The ‘3-Speed’ Kettlebell Method
Let me regale you with a brief tale from my youth about how I was humbled by two tiny kettlebells.
It was June of 2010, and I was already more than 2 years into my journey to kettlebell training. By this point, I could press a 32 kg (70 lb) kettlebell on either arm for a few reps with relative ease, and could essentially roll out of bed and pass any of the RKC technique tests. I was by no means a greenhorn, as they say.
I was feeling pretty confident — dare I say cocky — about my preparedness for the certification I was about to go through in October of that year. That is, of course, until I decided to waltz into a Saturday morning class of my coach and mentor Scott Stevens, where he essentially made me eat an entire concrete mixer full of Humble Pie.
That humble pie was served up in the form of one nasty, dastardly kettlebell complex from a book that was popular at that time. I was only using two 16 kg (35 lb) kettlebells for this complex; much less than my usual 24 kg kettlebell that I worked with.
While I don’t remember the exact order of the exercises, I do remember this: within a few short minutes, I was smoked. My heart was racing, my lungs were pumping, and my muscles were on fire as though I were a sinner in the hands of an angry God.
I was in love.
Here’s what I learned from that monumental moment on the best method to build strength, muscle, and never-say-die conditioning with a kettlebell or two:
#1: Mix all 3 kettlebell speeds
Kettlebells are unique in that they lend themselves to more options than most piece of equipment — namely because they allow you to do ballistic exercises that are unavailable to most of us with barbells and dumbbells, and that are nonexistent with bodyweight.
The speeds are as follows:
a. Ballistic — swing, clean, high pull, snatch — all movements that require an explosive movement from the hips
b. Fast grind/assisted grind. These are movements where you use a little momentum as a way to knock out extra reps — such as push presses and long push presses.
(Above is a demo video of push presses, in case you’re interested)
c. Grind. These movements are done slowly and methodically (squat, press, row, Turkish Get Up).
By themselves each of the movements in these 3 different speeds are powerful in their own right. Combined, they are unstoppable for making you stronger, fitter, more muscular, and much, much leaner.
#2: Place ballistics first, assisted grinds second, and grinds last
Again, this is for complexes. This is not a hard and fast rule, just a guideline that I found works best both for maintaining the integrity of the exercises (no ugly reps!) and for squeezing the most strength and conditioning out of each exercise.
In other words, it’s easy to move fast when you’re freshest (i.e. at the beginning of the complex) and easiest to move slowly at the end of a complex (when you’re more tired), so why not just arrange the complex like that to begin with?
And now, some workouts
Here are a few ‘naughty but nice’ complexes you can put to good use at the end of your next workout OR as a standalone workout. Choose a kettlebell you can press 8–10 times.
Workout #1: double kettlebells
5 high pulls
5 clean + push press
5 bent over rows
5 front squats
Repeat with 4 of each, then 3, then 2, and then 1
Workout #2: a single kettlebell
5 snatches
5 Viking push press
1 Turkish Get Down
1 Turkish Get Up
Do all on left side. Repeat on right. Do 3–5 rounds each side.
Give one (or both) of these workouts a shot over the next few days and let me know how you like ‘em.
On that note, if you like training that:
- Gives you more strength than it takes from you
- Improves your stamina and resilience simultaneously
- Powers-up every nook, cranny, crevice, and corner of your Soft Machine
Then you just might like my 9-Minute Kettlebell and Bodyweight Challenge.
As the name indicates, it’s just 9 minutes long, and it’s designed to be done WITH your current workouts — NOT instead of them.
How?
By harnessing the power of your body’s gait pattern (i.e. walking pattern) to unleash the strength ALREADY hidden inside you — via movements like crawling, loaded carries, and more.
Even cooler:
Many find that it actually amplifies their strength in their favorite kettlebell and bodyweight moves, like presses, squats, pullups, and more.
And best of all, it’s free.
How free?
I’m talkin’ freer than the 4th of July, my friend.
Get thee thine own copy here => http://www.9MinuteChallenge.com
Have fun and happy training!
Aleks Salkin
