My 5 Favorite Kettlebell Exercises for Strength
In this blog post I’m going to discuss my five favorite Kettlebell exercises for strength. Kettlebells are awesome tools, especially for someone like me who works out at home in a garage gym. The kettlebell allows for a lot of versility in movements and different exercises. Kettlebells are also unique in that they can help increase both strength and conditioning. I use kettlebells for both scenarios, as many people do, however there are certain exercises I use specifically for strength which I’m going to discuss below. (Disclaimer: This is what I do and what works for me, not advice. I’m not your trainer or your doctor, so ask them for help for what will work for you. Exercise at your own risk!)
Before I begin, I do want to clarify a couple of things. Just so you the reader know where I’m coming from…my point of view. Any exercise using a kettlebell can increase strength, however some exercises are more conducive to heavy movements that specifically focus on building strength. In addition, what someone considers to be heavy is relative. For example, one person may consider a 16kg bell heavy while another considers a 32kg bell light, it’s all relative. My wife uses 10kg and 16kg bells almost exclusively, and let me tell you, she is freakishly strong. Personally, I don’t use kettlebells heavier than 32kg kettlebell for any movements. In fact, the heaviest weight I use for a swing is the 24kg bell. I know that for a lot of people they may consider this weight light, and that’s great for them, they’re amazing and everyone’s hero. Anyway, for the rest of us mere mortals I heard Dan John recommend on his podcast not to go super heavy with kettlebells because of risk of injury and diminished return/benefit. He also discusses that most people don’t get the most out of their lighter kettlebells, and you have to do away with “barbell thinking” when in comes to kettlebells because they’re a different kind of implement. He states that it’s not valuable to get kettlebells heavier than 48kg and as you go heavier and heavier they become less and less useful (Dan John Podcast 179). So I’ll defer to Dan John on this one.
Another point is that what an individual considers heavy can change over time. For example, what is heavy to me now in my mid 40s was light to me 10 years ago when my squat/bench/deadlift total with a barbell was over 1,000lbs. The real question is was I as well rounded as I am today now that I use kettlebells, probably not. Which speaks to the point that Dan John makes that a person hasn’t really mastered a weight until you can clean, press, and snatch it. With that said, here are my favorite “heavy” kettlebell movements for strength:
Standing Overhead Press (OHP)
I really like OHP with Kettlebells, Barbells, Axl Bar, and Dumbbells. The OHP is in one of my absolute favorite exercises in large part because it’s a whole body movement. According to Mark Rippetoe the OHP uses “the whole body as the kinetic chain is inherent in the movements” (Starting Strength pg 76). I realize Rip is a barbell guy who hates kettlebells so it’s blasphemous to even mention him in a kettlebell blog post, but that doesn’t change his fundamental assertion about the OHP which is it is an upper body movement that uses the whole body. Regarding the kettlebell OHP specifically, I really like how the weight is offset rather than directly above the shoulder when pressing, and I can feel it changes the muscle recruitment in my shoulder. Michael Boyle states in his book New Functional Training for Sports that “The offset nature of the kettlebell produces a natural external rotation moment at the shoulder, and this seems to recruit the subscapularis” (pg 168). I also like the variety of OHP the Kettlebells provide since I can switch between double over head and single arm presses. I feel like I can lift a heavier bell when I’m pressing single arm, so that’s what I typically do if I’m lifting heavier bells. Also, one of the great things about kettlebells is that pressing can be progressive by modifying the stance. To increase difficulty or “progress” the exercise I can perform it with one knee on the ground or even harder two knees on the ground. This is great since a home gym is limited by the having just a few bells.
Goblet Carry/Horn Walk
The Goblet Carry, also known as the Horn Walk is one of my favorite loaded carry variations. I first starting doing this carry variation after reading the book Hardstyle Kettlebell Challenge by Dan John. I hold the kettlebell with both hands on the horns of the bell and keep it close in to my body (see Hardstyle Kettlebell Challenge pg 118 for an example). I can feel the engagement in my lower abs, and it requires quite a bit of upper back strength to stay upright. This movement also requires quite a bit of arm and grip strength to hold on to the bell. I like the fact that I’m taxing my arm muscles isometrically so as to provide a different stimulus from eccentric/concentric work they get with most exercises. I usually perform this exercise with a 24kg or 28kg bell depending on how far I walk. One my favorite aspects of loaded carries is that if the weight starts to feel lighter I just walk further. For a deeper dive, the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) has a great article discussing the benefits of loaded carries and some of the differences in the variations, I’ll leave the link here if you’re interested.
Single Leg - Straight Leg Deadlift
The Single Leg - Straight Leg Deadlift absolutely crushes my glutes every time I perform the exercise. I feel like this deadlift variation is very humbling in that it doesn’t take a lot of weight to get a good workout. According renowned strength coach Michael Boyle The Single Leg - Straight Leg Deadlift is “the king of posterior-chain exercises. It not only develops the entire posterior chain (glutes, hamstrings, and long adductors) but also enhances balance.” He goes on to say that it has “tremendous proprioceptive work at the ankle.” and that “high loads are unnecessary” and “possibility of back injury almost none existent.” (New Functional Training for Sports pg 107). In addition, the great thing about single leg exercises is it effectively doubles the weight available which is great in a garage gym setting where I have a limited amount of equipment. Whenever I take a break from doing this exercise then come back to it I’m always surprised by how sore my glutes get the first couple of weeks back.
Kettlebell Front Squat
The Kettlebell Front Squat is one of my favorite leg exercises. This movement requires a lot of strength to hold up the bells, which makes it harder than barbell front squat. I can move more weight with a barbell front squat, however it’s the effort to hold the bells out in front of you as opposed to resting on front delts/shoulders as with a barbell. Dan John states this in the aforementioned Dan John Podcast 179. On that note I really like how the Kettlebell can build core strength. Another great attribute of the Kettlebells front squat is that I can do them for sets and reps without completely destroying my legs for the next two days. I typically perform them the second workout of the week after I’ve already done barbell squats earlier that week. So, at the beginning of the week as part of my full body workout I do squats with a barbell, then two days later I do kettlebell front squats. By the time the weekend rolls around I’ve gotten in two days of squatting, but my legs aren’t so sore that I can’t ride my bike that weekend. Which if you’ve looked around on this website you’d know that’s a priority for me (BTW, I have a blog post about my favorite Squat Variations for Mountain Biking). If it’s a bad weather day I can get another workout that includes either kettlebell front squats or goblet squats. So in that respect I like the kettlebell front squat because, as with all kettlebell movements, the movement builds capacity. And at 44 years old building capacity is a lot more important to me than trying to hit a number for a PR.
Suitcase Carry
Dr. Stu McGill stated in a presentation at Stanford University that the best exercise for lifting the pelvic platform is the suit case carry https://www.otpbooks.com/stuart-mcgill-exercises-back-pain/. Suitcase carry exercises the core and hip muscles on the opposite side of the weight. I perform the suitcase carry every Saturday that I don’t ride my bike. I usually use either a 24kg or 32kg bell for this exercise. As I previoulsy mentioned the great thing about loaded carries is that as I get stronger I can just walk further with the same weight. It really doesn’t take that much of an increase in distance to make a big difference in difficulty. Also, I’m a big fan of Dr. McGill’s work, and I’ve been performing this exercise ever since I had recovered from two torn discs in my lower back. I also know Dan John is a big advocate of this exercise, so between the McGill and John recommendations I think that’s about as good as it gets. I think I like the Suitcase Carry better than the farmers walk. I feel like it is less taxing on my body, but I get greater benefit from it due to the work that my core is getting opposite from the bell. The aforementioned NSCA article really does a great job discussing all these factors for loaded carries and it is well cited.
So those are my favorite kettlebell exercises for strength. Hopefully you found this blog post interesting. Thanks for reading and remember that new strength starts on Day1.
