In fact, one of my favorite program combinations is adding very specific bodyweight exercises or even workouts into my kettlebell training.
1- Learn & Refine Your Technique.
2- Use Autoregulation.
3- “Train,” (Practice) don’t “Work out”.
4- Practice “active recovery”.
5- Train your core systematically.
1- Get a VISION:
There’s a great quote I love -
“Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
2- Be an UNDERACHIEVER:
… And do the bare minimum
3- Hold yourself accountable:
Integrity is like a muscle - the more you use it, the stronger it gets.
If you want to maximize your results from your kettlebell training…
[+] Stronger Presses, Squats, and Get Ups…
[+] More explosive Swings, Snatches, Cleans, and Jerks…
[+] And a leaner, more muscular body as a result…
Then you have to make sure you have a strong, functional, fully operational diaphragm. And in order to do that, you need to have a fully functional Hidden Core.
First, Systematic Core Training For Kettlebells is based on "The SSP Model."
SSP = Stability - Strength - Power.
Second, you’ll log in, and watch 3 videos to test your abdominal stability and strength
Third, you’ll download the Training Manual and Training Programs.
And fourth, you’ll review the exercise videos
So at the end of the day, yeah, you do need to “Press a lot in order to press a lot”...
But only after you’ve built / rebuilt your core stability and strength.
Combining them is like a 1-2 punch for your KB training.
If you want a stronger kettlebell Press and a stronger core, I’ll leave a link to Systematic Core Training For Kettlebells in the description below this video along with some references.
So, if you want / need challenging kettlebell workout programs to help you blow off some stress…
And you don’t mind training hard - REALLY HARD in some cases…
And you’re pretty savvy with a pair of kettlebells or the Olympic lifts…
Then you may find any of the 35+ Kettlebell HARD! training programs right up your alley.
They’re each 6+ weeks long, 3x a week - between 15 and 30 minutes at a time.
1- Do you like lifting heavy stuff?
Then you’ll probably do best with a “Strength-Based” or "Power-Based" fat loss program.
2- Do you like challenges - mentally taxing stuff that forces you to “embrace the suck?”
You’ll “feel the burn” on these types of workouts.
3- Do you like both and hate being forced to pick between the two?
Then you’ll most likely do better with a “hybrid style” program.
Here are some 3-4 day-a-week templates you can use to create your “Perfect Kettlebell Workout”:
1 - Press, Pull, Legs.
2 - MLH - Medium, Heavy, Light.
3 - Alternate: Grinds, Ballistics, Grinds, Ballistics.
4 - Ballistics: OTM - On The Minute.
5 - Strength Circuits.
6 - Strength, Power, Endurance.
7 - Strength, Hypertrophy, Power.
Upper Push — Upper Pull — Legs and rest about 60 seconds between them, and you can train your muscles and your heart and lungs.
And yes, I’m aware that traditional strength training is the best cardiovascular exercise.
Build muscle using the correct ballistics: Snatch, Clean + Push Press, Clean + Jerk.
Probably the simplest way to mix the two - strength AND endurance -
Is -
OPTION 1: Work on opposite ends of the spectrum.
OPTION 2: Power Endurance Training using kettlebells
Taking the time to work on your technique is the key not only to injury prevention, but also short and long term strength gains.
Start with your single kettlebell technique work.
I recommend using ‘THE BIG 6’.
Then work on your double kettlebell technique work.
I recommend using Kettlebell STRONG!
[1] Double KB Clean + Press
[2] Double KB Front Squat
Toss some single KB Snatches in there for power, and you have the “near perfect” kettlebell program.
And if you can’t or don’t want to Squat?
Just build your strength with the Double KB Clean + Press.
1- Remember, it’s not how much work you can do, but how much work you can recover from.
2- If you need “more,” look “within.”
3- Look for the “small hinges” you’re missing.
I think the latter - there’s ALWAYS a better way.
In fact, here are 3:
1- ULTRA MINIMALIST
2- VARIETY
3- HARD!
You can make phenomenal gains from doing “just” Clean + Presses.
For long periods of time.
But NOT if you do the “same” workout all the time.
Something must change - the stimulus must change.
This week I'm up to 30 breaths, 30 nods & rotations, and 30 power moves.
For power, last week I started doing 20 each side. Now I'm up to 30 each side, for a count of 60.
1- Autoregulation:
Autoregulation is a performance method that flexes or adapts to the individual using it.
2- Load Variability:
‘THE GIANT’ uses load variability.
3- The RM (Repetition Max):
As a competitive lifter, I have always trained for a RM - usually a 1RM - the most / greatest amount of weight I can lift one time.
Here are some ideas for you:
1- Moving up a bell size.
2- Moving to a More “Advanced” Exercise.
3- Moving To The Double Lifts.
1- 2x32kg Clean + Presses for 10 sets of 5 in 20 minutes.
2- 2x32kg Front Squats for 10 sets of 5 in 20 minutes.
3- 32kg Snatch - 100 reps in 10 minutes (10 sets of 5+5).
[+] C+P went from double 50lbs KBs for 20x 5 in 30 minutes, to double 85lbs dumbbells for 13 sets of 8 in 30 minutes
[+] His “upper back and traps exploded, and my arms and chest filled out my t shirts in ways they never had before.”
[+] “After years of going to the gym, I finally looked like I lifted.” And -
“These results came despite the interrupted sleep, poor nutrition, and stress that comes with serving in the military.”
Get started and keep focusing on training for strength, add in some “conditioning,” and as long as you’re not eating like a pig, you’ll watch yourself slowly transform.
That is of course if you don’t give up and you’ve structured your training program correctly.
If you feel like you’re not making progress, it’s only for one of two reasons:
1- You're actually Not.
2- You are, but you're not measuring it correctly, or at all.
The “cure” for #1 is to actually get on a program and FINISH it.
I also recommend you put some “skin in the game” and purchase a professionally designed one. For most people, having to pay for something means they value it more.
[1] OWN IT
[2] GET JUNK FOOD OUT OF THE HOUSE
[3] I'D EAT A "PROTEIN-FIRST" DIET
[4] I'D LIFT HEAVY (HIGH FORCE)
[5] I'D LIFT EXPLOSIVELY (HIGH POWER)
[6] I'D "BIAS" MY TRAINING
[7] I'D SLEEP MORE
[8] I'D BREATH MORE
[9] I'D TRAIN 4-6X WEEK
[10] I'D PRIORITIZE RECOVERY
“The KB Press trains the upper chest - the clavicular pectoral muscles.
For any other chest work, I do Ring Dips.”
Honestly, I don’t focus on “chest work” at all.
My pecs appear “big enough” to me. And I don’t care to look like I have a pair of bre@sts, which is what big pecs on many guys look like to me.
