How Heavy of a Kettlebell Should I use?

How Heavy of a Kettlebell Should I use?

Kettlebells are the new fitness rage. In my opinion, shared by many others, Kettlebell Training is the best overall tool for complete fitness. All major goals may be met with proper training: Strength, Conditioning, Flexibility, Durability and Athletic Ability are all increased with proper implementation of a Kettlebell Program. 

That’s all well and good, but where do you start? First you need to find a qualified instructor and/or a thorough video. If you are basing your training on the workouts displayed on youtube, you are in trouble. Yes, you can get some great ideas (and a lot of harmful ones) from the free internet service, but you do get what you pay for. 

What weight do I start with? Common sense dictates that you start light. Yes and No. “Yes and No”? You may be asking yourself how can I say that?!? You HAVE start light. In certain exercises, yes you need to build up, but in many kettlebell exercises it is detrimental to your technique execution if the weight it too light. I will expand on this notion with an example.

Let us consider the Kettlebell Clean. The Clean is an essential Kettlebell movement used as a stand alone exercise, in Complexes and Chains as well as a means to get the Kettlebell into position for other exercises: such as presses and squats. If you use too light of a kettlebell, you will complete the exercise improperly.

If you can simply “curl” the Kettlebell into position, it’s too light and you are doing the technique improperly. We have a “Cheat Curl” to help you get the properly weighted Kettlebell into the rack position, provided your cleans are not yet up to snuff. 

With the light bell, you will not be firing your core or stabilizers. You need a properly weighted Kettlebell to recruit these muscles and maximize the benefits of working with Kettlebells. 

If you clean a Kettlebell that it too light, you will tend to smash it against your wrist and arm. This will cause bruising and unnecessary pain, not to mention the practitioner not gaining the benefits from Kettlebells. 

There are many other facets of training that proper choice of Kettlebell weight are necessary. The alignment of the knees, spine, shoulders and other joints. Breathing behind the shield and creating a stable core. 

There are, of course, instances when using too much weight can be detrimental as well. If you haven’t developed the proper shoulder stabilization, using too much weight on an Armbar or a Turkish Get-up could result in injury. You must know how to pack your shoulders, lock your joints and employ proper full body tensioning to successfully hoist heavy weight with quite a few Kettlebell maneuvers. So, one does have to start with using lighter weights before these movements are even to be attempted with heavy one.   

So to answer the question: “How heavy of a Kettlebell should I use?” I will make the following statement with no hesitation at all - “It depends”. It depends on the movement, your ability and your level of fitness. You also need to employ good judgement and start with basic movements until you gain confidence and learn how the Kettlebell moves. 

As always: Train Hard & Train Often!

www.kettlebellking.com     www.philross.com

The "What the Heck" Effect

The “What the Heck” Effect

Russian Kettlebell Update:

Following is an e-mail that I received from one of my kettlebell clients:

Hey Coach, 

 I have been doing Kettlebells now for two or three months and I have seen a drastic improvement in my athletics. Last weekend I had a lacrosse tournament and since I have started doing Kettlebells I have not picked up a lacrosse stick. I went and played in the tournament and I was surprised to see that I had improved in all aspects of the game even though I haven't been playing. From doing the Kettlebells with you my speed, endurance, and strength all improved and this all helped me in improving my lacrosse game. 

Thanks Coach Ross

Jamie Blake

Jamie Blake – MHS Lacrosse

In Russian Kettlebell Training we refer to it as the “What the Heck” Effect. There are a plethora of instances where scientists and physiologists have experimented the effectiveness of Russian Kettlebell training in comparison to other "Sport Specific" training. During one study, they tested the subjects on vertical jumps. Group A trained on performing their jumps and Group B only trained with Kettlebells. After 6 weeks of training, Group A improved their vertical jump anywhere from 1 to 3 cm. However, Group B, the ones that trained only with the Kettlebells, increased from 3 to 9 cms! This is the “What the Heck” effect. There have been many other studies conducted with pull ups, sprinting, high jumping, push ups, dead lifting, etc…

How is this all accomplished? The roots of the incredible effectiveness of Kettlebell Training can be found from several sources. One, the shape of the bell forces the body to recruit more muscles and stabilizers due to the constantly changing center of gravity of the bell. Another is rooted in the actual training methodology employed in the system. This would include the tensioning of the body, versatility of the bell (try swinging a barbell between your legs!) and the use of both concentric (upward) and eccentric (downward) force. These training methods and benefits may be achieved through other methods, but the equipment is large and costly in comparison to a simple, space saving kettlebell.

The gains and explosive power garnished from training with Kettlebells is second to none. The Kettlebell replaces many other gym items, barbells, dumbbells, battling ropes, sandbags, treadmills and other cardiovascular equipment. You may be saying - "OK, I can see how Kettlebell Training can replace the barbells and other typical resistance equipment - but how the heck does this cannonball with a handle on it replace a stairclimber? Simply put, do a few laps of Walking Swings, V02 Max Circuits, or a round of Complexes or Chains, or even a set of 60 swings and then tell me if your heart doesn't feel like it's going to rip out of your chest! Here's how it works, you're using your whole body, tensioning and relaxing it as you perform your movement. Your body must constantly adjust itself to the varying center of gravity that occurs, therefore consuming more energy. Have you ever seen someone who is very proficient with Kata? They are completely out of breath and sweating profusely. How can this be? These people are in great shape and masters at their craft, how can they be so winded? Easily explained, they are applying maximum effort to their every movement. Complete tensioning and relaxing of the body. Now imagine doing this same type of exercise, but with a changing resistive load. This is how you maximize your workout and training potential.  

 The studies are available on line at  HYPERLINK "http://www.philross.com" www.philross.com – click on the Kettlebell Products and review the Dragon Door site.