Tag: kettlebell training

Why I’m Focused On The Kettlebell Snatch

And why you might want to be too.

While the kettlebell swing is the workhorse of kettlebell training, the snatch is definitely the king.

Multiple studies have shown that for cardiovascular capacity, the kettlebell snatch is the big boy on the block. Nothing really compares with it, especially in the kettlebell world.

Unfortunately, it’s also a very technical movement. While it’s easier to learn than a barbell snatch such as they do at the Olympics, it’s still not exactly a “Day One” movement.

But why am I spending the next little while focused on the kettlebell snatch above all other movements?

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Why We Shouldn’t Forget Conventional Training Methods

Traditional lifts are often traditional for a reason.

I’ve written a lot here in the last few weeks about unconventional training methods. I’ve had a love affair with them before, but I got in my head that what I needed was pure, raw strength, so I turned to the barbell for that.

Now, fate has returned me to the loving embrace of things like kettlebells and sledgehammers (which is now my new band name).

But I’ve also come to realize something very important, and that’s how we probably shouldn’t turn our backs on conventional training methods.

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Soviet-Era Study On Kettlebells And Strength

While I spent a good bit of time looking at recent studies on strength, there was one that I wanted to find that I wasn’t having any luck on. You see, in Pavel Tsatouline’s books “Enter the Kettlebell” and “Return of the Kettlebell,” he makes reference to a soviet era study by a scientist named
Voropayev.

He uses the study a great deal to illustrate how kettlebells can be used to develop strength.

The question is, what does the study actually show? After all, Tsatouline doesn’t exactly quote it.

But it’s something that we kind of need to know, right?

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Do Kettlebells Actually Help You Burn Body Fat?

Does it really do anything to help you burn fat? Or are the claims just hot air?

One of the many touted benefits of kettlebell training is that it can supposedly help you burn body fat, making you a weight loss machine.

However, we’ve already seen that the kettlebell will increase strength and is a good conditioning tool. It would seem that it would help you lose weight if matched with a proper diet, but does it?

Well, I decided to take a quick look at any studies I could find on the topic, and what I found was fascinating.

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Focus On Your Weaknesses

No one is perfect. We all know that. You’re not perfect, I’m not perfect, no one walking this planet is perfect. If there is, then the second coming has arrived and the end is nigh and all that jazz.

Frankly, I don’t think that’s the case, so I opt for no one being perfect.

Since we’re not perfect, that means there’s still room to improve. That means we have to work on our weaknesses.

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The Difficulties Of Evidence-Based Kettlebell Training

When I started down this rabbit hole of looking for evidence backing up kettlebell training, I figured it wouldn’t be that hard. After all, the blasted things have been around for centuries. There are pictures of old-time strongmen like Eugene Sandow hoisting the things.

Anything that old and that linked to historic physical culture should have a lot of research behind it by now, right?

Eh…not so much.

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