In my recent quest for strength and size (up to 198, as of this morning), I toned down the kettlebelling and toned up the barbells. I won't tell you that you can't get big on a diet of kettlebells, but I have been having fun with a high frequency, low(ish) volume barbell and corrective exercise routine, courtesy of Dan John and Galina Ivanova [Denzel].
Back to the kettlebells...
I don't own a 32kg kettlebell, so it was fun to push myself on some near max reps up at Chris's EFL this weekend! When Chris and I last met up to lift I was unable to get a 32kg overhead without a serious jerk, much less a push press or a simple press! I am happy to report that I'm now able to press the 32 with both the right and the left (that's each, not using both hands...) AND be able to clean and jerk the heavy round metal dude five times in a row for three sets of five!
I then took advantage of a 28kg, which I also don't own, but should. I did plenty of swings, cleans, and jerks while I had the access!
That being said, I did have to cut the workout short for fear of a torn callus. I was craving longer workouts with the kettlebells, but having torn them before and been down for over a week, I wisely stopped short of ripping things open. I was able to finish up with sets of swings. Even those were painful, but not the kind of painful that rips the skin off your hands.
New prescription: weekly kettlebell cleans or snatches, just to keep the hands ready to work. If I can work in even more kettlebell work, better still.
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| 32kgs, far left, in red... |
i personally think it is hard to get real strong without real heavy weights. like you, i have gone real heavy (for me) on BBs lately and it has paid dividends. i don't have access to KBs that heavy but they would also help to develop strength. most common KBs are not heavy enough. my 60 pounder is good for press strength but i have to chain it together with my 30 for strength development in other areas.
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