Go hard or go home - or listen to your body?
Yogi_Carl
Posts: 1,906 Member
I do yoga at an intermediate level, progressive calisthenics - so not just a few pressups but actually working at a strength building intensity - and kettlebell.
My problem I guess is a real kettlebell workout is really intense if the proper weight and form are used. This leaves me able but not willing to pull in the callisthenics for the day. My muscles are twitching and heavy and I just want a mental rest. If I pull in my daily yoga, I defintely don't want to do bodyweight exercises as well.
I guess I have fallen in love with three intensive strength disciplines.
The question is do I "Go hard or go home" - or listen to my body - possibly even facing the decision to drop one discipline - most likely kettlebell as my callisthenics are directly related to strength for my yoga; which is my main practise?
I also swim twice a week and cycle, but at a casual cardio level; not intensively.
My gut feeling is something's gotta go in order to give enough rest and repair.
My problem I guess is a real kettlebell workout is really intense if the proper weight and form are used. This leaves me able but not willing to pull in the callisthenics for the day. My muscles are twitching and heavy and I just want a mental rest. If I pull in my daily yoga, I defintely don't want to do bodyweight exercises as well.
I guess I have fallen in love with three intensive strength disciplines.
The question is do I "Go hard or go home" - or listen to my body - possibly even facing the decision to drop one discipline - most likely kettlebell as my callisthenics are directly related to strength for my yoga; which is my main practise?
I also swim twice a week and cycle, but at a casual cardio level; not intensively.
My gut feeling is something's gotta go in order to give enough rest and repair.
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Replies
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A thought to myself is, I find it difficult to face calisthenic workout after kettlebell because I have faced the kettlebell and then find it difficult to get back out there and do bodyweight exercises, but with KB I superset with rope skipping between KB movements. For example 20 sets of KB swings, supersetted with rope jumps; 20 minutes total.
What I could do is superset my KB sets with calisthenic sets and maybe workout for 30 minutes and do rope jumping as a cool-down five mins at the end.
That way, I am "out there" for just ten mins more but only out there once, rather than seeing it as two intensive sessions - which is more mentally challenging.0 -
I train with barbells and kettlebells on alternating days. I've found that I needed to rotate between which one I'm really giving lots of intensity to. I can't go full out with both things at the same time, or I get into overtraining territory real fast.
What I've done so far has been a cycle of the barbell program while trying to also do the Rite of Passage alongside it. That was a bit too much for me at age 41. Twenty years ago, sure. So I got through that first cycle of the barbell program, took a rest from both for a week, and then continued with just KB stuff for another month or two. Got through Rite of Passage, really improved on my strength and endurance, then took a few days off again (deload) and returned to another cycle of barbell training. That's where I'm at now. I haven't abandoned KBs, but rather I do them on the off days, and I don't do them as a strength-building exercise as much as a cardio (vo2 max) workout. In simple terms, I do high rep swings and/or snatches for about 30 minutes or so with a bell that is a step down from what I'd typically use for those exercises if I was going all out.
On my barbell days, I still train a bit with KBs. I do a lightweight double KB complex as a warm up, for instance. Under 10 minutes, two light bells. I aways do a few TGUs as well, because I think they're also an excellent full-body warm up exercise. I usually do a little bit of KB work at the end of my barbell workout, too. Sometimes a heavier/harder complex (still keep it short time wise--maybe 15 mins), or perhaps I work on grinds (all sorts of presses, TGUs) and carries (farmer's walk, waiter's carry). Other times I will do a few sets of clean and jerk, or a quick swing ladder up then down, snatches, etc. Just depends how I feel, but I don't dedicate myself to a full-on program during my barbell program, if you get what I'm saying. I do what I feel up to, and what I want to do that day.
If you're not already aware of Tracy Reifkind, you might visit her blog and see if you can find some posts where she discusses how she integrates her Bikram yoga practice with her KB training. You could even write and ask...
In the end, yes....listen to your body. Of course!0 -
A thought to myself is, I find it difficult to face calisthenic workout after kettlebell because I have faced the kettlebell and then find it difficult to get back out there and do bodyweight exercises, but with KB I superset with rope skipping between KB movements. For example 20 sets of KB swings, supersetted with rope jumps; 20 minutes total.
What I could do is superset my KB sets with calisthenic sets and maybe workout for 30 minutes and do rope jumping as a cool-down five mins at the end.
That way, I am "out there" for just ten mins more but only out there once, rather than seeing it as two intensive sessions - which is more mentally challenging.
Sure, you can combine body weight exercises (or whatever you mean by calisthenics) with your KB exercises. That's a great way of doing things!0 -
Thank you. I think a lot of the problem is mentally having to go out there for another session. If I superset, then I go once intensively for a little longer and then rest.
I think I have a plan. Thanks for helping me to work through this.
- could possibly also incorporate a lot of my bodyweight exercises into my yoga session and keep KB pure for a while.
NOTE: By calisthenics I typically mean: close hand pushups, chin-ups, military push-ups, pistol squats, leg raises - push, pull, shoulder press, legs and core; all as intensively as will allow three sets of around 12 max. Once I can do 3x12 I look for a more intensive movement.0 -
I'm dealing with the same thing at the moment, to a certain degree. I do heavy barbell work in addition to kettlebell grinds and ballistics and bodyweight stuff (burpees, pullups, pushups, etc.). I just am having a lot of trouble recovering lately, so I'm either going to have to take something out of the program or put in an extra rest day. But when I think about what to get rid of, I can't justify getting rid of anything!
But I agree that you should listen to your body. It's really, really hard for me to do because unless I have planned a deload week, I feel incredibly guilty about not working out as planned. Last Thursday, I felt unusually tired and just mentally drained from a tough couple of weeks at work. When I got home, I changed into my workout clothes and went down to my gym. I made it about halfway through my warmup before I decided I just couldn't handle it that day, so I went back upstairs and started dinner. Then I felt so horrible about quitting on my workout that I went back down to the gym and forced myself through the workout I planned. And I probably shouldn't have done it because this week, I feel awful. I'm sore, I'm not sleeping well, and I am ravenous.
I need to get a grip on the fact that this is my body telling me that it needs rest.0 -
I hear you - suffering the feeling I have a virus coming on, achey thighs and small of my back and that pressure you get behind your eyes.
I am away from work this week so I am going to look long and hard at what I am doing and how to workout more efficiently.0 -
It sounds like we're all a bit burned out...how odd.
After yesterday's workout, I came home beat and decided I'd finish this week and then take next off. I'm not even going to touch my KBs, which is going to be weird for me! I'm planning to walk, ride my bike, perhaps do a bit of swimming...oh, and some bodyweight and TRX work.
Jq, your workouts sound a lot like mine...and yes, it all gets to be a bit much. I totally know what you mean about it being hard to choose what to cut from where when you really enjoy doing it all and are seeing benefits. I've had to convince myself that cycling is how I have to compromise for now. I can throw myself into one thing, hard, but I can't do a balls to the wall compound lifting program where I'm trying to progress each week AND the rather intense Rite of Passage at the same time. I really want to do BOTH! My body says no, though.
My last barbell cycle lasted about 10 weeks before I really had to lay off. Those last few weeks were pretty rough, so this one I'm cutting out a bit sooner at 8 weeks, just as I'm starting to feel a bit worn down and achey. I'm hoping I'll be raring to go after my deload week--I'm going to eat maintenance calories for the week too, total break. I didn't do that last time.
Carlos, combining your calisthenics with sets of KB exercises will be good. I like to do workouts like that, and there are all sorts of ways you can set them up, and the variations and possibilities are pretty much endless. You should start another thread--it would be fun to share/discuss those sorts of workouts!0 -
Not only do our bodies (muscle, tendon, other tissues) need recovery, our central nervous system needs recovery between sessions as well. We tend to not pay as much attention to the brain, in regards to how taxed it becomes after serious workouts.0
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