Kettlebell Juggling: Enliven Your Workout

Fitness tools that look a lot like kettlebells were in use in Ancient Greece. The first recorded use of the word 'girya,' which means 'kettlebell,' was in 1704 in Russia. Since that time kettlebells have fallen from and returned to favor, being recently popularised by Pavel Tsatsouline. In a series of books and other teaching and sales aids, Pavel has foregrounded a style of kettlebell use called 'hardstyle,' which focusses on muscular tension and explosiveness. While it's helped a lot of people get fitter than they've ever been, it's also covered up some of the more interesting forms of kettlebell training that were preserved in Russia. Later these would be passed on or reinvented by others.

Kettlebell juggling is one of these forms.

If we think about it for a moment, kettlebells are comparatively light. Very heavy ones rapidly become too large to use the same way - after about 40kg they become very bulky and unwieldy. So how can we get more of a training effect out of these implements without ditching them and moving to barbells and dumbells?

You can buy T-handle-and-base-plate set ups that let you build your own swingable 'kettlebell' out of weight plates, letting you swing some serious poundage. It works, but its' limited and you can't do anything else with it.

Another way is to consciously use greater explosive force - to go like the hardstyle guys do and force every rep. What a lot of people don't know is that this approach was born in the Russian armed forces and it doesn't originate from the Russian kettlebell tradition; it comes from the karate the troops were taught as unarmed combat. That doesn't mean it's no good - but it does have drawbacks, one of which is that the emphasis on explosiveness and drive actually gives you worse form. Training this way reduces your movement quality compared with the 'gyrevik' method, or 'soft style.'

Soft style is characterized by fluidity rather than deliberate explosiveness. There's less hyperextension of the hips in a softstyle swing but the head position - in line with the spine, in contrast to the looking-forward posture of hardstyle - loads the hamstrings better, making the movement more efficient. The sport of kettlebell lifting requires participants to do three lifts - the jerk, clean and jerk and snatch - each for ten minutes without putting the bells down. 

See Also: Kettlebell Clean And Jerk - For Power, Strength And Endurance

But doing the same three lifts can be dull So boot camp workout groups all over the world use kettlebells to do presses and rows, split swings and forward pushes, and other movements that aren't part of the traditional syllabus. There's nothing wrong with that but that's only providing variety.

What if there was a way of training kettlebells that could provide that variety but also improved training outcomes? One that forced improvements in proprioception and hand-eye coordination, that built on the foundation of good movement that good kettlebell training gives you, and that resulted in increased strength and fitness and fewer injuries and made training fun again?

Let's Talk About Kettlebell Juggling

First, I'm going to deliver some physiological material; for those of you familiar with shampoo adverts, this is the science bit. Feel free to skip ahead, but a better understanding can help get a better result.

When you move, what makes you move? Most of us would say it's our muscles, but a muscle without a nerve telling it what to do is a steak. What makes you move is your nervous system, especially your central nervous system. So when we take a set of movements we already know and make them finer - when we tighten up the tolerances of what's acceptable - we are requiring more of the central nervous system. And the movement gets harder. Don't believe me? Try walking across the room. 

Back? OK, now try it again - with perfect posture and a perfectly accurate, perfectly symmetrical gait. 

Different, right? Harder? 

If you have a kettlebell, try this: go and do two minutes of any swing-based lift you like. Take stock of how it makes you feel, in terms of being out of breath, muscle tiredness and how you feel in yourself.

Take a breather.

Now return to that kettlebell and do two minutes of swings. Every time you reach the apex of the swing, let go the kettlebell and catch it in the other hand, before returning the bell to the bottom of the swing arc.

Done?

OK, now compare how it made you feel. For most people, the second task is far harder and more tiring, but it's exhilarating too. It often makes you forget to count reps, or you'll take your eye off the clock. Why? Because you're not just grinding out rep after rep. Learn a few kettlebell juggling moves and you can put your own routine together on the spot. Make training playful again - and way more effective too!

There's another effect to talk about too. To go somewhere as far away form the kettlebell as possible for a second, think about a big, heavy deadlift. What's happening when someone picks up that 700lb barbell off the floor? He's making it change direction. When we swing a kettlebell, we're making it change direction, and the mass - not the weight - of the bell is what gives us a training effect. Now, the more times we make it change direction the harder that is on muscles that have to suply the force. See where I'm going? Juggling a kettlebell is harder because you have to make ti change direction more.

Check out the links at the base of this article - I've tried to get someone from a few different places but a quick Google search will often find your local guy or gal. 

Most people will want to start with the 'catch and release,' which Chris Muling and James Tomlinson from Aussie Kettlebells say is 'like a swing, but you're floating the kettlebell,' and point out that 'it's harder on the muscles, but easier on the hands' to do one-handed catch-and-release. Fro there you can learn to flip the bell and catch it, and learning to do flipping and overhead work typically comes next, along with learning to incorporate foot movements into your workout. 

Rob Clapham, of Fun Fit Nottingham, says, 'it's much more fun, and it's more effective too. You never get bored, and I've got way stronger and less injured since I've been doing it.'

See Also: No Time for the Gym? Use Kettlebells for a Full Body Workout

While some people have been able to work kettlebell juggling into power and strength routines that are pretty impressive, and others are fitness professionals, it can be useful for us mere mortals too. We can learn in a few classes the moves that can be built up into our own workouts.

If want to talk more about kettlebell juggling, or you think I've missed the mark, get in touch via the comments section below.