Have you ever heard somebody refer to a doctor as somebody who “practices medicine” or to a lawyer as somebody who “practices law”?  How about practicing a piano or football practice?  There are all kinds of things we practice doing and for good reason.  The more we practice something, the more proficient we become at performing our chosen task.  In fact, one of the definitions of practice is to learn by repetition. 

While we might practice an instrument or a sport or even our profession, few every look at exercising as practice.  When you approach your workout as a practice, your entire thought process changes from one of, “I gotta get through this workout” to “I am honing my skills”.  In a nutshell, the purpose of working out isn’t to mindlessly throw around a lot of weight, or it shouldn’t be.

I was inspired to write this blog when I read another blog in which the author complained, and rightfully so, about the lack of instruction found in some of the kettlebell instructional videos found online.  Yes, it is true that anybody with a kettlebell, a video camera and internet access can shoot a video and throw it online.  It is also true that there are some of us who truly try and provide good, instructive content be it free or paid or both.    

I am one who hopes that my videos provide at least a starting point for the aspiring kettlebell practitioner to learn the art and sport of girevoy.  I don’t intend, nor should the person watching the video expect to master each and every kettlebell exercise just by watching a video and then mirroring what they have seen.  I cannot stress enough how important it is to find yourself a qualified instructor to work with, if only occasionally to help tweak your form and keep you moving in the right direction.  I can “show” you how to perform a kettlebell swing, but I cannot “teach” you proper form via a video.  To achieve proper form, and maintain it, you must “practice” the swing and practice it often.

I am a student of strength and conditioning training and of kettlebell lifting.  To that end, every time I hit the gym, I think of it as a practice session and I try to stay mindful of that fact for the duration of the workout.  I am also mindful that my form is never perfect and requires my continued attention and devotion to detail.  After all these years of lifting, I still find myself on occasion performing such lifts as the swing and the snatch, the foundation and the king of kettlebell lifts incorrectly at times.  Because I am “practicing” I recognize this and correct it. 

It is crucial to develop the mindset that when you go to the gym or to your garage or basement and you pick up your kettlebell, your approach is one of a practice session.  This is not unlike the approach a football player takes in the days leading up to a big game or a musician before a concert.  In this way you will always be striving for perfect form, but will be accepting of the fact that perfection isn’t possible.

Practice must be specific, practice must be done while you are fresh and full of energy and practice must be frequent.  The strongmen of yesteryear practiced their lifts daily and always terminated a workout while they were “full of pep” as Arthur Saxon liked to say.

And lastly, remember that practice does not make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect.

Yours in Health,

Dennis

P.S. – Have a question about anything I’m doing, email me and I’ll be more then happy to answer it.  ironkettlebellfitness@gmail.com

Before entering into a fitness routine, especially one that incorporates kettlebells, be sure to consult with your physician or medical professional to be sure you are healthy enough to begin a strength and conditioning regimen.  Be sure to learn the proper way to perform each lift and complete each exercises in strict form employing a spotter when applicable.  In other words, if you hurt yourself, it’s your fault.

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Before we dive into this list, know that it comprises MY top 5 kettlebell exercises and is based on nothing more then the lifts that I like practicing most often and that I feel are the most effective for me.  There is nothing scientific about the list and my criteria wasn’t derived at by some mathematical equation or anything like that.  As is the case with any list, there will be those that agree and those that disagree.  There will even be those people that are appalled that I would include this lift at that expense of that lift.  Can’t make everybody happy so I won’t. 

Also note that the list is in no particular order with the exception of the lift that sits in the number one spot.  If I tried to put them in order from most benefical to least or hardest to easiest, it would be impossible.  Each lift has a specific benefit that is slightly different from the other lifts so each is important in it’s own way. 

So here ya go.  My top 5 kettlebell lifts.

5. Military Press – In my opinion, the true measure of ones upper body strength is the military press, not the bench press.  The Kettlebell Military Press is a full body lift if done properly and is the king of the presses.  It is my number one grind lift and one that I often perform with 2 kettlbells as frequently as I do with one.  True functional strength is measured with this lift.

4. Turkish Get-Up- I consider this lift neither a grind nor an explosive lift.  The Turkish Get-up is a finesse movement and the best exercise to teach a person to move their body while under load.  It contributes to shoulder health and flexibility while making the shoulder resistant to injury.  The Turkish Get-up is a beautiful lift when performed properly and the one exercise that nobody performs but should. 

3. Bent Press  – The Bent Press is the king of the odd lifts.  It’s the one exercise that everybody stops to watch you perform.  It’s a press that if performed properly will enable you to put overhead with one arm more weight then any other lift.  The Bent Press is a complete body lift that requires both finesse and power as well as extreme shoulder flexibility and balls of steel to perform with any appreciable weight. 

2. Swings- The foundation of all kettlebells lifts is the swing.  It is the first exercise that must be learned and mastered before moving to other kettlebell lifts.  It builds a great deal of strength in the hip and thighs and creates a resilient, injury resistant lower back.  It is the one exercise that I perform during every workout as I use it as a warm-up, even on days when it is not part of my primary lifts. 

1. Snatch- The Kettlebell Snatch is the king of all kettlebell lifts and my number one explosive exercise.  It is far and away my favorite kettlebell lift.  When performing the snatch, we are able to generate an awesome amount of force which in turn allows us to pack on the muscle.  The snatch allows you to gain power and strength as well as improve your conditioning and build a strong heart.  That’s because it requires the heart of a warrior to perform heavysnatches for high reps.  Performed with a light bell for short, high intensity bursts, it will melt away fat like no othter exercise can.  

There you have it, my top 5 kettlebell lifts as decided upon by me.  These are the lifts that I practice often.  More often then any other kettlebell lifts.  Got a different opinion?  Write a comment below and let me know what you think. 

Yours in Health,

Dennis

P.S. – Have a question about anything I’m doing, email me and I’ll be more then happy to answer it.  ironkettlebellfitness@gmail.com

Before entering into a fitness routine, especially one that incorporates kettlebells, be sure to consult with your physician or medical professional to be sure you are healthy enough to begin a strength and conditioning regimen.  Be sure to learn the proper way to perform each lift and complete each exercises in strict form employing a spotter when applicable.  In other words, if you hurt yourself, it’s your fault.

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100 Snatches in 5 minutes with a 24kg kettlebell.  Ah, good times. 

When I first started using kettlebells, there was no standard testing to determine your competency with a kettlebell.  Hell, when I first read about kettlebells about 6 years ago, I called around to every sporting goods store and fitness store within a 100 miles of my house to try and find a kettlebell.  Nobody had even heard of one before and one guy actually laughed at me. 

So, I jumped online and found one place that actually had kettlebells, DragonDoor.com.  I did find a couple of handles that you could mount to your dumbell but I wanted a real honest to goodness kettlebell.  If there is one thing you should know about me, one thing my father always harped on, it is that if I’m gonna do something, I’m gonna do it right.  No half ass which meant I had to have a real kettlebell. 

So I got a 16kg kettlebell and and I bought Pavel’s book, The Russian Kettlebell Challenge and got to work learning how to use it.  What I really learned was an entirely new way of thinking about how I was supposed to be working out.  I had a paradigm shift in my thinking. 

Before I found Pavel and kettlebells, I was mostly into bodybuilding type workouts with a little powerlifting stuff thrown in for good measure.  Not that I was a bodybuilder but that was how I thought I was supposed to be training.  And I had been training that way for almost 20 years. 

Concentration curls and leg extensions and bench presses and pec deck flys and so forth and so on.  It’s all I knew at the time and I spent hours in the gym with very little results to show compared to the amount of effort I was putting forth.

What I learned from Pavel was that the body doesn’t work one muscle at a time.  Your body was designed to work as a whole unit.  Think about this, what muscle does a linebacker use when he sprints across the field fighting off blocker after blocker and chasing down the quarterback who he wants to kill at all cost?  What muscle does Ryan Howard use when he hits a fastball 400 feet?  How about Michael Phelps when he won all those gold medals, what muscle did he use?  The answer to all these questions is all of them.  So it only makes sense to train them all as one. 

Now, I’m not a linebacker or a Major League Baseball player and I don’t plan on taking on Michael Phelps at the 2012 Olympics, but I am a living breathing human being who is interested in what Bruce Lee called functional strength.  I want to be as strong as I look.  I ultimately want to take my body to it’s absolute physical limit. 

My limit and your limit will be different, so you have to set your own goals and not pay to much attention to what others are doing.  A 500 pound deadlift is a personal record for some while it’s a warm up for others.  Kettlebells are no different. 

The RKC snatch test is a standard set by Pavel and it reflects his vision of what an accomplished girevik should shot for.  It is by no means the be all end all and it may be something that you want to shot for as a way of keeping motivated everyday.  It is a worthy goal that will require both physical and mental toughness. 

My goal is to complete the United States Secret Service snatch test for 200 reps in 10 minutes with a 24kg bell.  It’s what keeps me going on those days when I’m really not all that thrilled about getting in the gym.  It’s a goal that 5 years ago when I got my first kettlebell I though I would never be even close to reaching but it’s one that I feel I’m closer then ever to achieving.  What are your fitness goals?  If you don’t known, put down the kettlebell and figure it out.  Good luck!

Yours in Health

Dennis

P.S. The standard for the ladies is 100 snatches in 5 minutes with a 16kg kettlebell.

This post is meant to give you some ideas and get you pointed in the right direction as it relates to using a kettlebell.  You will obviously not master the kettlebell just by reading this post.  I would strongly suggest you seek out quality instruction either with a certified trainer or through the use of books and videos.  The best in the business is Pavel Tsatsouline.  I would suggest to you “Enter the Kettlebell“  by Pavel.  As with any fitness routine, check with your doctor first. 

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