Dr Mel Siff Blog

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A member wrote:

<Dr Siff, the information on the kettlebell training was informative. Many of
the studies and techniques can be found in Pavel Tsatsouline’s ‘The Russian
Kettlebell Challenge.’ I purchased a solid kettlebell (KB) from
www.dragondoor.com after previously purchasing kettlebell handles from
www.ironmind.com . The benefit of the handles is that weight can be added to
any amount versus the fixed weight of the solid KBs (16 kg, 24 kg, and 32 kg).

The disadvantage, for myself, of the handles is that for cleans, presses,
jerks, etc (overhead movements) the plates slide around and are not too
stable. The handles are great for pulls, swings, extended pulls from blocks
while the solid kbs are more stable for overhead movements.

Dr Mel Siff:  Are there actual studies or references to Russian scientific journals in
Pavel’s book? If so, please cite some of them here for our interest.

A Member wrote:

<As one gentleman stated in a past post, it is easy to overtrain with the kbs
as the tonnage mounts very rapidly especially in high rep swings, cleans,
and snatches. A simple calculation for volume of reps x weight, i.e., 16kg
x 25 swings= 400kg (880lb) so you can see that even though the intensity (%
of 1RM) is low, the volume can mount rapidly.

KB training is fun and is a throwback to the early days of weight training
before machines. I take my KB and a jump rope while I travel and get a great
training session anywhere – last trip I trained in the hotel parking lot.

For anyone who has not tried them, they are fun, will definitely increase
your work capacity
and there are an infinite variety of exercise for the whole body to be
discovered. >

Dr Mel Siff: Our Scots training instructor at my former university had some
kettlebells in our early university gym about 40 years ago and we enjoyed
using them for many exercises, and found that they can be useful in offering
one form of general physical preparation (GPP), alongside various gymnastics
and rope climbing drills. However, their novelty often means that one can
spend far too much time with them, time that could produce greater
competitive improvement if devoted to the competitive lifts and their
variants. The solid variety also allows one to impose more stress on the
wrist flexors and extensors (which also can be a negative feature for some
people who overuse KBs).
A Member wrote:

<Exercises I currently do or am working toward with KBs (can be one or two
arms)-cleans, clean and jerk, snatch, swings, high pulls, squat pulls, side
press, bent press, Turkish get ups, leg circles and figure eights, tri
extensions, curls, rowing motion, pullovers, floor press, pullups (with
bells on feet and release to complete set), press, pistols. I am sure there
are a lot more out there to be discovered.

Dr Mel Siff: Note that it very simple to devise exercises for KB training – just begin
with the realisation that all you can do with dumbbells, you can do with KBs.
Then, remember that the handles allow you to grip above the load and, if you
are using solid KBs, you can add variations which involve wrist flexion and
extension.

A Member wrote:

<Pavel quotes that in Prof Medvedev weightlifting book there are 24 exercise
for arms and shoulders and 29 for legs and torso! Russian KB Challenge, p
28.>

Dr Mel Siff: I have Dr Medvedev’s Weightlifting book (and a few others by him) and do
not recall seeing any routines being given for kettlebell training – there
were over 100 exercises based upon the Olympic lifts, but none on kettlebell
training for weightlifters – did Pavel quote exactly which of Dr Medvedev’s
books featured those KB exercises?

While we are discussing this topic. Would any of you care to list some of the
KB exercises that you enjoy or have found to be useful?

Dr Mel Siff
Denver, USA
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Supertraining/

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Tags: 1rm, Dr Mel Siff, Facts And Fallacies Of Fitness, Gpp, Jerks, Jump Rope, Kettlebell Training, Kettlebells, Mel Siff, Pavel Tsatsouline, Russian Kettlebell Challenge, Super Training, Supertraining, Throwback, Training Session, Weight Training