2016 DC training journal

[a-dog]

hey guys, I've done a couple of these in the past with varying levels of success.

I really appreciate feedback so don't be shy with questions or comments.

Right now I weigh around 197 pounds, I'm about 5'7ish. I've been training using the DC training principles for awhile now but I think I was on cruise control for the last few years. I'm going to make an attempt to really push some limits so this journal should be pretty fun.

I train at a rec center, not a hard core gym at all. It has almost everything I need at this stage in my life. It has a power rack, a couple of smith machines, DB's that go to the 100's, lat pulldown, seated row, cables and an assortment of paramount machines that are actually pretty good considering. I would rather use Hammer equipment but I make due with what I have.

I have asthma which is a pain. I do some form of cardio daily. usually a 1/2 an hour on an elliptical machine. This is done in an effort to keep my BF in check but also to keep my lungs working, if I'm not mobile my asthma gets worst and worst.

I have a few nagging injuries that I don't think are associated with my training, I had a very physical job for around 10 years and it just destroyed my lower back so I don't-really I can't-squat or deadlift right now. I have in the past and might try it again. Usually when I squat I get to a certain point and my back just can't handle it. At this stage in my life I don't need to be walking around like I'm 105 years old just so I can get a hardcore leg workout in. Deads are easier on me, I might rotate them in before too long.

I use an "advanced" DC split, not because I think I'm advanced but because I have limited amounts of time I can be in the gym. the advanced split gets me in and out really quick.

I am a fan of the Arthur Jones technique of moving from one movement to the next pretty quick, I don't spend a lot of time warming up, if I warm up my chest and everything feels good by the time I get to my shoulder and tri's they should be set to go, same with other bodyparts. my workouts take me between 25-35 minutes at the most.

I'm also training for a 5K this year but again my back is an issue, it doesn't react well to running so I'm taking a very restrained approach.

what I do with everything, every new movement or any new cardio approach is I do a "baseline" session where I pick a weight (or resistance level if it's cardio) and record what I can do with that, then I try to beat that number in the next workout and so on and so forth.

all movements are rest paused so I'll pick up the weight and grind out say 8-10 reps (or however many it takes me to fail), once I fail I put the weight down and take 12 deep slow breaths, go again and when I fail I take 15 deep slow, breaths and then finish it off. as the weights get heavier my reps get lower. I just finished my first run through and most of my workouts went well.

*I do NOT rest pause back thickness movements (like seated rows or T bar rows) or any type of leg press movements. I keep those as heavy as I can go but try to keep the reps around 20. Since I don't squat I have one "heavy" leg press day and 1 high rep leg press day. Last run through I had issues with my hips so my "heavy" leg press day is actually not very heavy but we'll see what happens.

my split is:

chest, shoulders, tri's

bi's, forearms, back width, back thickness and I rotate trap work and lower back work in when I can

legs

calves are trained in a pretty unique way, I explain it when I get to it.

I had my first workout after my baseline sessions a couple of days ago and it went like this:

Paramount Incline-16 plates plus 5bls x 29 RP (RP = rest paused)

military press-145 x 38RP-on a smith machine

PJR pullover-70 x 21 straight set

chest widowmaker-paramount press-7 plates + 7.5lbs x 21 straight set


although I don't mind using the paramount machines, when they set them up they screwed up how they marked the plates so I just count the actual plates, I think each plate in 15lbs but honestly, I don't care. All I care about is beating the number I got last workout.

I use the smith machine for my military press, for some reason my right shoulder has lost some power, I don't know why.

I'll try to find a video of the PJR pullover if anyone is interested it's kind of like an overhead DB extension but you are set up like a DB pullover

my chest is a weak point, I use a widowmaker at the end of every chest workout. it's always the same movement but you constantly add weight while trying to keep the reps high. once you get to a point where you can't do 12 reps straight setted you drop it and move on.

I also did a 1/2 an hour on the elliptical today, nothing fancy just grinding away.

[a-dog]

one of the things I wanted to do with this journal that I didn't do in the past is compare what I did for the session I'm posting about compared to what I did in the previous session, I totally forgot to do that in the first post. It should have read like this:

Paramount Incline-16 plates plus 5bls x 29 RP (RP = rest paused)-5 pounds heavier than my last workout and I actually got a few more reps this time.

military press-145 x 38RP-on a smith machine-10 more pounds on this movement, reps were about the same. I count the bar on the smith machine as weighing 45lbs, I know it doesn't weigh that but I honestly don't care. I had a 45 on both sides and a 5 on both sides

PJR pullover-70 x 21 straight set-5 pounds heavier than last workout

chest widowmaker-paramount press-7 plates + 7.5lbs x 21 straight set-2.5 pounds heavier than last workout

I also follow up most bodyparts with a nice long stretch, usually about a minute. I'm experimenting with a slightly longer stretch for chest.

[a-dog]

bi's, forearms and back last night:

preacher curl-112.5 x 23RP with a 20 count static hold at the end

reverse grip, 1 arm cable curls-26.5 x 27 reps with each arm, straight set. for now I'm trying to do straight sets for forearms, I just like doing them like this. This is a movement that Dante Trudell (the guy who created DC training) had some of his guys doing for a bit, if anyone is interested I'll post a video

paramount pulldown-10 plates + 3.3lbs x 21RP-this is a really cool machine, both handled are independent and you can rotate your wrists through the movement, I like to do these with a neutral grip. With most pulldown movements I like to do a nice slow (like a 4 count) negative, it really fries the lats

seated row-264.5 x 15 straight set. I'd like to hit 20 reps with all of my thickness movements but this is a bit heavy for that (for me). what I will usually do once the reps get down to around 10 (as the weights get heavier) I'll add a second set and shoot for 20 reps

I did not do traps, the resolutionists are in so it's hard to get on equipment sometimes.

bodyweight this morning was 197lbs.

I am doing a run today for my 5K prep, hopefully my low back holds out, it's early in the process so if I have a setback already I'll be pretty bummed out.

[a-dog]

did a run today at lunch.

I use the "zero to 5K" app on my IPhone.

I'm not a good runner. It's not something I enjoy like some people do. if it were not for my asthma I probably wouldn't do as much cardio as I do.

anyway the workout I did today was Week 1, day 1. It is a 5 minute warm up followed by a 1 minute run, 1.5 min walk rotated 6 times then you do a 5 min cool down. I did this on New Years Day and for some reason it just destroyed my lower back. I went pretty hard but I didn't expect it to be in so much pain afterwards (I think something else was going on but I'm not sure). So, what I did this week was I got on the treadmill at the start of the week and I just did a lite walk for 25 minutes with the incline at 5 degrees, I just wanted to see how my back reacted and I was fine. A couple of days later I did week 1, day 1 but I only ran with the speed at a "4" which is only a little faster than a walk. Again no problems so today I upped the run speed to 5. It was decent. it didn't kill me but it wasn't "easy" by any means. I will probably run through it one more time next week with my runs set at 6 and then start the process over for the Day 2 run.

might do legs tonight, depends how I feel later. I'm pretty laid back in when I train, if I get in the gym 4 times a week that's fine, if I only get in twice that's fine too. I have a lot of family obligations, those come first.

[a-dog]

I did get in for legs last night. It was my "heavy" leg press day which actually isn't very heavy at this point. Like I said earlier I had some hip issues awhile ago so I'm approaching legs a bit differently

High rep toe press-325 x 40+RP- these are pretty standard, 2 count stretch at the bottom, rest paused. I stopped counting at 40, I know this is some lite weight but it's a process

Sumo leg press-325 x 25 straight set-legs high and wide on the platform, deep stretch

Leg press-325 x 25 straight set, followed by 35 partial reps

I'm taking it slow with this, nothing too hard but it will come

No training today.

Might hit it tomorrow, we will see

* every movement had a 10lbs increase from the previous session.

[a-dog]

full day off on Saturday.

Yesterday all I did was a little lite cardio in the morning and some really lite ab work.

today I did chest, shoulders and tri's

dip machine-252 x 20RP-2.5lbs heavier than last workout, reps were about the same

1/4 laterals-65 x 31RP-5 pounds heavier than last time, reps were about the same. I read about someone doing these and decided to try them, I like them. I spent a lot of time just doing heavy pressing movements for shoulders and now I want to try some different things

high pulley pushdowns-62.5 x 20 straight set-this is a unique cable set up they have where I train, it's kind a cool movement. I bumped it up 2.5lbs. With Tri's, I try to stick to straight sets for as long as I can, my elbows tend to bother me if I rest pause

widowmaker-paramount press 8 plates for 26 reps straight set

decent, not great. I trained earlier than I usually do so maybe that had something to do with it.

I did a zero to 5K run, week 1 day 2, really lite.

[a-dog]

1/2 an hour on the elliptical today at lunch.

I up the resistance a little each day, I started with a 1/2 hour with the resistance at 2 and gradually creep it up as I go. today I did 6 minutes at 3, 24 at 2. My RPM's are about 75-80 the whole time until the last 2 minutes, I use those as a cool down.

I wanted to hit bi's, forearms and back today but I slipped and fell on some ice, I landed right on my elbow. it's a bit painful right now, not sure what I'm going to do.

bodyweight this morning was 196.5 so it's gradually coming down, I want to be around 175 at some point this year.

[a-dog]

took a couple of days off, my elbow was really bothering me, also the workout I was set to do was actually the only workout that gave me problems on my first run through. My grip totally gave out and I struggled to get anything on my 2 back movements.

I did cardio both days, 1 day on the elliptical and 1 day I ran. I did the zero to 5K week 1 day 1 again but I upped the speed of my runs again. I didn't need to use my inhaler which was GREAT.

I plan on doing some type of cardio today at lunch, I don't think I will run and I'm kind of burnt on the elliptical so I might do a session on the recumbent bike.

I have bi's, forearms and back tonight.

this is an article I read a couple of years ago and it has some of the movements I use, it's a great article. john Meadows is a beast in every sense of the word.

https://www.t-nation.com/training/mo...untain-dog-way

[a-dog]

I hit my elbow pretty hard, haven't' really done any upper body movements since I fell. I've been keeping up with my cardio and running so that's a plus. I actually gained a couple of pounds, I think I stress ate over the weekend. Not much of a setback but still a setback.

I did 1/2 an hour on the elliptical yesterday.

I did legs in the PM and it went like this:

calf sled-120 x 40RP-this machine is weird, the angle is strange so 120lbs is super heavy, I just started doing higher reps on it to change things up. Did about 15 partials afterwards followed by a 1 minute stretch.

sumo leg press-345 x 25 straight set

leg press-345 x 30 straight set and a bunch of partial reps at the end.

so I added 10 pounds to the sumo and standard leg press, it's still pretty lite but at least it's coming up. No problems with my hips yet either.

treadmill today and then I jump back in on Thursday or Friday with chest, shoulders and tri's and go from there.

[a-dog]

zero to 5K run at lunch. Week 1 Day 3. took it easy, didn't push the pace since I did legs last night.

I didn't have to use my inhaler which is HUGE.

[a-dog]

so I ran today at lunch, it was a hard session. I did the zero to 5K thing and really tried to push it.

it actually really wore me down but I went in and did chest, shoulders and tri's. I decided after the extended break I would kind of tweak a few things, I moved a couple of movements around. I went a bit lighter on a few things as I wanted to see how my elbow reacted. I was really worn down when I went in, I can usually work through it but I had a hard time getting into it. anyway, here's what I did, nothing to spectacular:

paramount incline machine-17 plates x 23RP.

military press-135 x 40ishRP. went a bit lighter on this today, with the slight shoulder problems I had and my elbow I wanted to be safe.

dip machine-210 x 20RP-just felt weak on these, I usually can grind out 20 straight set style but I just didn't have it today, maybe it was the elbow maybe I was just worn out. I don't know.

widowmaker-7 plates x 24 straight set.

pretty bad actually. I was not happy when I left but I'm not going to dwell on it, it will come.

like I said in my last post I gained a couple of pounds so that sucks.

at least I got in and did something, hopefully this will be a good starting point.

[a-dog]

today went well.

preacher curl-120 x 23RP with a 20 second static hold at the end

reverse grip cable curl-29 x 22 with my left hand and 21 with my right

paramount pulldown-10 plates x 22 RP

seated row-264 x 13 straight set

quick but good. no cardio today, might do some later.

back on track with my eating.

[anonymous]

not a fan of DC (it killed my joints back when I was doing it) but those are some solid workouts. Why arms before back though? Arms are the weak link in rows?

[a-dog]

not a fan of DC (it killed my joints back when I was doing it) but those are some solid workouts. Why arms before back though? Arms are the weak link in rows?

the reasoning is because the back thickness stuff should be done to a point where you CAN'T do arms afterwards. You should be DONE after back. I'll see if I can find something where DC actually explains his reasoning behind this. I've never really had any injuries that I would say were because of DC training. I have had a few things here and there but nothing too bad. If I do super heavy declines (which I love) my elbow bothers me so I avoid them. I had issues with my hips last year but I thing that was more because I started running than anything else. right now, the only injury I have is my right shoulder is a bit weaker than my left but only with overhead pressing movements. I don't know what caused it, it doesn't "hurt" it's just weaker.

I was really, really pissed on Saturday about how terrible my workout went on Friday. I decided to start the cycle over, I just couldn't get past the first day back being so lackluster. anyway here's what I did last night:

dip machine-250 x 23RP

1/4 DB laterals-50 x 32RP

PJR Pullover-65 x 22 straight set

and I did 7 plates for 27 reps on my widow maker.

I felt really good leaving the gym so even though it's not something I would usually do I'm glad I did it.

[a-dog]

great workout yesterday. just felt great.

dumbbell curls-50 x 30ish RP with each arm-I do these one arm at a time bent over like a standing concentration curl (like Arnold does a the start of pumping iron)

wrist curl-135 x 23 straight set

front pulldown-228 x 22RP, nice slow negative

MD rows (these are in the john meadows article I posted earlier)-125 x 6 with each arm, I did a secondary movement, it was this seated row cable thing they have, it was the first time I've done it so I only used 25lbs for each arm but I did a full wrist rotation and really squeezed the hell out of my back.

no cardio today.

[a-dog]

I did end up running the other day, quick session in the evening.

I did a run yesterday, using the zero to 5K app again. I did week 1 day 1 again but I really sped up the running part. what I'm doing is taking the daily workout and doing a easy, medium and hard session before I move to the next day. With the "hard" session the treadmill I'm using says I'm running at 10MPH, a 6 minute mile pace is nuts for me.

everyone at work is sick, I'm having a lot of trouble breathing and have had to use my rescue inhaler a few times too many for my liking. I'm going to all my asthma doctor and see if there is anything I can do to get me over the hump so to speak.

legs today.

[a-dog]

legs from the other day:

high rep toe press-405 x 35RP

sumo leg press-405 x 23 straight set

leg press-405 x 25 with about 18 partials at the end.

this was my "heavy" leg press day which really isn't all that heavy but it is what it is. Been sick since Friday, a nasty cough-cold thing is going around so I've been taking it easy since then

[a-dog]

so I recovered from my elbow/shoulder injury only to be struck down by bronchitis for the last few weeks. I haven't been in the gym very much, certainly not enough to post anything. I'm going to get back on the horse in the next few days. Sorry if this log sucks...lol, I never would have started it had I known I was going to be off for a month right after I started.

I weigh about the same, just under 200lbs the goal is still to be down to 175ish

so I should have some workouts posted in the next few days

[a-dog]

yesterday was a day where I ate anything I wanted just to get it out of my system. I start locking it down today. Unless I have a major setback with my bronchitis I should be good to go. I'm just throwing out the logbook I had for the last blast, I haven't been in the gym for a month so I need to start over from scratch. Today should be a run at around noon (depending on how my lungs do) and chest, shoulders and tri's in the evening.

morning bodyweight was 202.6 but that's fine, bladder was full and I really did eat a ton of food yesterday.

[a-dog]

first session in the books:

dip machine-230 x 25 RP

1/4 laterals-50 x 35RP

PJR Pullover-50 x 25 straight set

widowmaker-7 plates for 31 reps

1 minute deep stretch for my shoulders and I did 70 second deep stretch for my chest after the widow maker.

so my weights went down a bit but that's to be expected after a long lay off. No big deal. Felt a little weak a the start but picked up steam as I went on.

No cardio today, I'm still on some asthma meds to get my lungs back in shape and I honestly don't think doing cardio was a good idea. last thing I need is an asthma attack at work.

[a-dog]

2nd workout in the book, I kind of regret it cause I ended up feeling terrible a few hours later, maybe I should have held out a few more days before starting up again.

anyway:

dumbbell curl-50lbs x 31 with my right hand and 32 with my left rest paused. I do these like a standing concentration curl (like Arnold does at the start of pumping iron), this way my lower back doesn't come into play at all.

barbell wrist curl-135 x 21 straight set

paramount pulldown-9 plates x 21RP, 4 count negative on these, I really emphasize the negative on all pulldown type movements and I think it works great

mountain dog rows-105lbs, straight set-16 reps with my right arm and 15 with my left. the goal is always 20 reps on any thickness movement but if I get 15 I'm good with that.

I did a secondary thickness movement with a cool little rowing machine they have, I saw a video of John Meadows doing a movement on a similar machine so I decided to try it out, the weight is very light but I squeeze the hell out of my lats

like I said I felt like crap a little while afterwards but I felt fine in the morning, I might take today off just to be safe.

my eating has been pretty good, bodyweight this morning was 199.0 so I'm down a few pounds but I seem to hit a wall at around 196 so we'll see what happens when I get to that point.

[a-dog]

off day yesterday for recovery from my recent illness. I probably should have started today instead of Friday but what's done is done.

I have a run set up at lunch and possibly legs tonight. I have a few things going on this evening so if I can fit it in I will.

didn't get on the scale this AM. I feel really bloated so that's probably a good thing.

[a-dog]

ran yesterday at lunch on the treadmill, it went a lot better than I thought it would. I was set to go in and do legs in the evening but I hit a wall and felt terrible. the trend seems to be me feeling ok until about 5 or 6 and then I feel like crap and start coughing again.

I have an additional prescription I am starting today so we'll see how it goes.

[a-dog]

ran at lunch again yesterday....I'm pretty committed mentally to doing a 5K this year.

legs in the evenings went like this:

High rep calf sled-130lbs x 34RP, I subbed this in for HR toe press on the regular leg press. These are done differently than how DC recommends calves be trained. The program calls for a 15 count stretch on each rep, with these it's just a standard calf raise rest paused.

sumo leg press-365 x 25 straight set

leg press-365 x 30 straight set followed by 35 partial reps.

Like I said earlier in the thread, this is my "heavy" leg press day but it's not very heavy at this point. I had issues with my hips on my last blast so I really lowered the weight just to be safe. I think the hip thing might have been a combination of a few things, I had just started running and was gong pretty heavy on legs at the time. I think now that I'm more used to actually running I might be in the clear but I don't want to make a huge poundage jump until I'm sure about it, I'll just go slow and steady.

cardio today, abs tonight....we're supposed to get alike 10 inches of snow today so I don't think the rec center I train at will be open.

[a-dog]

last session went really, really well. Chest, shoulders and tri's.

I decided to go back to a technique with this chest workout that I've used in the past and have always really liked. I did a variation of the bench press I read Dexter Jackson describe in an article a couple of years ago. I call it a DJ press, I do it on a smith machine, shoulder width grip, I use a false grip and I make sure my shoulders are really pinned down and back. For this session I did a 4 count negative, stopped for a second and exploded up. It was great. I only had 155lbs on the bar but it was one of the best workouts I've had for my chest in awhile.

I followed it up with wide grip upright rows, only 95 pounds but the same basic principle. Not a 4 count negative as that really puts a lot of stress on my low back with this type of movement but a nice controlled negative. anyway, here's the actual numbers:

DJ bench press-155 x 31RP

wide grip upright row-95 x 34RP

dip machine for tri's-210 x 21 straight set-I try to keep going with straight sets as long as I can for tri's. once I start to rest pause them my elbows start to bother me.

widowmaker for chest-7 plates + 2.5lbs x 29 reps

that was a couple of days ago. AS of this morning I weighed 198.9. I can honestly say that I have not committed mentally to a diet. I was just not into it. Hopefully that changes today.

running has been going great and it's a shame that my diet sucks cause I could probably be making some great strides right now.


bi's, forearms and back later today.


I might start T-25 this week as well....we shall see.

[a-dog]

I'm past the point in my life where I have any "hero's" in terms of bodybuilding but I do really admire how John Meadows handles himself and how he approaches his training. Everyone of his video's is a goldmine IMHO. He's always doing something that seems unique, some of the things I've thought of before but didn't know how to execute. this is a great video by John I stumbled on last week:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBw5W2oo6p8

so, I'm off to the gym in a few minutes. I'm going to actually run a 5K today on the treadmill just so I know what it's all about. Even though I've been doing the zero to 5K app for awhile I have not actually hit the distance, I'm working towards it. This should be interesting. I "baseline" everything so I'll go pretty lite today and maybe in a couple of weeks I'll do it again and push a little harder.

[a-dog]

preacher curl-115 x 25RP with a 20 second static hold at the end, I don't really use the static holds anymore, I don't know why, I just moved away from them but they work really well on this.

reverse grip 1 arm cable curl-24 x 25 with my right arm and 23 with my left, straight set

from pulldown-216 x 25RP with a nice slow negative

seated rows-240 x 18

1 minute stretch for arms and lats afterwards. my grip kind of sucked on the back movements, I didn't feel as strong as I would have liked but it still went pretty well.

my run sucked. 46 minutes. I didn't really push very hard as it was the first time I've done it but I still didn't expect it to take that long. I was hoping to keep it under 35 mins. I had a lot of problems breathing, remember I was diagnosed with bronchitis last week but I haven't really had too many problems in the last couple of days. Asthma is strange, really anything can screw up my breathing.....this was in doors which should have worked to my advantage but there was some type of cleaning spray smell that seemed to screw me up at first. I never really got going at a nice pace. At least I know what I have to beat next time. Not really discouraged just a bit under whelmed. I'll keep going with the zero to 5K app and try again in a couple of weeks.

[a-dog]

legs the other day, I don't have my logbook in front of me but it went well.

yesterday:

paramount Incline-17 plates x 31RP

military press-155 x 30RP, left arm is still weak on these, I'm not sure why. my gut is telling me that there is some kind of nerve damage but I don't remember ever hurting it, it just seems to have lost a lot of it's power.

high pully pushdowns-65 x 20 straight set

widow maker-7 plates + 2.5lbs x 21 straight set

ran 1.5 miles at a decent pace afterwards.

my bodyweight shot up over the weekend, not sure why but this morning I was 204lbs. I was on some steroids to help with the bronchitis I was diagnosed with so maybe I'm just holding a ton of water. it was a really fast gain.

nothing else really to report. really busy these days for some reason.

[a-dog]

last 2 workouts have been pretty good:

bi's forearms and back:

barbell curls-115 x 34RP

hammer curls-35 x 28 straight set

behind the neck pulldown-120 x 23RP with a nice slow negative, I started out with the 4 count negative but my shoulder seemed to bother me after a bit so I kept it slow but not "as" slow

1 arm BB Row-75 x 20 with each arm both straight set-these are in the Meadows video I posted earlier


next workout was legs:

high rep calf sled-135 x 41RP with 13 partials

paramount leg press-12 plates for 30 reps straight set followed by 25 partials

seated leg curl-9 plates x 20 reps straight set and a 20 second static

stretches at the end

the leg workout was pretty easy but I hadn't done it in awhile so I used it as a starting point.

been running a lot and running a lot harder. my shins are tight as hell. I have chest, shoulders and tri' today and I'm gonna sit in the hit tub for a 1/2 hour after. No running today and no running tomorrow. I have to let everything recover and hit it again.

bodyweight is kind of jumping around and I blame myself, I've just not closed the door with my diet like I would like.

I was 200lbs even yesterday but was a bit heavier today. still shooting for 175, hopefully this week I can just slam the door

[a-dog]

today session:

dip machine-235 x 30RP, really had to grind the last few out, I was happy with how this went

1/4 laterals-55 x 38RP

PJR pullover-65 x 21 straight set

widowmaker-paramount seated press-7 + 2.5lbs x 21, I'm approaching this a little different than I have in the past. before I would just go and go, I would get about 15, rack the weight, shake out my tri's for a second and go again, when I hit the wall I would treat it like a standard rest pause workout, I'd rest for about 3-5 seconds go again and repeat until I couldn't move the weight anymore. I think I lost my focus and was only looking at the numbers and not about the quality of the movement. I decided to do, just a standard straight set the goal is to always hit 20 reps, nice slow negative....once I can't get about 13 reps no matter what as a straight set I'll drop it and move on.

soaked in the hot tub for about a half an hour....brutally hot but my lower legs already feel a little better.

when I said earlier that I was not going to do any cardio today or tomorrow I meant no running, no bike etc. I have a 50lbs kettle bell and I was doing kettle bell swings with it for a bit as more of an upper body cardio like movement. I might do that tonight depending how I feel. with that heavy of a weight it's actually pretty brutal so I don't do it very often but when I do I think it's a very effective movement.