Hard vs. Smart Workouts vs. Hard AND Smart Workouts… ?

I’ve put 20 of my best Double Kettlebell Complex PROGRAMS (NOT workouts) in here. https://cart.chasingstrength.com/hard3b
Do you remember the hardest workout you’ve ever done?
I’m not sure I do, but here was one, circa 1996:
10 sets of 10 reps with the Barbell Back Squat - yup, good ol’ GVT - German Volume Training.
Instead of the prescribed 60 seconds of rest between sets, I took a luxurious 2 whole minutes because 60 seconds of rest between sets of 10 at 60% of your 1RM sounded like pure insanity.
So, I put 60% - 315lbs - on the bar and hacked away.
I got through 6 sets before my legs started to seize up.
So I did what any self-professed meathead would do:
Drop to 275 for the 2 sets - sets 7 and 8.
“Shockingly” the same thing happened.
So I finished my last two sets using 225lb.
Predictably - or hindsight being 20/20:
I could barely walk for about 3 days
Getting in and out of chairs made me clench my teeth
My legs were sore TO THE TOUCH for about the same tired period
It took me a full 7 days or so to be able to walk normally
And again, “shockingly,” my strength was suppressed afterwards and it took me a few weeks to get back on track with my training.
Now you might be wondering -
“C’mon, Geoff, what’s the big deal - 10x10 Swings isn’t all that bad! And 10x10 is commonplace in Kettlebell-Land.”
My response:
“Go do 10x10 with a 315lbs butt-to-ankles Squat and get back to me with your thoughts.”
My weightlifting coach, Alfonso, never liked GVT and warned me against it.
He said it was too unrealistic, only worked for steroid users, and did a great job of converting your fast-twitch 2x fibers to 2a and your 2a to type 1, slow twitch.
Not exactly what Olympic lifters want to do.
So, 10 sets of 10 with a 32kg on a 2-Hand or even 1-Hand Swing is like comparing apples and oranges.
10x10 on the KB ballistics - Swings, Snatches, even Jerks, is great for solid conditioning.
And this is what so many guys don’t understand:
Sets and reps cannot be broadly applied to all exercises.
For example, the late Louie Simmons, one of the greatest powerlifting coaches of all time, found that using sets of 20 on the KB ballistics made his lifters way too sore and impeded their recovery.
He eventually found that 10 reps was the “Goldilocks” number for strength, a little bit of muscle, and conditioning.
And strength sport lifters have been using sets of 5 with “slow lifts” to pack on slabs of beef that’s as strong as it looks probably since the 1950s, when Reg Park popularized the “5x5 System” (5 sets of 5 reps) circa 1958.
A good “general rule of thumb” is that the faster and less complex an exercise or lift…
The more volume / work you can do in the higher reps ranges, before there’s a negative return on your investment -
Typically categorized by major technique breakdown or a rapid onset of fatigue - or both.
So, we can categorize GVT as ‘HARD.’
And we can categorize “5x5” as ‘Smart.’
But what about ‘HARD AND SMART’?
Is there a way to combine both and get the best of all worlds?
I believe there is.
The Double Kettlebell Complex.
It’s a series of exercises performed in a row without resting between those sets.
For example:
Clean x5 → Front Squat x5 → Press x5
That’s 15 solid reps that spreads the fatigue around your body while strengthening all your major muscles and your heart and lungs.
You can bias your complexes for strength and muscle by filling them with ‘grinds’ (slow lifts) -
Deadlift x5 → Front Squat x5 → Press x5 → Rows x5
Or bias your complexes for conditioning by filling them with ‘ballistics’ (fast lifts) -
Swing x5 → High Pull x5 → Push Press x5 → Snatch x5
Or combine the two for the best of all worlds - strength, muscle, and improved conditioning -
Swing x5 → Clean x5 → Front Squat x5 → Snatch x5 → Press x5
And yes, if you need to lose that spare tire, complexes help.
One of the best things about Double KB Complexes besides the fact they check the “Need A Challenge” and “Get a Good Workout In” boxes…
Is that they are incredibly time efficient when you structure them correctly.
You can “get your workout in” in as little as 10 minutes, depending on your skill level and the amount of sets you choose to do.
For maximum ‘HARD AND SMART’, make sure you use tested and true principal of variability.
In other words, don’t do the same kettlebell complex each workout.
Change something about it, like the following:
Sets
Reps
Exercises
Number of exercises
Rest periods
… to name but 5.
Stay Strong,
Geoff Neupert.