You’ve just bumped up a kettlebell weight/size for your presses. You’re getting stuck at a specific rep count and can’t seem to get any higher …
Or, maybe you’re going for a new personal best on the kettlebell press, but can’t quite press the next weight up.
If either of the above scenarios describe you, your press/re-clean technique could be the key to unlocking extra pressing power …
In a post earlier this year, I talked about how to boost your kettlebell pressing power using whole-body muscle tension techniques … this concept is a follow-up on that idea and will further help you get more out of your KB pressing.
The idea is that for light weight/high rep/lower intensity sets, you can do your presses right from the shoulder for reps. However, for heavy weight/low rep/higher intensity sets, try re-cleaning the ‘bell between each rep. This will allow you to use some of the kinetic energy you generate with the clean to assist in ‘boosting up’ your press.
It’s amazing the difference this technique (combined with the tension principles discussed in the article I’ve already mentioned) can make in your strength and overall rep totals.
Check out this video where I discuss the re-clean principle in more detail:
That’s it for today – a simple but very effective technique for boosting your kettlebell pressing power. If you’re looking for that edge to press more weight and make faster progress, add it to your training technique arsenal and enjoy the benefits!
Keep training hard and talk soon –
Forest Vance, RKC II
P.S. If you liked this post, you can get kettlebell tips like this one delivered straight to your email inbox every week when you sign up for my email newsletter … just drop your name and best email into the box at the upper right of the page to do so now.
This Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, marks the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season … and there’ll no doubt be some fantastic deals. But the best deals are always in limited supply, so being in top shape could mean beating fellow shoppers ‘to the punch’ and grabbing that flat screen T.V. or laptop computer at 80% off …
Don’t worry, I’ve created a special black Friday kettlebell workout to help you prepare. You’ll practice grabbing an item off the high shelf, reverse jabbing a competing shopper behind you and more. Enjoy!
then, perform the following kettlebell and body weight circuit three times as fast as possible:
15 ‘High Shelf Reaches’ (single or double kettlebell thrusters)
5 ‘Get Up & Go’s’ (burpees + 10 yard sprints)
15 ‘Reverse Elbow Jabs’ each arm (kettlebell high pulls)
12 ‘Lunge & Grabs’ each leg (forward touchdown lunges)
finish with 5 mins. of static stretching for tight muscle groups
Happy holidays, and don’t shop too hard –
Forest
P.S. Speaking of Black Friday, I’ll have a special ‘holiday fat zapper’ package going on sale for you this weekend … it’ll give you a simple, done-for-you blueprint to keep the pounds off during the holidays, workout and ‘holiday friendly’ meal plan included. Keep an eye on your email inbox for details.
Thanks again to everyone who participated in the give-away contest last week … you provided me with some great insights on the fitness goals you’re working towards and the frustrations you’re having in reaching them. In the coming weeks and months I’ll be working hard to help you move towards those goals more effectively and efficiently …
That being said, one of the most common frustrations I saw in the contest entry feedback was lack of time.
Start with a quick 2-3 minute joint mobility warm up
Do 5 burpees
Immediately follow the burpees with 15 kettlebell swings
Repeat the sequence 4 times as fast as you can
Finish with 2-3 minutes of static stretching
One of the biggest obstacles folks seem to have in reaching their kettlebell fitness goals is a lack of time. The home kettlebell (and body weight) workout in the video above is the perfect solution … you’ll get an effective full body workout in a short amount of time.
Keep training hard and thanks for reading –
Forest
P.S. If you liked this post, please make sure to sign up for the KettlebellBasics.net newsletter. You’ll get a free copy of my beginner’s guide to kettlebell training when you do so – just drop your name and best e-mail into the box at the upper right of the page get it now!
Here’s an interesting story (that I’ve gotten permission to share) about a client who recently started my kettlebell boot camp. It does a great job of illustrating why you need to include some heavy/strength – oriented lifting in your kettlebell workout programming:
This client – we’ll call her Sally for the sake of the story 🙂 – thought she was in pretty good shape coming into my kettlebell boot camp class. She had been running consistently a couple of times per week, in addition to attending a boot camp that relied almost exclusively on bodyweight exercises …
At her first kettlebell class, I could see that she had a great base of conditioning to start. But when it came to any kind of heavy lifting, it was game over. Her ‘strength base’, as they say, was nearly non-existent.
After about two months of integrating some heavier lifting into her workouts, she’s not only gotten stronger, but improved her conditioning-based body weight exercises as well – she can do almost twice as many push-ups, can hold her planks much longer, and can do some impressive lower body plyometric moves that were previously impossible.
This is a great story to illustrate the importance of heavy training in your workout program. You can’t rely on only doing conditioning workouts if you’re after balanced development. And building that strength base will have positive carry-over to all other aspects of your training program.
* Remember … heavy is a relative term. Meaning heavy for you is likely much different than heavy for the next guy/gal. The main point is that you’ll need to pick a weight that’s challenging for the prescribed set and rep range.
Heavy press – barbell bench press, barbell military press, double kettlebell press, etc. – 5 reps
Heavy squat – barbell back squat, double kettlebell front squat, etc. – 5 reps
Heavy pull – weighted pull up, double kettlebell swing, etc. – 5 reps
Perform exercises as a circuit, but rest 30 to 90 seconds between each exercise; rest 60 seconds and repeat sequence total of five times.
This basic kettlebell strength workout is great if you’re trying to ‘cover all your bases’ and mix some needed heavy lifting into your existing program. Performing this workout even once or twice a week will make a big difference in boosting strength levels and improving your overall fitness level. Train hard and talk soon –
Forest
Oh – and if you liked this workout, I think you’ll be interested in my new and improved PreHab Revolution program – click the link below to learn more about it:
Today, I have a special Halloween kettlebell workout for you … but before you check it out, it’s very important that you read the story of the crazy kettlebell man. You’ll learn about the history of this crazy kettlebell and body weight circuit session.
Oh – and happy Halloween!
– Forest
It’s Halloween night. You’re on the way back from a costume party when your friends decide it’d be a good idea to drive to the outskirts of town to check out a haunted mansion …
You pull off the road and park the car at the back of the property. The house itself is on the top of a hill, still quite a distance away … it’s a dark and cloudy night and the road is pitch black with no streetlamps.
You shiver as you follow your friends into the woods …
It’s a long and spooky walk. You finally arrive at an overgrown lawn that looks up at the house.
You glance up at the third story and the windows gape at you like dark eyes. Suddenly, a ball of light appears in the window … you’re sure your friends told you the house was abandoned!
The light seems to float, and before your eyes, it forms into a hulking giant. You gasp in shock … and the figure begins to swing a giant ball-shaped object.
“Let’s get out of here!” You cry … your friends apparently saw the figure, too, and the group sprints to the car and speeds away.
“What was that?” You ask.
“Don’t you know?” Says your buddy. “It was the crazy kettlebell man!”
You shriek. “The crazy kettlebell man?”
“Yep. A team of kettlebell lifters lived in the mansion. They were Girevoy sport world champions … until the team captain went mad and killed them all. They say he still haunts the mansion to this day and tries to lure visitors in to join his crazy kettlebell circuit workouts.”
Shivering, your friends drop you off and you head home. For the rest of the night, your dreams are filled with images of the crazy kettlebell man trying to lure you to his mansion, swinging his giant kettlebell …
I’ve been getting a lot of emails lately from folks that are just getting started with kettlebell training …
And I’m realizing that a lot of the kettlebell routines I’ve put up over the last couple of months are geared towards intermediate or even advanced kettlebell enthusiasts.
So I thought I’d shoot a quick video to show you a couple of modifications I use every day with my training clients who are beginners, are still learning and perfecting their form, are dealing with an injury, etc. You can use these mods with many more ‘advanced’ kettlebell workouts to get more out of them (or even be able to attempt them in the first place).
The two modifications I cover in the video are for the two ‘base’ HardStyle kettlebell moves, the swing and the Turkish get up. I hope the video helps you out, and I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below the post:
P.S. The Kettlebell Basics Swing Manual is a great place to get started if you’re looking to learn the basics of kettlebell training the right way. In it, I go over the sumo deadlift progression I discussed in the video above, along with a ton of additonal technique tips like it … it also takes you through a 12 week program designed for fat loss, lean muscle gain, and kettlebell swing mastery. Learn more about it by clicking the link below:
One of my favorite ‘same-but-different’ kettlebell exercises is the Kettlebell Overhead Lunge.
Why is it ‘same-but-different’? The movement is very much like a portion of the Turkish Get Up – so it should be familiar to you – but it’s performed in a different fashion and provides a unique challenge.
Watch the video for detailed description and demonstration of the exercise, then check out the recap section below:
Video Recap
To begin the movement, clean the kettlebell up to your shoulder and press it overhead.
Keeping the weight completely locked out the entire time, the shoulder ‘packed’, and the bicep directly by the ear, take a giant step back. Remember, it’s like a Get Up – if the weight is in your right hand, you’ll step back with your left leg.
Keep the abs braced hard. Moving through the hips, bring the back knee down towards the ground, then reverse the motion by driving through the front heel to stand back up.
I like to do these in place, reverse lunge – style, all reps on one side consecutively before changing sides.
Switch and repeat on the opposite side to complete one full set.
Add the kettlebell overhead lunge into your kettlebell exercise mix today for a new challenge and increased results!
P.S. If you liked this post, make sure to sign up for the KettlebellBasics.net newsletter – you’ll get KB training tips and tricks just like this one delivered straight to your email inbox every week (AND a free copy of my Beginner’s Guide to Kettlebell Training). Just drop your name and best email into the box at the upper right of the page to do so now.
Pavel Tsatsouline, along with many other folks involved in the RKC school of strength, is/are by far my biggest influence(s) in kettlebell workout design, kettlebell exercise technique, and overall kettlebell training philosophy.
However, there’s also big world out there that exists outside of the RKC … and being open minded to new training concepts and ideas is part of being the best trainer you can be.
Craig Ballentyne of TurbulenceTraining.com is someone I highly respect and follow closely when it comes to training advice and innovative workouts. I actually use ideas and exercises from a variety of Craig’s programs for my training clients’ and own personal workouts at least every week, if not every day.
Here’s a video from Craig where he outlines and demonstrates a killer kettlebell, body weight and stability ball circuit workout:
Video Recap
This kettlebell, body weight and stability ball circuit workout consiststs of 10 exercises performed for 20 reps each as fast as possible. A few notes on the exercises:
To perform the extended push-up, place your hands about palm width in front of your face and do a push – up.
To do a high-pull, use about the same amount of hip snap as you would on a snatch. The goal is to get the ‘bell to float for a second at the top of the move and become weightless … a great cue for the high pull is to imagine you’re throwing an elbow at someone right behind you.
When doing mountain climbers, make sure your hips are down and abs are braced.
For close – grip push – ups, place your hands about shoulder width apart. Make sure to keep the arms close to the sides and focus on using your triceps to do the bulk of the work in the movement. To make them easier you can do them from the knees … or you can increase the difficulty by putting your feet up on something.
For the stability ball leg curls, you’ll (obviously) need a stability ball … make sure to keep the hips up high throughout the entire movement as you curl the legs in toward you and straighten them back out.
Metabolic conditioning – style workouts like this one from Craig Ballentyne of TurbulenceTraining.com are great for losing fat, gaining lean muscle and sending your conditioning level through the roof. Enjoy the pain!
Forest Vance, MS, CPT, RKC II
P.S. If you liked this workout, you’ll love the KettlebellBasics.net email newsletter … sign up by dropping your name and best email into the box at the upper right of the page and you’ll get new workouts, videos, and training tips like the one(s) in this article delivered straight to your email inbox each and every week!
Learn how to perform the basic kettlebell exercises
By far, the most popular posts on this blog are the free kettlebell workouts I share on a regular basis …
An important point to keep in mind, though, is that perfecting your kettlebell training technique should come before you start changing up your workouts.
I just went through and updated the kettlebell exercises page with 13 new articles on learning and perfecting all the basic kettlebell drills … click the link below to check it out:
P.S. Make sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter if you haven’t yet … you’ll get new kettlebell training tips just like these delivered straight to your email inbox every week, PLUS a free copy of my ‘Beginner’s Guide to Kettlebell Training’ just for signing up! Drop your name and best email into the box at the upper right hand corner of the page to do so now.
It’s early Monday morning … I’m on a return flight from Minnesota to California … I’ve survived the RKC weekend and am officially certified! I’m more excited about kettlebell training than I’ve ever been … my head is overflowing with kettlebell knowledge and I’m ready to conquer the world …
The RKC Grad Workout
Later that day I returned to my facility to work with a few private clients and lead a couple of boot camp classes. And I quickly realized that I still had a lot to learn about teaching kettlebells … particularly in a group setting.
Over the last 3.5 years, I’ve continued to learn more about kettlebells every day through written and video instructon … I completed my level 2 RKC certification last year … I’ve attended multiple other kettlebell workshops and events … and I’ve personally led about 15 kettlebell-based boot camps per week in that same time frame. Moral of the story is that through these experiences, I’ve learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t in a kettlebell boot camp setting … so whether you’re training with KB’s by yourself at home, or you’re a current/inspiring boot camp instructor, I’m confident that the kettlebell boot camp workout “best practices” in this article will help you get better results!
Kettlebell Boot Camp Workout Ideas
1. Choose your kettlebell exercises carefully
Especially if you’re dealing with folks at different ability levels, you must choose your kettlebell boot camp exercises carefully.
For example – the Turkish Get Up can be a tricky move to use with a large group, particularly if you have folks that are unfamiliar with it. There are a lot of steps and elements involved with getting the movement right.
As an alternative, I typically use the 1/2 Get Up in a boot camp setting. It’s much easier to teach and keeps the workout going much faster:
Here’s a video example of the 1/2 TGU:
2. Structure the order of the kettlebell workout carefully
This goes for any kettlebell training session really … but is particularly important in a boot camp setting.
For example – if you’re going to be using exercises that anyone in the group is unfamiliar with, consider building them into the warm up period so they’ll have a chance to practice good form at a less-than-100% speed.
Another example would be placing highly technical moves – like the long cycle clean and jerk or viking push press – towards the beginning of the workout when participants are freshest both mentally and physically.
3. Use a finisher!
I’m a big fan of kettlebell workout “finishers” (BTW, you’ll learn more about this concept very soon, I have a cool new program and more info on the topic that I’ll introduce to you next week) …
But as an example, maybe this is what your kettlebell boot camp workout has looked like so far:
(warm up)
8 KB halos (each way)
8 KB slingshots (each way)
8 KB figure eights (each way)
(kettlebell/body weight strength circuit)
15 two hand KB swings
7 burpees
(Get as many rounds of this circuit as you can in five minutes)
Now, as a ‘finisher”, you include the following sequence:
10 KB squat cleans
5 KB renegade rows
10 walking overhead KB lunge
(Get as many rounds as you can of this circuit in ten minutes)
Campers LOVE this and I almost ALWAYS include something like it at the end of a boot camp!
In summary, kettlebell boot camp workouts are a great way to lose fat, build total body conditioning and get into fantastic shape … but there are some specific considerations that can make all the difference when you’re putting one together. I hope the kettlebell boot camp exercise ideas in this article help you get better results and reach your ultimate fitness goals faster and more effectively!
Thanks for reading, and talk soon –
Forest Vance, RKC II
PS – Signed up for my KB email newsletter yet? You’ll get a free copy of my Beginner’s Guide to Kettlebell Training when you do – just drop your name and email into the box at the upper right of the page to get signed up now!!
