KETTLEBELL...training for boxing...what are your thoughts

I like using them for swings.

21/15/9 (a Crossfit rep range that they use a lot) is what I stick to. I find them to be great fun and they can be taxing, too.

 

Kettlebells are lumps of weight. Weight training builds strength. Strength is a GOOD THING no matter who you are or what you do.

Kettlebells are simply a part of the weight training mix, just like dumbbells, barbells, sandbags, clubs, logs, paving slabs, fridges, sofas, bodies..

I love em. :good

 

I think what the OP is asking, which I am curious about myself (and which information online is extraordinarily difficult to find in a haystack of contradictory and very opinionated rants from 'experts' on either side of the GPP vs. SPP fence) is how to best utilize them as part of your strength training routine if you happen to be a boxer.

That is, which exercises from among the standard or advanced traditional set for general strength training are optimal for someone to use as complementary to regular boxing training (and how many reps, at how many poods?) and which can or should be skipped.

 

How about compound / functional movements in the strength and endurance rep ranges?

 

I tie them round my neck and do reps.

I can hold a shot like no ones business

 

Kettlebell swings are great for conditioning and developing power in the hips.

People over think things all the time. As Ant-Man said, kettlebells are just another weight training tool. It's also a movement that needs to be done correctly, something which the vast majority of the lifting community don't get.

 

They are okay. I much prefer a modified Total Gym, much more versatile, and more punch for the pound Ive found.

 

It's for total moms.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l40MCXqr0ug . Been about years, you can buy them cheap on E. Bay. Then you adapt it to take woody Bands, change Handles for straps. Put a footplate on, gives you a workout for the whole body, really nothing you cant do, laying up or down.

 

If you want my opinion, and I'm not saying you do, but as someone who's lifted weights for a very long period of time and placed in PFP strength competitions, I can say that I think a combination of kettlebell training and calistenics is the best you can do for adding strength, while maintaining agility and flexibility.

You don't have to get too carried away with the types of kettlebell excercises you do. Honestly, I keep it simple. Initially, you should aim for acheiving 20-22 reps a minute for 12 minutes, maybe twice a week.

Once you get comfortable with swinging a kettlebell 22 times in 12 minutes, move up in weight.

You can also experiment with heavier kettlebells with a lower rep range, but I wouldn't step up until you feel comfortable handling the 53 lb kettlebell.

The only other kettlebell excercise I use is the turkish get up. I do it for shoulder stability and it also carries over and improves overhead work. I do it maybe twice a week for 5-10 minutes.

I combine that with advanced calisthenics, but I do use weight when I do pistol squats; however, I didn't start using weight until I could perform at least 20 reps with each leg without resting.

It's about technique, and I hold a kettlebell when I do those excercises, but I suppose you could use a weighted vest or really, hold anything that weighs what you want it to weigh.

I haven't deadlifted in a long time, so I can't confirm this, but I know a lot of people have claimed to improve their deadlifts by swinging a much ligheter weight, which also improves your strength endurance, and if you use a heavier bell, really emphasizes power and power endurance.

By the way, I found out how to use kettlebells from Pavel, and the program I use is basically the program minimum.

I will say, even if you're strong as hell, start light until you get the form down. Even if you can complete the sets within 2 weeks, do it. You can purchase a 35 lb kettlebell at places like Walmart and they usually give you the option to return it within a month.

 

Thanks! :good

Since you specifically brought up stability in the shoulders as being a plus with kettle-bells, let me delve further into that since it's among my biggest trepidations over using them. For someone with a history of chronic bursitis & currently rehabbing a case of rotator cuff tendonitis in that (right) shoulder, would you say KB training is more likely to help strengthen those small muscle groups supporting the R. cuff or less? (or even more apt to cause recurrent inflammation...especially, I can imagine, with improper form...)