Systematic Core Training For Kettlebells.
Did you ever wonder why we all look for an “easy button” or a “magic pill” for our workouts? (Or are at least tempted to?)
You know, that “thing” that gets us physically stronger, larger shoulders and arms, and rips a pants size from our waists?
That’s because I believe we all intuitively know deep down inside that they exist.
After all, why do some people seem to see and get results faster than others?
So, in that spirit, here are 5 strategies to start using TODAY to accelerate you to your “Promised Land” faster.
1- Learn & Refine Your Technique
Hopefully you wouldn’t operate a table saw without the appropriate instructions and safety precautions. Obviously if you do, bad things can (and will) happen.
Kettlebells are tools too.
So it makes good sense that learning how to use them properly can speed up your results. Failure to do so can hurt you - just not quite so violently.
Here’s a quick tip:
When pressing, inhale through your nose to pressurize your abdomen/torso. Hold your breath at the start of the Press. Exhale either through your nose or pursed lips through the sticking point - like a balloon losing air.
2- Use Autoregulation
Autoregulation is the self-management of your work output based upon your current “state” - psychological, emotional, and physical.
And this state changes for most on a daily basis, similar to waves on the ocean.
It is a major training variable around which most people over 30, and especially over 40 and 50, would be smart to organize their training.
And that means some days, the load feels light and your workout easy. Other days, it’s the opposite - you feel like a giant foot is grinding you into the earth, like a cigarette butt.
This creates what's known as "Load Variability." Load Variability, often known as “variability of the training load,” “variable loading,” or “waviness of loads,” is a form of overload, which, according to the Soviet sports scientists, Dr. A. Vorobyev and A. Ermakov, who discovered it in the 1970s, yields superior results in strength than the traditional western approach of progressive overload. (61% greater in their research.)
An example is to stop your sets when your rep speed significantly slows down.
3- “Train,” (Practice) don’t “Work out”
This past summer, Paris hosted the Olympics.
Regular people “workout” - which generally means “work until exhaustion.”
Athletes don’t.
They train. They practice.
Strength is a skill.
So practice it.
Getting lean is a skill.
So practice it.
There’s nothing wrong with working hard. Just don’t destroy yourself in the process.
(See #2 above.)
And yes, I do use the words “workout” and “workouts” in some of my emails. But I also use them alongside “training” and “training sessions.”
4- Practice “active recovery.”
This simply means do more than sleep to create the adaptation from your training sessions.
Here are 3 simple things you can do to speed up recovery:
a] Eat more protein. Approximately 1g per pound of target weight.
b] Walk daily.
c] Practice “restoration work” like contrast showers, sauna, deep breathing, etc
5- Train your core systematically.
I’ve been training a longgggg time.
Here’s what I’ve seen and experienced for “core training” - maybe you can relate:
1970s-1980s - Sit Ups and Leg Lifts
1990s - Crunches (Ab roller!)
2000s - Functional Training / Planks
2010s - Developmental / Animal Movements
2020s - Still waiting to see how it plays out…
One thing’s for sure, there seems to be very little thought in many instances to a plan, other than do 3-5 sets of 5 Hanging Leg Raises or Chops-Twists-Diagonal Chops or Planks for 60 seconds.
A time-tested plan I’ve used on myself and with my clients over the past 14 years (at least) is The SSP Model - Stability, Strength, Power.
Why that order?
Simple. Sitting all day combined with injuries or surgeries that were never fully rehabbed, destroys the proper functioning of your core - all of them. (Yes, there is more than one “core.")
And that creates movement compensations, muscular tightness, sore joints, etc.
And that means you rob yourself of strength and power in your kettlebell training because your body isn’t moving optimally.
And it also means that you potentially increase your chances of injuring yourself. Unfortunately, this is something I’m seeing more and more of across the kettlebell landscape.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Which is why I created my new program, Systematic Core Training For Kettlebells.
As far as I’m aware, there’s nothing like it anywhere on the market.
Included is:
[+] A Complete Training Plan Using The SSP Model
[+] A Training Manual
[+] “How To” Videos of Each Exercise + Written Instructions
Stay Strong,
Geoff
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