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Discover What The Chinese And Bulgarians Know About Russian Kettlebell Training That You Don’t! Learn from the best strength athletes in the world on how to get as strong as you want using your kettlebells in less time than you thought possible!
From the desk of Geoff Neupert! Overlooking Pike’s Peak, CO! July 2014.!
! ! Dear Kettlebell-Swinging Amigo,! !
Maybe you’re not into this whole “fitness” and “fat loss” thing like many other kettlebell users. !
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Maybe, like me, you’re an old-school iron-addict who has collected injuries over a lifetime like some people collect stamps, and you just want to figure out how to regain as much of your lost strength in as many ways as possible and feel strong again.!
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Or maybe, you have been bitten by the “strength-bug” later on in life and love the simplicity of one or two kettlebells and the myriad of lifts you can do from the comfort of your basement, back yard, porch, or patio.!
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I wanted to share with you some secrets that have been working great for me and some of my private clients for gaining strength quickly, without cutting too much into the rest of our lives.!
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The Problem With ! Traditional Strength ! Training!
If you’re anything like me, you may have spent your fair share of time working out - in a gym - or maybe at home. Maybe too much time. It was not uncommon for me when I was younger to spend 2 or more hours a day working out. Sure, I got big. I got strong. But when I got married, I also got into a lot of arguments with my wife about spending so much time working out.!
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Part of that was due to the technical nature of my sport - Olympic Weightlifting, and the other part of that was due to the traditional lens through which I structured my workouts.!
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Most Western influenced strength workouts are 60-90 minutes long with 3 to 5 minute (or more) rest periods, performed 3 to 5 times a week. And it seems that all the scientific research proves this.!
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The problem for me and some of my clients is that we just don’t have 5 plus hours to work out any more. We have families and other responsibilities like work. And some of us, just don’t want to spend that much time working out anymore, no matter how strong it’ll make us. !
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Kettlebell training provided a relatively simple solution because we found we could work around old injuries, often rehabilitating them in the process, with exercises like Swings, Get Ups, and even Goblet Squats. The problem for many however, is how exactly to program the lighter-than-normal kettlebells into traditional strength programming, while still maintaining all the benefits of resiliency and work capacity that come from kettlebell training.!
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How The Bulgarians ! Bested The Best ! In Business!
! I know, I know, I couldn’t help the use of alliteration. Have to admit, though - catchy, no?! ! Anyway, back in the late 1970s the great Soviet Sports Machine ruled the world of Olympic Weightlifting. That is, until a tiny country, Bulgaria, came from nowhere and started beating their weightlifters.!
! How did this tiny country beat they mighty Soviet Bear?! ! They simply changed the way they viewed weightlifting.! !
They discovered that the longer workouts of the day - 2+ hours - depleted their weightlifters’ ability to recover. They determined that after 45 minutes, testosterone levels dropped. Testosterone is an anabolic (growth) hormone responsible for muscular growth and recovery.!
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At the time, the Soviets were using one or two training sessions per day that lasted anywhere from 90 minutes to 2.5 hours.!
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One of the things the Bulgarian coach did was change their workout schedule to shorter 30 to 60 minute - workouts.!
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Here’s what a typical training day looked like:!
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9-930am: ! ! 930-10am: ! ! 10-11am: ! ! 11-1130am: ! 1130-1230pm:! 1230-1pm: ! !
Front Squat! Break! Snatch! Break! Clean and Jerk! Front Squat!
430-530pm: ! 530-6pm: ! ! 6-7pm: ! ! 7-730pm:! ! 730-8pm: ! !
Clean and Jerk! Break! Snatch! Front Squat! Pulls!
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Yes, you’re right - that is A LOT of work. I’m in no way suggesting that you and I need to do multiple 30 to 60 minute training sessions (averaging 45 minutes) per day.!
! What I am suggesting is that we model these shorter workouts.! !
I have gone through periods in my training career, including right now, when I’ve used these shorter workouts and not only have I never felt better, surprisingly, I’ve always made great jumps in strength.!
! You may be thinking at this point -! !
How are shorter workouts possible when we still need longer rest periods between sets?!
! Won’t we lose our ability to get strong?! ! Worse yet, won’t we get weak and end up training for endurance?! ! Au contraire mon frère…! ! ! !
What The Best ! In The World Do!
I have made no bones about the fact the I love Olympic Weightlifting. Much of my kettlebell training methodology is based on my experiences as an Olympic lifter. !
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Even though the Western strength literature concludes that absolute / maximum strength is best trained with longer rests, 3 to 5 minutes, others in the world - the 3
best in the world - seem to be, at least anecdotally, using much shorter rest periods.!
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There is no doubt about it, the Chinese are the greatest Olympic lifters in the world by medal count. They’ve won 255 medals at the world championships, and 154 of them are gold, recently beating the Soviet Union who had 151.!
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As a result, more and more Olympic lifters and their coaches are looking carefully at what the Chinese are doing with their training.!
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Recently, rumors have been circulating that the Chinese use much shorter rest periods than the West says is best. !
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Yatan Parasher, a Canadian weightlifter, who visited and trained in China, with his Chinese coach, reported the following in a recent interview at http:// www.bethefittest.co.uk/fitness-blog/chinese-weightlifting:!
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“We know the Chinese weightlifters train at high intensity, how long usually are their rest periods between each lift or pull etc?
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Rest periods are surprisingly short between sets and reps. A lot of it is done by athletes feel so there is no set amount of rest. The girls tend to rest a bit less 1-2 mins and even less on the warmup sets. Up to 2 mins rest was mostly at 85-90%+ plus. Once again it was all dependent on the athlete. In general though rest was short around 60-90 secs, this was much different than what you might read in western strength books. Personally, my training has improved vastly with shorter rest periods. A lot of western science says 3-5 min between heavy sets but that was unheard of in China even with heavy squats or pulls.”
! Read that again in case you missed it. ! !
These lifters routinely squat 3x their bodyweight and routinely snatch 2x their bodyweight and clean and jerk 2.5x their bodyweight and they routinely rest 60-90 seconds between most lifts, approaching 2 minutes on 85-90%+ lifts. !
! Hmmm…! ! Might be something we can learn from them.! !
Some of the best in the world are training and getting stronger in ways that are opposite of what’s supposed to be “scientifically proven.”!
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Therefore, we cannot discard empirical evidence just because it doesn’t fit with what we currently think we know. (Refer back to the fat loss report on the fat loss protocols we used to use based on endurance training.) !
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The Chinese are proving that you can get really, really strong - world class strong - using shorter than “proven” rest periods.!
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Olympic Weightlifting ! v. ! Kettlebell Lifting!
You may be wondering why I refer to Olympic Weightlifting so much. It’s because in my book, it’s one of the ultimate expressions of strength, power, balance, and coordination in other words, athleticism. (That plus it’s my background.)!
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The problem with Olympic lifting is that it’s incredibly time-consuming, takes specialized coaching to really be good at it, and it requires specialized equipment. !
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Kettlebell lifting on the other hand, is like, as Pavel pointed out in 2001 in The Russian Kettlebell Challenge, is like Olympic lifting for regular people. They both share very similar lifts - snatches, cleans, and jerks.!
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I started using kettlebells with my clients in 2002 because I agreed with Pavel’s assessment and saw them as a better alternative to dumbbells. Furthermore, I saw that you could train the one quality most people needed: Work capacity. !
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Work capacity is simply the ability to do and recover from work. The higher your work capacity, the more work you can do, to the point that you rarely, if ever, get tired.!
And kettlebells, in case you didn’t know this already, provide a very unique type of work capacity - strength-endurance and power-endurance, which are what everyday Average Joe’s and Jane’s need: The ability to be strong for long periods of time.!
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(Case in point: Prof. Stuart McGill, one of the world’s leading spine researchers, has determined that lower back injuries do not come from a lack of lower back strength, but rather, a lack of lower back strength-endurance.)!
! Kettlebells give you “everyday strength.”! ! !
Everyday Strength is useable strength that allows you to bend, twist, turn, run, and do pretty much anything you want - and not get injured or tired. !
That’s something traditional strength programming using traditional strength training tools, like the barbell, just can’t give you. (I’m assuming you know some of this already.)!
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Training For! Everyday Strength ! AND ! Maximum Strength!
This is what makes kettlebell workouts so great - you have the possibility to train for both “everyday strength” AND “maximum strength.”!
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In case you were wondering, it doesn’t have to be an “either/or” proposition. Gone are the days when we thought that improving your conditioning would affect your max strength.!
! You can now do BOTH.! ! How?! ! Simple.! !
Use the Bulgarian’s short workout templates - 45 minutes or less (I prefer 30) and use the Chinese short rest periods - 60 seconds to 2 minutes. !
! “Yeah, but how well will that really work?”! ! ! !
The Russian Lion’s ! Strength Prescription!
I refer a lot to my experience as an Olympic lifter influencing my kettlebell programming and methodology. I fail sometimes to refer to my other influence wrestling. I wrestled in high school and briefly in college and then went on to be a college strength and conditioning coach, with one of my teams being the Wrestling Team. !
! Wrestlers have amazing “everyday strength.” ! !
They have great stamina and great usable real-world strength. They can bend, twist, turn, roll, crash-bang-fall without getting hurt. !
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So most of my metabolic kettlebell programming reflects how I trained my wrestlers. Interestingly enough, by the time I left Rutgers where I coached, not a single wrestler ever lost because he lacked conditioning. !
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One of the greatest wrestlers of all time, and the first heavyweight champion of the world, lived at the turn of the 20th Century. He was called the “Russian Lion” and out of approximately 3000 pro matches, he only lost two - to the same man.! 6
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George Hackenschmidt was a physical specimen. At age 28, in a time before “supplements” his stats were as follows: !
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Weight - 204 pounds; Height - 5', 9 1/2"; Reach - 75"; Biceps - 19"; Forearm – 15 1/2"; Neck - 22"; Chest – 52"; Waist - 34"; Thigh – 26 3/4"; Calf - 18".!
He was an author of multiple books, fluent in seven languages, inventor of the “Hack Squat,” and even the President of the United States wanted to be [like] him. Theodore Roosevelt, known for his manly ruggedness and “can do” attitude, said, “If I wasn’t president of the United States, I would like to be George Hackenschmidt.” !
! In 1908, Hackenschmidt said this about training:! !
“About thirty minutes are fully sufficient to the acquisition and preservation of strength and endurance.”!
! 30 minutes.! ! Hardly seems believable. ! ! Sure, maybe for fat loss. All the science proved that.! ! But maximum strength?! ! As Tony Robbins said, “Success leaves clues.”! ! Let me ask you this:! !
Do you have similar measurements and athletic pedigree as George Hackenschmidt?!
! I’m guessing the answer is “no.”! !
So you have to admit that he might know what he’s talking about and combined with the Bulgarian and Chinese strength secrets, you might have just found the proverbial “magic bullet.”!
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If you’re still not fully convinced, let’s take a very practical look at why these strategies will work for you.!
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5 Reasons ! 7
Shorter Is Better!
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Whether it’s shorter duration workouts, or shorter rest periods, or both, here’s why it’s a better option for most people.!
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Based on studying what the best do better than me, what I know about human physiology, and 20 plus years of training others, I’ve come to the conclusion that shorter workouts are just better for all types of strength - “everyday strength,” maximum strength, strength-endurance, work capacity, and more… !
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You may or may not think so, but unless you’ve given them a shot, AND are currently exceeding all your training goals, I encourage you to reserve your judgment until you read the following.!
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Hormones!
Hormones. They’re what makes your body tick. Recall that one of the reasons the Bulgarians used shorter workouts was because testosterone, one of the hormones responsible for growth and recovery, is supposed to decrease significantly after 45 minutes. !
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Another hormone, cortisol, which is naturally released from training (as a response to stress) and is also responsible energy mobilization, can be overproduced, making recovery next to impossible. It’s one of the reasons some people get fatter and weaker the more they work out. The key is to manage your stress (including workouts) and therefore manage your hormones.!
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Focus!
We live in an electronic age. I personally used to think that was a good thing until my iPhone notifications started going off every couple of minutes. There are so many distractions, it’s hard to get much done these days. The gap between “busy” and “productive” is ever-widening. !
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Shorter workouts allow you to turn off and tune out the rest of the world for a short enough period of time to not get anxious about doing so. !
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Effort!
One thing many kettlebell users forget is that there’s an inverse relationship between the duration of your workout and your effort level.!
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Consider a 5 or 10-minute snatch test for example. Do one of those, and you’re done for the day. !
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Shorter workouts allow you to put forth more effort without having to worry about burning out due to lack of recovery.!
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Recovery!
Speaking of burning out… The one thing that 99% of all people fail to take into consideration about working out is recovery. You cannot make progress, no matter how hard you train if you cannot recover. Shorter workouts make recovery not only possible, but probable. !
! 5. Consistency! ! Why do most people fail to get results?! ! Consistency.! !
For one reason or another, they just cannot keep keeping on. Something always comes up. Especially if you have a longer workout. It becomes hard to justify spending 3 hours a week working out when the kids have to be at after-school activities, dinner needs to be cooked, and quarterly or monthly reports are due, which means you have to stay up late to do them. !
! Who’s going to do all this stuff if not you?! !
It becomes easy to put off your workouts if they seem too overwhelming to fit into your busy schedule.!
! However, anybody can find just one hour a week to workout. ! ! Three times per week for 20 minutes will get it done.! ! The bottom line is this:! !
Shorter workouts are easier to fit in your life, and therefore you’re more likely to see the results you want by switching from longer to shorter duration strength workouts. !
! All of this begs a pretty big question that you may have right now…! ! ! !
“Yeah, But How Do I ! USE This Information?”!
Admittedly, there is a lot of information in this report, yet the concept is relatively simple:! 9
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Shorter kettlebell workouts, with shorter rest periods will make you plenty strong, increasing both your maximum strength and your “everyday strength” giving you the best of all worlds.!
! That’s the take home point.! ! Applying it is relatively simple.! !
There are probably two types of “kettlebell strength enthusiasts” reading this. The first, is routinely consistent in his or her training, and you tend toward the longer more traditional workouts. We’ll call you “Type 1.”!
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The second type of person is the one who is inconsistent in his or her workouts because you have a crazy-busy life and are under the impression that you won’t make progress if you’re not doing the longer workouts. We’ll call you “Type 2.”!
! Below you’ll find two different prescriptions based on your type.! ! Type 1:! !
The first place you can start is by simply cutting the length of your longer program in half. If it’s at 60 minutes, cut it to 30.!
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The second is to cut your rest periods from the longer traditional rest periods of 3 to 5 minutes to something shorter - use the Chinese range - 60-90 seconds, 2 minutes if over 85-90%.!
! Doing the second will allow you to do the first.! !
And yeah, I know that what I’m suggesting you do may sound difficult, and maybe downright impossible based on what you may currently want to achieve. Remember, I wouldn’t ask you to do anything that I haven’t done myself.!
! At the time of this report, my main workouts are only 30 minutes long. ! !
They allow me to stay fresh, and train frequently, thus getting the most out of the Universal Strength Maxim.!
! Type 2:! !
You just need to carve 20 to 30 minutes 3 times per week out of your schedule. Before work, at lunch, after work, after the kids go to bed, whenever. Then pick ONE exercise and do it. !
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Here’s what else:! 10
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Regardless of which type of kettlebell strength enthusiast you are, if you’re at a loss of how you should structure these types of workouts, don’t worry, I’ve written 100 different programs for you in my new book, Kettlebell Express! ULTRA Reloaded. !
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There are all kinds of time-efficient workouts in there that you can use to get plenty strong. !
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Incidentally, like the Chinese, these types of short-rest programs will also make you lean too.!
! Unfortunately, you can’t get your hands on my new book… Yet.! !
Keep your eyes on your inbox because in the upcoming days I’ll send you some more time-efficient workout info to help you get more results in less time.!
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