2 x 24 kg jerk:
5 reps/min
6 minutes/30 reps, rest
4 minutes/20 reps
I am getting hooked on long(er) sets.
24 kg snatch:
20 left/20 right
Snatching is much harder after doing jerks.
Abadjiev SAID
In this article I have used the material from the following websites:
http://www.shtanga.kcn.ru
http://weightliftingexchange.com
For those who don't know Ivan Abadjiev is a famous Bulgarian weightlifting coach. His biography is quite fascinating. Before becoming a coach he was an outstanding weightlifter himself, taking silver in one of the World Championships. His coaching career started in the sixties, and he was known by his frequent critical comments in regards to training methods used in Bulgarian weightlifting. When Bulgarian weightlifting team came home beaten from 1968 Olympic Games Abadjiev reputation reached the ears of some high rank bureaucrat who said: "if he is so clever let him show what he can do". Abadjiev became national coach.
In the next Olympics Bulgarian team won three gold and three silver medals. During thirty years of his career Abadjiev produced 9 Olympic, 57 World and 64 Eropean Champions! In spite of such achievements his life was not that of a celebrity as one would expect. In 1884 when Soviets boycotted Los Angeles Olympics and organized alternative games, Druzhba-84, Bulgarians won in six categories, while USSR only in four. Abadjiev was summoned to the Bulgarian Olympic Commitee and was asked to resign. International Weightlifting Federation has found it unacceptable that such a small country gets most medals. Abadjiev did not resign. Few years before Olympic Games in Seoul one of the Bulgarian sports functionaries told Abadjiev: "All you can win is three gold medals. Any more and your head will roll, together with mine". Winning 1992 Olympics was not the biggest problem for Bulgarians. On the contrary, they were tested positive for banned substances and left the Games early. Abadjiev suspects foul play, as athletes who were caught were main opponents of Soviet weightlifters.
After 1992 Olympic Games Abadjiev formed a new national team that a year later won Eropean Championships. After that he was fired from his position. He could not find a job even in small clubs. He tried applying for work to weightlifting clubs of other countries but was declined: most clubs could not afford to employ such a celebrity coach. Eventually he took employment as the night guard in a kindergarden. Later he worked at the company manufacturing metal doors. Naturally many of his friends turned away from Abadjiev in fear of staining their reputation. In 1993 He got lucky and managed to get the position of a badminton coach, and in 1995 Abadjiev was invited to Turkey to coach his former trainee Naum Suleymanoglu who defected from Bulgaria couple of years earlier. Suleymanoglu won gold in Atlanta.
Abadjiev's philosophy of coaching is based on the principle of Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands, or S.A.I.D. that states that adaptation to stressor is specific to that stressor. The corner stones of the program are the three maximum sessions performed on alternate days, e.g. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Time permitting, and with increased work capacity, lifters can then add lighter sessions (up to ~85%) on the 'off days' which function as active recovery from the preceding heavy workout. The last stage is to perform similar 'tuning' sessions on the morning of a heavy workout. There is substantial practical evidence that suggests a moderate session in the morning can actually improve the quality of a later workout.
When a lifter first begins to employ maximum lifts in training, the workout may require several days to recover. However, over time, tolerance to the heavier loading develops and the athlete can progress to maximum without significant preparatory arousal. Subsequently CNS fatigue is reduced and training consistency will improve.
Recently someone posted the story on IGx how one weightlifting coach trains a fifty-odd years old female in weightlifting. The principle is high intensity and limited volume. Several interesting replies were posted in response, one of the the observation that those practicing low volume/high intensity approach get away with doing no warm-up before the session. One of the first posts of this blog tells the story of Prof. Sergeev who advocated low volume training and long recovery intervals for rowers with good results. Earlier I did a post on interesting training methodology for running 10 km. Instead of the traditional approach where you first run 10 km slowly and then gradually increase the speed, it advocated running at the goal speed for as far as one can, gradually increasing the distance. We all know about the ideas of Mike Mentzer, big proponent of high intensity, low volume and long rest. I tried to start more discussion on IGx on volume vs intensity in this context, unfortunately the question has not been understood.
In Girevoy Sport as it exists in the US SAID principle is applied in the form of OTW training. Every session you do one timed set followed by assistance exercises which for jerks is one arm jerk with heavier kettlebell and swing for snatch. Both assistance exercises are done with heavier kettlebell. More advanced trainees do jump squats. This method is closest to Abadjiev's standard, as you imitate competition during every session. Is this the answer?
Everyone reading my blog knows that I like volume training. As much as I hate to admit it looks like OTW principle has more substance than I wanted to accept. It is sport specific and focused and is based on SAID principle. For me the problem with it is mental challenge. I never tried to conceal the fact that my motivation is not of the highest ranks and that I don't aspire to conquer the world of kettlebells of my age group. On the other hand, the path of intensity may be more suitable for people with limited training time like me. OTW may produce better results in shorter time, if results is what one wants.
I tried OTW when I started doing GS training with Dmitri Sataev. I didn't like it, it was too hard, and I dreaded every workout. I still think that before embarking on OTW one has to build a base with volume. Multiple short sets are less challenging and at the same time allow getting lots of reps in a session. It goes without saying that the technique is paramount. The good thing is that volume facilitates the technique, to an extent of course.
I think EDT is a good compromise between OTW and volume training. I know for a fact that it is favored by several respectable coaches in Russia. With this method the volume stays the same while the intensity is gradually increased. Out of ten sessions six will be very similar to OTW, and the other four are the variation of interval training.
Next question is, what size bells should be used in training? Again, following the principle of specificity it makes sense to use competition weight. In case of beginners however it is not feasible and one should progress through the weights gradually. And this is where I believe volume training again has its advantages.
Another interesting aspect is the speed of lifting. OTW method suggests starting lifting slowly and building the duration. After you can last 10 minutes you reduce the duration, increase the cadence and build the duration once again. Another possible variation is to start lifting at the cadence needed for the result and work on increasing the duration. So if you want to jerk two bells for 100 times in ten minutes start lifting at 10 reps/minute and every session try to last longer. To my knowledge nobody has ever tried this method, so feel free to experiment.
From now on I am going to do more timed sets, slow and fast. I have reasonable strength and endurance base, and now it is time to start working on specificity. I think I wasted time with lighter bells for a little too long. If it works or not - you will see in the next few months.
http://www.shtanga.kcn.ru
http://weightliftingexchange.com
For those who don't know Ivan Abadjiev is a famous Bulgarian weightlifting coach. His biography is quite fascinating. Before becoming a coach he was an outstanding weightlifter himself, taking silver in one of the World Championships. His coaching career started in the sixties, and he was known by his frequent critical comments in regards to training methods used in Bulgarian weightlifting. When Bulgarian weightlifting team came home beaten from 1968 Olympic Games Abadjiev reputation reached the ears of some high rank bureaucrat who said: "if he is so clever let him show what he can do". Abadjiev became national coach.
In the next Olympics Bulgarian team won three gold and three silver medals. During thirty years of his career Abadjiev produced 9 Olympic, 57 World and 64 Eropean Champions! In spite of such achievements his life was not that of a celebrity as one would expect. In 1884 when Soviets boycotted Los Angeles Olympics and organized alternative games, Druzhba-84, Bulgarians won in six categories, while USSR only in four. Abadjiev was summoned to the Bulgarian Olympic Commitee and was asked to resign. International Weightlifting Federation has found it unacceptable that such a small country gets most medals. Abadjiev did not resign. Few years before Olympic Games in Seoul one of the Bulgarian sports functionaries told Abadjiev: "All you can win is three gold medals. Any more and your head will roll, together with mine". Winning 1992 Olympics was not the biggest problem for Bulgarians. On the contrary, they were tested positive for banned substances and left the Games early. Abadjiev suspects foul play, as athletes who were caught were main opponents of Soviet weightlifters.
After 1992 Olympic Games Abadjiev formed a new national team that a year later won Eropean Championships. After that he was fired from his position. He could not find a job even in small clubs. He tried applying for work to weightlifting clubs of other countries but was declined: most clubs could not afford to employ such a celebrity coach. Eventually he took employment as the night guard in a kindergarden. Later he worked at the company manufacturing metal doors. Naturally many of his friends turned away from Abadjiev in fear of staining their reputation. In 1993 He got lucky and managed to get the position of a badminton coach, and in 1995 Abadjiev was invited to Turkey to coach his former trainee Naum Suleymanoglu who defected from Bulgaria couple of years earlier. Suleymanoglu won gold in Atlanta.
Abadjiev's philosophy of coaching is based on the principle of Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands, or S.A.I.D. that states that adaptation to stressor is specific to that stressor. The corner stones of the program are the three maximum sessions performed on alternate days, e.g. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Time permitting, and with increased work capacity, lifters can then add lighter sessions (up to ~85%) on the 'off days' which function as active recovery from the preceding heavy workout. The last stage is to perform similar 'tuning' sessions on the morning of a heavy workout. There is substantial practical evidence that suggests a moderate session in the morning can actually improve the quality of a later workout.
When a lifter first begins to employ maximum lifts in training, the workout may require several days to recover. However, over time, tolerance to the heavier loading develops and the athlete can progress to maximum without significant preparatory arousal. Subsequently CNS fatigue is reduced and training consistency will improve.
Recently someone posted the story on IGx how one weightlifting coach trains a fifty-odd years old female in weightlifting. The principle is high intensity and limited volume. Several interesting replies were posted in response, one of the the observation that those practicing low volume/high intensity approach get away with doing no warm-up before the session. One of the first posts of this blog tells the story of Prof. Sergeev who advocated low volume training and long recovery intervals for rowers with good results. Earlier I did a post on interesting training methodology for running 10 km. Instead of the traditional approach where you first run 10 km slowly and then gradually increase the speed, it advocated running at the goal speed for as far as one can, gradually increasing the distance. We all know about the ideas of Mike Mentzer, big proponent of high intensity, low volume and long rest. I tried to start more discussion on IGx on volume vs intensity in this context, unfortunately the question has not been understood.
In Girevoy Sport as it exists in the US SAID principle is applied in the form of OTW training. Every session you do one timed set followed by assistance exercises which for jerks is one arm jerk with heavier kettlebell and swing for snatch. Both assistance exercises are done with heavier kettlebell. More advanced trainees do jump squats. This method is closest to Abadjiev's standard, as you imitate competition during every session. Is this the answer?
Everyone reading my blog knows that I like volume training. As much as I hate to admit it looks like OTW principle has more substance than I wanted to accept. It is sport specific and focused and is based on SAID principle. For me the problem with it is mental challenge. I never tried to conceal the fact that my motivation is not of the highest ranks and that I don't aspire to conquer the world of kettlebells of my age group. On the other hand, the path of intensity may be more suitable for people with limited training time like me. OTW may produce better results in shorter time, if results is what one wants.
I tried OTW when I started doing GS training with Dmitri Sataev. I didn't like it, it was too hard, and I dreaded every workout. I still think that before embarking on OTW one has to build a base with volume. Multiple short sets are less challenging and at the same time allow getting lots of reps in a session. It goes without saying that the technique is paramount. The good thing is that volume facilitates the technique, to an extent of course.
I think EDT is a good compromise between OTW and volume training. I know for a fact that it is favored by several respectable coaches in Russia. With this method the volume stays the same while the intensity is gradually increased. Out of ten sessions six will be very similar to OTW, and the other four are the variation of interval training.
Next question is, what size bells should be used in training? Again, following the principle of specificity it makes sense to use competition weight. In case of beginners however it is not feasible and one should progress through the weights gradually. And this is where I believe volume training again has its advantages.
Another interesting aspect is the speed of lifting. OTW method suggests starting lifting slowly and building the duration. After you can last 10 minutes you reduce the duration, increase the cadence and build the duration once again. Another possible variation is to start lifting at the cadence needed for the result and work on increasing the duration. So if you want to jerk two bells for 100 times in ten minutes start lifting at 10 reps/minute and every session try to last longer. To my knowledge nobody has ever tried this method, so feel free to experiment.
From now on I am going to do more timed sets, slow and fast. I have reasonable strength and endurance base, and now it is time to start working on specificity. I think I wasted time with lighter bells for a little too long. If it works or not - you will see in the next few months.
22 June 2010
Today is 69th Anniversary of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War that started in 1941. Sad day for Russia as well as Germany.
Today's workout.
2 x 24 kg jerks:
8.5 reps/minute - 25 reps
5 reps/minute - 21 reps
Today's workout.
2 x 24 kg jerks:
8.5 reps/minute - 25 reps
5 reps/minute - 21 reps
20 June 2010
I decided to go back to posting my training here instead of IGx. There is too much spite there, and I just don't see the point of sharing there. The "hate" would be ok, but there is just too much spite, and for the sake of dignity I am bringing my training journal back here. Whoever may be interested is welcome here.
For a few weeks of my absence I have been doing jerks and snatches, in different sessions. A week ago I did 10 sets of 15 in jerks with 24 kg. For the whole week I had a stomach bug. Still not one hundred percent but well enough to start training again.
So here it goes.
2 x 24 kg jerks:
7.5 reps/min, rest untimed
20 x 2
5 reps/min
15.
20 kg snatch:
max set:
43 left/52 right
During snatch I was trying to pay attention to getting up on my toes and engaging the shoulder when sending the bell up. It makes a big difference in the economy: the bell just flies up. It may be a tad more demanding on the grip, but on the other hand the movement is smoother when more muscles are involved and I cannot say for sure. In any case my numbers are better than one week ago.
For a few weeks of my absence I have been doing jerks and snatches, in different sessions. A week ago I did 10 sets of 15 in jerks with 24 kg. For the whole week I had a stomach bug. Still not one hundred percent but well enough to start training again.
So here it goes.
2 x 24 kg jerks:
7.5 reps/min, rest untimed
20 x 2
5 reps/min
15.
20 kg snatch:
max set:
43 left/52 right
During snatch I was trying to pay attention to getting up on my toes and engaging the shoulder when sending the bell up. It makes a big difference in the economy: the bell just flies up. It may be a tad more demanding on the grip, but on the other hand the movement is smoother when more muscles are involved and I cannot say for sure. In any case my numbers are better than one week ago.
Kettlebell Systema by Denis Kanygin
Last week I received Kanygin’s Kettlebell Systema DVD set. It’s three DVDs, each devoted to the GS lift, the jerk, the snatch and the long cycle. I though I’ve seen it all until I watched all three DVDs.
I have trained with Denis for couple of months and must say that the quality of his DVDs does not surprise me. I mentioned several times how impressed I was with his work ethics and knowledge. This DVD set is completely in keeping with what I have experienced with Denis before.
These DVDs are the most detailed instruction on the technique of GS lifts. At the beginning of the series Denis makes a point how important it is to learn each lift in stages by doing appropriate drills. Sure, one can learn any lift in a few hours, but this way you tend to learn lots of mistakes which are difficult to weed out later. I must admit, this was the way I learned lifting kettlebells and now agree with Denis that this wasn’t the best way to do it.
Each lift is broken down in phases and each is discussed in minute detail. GS is about efficiency, that is why attention to nuances of the lifts is so important. How much detail is discussed is clear from the duration of DVDs: 1 hour 27 minutes for jerk, 1 hour 8 minutes for snatch and 1 hour 46 minutes for long cycle. That’s over four hours! And this instruction is packed with important information.
Take the snatch DVD for example. It discusses how the movement is initiated from the bottom, the trajectory of the bell on the way up, change of grip, correct overhead position, how to initiate the movement of the bell from the top down, how to save your palms, the correct trajectory on the way down so that the bell doesn’t jerk your arm and back. For each phase there are drills that help to understand the movement and avoid mistakes. What’s even better, there are detailed training programs for beginners and intermediate learners.
All in all this is the best video instruction on jerk,snatch and long cycle I have seen so far. It is pedantic and very thorough. If you are interested in the lifts of Girevoy Sport this is a good buy. It is perfect for those training at home and who want to improve their technique. Top quality, very good stuff.
In case you are interested in finding more about Denis and his system here are the links:
www.kettlebellsystema.com or www.kettlebellsystema.com/shop
It goes without saying that I do not profit from putting this review here, so there is no bias.
I have trained with Denis for couple of months and must say that the quality of his DVDs does not surprise me. I mentioned several times how impressed I was with his work ethics and knowledge. This DVD set is completely in keeping with what I have experienced with Denis before.
These DVDs are the most detailed instruction on the technique of GS lifts. At the beginning of the series Denis makes a point how important it is to learn each lift in stages by doing appropriate drills. Sure, one can learn any lift in a few hours, but this way you tend to learn lots of mistakes which are difficult to weed out later. I must admit, this was the way I learned lifting kettlebells and now agree with Denis that this wasn’t the best way to do it.
Each lift is broken down in phases and each is discussed in minute detail. GS is about efficiency, that is why attention to nuances of the lifts is so important. How much detail is discussed is clear from the duration of DVDs: 1 hour 27 minutes for jerk, 1 hour 8 minutes for snatch and 1 hour 46 minutes for long cycle. That’s over four hours! And this instruction is packed with important information.
Take the snatch DVD for example. It discusses how the movement is initiated from the bottom, the trajectory of the bell on the way up, change of grip, correct overhead position, how to initiate the movement of the bell from the top down, how to save your palms, the correct trajectory on the way down so that the bell doesn’t jerk your arm and back. For each phase there are drills that help to understand the movement and avoid mistakes. What’s even better, there are detailed training programs for beginners and intermediate learners.
All in all this is the best video instruction on jerk,snatch and long cycle I have seen so far. It is pedantic and very thorough. If you are interested in the lifts of Girevoy Sport this is a good buy. It is perfect for those training at home and who want to improve their technique. Top quality, very good stuff.
In case you are interested in finding more about Denis and his system here are the links:
www.kettlebellsystema.com or www.kettlebellsystema.com/shop
It goes without saying that I do not profit from putting this review here, so there is no bias.
GS vs RKC and other Cs.
Today I received the Kanygin’s DVD set, 3 disks with detailed video coaching on Jerk, Snatch and Long Cycle. I just started watching it and will post full review of it in the near future. In the introduction Denis mentioned that neither he nor most of his clients don’t have competing in mind but do GS style training for general fitness. This got me thinking.
It has become the sort of traditional pastime to ridicule GS. IGxers find it boring, “akin to watching the paint dry”, while Dragondoor posters – usually those with no experience in GS – keep rumbling about how superior RKC is for the average man because of more tension etc. I never cared about this: more tension – thumbs up to you. I like training the way I am and don’t really care if someone else thinks it’s not enough or if other activities are better. Don’t like it – don’t do it. But today it dawned on me: nobody criticizes rugby or basketball players or for developing quite a useless skill. Seriously, is it “functional” to be able to throw the ball into the dust bin? Or cyclists for their monotonous and boring sport? There is not much variety in pedaling for one hundred kilometers, is there? If all round fitness is the goal then everyone should do Crossfit. For the record, I believe that Crossfit is not a bad idea if it is not taken with excessive fanaticism leading to rhabdo and serious personality changes. But hell, there are lots of strange people around, why blame the movement?
“No fitness system is complete without a press”, according to a DD poster. Really? Why is that? And don’t start the “functional” line: do you often have to press things from the shoulder up? Is arm strength that important? In my opinion arm muscles are the most useless and least functional. Lifting is done more efficiently by using the muscles of the legs and back, while the arms just support the load. Not even mentioning the fact that most of us don’t need to lift anything heavier than a stack of paper. And those who do – farm workers and those who move furniture – are good at it anyway and don’t need to go to gym to get more physical skill. Do basketball players do presses? Do Oly lifters do presses? Not according to Ivan Abadjiev, the famous Bulgarian weightlifting coach. There is another one: you need pressing to become a better fighter? Ha-ha! Every boxer will tell you that the punch is initiated from the hips. The strength of hitting is not in the arm muscles anyway, it’s in the technique. Otherwise powerlifters with the best bench would be best fighters around.
But even if you insist on the importance of press here is something to think about. Jerk gives you enough arm strength due to the static hold part at the top. Do lots of heavy jerks and your press will get better too. I can testify to that: I can press 32 kg bell without ever training for it. To add to the superiority of jerk, you can jerk more weight that you can press, without exception, and more weight always translates into more training effect.
Another DD amateur gem: improving the technique and finding the more economic way to lift in order to squeeze couple of more reps is sort of cheating, a sign of weakness. Besides serving as the method to suck up to the DD seniors this statement is simply delusional. Improving the technique is somehow making you weaker, really? Is learning good squat technique somehow limiting your strength? By being able to “squeeze couple of more reps” you are increasing time under tension and therefore the training effect. Is there a point to learn good running technique in order to run longer and faster and reduce the risk of injury? What’s the point of Rippetoe’s Starting Strength where the technique of several lifts is described in detail? Shouldn’t you just take the bar and squat, like a man? This of course is retarded, just like the suggestion that doing kettlebell snatches with good technique is somehow inferior. Sure, it makes me less of a man if my palms are not bleeding, but I can live with it.
Classic GS lifts give you about as much fitness and as functional as you need. Both move the weight to above the head, the ultimate display of physical ability. The load - two 32s or 24s - is not that insignificant either, especially for the lighter guys. Snatch gets your heart rate going as much as intensive run.
For some reason in some posters' minds GS is equated with snatching 12 kg bell for 20 minutes. Sure, that may be a part of GS training at some stage and it is useful. But remember the goal of the sport, doing lots of reps with 24 or 32 kg bells? Try it, see how "easy" that is.
And now for the boring part. GS is cyclical, and so is running, cycling, swimming and many other sports. But even putting cyclical activities aside, I still don’t see how powerlifting or exercising on the gym machines is more exciting than doing jerks and snatches. Where is this idea of training exclusively with timed sets coming from anyway? Sure, most of training should be sport specific. But GS employs many other methods as well: repeats interval, variable sets and so on. Guess what, GS athletes also go for runs, how’s that for variety?
If you want to become stronger and improve endurance GS lifts will cover it. They will not make you the elite runner of boxer, and neither will Hardstyle, Oly lifting or whatever else is claimed to be superior. You will get pretty fit and will look pretty good. Snatch and jerk will make you explosive and can help you lose weight if this is the goal. Doing them for timed sets will test your mental quality. Long cycle – which is a combo of two great exercises - will make you gasping in minutes and is probably one of the most time efficient workouts you can think of. Enjoy.
It has become the sort of traditional pastime to ridicule GS. IGxers find it boring, “akin to watching the paint dry”, while Dragondoor posters – usually those with no experience in GS – keep rumbling about how superior RKC is for the average man because of more tension etc. I never cared about this: more tension – thumbs up to you. I like training the way I am and don’t really care if someone else thinks it’s not enough or if other activities are better. Don’t like it – don’t do it. But today it dawned on me: nobody criticizes rugby or basketball players or for developing quite a useless skill. Seriously, is it “functional” to be able to throw the ball into the dust bin? Or cyclists for their monotonous and boring sport? There is not much variety in pedaling for one hundred kilometers, is there? If all round fitness is the goal then everyone should do Crossfit. For the record, I believe that Crossfit is not a bad idea if it is not taken with excessive fanaticism leading to rhabdo and serious personality changes. But hell, there are lots of strange people around, why blame the movement?
“No fitness system is complete without a press”, according to a DD poster. Really? Why is that? And don’t start the “functional” line: do you often have to press things from the shoulder up? Is arm strength that important? In my opinion arm muscles are the most useless and least functional. Lifting is done more efficiently by using the muscles of the legs and back, while the arms just support the load. Not even mentioning the fact that most of us don’t need to lift anything heavier than a stack of paper. And those who do – farm workers and those who move furniture – are good at it anyway and don’t need to go to gym to get more physical skill. Do basketball players do presses? Do Oly lifters do presses? Not according to Ivan Abadjiev, the famous Bulgarian weightlifting coach. There is another one: you need pressing to become a better fighter? Ha-ha! Every boxer will tell you that the punch is initiated from the hips. The strength of hitting is not in the arm muscles anyway, it’s in the technique. Otherwise powerlifters with the best bench would be best fighters around.
But even if you insist on the importance of press here is something to think about. Jerk gives you enough arm strength due to the static hold part at the top. Do lots of heavy jerks and your press will get better too. I can testify to that: I can press 32 kg bell without ever training for it. To add to the superiority of jerk, you can jerk more weight that you can press, without exception, and more weight always translates into more training effect.
Another DD amateur gem: improving the technique and finding the more economic way to lift in order to squeeze couple of more reps is sort of cheating, a sign of weakness. Besides serving as the method to suck up to the DD seniors this statement is simply delusional. Improving the technique is somehow making you weaker, really? Is learning good squat technique somehow limiting your strength? By being able to “squeeze couple of more reps” you are increasing time under tension and therefore the training effect. Is there a point to learn good running technique in order to run longer and faster and reduce the risk of injury? What’s the point of Rippetoe’s Starting Strength where the technique of several lifts is described in detail? Shouldn’t you just take the bar and squat, like a man? This of course is retarded, just like the suggestion that doing kettlebell snatches with good technique is somehow inferior. Sure, it makes me less of a man if my palms are not bleeding, but I can live with it.
Classic GS lifts give you about as much fitness and as functional as you need. Both move the weight to above the head, the ultimate display of physical ability. The load - two 32s or 24s - is not that insignificant either, especially for the lighter guys. Snatch gets your heart rate going as much as intensive run.
For some reason in some posters' minds GS is equated with snatching 12 kg bell for 20 minutes. Sure, that may be a part of GS training at some stage and it is useful. But remember the goal of the sport, doing lots of reps with 24 or 32 kg bells? Try it, see how "easy" that is.
And now for the boring part. GS is cyclical, and so is running, cycling, swimming and many other sports. But even putting cyclical activities aside, I still don’t see how powerlifting or exercising on the gym machines is more exciting than doing jerks and snatches. Where is this idea of training exclusively with timed sets coming from anyway? Sure, most of training should be sport specific. But GS employs many other methods as well: repeats interval, variable sets and so on. Guess what, GS athletes also go for runs, how’s that for variety?
If you want to become stronger and improve endurance GS lifts will cover it. They will not make you the elite runner of boxer, and neither will Hardstyle, Oly lifting or whatever else is claimed to be superior. You will get pretty fit and will look pretty good. Snatch and jerk will make you explosive and can help you lose weight if this is the goal. Doing them for timed sets will test your mental quality. Long cycle – which is a combo of two great exercises - will make you gasping in minutes and is probably one of the most time efficient workouts you can think of. Enjoy.
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