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Been using 40kg for S&S and would like to start working in the 48kg within six months. My plan is to keep a very minimalist strength cluster with back squats, weighted PU and deads at a conservative training max, for the next six months. This will allow me to work in more S&S work as an accessory work and not have to dedicate a whole day to it every week

My conditioning is currently consisting of mountain biking and grappling and the occasional run/hike

Kettlebell windmills: Would like to work these in on one of my strength days as accessory work. Has anyone worked on these? Thinking of using the Pavel progression ladder from ETK. Thoughts?

Bottom up get ups: Did these for a while and got noticeable improvements on myget up form. Does anyone work these in?

Good standard to reach with the 48kg. I stopped at 40 kg because it was double bodyweight, but I was just pairing S&S , bjj and running at the time. I like how you are able to add it in as an accessory and not drop other training for such a specific goal.

I feel that get ups and windmills would be pretty similar in terms of training effect. Is there a specific reason you want to add them in? If you do, I had success at moderate weight for sets of 5. I treated them like practice and did them slow and controlled how you are doing your get ups. I would never push them to heavy due to previous back unrelated back issues.

Bottoms up get up would definitely improve your technique, but I doubt that is an issue if you are closing in on 48kg. The risk to reward is not there for me and I am not the biggest fan.

Take what I say with a grain of salt though. If they work for you then add them in for a bit and see what happens. I am a bit different in the opinion that I don't see the point of using a heavier kettlebell than a 32kg on the regular. I know some people have had great success with 40-48kg swings, but for me personally I am better off adding in another exercise I can load heavier instead of using the big bells. I also don't believe you need to go much heavier than a 32kg in the get up. Once you hit this number I feel you would be better off using a sandbag and loading accordingly.

Maxrip13 wrote:Good standard to reach with the 48kg. I stopped at 40 kg because it was double bodyweight . . .

You weigh 20 kg??

Maxrip13 wrote:Good standard to reach with the 48kg. I stopped at 40 kg because it was double bodyweight, but I was just pairing S&S , bjj and running at the time. I like how you are able to add it in as an accessory and not drop other training for such a specific goal.

I feel that get ups and windmills would be pretty similar in terms of training effect. Is there a specific reason you want to add them in? If you do, I had success at moderate weight for sets of 5. I treated them like practice and did them slow and controlled how you are doing your get ups. I would never push them to heavy due to previous back unrelated back issues.

Bottoms up get up would definitely improve your technique, but I doubt that is an issue if you are closing in on 48kg. The risk to reward is not there for me and I am not the biggest fan.

Take what I say with a grain of salt though. If they work for you then add them in for a bit and see what happens. I am a bit different in the opinion that I don't see the point of using a heavier kettlebell than a 32kg on the regular. I know some people have had great success with 40-48kg swings, but for me personally I am better off adding in another exercise I can load heavier instead of using the big bells. I also don't believe you need to go much heavier than a 32kg in the get up. Once you hit this number I feel you would be better off using a sandbag and loading accordingly.

I’m a little confused about why you stopped using the 40kg. Was it half your BW?

Reason I wanted to add windmills is I think it will be beneficial in my standup game in BJJ for takedown purposes. Haven’t done them before so wanted to give them a shot

I have done sandbag gets ups in the past and they just aren’t the same. The shoulder locked out with a KB overhead is a whole different animal and after having a recent shoulder injury which forced me to stop pressing with the barbell, I’ve realized get ups don’t negatively affect the shoulder at all and has actually helped

Thank you for the feedback

Tyr0331 wrote:I have done sandbag gets ups in the past and they just aren’t the same. The shoulder locked out with a KB overhead is a whole different animal and after having a recent shoulder injury which forced me to stop pressing with the barbell, I’ve realized get ups don’t negatively affect the shoulder at all and has actually helped

X2! TGU was MUST during my injury rehab. Relatively light weight with multiple reps and at slow motion. One of the miracle exercises.

Good luck with your goals!

Tyr0331 wrote:

Maxrip13 wrote:Good standard to reach with the 48kg. I stopped at 40 kg because it was double bodyweight, but I was just pairing S&S , bjj and running at the time. I like how you are able to add it in as an accessory and not drop other training for such a specific goal.

I feel that get ups and windmills would be pretty similar in terms of training effect. Is there a specific reason you want to add them in? If you do, I had success at moderate weight for sets of 5. I treated them like practice and did them slow and controlled how you are doing your get ups. I would never push them to heavy due to previous back unrelated back issues.

Bottoms up get up would definitely improve your technique, but I doubt that is an issue if you are closing in on 48kg. The risk to reward is not there for me and I am not the biggest fan.

Take what I say with a grain of salt though. If they work for you then add them in for a bit and see what happens. I am a bit different in the opinion that I don't see the point of using a heavier kettlebell than a 32kg on the regular. I know some people have had great success with 40-48kg swings, but for me personally I am better off adding in another exercise I can load heavier instead of using the big bells. I also don't believe you need to go much heavier than a 32kg in the get up. Once you hit this number I feel you would be better off using a sandbag and loading accordingly.

I’m a little confused about why you stopped using the 40kg. Was it half your BW?

Reason I wanted to add windmills is I think it will be beneficial in my standup game in BJJ for takedown purposes. Haven’t done them before so wanted to give them a shot

I have done sandbag gets ups in the past and they just aren’t the same. The shoulder locked out with a KB overhead is a whole different animal and after having a recent shoulder injury which forced me to stop pressing with the barbell, I’ve realized get ups don’t negatively affect the shoulder at all and has actually helped

Thank you for the feedback

Haha whoops. That is why I shouldn't reply early morning:) 40 kg is over half my bodyweight. I am between 75-77kg. The training benefit I get between the 40kg and the 32kg is not really worth it.My heaviest bell at home is also only a 32kg. The 48kg would be just a fun party trick for me and wouldn't make too much difference overall for my training. That doesn't make the goal of Sinister wrong at all, just doesn't fit within my current goals. I just want to make that clear because it obviously does with yours.

The grappling reason is why I prefer sandbag get ups over the kettlebell get ups when I get over a certain weight. It's not because the sandbag mimics the person necessarily, but it's the ability to occasionally get into "bad" positions and still safely lift the sandbag. With the getup or most kettlebell exercises the whole focus is on being slow, controlled and perfect with every rep. With the sandbag you still need good technique, but it isn't so linear and controlled. When you fight a take down you can end up in what would be considered bad positions. You can get away with this using a sandbag, however this isn't an option with kettlebell training.

The shoulder rehab/prehab is definitely a giant plus for getups and even the windmills. If you can't do any pressing at all I would definitely use getups, windmills and overhead kettlebell carries to get some shoulder strength work in.

Overall give it all a go and see how things go. I just thought I would mention the sandbags as I have used them with great success as a substitute for buying heavier bells or travelling to the gym where I have access. I would love for you to post when you hit that sinister goal because using a 48kg for that amount of volume would make anyone pretty strong.

Respect for anyone who hits Sinister. I live S and S it has kept me in the game for the past 5 years. I was on 40kg before I got got with Pneumonia. I'm back with 32kg and although I bought a 48kg I dont know if I'll approach it in the near future. From memory Dan John doesn't advise going beyond 32kg as the risk reward balance starts to tilt.
Brett Jones from SF currently on the road to Sinister and he has outlined his approach in a SF article
Good luck

Not completely on topic but I remember seeing a guy on Strongfirst Instagram earlier today snatching the 56kg bell for reps
That is bloody impressive to see and they look like reps with a much lighter bell.

Maxrip13 wrote:Not completely on topic but I remember seeing a guy on Strongfirst Instagram earlier today snatching the 56kg bell for reps
That is bloody impressive to see and they look like reps with a much lighter bell.

I saw that too. Some terrifying strength right there

Conor78 wrote:Respect for anyone who hits Sinister. I live S and S it has kept me in the game for the past 5 years. I was on 40kg before I got got with Pneumonia. I'm back with 32kg and although I bought a 48kg I dont know if I'll approach it in the near future. From memory Dan John doesn't advise going beyond 32kg as the risk reward balance starts to tilt.
Brett Jones from SF currently on the road to Sinister and he has outlined his approach in a SF article
Good luck

I will look into both of them. Thanks. That risk vs reward I would assume is relevant to BW. I’m about 210lbs so I think I should be lifting this much personally. 40kg is actually starting to feel somewhat light, compared to how it felt when I first started training S&S about 15 months ago