Don’t Chase PRs. Let them Come to YOU (Here’s how)

One of the problems those of us who are athletes at heart or competitive by nature is that we turn many of the things we do, especially our workouts, into competitions.

We harness our “inner 18 year old” and work for PRs (Personal Records, or Personal Bests, if you prefer) every single workout.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐝:

[1] We’re not as young chronologically as we were, so it’s harder to train “all out” and still recover from it, without waking up overly tired/borderline exhausted, stiff, sore, or eventually injured…

[2] We’re older in “training age” so the “gainz” don’t come as fast as they did when we were younger

[3] Because of 1 and 2, it’s really easy to get discouraged (and did I mention get injured too? Yes, that’s right, I did.)

So the key is to let those PRs come to you, like the cat from across the street that comes up to my 9-year old daughter.

How?

Here are 5 STRATEGIES:

[𝟏] 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄.

Look, you’re going to see some “gainz, Brah” in a short 4 weeks, especially if your program is designed correctly.

The “Real Gainzzzzz” are measured in months and years.

That’s why it’s commonplace for Powerlifting cycles to be 12-weeks or so. They compete at the end of the 12 weeks (sometimes longer - 16, 20, or 24 weeks.)

And for Olympians to plan a 4-year cycle - to hit their PR once in a 4 year period.

[𝟐] 𝐀𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤.

Or at least not as weak.

This is a tough road to hoe.

No one wants to admit they’re wrong.

(See? ;-] )

So it’s tough to even admit we have weaknesses. Or if we do, that we need to address them.

One of the most productive 18 months of my life was when I stopped all barbell and kettlebell training, and trained only bodyweight.

On the backside of that period, I was almost completely rejuvenated, especially after working on my incredibly weak anterior chain (deep and superficial abdominals).

[𝟑] 𝐔𝐬𝐞 “𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐕𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲” 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲

Specialized Variety is a concept developed and used by World Champion-producing Russian Weightlifting coaches back in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s.

It’s important because these guys were the best in the world and measured everything in their quest for greatness.

Like Tony Robbins says, “Success leaves clues.”

So these coaches' empirical data told them that weightlifters made faster progress when special, similar-yet-different exercises were employed in their training.

So instead of just doing Cleans, trying to make the Clean go up, they'd do exercises like:

Power Cleans...

Power Cleans from blocks...

Power Cleans from above the knee...

Power Cleans standing on a block...

Power Cleans with straight legs...

Good Mornings...

Front Squats...

And so on…

A modern day, non-Olympic lifting example you can immediately apply to your KB training?

After over a decade of testing, I can tell you definitively that simple bodyweight "stability" exercises like Dead Bugs and Bird Dogs routinely make almost everyone’s Turkish Get Up improve, without performing the Turkish Get Up.

[𝟒] 𝐕𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬

Similar to Specialized Variety, the human organism craves variety.

So, there needs to be SOME variation in your plans.

Yes, you could force yourself to stick to the same plan with identical exercises day in and day out, like some kind of Iron Monk…

But please notice how few monks there really are and how most of them need some kind of financial support from the outside world…

(Don’t email me for “monk-bashing” - I’m merely making a point.)

A form of variety is moving from “simple” to “complex.”

An example:

2-Hand Swing → 1-Hand Swing → Clean → Clean + Press → Snatch

[𝟓] 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐭.

One of my closest friends can fix anything. He once built a motorcycle from scratch buying parts from Craigslist.

He also recently started building custom metal railings and staircases for new homes.

But you know what?

He uses my kettlebell programs.

Look -

That’s why I recommend you use this program here.

It uses all 5 of the strategies I detailed for you in this email.

Plus, it’s what Daniel used to 10X his Double Clean + Press RM (Rep Max).

And once you start using this program, you’ll probably also see results like:

Yurik, a 40-year old dad of 3, who works odd shifts in law enforcement, and passed his 5-Minute Snatch Test - 100 reps in 5 minutes using a 24kg…

David, who at 42, said using this program was “the best I’ve ever felt” because he’s “burned off that dad layer in the belly and my core is stronger than it’s ever been” ...

Or Marco, who took his 2-Hand Swings from 104 to 250 in his test days.

Test days?

Yup.

With this program you can actually test yourself with scheduled “test days” each month.

Just set your baseline, show up, do the work, and watch new PRs just stroll your way like our neighbor’s cat.

👉 Check it out here.

Stay Strong,

Geoff