The Kettlebell “Strength Formula” (Really THIS Easy?)

👉 Kettlebell STRONG! -
https://cart.chasingstrength.com/strong3
👉 Kettlebell MAXIMORUM:
https://go.chasingstrength.com/kettlebell-maximorum-e/
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been fascinated by strength in some form or another my entire life.
Whether it was attempting a pull up on the clothes line at age 4 or training to push 400lbs over my head competing in Olympic lifting, or pressing a pair of Beasts…
Strength has been my “thing.”
Many people mistakenly think that kettlebells are “just for conditioning.”
The kettlebell is a weight - just like a barbell or a dumbbell or even a rock.
However, it’s more versatile than many other tools.
You already know by now (probably) you can shove a kettlebell over your head with a Press, Push Press or even a Jerk.
You can swing it… Snatch it… Squat it… Even toss it.
And these are all great for developing strength.
So… “The Formula.”
Here it is in “all” its glory:
1- Find your 4-6RM with a particular exercise.
2- Then, work on getting a 10x5 or 10x6 (10 sets of 5 or 10 sets of 6) with it in one training session.
That’s “it?”
It’s “that” simple?
Taking a 4-6RM and turning it into 50 or 60 reps?
Yup.
Why?
By that point, it’s obviously no longer your 4-6RM.
In fact, depending on your muscle fiber type dominance (tend toward slow or fast), and training background, that old weight could be as much as your new 10-15RM.
(Fast twitch dominant will be closer to the low end. Slow twitch dominant will be more toward the higher end. One isn’t better than the other - they just “are.”)
And by then you’ve:
1- Built up the cross-sectional area of your muscles involved in that lift, which science shows us contributes to strength. (a.k.a. Bigger muscles.)
2- Practiced lots of reps - or practiced the “skill of strength” - which increases myelination of the neural pathways in that lift.
3- You’ve built up some specific conditioning for that lift, which means you can recover better than you once did, and realize your strength gains.
Now how you get from your 4-6RM to 50/60 reps in a session is up to you.
You can use straight sets (3,3,3,3, for example).
You can use ladders (1,2,3,4… for example).
You can use pyramids (1,2,3,4,3,2,1… for example - I wouldn’t recommend it).
You can use rest “on the clock” with specific rest times or autoregulate them and go “when you’re ready” using specific metrics.
You can train 3x a week… 4x a week… 5x a week… even multiple times per day “greasing the groove.”
There is no “perfect” way.
Only “best for you at the moment,” based upon your training history, injury history / limitations, and your schedule.
And honestly, it’s this “variety” - all these variables which drive many people crazy.
They just don’t know what to do now - so they don’t do anything and put off getting the strength they want until… Someday.
(Which you and I both know rarely, if ever comes.)
My favorite way for building total body strength with kettlebells?
Of course you know it (probably) -
Using a pair of KBs.
Exercises of choice?
[1] Double KB Clean + Press
[2] Double KB Front Squat
Toss some single KB Snatches in there for power, and you have the “near perfect” kettlebell program.
And if you can’t or don’t want to Squat?
Just build your strength with the Double KB Clean + Press.
Wait - is that “all?”
That’s really “it?”
Yes.
Once again, I pose the following question:
How strong would you be if you could Clean + Press a pair of 48kg for 10 reps?
What? Not there yet?
Why wait around?
Why not get after it NOW?
I guarantee your muscularity and conditioning will take care of themselves if you embrace and chase down that goal.
How exactly do you go about doing that?
I recommend 2 programs:
For Double Clean + Press “only,” the “Strong!” program is a crowd favorite.
To combine Double Clean + Press with Double Front Squats, use Kettlebell MAXIMORUM.
Hope this clarifies the whole “get stronger” thing.
Stay Strong,
Geoff