Improve Your Military Press with… Kettlebell Swings?

I’m a big fan of combining kettlebells and calisthenics in my training to maximize the strength and fitness results you can get in as little time as possible. Maybe you are, too.

There’s a method to all that madness, and just slapping one exercise together with another one is at best a mixed bag that will get you mixed results (and probably not the mix you’re looking for).

So when I put together kettlebells and calisthenics moves into combos, here are 3 out of the 7 major considerations I like to keep in mind to squeeze the most strength out of the fewest exercises:

#1: Push/pull combos

This is the ultimate combo and has been done a million different ways by a million different coaches and trainers, most notably kettlebell and strength expert Pave Tsatsouline.

These work great because they help you cover a lot of ground in a very short period of time, and they also give you an extra boost of strength, as quite often pulling muscles help scaffold your efforts in pushing exercises.

More:

You can make these even more effective by changing the direction of the exercise.

While it’s popular to throw in a set of pullups between military presses (since these two movements are closely related given that they both involve putting your arms straight overhead), you’ll likely find that you’ll get even greater results when you pair a push with a pull in an OPPOSING direction and vice versa.

For example:

I’ve found that pairing military presses with bent over rows greatly improves my pressing power because not only are my scapulae pulled down and back both to begin and end the movement (as is needed), they also pressurize the abs, isometrically strengthen the hips, butt, and legs, and closely mimic the starting position of the clean.

#2: Upper body/lower body

Another favorite of mine, if all you have is 15 short minutes, a combination of upper body and lower body work alternated on the minute or more will make sure you leave no stone unturned. One of my favorite examples would be as follows:

Set 1: 5 pullups
Set 2: 5 front squats

This, too, fits with the push/pull method since you’re pairing an upper body pull with a lower body push.

#3: Ballistic/grind

Lately this has become a favorite of mind, simply because it’s a rarely-used weapon, but a powerful one (specifically for your presses, squats, and pullups).

A while back I made it a point to do 5 minutes of short, powerful bursts of swings — no more than 5 — with two 28 kg kettlebells prior to pressing, and my presses made faster progress in in the few weeks I did it than at about any other time that I can remember.

Why?

Well, there are a lot of reasons, but suffice it to say the idea of putting an explosive exercise together with a non-explosive one has been done by many of the greats, including Doug Hepburn, who used to do heavy cleans before doing his even heavier deadlifts.

Putting it all together

Ultimately you’re gonna want all this rad advice to be put into a workout; why wouldn’t you? So here is a sample workout combining the above principles into something you can put right to good use and get strong as hell in the process.

Workout

Part 1:
— 5 heavy swings — either with double kettlebell or one heavy-for-you kettlebell — on the minute: 5 minutes (be explosive and make the bells float!)

Combo 1
A1) Hip bridge floor press — 5–8 reps
A2) Chinup — 5–8 reps
Repeat 2–3 times

Combo 2
B1) Bent over row — 5
B2) military press — 5 per arm
Repeat x 3–5

Combo 4
C1) Front squat — 5
C2) Face pull — 10

Repeat x 2–4

Try these out and let me know how you like ’em. Be sure to rest as little as possible, but as much as necessary.

Like this quick, effective kettlebell + bodyweight workouts?

Then you just might dig my free 9-Minute Kettlebell & Bodyweight Challenge.

It consists of some simple, easy-to-learn movements that I can almost guarantee you’ve NEVER done (including crawling, loaded carries, etc) and as the name implies, it only takes 9 minutes to do.

Not only does it fit neatly at the end of whatever other routine you’re currently doing anyway (so no need to put your regular training on hold), but many people have found that it actually enhances their workouts.

Have a look-see at what a gent named Mark had to say when he added my 9-Minute Kettlebell & Bodyweight Challenge into his current training program:

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“Just wanted to pass this feedback along about the 9 min KB BW challenge.

I am on my 5th trip through it. I use it primarily as a warm-up, sometimes as a finisher, and sometimes as a stand-alone workout (when I am under recovered or just super pressed for time). I get in at least 3, usually 4, and sometimes 5 days a week including it.

I am to the point where I can get through 3 min straight of just about anything except double overhead carries (at about 2:10 with 16's), farmer’s carries with 32’s (about 2:15 when I push it), and can make 3 min of crawling but it smokes me.

I’ve now shared it with a dozen or so folx and the ones who “get it” have seen incredible benefits. Of course, there are those that never get it, but that’s part of the deal.

of note, the big thing I notice besides a massive (and positive) change in my abs is that I gen really feel more “tied together” and “ready” all the time. At 40, this is really important.

Thanks for making it SIMPLE to integrate this really important work!

best,

Mark Reinke”

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Check it out for yourself at www.9MinuteChallenge.com

Have fun and happy training!

Aleks “The Hebrew Hammer” Salkin