Getting Serious: LEVEL 4 Kettlebell training

After you worked your way through LEVELS 1,2 and 3, you may be up for a bigger challenge. Enter LEVEL 4: Double Kettlebell Training.
"I have written for well over the last decade about the benefits of double kettlebell training. In fact, it’s kind of what I’m “known” for.
(My first book, Kettlebell Muscle, published in 2010, was about building muscle with nothing but a pair of kettlebells. Rumor has it might be republished later this year…)
And if I had to boil down all the emails and articles I’ve ever written, it would come down to just two words:
FASTER RESULTS.
I’ll explain why that’s true in a moment.
First, HOWEVER…
There’s a BIG CAVEAT here:
The assumption is that you are ready to use the double are as follows:
1️⃣ Physically healthy - no current ongoing “issues,” like a bum shoulder, bad back, trick knee, or anything of the like
I especially recommend you have no asymmetries - like one shoulder you can put over your head, and the other that doesn’t quite get there.
This is because unlike single KB training that has multiple “degrees of freedom,” double KB training “locks” you into one plane of motion.
And if you have asymmetries, your body will “look for a way out” and you could end up injuring your lower back, or shoulder.
2️⃣ Know your way around a kettlebell - you’re familiar with the single KB exercises
This is because the double KB exercises are built from a foundation of single KB exercises.
You learn the techniques with a single KB first, because there’s more margin for error, which is especially necessary when dealing with “power” exercises like the Swing, Clean, and Snatch.
This is true even if you have an athletic background, unless you’re currently a professional athlete, familiar with the Olympic lifts - more on that in a moment.
And that’s because kettlebell training is a skill that needs to be learned, just like regular weight training. But most people don’t let that little-known fact bother them.
Remember, modern kettlebell training is built off the Swing, which teaches you how to use your hips and load your posterior chain (the muscles that run up the backside of your body which are responsible for running, sprinting, and jumping).
Failing to learn this skill is a great way to injure your lower back.
Failing to learn this skill and then using a pair of KBs is a great way to injure your lower back faster/sooner and to a greater magnitude, ensuring a much longer and more painful recovery.
3️⃣ Or you are skilled with the Olympic lifts (this is a pretty big shortcut)
This was the secret to my success with kettlebell training.
Once I got the single techniques down, primarily “the wedge” on the 2-H Swing, and avoiding the “flop” onto the back of the wrists with the Clean and the Snatch, I was off to the races.
I already knew how to move my body, weights around my body, and my body around weights.
The other exception I mentioned earlier was if you’re currently a professional athlete who’s familiar with the Olympic lifts.
For example, back in 2008, Pavel and I worked on a project together that involved an NFL fullback. He was already 240lbs(109kg) and had a monster Squat and Power/Hang Clean.
Learning the double KB lifts for him was a piece of cake.
But remember, this is the exception not the rule.
Why Double Kettlebell Training Delivers Faster Results
This is a simple concept to get:
There is a greater demand for change (overload) placed on your body with a pair of KBs than with a single KB.
For example, lifting a pair of 16kg kettlebells for 5 sets of 5 reps in 20 minutes results in 800kg of load lifted, which is 33% more than lifting a single 24kg kettlebell for the same sets and reps.
And that means you’ll have a bigger adaptive response - or bigger results.
Again, this does not diminish single KB training or its transformative effects on your body.
It’s just that double KB training takes single KB training to the proverbial “next level.”
Speaking of “next level”...
One of the BIGGEST MISTAKES I see guys (especially - not so much women) make all the time is jumping straight from LEVEL 3 to LEVEL 5 training / workouts.
They don’t take the time to learn the lifting techniques for the double KB exercises.
They automatically assume they can use the same techniques for the single KB lifts and apply them to the double KB lifts.
Then they write to me and ask me what they should do for their newly acquired elbow tendonitis, or their bum shoulder that didn’t hurt when they were using a single KB.
Although similar to their single KB siblings, double kettlebell lifts are not the SAME.
And that’s because you’re using more total weight, so you require different leverage.
We’ll get more into this concept next time.
In the meantime, if you want to get a head start on your double KB lifting, go here.
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Stay Strong, Geoff

[@GeoffNeupert]

Double Kettlebell Training = Faster Results. But make sure you're ready for them.

[@shantanusapru]

Oh boy, does this ring true! I started with KBs when the pandemic hit, and quickly got the hang of the single KB lifts & reached a decent level in 6 months or so. But then when I jumped up to Dbl KB lifts, I did the 'manly' thing & tried the so-called level 5 stuff before getting adept at the level 4 stuff. And, as you said, I tweaked my back. Luckily, it was only for a few weeks, and nothing serious or permanent. Then I built back up -- slowly -- and took over a year and a half to reach a halfway decent level at dbl KBs...and now 3+ years down the line, I enjoy both dbl & single KB work, and have never looked back...No gym for me now!!

[@arozentz]

Thank you very much Geoff

[@GeoffNeupert]

@Alex Rozentsviag - You're welcome.

[@ADHDean.]

Thanks Geoff! Listening to get into a good mindset for kettlebell RMF. Was kettlebell muscle republished? I'd love to read it

[@alexg4284]

I needed to hear this, I’ve had to back off swings due to a weak knee and clean and press due to shoulder impingement lol. Trying to do too much work on a weak frame!

[@jasonwelsh417]

I foolishly jumped into double kettlebells after doing barbell and calisthenics for years. Thankfully I didn't hurt myself but I wish I had had info like this along the way. The double KB press actually feels more natural to my shoulders than the barbell press does though, and I don't feel beat up in my wrists from the KB clean liek I do with lots of bar cleans.

[@doersphysique]

💪🏾🖤⚡🙏🏾

[@antonipoblocki]

I like the double clean and press exactly because there's no "wiggle room" either you lock everything in place and the kettlebell go up or not. On the other hand a proper double swing eludes me. Something about the plank/lockout position is off for me.

[@ignaciogonzalez233]

I'm doing Clean'Em up routine with 25 lbs. I'm 65 Years old , I'm planning to move up to 30lbs. Should I go towards heavy Kettlebells or to do more sets ???? Thank you Geoff for your videos

[@GeoffNeupert]

@ignaciogonzalez233 - Nice work! Follow the programming. Then up the load when you're ready.