I’m going to give it a shot as soon as I get the cash. Thanks for the info KG.
I second that. I’m on my 2nd week of KB’s after ditching them for a while, and they really do nail your posterior chain and your core. I still think that you’ll need at least some pull-ups to round out the program. I like to mix them with other BWE’s as well.
BTW Ford, tonight I’m going to start that routine you suggested back on page 1 of this thread. I’ll keep on that until I get the KBs. Thanks for your help/info too.
ewallace,
No problem. Glad I could help. Let me know when you get the RKC tape! Perhaps we could swap routines or something.
KG
PDA Kettlebells
Ewallace,
If I could chime in briefly… to save money, go to www.fractionalplates.com and get one of their kettlebells - they’re adjustable and will save you $$. I just got mine and love it - I can use whatever weight I want by adding/removing plates. That, and you don’t have to pay shipping for a 36/53/72 KB.
Also, thanks to the astute observational skills of my 11 year old daughter, I can also use it as an ab wheel. Now, all I have to do is build the pullup/dip station my wife thought of, and I’m set.
****, I’m glad she has smart genes. 
Ghostdragon,
I’ve used the Ironhorse Kettlebells in the past. You are right, they work pretty good. BUT, I feel the KB’s from dragondoor is better (I know, they are more expensive :rolleyes: )
BUT, I feel that especially the thicker handles of the DD KB’s will help in increasing grip strength. They also feel a little different than the IH KB’s. But, if you’re on a budget and don’t want to invest in KB’s of different weights it’s a great option. 
KG
Grip
As far as the handles go, I’m thickening mine up with tape to make a difference. I’m also happily grinding away on a gripper from IronMind, thanks to all of the recommendations from people on the board. I would strongly recommend people to look into the Captains of Crush grippers if they want to improve their grip strength. They’re only $19.95 and are a cast-iron b1tch to close. I’m just about to order the #2.
Also, for some reason DD can’t/won’t ship their KB’s to Canada. 
Thickening up the grip with tape is probably a good idea. I was actually surprised at how thick the grip was on the DD KB.
Glad to hear those grippers from Ironmind work. I’ve been thinking about aquiring those.
Bummer about the DD KB’s to Canada… I heard about that from a buddy of mine in Toronto. He had them shipped to Buffalo, went over and picked them up…
KG
I think Pavel recommends to always start with the 1 pood KB, no matter how strong you are.
IronFist
Iron Fist,
I think you’re right.
Takes a little while to get used to some of those exercises, and you definitely don’t want to go too heavy…
KG
Well, I did ladders of dumbell snatches last night. **** me. I feel it all over. What a great feeling. I could barely stand up straight walking home from the gym. I feel about the same way (not as sore) as I did after that hellacious workout on the first post in this thread. That is what I call Effective.
Ford or Iron,
I’m trying to put together a routine and I wanted your opinions on it:
1 Handed KB snatch ladders or 1 hand clean and press ladders
3x3 Pistols (to start)
The pushup scheme from the 100 pushup workout or dip ladders
Pullup ladders (varying grips day to day)
While this is a simple routine, do you think it would be too much? I’m going to be doing this 4 days a week - Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday (Kung Fu other days).
Thanks…
Originally posted by ghostdragon
[B]Ford or Iron,
I’m trying to put together a routine and I wanted your opinions on it:
1 Handed KB snatch ladders or 1 hand clean and press ladders
3x3 Pistols (to start)
The pushup scheme from the 100 pushup workout or dip ladders
Pullup ladders (varying grips day to day)
While this is a simple routine, do you think it would be too much? I’m going to be doing this 4 days a week - Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday (Kung Fu other days).
Thanks… [/B]
Hey ghostdragon,
For your leg work, I would recommend starting with the pistols because after a bunch of KB ladders you might not be able to bust out 3x3 pistols. (Maybe you meant you were going to start with the pistols, but I was a little confused by what you wrote so I thought I’d mention it anyway).
For chest/tri/shoulders, the pushup routine would be very good. You might want to incorporate various other things in occassionally just for variety, such as handstand pushups (against a wall if you can’t do a regular handstand) to target the front delts more, or explosive (jumping) pushups where you push so hard that you leave the ground (like clapping pushups without the clap, because if you go to clap and don’t finish it in time you could land on the edge of your hands and mess up your wrists, so just leave the clap out). If you’re going to do explosive pushups, keep the reps below 5 and give yourself at least a minute between sets. Also, do these first (for chest exercises) because movements like this demand that you be fresh while you do them for them to be effective.
Pullups ladders with varying grips sounds good for back and biceps. If you’re doing the KB snatches they will also help your back. Just note however that if one day you do a particularly hard set of snatches you might be a little extra fatigued when you do pullups.
The routine you described sounds very solid, just remember the basics, like not training when you’re sore, etc.
Just ask if you have any more questions
IronFist
Thanks Iron for the suggestions, I appreciate it.
I’m going to do this routine for a couple of months (or until I can afford a bench, bar and some oly weights for home) to increase my muscular endurance. Once I have the other gear, I’m going to cycle between muscular endurance workouts and PTP style workouts every two weeks. I have a couple of goals in mind:
100 continuous pushups
1 arm pullups (either arm)
I have quite a challenge in front of me: I weigh 245… the one arm pullups are going to be a tough one.
Are you familiar with the Russian ranking system for KB lifts on dragondoor.com? How does one qualify in the different categories? There are numbers mentioned, but not what they mean. Is it one arm snatches for reps?
Also, I remember reading (I think) that you’re using the IronMind grippers. What kind of training schedule/routine do you use?
Thanks!
Ghost,
I pretty much agree with Iron. That’s a solid routine and all you’d need is to add an exrecise or two every once in a while. I’d knock it down to 3 days/week to get your body used to it because that is a lot of volume. Also, if your goal is one-arm pull-ups, then start them now.
FWIW, it was suggested to me by Pavel, to not do KB presses if you are doing a lot of push-ups. I don’t know if the KB Clean & Press qualify in that category…
KG
I posted this in another thread, but does anyone know of any links to a site(s) that shows how to correctly do a db snatch and/or db clean and press. I want to make sure I am not doing them incorrectly. Today my body is telling my I sure did something right, but I don’t want to risk injury for being naive.
ewallace,
Go to dragondoor.com, then to the articles section. There’s descriptions at least and some pictures in a couple of the articles.
You could also try cbass.com, I believe Mr. Bass has an article where he explains the techniques.
Hope this helps,
KG
Thanks KG. BTW, that was an outstanding article on pistols in fa jing’s thread. I am opening up to a whole new world now.
ewallace,
The article by Mike Mahler is really good. Plus there’s pictures.
I’ve also been using Steve Maxwell’s deck squats program, which you can find at Dragon door as well.
KG