Leg Training....Hmmmmm interesting results

Oldguyjiujitsu

OAF
Trusted Member
Due to training at home, i have been doing a ton of barbell back squats, barbell front squats, barbell rows, stiff leg deadlifts, trap bar deadlifts, etc and my lower back has been getting angry. To give my lower back a break i switched to all kettlebells for a few weeks:

  • Kettlebell cleans to warm up
  • Double kettlebell racked squats - working up to two 24kg kettlebells for 3 sets of 15
  • Double kettlebell reverse lunges - working up to two 20kg kettlebells for sets of 12-15
  • singel kettlebell bulgarian split squat - one 20kg kettlebell for sets of 15-20.
  • Hamstring bridges on a physio ball - body weight, super slow for 12-15 reps
LOL felt like a Crossfiter...

When i went back to barbell back and front squats this week, surprisingly i was stronger on both lifts. the weights just felt lighter.

My thoughts:
A. a good reminder that variety is key, heavy does not always mean more effective.
B. the kettlebells allowed a much larger range of motion and i went slower
C. The lack of weight on my spine seemed to be far less taxing on CNS
D. Kettlebells are F&%king expensive
C. these exercises might have put more emphasis on the quads and a little less on posterior chain

Anyone other suggestions or rational? Anyone have a similar experience

PS my body really misses having a selection of machines but this is good learnings.
 
Due to training at home, i have been doing a ton of barbell back squats, barbell front squats, barbell rows, stiff leg deadlifts, trap bar deadlifts, etc and my lower back has been getting angry. To give my lower back a break i switched to all kettlebells for a few weeks:

  • Kettlebell cleans to warm up
  • Double kettlebell racked squats - working up to two 24kg kettlebells for 3 sets of 15
  • Double kettlebell reverse lunges - working up to two 20kg kettlebells for sets of 12-15
  • singel kettlebell bulgarian split squat - one 20kg kettlebell for sets of 15-20.
  • Hamstring bridges on a physio ball - body weight, super slow for 12-15 reps
LOL felt like a Crossfiter...

When i went back to barbell back and front squats this week, surprisingly i was stronger on both lifts. the weights just felt lighter.

My thoughts:
A. a good reminder that variety is key, heavy does not always mean more effective.
B. the kettlebells allowed a much larger range of motion and i went slower
C. The lack of weight on my spine seemed to be far less taxing on CNS
D. Kettlebells are F&%king expensive
C. these exercises might have put more emphasis on the quads and a little less on posterior chain

Anyone other suggestions or rational? Anyone have a similar experience

PS my body really misses having a selection of machines but this is good learnings.
Did it perhaps help to be doing a different set of lifts than normal? I see guys in the gym doing the exact same thing, every single time and they don't seem to be gaining.

I think that busting out of the same workout reduces muscle memory.
 
Switching things up makes a huge difference. Most of us fall into a routine and stay with what we like. Switching rep ranges makes a big difference for me to never hit plateaus. I mean massive changes from 5-6 reps to 30-40
 
Switching things up makes a huge difference. Most of us fall into a routine and stay with what we like. Switching rep ranges makes a big difference for me to never hit plateaus. I mean massive changes from 5-6 reps to 30-40

Switching exercises makes sense. Maybe the kettle bells are more isolation work and that’s why I got the effect. I just didn’t expect such a good result using significantly lighter weights when you consider the total poundage.

Either way it’s nice having a completely different set of exercises to switch up to until I can get back to the machines at the gym and it’s a little less taxing on the central nervous system.

I like sets up to 15, not sure I could do 30 or 40 without my lungs exploding


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Due to training at home, i have been doing a ton of barbell back squats, barbell front squats, barbell rows, stiff leg deadlifts, trap bar deadlifts, etc and my lower back has been getting angry. To give my lower back a break i switched to all kettlebells for a few weeks:

  • Kettlebell cleans to warm up
  • Double kettlebell racked squats - working up to two 24kg kettlebells for 3 sets of 15
  • Double kettlebell reverse lunges - working up to two 20kg kettlebells for sets of 12-15
  • singel kettlebell bulgarian split squat - one 20kg kettlebell for sets of 15-20.
  • Hamstring bridges on a physio ball - body weight, super slow for 12-15 reps
LOL felt like a Crossfiter...

When i went back to barbell back and front squats this week, surprisingly i was stronger on both lifts. the weights just felt lighter.

My thoughts:
A. a good reminder that variety is key, heavy does not always mean more effective.
B. the kettlebells allowed a much larger range of motion and i went slower
C. The lack of weight on my spine seemed to be far less taxing on CNS
D. Kettlebells are F&%king expensive
C. these exercises might have put more emphasis on the quads and a little less on posterior chain

Anyone other suggestions or rational? Anyone have a similar experience

PS my body really misses having a selection of machines but this is good learnings.
Maybe you were overtraining and the change was the rest your body needed?
 
Switching exercises makes sense. Maybe the kettle bells are more isolation work and that’s why I got the effect. I just didn’t expect such a good result using significantly lighter weights when you consider the total poundage.

Either way it’s nice having a completely different set of exercises to switch up to until I can get back to the machines at the gym and it’s a little less taxing on the central nervous system.

I like sets up to 15, not sure I could do 30 or 40 without my lungs exploding


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
That's awesome! Congrats!

I'd love to do some kettle bell work but I tore a ligament in my left arm. Very painful to lift anything right now. I gave it a couple months off too.
 
Due to training at home, i have been doing a ton of barbell back squats, barbell front squats, barbell rows, stiff leg deadlifts, trap bar deadlifts, etc and my lower back has been getting angry. To give my lower back a break i switched to all kettlebells for a few weeks:

  • Kettlebell cleans to warm up
  • Double kettlebell racked squats - working up to two 24kg kettlebells for 3 sets of 15
  • Double kettlebell reverse lunges - working up to two 20kg kettlebells for sets of 12-15
  • singel kettlebell bulgarian split squat - one 20kg kettlebell for sets of 15-20.
  • Hamstring bridges on a physio ball - body weight, super slow for 12-15 reps
LOL felt like a Crossfiter...

When i went back to barbell back and front squats this week, surprisingly i was stronger on both lifts. the weights just felt lighter.

My thoughts:
A. a good reminder that variety is key, heavy does not always mean more effective.
B. the kettlebells allowed a much larger range of motion and i went slower
C. The lack of weight on my spine seemed to be far less taxing on CNS
D. Kettlebells are F&%king expensive
C. these exercises might have put more emphasis on the quads and a little less on posterior chain

Anyone other suggestions or rational? Anyone have a similar experience

PS my body really misses having a selection of machines but this is good learnings.
Kettlebells are awesome for the posterior chain of muscles (quads are over rated) and they decompress the back as the outward pull of the bell pulls your spine apart when swung up ward and it feels great,,, that is if your doing swings, never used them the way you did as I used a barbell to do squats. It is always good to try different exercises for all functional components of the body. I used them for a year as an assistance exercise for the back chain of muscles ( deads and squats ). Kettlebells are very expensive, so buy a tiny one or use one at the gym to see if they are for you before you buy.
 
Kettlebells are awesome for the posterior chain of muscles (quads are over rated) and they decompress the back as the outward pull of the bell pulls your spine apart when swung up ward and it feels great,,, that is if your doing swings, never used them the way you did as I used a barbell to do squats. It is always good to try different exercises for all functional components of the body. I used them for a year as an assistance exercise for the back chain of muscles ( deads and squats ). Kettlebells are very expensive, so buy a tiny one or use one at the gym to see if they are for you before you buy.
I will be incorporating Kettlebells into some part of my weekly lower body work. I am lucky that i have been acquiring them for many years and have full sets going up to 24kg. You are right they are very expensive. My local gym also has complete sets as well.

the cleans are an excellent "activation" exercises to get the body ready for the heavier lifts plus the kettlebells are way easier to stabilize verses big dumbbells on lifts like bulgarian split squats. I only do swings occasionally as if i do them regularly they tax my lower back too much...i have had coaches address my form and its solid....my lower back takes a ton of torque doing jiu jitsu so can get overtrained easily when lifting.
 
I would say a lot of those extra strength gains in your squats came from the increase stabilizer recruitment from using the kettle bells. Kinda like switching over to dumbell press and when you go back to barbell your strength is way up
 
I've programmed KB workouts 2 of the 5 days of my periodization plan for conditioning, stabalization/balance and coordination.

You're missing one of the biggies: the swing. Especially if you're actively rehabing your posterior chain. Also think about single racked movements for stabilization via anti-rotation. Have you tried any one-legged SDLs?

I'm working through my StrongFirst KB for when they can come back to Canada - drop me a pm if you have any specific questions.
 
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