I don’t know about you, but I’ve been captivated by strength in some form or another my entire life.
Whether it was trying a pull up on the clothes line at age 4 or training to push 400lbs over my head competing in Olympic lifting, or pressing a pair of Beasts…
Strength has been my “thing” .
Many people believe that kettlebells are “just for conditioning.”
The kettlebell is a weight - just like a barbell or a dumbbell or even a rock.
However, it’s more flexible than many other tools.
You already know by now (probably) you can shove a kettlebell over your head with a Press .
You can whip it… Snatch it… Squat it… Even toss it.
And these are all effective for developing strength.
So… “The Formula.”
Here it is in “all” its simplicity :
1- Find your 4-6RM with a particular exercise.
2- Then, work on getting a 10x5 or 10x6 (10 sets of 5 or 10 sets of 6) with it in one training session.
That’s “it?”
It’s “that” simple ?
Taking a 4-6RM and turning it into 50 or 60 reps?
Yup.
Why?
By that point, it’s clearly no longer your 4-6RM.
In fact, depending on your muscle fiber type dominance (tend toward slow or fast), and training background, that old weight could be as much as your new click here 10-15RM.
(Fast twitch dominant will be closer to the low end. Slow twitch dominant will be more toward the higher end. One isn’t better than the other - they just “are.”)
And by then you’ve:
1- Built up the cross-sectional area of your muscles involved in that lift, which science shows us contributes to strength. (a.k.a. Bigger muscles.)
2- Practiced lots of reps - or practiced the “skill of strength” - which increases myelination of the neural pathways in that lift.
3- You’ve gained some particular conditioning for that lift, which means you can bounce back better than you once did, and achieve your strength gains.
Now how you get from your 4-6RM to 50/60 reps in a session is your choice .
You can use regular sets (3,3,3,3, for example).
You can use step-ups (1,2,3,4… for example).
You can use up-and-down sets (1,2,3,4,3,2,1… for example - I wouldn’t recommend it).
You can use rest “on the clock” with specific rest times or autoregulate them and go “when you’re ready” using your own feel .
You can train 3x a week … quad weekly… 5x a week … even multiple times per day “greasing the groove .”
There is no “perfect ” way.
Only “ your optimal approach currently,” based upon your training history, injury history / limitations, and your schedule.
And honestly, it’s this “ mix ” - all these variables which drive many people crazy.
They just don’t know what to do now - so they don’t do anything and put off getting the strength they want until… Someday.
( Something that almost never happens.)
My favorite way for building total body strength with kettlebells?
Of course you probably know it -
Using a pair of KBs.
Exercises of choice?
[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.
Wait - is that “all?”
That’s really “it?”
Yes.
Once again, I pose the following question:
How strong would you be if you could Clean + Press a pair of 48kg for 10 reps?
What? Not there yet?
Why wait around?
Why not get after it immediately ?
I guarantee your muscularity and conditioning will improve naturally if you embrace and chase down that goal.
How exactly do you go about doing that?
I recommend 2 programs:
For Double Clean + Press “only,” the “Strong!” program is a top pick.
To combine Double Clean + Press with Double Front Squats, use Kettlebell MAXIMORUM.
Hope this makes clear the whole “get stronger” thing.
Stay Strong,
Geoff Neupert.