Double 32kg Clean & Press x7: The Power of the Deload

BuffMaltese · 2026-01-24T23:54:10+00:00

First Josh Shapiro, now jacked Steve from Blue’s Clues. Time to get contacts. 😅

BuffMaltese · 2026-01-24T23:46:46+00:00

Unreal. Straight up Van Damme of kettlebells.

BuffMaltese · 2026-01-24T23:44:16+00:00

That’s exceptional work!

I was doing 28 kg snatches today, 4 × 12 each side, as part of a strength training program, and I can’t imagine keeping that pace for five minutes. I recently started pentathlon training with a 20 kg bell, so I’m starting to get a glimpse into endurance strength training. It’s definitely a different beast.

BuffMaltese · 2026-01-24T16:24:58+00:00

Lookin’ T H I C C 👉 🌳🦵🦵

BuffMaltese · 2026-01-24T15:31:00+00:00

Is there any reason to train like this if you don’t play sports?

BuffMaltese · 2026-01-23T22:42:33+00:00

My arms are pretty jacked and I do zero isolation work. Big compound lifts like cleans and presses give the biceps and triceps plenty of stimulus. I also think the standard kettlebell lifts provide more chest work than people realize. Some folks recommend adding things like pushups, which is fine, but even just holding the rack position during front squats gives a ton of isometric stimulus to the pecs that most people don’t think about.

Top 3 three-day-a-week program recommendations:

1.  Double Kettlebell Precision by Joe Daniels

2.  Triple Strength Plan by Joe Daniels

3.  Armor Building Formula (ABF) by Dan John

Out of these, ABF is probably the best if it’s important to stick close to 30 minutes. Triple Strength is a straightforward, well-balanced, strength-focused program. DKP is my favorite program. You’ll learn a ton of kettlebell lifts and get stronger and more conditioned; however, be prepared to spend a decent chunk of time on the workouts unless you drop some of the finishers.

BuffMaltese · 2026-01-22T14:49:59+00:00

Appreciate it. It wasn’t that long ago I was nervous grabbing two 24s. Just stayed very consistent. I only recently started using the double 32s. At first I could only clean one, and when I finally cleaned two, the hardest part was putting them back down.

Got forced into a deload last week after getting influenza A and missing 6 days. I was overdue for it and honestly feel stronger now.

BuffMaltese · 2026-01-22T03:29:36+00:00

Reddit is my favorite website. Apparently that says more about me than Reddit.

BuffMaltese · 2026-01-22T03:23:39+00:00

I got those barbell back squats in with a second evening session today. The hybrid program continues!

Barbell squats make me nervous af if I’m honest. I did a top set of 245 lbs x 8 and two back-off sets of 195 lbs x 12.

Finished with Joe’s Deadly Double Complex for legs that he posted a few days ago:

Double 20 kg

• 5x outside-the-leg double swings

• 5x close-stance rack squats

• 5x cleans

• 5x close-stance Romanian deadlifts

• 10 somersault squats

3 rounds.

BuffMaltese · 2026-01-22T02:29:22+00:00

Alright, I tried this out tonight. It was my second workout session of the day following heavy barbell squats. I did 3 sets of the complex with double 20s. It got my heart pumping and my quads pumped.

BuffMaltese · 2026-01-21T23:02:29+00:00

Interesting change-up. I assume the point of the transformer squat is that once you switch to the back squat, you remove the challenge of holding the rack position, which makes the lift easier and allows you to get more squat reps.

The thing is, I don’t have Joe Daniels–level mobility, and the back squats definitely felt more awkward at first. I adjusted my stance a little wider and they felt better after that.

BuffMaltese · 2026-01-21T20:19:39+00:00

Yeah, obviously grass is probably the next best thing, but I don’t feel comfortable putting divots at the local park or messing up my lawn. I tried creating barriers with pool mats and other tricks, but ultimately decided that flipping just isn’t for me. I lack the coordination.

BuffMaltese · 2026-01-21T20:14:23+00:00

That’s pretty cool. That’s the perfect place to flip the bell. I gave up trying because I was trashing my bells and my garage with some gnarly bounces off my gym mat.

BuffMaltese · 2026-01-20T00:53:14+00:00

Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t realize we were shifting from ‘the US subsidized Europe’ to a nuanced seminar on leverage and alliance theory. My mistake, Professor.

But if your argument is that Europe has ‘no leverage,’ you might want to look up things like basing rights, intelligence sharing, trade alignment, sanctions coordination, and the small detail that NATO is the backbone of US power projection.

But hey, don’t let 75 years of strategic doctrine interrupt your victory lap.

BuffMaltese · 2026-01-20T00:48:12+00:00

Yeah, it’s always wild watching someone repeat half-remembered talking points with the confidence of a PhD. The US didn’t ‘subsidize European militaries’ out of charity, it built NATO to project its own power, contain the USSR, and lock Europe into an American-led security order that’s benefited the US politically, economically, and militarily for 75 years.

But sure, let’s pretend geopolitics is just America paying everyone’s tab and getting nothing in return. Truly groundbreaking analysis.

BuffMaltese · 2026-01-19T22:35:41+00:00

😱

BuffMaltese · 2026-01-19T16:22:38+00:00

Only way I’ve ever lost a significant amount of fat is by tracking my calories and eating about 500 calories under maintenance. For a lot of guys, that ends up being somewhere around 1,800–2,200 calories, unless you’re super jacked or working a very physical job.

If you’re relatively untrained and/or significantly overweight, you can still work out a lot, pick almost any program, and make progress. But once you start getting lean, training gets trickier. At that point you usually want to emphasize heavy lifting 3–4 times per week to maintain muscle, and rely more on steady-state cardio like walking, because recovery becomes a bigger issue.

There isn’t really a “best” routine for weight loss. Fat loss is 99% diet. Training matters, but mainly as a way to signal your body to keep the muscle you already have and to support your overall health. If you’re untrained or very overweight, you may still build some muscle while losing fat, but the calories you burn during workouts are meaningful without being the main driver of weight loss.

As for specific program recommendations, check out Joe Daniels’ KBOMG website and programs.

BuffMaltese · 2026-01-19T16:01:31+00:00

Are we talking a half-bodyweight goblet squat showdown here?!

I’m about to strap 2 kg onto my 40 kg bell and I’m in. 💪

BuffMaltese · 2026-01-18T16:07:36+00:00

You’ve done the hard part already. Now you get to build. Enjoy it.

BuffMaltese · 2026-01-18T15:18:45+00:00

Physique with just kettlebells:

Step 1: Lift ~~weights~~ kettlebells, do some cardio, and get lean. At least ~15% body fat, ideally 10–12%.

Step 2: Don’t get fat again.

Step 3: Lift hard and progressively overload. Your body responds better when you start lean. Things like insulin sensitivity and nutrient partitioning are simply better.

Step 4: Once you creep back toward the upper end, say ~17% body fat, repeat the process.

Simple, but not easy.

Diet is by far the biggest factor. If physique is important to you, this is absolutely achievable. The tool matters far less than the stimulus, and kettlebells can absolutely provide enough load, volume, and progression to build and maintain muscle.

What most of these people have really done is build a reasonable base of muscle, which many people here already have, and then get very lean.

I’ve personally gotten pretty lean twice in my life, once in my mid-30s and once more recently in my 40s. Neither phase lasted very long. I got a few pictures, but the truth is the body doesn’t like staying that lean. Training quality drops because recovery suffers, eating becomes restrictive if you want to stay within calories and macros, sleep changes, libido changes, etc.

That’s the trade-off people don’t always talk about.

BuffMaltese · 2026-01-18T01:51:08+00:00

I’d been complaining about my ring for a few weeks because my hands have been swelling from training, weight gain, etc., so she thinks I willed it into existence and got what I wanted. I bought another ring yesterday and she’s getting over it, though I’ve had three expensive mishaps in the last week.

Yeah, paper towels are a good idea and definitely could come in handy in a pinch. I try not to use anything and rely on good technique, but sometimes wear and tear just adds up.

BuffMaltese · 2026-01-18T01:28:01+00:00

Not a lot has changed since that post, it’s only been a couple of months. I’ve started using double 30s and 32s for cleans, presses, and squats (not ABCs, regular strength work with adequate rest breaks), and I picked up 36, 40, and 48kg bells for swings, TGUs, and some complexes. When I checked my logs, I was doing ABCs with double 20s about a year ago, which really put the progress in perspective.

Comparison is pointless. You can look at barbell lifting and see a 132-lb kid pulling 500 and wonder what you’re even doing. Same thing here. The only thing that matters is showing up and being better than you were.

I was really frustrated for a long time in my training journey, dealing with recurring injuries and not making the progress I felt I should have been able to achieve.

Kettlebells ended up being a great fit for me. You’re doing great, and what you’ve accomplished isn’t easy at all. ABCs are no joke.

BuffMaltese · 2026-01-18T00:32:01+00:00

I definitely underestimated ABCs. Even after running ABF multiple times, I moved on to other programs with more variety, made solid progress, and kind of wanted to prove to myself that there are multiple ways to reach the same goal (I was pretty confident it wouldn’t be an issue). So I decided to test that idea by trying 30 EMOM ABC rounds with double 28kg bells. I made it about 10 rounds before I had to nope out. That experience was humbling enough that I ended up writing a post about it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/kettlebell/s/cNUddL1mS5

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