Can Kettlebells Make You Strong

Can Kettlebells Make You Strong?

Does a bear sh!:t in the woods??

I've been on a diet of 'high rep kettlebells'
for about a month now and reaping the benefits of this style of training.

The noticeable benefits that immediately spring to mind are:

1. I feel great. Raring to go in the morning (even at 5.55AM when I get up for work)
2. I've lost a sizeable chunk from my spare tyre.
3. My shoulder joint mobility has improved dramatically through high rep kettlebell training.
4. Oh and yes! I seem to have got stronger in lifts I haven't done in ages.

That's right 'I have got stronger in lifts I haven't done in ages'

Last night after a day of manual slave labour at home, I took my barbell out into the back yard to have a go at some Olympic Barbell lifting.

The results were as follows:

Hang snatch 2 reps @ 100kg

Hang Clean and Jerk 1 rep @ 140kg

Hang clean and strict press 1 rep @ (120kg) *Personal Best*

I haven't touched the Snatch for about a year and a half so was chuffed to bits to go over 100kg, even the 140kg clean and jerk was unexpected as I have not done a clean in a long while. I think the jerk would have been quite a bit heavier if I could have cleaned more. I realise the weights are not world class but for me and my standard I think it's more of the high repping kettlebell stuff for now so I can save my joints for later in the year.

So, the take home message is kettlebells can make you strong in ways you didn't imagine. The beauty of this is that you could replace early winter season weights sessions without losing strength but possibly gaining strength.

Don't get stuck in the rut of training the same exercises and going stale. Don't be scared of losing strength by switching styles.

An example of kettlebells carrying over to other strength sports is this utube video of Valery Federenko, amazing!



Can Kettlebells Make you Strong

Can Kettlebells Make You Strong