Not just for legs

The other day a little kettlebell hypertrophy/strength based protocol came to mind for the festive season.

It’s very much a bit of a quick peak kind of protocol.

Based on the classic M-L-H set up.

Main Movement – Double Kettlebell Front Squat.

Rep Goal – 100

This is where the magic can happen because we can play with either keeping the overall load within the 70-80% of RM range, or we can play with the loads while keeping reps consistent.

Option 1 – Static Load 40kg (heaviest bells at home)

H/Day – 10 Sets – aim form 10 reps per set – 2-4min rest

L/Day – 10 Sets – 40% of total reps from H/day – so if 50 reps achieved then 20 reps is the total (10×2, or 1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2-3-2, broken down as you see fit)

M/Day – 10 Sets – 70% of total reps from H/day – rep breakdown can be as you see fit, however you don’t ideal want to miss or grind any (same goes for L/day).

^^ To make the L/M days more interesting if they feel easy, pauses in the hole can be added, rest can be reduced (to increase density/work capacity) and a focus on the RFD (rate of force development) can be thought of ala Dr Squat’s CAT (compensatory acceleration training).

H-L-M-L-M-L-H-L-M-L-M-L-H = roughly 4 weeks

^^ Based on 3 sessions per week.

Option 2 – 3 different loads

The rep goal is 100 each session.

H/Day – 40kgs
L/Day – 24kgs
M/Day – 32kgs

Set/Rep wise you may choose to do 10×10 (aiming for 10 res each set, however no grinding, this means you may not get all 10×10, so you build to this) for the heavy day, and sets of 10 for the light/medium days.

The can be up to you how you hit them, its simply about getting good quality reps in.

This came from the notion of doing more with less.

Limiting what we have on offer so we become creative.

I did this in the summer with my sandbags and found it way harder than I thought I would which gave me a rather nifty lesson.

^^ The strength I had was only useful in the gym (in specific movements), while not a terrible thing it was nice an humbling.

If we can’t transfer what we gain from the gym to real life, why did we invest so much time into it?

My current ponder ^^.

While this was floating around the old noggin it became apparent that the overall idea of having nice rep target and then improving the quality of the reps was very appealing.

You may be able to hit all the reps from day one, however our ever obsessive chasing of progression in the form of volume/intensity isn’t the only way we can progress.

We’ve also got density/work capacity (less rest/better efforts/form), technique improvements, more time under load/tension (adding in pauses or slowing down the tempo), the options are endless.

The above might not be relevant to you, however it was worth sharing.

What little ideas have you had float through your head that you applied in your training this year, and what was their result?

Incase you’re wandering the DKB-FS is surprisingly hard due to how it teaches you to stay tense and breath deeply.

While 80kg is way off my own personal BB-FS max (about 50%) there is the understanding it’s an entirely different animal that requires respect.

If you ever get the chance, give them a go.

^^ You can also apply this to various other lifts too.

Enjoy,
Ross