“The pushups in this plan are performed explosively. This movement is similar to the impact of a punch in its starting acceleration and final contraction and tension.”
The snatch is a special case. More about it later.
Swings: two-arm or one-arm?
Yes. Both have their advantages. The former enable greater power and a higher cadence, while the latter train the grip, lats, glute medius, and other players that chill on the bench in bilateral exercise. Q&D employs both.
Dr. Craig Marker, Senior SFG, a 185-pounder with a 485-pound raw deadlift, did over three months of 033 using two-arm swings for sets of 10 exclusively. He swung 40kg, the weight that enabled max power production.
In spite of barely snatching in training, he put up PR 100 reps in five minutes with 32kg at the Tactical Strength Challenge[ 5] (TSC), an impressive performance when one specifically trains for it—and exceptional when one does not. Q&D is not cardio intensive and 40kg two-arm swings do not challenge the grip nearly as much as one-arm snatches with 32kg.
Craig matched his PR in the deadlift, in spite of pulling exactly two DL reps in the previous six months, both super light, done to demonstrate technique to a student.
He also put up excellent 19 tactical pullups—very strict and neck to the bar—with an extra 22 pounds, without doing pullups in training.
The Q&D protocol with two-arm kettlebell swings enabled Dr. Marker to do 19 tactical pullups—very strict and neck to the bar—with an extra 22 pounds, without doing pullups in training. He is demonstrating the correct finish of a tactical pullup wearing a weighted vest from 5.11 Tactical®.
Dr. Marker experienced other WTHEs. His free testosterone went up 110 units after six weeks of Q&D, which was not surprising. But then Craig somehow rewound his body clock. Based on telomere testing, before the 033 protocol, he was eight years younger than the number on his driver’s license. After six months of Q&D training and no other changes in his lifestyle, he was 14 years younger.
With all that in mind, swings and power pushups are our minimalist drills of choice, a classic one-two combination.
The snatch is an alternative Q&D selection for the ultra-minimalist. Both pulls and pushes are covered.
Why not make the snatch “the” Q&D choice? Because the shoulders of some hard-living types cannot meet the exacting mobility and stability demanded by this elitist exercise.
But if you check off all the boxes, there are some heavy-duty WTHEs to collect.
If you are reading this book, you were sold on the kettlebell snatch a long time ago, so I will not waste your time reciting the laundry list you already know. I will just highlight a couple of especially unusual WTHEs delivered by Q&D snatching: Military press and pullup strength increases.
Over the years, many of our SFG instructors saw military press improvement, or at least maintenance, from a significant volume of heavy snatches, plus impressive upper back and shoulder hypertrophy. But on Q&D (Plan 044) some of our subjects ended up pressing a lot heavier than what they were snatching.
Mike Torres, SFG Team Leader, reports:
I have been doing Plan 044 three days per week consistently, starting with a 28kg and occasionally moving up to the 32kg. Yesterday I felt inspired to press a kettlebell for the first time in a while. For reference, when I got my half-bodyweight press of 36kg, I had trained hard for it for almost nine months—and even then, it only went up on one side. It felt lucky. I haven’t pressed heavy or high volume since then.
For some reason, that 36kg looked tiny yesterday—so I dragged it out, for some reason fully expecting to press it. It went up EASILY on the right (no slowdown at all), which was the first time I had done that. And then it went up just as easily on the left. It was as if the ’bell was mocking me for stressing so much about that press for the first half of the year.
The WTH effect from all that snatching was in full effect! It’s pretty exciting—since it wasn’t what I was expecting from Strong Endurance Plan 044. I’ve definitely seen some upper body hypertrophy—traps and triceps. Grip feels stronger too.
Shawn Reed did the snatch-only Plan 044 for six weeks:
You can see that Shawn packed on a solid pound of meat per week and improved his snatch performance—as expected. But his pullup and military press strength going up were pure WTHEs.
Shawn improved his Beast pressing strength not only without pressing—but even without touching anything remotely heavy for him. He was snatching 32kg, merely two-thirds of his military press 1RM.
Results such as these are not unusual among experienced gireviks who already know how to military press. If you think about it, the snatch is a swing followed by a fast press, so this makes some sense.
I am sure you also noticed that Shawn’s strict pullup strength jumped from adding 32kg to 48kg. We have seen this snatch WTH effect many times over the years. Derek Toshner, a Senior SFG who has been dominating TSC for years, writes:
I would like to suggest that lots of snatching is the largest reason we perform well for the TSC. Our pullups actually get worse when we practice them with high repetitions, so we don’t practice them that way. I, along with our members, have noted that when we ignore pullups and perform lots of snatches leading up to the TSC, our max number of pullups increases. Snatching also seems to shred body fat, and one of the best ways I’ve found as a rock climber to increase pullups is to lose excess weight.
Shawn gained weight rather than losing it, so it was something else. Whatever it is, we will take it.
On to the performance standards and the testing protocols for swings plus pushups or snatches.
Derek Toshner, Senior SFG: “You get on the Plan 044 and start snatching, the next thing you know, you are climbing 5.10s and you have not been rock climbing in months. It’s like…there it is! The grip strength, right?”
The Swing: Violent as a Hunt in the Savannah
This book is not for beginners and I expect the reader to be more than competent in both swings and power pushups. The following is not to teach you how, but to remind you what the StrongFirst technique standards are.
One-Arm Kettlebell Swing Technique
Task:
Swing a single kettlebell
Condition:
Swing a kettlebell back between your legs and then in front of you up to chest level for 10 repetitions.
Standard:
The back is neutral. The neck is slightly extended or neutral at the bottom of the swing.
The heels, toes, and the balls of the feet are planted and the knees track the toes.
The working shoulder is packed.
The kettlebell handle passes above the knees during the backswing.
The arm is straight in the bottom position.
There is no forward knee movement (increasing ankle dorsiflexion) on the upswing.
The body forms a straight line at the top of the swing. The hips and knees extend fully, the spine is neutral.
The kettlebell forms an extension of the straight arm at the top of the swing. A slight elbow bend is acceptable.
The biomechanical breathing match (inhale on the way down and forcefully exhale on the way up).
The abs and glutes visibly contract at the top of the swing.
The kettlebell floats for an instant at the top of the swing.
Change a couple of words to plural and all of the above applies to two-arm swings.
To select the correct weight, choose one of the two following tests. Test after a warm-up of choice. Every rep must comply with the SFG standards. You may use overspeed eccentrics to the extent you are accustomed to doing them with the given weight.
Option One
Kettlebell Swing Accelerometer Test
If you have access to an accelerometer or a force plate, test yourself swinging different size kettlebells. Do not reflexively grab the biggest ’bell. Remember that max power resides in the sweet spot between heavy and light.
Test in sets of five, with five minutes of rest betwee
n sets, to identify the kettlebell that enables maximal power expression.
Repeat the test two more times with the same weight and record the highest reading.
Option Two
Kettlebell Swing Long Sprint Test
Find the kettlebell you can “sprint” with for 20–30 seconds.
This is a poor test for measuring power, akin to estimating one’s 40-yard dash by testing a 200-meter sprint. But it does the job of selecting the correct resistance.
Make sure not to lose the float or the glute contraction on the top of each rep. Use chalk generously to make sure grip is not the limiting factor.
The clock starts when the kettlebell leaves the ground. It stops at 30 seconds. The time it takes the kettlebell to swing back and then to the ground after the last rep does not count toward the 30-second total—think of it as a sprinter’s movement past the finish line.
Count only perfect, explosive reps. Instruct your testing partner to stop the clock and the test earlier than 30 seconds if technique or power are compromised. If the timer is stopped before 30 seconds, record the time it was stopped for comparison with future tests’ results.
If you have been unable to swing the given kettlebell explosively for at least 20 seconds, it is too heavy to use in Q&D. Rest and repeat the test with a lighter kettlebell.
If, on the other hand, you have completed 30 seconds with high power and room to spare, rest and repeat the test with a heavier kettlebell. Ten minutes of rest is required between all long sprint tests, regardless of swing type or kettlebell weight.
Retest all drills once every four to six weeks, on a session after a minimal volume day of 40 reps, as described later in the book. Keep your warm-ups consistent, as well as the time of the day you are testing, the rests between sets, the shoes or lack of thereof, etc.
Test your drills in the following order:
One-arm swing, the non-dominant arm
One-arm swing, the dominant arm
Power pushup
Two-arm swing
This is a lot of tests and a bit of time, but it is time well spent—you are not just testing; you are training. The above load qualifies as glycolytic power repeats, a smart type of glycolytic training that maximizes the benefits of acid while minimizing the problems caused by it. More about this type of training in the future.
You may choose to test the pushup and the two-arm swing on separate days, one or two days after the one-arm swing test.
The Pushup: a Classic, Remastered
Behold the StrongFirst pushup standard.
Pushup Technique
Task:
Pushup
Condition:
From the pushup plank position on your palms or fists, bend your elbows and lower your entire body, then press back up for 10 repetitions.
Standard:
The spine is neutral.
The entire body forms a straight line—no piking or sagging. The hips and shoulders descend and ascend at the same rate.
The abs and the glutes are braced.
The feet are no wider than the shoulders.
The shoulders stay depressed—anti-shrugged.
The shoulder blades retract at the bottom of each rep.
The elbows may not flare more than 45 degrees.
Descend at least until the tips of the elbows are above the tops of the shoulders.*
The chest may gently brush the deck, but not bounce off it.
The stomach and the knees may not touch the deck at any time.
Press back up until the elbows fully extend.
Audibly power breathe on the top of each rep.
*If you have long arms and a small rib cage that force you to compromise your shoulder position to achieve this ROM, go as deep as you can while maintaining the correct shoulder alignment.
You may do your pushups on your palms or fists.
The former enable greater strength and power, as the pressure on the heels of the palms amplifies triceps strength and makes it easier to bring the lats into action. The downside of traditional palm pushups is they may be hard on some athletes’ wrists.
The fist pushup, in contrast, not only spares the wrist joints, but also strengthens the surrounding muscles.
Yes, you could use pushup handles, but that would be below your dignity.
Everyone but bare-knuckle fighters should load the lower part of the fist, the little and the ring fingers. This lines up the load with the stronger of the two forearm bones, closer to the indestructible armpit than the vulnerable shoulder.
If you are a martial artist who says “No” to gloves, use the first two knuckles of the index and the middle fingers. As you know, these knuckles are much sturdier than the other two—boxers break their hands in street fights because they punch as if they were protected by gloves. The downside of this load placement is that the force is projected onto the top of the shoulder instead of its sturdy underside. Experienced karatekas mitigate this problem somewhat by “making a fist starting from the little finger” and thus trying to connect the arm to the body through the armpit more than the top of the shoulder.
The above applies to all pushups, and now we move specifically to explosive ones.
Start the first rep from the bottom, lying prone with your hands on the floor (the only time your belly may touch the deck). Brace and explode. Do not cheat with your knees.
Practice this dead start during the tests and the work sets alike. There are several reasons behind this.
First, it develops starting strength.
Second, it will help you optimize your hand placement. Move around and adjust until you feel your lats against your tris and your palms or fists positioned where there is no joint stress and you feel loaded to explode.
If your build prevents you from safely going this deep, skip dead starts and do your Q&D pushups in the traditional manner starting from the top.
Pushups must be maximally explosive. Aim for a high cadence as well, but make sure to achieve a full lockout each time.
Avoid the temptation to whip your neck in high-tempo pushups. Focusing on lowering and lifting your chest rather than your nose should help. “Packing” your neck might as well.
There are two opposite ways to lock out powerfully.
One, jump—or at least intend to, with the heels of your palms or your fists unloading on the top of each rep.
Two, “root.” Visualize attempting to leave deep imprints of your palms or fists in the ground.
Pick one.
Uncommitted reps with the elbows never locking is one of the reasons fighters fail to develop striking power from pushups. Save “soft elbows” for shadow boxing; this is not the time.
Prof. Vladimir Zatsiorsky explains:
To develop a quick expression of strength, the dynamic effort method is used…moving some submaximal resistance with maximal speed and a full range of motion. If movements with a limited range (a stop) are used, undesirable coordination may develop…the agonists, barely having started working, immediately turn off and the antagonists breaking the movement become active. If such coordination becomes habitual, then the finish phase would be performed insufficiently actively in other movements as well. This is why it is recommended, for example, to finish a squat with a jump, use throws, strikes, etc.
Opposite of jumping in its intention, the martial arts technique of rooting has the same effect of enabling one to express full power at the lockout without putting on the brakes. StrongFirst teaches rooting to the students of all strength modalities—kettlebell, bodyweight, and barbell.
The above admonition by Zatsiorsky is especially vital when you are aiming for a high cadence. Cutting the reps short is tempting. Do not. In Q&D, power takes priority over cadence. Always.
The negative is a free fall. If you are strong enough to be using a band for extra resistance, you will be getting the added benefit of an overspeed eccentric. With or without a band, bend your elbows, absorb the kinetic energy, and explosively release it into t
he next rep with no hesitation.
The Quick and the Dead Page 6