Well, fuck. I misread, was thinking lunge walks. Farmers walks are fine if you don't need your grip for deadlifting anytime soon thereafter.
The only eccentric portion of a farmer's walk would be setting the weights down between laps, correct? Since setting the weight down is a very small part of the complete evolution, it would seem to me that the farmer's walk would still be a good candidate for conditioning.
Well, fuck. I misread, was thinking lunge walks. Farmers walks are fine if you don't need your grip for deadlifting anytime soon thereafter.
Thanks folks...think I will go back to basics but use KBs as a warm ups only. Maybe use the KBs for weighted dips and pull-ups.
Anthony
They're great for finishers. If you need conditioning, and everyone does, use them this way. I don't know how they'd cause a lot of pain or soreness, but that experience doesn't seem to be the norm.
If you want more info on them, this is the wrong place to look. This is a barbell strength training forum and Rip is a barbell strength training expert and coach. But that doesn't mean kettlebells suck...
Pavel wrote a few articles on the Strongfirst website about mixing swings and deadlifts, it was good stuff and a fun program.
For finishers, I have a method for the end of my sessions. I have a chart numbered 2 through 12, each with a corresponding finisher. A few examples are "100 snatches with 24kg kettlebell", "RM 2 Handed Swings with 48kg Kettlebell, 5 minutes", "Farmer Carries", etc. I roll two dice and whatever they add up to, that is my finisher. Snakes eyes lets me stop without a finisher, but I am rarely that lucky. It gives me variety, kicks my ass and is great for conditioning. Are you gonna get a 2X bodyweight deadlift just from heavy one handed swings? No, but you'll be pretty damn strong with a very impressive level of conditioning if you meet the 48kg standards that were laid out in "Simple and Sinister". And I'm just gonna go ahead and say that the 100 one handed swings with a 48kg kettlebell that are laid out in that program will develop your grip strength more than the 2X bodyweight deadlift will.
A lot of guys like to say that strength is more important than conditioning or should be focused on first, but I don't agree. Kinda like what Tyson said about how everyone has a plan until he hits them in the face, conditioning isn't important until your lungs can't keep up anymore. Then it's all that matters. That goes even more for when you have an SCBA mask sucking down on your face and you need your 30 minute air bottle to last longer than 5 minutes in a housefire.
Andy Bolton swears by the Kettlebell pullthrough. He claims it is the best assistance exercise for the posterior chain. Benni Magnussen also uses it.
Think of the movement that is going to require the most amount of energy to perform for a human. Lie on the ground on your stomach, and stand up. Do this quickly, repeat as necessary.
Burpees, sprawls etc. Are great because you don't need to do very many to be utterly exhausted, so you're unlikely to interfere with strength training, and you don't need any equipment.
The downside is, they suck.
Andy Bolton uses Heavy Kettlebell Swings as an assistance exercise for the Deadlift. He has pulled 1,003 pounds.
I've considered this a bit, when you have to be sub-optimal and can't use the Prowler, do Wingates, a rower etc...
Farmers walks are an option if you use straps.
Rip,
Have you found any particular advantage to walking for distance/time with a weighted vest on, other than getting better at walking around with a weight on top of you?
I've often used this as a substitution for rucking predeployment, but have wondered if any particular conditioning advantages exist with this.
Thanks,
Tom