert, yes? so we are familiar with hiking this thing back and way up, either side. But does the physics change or what at that weight in a way that is dfferent from double 12s - and if it's not 12's for you, imagine whatever your snatch test bell is or say higher bell if it is that is at the sort of top of your single pressing for reps bent. Weird. Glad only to go there once a week. But also looking forward to seeing how this feeling changes with more reps.
Forget Something?
And speaking of mental stickiness, i'd just like to know, how many people forget to squat after the last ladder rung of a set and dash to reclaim the bells before they get all the way to the ground? Hmm? is this just me?
And may i say that on heavy day, doing those squat sets with the double kb's well i can see where someone might say it will make a man out of you. But it's really the mental toughness i think because it's doable, challenging, but not a form killer. it's a nicely balanced edge, but it's also just not nice.
KB swings for in between set Active Recovery, strength and Owning My Swing.
Continuing on from the last update, i again used a light kb to get in 100 perfect swings between ladders. I focussed on form, muscle awareness and experimented with eye position and movement for what the smoothest feel was. It did not wear me out. It was great. I'm getting in 600 swings a workout this way more or less for free, alternating standard speed with overspeed eccentrics.
I'm doing this keep the heart rate up for two reasons: one, to test the this will kill DOMS theory and two to test the Cardio Between Sets Improves Strength Gains.
I make no claims here as i will have nothing to compare against my results of not doing cardio between sets. That said, i KNOW my oxidative capacity will go up - it can't not physiologically from that kind of forced exertion. So that's nice. IT's only about 12 mins worth of cardio all told, so not a biggie, but not nothing either - plus it's 600 more opportunities every other day to own my swing.
When i get to a place where a day's RTK workout is "practice" rather than "new learning experience" i'll be sure to shout.
anon.
Related Posts
- b2d kettlebell article index - including RTK stories and Perfect Rep Stories among other moves.
PDF
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
A gal DELIBERATELY gaining "mass" (not weight). How can this be?
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So, i'm female, like to be lean and ripped AND i'm trying to gain mass - a new way to say "gain weight." What is that about? If awhile ago someone had told me i'd be looking at mass going up rather than down i would have paled, horrified. So what's happened?
Two things:
So, with the release of Pavel's Return of the Kettlebell (start of a review series here)- geared at hypertrophy strength in particular- i thought i'm in a good enough place now to push on this strength side with RTK's double KB work and investigate the mass side promised with it. And i know for my NSCA CSCS text book - and every other sentient knowledgeable person on mass tells me so - this means eating to achieve a caloric surplus not a deficit. I have never eaten for caloric surplus deliberately in my life.
The result so far is a strange thing. Over the past 6-8 weeks i have been watching the scale go up AND i have not freaked out, i have not panicked, i have not broken into a sweat of fear.
Don't Panic
Part of the reason for this lack of panic is perhaps knowledge and control. I know something about what's going on, and i am doing it cautiously and deliberately. Whether it's optimally remains to be seen, but i'm ok with that, too, as the weight going up is not huge leaps and bounds.
Part of the ok'ness is also that in the knowledge side, i know how to evaluate the number on the scale from a few metrics. One of the most powerful ones is girth and the other is skin fold testing.
With Girth i whip out a wonderful gadget called a myotape, and cuff it around my biceps. Not
a ton of change, but it's an honest 1/8th of an inch. And after a workout the measure is considerably greater. But we're talking post rest not post workout measures. the real stuff. I can also keep an eye on more sensitive areas like hips and waist with girth and see if this is beyond my mental tolerances or not. The best check there however is still feeling comfy in my clothes.
With skin fold measures i track what i really want to track here: improvements in lean mass. These are slower to grow than fat to be sure, but seeing weekly progress is a good thing. So far i haven't seen bigger jumps than when i've been trying to lean out and work out at the same time, but it's only been a short trial so far. The main thing is the trends are going in the right direction, and the BF% is still well within tolerable limits.
Why else am i doing this?
I want to see if i can "get arms" (and maybe some other body parts too, but arms has always been the one for me). As far as i know there's no genetic reason why my arms shouldn't respond approriately to appropriate forces for hypertrophic adaptation. However, i also want to walk the walk.
I confer with lots of folks who are more into bodybuilding than strength. The interesting demographic is young lads and post 30's gals - in my experience anyway. So while i'm giving council like "eat more to gain" where have i been on that continuum? Strength and leanness.
So i figure now is the time to fish or cut bait. I'm not going into body building, but i am experimenting with how muscle mass growth can be stimulated, fed, supported, with what one might see as the *minimal* set of moves to achieve that goal, and where RTK right now is my main mission.
For now, part of the experiment is just figuring out how to be cool like a little fonzy with this weight gain thing while the mass gain thing comes along.
The basics: how one reacts to food.
The far more challenging part at least for me and perhaps for other women too who may want more mass (as opposed to weight, dam it. weight bad; mass good - we know what we mean) - is feeling ok about seeing the scale go in the usually dreaded direction.
The take away from this for me so far thinking about it is that it's been my work in nutrition that's let me feel comfortable exploring this uncharted territory in strength and mass (mass. ha! so far i say ha! we'll see. an eighth of an inch for pete's sake! ), not the workouts.
The workouts psychologically seem the eas(ier) part. There are certain principles to which muscle reacts when stimulated appropriately. Check. But the scale? Really, i think if i didn't have those other measures, and a faith that i know how to reduce the weight again, i couldn't do this.
The Way i've Found Thinner Peace.
I'm stealing thinner peace from a fabulous book on how we react to change and how to make habits successful called the Four day Win by Martha Beck (US || UK ) - recommended. If you want to see why, i talk about habits, and the change of pain that is changing one's dietary ways and how to do this with as little brain pain as possible over here. That's potentially a first place: to know how change can work safely. And whence from there?
For me, how i got to a place of really knowing my body in terms of nutrition is with Precision Nutrition that i've reviewed over time, and have been using now, literally for years. The thing i'd like to draw attention to here are three parts of that approach that i think are relevant to this weight going up mental safety zone.
We're complex systems. Why wouldn't it take that kind of time to get to know how these complex mechanisms interact with complex inputs?
So i think it's great that there's a base case from which adjustments can be made. Second, once the base case is established, time to look at parameters for individualizing to get on with one's body comp goals: where start sensibly to work towards losing weight or gaining mass? how tweak either calories or macronutrients? why? how do that again in the spirit of change one thing, maintain the change for two weeks, assess.
The third part is actually having guidance on how to do girth and skinfold measures and make sense of those measures. A lot of that material is in the PN guides that come with the huge amount of material available in the program. Much more comes from the feedback of folks on the PN forum. The experts there from a diversity of backgrounds are awesome. A breakthrough for me, for instance, happened when i'd seemingly hit a plateua doing everything i thought right, and a power lifter trainer from London, Alex Gold, said, that happened to me: i hate calorie counting, but why not check in with fitday for a couple weeks to get a reality check and see what happens?
Wow. super. Did it for a month, actually, and, combined with what i knew at that point, and advice on tuning my workouts (also from PN) i had it nailed - the light turned on and i got what it took to tune my intake for that particular goal. Now i might not always choose to do that of course, but i know what it is - at least in that direction. I am so grateful for that collision of practice, reading, and the space in which to consult with knowledgeable and simply more experienced people. The photo on the left is from a time just after this tuning process.
Whither Voyager?
My modus operandi now seems to be figuring out how to use that knowledge from leaning up to muscling up (and then leaning again, leaving the mass in tact, more or less ).
What some folks may notice is that the above getting to know my physiology for food was a month here, two week tests at a time there - easily adding up to more than a 12 week body transformation. You bet. But, the point is, do it once, do it right, and the knowledge is there for well, so far, my life since then.
Diets suck. they're about temporary deprivation for the most part. They're not about skills or about self-knowledge to have confidence to take knowledge gained to new places.
With ETK (review) and the RKC cert (review), i learned a lot about single kettlebell work. Not everything, but a great foundation with solid moves that will also last a life time. Likewise i'm using that to transfer to the different beast (but related cousin) of double kettlebell work. I'm looking forward to the RKC II in feb 2010 to develop the vocabulary a bit further.
I guess the big thing here is foundations establishing a base of trust, and that trust comes from self-knowledge, and that the way to get that self-knowledge could be to hack around on one's own and hope to fall into it. Or it could be to get some good guidance, do some research, and find a space to ask questions to improve that practice.
With kettlebells it's been ETK and the RKC. With nutrition, it's been Precision Nutrition. In each case, i've gotten to a point where i'm gaining the confidence to fool around within the parameters of the space - play with a pump post the double pressing in RTK and explore IF that wiser people than I keep saying is cool.
The results of the good foundation and trust it perhaps this boldly going to a territory - weight gain - that previously would have devestated me and is now a new and if not undiscovered then potentially dangerous but with now acceptable levels of risk attached. That's likely a long winded way of saying it feels safe enough to have fun.
Does this process make sense to anyone else? hope if so, it helps :)
best
mc
Related Posts
So, i'm female, like to be lean and ripped AND i'm trying to gain mass - a new way to say "gain weight." What is that about? If awhile ago someone had told me i'd be looking at mass going up rather than down i would have paled, horrified. So what's happened?Two things:
- i've for a long time wanted defined strong and strong looking arms.
- But perhaps more importantly, over the past few years, i've learned how to do lean for me: i know what it takes to get lean dialed in, and have done it a couple of times - getting to the ideal weight, letting that slide a few pounds, going back. For me this has meant my weight has been consistently between 57 point something and 60k. Happy days.
So, with the release of Pavel's Return of the Kettlebell (start of a review series here)- geared at hypertrophy strength in particular- i thought i'm in a good enough place now to push on this strength side with RTK's double KB work and investigate the mass side promised with it. And i know for my NSCA CSCS text book - and every other sentient knowledgeable person on mass tells me so - this means eating to achieve a caloric surplus not a deficit. I have never eaten for caloric surplus deliberately in my life.
The result so far is a strange thing. Over the past 6-8 weeks i have been watching the scale go up AND i have not freaked out, i have not panicked, i have not broken into a sweat of fear.
Don't Panic
Part of the reason for this lack of panic is perhaps knowledge and control. I know something about what's going on, and i am doing it cautiously and deliberately. Whether it's optimally remains to be seen, but i'm ok with that, too, as the weight going up is not huge leaps and bounds.
Part of the ok'ness is also that in the knowledge side, i know how to evaluate the number on the scale from a few metrics. One of the most powerful ones is girth and the other is skin fold testing.
With Girth i whip out a wonderful gadget called a myotape, and cuff it around my biceps. Not
a ton of change, but it's an honest 1/8th of an inch. And after a workout the measure is considerably greater. But we're talking post rest not post workout measures. the real stuff. I can also keep an eye on more sensitive areas like hips and waist with girth and see if this is beyond my mental tolerances or not. The best check there however is still feeling comfy in my clothes.With skin fold measures i track what i really want to track here: improvements in lean mass. These are slower to grow than fat to be sure, but seeing weekly progress is a good thing. So far i haven't seen bigger jumps than when i've been trying to lean out and work out at the same time, but it's only been a short trial so far. The main thing is the trends are going in the right direction, and the BF% is still well within tolerable limits.
Why else am i doing this?
I want to see if i can "get arms" (and maybe some other body parts too, but arms has always been the one for me). As far as i know there's no genetic reason why my arms shouldn't respond approriately to appropriate forces for hypertrophic adaptation. However, i also want to walk the walk.I confer with lots of folks who are more into bodybuilding than strength. The interesting demographic is young lads and post 30's gals - in my experience anyway. So while i'm giving council like "eat more to gain" where have i been on that continuum? Strength and leanness.
So i figure now is the time to fish or cut bait. I'm not going into body building, but i am experimenting with how muscle mass growth can be stimulated, fed, supported, with what one might see as the *minimal* set of moves to achieve that goal, and where RTK right now is my main mission.
For now, part of the experiment is just figuring out how to be cool like a little fonzy with this weight gain thing while the mass gain thing comes along.
The basics: how one reacts to food.
The far more challenging part at least for me and perhaps for other women too who may want more mass (as opposed to weight, dam it. weight bad; mass good - we know what we mean) - is feeling ok about seeing the scale go in the usually dreaded direction.
The take away from this for me so far thinking about it is that it's been my work in nutrition that's let me feel comfortable exploring this uncharted territory in strength and mass (mass. ha! so far i say ha! we'll see. an eighth of an inch for pete's sake! ), not the workouts.
The workouts psychologically seem the eas(ier) part. There are certain principles to which muscle reacts when stimulated appropriately. Check. But the scale? Really, i think if i didn't have those other measures, and a faith that i know how to reduce the weight again, i couldn't do this.
The Way i've Found Thinner Peace.
I'm stealing thinner peace from a fabulous book on how we react to change and how to make habits successful called the Four day Win by Martha Beck (US || UK ) - recommended. If you want to see why, i talk about habits, and the change of pain that is changing one's dietary ways and how to do this with as little brain pain as possible over here. That's potentially a first place: to know how change can work safely. And whence from there?
For me, how i got to a place of really knowing my body in terms of nutrition is with Precision Nutrition that i've reviewed over time, and have been using now, literally for years. The thing i'd like to draw attention to here are three parts of that approach that i think are relevant to this weight going up mental safety zone.
- - the basic baselining
- - the individualization plan
- - learning about measures
We're complex systems. Why wouldn't it take that kind of time to get to know how these complex mechanisms interact with complex inputs?
So i think it's great that there's a base case from which adjustments can be made. Second, once the base case is established, time to look at parameters for individualizing to get on with one's body comp goals: where start sensibly to work towards losing weight or gaining mass? how tweak either calories or macronutrients? why? how do that again in the spirit of change one thing, maintain the change for two weeks, assess.
The third part is actually having guidance on how to do girth and skinfold measures and make sense of those measures. A lot of that material is in the PN guides that come with the huge amount of material available in the program. Much more comes from the feedback of folks on the PN forum. The experts there from a diversity of backgrounds are awesome. A breakthrough for me, for instance, happened when i'd seemingly hit a plateua doing everything i thought right, and a power lifter trainer from London, Alex Gold, said, that happened to me: i hate calorie counting, but why not check in with fitday for a couple weeks to get a reality check and see what happens?
Wow. super. Did it for a month, actually, and, combined with what i knew at that point, and advice on tuning my workouts (also from PN) i had it nailed - the light turned on and i got what it took to tune my intake for that particular goal. Now i might not always choose to do that of course, but i know what it is - at least in that direction. I am so grateful for that collision of practice, reading, and the space in which to consult with knowledgeable and simply more experienced people. The photo on the left is from a time just after this tuning process.Whither Voyager?
My modus operandi now seems to be figuring out how to use that knowledge from leaning up to muscling up (and then leaning again, leaving the mass in tact, more or less ).
What some folks may notice is that the above getting to know my physiology for food was a month here, two week tests at a time there - easily adding up to more than a 12 week body transformation. You bet. But, the point is, do it once, do it right, and the knowledge is there for well, so far, my life since then.
Diets suck. they're about temporary deprivation for the most part. They're not about skills or about self-knowledge to have confidence to take knowledge gained to new places.
With ETK (review) and the RKC cert (review), i learned a lot about single kettlebell work. Not everything, but a great foundation with solid moves that will also last a life time. Likewise i'm using that to transfer to the different beast (but related cousin) of double kettlebell work. I'm looking forward to the RKC II in feb 2010 to develop the vocabulary a bit further.
I guess the big thing here is foundations establishing a base of trust, and that trust comes from self-knowledge, and that the way to get that self-knowledge could be to hack around on one's own and hope to fall into it. Or it could be to get some good guidance, do some research, and find a space to ask questions to improve that practice.
With kettlebells it's been ETK and the RKC. With nutrition, it's been Precision Nutrition. In each case, i've gotten to a point where i'm gaining the confidence to fool around within the parameters of the space - play with a pump post the double pressing in RTK and explore IF that wiser people than I keep saying is cool.
The results of the good foundation and trust it perhaps this boldly going to a territory - weight gain - that previously would have devestated me and is now a new and if not undiscovered then potentially dangerous but with now acceptable levels of risk attached. That's likely a long winded way of saying it feels safe enough to have fun.
Does this process make sense to anyone else? hope if so, it helps :)
best
mc
Related Posts
- Return of the Kettlebell - double kb work prelim review
- the complete list of all the updates related to RTK at the b2d kb index
- exercise doesn't work without diet. - either way the weight goes, it seems.
- Myth busting: women are afraid to bulk up.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Return of the Kettlebell Workout: Working Double Time Pre/Review
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Have you started your Return of the Kettlebell practice yet? What made you decide to give it a go?
Return of the Kettlebell is the latest kettlebell DVD/book from Pavel Tsatsouline. Return of the Kettlebell focussing on double kettlebell work. It also features some new moves up from Enter the Kettlebell(ETK)'s excellent Program Minium and Rite of Passage programs (described in this review) that have become standard in Hard Style kettlebell practice.
The main difference between ETK and RTK on a very basic level is the number of kettlebells used: ETK uses 1; RTK uses 2. Where ETK is an introduction and introductory program to kettlebell work for any level athlete, RTK assumes that people coming to RTK have already practiced and succeeded with both ETK programs: it assumes folks are very comfortable with hardstyle kettlebell cleans, presses, snatches, squats and deadlifts. RTK also introduces what may be new moves to people not familiar with GS Sport kettlebelling - putting a hardstyle spin on that practice - with both the Clean and Jerk (part of the trad GS Long Cycle) and the addition of a movement developed by Kenneth Jay of VO2Max training (review), Viking Warrior Conditioning fame. This new move is the Viking Push Press. Indeed, Kenneth Jay is featured throughout the RTK DVD as the main demonstrator of the moves for men; RKC Missy Beaver demos some particular variants for women.
SO why do double kettlebell work? Mike Mahler with his Aggressive Strength Training approach has already made a reputation for his crusade to demonstrate that (a) heavy double kettlebell work is an efficient and effective way to muscle gain and (b) this can be achieved on a vegan diet, too. His approach has largely been to marry heavy double kb work with Staley's escalating density training approach (more on EDT).
The promo material for Return of the Kettlebell promises at least similar results. It's a "program for explosive muscle gain." The approach is different, though.
It's clear from the protocols that they are designed to combine the best of what we know about hypertrophy and skill training to develop muscle mass (assuming one is eating to support that effort) based on reps, load, recovery (and overspeed eccentrics).
But underneath that focus on hypertrophy is a program that seems designed as well to support some power and endurance, too. How be all things to all people? Well, that would be the special sauce of how the training blocks are combined. If you're familiar with ETK, you'll see some familiar parts to RTK. There are some new twists here, though, in blending blocks of kinds of programs. This is not an upper/lower body split approach; this is a one type and another type approach, alternating.
On paper, (and on DVD) the program looks compelling. After a phase of working with it, believe me it feels compelling.
My reason for doing the program is really an exploration:
i've done Mahler's style of EDT with kettlebells (i love EDT), largely playing it quite safe with lower weights on presses (5 reps of 10RM as prescribed in EDT), swings, renegade rows, floor presses - that sort of thing - usually alternating sides on the low stuff and occasionally doing double presses.
With RTK, the focus is on 5RM pressing weights for doubles work, getting the volume up, getting the time down, and combining some demanding combinations and some intriguing blocks. So the exploration is with this rather controlled push - to make double kb work as a skill practical. And practicable. If does feel different to focus on this more intense kind of doubles work. And so far, i like the routines.
And also with RTK, i'm very glad to have I-Phase z-health in particular to apply the template approach to do Z-Health mobility moves mirroring the RTK actions between reps. This movement work has helped keep focus and movement precisions as consistent as possible, towards that perfect rep. In my experience this kind of attention can mean the difference between effortful, form challenged, and more effortless, efficient lifts.
With EDT (i said i love this, right?) the focus is on what work one can get done in 15 min. blocks. Upping reps each time. In RTK as with ETK the rep count is set; can you get the time down? the weight up?
The long cycle (clean and jerk) has become a core part of the RTK plan as well - intriguingly, it is approached quite differently than it seems to be in GS circles. Imagine if you applied ETK to the Clean and Jerk. Something like that.
Right now, as said, doing RTK is very much an exploration: what does this mean for a gal in particular? In ETK, Pavel makes a clear distinction between women's press requirements and men's to say we've completed the final ETK program. That distinction (purposefully or not) has not been made in RTK's program. Likewise, in GS circles, as far as i know, women do one arm C&J long cycles. Here there's no such distinction. It seems to be doubles all the way for all.
I'm not sure about the end point described in RTK: being able to do a strict clean and press with double kb's adding up to your weight. If this program delivers that, i will be moved: either i will be a whole lot stronger or i'll have lost a whole lot of weight.
In the meantime, i'm taking this one double press at a time. It focuses the mind. Really. Double snatches, double presses - they focus the mind. I'll be keen to see how it develops strength, too.
If you're comfortable with hardstyle kb's, are happy with Pavel's training patterns, RTK is well worth exploring. Tweet Follow @begin2dig
Return of the Kettlebell is the latest kettlebell DVD/book from Pavel Tsatsouline. Return of the Kettlebell focussing on double kettlebell work. It also features some new moves up from Enter the Kettlebell(ETK)'s excellent Program Minium and Rite of Passage programs (described in this review) that have become standard in Hard Style kettlebell practice.
The main difference between ETK and RTK on a very basic level is the number of kettlebells used: ETK uses 1; RTK uses 2. Where ETK is an introduction and introductory program to kettlebell work for any level athlete, RTK assumes that people coming to RTK have already practiced and succeeded with both ETK programs: it assumes folks are very comfortable with hardstyle kettlebell cleans, presses, snatches, squats and deadlifts. RTK also introduces what may be new moves to people not familiar with GS Sport kettlebelling - putting a hardstyle spin on that practice - with both the Clean and Jerk (part of the trad GS Long Cycle) and the addition of a movement developed by Kenneth Jay of VO2Max training (review), Viking Warrior Conditioning fame. This new move is the Viking Push Press. Indeed, Kenneth Jay is featured throughout the RTK DVD as the main demonstrator of the moves for men; RKC Missy Beaver demos some particular variants for women.
SO why do double kettlebell work? Mike Mahler with his Aggressive Strength Training approach has already made a reputation for his crusade to demonstrate that (a) heavy double kettlebell work is an efficient and effective way to muscle gain and (b) this can be achieved on a vegan diet, too. His approach has largely been to marry heavy double kb work with Staley's escalating density training approach (more on EDT).
The promo material for Return of the Kettlebell promises at least similar results. It's a "program for explosive muscle gain." The approach is different, though.
It's clear from the protocols that they are designed to combine the best of what we know about hypertrophy and skill training to develop muscle mass (assuming one is eating to support that effort) based on reps, load, recovery (and overspeed eccentrics).
But underneath that focus on hypertrophy is a program that seems designed as well to support some power and endurance, too. How be all things to all people? Well, that would be the special sauce of how the training blocks are combined. If you're familiar with ETK, you'll see some familiar parts to RTK. There are some new twists here, though, in blending blocks of kinds of programs. This is not an upper/lower body split approach; this is a one type and another type approach, alternating.
On paper, (and on DVD) the program looks compelling. After a phase of working with it, believe me it feels compelling.
My reason for doing the program is really an exploration:
i've done Mahler's style of EDT with kettlebells (i love EDT), largely playing it quite safe with lower weights on presses (5 reps of 10RM as prescribed in EDT), swings, renegade rows, floor presses - that sort of thing - usually alternating sides on the low stuff and occasionally doing double presses.
With RTK, the focus is on 5RM pressing weights for doubles work, getting the volume up, getting the time down, and combining some demanding combinations and some intriguing blocks. So the exploration is with this rather controlled push - to make double kb work as a skill practical. And practicable. If does feel different to focus on this more intense kind of doubles work. And so far, i like the routines.
And also with RTK, i'm very glad to have I-Phase z-health in particular to apply the template approach to do Z-Health mobility moves mirroring the RTK actions between reps. This movement work has helped keep focus and movement precisions as consistent as possible, towards that perfect rep. In my experience this kind of attention can mean the difference between effortful, form challenged, and more effortless, efficient lifts.
With EDT (i said i love this, right?) the focus is on what work one can get done in 15 min. blocks. Upping reps each time. In RTK as with ETK the rep count is set; can you get the time down? the weight up?
The long cycle (clean and jerk) has become a core part of the RTK plan as well - intriguingly, it is approached quite differently than it seems to be in GS circles. Imagine if you applied ETK to the Clean and Jerk. Something like that.
Right now, as said, doing RTK is very much an exploration: what does this mean for a gal in particular? In ETK, Pavel makes a clear distinction between women's press requirements and men's to say we've completed the final ETK program. That distinction (purposefully or not) has not been made in RTK's program. Likewise, in GS circles, as far as i know, women do one arm C&J long cycles. Here there's no such distinction. It seems to be doubles all the way for all.
I'm not sure about the end point described in RTK: being able to do a strict clean and press with double kb's adding up to your weight. If this program delivers that, i will be moved: either i will be a whole lot stronger or i'll have lost a whole lot of weight.
In the meantime, i'm taking this one double press at a time. It focuses the mind. Really. Double snatches, double presses - they focus the mind. I'll be keen to see how it develops strength, too.
If you're comfortable with hardstyle kb's, are happy with Pavel's training patterns, RTK is well worth exploring. Tweet Follow @begin2dig
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