There are several “brutal” kettlebell workouts that stand out in my head.
1️⃣ The first time I swung a 32kg - 20 reps, the now “American” Swing - where the kettlebell finishes up over your head
This felt like I’d been punched in the stomach and my lungs had been turned inside out and yanked out of my body. It was similar to wrestling practice.
2️⃣ Training for the old RKC Snatch Test (74 reps non-stop with a 24kg) - worked up to multiple sets of 15+15 (15 reps each hand, no rest) using a 32kg
These workouts made my heart pound in my ears.
3️⃣ That time when I Clean + Jerked a pair of 32s for 20 reps, non-stop, on a bet from an old friend
I had to lie on the floor and couldn’t catch my breath for about 8 minutes. I continued sweating for hours after.
What do these three workouts have in common?
They all are examples of power-endurance workouts.
And all three are examples of something you have to train toward.
LEVEL 3 workouts and programs train you for the following:
1️⃣ Produce more power (work) - which can make you stronger, more explosive, and even build more lean muscle mass
2️⃣ Build strength-endurance - the concept of “all day strong,” like a bricklayer, or farmhand, which of course means you have all-day energy and never get tired
3️⃣ Develop power-endurance - the ability to produce high levels of power/work over a set period of time, or set periods of time
4️⃣ Improve your health - they make you more glucose tolerant and insulin sensitive (fights off Type 2 Diabetes), and build a stronger, healthier, heart and cardiovascular system, so you fight off heart disease and live longer, in a younger body
5️⃣ Reforge your physique - they burn fat, and build muscle, without pumping out multiple reps of multiple exercises for each bodypart or spending hours on a treadmill in the “fat-burning zone”
This is the REAL WORLD functionality of kettlebell training - where the rubber meets the road.
These types of training programs make you EVERYDAY STRONG.
This is the type of strength that you can use in real world, daily activities, as opposed to say, training for powerlifting exclusively.
And this type of programming prepares you to fully live out an active, healthy, even athletic lifestyle, including:
✅ Hiking in the Rocky Mountains
✅ Mountain biking
✅ Trail running
✅ Grappling sports like BJJ
✅ Digging out from under the most recent monster snowstorm
✅ Being the “go-to-guy” who gets called when a buddy needs some help moving stuff
✅ Spending an afternoon in the pool tossing the kids or grandkids around
… all without “paying the price” the next day of overly-sore muscles, or achy joints, or days of exhaustion.
And, LEVEL 3 training programs build your capacity and resilience to tolerate the tougher LEVEL 4 exercises and training programs.
Here are several different examples of LEVEL 3 programs:
➡️ Training OTM (On The Minute) with low(er) reps
Example Plan: A+A Plans - Uses repeated sets of power exercises to build your anaerobic and aerobic system and thus your overall strength & endurance / work capacity
➡️ Simple to Complex - Using lower reps to medium reps and/or single exercises to compound exercises (Clean → Clean + Press → Clean + Press + Squat)
Example Plan: Kettlebell Burn 2.0 / RELOADED - Uses both LEVEL 2 & 3 programming through power and strength exercises to simultaneously rip off body fat, build strength, and endurance, (many report putting on muscle at the same time) and it’s one of my all-time favorites https://sks.groovepages.com/kettlebell
➡️ High Power Repeats or Serial Repeats: 90%+ effort with high speed eccentrics
Example Programming: The Quick & The Dead - Although this is a LEVEL 3 plan, it works best for those who are already strong, not people who are new to using kettlebells and strength training in general
➡️ Low to Medium reps, high power, medium to heavy loads, using combo exercises for multiple repeats:
Example Plan: ‘THE GIANT’ - Quickly becoming a classic, this program uses the Clean + Press to build strength, muscle, endurance, and strip of fat; BJJ guys really love these programs https://salutis.kartra.com/page/oWP219
➡️ Minimalism at its finest: Single exercise, heavy load, high power variable length repeats with increasingly longer sets
Example Plan: The King Sized Killer - A 3-phase “Snatch only” program that builds wicked power-endurance; perfect for the those who like minimalism and are time-crunched https://cart.chasingstrength.com/ksk2
At the end of the day, I think everyone should spend a season or two using LEVEL 3 workouts, whether to prepare for LEVEL 4 or to use “same but different” training for a change of pace.
If you have any questions about the best type of KB programming for you, drop it in the comments.
Stay Strong, Geoff https://chasingstrength.com/kettlebell-workouts/
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