Today I hit that wall that indicates a strong learning curve is in progress. The frustration levels peaked and I had a 'screw this nonsense, I'm so overwhelmed I'm gonna just quit and go back to barbells' moment. I was reading up on a lot of Neuperts programs after the recent complex thread took me on a tangent. The world of kettlebells is hard to navigate. All at once there's an overwhelming amount of content, but very little great content it seems.
Anyway, I ended up reading through Dans even easier strength perform better notes on his website. It finally clicked - and this is maybe the 20th time reading through that exact page.
See I've been so stuck on the powerlifting mindset that permeates the fitness world right now. Squat, bench, dead, accessories. Don't forget your band pull-aparts, remember to keep balance in your programs. Whether it's 531, 5x5 (and all its variations), juggernaut method, or whatever you choose it all revolves around 3 lifts. I read a quote from Pavel that is now saved in my notes, "If you think you are only strong if you can lift a certain number, whatever that number is, you will feel pretty weak most of the time."
Exploring this world of kettlebells and trying to divest myself of this attitude of focusing on numbers in the 'big 3' has been a big process. I wanted to go all in on kettlebells to really try something different. But kettlebells have they're own sea of confusion (I find the imagery of Ephesians 4:14, tossed about by the waves, has so many applications in life).
Then today, as I missed the old familiarity of my barbell something finally made sense.
Even easier strength, or the 21/40/90 day workout or whatever you want to call it, is about exploring. It's about finding strength in short bursts of specializing, then moving on. It's the solution for program hopping because every 2, 4, or 8 weeks you start a new program. As soon as I moved on mentally from bench, dead, squat forevvaaaa and unlocked myself from seeing strength as a number on a specific lift I realized that strength is an attribute we work on when using the tools in our tool chest. I don't have to be so one dimensional. People often get stuck in camps. Barbells, kettlebells, bodyweight. Everyone believes their camp has the only answers, the keys to curing cancer or what have you and the 'other people' are hucksters. But strength is not locked into any one camp. It's all just a bunch of tools in a toolbox and all of them can and should be used to expand our ability to interact with the physical world.
These realizations finally helped me understand easy strength. Dan is not selling a one size fits all approach. And maybe that's why he has such a hard time explaining such a simple concept. It's not for his lack of explaining, but for peoples lack of understanding as they develop their 'schema' to use a psychology term and expand their knowledge. His methods tend to sit outside of how most of the fitness industry sells products or programs.
Powerlifting programs, like 531 (which I love, don't get me wrong here), are so easy to pick up and do. Quite literally, do this then do this, and do it again.
But even easier strength is about strength through exploration. It uses movements to guide us rather than exercises. So push, pull, hinge, squat, loaded carry, 'anterior chain'. Yes that's 6 moves not 5 and depending what version you read it will omit one of those. So when choosing a push exercise lets say. Our toolbox: barbells: incline bench, bench, overhead press. Kettlebells: clean and press, one arm bench, push press, jerks. Bodyweight: one arm pushups, handstand pushups, dips, weighted pushups. They all build strength. We don't measure strength by picking only one of them and using other tools to improve just that one. We improve strength as an attribute by using all these tools, and the more of them we succeed in the more well rounded we can become. Maybe this is what 'dad strength' really is. The ability to perform in a variety of tasks. If you are only strong in one plane of pressing, then the attribute of strength has only narrowly improved. For me for example, years of barbell squatting improved barbell squatting. Moving to a DKFS or split squats, even though initially I used light weights, despite my strength in barbell squatting, expanding those other lifts expanded the real attribute of strength. As I mentioned in another thread, when I first really focused on split squatting it unlocked further levels of strength in barbell squats and broke down that invisible wall I had been hitting for years.
All this to say, I finally get it. Even easier strength is 5 (or 6) movements that you practice for a few weeks, namely 2, 4, or 8. You get really good at them, maybe set some PR's. Then you move on (and THAT is what was so hard for me to understand.) Move on? To what? When you do 531 that's all you do. Forever. But now I get it. You move on to something else. What else? Pick new movements and do it again. Do some conditioning for a week (Dan's option 3). Do a bus bench program and go for broke. Then come back to this. What's this? Picking movements and practicing.
It's really so brilliant. I could keep writing, but this got long. My main goal here is just a Sunday ramble. Add your thoughts if you want. Maybe this will help someone like me in the future understand this faster. Maybe Dan will read this and say no, you still don't get it. Either way, I at least think I get it.
