Another Old Article:

From the May 2005 Hard-Style:

1+1=3: HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY BLEND TRAINING APPROACHES

BY BRETTJONES, CSCS, RKC SR.

One of the most common questions asked by people pursuing strength and conditioning is: “How do I combine the approach A and the approach B?” In reference to the Hard Style of training this usually means combining the Power to the People! style of strength training with the RKC style of kettlebell conditioning.

While there are many ways to accomplish this, most trainees either seek to separate the two or do both and end up with too much on their training plate.

The hard truth of combining methodologies is that you have to be willing to walk the line between doing too little and just enough.

Deadlifting places a great strain on the lower back musculature as maximum strength is built.

Kettlebell ballistics can place an additional strain on the lower back as strength-endurance is developed.

The answer to combining the two is to perform enough to force adaptation and treat the training as a way to produce results rather than a workout. This is an expansion on the idea of approaching training as ‘practice’ rather than a“workout’. Doing just enough and not being fatigued and ‘worked out’ is a bitter pill to swallow for most trainees. Trusting that enough work has been done to produce results is a must.

So a sample routine combining PTP and RKC style training might look something like this:

1. Windmill - 1 set of 4 reps each side (light to moderate weight)

2. Barbell Side press - 2 sets of 5 reps

3. Weighted Pull-ups - 2 sets of 3 reps

4. Deadlifts - 7 singles @ 75% 1 RM

5. Pistol squats - 1 set of 5 reps each side

6. Kettlebell Snatch - 5 sets of 5 reps each side (moderate to heavy weight). Substitute swings for snatches if wanted.

7. Stretching

The above routine is a general training routine focused a bit more on strength than endurance.

If endurance were the goal then you would cut the sets to one and increase the kettlebell work at the end. Performing a 5-minute Secret Service Snatch test at the end instead of the 5 sets of swing would do the trick. While the above routine could be implemented for a three day a week type of training, you could easily make it a daily routine either by dropping a set or decreasing the reps; another option is to reduce and cycle the resistance. Do the same thing all the time without doing the same thing all the time. Simply make the routine look different each time you perform it. ‘Same but different.’

So there you have it, a simplified method of combining two training approaches that respects the fact that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. In the world of training only the weights add up in a linear fashion.

When you start blending methodologies 1+1 will equal 3 or more. So the art becomes adding enough of a specific approach to the mix so that it enhances the brew and doesn’t turn it sour.

Brett Jones, RKC Sr., CSCS is the eleventh person in the world to bend Iron Mind’s Red Nail