Most people approach their training like a chore. They have to get in to the gym for one to two hours every Monday through Friday. 10 sets of chest, 5 sets of shoulders, 5 sets of arms, and finish with 20 min on a bike that travels only to ThisSucksLand. This entire routine is mundane and often leads to only short term results or to completely abandon training. Lucky for you there is a different approach to achieving great strength and conditioning that will provide the spark your program may be lacking.
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| Take your time working with single bells before attempting any double movements. |
If you are like me then you probably played some type of sport growing up. When you were beginning you weren't thrust right into full game scenarios or into intense sport specific conditioning workouts. You first learned the basics of the sport and slowly added variance and more complex skills. Strength training is no different in this approach. You wouldn't ask a child to dribble and shoot like Steph Curry only a few months into learning how a ball bounces off the ground just like you can't ask someone who has just started strength training to perform a clean and press ladder with a 50 lb. kettlebell. A program must be built based on your fitness level, your ability to learn new skills and how efficiently you can perform them.
Kettlebell Progression/Regression Guideline
1. Kettlebell Deadlift/Plank
2. Kettlebell Swing
3. One arm swing/ hand to hand swing
4. One arm clean
5. One arm snatch/high pull
5a. Double kettlebell swing/clean
1. Turkish Get up
2. One arm press
3. Windmill
3a. Double kettlebell press
4. Bent Press
5. Kettlebell anyhow
This list does not include squats, horizontal pressing and pulling, and vertical pulling because those movements can be addressed with other implements and their proficiency does not dictate whether you can advance to the next kettlebell movement. This list is also helpful for regressions. If you ever find that you have hit a plateau on one of your movements it is always smart to regress to the movement preceding it, get stronger in that movement, and then try to break that plateau. You're taking one step back to take two forward.
The idea of only performing the exercises you can do well before attempting the advanced(fun) variations is hard for some people to stick to because it takes patience and dedication to properly learn each step. "But, Ben, how am I going to get beach body ready only doing swings, get ups, and planks?" Easy, get really good at swings, get ups, and planks. I promise you that if you can do 10 swings in 5 min and a solid get up with 1/2 your body weight you will be happy with how your body looks. Just because we will be using this system for our kettlebell skills does not mean you cannot supplement your program with exercises that aren't as skill demanding with other implements. So don't worry, you can still work your chest and arms with your favorite machine around your kettlebell training, but don't expect them to be as stimulating as your cast iron kettlebell.
The great athletes are not great because they can do the advanced methods better than everyone else, they are great because they can perform the basics better than everyone else. Commit your time to developing a strong base and it will be easy to stack on advanced methods and achieve great results.
Photo courtesy Sarah Baker Photography; Zeus Moody, Solid Training
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