With the UK‘s first major kettlebell competition appearing on July 18 this year, many lifters are making the transition from "casual" training to competition style training and realising just how hard it really is. No amount of sets and reps can prepare you for 10 minutes against the clock with a decent sized kettlebell. Basically, you get good at what you train for, and to get good at competition style training you have to train competition style. So here we go with some insights, hints and tips and experience from a kettlebell veteran who has made the switch.

Key points that will up your game instantly-

1. Go right back to the basics and ensure you are fully capable of the following-

Cleaning a kettlebell smoothly and resting in the rack with the handle aligned with the line on your palm. The handle sits diagonal and close to the base of the palm under the small finger. This allows the grip to recover and leads to more reps. Ensure the elbow is as close as possible or in contact with the hip bone for maximum recovery and minimum motor activity. If the arm is not close to the body then several muscle groups are keeping the weight supported and will fatigue you over time.

A video tutorial on kettlebell cleans can be found below-

Jerking the kettlebell is a fine art and can best be explained as a power exercise. The trick with the jerk is to lower into a partial squat like pulling the string on a bow. An explosive standing action where the hip drives the kettlebell through the elbow is then used to accelerate the weight overhead without using any strength from the shoulder area. Use a similar squat in order to return to the rack and reduce the risk of having a negative press fatigue the shoulder as this will affect lockout over time.

A video tutorial on kettlebell Jerks can be found below-

Snatching a kettlebell competition style is a fine art and based on fluid efficiency and just doing enough to get each repetition. It is pointless pulling excessively as the grip will fatigue and you are delivering more force production than is required for the lifts. The hand position is essential for high numbers as the hands are usually the first part to go in one of two forms - grip fatigue or hand soreness. Grip fatigue is overcome by building your numbers over time and using supplementary grip training routines - like timed hangs from a chin up bar and hand gripper work for high reps. Hand soreness is more technical and is partially avoided by using a hook grip for the pull of the snatch and then allowing the palm to strike through just before overhead lockout in order to map the diagonal hand position explained in the clean. This means that the handle has minimal contact with the palm region near the base of the fingers and causes less friction in this area.

A video tutorial on kettlebell snatch can be found below-

2. Learn that rest is more important than exercise. In kettlebell competition training you have 10 minutes. Ideally you want to be able to snatch in both hands for 5 minutes without putting the kettlebell down - and only resting in the overhead lockout position. This means that for a beginner a considerable part of the routine will be in the lockout and this must be trained to a good level. One example is to use a timer and lift every 6 or 10 seconds. Big numbers will only come when you can last the distance so get the mindset that the most important part of your training is being able to go for 5 minutes each hand with the snatch and 10 minutes with the double jerk. You may choose light kettlebells in order to achieve the times initially and then move to the next weight once comfortable and progress is evident. There are many ways to mix and match your routine with kettlebells. You can train the snatch and switch hands every minute, then every 2 minutes as a progression. You could do 1 minute of double jerks and then have one minute rest and repeat. The maximum benefit will come when you are comfortable in the overhead lockout and the rack position and many people actually train these as part of their routine. Holding a kettlebell overhead for 30 seconds and switching for the entire 10 minutes or holding the double rack for 10 minutes is not unheard of in kettlebell sport.

3. Design a plan that fits where you are right now and where you want to be in X months. For example - you can snatch a 24kg for 20/20 and want to take it to 50/50 in 6 months. There is no doubt that you can do 100 snatches with a 24k; you just can’t do them with one hand change and no rest - yet! Feel what 100 24k snatches is like on the body firstly by doing 10/10, resting and repeating for 5 sets as this is working at 50% of your current maximum endurance. You could then maybe progress to making each lockout on the 10/10 split a 3 or 5 second hold and gradually learn to recover in this position. Monthly or twice monthly testing on your maximum numbers will be testimony to the routine and its benefits. For the double jerks the most important thing is finding rest in the rack without the shoulders and chest doing too much work and this does take time. A good progression would be to alternate rounds of 1 min rack hold with 1 minute of 10 jerks – every 6 seconds – and rest after each set. In this example you would hold the rack, rest, jerk 10 reps, rest and then repeat. Gradually the idea would be to shift the focus from isolating the rack to lifting and resting in the rack. A few weeks of this approach should take you up to a few minutes of lifting if you find after about a minute or 20 reps you are out for the count. Like many things in life there is no substitute for doing it properly and in progressive stages. If you can currently only jerk 2 x 24k for 10 reps with or without resting and collapse in a heap then you will certainly not benefit too much from training 2 x 24k several times a week. However, holding a 5 minute and eventually 10 minute rack with 2 x 12k, then 2 x 16k or jerking with 2 x 16k for sets of 10 will definitely have a huge impact on progress. Volume for time is the way to go with kettlebells and the eventual aim is to fine tune that volume so it can be compressed into 10 minutes of flow!

And if you don’t have any kettlebells we may be able to help you

http://www.londonkettlebells.com/

Happy lifting

Steve