I’ve been following the Kettlebell Simple & Sinister program for a while now (144 days as of 4/28/2023), and I’d like to note down some tips that seemed to help during this time.
Practice your form. I spent my first two weeks simply practicing all the drills outlined in the first part of the book. Record your movements and fix any deficiencies. Experiment with your footwork and find what feels comfortable. I can’t understate how much good form matters.
Start light. I believe that the starting weights are too heavy to learn with. I started with 10 pound kettlebells and slowly increased the weight until I caught up with the recommended starting weights. Heavier weights tend to amplify your mistakes, which may result in some slight injury. Using light-to-medium weights when starting gives you much of the same feedback as a heaver weight, while reducing the risk of injury. They also don’t fatigue you as much, meaning you can focus better on your form, which is what you should be doing at this early stage.
Use a stopwatch. I use the stopwatch on my phone to count my sets. You can also track the time between each set, but that shouldn’t matter. It’s always better to rest a little more than a little less.
Take breaks. I’ve skipped a handful of days because of soreness or pain. The book doesn’t go into detail on how to adjust for minor injury, but in my experience one or two days of rest is more than enough.
Track your progress. I made a spreadsheet to track my progress since remembering what week I’m on is kind of a pain. I also use it to write down how I felt about my form or why I skipped a day. You can find a copy of my spreadsheet here.
These tips are just my own opinion, and I would recommend reading and rereading the book until you’ve memorized all parts of the lifts.
I haven’t touched a barbell in a long time, so it’s hard to tell whether I can still hit my old PRs. That being said, I don’t feel “weaker” since then, and I don’t doubt the efficacy of this program. The progression feels slow, but each session is very much doable and doesn’t leave me sore and fatigued like a barbell session would.