How I grew my program
How did I go from square one to my current program?
I started building what eventually grew into my current program in Nov-Dec 2021. My starting point at the time was:
Square One
1 Kettlebell: I owned one 12 KG (25 lb) kettlebell.
I knew how to perform some of the exercises, but didn’t understand volume and density cycles, or when/why to do which exercises and how they worked together.
I knew kettlebells made me feel good, but I didn’t know how to build a program around them.
Today, as we near the 3-year anniversary of starting down this path, I’ve come a long way - both in terms of knowledge and understanding, and with the amount of equipment I own:
Equipment
7 Kettlebells: I own a lot more kettlebells today, but only 4 of the 7 are directly related to this program. I use 25, 30, 35, and 40 lb kettlebells for my program. I ended up replacing my old 25 with a newer one that matched the others (purely an OCD thing), and somewhere along the way my wife and I picked up a couple of 15-lb bells. I also purchased an adjustable competition kettlebell at one point, but I later sold it. I like the fixed-weight iron bells better.
Note - you don’t need this many. Start with a 25, 30, OR 35 depending on your size/strength. Then over time you might consider adding another one 10 pounds heavier. You can do A LOT of work with those 2 bells.
2 Adjustable Clubs: I bought 1 Club from Adex, and eventually bought a 2nd club handle. They are able to share the weights that came with the first one. (I do have on my current wish list a pair of Onnit 10-lb clubs, to begin doing double-club work.)
I highly recommend the Adex adjustable club, but it is fairly expensive. The other option would be to buy the Onnit 10 lb and 15 lb clubs.
4 Maces: Similarly to Clubs, I bought an Adex adjustable mace, and then later bought a second mace handle. I also bought an Onnit 7-lb mace to practice transitions with, and I had a 15-lb mace custom built from a blacksmith at Become-Stronger. (which came out great and I love it!)
I can’t recommend the Adex maces enough, because small weight adjustments feel huge when far away from your hands. You could buy the Onnit 7-lb and 10-lb maces, but the jump up to 15-lb will be big.
My current wish list has Onnit 10-lb (for practice, as the 7-lb mace has become too light) and 20-lb (for heavier 360s) maces. Yes, I could use the adjustable maces to be 10 or 20 lbs as needed, but adjusting daily (or multiple times per day) is just annoying enough to be a barrier.
In addition to the equipment, my workout programming has grown more robust and complex, while trying to stay within the same short time commitments.
Current Workouts
Kettlebells, Clubs, Maces comprise my “workouts”, about 33% each.
KB: I started out with huge FOMO, wanting to do every exercise all the time. Over time I have been able to simplify - today I alternate workouts between 1 ballistic exercise and 1 grind, and I switch the exercises after I’ve been doing them awhile. This helps me focus on improving the current challenges, while also mixing up the challenges over time.
Club: It took several thousands of reps to get comfortable with, and then eventually bored with, doing the basic Circles / Pendulums / Shield Casts exercises. I started light and small, and slowly grew the volume, density, and weight. After two years of practice I transitioned to my own complex of various movements, using a slow progression for weight and time under tension.
Mace: 360s and 10 & 2s were easy to learn, but they get a little boring after awhile. Transitions and “flow” are difficult to learn, but they help make mace really fun. I started with simple workouts but practiced transitions each day, and eventually was able to build some flow/kata routines which became my favorite workouts.
I do extra work with KB (suitcase carries) and Maces (short combinations, practice) when my workouts are short, or for active recovery on days without a workout.
Floorwork (mobility, flexibility) for a few minutes in the evenings.
Stick Stretching for a couple minutes a few times per day, just to change things up from sitting at my desk all day.
Rucking. I’ve always hiked with my son on the local trails; now I carry weight when we go.
Workouts are programmed to the Nth degree. I don’t pre-schedule which workout is on which date, but I am able to add volume, intensity, weight, complexity - in steady progression over time, always based on how my last workout felt.
This all adds up to 20-30 minutes per day, 4-5 days per week for “workouts”, plus another 10-20 minutes most days for stretching, movement, and active recovery.
Bottom Line
There are only so many hours in the day, so time becomes a limiting factor in how much you can do. Even today, I would love to add many more exercises to my program, as there is always more I could be doing. But I also realize that my current program is about as comprehensive as any program out there, especially considering the small time commitment I give it.
If I had to give advice, I would say to start simple and build complexity over time. Listen to your body to see which exercises and equipment it likes better, and work from that - lean into your strengths, but also work to develop any weaknesses. And finally, add weight slowly - this is not a race and nobody is comparing or judging your own in-home workouts. Play the long game and do a little more each month.
Go get better.
- Chris Butterworth