Working thru the Kettlebell AXE Protocol

Since April, I’ve been including kettlebell work from the AXE Protocol a couple of times per week. I started simple with an 18kg doing 6 hand-to-hand swings (3 each side) each minute for 20 minutes. This seemed the simplest way to get started, a bell which I’ve used before and a relatively normal time. Each week I added two minutes to the total until I hit 40 minutes overall.

Everything was smooth even as the the time was tougher. The addition of the two minutes didn’t overwhelm me physically or mentally and just allowed me to focus on the quality of the swings as opposed to constantly looking at the clock. I moved to a 20kg bell next, starting back at 20 minutes, working my way back to 40 minutes again.

The final chunk used a 50-pound bell because it’s the heaviest bell at the gym I use. I wish there were more chances, more possibilties but I’ve finished the ladder up to 40 minutes today. Finishing it on the first Friday of this new year but thinking it’s more then end of the previous year since it works out so well. I did this without even trying, just moving constantly forward, trying to keep in the groove, keep in the moment and using the swing to get better.

I can’t say exactly what improvements I’ve felt but I also believe there were some because moving to the larger bell, going thru the time progression again and again had to have some impact on my body, on my stamina, on all the things which the protocol talks about. I just don’t have any baselines to compare it to and that’s fine really. Not everything needs to be managed, not everything needs to be exactly understood. Do the work you have in front of you and see what happens in your larger life. That’s why you do this and what you can see.