As much as I love to rip a shit ton of weight off the ground, the barbell can be a pain in the ass sometimes, loading the plates on, taking them off, yadda yadda. It’s very time consuming. This is another reason why I love kettlebells, and why they are my first love; one kettlebell is a simple, compact package of strength, cardio, and power training all rolled into a space saving iron ball with a very convenient handle.

On Friday I had deadlifts on the training skillet but I didn’t feel like messing with the barbell so I decided to bring out the BIG BELLS for some double kettlebell deadlifts.

I worked through sets of 5 reps with double 48kg kettlebells, 212lbs total, 106lbs in each hand.

212lbs is a relatively lightweight for me to deadlift BUT with the kettlebell, it’s an entirely different animal.

When the same weight is loaded on the barbell, it’s a symmetrical load from end to end with both sides of your body working together, in synch, to pull the load off the floor.

With the kettlebell, each side of your body has to work separately to manage the 106lbs in each hand and the asymmetrical shape of the kettlebell forces your body to work harder than it would have to work if it was pulling a symmetrically balanced load of weight like a barbell.

Each time I lifted the 48kg kettlebells off the floor, I felt my abs light up like I was doing 100 standing ab wheel rollouts and my glutes fire up like buns of flaming steel as I drove my feet into the ground to lift the weight.

Heavy double kettlebell deadlifts, specifically help you to:

• Build upper body strength as your upper body helps your lower body to pull the heavy bell off the ground. Think about how much upper body strength that you need to have in order to single handedly lift 106lbs off the floor??
• Increase grip strength because as the kettlebell gets heavier the handle gets thicker, and no matter how heavy the kettlebell, unlike a barbell deadlift, the lifter cannot use a mixed (one hand overhand and one hand underhand) grip and the lifter still needs to handle a single kettlebell in each hand.
• Learn how to sit back low into your hips and really load your hips;
• Learn how to wedge your body over and into the weight and get really tight with the weight so that you become one with the weight for a stronger lift.

The “Strong AF” Effect

Kettlebells in general, (including kettlebell deadlifts for the aforementioned reasons), allow you to train the lowest system load for the same physiological effect that a heavier load would give you. Resulting in the “Strong AF” effect or more commonly referred to as the “What the heck??” effect. I like “Strong AF” effect better 😉

What does this mean?

Let’s take the kettlebell swing for example, the purpose of the kettlebell swing is maximal force production. The more force applied to the kettlebell on the backswing, the heavier the kettlebell will weigh (physics, right?) and the harder your hips have to work to bring the bell back on the finish of the swing. Demonstrated nicely with the overspeed eccentric drill in the video below…

Therefore, if the correct amount of force is applied to an 8kg (~18lbs) kettlebell, that 8kg kettlebell can weigh up to 80lbs. If an 8kg kettlebell can weigh up to 80lbs with the correct force applied, imagine how much a 24kg (~53lbs) kettlebell can weigh if the correct force is applied?? Or a 36kg (80lbs) kettlebell?? As shown in the video below…

Subsequently, the kettlebell swing, like the double kettlebell deadlift, can help to improve deadlift strength because it allows you to use the lowest system load for maximal results. Thus resulting in the “Strong AF” effect.

When trained correctly by applying hardstyle techniques, kettlebell ballistics and and kettlebells in general will build tremendous strength!!

Experience more of the “Strong AF” effect in YOUR training when you attend my Advanced Kettlebell Ballistics Workshop on December 17, 2017 at Barbell Republic, 6980 West Warm Springs Road, #190, Las Vegas, Nevada 8911.

Early bird ends ONE WEEK FROM TODAY on December 10, 2017.

Direct link to register HERE

Yours in Strength,