Kettlebells are the $***!

[street_fighter]

I just got a couple kettlebells yesterday, I wasn't too sure about what weight to get, I'm a lightweight so I got a 16kg and a 24 kg (about 35lbs, and 53lbs). Man, I can barely feel my body today, I'm floating. F*** gyms, you can do pretty much anything with these babies, all compound lifts and sick grip strength. I will miss heavy squats though, but I can do alternating lunges, and some interesting squat variations with these...

How do you guys train, any circuits, or programs you use? Whats your favorite exercise? I'm quite fond of the turkish get-up, but Im scared to put it at the end of a circuit, I can see me getting KOed...

[cjurakpt]

just did a seminar at LKFMDC's school this past weekend, and had a great time! It wa taught by one of his instructors, Tim O'Connor, and was a great intro to the skill set -
(BTW, to show you how me and Dave think alike: my intended first comment to him was going to be "Dave, you may want to dial 9-1- on your phone"; he beat me to it, saying, "Chris, I have the ambulance waiting downstairs...")

incidently, one of my friends, Mike Pekor who is a taiji teacher out here on LI who's big into full-powere pushing and whatnot, now swears by them - and I agree, as they are very functional in terms of how they train you

so, I just went out and bought a 16kg the other day, now that I have recovered from the initial experience; interesting sidenote: the 16kg (35 lbs) is the "traditional" weight from Russia - 16 kg was originally 1 "pood" which is a unit of measure used in Russian agriculture prior to conversion to the metric suystem enforced by the Communist Party (1924, i think?); the old expression goes "you don't really know a man until you've eaten a "pood" of salt with him" - meaning that the amount of time it takes to eat that much salt at table with someone is a long time (you don't eat a "pood" all at one sitting, duh - although if you did, you might get to know someone pretty well...)

ok, just some mindless ramblings...

[lkfmdc]

interesting sidenote: the 16kg (35 lbs) is the "traditional" weight from Russia - 16 kg was originally 1 "pood" which is a unit of measure used in Russian agriculture prior to conversion to the metric suystem enforced by the Communist Party (1924, i think?); the old expression goes "you don't really know a man until you've eaten a "pood" of salt with him" - meaning that the amount of time it takes to eat that much salt at table with someone is a long time (you don't eat a "pood" all at one sitting, duh - although if you did, you might get to know someone pretty well...)



true Chris, all the way....

[cjurakpt]

true Chris, all the way....

hey, I reseamble that remark?

(just wait until I finish my treatise deconstructing the kinematics of the basic 2-handed swing...I've even got some opinions from an "expert" on this forum...)

[lkfmdc]

just wait until I finish my treatise deconstructing ......



runs, in horror, screaming from the room :eek:

[cjurakpt]

runs, in horror, screaming from the room :eek:

well, it was the only way to get to the ha gow first...

[Dale Dugas]

I just got a couple kettlebells yesterday, I wasn't too sure about what weight to get, I'm a lightweight so I got a 16kg and a 24 kg (about 35lbs, and 53lbs). Man, I can barely feel my body today, I'm floating. F*** gyms, you can do pretty much anything with these babies, all compound lifts and sick grip strength. I will miss heavy squats though, but I can do alternating lunges, and some interesting squat variations with these...

How do you guys train, any circuits, or programs you use? Whats your favorite exercise? I'm quite fond of the turkish get-up, but Im scared to put it at the end of a circuit, I can see me getting KOed...


Glad to hear you are liking the balls of iron.

Ive been using em for a while now.

Here is a vid of me wearing my 60 pound weight vest and throwing up two 50 pounders and walking...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBaBv0rbUk4

Be well, train hard

[Ben Gash]

I too love the kettlebells, and I too don't regret cancelling my gym subscription.
My "home gym" consists of a stepper, 2 kettlebells and a pair of grippers.
Has anyone tried clubbells? The downside of kettlebells is the lack of lateral movements.

[kismet]

Love those kettlebells, fantastic and versatile. Trained last night at home with them and really aching this morning. Usually try to very the exercises I do from single, double and alternating - swings, clean press, snatch press, turkish get up, squats.

I believe you can train lateral exercises with kettlebells. Just looking on youtube or reading around you can find a wealth of information and loads of different exercises.

Check below for lateral swing.

http://www.chekinstitute.com/articles.cfm?select=77

[Suntzu]

a "quick" circuit from the other day:

clean and jerk - 5 rep each arm
turkish get up - 1 rep each arm

clean and jerk - 4 rep each arm
turkish get up - 2 rep each arm

clean and jerk - 3 rep each arm
turkish get up - 3 rep each arm

clean and jerk - 2 rep each arm
turkish get up - 4 rep each arm

clean and jerk - 1 rep each arm
turkish get up - 5 rep each arm

shoulders will be fried crispy when done....

[street_fighter]

very cool boys. taking notes. kettlebells keep suprising me. very versatile. what do you guys think are the best KB exercises for raw power? is there any way to add difficulty to lifts when your weight is getting too light? i get the feeling I am going to outgrow my little bells very soon...

[Suntzu]

i use my smaller ones in several ways to keep them challenging....

- high reps as part of a circuit
- assistance movements for bigger lifts.... eg. barbell deadlfts + kb squat cleans..... bar squats + swings etc...
- double kb exercises
- google "escalating density training"
- buy a bigger one

[WinterPalm]

Here's something:

1 Pullup (Strict, chest touching the bar)
2 Kettlebell Clean and Strict Press

2 Pullup (Strict, chest touching the bar)
4 Kettlebell Clean and Strict Press

3 Pullup (Strict, chest touching the bar)
6 Kettlebell Clean and Strict Press

4 Pullup (Strict, chest touching the bar)
8 Kettlebell Clean and Strict Press

5 Pullup (Strict, chest touching the bar)
10 Kettlebell Clean and Strict Press

4 Pullup (Strict, chest touching the bar)
8 Kettlebell Clean and Strict Press

3 Pullup (Strict, chest touching the bar)
6 Kettlebell Clean and Strict Press

2 Pullup (Strict, chest touching the bar)
4 Kettlebell Clean and Strict Press

1 Pullup (Strict, chest touching the bar)
2 Kettlebell Clean and Strict Press

Then do:
1-Arm Snatch: 10 Reps Each Side for 10 Sets. Timed rest of exactly 30 Sec.

Enjoy.

[street_fighter]

alright, been playing with EDT now for almost a month (starting the day you recommended it, suntzu). I'm in love! it has completely changed the way i think about training. i have made ENORMOUS gains. my body has changed completely (also due to me chugging weight gainer everyday). i'm pretty sure i've gained about 10 pounds (which for me, is a miracle.)

I'm doing 20 minutes of military press & snatches. 5 minute break, then 15 minutes of swings & renegade rows (/bent rows). then a five minute core work out. i'm doing sets of 30+ one arm swings with the 24 kg, its killing me, in a good way:D.

i am just wondering about rest periods. strangely enough, i don't usually wake up swore the next day like i used to with isolation weight training. i want to start training w/ KB everyday instead of every other day. probably day 1, upper-body, day 2, lower body+bodyweight&core. just wondering if its a good idea?

also, ive been kinda back and fourth on swings, no pun intended. which do you guys feel is more beneficial, one arm or double swings???

thanks alot, for all your help

[Scott R. Brown]

also, ive been kinda back and fourth on swings, no pun intended. which do you guys feel is more beneficial, one arm or double swings???

Do Both, single arm one day and two arm the next. Throw in some plyometric jumps on the up swing from time to time too. Watch it on the down swing though, don't get carried away. Keep Your back flat/straight.

[doug maverick]

a friend of mine who is also a fellow xing yi chuan practioner use's kettelbell in his xing yi practice and it looks like its working, he gave me a punch the other day that almost knocked me on my ass, i'm thinking of doing this ass well(i'm still ahead of him in the power department but he's catching up) and i see some internal stylist are also getting in on it. so what do you guys recommend what wieght should i start with. i already practicexing yi with a weighted vest(and some times a book bag filled with wieght plates) but thats just mostly stance holding. any suggestions. thanks guys

[street_fighter]

a friend of mine who is also a fellow xing yi chuan practioner use's kettelbell in his xing yi practice and it looks like its working, he gave me a punch the other day that almost knocked me on my ass, i'm thinking of doing this ass well(i'm still ahead of him in the power department but he's catching up) and i see some internal stylist are also getting in on it. so what do you guys recommend what wieght should i start with. i already practicexing yi with a weighted vest(and some times a book bag filled with wieght plates) but thats just mostly stance holding. any suggestions. thanks guys

it depends on your weight and relative strength, but if your not a monster, i think the 16kg, and 24kg is a good choice. if your heavy and/or in excellent shape, probably go with the 20kg and 32kg. get a relatively light weight to learn the swing of things, and a challenging weight to shoot for.

my opinion as a newbie.

[doug maverick]

it depends on your weight and relative strength, but if your not a monster, i think the 16kg, and 24kg is a good choice. if your heavy and/or in excellent shape, probably go with the 20kg and 32kg. get a relatively light weight to learn the swing of things, and a challenging weight to shoot for.

my opinion as a newbie.

well lets see i'm 6'2'' 245(in relatively good shape recovering a bit from a knee injury, but it hasn;t really stoped me) gonna order some give it a try and update you when they come.

[Suntzu]

i am just wondering about rest periods. strangely enough, i don't usually wake up swore the next day like i used to with isolation weight training. i want to start training w/ KB everyday instead of every other day. probably day 1, upper-body, day 2, lower body+bodyweight&core. just wondering if its a good idea?
i think the nature of kb exercises is that there is no upper/lower split... unless your are dealing with strictly grinding movements (ie, squats, presses, etc).....

i tend to vary the intensity day to day..... some days are just technique or just playing around with the kb and the other days are sure enough workouts.....

i'll atleast swing my kb once or twice a day just because....

[tyciol]

Kettlebells are definately cool, I want to get some some day. They are definately more expensive, and the weight ranges aren't as varied as with dumbbells so they seem like something you'd try after experience for more complicated training.

[bodhitree]

I've never used kettlebells, does anyone know of any videos that demonstrate things like the clean and press. I know how to do it with a barbell, but due to the shape, how do you catch them and all that. I want to try those kettlebell rows where you balance on one kettlebell on the floor and at the same time do a row wtih the other.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Old school Goju "keetlebells":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lba6LqwsH9Q&feature=related

http://www.southwestlondonkarate.com/about/goju-ryu-karate-training-implements.php

[Suntzu]

The Swing (http://www.nlpf.net/2007/11/basic-kettlebell-swing.html)
The Clean (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT5AMHYDwIs)
The Snatch (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WANbD0KTrkk)
Muscle Driver (http://store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/clink?yhst-20483522292137+LeZLDe+index.html+) has them on sale... just as good as my Dragondoor bell.... and the shipping is not too bad....

[thailandgary]

If you check out any of the old Shaolin wall murals that were found you'll see that they used weight training of all kinds. Kettlebells are a good supplement for barbell and dumbell training but not a substitute. Be carefull with your swinging and do not over extend ! It will be a thin line that leads to injury.. If you don't have previous experience try a good split routine with barbells and dumbells and the right equipment such as benches and racks for building your power first. Weight training will give you the strength to handle the heavy weapons that will follow.

[street_fighter]

If you check out any of the old Shaolin wall murals that were found you'll see that they used weight training of all kinds. Kettlebells are a good supplement for barbell and dumbell training but not a substitute. Be carefull with your swinging and do not over extend ! It will be a thin line that leads to injury.. If you don't have previous experience try a good split routine with barbells and dumbells and the right equipment such as benches and racks for building your power first. Weight training will give you the strength to handle the heavy weapons that will follow.

I disagree. I injured myself alot when i did power lifting, including a dislocated shoulder, and a couple back injuries. I admit, i had poor instruction, but it just shows that its a skill set, and no easier to learn than kb, which imo is safer. Just start with some lower back strengthening, thats gonna prevent alot of injuries, and get you strong enough for swings (and it blossoms from there). So far, I haven't injured myself, and have never felt afraid of doing so with KB.

I think they can be a substitute. I can see the benefit to heavy squats, and i personally like the bench press, but you can go pretty far on KB. They are more versatile. Youve got variations on every major barbell lift, plus alot of unique exercises, and tons of grip work.

[bodhitree]

The Swing (http://www.nlpf.net/2007/11/basic-kettlebell-swing.html)
The Clean (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT5AMHYDwIs)
The Snatch (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WANbD0KTrkk)
Muscle Driver (http://store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/clink?yhst-20483522292137+LeZLDe+index.html+) has them on sale... just as good as my Dragondoor bell.... and the shipping is not too bad....


Thanks for posting! I was curious about the position of the wrist on these exercises and how to hold the kettlebell throughout. KB's seem to make dynamic lifts a little bit simpler (not easier). I may pick some up, I'll keep you all posted!

[chusauli]

Awesome! KB's are great! For those starting, simplicity is the best: Swings, Cleans, Presses, Snatches.

I do EDT and I arrange my KB's on the floor as a circuit:

1 26 lb, 1 35 lb, 1 53 lb, then do all the above exercises for 5 reps left and right. You can vary the position of the KB's. Each exercise is done on the left, then the right. It will take you almost 3 - 5 minutes for each weight and you can take a 2 minute rest between each weight, before you move up.

For fun, do a variety of other motions: 1/4 get ups, 1/2 get ups, Turkish get ups, Renegade Rows, double rows, deadlifts, squats, lunges, windmills, figure 8 passes, but only select one or two exercises for the day. Take every other day off.

Less is more.

Enjoy the pain, gentlemen! Let me know if any of you has made gains.