Developing Explosive Power with Kettlebells: 1

Nat Pero

The mistake many athletes make is going to the gym and pumping out bodybuilding workouts. There are a lot of big strong folk out there who look great, but put them on the field and ask them to do a job and they will be slow, cumbersome and the hours spent in the gym may look like time miss-spent.

In order to improve athletic performance we need to train athletically. By all means train to increase muscle size, but if you want power, performance and movement – you need more than traditional bodybuilding techniques.

We are going to have a little discussion on a few ways to train for power and have a close look at the use of Kettlebells as a tool for power training.

What is Power?

If you like an equation, the following should tell the story:

Power = Work x Time
Power = Force x Distance x Time
Power = Force x Velocity (distance x time)

In a nutshell it’s the ability to generate the maximum amount of force over the shortest possible time. So basically, if two gentlemen deadlift a 100kg bar, and one takes one second to complete the rep, and the other takes a more explosive 0.2 sec to get that thing up, it is clear in this simplistic example, Man 2 is the more explosive, and is the most likely to be able to jump higher, run faster and hit harder.

Unquestionably, genetics play a major role in your ability to apply force quickly. Individuals who boast more fast twitch muscle fibre (type II fibres) have the capacity to develop greater speed of movement when compared to those who are slow-twitch (type I) dominant. However, this doesn’t mean that type I dominant men and women cannot develop explosiveness. The three types of fast twitch muscle fibres type IIA, IIAB and IIB can all be trained to fire rapidly when subjected to specific training protocols - thus even if you aren’t blessed with a mass of fast twitch type II fibres, you should still be able to make huge improvements in your explosiveness if you demand this from yourself and force your body to adapt with fast explosive training protocol.

Train slow – be slow. Train fast - be lethal.

Muscle fibres are recruited in the same order: type I, IIA, IIAB, and IIB. These fibres are engaged depending upon the external resistance they are required to overcome. The greater the resistance or speed required, the higher impulses sent from your brain to relevant muscles via the central nervous system.

In other words the greater the resistance or challenge, the larger number of fast twitch muscle fibres are activated. Therefore in order to develop serious power, maximum effort must be applied during resistance training, plyometrics and speed work. Whether you’re performing standard bodybuilding style exercises or More-Athletic Kettlebell, rotational or Olympic lifting type drills, you can’t just move the weight, you’ve got to move that thing fast!

Even if it’s heavy as hell, it might not move fast, but you have to try, that’s what tells the brain to recruit every possible fast twitch fibre.

Training Progression

Prior to embarking upon an explosive power regimen it is absolutely imperative the athlete has laid the necessary foundations in order to maximise gains and reduce the risk of injury. If you’re thinking of ignoring this bit and skipping to the fun part, consider the following example...

If your Nan started rigorous bout of Olympic lifting, plyometrics and heavy kettlebell swings, what are the chances she will suffer an injury?

If your Nan is anything like most, chances are that she will have far less than optimal range of motion in most or all of her joints, she will be severely lacking in core strength and will be starting to lose the fight against gravity. Thus, the thought of her performing one set of plyometrics would probably make you laugh, and the thought of her attempting to swing a kettlebell would have most orthopaedic surgeons reaching for their utensils and the thought of her having even close to the necessary thoracic and shoulder range of motion to even perform an overhead squat is just crazy. Thus, we can assume that the chances of injury from this sort of training are on the high side.

If we take an Olympic weightlifter, the chances are they have kept decent strength and range of motion throughout the body are a little higher and we would assume their chance of injury is fairly low in comparison.

What’s my point? Well, modern life makes slightly sub optimal changes to the human body. If you spend any time at a desk, have been inactive for a while and haven’t been walking around in bare feet, you probably need to spend at least 20 minutes a day working on your mobility.

If you haven’t been training for a while and haven’t been working on your mobility then you might not be ready to train for power. You might well get injured and won’t get the most out of it.

So before you embark on your programme, ensure you have prepared your body. You need to work on your mobility and core strength; if you are not used to weight training you need to period-ise your training and progress through strength endurance, hypertrophy and strength protocol, then you should be ready for the serious demands placed on your body by some hardcore power training.

Chances are, you would be somewhere between the Olympic Weightlifter and your Nan. So, strive to get a little nearer the weightlifter and you will be less prone to time wasting injuries.

Right, back to the article here are a few ways to increase your power!

Heavy Strength Training

Improving strength alone can enhance explosive power as strength is one half of the power equation (Baechle TR and Earle RW, 2000). Many athletic activities commence from a static position, it is this early stage of movement that requires the most effort. So in theory the greater an athlete’s strength, the faster this initial movement will be. Conversely, speed rather than strength is relied upon to retain the movement once you’re up and running.

So a decent period of strength training is the first step to increasing your power - obvious really, chances are a guy who can bench press 150kg can pack a more serious punch than a chap who struggles to shift 50kg.

Explosive Strength Training

As mentioned above though, training slow will only get you so far, so fast. To become a real bad ass, a powerful force, you need to look at being able to move heavy loads and move them quickly. Once you have reached this stage of power development, training now becomes more dynamic with sports specific movements added to the equation. Without this phase you may develop superior strength, yet when it comes to competition you will not be able to perform specific movement patterns with the required dexterity.

It is vital during explosive strength training that many drills mimic these movement patterns or phases as close to your chosen sport as possible. First train to be more athletic as a whole and then add specific movement drills. Medicine balls, sandbags, kettlebells and Olympic bars all make excellent utensils when embarking on explosive strength training.

Ballistic Training

Often called power training, ballistics is a form of strength training where you lift and then accelerate a weight, quite often releasing it. This type of training forces the muscles to become accustomed to contracting quickly and forcefully. Common ballistic exercises are jump squats, bench throws, cleans, snatches and push presses.

Plyometrics Training

Plyometric training entails rapid, forceful movements that combine speed and strength. Movements such as jumping, bounding and hopping are all examples of plyometric training.

When performing plyometrics, force is generated by an initial rapid eccentric (lengthening) muscle contraction followed by a quick concentric (shortening) contraction. When a muscle lengthens a certain amount of energy is then stored due to the elastic properties of muscle fibres. This stored or potential energy is available to an immediate, consecutive concentric contraction. The concept of this is called the stretch shortening cycle, which forms the basis of plyometrics training.

Using Kettlebells to Develop Explosive Power

The unique design of the kettlebell makes them an extremely effective tool for developing explosive power. The handle allows the instrument to be swung and rotated, creating a whole myriad of ballistic exercises.

Let’s look at the correlation between the two handed swing and a common athletic movement pattern such as the vertical jump. When performing the kettlebell, swing the momentum is derived from a rapid hip and knee extension’s vertical jump. As the kettlebell falls through the legs, the hamstrings and glutes (as well as the rest of the posterior chain) are eccentrically loaded then quickly reversed via a concentric contraction.

Advantages of using kettlebells include the fact that it works both the deceleration as well as the acceleration phase. Most sports injuries occur during the deceleration phase, so the likelihood of injury is further reduced. Also, there is no impact when performing kettlebell swings which makes them preferable when injured or for folk who need a break from thudding around.

When using kettlebells as an explosive power training tool, perform no more than three repetitions. Focus on speed, snap the hip as rapidly as possible and ensure form is correct. Remember you are trying to recruit as many fast twitch muscle fibres as possible so speed is of the essence.

Let’s look at couple of training protocols used for developing speed and explosive power using kettlebells. Protocol one is heavily influenced by top kettlebell guru Mike Mahler (2006) and his book ‘The Aggressive Solution for Incredible Kettlebell Training’. The sessions are in circuit format that focus chiefly on the development of speed and explosive power. Those of you looking to acquire strength conditioning or hypertrophy from your regime will not be catered for by following this programme alone:

Monday

Double Clean and Speed Press

Explosive Squat Shrug

One-arm Hang Snatch

Full Body Attack

Explosive Double Swing

Double Get Up Sit Ups

Wednesday

Guard Attack

Full Body Defense

One-arm Front Snatch

Crossover Snatch

Split Snatch

Half Get Up Sit Ups

Friday

Lifeline TNT Military Press

Alternating Hang Clean

Split Jerk

One-arm Stomp Snatch

Turkish Get up Squat Variation

Complete three repetitions only and take a one minute break between exercises. Rest for one minute at the end of each circuit and complete five rounds. When choosing a weight, pick a weight you can perform 8-10 repetitions with.

About the Author

With a degree in Sport and Exercise Science and 8 years of personal training behind him Nat makes a useful addition to the team. With many years of muscle building action under his belt, Nat has been ordered to become a kettlebell master and is bringing us a well rounded look at training.

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