Hey hey!
Hope your Sunday is going swimmingly well. My weekend is going great. We got a chance to hang out with a bunch of friends last night and eat great pizza. And play with some new dogs. Makes for a perfect night. Plus, lots of cake.
So, on to the 3 things for today
why are kettlebells the primary tool of choice in my training, and why did we pick them 10 years ago for The Quad? At a time when bells were not even around in India?
3 quotes, as always.
And understanding yourself, your guilt pattern (and others) and how you can get out of them by simply seeing them.
Let’s get on with it.
why kettlebells?
but we are barbell people
At The Quad, our primary tool of choice to provide General Physical Preparation is kettlebells. 10 years ago, it was near impossible to find anyone who had used kettlebells in the country, let alone find a provider for it. And yet, that's the tool we plumped for - because it was the best tool for the job.
Even though our (Raj and me) background was in barbells, we took a conscious call to put personal biases aside and become kettlebell experts. Last month, we wrote about this choice in our monthly newsletter to The Quad community and I thought I'd re-share that post with one extra bit of commentary.
The back squat, the bench and military press, the deadlift along with pull-ups and power cleans - that was pretty much the entirety of our lifting for a couple of years. Why? Because after a stint with CrossFit, what we both realised was we were lacking in one simple attribute - strength. And to build strength, the best tool is the barbell. For absolute strength, nothing else comes close. Armed with copies of Starting Strength, we set about getting our numbers up.
Before we go into 7 reasons why we picked kettlebells over other tools, let's digress to a small story.
Daedalus and Icarus
You know this story, mostly. Daedalus was a master craftsman who built wings for himself and his son, Icarus, to fly and escape the island of Crete where they were kept. Using feathers and wax, he developed a pair of wings and had not 1 but 2 instructions for his son.
Do not fly too high. You will get too close to the sun, which will melt the wax. You already know this. This is what Icarus did.
Do not fly too low. The waves and the water will get to the contraption.
Which leaves the middle way.
Not too high, not too low.
Not too heavy, not too light.
That's kettlebells.
Yes, you can go pretty heavy - try pressing a 32 kg bell. But you don't need to. You can do a lot of interesting things by greasing the groove with a 24 kg bell and see a ton of benefits, without the worry of extra recovery or slapping yourself and working up the mind and body to lift really heavy.
By just sticking to the middle way, the 70-80% zone, you can continue to make gains. While this applies to load in any tool (including barbells), it is too easy to want to fly too high with barbells. And with machines, it is too easy to fly too low.
The middle way, the Goldilocks zone, the just right - that's the kettlebell universe.
Here are a few reasons why we chose KBs over other tools.
#1 Do we need to go THAT heavy? While we need to lift heavy weights, we don't need to go THAT heavy. Learning to deadlift more than twice your body weight, for example, is a good goal and demonstrates solid strength. But for most of us who are just getting into this for general fitness, we don't need to go that heavy. And we definitely do not need to go that heavy, to begin with.
But if there is any gap in the kettlebell universe, it would be the lack of a heavy deadlift. That said, heavy double kettlebell cleans go a long way in sorting that problem. For example, I weigh about 64 kgs. Deadlifting 130 kgs vs cleaning the 2x 32 kg kettlebells, I find the deadlift easier than the clean at those weights.
#2 You aren't sleeping enough to lift that heavy!: The heavier we lift, the more recovery one will need. Given that sleep is a luxury in modern life, barbells and heavy lifting would leave one more beat up than stronger.
#3 Kettlebell ballistics: Here is where the kettlebell stands out. While you can practice Olympic lifting with a barbell, the technical nature of those lifts are phenomenally high. Compared to that, teaching the kettlebell swing to someone who has a solid deadlift is something we've done with 1000s of people in a few sessions.
Kettlebell swings, cleans, snatches, the clean and jerk, the push press - the primary kettlebell ballistics that you'd use are outstanding and deliver (about) the same benefits as what the O-lifts can do.
F = m.a. Force is mass times acceleration. Some chappie named Newton mentions this in passing. What can we make of this?
Strength = the force you can produce. So, you can lift a real heavy weight slowly. Or you can lift a moderate weight with a lot more speed. And generate pretty darn good force.
That's what the kettlebell swing does. Using a force plate, Pavel and Dr Stu McGill have found that swinging a 24 kg kettlebell generates about the same force as deadlifting a much heavier weight (>130 kgs).
The kettlebell ballistics really deliver because you can still go reasonably heavy but at the same time, do it at incredible speed (much faster than O-lifts, because the O-lifts are much heavier).
#4 The W-T-H effect: The crazy thing with KBs is what is called as the What the Heck effect. Even when measured scientifically, the work done, the power output, the training volume and all that - the results delivered by kettlebell training always seems to be MORE than expected. Doing 100 kettlebell swings well a few times a week, for example, might be all you need to keep your endurance levels up and even improve your 5k time.
From fat loss to improved strength while doing minimal strength work, to increased agility, to better breathing, to drastic increases in endurance - the kettlebell continues to confound by delivering more.
#5 One bell for the job: For most training sessions, one bell will fit exactly what you need. For a strong woman, for example, a 24 kg bell is the answer for a heavy training day. And a 12 kg is the answer for a light training day. We don't need to worry about 0.5 kilo and 1-kilo improvements.
What many touts as the advantage of barbells (micro-improvements) is also the advantage of the kettlebell. You don't worry about all those decisions. If you think deep, you will realise there's one perfect kettlebell for today - for the training session and based on how you are feeling.
#6: barbells vs kettlebells vs dumbbells: Everything a dumbbell can do, a kettlebell can do. Plus, there is ballistics with a kettlebell. So, that's simple.
Barbells vs KBs is a bit harder. But knowing what we wanted to coach and offer - GPP - meant there was only one clear winner.
#7 Why not have both? Choices.
For 90% of you, the kettlebell is ample. It answers every question you might have about fitness and GPP (General Physical Preparation).
Choices can sometimes cripple us.
Too many choices is not a good thing.
We picked kettlebells because they are the best Swiss Army knife out there.
in conclusion
So, no barbells ever?!? If you've been training (with us/KBs) for a few years, are StrongEnough and/or have hit benchmarks that Pavel or Dan John have specified - you can totally explore that world.
But if you know what you are doing with a kettlebell, you probably do not need much else.
3 quotes
Start to stop doing what you know to be wrong. Start stopping today. Don't waste time questioning how you know that what you're doing is wrong, if you are certain that it is. Inopportune questioning can confuse, without enlightening, as well as deflecting you from action. You can know that something is wrong or right without knowing why. Your entire Being can tell you something that you can neither explain nor articulate. Every person is too complex to know themselves completely, and we all contain wisdom that we cannot comprehend.
– Jordan Peterson
Simple, powerful advice. I am one of those people who spend a bit too much time questioning and analysing and listening to chatter in my head. Sure, there are complex things that do require more thought. But starting with simple stuff that we know to be wrong does not require any thought.
For example, opening or switching to another browser tab as I write this post is wrong. I don't need to do any more research - opening a tab is just procrastination. I certainly do not need to open Reddit and waste time, allowing my brain to percolate (a glorified way of saying I waste time uselessly.)
There are tons of small things like this where I can start.
Most times, my gut tells me things that my brain does not understand. It takes months, if not years. While I cannot jump blindly with my gut in many instances, learning to pay a lot more attention to it than my thought process (which always over-complicates things) has been a huge learning for me over the years.
You have a mind?
– Yes.
Well, why not use it? Isn't that all you want - for it to do its job?
– Marcus Aurelius
This is one of the most recommended books out there, and it is easy to see why. The honesty, the earnestness, the humility with which Marcus Aurelius writes is mind-blowing. This guy was the emperor of the Roman empire and his journal reveals his inner struggles and thought processes.
The amateur believes that, before she can act, she must receive permission from some Omnipotent Other - a lover or spouse, a parent, a boss, a figure of authority.
– Steven Pressfield
Following on the first quote, over-thinking and waiting for a sign before doing something, or having a larger goal to do something is nonsense. I wasted years before re-starting writing on my blog because I was not sure what I wanted to write about, who I wanted to write for, or what goals (how many people to reach) I should set.
Finally, one fine day, I just started writing. I still do not have answers to most of those questions. But come Mon/Wed/Sunday, I write a post. One small step towards something.
What are you waiting for?
the guilt pattern
our moody dog
Our dog is a rescue, a mongrel from the streets.
Scrapping for food and survival on the streets, she’s developed a few behaviours. The first few months of living with us, she’d growl and bark at us whenever we would feed her. Food aggression is common amongst dogs and who knows what trauma she's been through. Over the many days we’ve had her, my wife has worked on training her and this has mellowed her down.
But even today, after almost 2 years, any time delay giving her food, she gets a little wonky. She gets hangry. She barks, and she turns into a different personality. She behaves like a complete ass and anyone besides me and my wife, if present in the house, are harassed a bit.
not the dog's fault
At the start, we didn’t realise this was coz of her getting hangry. But by slowly getting into a routine - walking her by 4 pm, and feeding her by 5 pm, we realised that it made her feel more chill. Predictable food and timely food calmed her down.
She plays with us a lot more and is better behaved. Whatever trauma the dog has, there are simple workarounds to tell her she’s loved and doesn’t need to fight for her food anymore. It is only when we miss the schedule, or we expect different behaviour or tell her “we aren’t gonna eat your food” and nonsense and expect her to understand.
Initially, we'd get angry and yell at her when she would behave like this. From telling her, as if she understands, that we are not going to eat her food to just being annoyed with her, we did stupid things as well. This is something deep-rooted in her, and this is not the sensible way to help her out of it or avoid this situation.
This is simply a pattern that keeps repeating.
Feed her on time or early, after tiring her out = a happy dog.
Delay her food = activate her food aggression and trauma = a hangry dog.
funny how this applies to all of us
Just like our dogs, all of us are pattern machines. You press one button and we exhibit a series of behaviours. You press another, and a different set of actions and behaviours. You think you are unique but think about how predictable you really are.
And you can use this to your advantage. Just like the simple routine tweak for our dog, you can find your triggers and avoid them when possible. And lean into them at other times.
some patterns you might have
I'll use a couple of common examples I hear from my students, and from my personal experience.
One is cravings. You are mulling about, a bit bored and you keep opening the fridge. And before you know it, you've munched on a bunch of things without meaning to or actively taken a decision on.
Another is going to a party with the intent of not drinking and being convinced to drink and chill.
Or not planning on a treat day but ending up with eating a bunch of things you feel you shouldn't have.
Most of these happen when we are on a strict diet and when our diets and our lives don't dovetail well. Of course, if every night is a social night, you will need to learn to be social without drinking or eating pizza or whatever. But you don't need to skip every night. You don't even need to skip every night for a few weeks at a stretch.
Instead, analyse when things go poorly. You put yourself into a box and in a situation that's uncomfortable without making your peace with it. You are going out to meet your friends but aren't going to drink, coz that's in line with your goals. Great! You are going to drive, and so you don't drink or stop with one. That's simple.
Or you aren't sure. You kinda wanna drink but you are trying to lose weight again. Well, see how often you "break" your rules. Too much = shut up and follow the plan. Or you get too frustrated too often, then lean into it. Have a better week overall and just chill the fuck out and have a good time with your friends.
get out of the guilt pattern
Do you get cravings every time you diet? Well, maybe not such a strict diet then. But a slightly relaxed version. Instead of 4 weeks of no sugar, how about 12 weeks of sugar once a week?
Figure out your patterns. Do something slightly different. Don't fight them.
If it means not meeting or socialising for 5 days and then meeting them and not worrying about it, it is what it is
If it means getting your protein and veggies before stepping out, that’s what it is
And when you fail to follow the plan, don’t get frustrated. that’s a pattern you can get out of - the guilt, the blame, the annoyance. Instead, just eat the cake, and chill and go to the “happy, enjoying the day” pattern.
Like my dog getting hangry, a pattern you can get out of is this guilt and beating yourself up. Start there. You'll go places.
Thanks for reading. I truly appreciate it. Until next weekend - you have a great one.
