Pavel "Simple and Sinister" KB program?

[The Colonel]

So I get REALLY bored with weightlifting and admit I hop around from program to program a little too much. The only gym nearby me that also works with my schedule is a Planet Fitness (terrible, I know) and while it is better than nothing I hate going in there. The highest weight the dumbbells go to is 60lbs, same as with the pre-loaded barbells, and there are no squat racks or bench presses, just smith machines.

I've used kettlebells (I have a few at home) off and on, but all the KB workouts that I've found (especially from places like Onnit) have workouts that are like, 5 different exercises for 5 sets of 20 or some crap like that. So boring. I'd rather have two or three exercises and workout like a madman to get through them. Get in and get it over with. I'm 38 and do BJJ for 3-5 days a week also.

I literally just started this Pavel Tatsouline program called "Simple and Sinister" where all you do is:

• Week 1: 5 sets of 10 KBS per arm THEN 5 sets of 1 TGU per arm
• Week 2: 6 sets of 10 KBS per arm THEN 5 sets of 2 TGU per arm
• Week 3: 7 sets of 10 KBS per arm THEN 5 sets of 3 TGU per arm
• Week 4: 8 sets of 10 KBS per arm THEN 5 sets of 4 TGU per arm
• Week 5: 9 sets of 10 KBS per arm THEN 5 sets of 5 TGU per arm
• Week 6: 10 sets of 10 KBS per arm THEN 5 sets of 5 TGU per arm

I also do the Russian Fighter Pull-up program which I have had really good results with.

Will I actually get stronger with this KB workout? I can complete a workout in about 10 minutes. Or should I go back to throwing around sandbags at home like I used to?

 

[deadshot138]

Use a 70lbs bell and you’ll get strong. This is more of a conditioning program tho

 

[ThunderL1ps]

Hold a sandbag on your shoulder while doing one arm KG swings.

 

[Johnsonville]

It's not bad, I do it when I get bored and stop barbell training. The thing is that barbell training complements the program so much, they really go hand in hand. You won't see the same progress on the program without deadlifting too, at least in my experience. But this program gave me really good balance and a way to generate power from the floor to my hand if that makes any sense; it really is helpful for mma training

~DaViD~

 

[LatFlare]

What's the point of doing sets of only 10 kbs? Either do sets of 25-100 for conditioning, or deadlift.

 

[Dan O]

Sounds like you need more CrossFit in your life

 

[corpse]

So I get REALLY bored with weightlifting and admit I hop around from program to program a little too much. The only gym nearby me that also works with my schedule is a Planet Fitness (terrible, I know) and while it is better than nothing I hate going in there. The highest weight the dumbbells go to is 60lbs, same as with the pre-loaded barbells, and there are no squat racks or bench presses, just smith machines.

I've used kettlebells (I have a few at home) off and on, but all the KB workouts that I've found (especially from places like Onnit) have workouts that are like, 5 different exercises for 5 sets of 20 or some crap like that. So boring. I'd rather have two or three exercises and workout like a madman to get through them. Get in and get it over with. I'm 38 and do BJJ for 3-5 days a week also.

I literally just started this Pavel Tatsouline program called "Simple and Sinister" where all you do is:

• Week 1: 5 sets of 10 KBS per arm THEN 5 sets of 1 TGU per arm
• Week 2: 6 sets of 10 KBS per arm THEN 5 sets of 2 TGU per arm
• Week 3: 7 sets of 10 KBS per arm THEN 5 sets of 3 TGU per arm
• Week 4: 8 sets of 10 KBS per arm THEN 5 sets of 4 TGU per arm
• Week 5: 9 sets of 10 KBS per arm THEN 5 sets of 5 TGU per arm
• Week 6: 10 sets of 10 KBS per arm THEN 5 sets of 5 TGU per arm

I also do the Russian Fighter Pull-up program which I have had really good results with.

Will I actually get stronger with this KB workout? I can complete a workout in about 10 minutes. Or should I go back to throwing around sandbags at home like I used to?

if you can do 10x10 swings and 5x5 tgu with a 32 kg bell i would consider you as stronger person. how strong do you wanna be? you won't develop an elite total from this for example. if you can do this with a 48 kg bell, that would be another story. pavel has some sort of strength category system with this program?

 

[Slatersan]

I love simple and sinister. I took a break from the gym for about two months to let some nagging bjj injuries heal up and just did s and s 5x a week. I got stronger in new ways from doing it. I felt great in bjj. When I went back to the gym all my lifts were close to what I left off at and have now gotten back to where I was with all my injuries cleared up.

 

[Tirofijo2001]

I did S&S. Started with a 24kg bell and made “simple” with the 32kg bell.

I felt great and got stronger not only in the press (maybe not surprising), but also in weighted pull-ups and deadlifts. Great program that won’t leave you too taxed to go roll.

Also, you dont have to follow that progression. You can go straight to 10x10 on the swings and 10 TGUs if the bell is light enough. With ththe 24kg, I was able to do the swings from the start but my TGU needed a little time before I could do 10 in a row. When I jumped to the 32kg, my grip on the swing was the limiting factor.

 

[corpse]

the tgu is really an underrated exercise. especially for the grappling arts.

best thing is tgu with a sandbag.

 

[Sano]

the tgu is really an underrated exercise. especially for the grappling arts.

best thing is tgu with a sandbag.

I would always use some form of TGU's with any grappler for their S&C as long as there's no injuries or pain that prevents it. Excellent exercise and you can modify it both with the load (type and intensity) and sticking points or parts of the movement as needed. Kettlebell swings are pretty great too. Teaching proper hip flexion, creates powerful hip extension (important for all athletics), hits the glutes, hamstrings, front delts, chest and to some extent various bracing muscles. It's a little bit more dynamic and higher power/velocity than a normal compound lift, at the same time you can't work max strength so much but again different tool.

 

[deadshot138]

What's the point of doing sets of only 10 kbs? Either do sets of 25-100 for conditioning, or deadlift.

The idea is to alternate arms every 10 reps and do all 100 reps unbroken eventually

 

[corpse]

I would always use some form of TGU's with any grappler for their S&C as long as there's no injuries or pain that prevents it. Excellent exercise and you can modify it both with the load (type and intensity) and sticking points or parts of the movement as needed. Kettlebell swings are pretty great too. Teaching proper hip flexion, creates powerful hip extension (important for all athletics), hits the glutes, hamstrings, front delts, chest and to some extent various bracing muscles. It's a little bit more dynamic and higher power/velocity than a normal compound lift, at the same time you can't work max strength so much but again different tool.

you know gray cook and this other guy? they are both physiotherapists. they did a dvd using the turkish get up as a analysis exercise for orthopedic disfunctions. a bit too much into detail for my understanding but i am no therapist. it hink they also do this with kettlebells and indian clubs. functional movement screening, FMS is his company. he started out as an rkc and did seminars with dan john.

 

[LatFlare]

The idea is to alternate arms every 10 reps and do all 100 reps unbroken eventually

Yawn

 

[deadshot138]

Yawn

It’s a beginner program the goal is to finish all of the swings and get ups in 5 minutes

 

[physiology]

Pavel has some interesting stuff. If you look on youtube, you can learn how to make your own kettlebells. I prefer kettle bells and dumbbells because they are easier on the joints compared to barbbells. A lot of kettle bell exercises use 1 arm at a time, which I really like to prevent muscular imbalances. Myself, I peak the professional athletes who I consult by having them train with 1 arm and 1 leg at a time. It is based on my bilateral deficit research that I did for my MSc and the fact that the legendary Cal Dietz peaks his athletes with the 1-;egged squat. However, at this point in time, I think that I am only Ph.D. and/or strength coach who peaks athletes with 1 arm at a time while many peak the lower body with 1 leg at a time.

 

[Sano]

you know gray cook and this other guy? they are both physiotherapists. they did a dvd using the turkish get up as a analysis exercise for orthopedic disfunctions. a bit too much into detail for my understanding but i am no therapist. it hink they also do this with kettlebells and indian clubs. functional movement screening, FMS is his company. he started out as an rkc and did seminars with dan john.

Yeah I know them a bit. At least, I know the functional movement screen (FMS) and it's quite decent as an overaching screening tool. They've built a pretty good system to diagnose movement "dysfunctions" with the selective funtional movement assesment (SFMA) as well. It's sort of an extended version of the FMS which you can use if you want to delve into the diagnostics. A lot of it is standard physical therapy assesment, but they've organised in a pretty clever way from what I've seen.

Not too shabby!

 

[Sano]

Pavel has some interesting stuff. If you look on youtube, you can learn how to make your own kettlebells. I prefer kettle bells and dumbbells because they are easier on the joints compared to barbbells. A lot of kettle bell exercises use 1 arm at a time, which I really like to prevent muscular imbalances. Myself, I peak the professional athletes who I consult by having them train with 1 arm and 1 leg at a time. It is based on my bilateral deficit research that I did for my MSc and the fact that the legendary Cal Dietz peaks his athletes with the 1-;egged squat. However, at this point in time, I think that I am only Ph.D. and/or strength coach who peaks athletes with 1 arm at a time while many peak the lower body with 1 leg at a time.

Cal Dietz has done some interesting stuff. Triphasic training is thankfully getting a lot more popular these days. At least the mindset of seperating the parts of the deceleration, amortization and acceleration phase is an incredibly valuable tool for everything from sports performance to injury prevention.

I don't know if I'd necessarly agree with you that dumbbells and kettlebells are always easier on the joint. They give you more to work with in regards to angles, but the innate stability of a barbell can sometimes be an advantage in my experience. Obviously it depends on the goal. Can you elaborate on your thoughts on bilateral deficiency and peaking one arm/leg at a time?

Btw, Joel Seedman specialises in eccentric isometrics (EI's) and Rapid Eccentric Isometrics (REI's) and has written some great articles on them, which you'd probably find useful if you don't already know him. My guess it you do though.

 

[LatFlare]

It’s a beginner program the goal is to finish all of the swings and get ups in 5 minutes

I said 'yawn'

 

[bushman505]

I used to do S+S before work every day with the 32kg. I still did my other workouts later in the day so I never used it as a stand alone program.

I liked it, I’d do it again at some point.