Fighters Only

Issue 016

July 2006

Barry Gibson

Kettlebells

Barry Gibson’s background in combat sports goes back some twenty years, and encompasses national and regional titles across various styles. Beginning with judo at the age of six, he spent some years in a ‘Bruce Lee’ phase before going back to judo and gaining his black belt and becoming a coach.

A personal safety assessor for the British Judo Association in the Northern area, he also worked as a personal safety and fitness trainer for the police service. He also worked for the British Judo Association as a schools development officer, where he literally got paid for encouraging young people to take up judo.

Currently in the process of creating a website for grapplers fighters and combat athletes in general, his new venture www.grapplefit.com will be up and running in coming weeks. Designed as a resource for anyone interested in sensible, functional training for combat sports, a DVD is also in production and should be available soon.

Routine

This routine uses a variation on a theme known as the Tabata protocol. Tabata involves a 4-minute block of exercise. The routine starts with 20 seconds of all-out work followed by 10-seconds rest; this is continued until 4 minutes is reached. That makes one round of Tabata training.

Our friends the kettlebells provide a good routine when following this method: You will perform the first exercise (swings) for 20 seconds, 10 seconds rest, swings for 20 seconds, 10 seconds rest, and continue like this for 4 minutes. Rest 1 minute then repeat the protocol with the snatches, alternating arms every 20-second interval. Rest for 1 min then repeat with cleans, again alternating arms with each set.

If you wish to make it specific to MMA rounds, go for 5-minute blocks as opposed to 4-minute intervals, here you will be performing 10 blocks of exercise instead of 8. As you can see this mirrors a contest fight quite closely in terms of energy systems used and intermittent bursts of activity.

The Swing

Front View

1 – Bend your legs and push your backside down as if sitting in a chair. Keep your lower back flat. Grip the kettlebell.

2 – Swing the kettlebell back between your legs.

3 – Quickly reverse the motion by snapping your hips forward, driving up with your feet.

4 – Let the kettlebell drop back down and repeat.

Note: this is not a front raise exercise!! The hips and hamstrings generate power.

The Snatch

1 – Start with a kettlebell between your feet. Squat down and push your backside back. Grip the kettlebell.

2 – Swing the kettlebell back between your legs.

3 – Forcefully reverse the direction by driving through with your hips explosively as in the swing. Punch up under the kettlebell as it raises overhead to prevent impact on the forearm.

4 – Reverse the motion and repeat.

The Clean

1 – Start by bending your legs and pushing your backside back as if sitting in a chair. Keep your lower back flat.

2 – Swing the kettlebell back between your legs. Explosively reverse the direction by snapping your hips forward.

3 – Bring the kettlebell up in a straight line using the “hip snap” action. It is not a bicep curl. Punch up under the kettlebell as it travels over your hand to prevent it crashing onto your forearm.