Issue 035
March 2008
When I first contacted Stan Pike about buying some kettlebells I had no idea how much they were going to revolutionise my training. Stan was very helpful and kept me on the right track regarding the appropriate weight for me to start with.
I thought a 32 kg bell would be enough… Stan had me start with a 16kg! A little humbling to say the least as I thought that weighing around 100kg I would be able to manage that weight comfortably. Stan let me try to lift a 32kg, and it was a definite eye-opener!
The use of kettlebells by high-level athletes has helped raise some awareness. BJ Penn uses the bells to boost his performance in the Octagon, and we’ve all seen Fedor Emelianenko using them in his outdoor training sessions.
For the total fighters among you kettlebells are a good stand-alone piece of kit. Multiple benefits can be gained by combining their use with bodyweight exercises for General Physical Preparedness (GPP) or Specific Physical Preparation (SPP) to give an accurate carryover.
In terms of workload, try not to think of sets and reps. A good idea would be to perform 8 snatches left and right then perform 15 burpees straight after. Set a timer for five minutes and repeat for that time frame. If you need to rest (likely!), make sure it is active rest and specific in nature, such as shadow boxing or holding a wrestling bridge for time. It has been proven that active rest can better prepare you for the rigours of the intense interval, plus it teaches your body to fight through fatigue. Work up to 3 x 5 minute rounds or whatever your needs are. You could use your imagination a little and change it so rounds two and three combine different exercises.
Training with kettlebells will definitely grab your attention and also blast your conditioning and work capacity through the roof. Why are they so great? Well, yes you could use dumbbells, but they don’t tax your grip the same way a kettlebell does.
Also, due to its shape the kettlebell becomes ‘alive’ when you pick it up. It begins to fight you as soon as you lift it off the floor. Many people comment on how they feel heavier than their respective weights.
The techniques you’ll learn involve shock absorption, which is vital in all combat sports. All lifts teach the user to explode dynamically from the outset; again the crossover to MMA is obvious.
What to do?
MMA is mostly anaerobic in nature, i.e. energy is produced without oxygen for the most part. This occurs in the early stages of exercise or activity or where sports have high intensity intermittent bouts of activity punctuated with periods of active rest. Your aerobic system works hard to buffer the lactic acid build up but it’s never enough. You always seem to play catch up with yourself. This situation is not ideal however! Fight night is not the time to discover weak links in your conditioning. I’ve said this before and no doubt I’ll repeat it again, you should never lose a fight due to poor conditioning. If you have to lose, it should be down to the best person winning on the night due to superior technique. Poor fitness is a poor excuse! Kettlebells come into their own when training fighters.
Something to try
The nature of the game for the most part is lactate tolerance, more so than absolute strength, although this has its place. All of these athletic attributes can be improved together, but that is another article in its own right. The ability of the body to sustain highly intense bouts of intermittent activity is paramount for combat sports.
Kettlebells can be great tools for improving strength but also for metabolic conditioning. To put it simply, this is the type of training that makes you want to stop when you’re only two minutes into the routine and you also feel like vomiting immediately after!
Metabolic Blaster workout
(Perform sets of 20, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4 reps of each of the following except the snatches)
KB Snatches (10 left / 10 right for the first set, 8 / 8 for the second set, 7 / 7, 6 / 6 and so on down to 2 / 2)
Press-ups
KB Swings
KB Push press
1 arm KB row
KB burpees (use two lighter KBs for the explosive portion of the drill)
Perform the exercises above with minimal.rest – go through all exercises performing 20 reps to start (for one-arm exercises do half total reps per side), then drop to 16, 14, 12 etc. If possible try to rest only between each set rather than between exercises.
Within a few minutes of starting this routine you’ll feel the urge to quit so try not too. It becomes mental as well as physical.
If you’ve any queries or questions please feel free to contact me as usual: [email protected] or visit www.grapplefit.com and check out my DVD “Train hard, fight easy and win” Volume 1.
For a video demonstrating this work out and loads more hardcore training, go to www.fightersonlymag.com
