Combo Tracy Reifkind with Simple and Sinister

So, to really make sense of this we have to go back a ways. I was introduced to the kettlebell swing by Tim Ferriss' post The Perfect Posterior: Kettlebell Swings and Cheap Alternatives. That post introduced me to Tracy Reifkind who is also featured in Ferriss' book The Four Hour Body. Tracy now has her own book The Swing!

I've been following Simple and Sinister by Pavel Tsatsouline.  I had just been doing 5 sets of 10 swings and 5 sets of Turkish Get Ups 1 rep per side. That didn't seem like enough volume for me to accomplish my fat and weight loss goals. After waiting a month, I bought The Swing! and read it quickly in one evening. I also found a video of her demonstrating her Workout #1.

So what is the combination? It's higher sets of swings, 15 in fact, as per Tracy combined with the Turkish Get Ups from Pavel. I started my training with a 10 minute walk. Then I went on to

Warm Up Circuit 3 circuits 5 reps each

• Prying Squat
• Lying Hip Extension
• Halo (each direction)
• Flying Dog (5 reps per side)

The Practice

• Kettlebell Swings 5x10x35# Two Handed
• Kettlebell Swings 5x10x35# Two Handed
• Kettlebell Swings 5x8x35# Two Handed
• Turkish Get Ups 5x1x25# (per side)

Now, not to sell Simple and Sinister short. If I recall correctly you can go up to 10 sets of 10 swings. But today I did 15 sets of swings for 140 total reps. That's 90 more reps than I had been doing. Another nice thing was that I followed along w/ Tracy's video which helped me focus on stay with her 10 reps every minute on the minute as well as getting my 10 swings done in 15 seconds.

I think my breaks between sets before were too long. But it is also possible that I'm getting in better shape. Anyway, having the video helped keep my on track. I'm not willing to dispense with the get ups. The combination of the fast, powerful swings with the slower getups is a great combination. I'm pleased with how my body feels. I finished up with a 22:27 minute walk in which I covered 1.04 miles. I thought I was moving a little faster than that, oh well.