workouts aren’t progressing?
Stronger Clean + Press - Take your 4RM and turn it into 10 sets of 6
Improve your health & get leaner
Get leaner, without losing strength
Get stronger and/or more powerful
Improve your conditioning for life and sport
Ever feel that way?
Or close?
I got an email from a gentleman asking telling me the very same thing.
It was his biggest problem using kettlebells, even though he said he’d been using them for 20 years.
In fact, I’d say it’s the BIGGEST PROBLEM in the Kettlebell Community.
Why does this happen?
TOO MUCH VARIETY.
And conversely, NOT ENOUGH FOCUS.
FOCUS.
F. Follow
O. One
C. Course
U. Until
S. Successful
(And sure, I get it - some people HYPER-focus with perceivably boring minimalist training - and burn themselves out.)
Now of course, this assumes the “course” you’re following is the “RIGHT” course for where you are wanting to go.
If not, you can find yourself in a ditch pretty quickly.
And then, you guessed it -
You’re definitely spinning your wheels again.
So the easiest way to do this is pick ONE THING -
ONE GOAL…
AND CHASE THAT DOWN UNTIL YOU CATCH IT!
And it doesn’t matter what it is, as long as it’s YOURS.
And then run the program(s) that will get you to your goal.
Just make sure said program(s) are actually designed to do what you want them to do, and you’re not trying to jam the proverbial square peg into the round hole.
Ideas for you:
[1] Train to get stronger
[2] Train to improve your conditioning
[3] Train to improve your health
[4] Train to get leaner
[5] Train to get rid of injury or more mobile
[6] Train to get more powerful
[7] Train to improve your sport (like BJJ)
Or stack your goals if you have more than one, for example:
“Rehab my busted shoulder so I can press the Bulldog (40kg).”
Or -
“Improve my conditioning on the mats for BJJ so I’m not sucking wind so much.”
BUT…
Here’s what I DON’T RECOMMEND:
“Get as big and strong and powerful and lean as possible.”
Why not?
Too vague.
And that’s because your goal has to be MEASURED.
That’s the only way you KNOW FOR SURE that you’re making progress.
For example:
[1] Get Stronger - “I want to clean + press a pair of 32kg KBs for 5 reps.”
[2] Train to improve your conditioning - “I want my resting heart rate to drop by 5 beats per minute.” Or “I want to be able to hike the Rockies again this year and not get out of breath so much like I did last year.”
[3] Train to improve your health - “I want my blood pressure to drop from 140/90 to 120/80, and my fasting blood sugar/glucose to drop from 100 to 90 in the next 6 months.”
[4] Train to get leaner - “I want to knock 2 inches off my waist - go from a 36 inch waist down to a 34 inch waist.”
[5] Train to get rid of injury or more mobile - “I want to get rid of this pain in my left shoulder that shows up every time I press.” Or “I want to get rid of this chronic lower back pain.”
[6] Train to get more powerful - “I want to pass the 5-Minute Snatch Test - 100 Snatches with a 24kg.”
[7] Train to improve your sport - “I want to be able to roll for five 5-minute rounds without my grip failing me or gassing out.”
Hopefully, you get the picture, right?
So, to recap:
[1] Pick ONE GOAL.
[2] FOCUS on that goal.
[3] KEEP GOING until you achieve that goal.
What about resources to help you achieve your goal?
They depend on your limitations and resources.
Hopefully you found this helpful if you were “spinning your wheels” and not making progress. Now you know exactly what to do differently.
Gotta run - boy’s first gymnastics meet today.
Stay Strong,
Geoff