It wasn't long ago at all that even thinking of two handers would light up my back for days. And now, 3 sets of 5 with a 150 lb bell, That's awesome to me.
But of course my back starting talking to me YESTERDAY; nothing bad but not exactly the condition I wanted to be in for 40 kg one arms and 68 kg two hand work.
I wasn't even sure where it came from as it has been so solid so long and then I realized all the squat work I did yesterday in the free form style ( no support) created it.
I'm not ready for that level yet even though it felt good at the time.
I still need to focus on knee flexion and without the support, or a kb , to lean back against the abs and back take too much load instead of the knees. Lesson learned.
And I thought it would be ok as soon as I started swinging and it was. Well not right away but close :)
Got my abs stretched out early this am and that helped too.
One arm swings
16 kg x 5/5 x 3
20 kg x 4/4
x 3/3
24 kg x 4/4
28 kg x 4/4
32 kg x 3/3
36 kg x 3/3
40 kg x 6/6 x 9 sets pr
108 reps
9504 lb
the same number of reps as last month on this bell but this time ALL in sixes. A pr :)
Two hand swing
40 kg x 5
48 kg x 5
68 kg x 5 x 3 !!!
well a few things :
1) swinging it is easier than deadlifting it
2) I didn't die.
3) I didn't rip anything off
Mission accomplished AND, it was freaking fun.
Since I don't dl or squat heavy anymore these heavy kb swings allow me to test my strength in a very safe and productive way.
No, they aren't perfect swings, and I don't care, they will get higher and stronger and more powerful as I train them THAT , I care about. This is strength work for me. Body AND mind. That bell is NO JOKE. I only weigh seven pounds more than it :)
Two hand Shield cast
20 lbs 10/10 x 2
25 lbs x 10/10 x 2
haven't done these in ages and they felt good. dropping curls as they jumped the shark for my shoulders and this seemed like a good substitute.
Lying barbell extensions
45 lb x 15 x 4
Side rotators with band 4 x 10/10
Overhead rotators with band 4 x 10/10
these aren't "supposed' to work but they sure are weak on me now and the shoulders felt good afterwards. SO they are in the mix for now.
here's my buddy Nick crushing the Monster with ONE ARM SWINGS! he did 6 sets of 3/3 along with Joe Sarti as well. That is a HUGE strength feat!
datsit.
NeverQuit
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4 comments:
Mark I am interested in reading more about your experience with 1 and 2-handed swings as you seem to view them pretty distinctly. What was it about 2h swings that used to light up your back, but not 1-hand? Is there a reason in your training you seem to focus on 1h first for work sets and finish with 2h? I have Pavel's S&S and the emphasis there is getting proficient at heavy 1h. I have been doing that for sometime and see great carryover to other KB movements. What is the place of the 2h? If you have written extensively on this before please point me to where I can find your observations and experience. Thank you.
two hand swings really overload my frontal abs( rectus abdominus) and too much tension there always caused my back into flexion.
I put in eons of time on abs with gymnastics,then bodybuilding and then heavy heavy weighted ab work with powerlifts.
when my l4 -l5 herniated I was seriously out of balance; way too much ab strength to erector /glute strength
when I started kbs I could only train one arm swings and snatches and some pressing.
I gave up squats, deads with bars or kbs or anything that worked my abs.
all I did was stretch my abs and try to strengthen my back, which the one arm swings did nicely. plus it build reflexive stability into my core at the same time
when one is asymmetrical doing bilateral work always causes the strong side to overwork so the weak side can never catch up.
the one arm swing/snatch circumvented this.
once I got more symmetry into my body I found I could tolerate two hand work as well as my things that loaded my abs but I still have to be careful
S&S all modestly aside was in large part brought about by my conversations with Pavel about my training and the empasis on the one arm swing
the getup portion I had nothing to do with ,lol.
the two hand swing is my strength move as you can see from my emphasis on heavier bells and less reps and volume. as well as the deadstop "Rif" swing.
I look at it as my dynamic good morning exercise I used to do as assistance for my barbell squat and deadlift
I also use it for beginners as their strength and power work for beginning kbs. One arm swing is definitely a more advanced kb move as it requires way more coordination, core strength and stability and body awareness and control.
:)
Mark thank you for taking the time to write this comprehensive response. This is very thought provoking and I appreciate it. To start I may be starting to understand why the contra lateral single leg deadlift with one KB is so good for me - I have some asymmetry and historical tension / tight spots on my right side in the lower neck, oblique, hip, glute. KB work has been tremendous to help with this over the last several years. I do believe that one arm work such as the swing and the SLDL, as well as TGU (really probably any single KB movement) is very good to address asymmetry issues. I love double KB work and heavy 2h SW but realize that I must continue to be diligent training movements that directly improve the asymmetry stuff.
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