Long-time lurker but first time poster! I just wanted to share my experiences and give something akin to a "review" of the program. I apologize for a lengthy post, but I really wanted to summarize my thoughts after the program. Also sorry for mistakes — I am not a native English speaker.

Background and previous training

I am a 32-year-old male, 185 cm tall, and I weighed about 102 kg when I started the Easy Strength (ES) program. At the beginning of the year, I weighed 118 kg, so ES followed a significant weight loss phase combined with kettlebell training. While I’m still fat, I feel much better.

My training history includes a pretty active teenage period (team sports like basketball and volleyball) and early twenties (barbell strength training, kettlebells, and calisthenics for about three years). Unfortunately, my fitness took a backseat during my PhD. After completing that near-death experience, I rebounded and after 8 years now I have a stable job in academia.

In January I decided to do something about my fitness because I felt far from healthy and looked far from good.

I began with "Giant 1.0" by Geoff Neupert, using a 16 kg bell. Over six weeks, I progressed to two 24 kg bells, which strained my shoulders, prompting a switch to the Armor Building Complex (ABC) for three months. I then tried an Upper/Lower split for four months, combining calisthenics and kettlebell work, but it felt taxing during a stressful work period. That's when I turned to ES, seeking to improve strength, preferably without pushing myself too much. Boy, how wrong I was...

Exercise selection

As prescribed, I chose five exercises (Push/Pull/Hinge/Squat/Abs) for five days a week, over 40 sessions. My home gym setup limited my options, but here's what I selected and why. I had access to kettlebells (16 kg, 2x24 kg, 32 kg and two super cool competition-style adjustable ones going from 12 kg to 32 kg). I also mounted a pull up bar on my wall and found old gymnastic rings that I used 10 kgs (and many years) ago.

Pull: Pull-Ups. Because I weighted almost 120 kg at the beginning of the year, I have lost my ability to do pull-ups. Losing weight helped me to regain them and I managed to do a few (3-5) reps around September. In my best days I was able to do 7-8 clean reps. My goal was to reach this level again. Briefly I also considered choosing one arm kettlebell rows. The reason I decided against it is that I was able to do 10-12 reps with 32 kg and I felt that this lies outside ES's intended low-rep range .

Push: Ring Dips. I opted for ring dips as I was able to perform 7-8 reps with good form. While parallel bar dips would have been ideal, I lacked access, and freezing Eastern European winters ruled out outdoor workouts. I ruled out kettlebell presses due to shoulder discomfort after heavy sessions. Because ES requires you to do the same exercises every session I decided against them.

Hinge: Double Kettlebell Cleans. Of course Barbell Deadlifts or power cleans would be better, but I reasoned that if I go up with the number of reps I will be fine. If I am not mistaken, Dan John talked about increasing rep range of kettlebell hinge exercises for ES. I also considered single leg KB deadlifts and snatches. The former are a little too finicky for my taste and I have not practiced snatches enough to do them as a part of ES. Both feel like solid choices and maybe I will try them in the future.

Squat: Double Kettlebell Front Squat. Despite Dan John's caution about squats in ES, I was determined to include them. Goblet squats felt too light in the context of ES, so I went with double KB front squats.

Abs: Ab Wheel. I inherited an ancient Soviet-style steel ab wheel and embraced its challenges. And Dan John also recommends ab roll-outs. How can I choose anything else? In March I tried to do them, but I managed only to do 3 reps after which I had DOMS for a week-and-a-half. At the beginning of ES I tested them, and 5 reps went OK.

How it went?

My first session looked like this:

Starting Session

• Pull-Ups: 3 x 3
• Ring Dips: 2 x 5
• Double KB Cleans: 2 x 10 @ 32 kg
• Double KB Front Squats: 3 x 3 @ 32 kg
• Ab Wheel: 2 x 5

After a while, when I felt stronger, I decided to replace 3 x 3 that I used for pull-ups and front squats with 2 x 5. My pull-ups and dips felt stronger and stronger week after week. After 20 workouts, I bought a weighted vest that goes up to 20 kg and I started loading ring dips and pull-ups without increasing reps. About at the same time I replaced 2 x 5 ab wheel roll-outs by 1 x 10. I also increased reps for cleans by two when I felt that I could easily manage more reps. In the last two weeks I also added a rep to squats because why not. This is my last session:

Final Session

• Pull-Ups: 2 x 5 @ 10.5 kg
• Ring Dips: 2 x 5 @ 10.5 kg
• Double KB Cleans: 2 x 15 @ 32 kg
• Double KB Front Squats: 2 x 6 @ 32 kg
• Ab Wheel: 1 x 10

As you can see, I have added 10 kg to my pull-ups and dips. I can do 8-9 reps without a load without a problem with really solid form. I also increased the number of cleans and front squats. I can say that the program delivered on its promises. If this type of consistent progress was sustainable, in two years I would be GS Champion and street workout athlete at the same time (watch out, world). After the program I feel like a freaking' tank. I did not build much muscle, but I think that I built some, especially my lats and chest. Currently I weight about 103 kg but I am down one hole in my belt, which is OK.

What I did wrong, what I did right and what sucked

Oh, boy. Even though I am satisfied with the results, I have learned a lot about lifting and (more importantly) myself. Here are my thoughts

1. To Heavy, Too Slow. I really went too heavy. I was nowhere near 15 minutes of the workout. Sessions were supposed to be short and snappy, but mine often crawled past 30 minutes, occasionally hitting 50. Next time, I’ll start lighter and aim for sub-25-minute workouts as a proxy for "easy."
2. Missed Reps. I missed a rep two (or three?) times during a program (with pull ups), which is a big no-no for ES according to its inventor. Again, as I said I went too heavy and ES is all about consistency, not heroics.
3. Monotony. Doing the same workout 5 times a week tests your soul. By week three I was leaning hard on YT Dragon Ball workout mixtapes and Cher to get through. If I were to do the program again, I would vary reps and load to manage fatigue and boredom. For example in later iterations of the program Dan John recommends occasionally going for 3 x 3, 2 x 5 or even for 6 singles. I really understood why after ~20 sessions.
4. Recovery. I really was on point with nutrition and recovery, which is good. On average I slept for about 7-8 hours. However, I had days with <6 hours of sleep and I really felt it during the sessions. Because you do the same workout 5 days a week, you really rely on day-to-day recovery and when I screwed this up, the effect was immediate.
5. The Biceps. Heavy Double Kettlebell Cleans really do work you arms. I did not feel that I need to include anything more besides pull-ups and cleans. Dan John mentioned this many times on the podcast, but I did not believe it. I was wrong.
6. Hand Care. Cleaning 32 kg double KBs 30 times in every session is rough on hands. I have a pretty solid technique (not perfect, but enough to get by). I invested in hand cream for CrossFitters (don't laugh) and it helped. In the last two weeks I did pull-ups with gardening gloves to save my hands for KB cleans. I am not proud of it, but it worked.
7. Conditioning. For the first part of the program (20 sessions) I did nothing except 10k steps a day. Then I became MythicalStrength-pilled (I read old and new blog posts religiously) and I decided to start doing conditioning. As prescribed, for conditioning I decided to freestyle it and embrace chaos. Because I am pretty OK with computers, I created a workout generator (https://conworkgen.streamlit.app/ maybe if somebody is interested I can improve it? tell me!) that spits out random, short (5-10 minutes) conditioning workouts with the equipment that I have access to. Conditioning sessions, of course, sucked. I have, however, two important realizations. Firstly, MythicalStrength is right and conditioning does not impact recovery negatively. Secondly, conditioning's impact on general fitness is magical and adding it was transformative. Do your conditioning.

What next?

• Train for ABC April. This year I really wanted to participate, but I only managed to do 8 rounds with 24 kg bells. Next year I aim for at least 10 rounds that will be worthy a submission.
• A week of deload, for sure.
• Probably a month or two of Upper/Lower split. I also considered something that I called in my head Easy Strength for Technical Lifts: 40 sessions focusing on skill-based exercises like false grip pull-ups, handstand push-ups, snatches, overhead squats, and floor l-sits. Due to high frequency and relative easy loads of ES it would be a great way to work on those. Viable idea or recipe for disaster?
• I want to test my strength with barbell. Before I started ES I went to the gym with my friend and tested my 1RM bench press (105 kg), deadlift (150 kg for 5) and overhead press (75kg). I suspect that the numbers went up, but how much? We will see!

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Welcome to our monthly focused improvement post. Here we have a distilled discussion on a particular aspect of kettlebell training. We try to go over various techniques of kettlebells, how to program kettlebells, and how to incorporate kettlebells into other modalities of training. 

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This month’s topic of discussion: Carries

• Describe your training history and provide credentials
• What specific programming did you employ for this technique?
• What went right/wrong?
• Do you have any recommendations for someone starting out?
• What have you done to improve when you felt you were lagging?
• Where are/were you stalling?
• What did you do to break the plateau?
• What sort of trainee or individual would benefit from using the/this technique/program style?
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***

These threads are used as a reference. As such, we ask that you provide credentials of your lifting history and that you are an intermediate and above. For beginners we ask that you use this thread to enrich yourself by reading what others before you have done. If you are a beginner or have not posted credentials you will have a temporary ban if you make a top level comment.

Previous Monthly Focused Improvement Threads can be found here.

The mod team thanks you :)

Please select flair and read the Wiki before posting.

Welcome to the Weekly Discussion Thread!

These threads are *almost* anything goes. Please understand that although the quality standards are relaxed here compared to the main page all other rules are enforced equally.

You should post here for:

• PRs
• General discussion or questions
• Community conversation
• Routine critiques
• Form checks

For more distilled kettlebell discussion, check out the Monthly Focused Improvement Threads -- where we discuss one part of kettlebell training in depth

Please select flair and read the Wiki before posting.

Welcome to the Weekly Discussion Thread!

These threads are *almost* anything goes. Please understand that although the quality standards are relaxed here compared to the main page all other rules are enforced equally.

You should post here for:

• PRs
• General discussion or questions
• Community conversation
• Routine critiques
• Form checks

For more distilled kettlebell discussion, check out the Monthly Focused Improvement Threads -- where we discuss one part of kettlebell training in depth

Please select flair and read the Wiki before posting.

Welcome to the Weekly Discussion Thread!

These threads are *almost* anything goes. Please understand that although the quality standards are relaxed here compared to the main page all other rules are enforced equally.

You should post here for:

• PRs
• General discussion or questions
• Community conversation
• Routine critiques
• Form checks

For more distilled kettlebell discussion, check out the Monthly Focused Improvement Threads -- where we discuss one part of kettlebell training in depth

Please select flair and read the Wiki before posting.

Welcome to the Weekly Discussion Thread!

These threads are *almost* anything goes. Please understand that although the quality standards are relaxed here compared to the main page all other rules are enforced equally.

You should post here for:

• PRs
• General discussion or questions
• Community conversation
• Routine critiques
• Form checks

For more distilled kettlebell discussion, check out the Monthly Focused Improvement Threads -- where we discuss one part of kettlebell training in depth

MAKING A TOP-LEVEL COMMENT WITHOUT CREDENTIALS WILL EARN A TEMPORARY BAN

Welcome to our monthly focused improvement post. Here we have a distilled discussion on a particular aspect of kettlebell training. We try to go over various techniques of kettlebells, how to program kettlebells, and how to incorporate kettlebells into other modalities of training. 

***

This month’s topic of discussion: Press (Strict Press, Push Press, Bent Press, etc)

• Describe your training history and provide credentials
• What specific programming did you employ for this technique?
• What went right/wrong?
• Do you have any recommendations for someone starting out?
• What have you done to improve when you felt you were lagging?
• Where are/were you stalling?
• What did you do to break the plateau?
• What sort of trainee or individual would benefit from using the/this technique/program style?
• How do you manage recovery/fatigue/deloads while following the method/program style?
• Share any interesting facts or applications you have seen/done
• Looking back, what would you have done differently?

***

These threads are used as a reference. As such, we ask that you provide credentials of your lifting history and that you are an intermediate and above. For beginners we ask that you use this thread to enrich yourself by reading what others before you have done. If you are a beginner or have not posted credentials you will have a temporary ban if you make a top level comment.

Previous Monthly Focused Improvement Threads can be found here.

The mod team thanks you :)

Please select flair and read the Wiki before posting.

Welcome to the Weekly Discussion Thread!

These threads are *almost* anything goes. Please understand that although the quality standards are relaxed here compared to the main page all other rules are enforced equally.

You should post here for:

• PRs
• General discussion or questions
• Community conversation
• Routine critiques
• Form checks

For more distilled kettlebell discussion, check out the Monthly Focused Improvement Threads -- where we discuss one part of kettlebell training in depth

Please select flair and read the Wiki before posting.

Welcome to the Weekly Discussion Thread!

These threads are *almost* anything goes. Please understand that although the quality standards are relaxed here compared to the main page all other rules are enforced equally.

You should post here for:

• PRs
• General discussion or questions
• Community conversation
• Routine critiques
• Form checks

For more distilled kettlebell discussion, check out the Monthly Focused Improvement Threads -- where we discuss one part of kettlebell training in depth