The Role of Kettlebells in Strength and Conditioning: A Review of the Literature

Page created by Nelson Weber
 
CONTINUE READING
The Role of Kettlebells in Strength and Conditioning: A Review of the Literature
The Role of Kettlebells
in Strength and
Conditioning: A Review
of the Literature
Chris Beardsley, MA (Hons)1 and Bret Contreras, MA2
1
 Strength and Conditioning Research Limited, Loughborough, Leicestershire, United Kingdom; and 2School of Sport
and Recreation, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand

ABSTRACT                                      and power, and whether they are useful        measured by the half squat and counter-
                                              for improving aerobic fitness. Addition-      movement jump. The subjects performed
    STUDIES SUPPORT THE USE OF
                                              ally, researchers have been interested in     Pavel Tsatsouline’s Program Minimum
    KETTLEBELLS FOR IMPROVING
                                              several biomechanical factors (muscle         protocol with 16-kg kettlebells for men
    POWER, ALTHOUGH EVIDENCE                  activity, ground reaction forces, lumbar      over 70 kg of body weight and 12-kg
    FOR USING THEM TO IMPROVE                 motion, and spinal loading) associated        kettlebells for men under 70 kg of body
    STRENGTH AND AEROBIC FITNESS              with various kettlebell movements, with       weight (see Tsatsouline (20)). It was
    IS STILL EQUIVOCAL. STUDIES               the kettlebell swing being the most com-      found that both programs improved
    INVESTIGATING THE BIOMECHANI-             monly researched exercise.                    maximum and explosive strength signifi-
    CAL PROPERTIES OF KETTLEBELL                                                            cantly and to the same extent. It is pos-
    TRAINING HAVE BEEN FRUITFUL,                                                            sible that the positive results observed by
                                              CHRONIC EFFECTS OF
    AND IT MAY BE USEFUL FOR                                                                the program implemented by Lake and
                                              KETTLEBELL TRAINING ON
    DEVELOPING SPRINT RUNNING                 STRENGTH AND POWER                            Lauder (10) arose as a result of the
    PERFORMANCE AND FOR INJURY                Several investigations have looked at         heavier weights used, which may have
    PREVENTION. HOWEVER, WE STILL             strength and power changes with               resulted in a greater training stimulus
    DO NOT KNOW THE OPTIMAL                   chronic kettlebell training. Jay et al.       and therefore more significant adapta-
    LOADS FOR MAXIMIZING SYSTEM               (8) investigated the effects of kettlebell    tions. Similarly, Otto et al. (16) compared
    AND JOINT POWER PRODUCTION,               training on postural coordination and         the effects of a 6-week, 2 days per week,
    HOW THE MECHANICS, JOINT                  countermovement jump height in                weightlifting or kettlebell program on
    MOMENTS, AND ELECTROMYO-                  untrained subjects. They implemented          maximum strength (as measured by the
    GRAPHIC ACTIVITY CHANGES AS               a standard 8-week kettlebell training         back squat) and explosive strength (as
    LOADS INCREASE DURING KET-                program involving progressions from           measured by the vertical jump and power
    TLEBELL SWINGS, NOR WHETHER               the unweighted swing to the kettlebell        clean) in resistance-trained subjects. The
                                              deadlift, to the 2-handed kettlebell          kettlebell group performed kettlebell
    KETTLEBELL TRAINING TRANSFERS
                                              swing, and finally to the 1-handed            swings, accelerated swings, and goblet
    TO SPORTS PERFORMANCE.
                                              kettlebell swing. Male subjects used a        squats with a 16-kg kettlebell, whereas
                                              12-kg kettlebell, and female subjects         the Olympic-style weightlifting group
INTRODUCTION                                  used an 8-kg kettlebell. The program          performed back squats and Olympic-
         he use of kettlebells in the         did not significantly improve counter-        style pull variations. Although both

T        United States is a recent phe-
         nomenon. As a result, research-
ers have just started to investigate the
                                              movement jump height in comparison
                                              with a control group. In contrast, Lake
                                              and Lauder (10) compared the effects of
                                                                                            groups improved vertical jump similarly,

                                                                                              KEY WORDS:
utility of kettlebells in strength and con-   a 6-week program of kettlebell swing            kettlebell swing exercise; sprint running;
ditioning programs over the last few          training with a similar program of jump         horizontal jumping; hamstrings; gluteus
years. Of primary interest is whether ket-    squats in resistance-trained athletes on        maximus; hip extensors
tlebells can be used to develop strength      maximum and explosive strength, as

64      VOLUME 36 | NUMBER 3 | JUNE 2014                                     Copyright Ó National Strength and Conditioning Association
The Role of Kettlebells in Strength and Conditioning: A Review of the Literature
and both groups improved strength            strength measures. Two of the studies         a maximum kettlebell 5-minute snatch
measures, the group that performed           compared kettlebell exercises with            test, a maximum treadmill test, and
weightlifting improved back squat and        more traditional methods. One of these        heart rate response and energy cost
power clean by a greater amount than         found that kettlebells produced similar       during a less intense 20-minute kettle-
the kettlebell group. This seems to sug-     results, and the other found that kettle-     bell workout. They found that tread-
gest that weightlifting leads to superior    bells produced inferior results. Three of     mill V̇ O2max was 38.9 mL$kg21$min21,
improvements in vertical sports-specific     the 4 studies investigating power trans-      whereas the kettlebell V̇ O2max was
performance than kettlebell training.        fer found that kettlebells improved           31.6 mL$kg21$min21, which was
However, the weightlifting group per-        measures of power. Two of these stud-         81.2% of the treadmill V̇ O2max. During
formed a greater volume of work and          ies compared kettlebells with more tra-       the standard 20-minute workout, they
trained with greater specificity to          ditional methods and both found that          found that heart rate averaged 164 6
these 2 tests. Manocchia et al. (12)         kettlebells produced similar results to       15 beats per minute, which equated to
investigated the carryover of kettle-        traditional methods of power develop-         93 6 4.5% of maximum heart rate. Farrar
bell training to strength and endur-         ment. Although the evidence is still          et al. (3) also measured oxygen cost and
ance on traditional lifts compared           very sparse, it seems that kettlebell         the heart rate response during a com-
with a nontraining control group             training is more likely to demonstrate        monly used 12-minute kettlebell exercise
using a 10-week periodized program           useful improvements in power than in          routine and compared the results with
training twice per week in resistance-       strength, however it is noted that in all     the V̇ O2max and heart rate response
trained subjects. The workouts com-          of these studies, very light weights          measured during a maximal treadmill
prised a wide range of exercises and         were used, and it is likely that different    test. The researchers found that during
included non-kettlebell exercises such       results might have been achieved using        the kettlebell exercise bout, the oxygen
as push-ups. The kettlebell group            heavier loads.                                cost was 34.3 6 5.7 mL$kg21$min21,
improved their bench press 3 repeti-                                                       which was 65.3 6 9.8% of the measured
tion maximum (RM) and their clean
                                             ACUTE AND CHRONIC EFFECTS OF                  V̇ O2max during the treadmill test. The
                                             KETTLEBELL TRAINING ON
and jerk 3RM significantly in compar-        CARDIOVASCULAR MEASURES                       measured heart rates were similar to
ison with the nontraining control,           Several investigations have looked at         those reported by Schnettler et al. (19)
thereby demonstrating increases in           either chronic changes in cardiovascu-        at 165 6 13 beats per minute, which was
both strength and power. Finally,            lar fitness or the acute physiological        87 6 6% of maximum heart rate. Husley
Jay et al. (7) performed a study com-        responses to kettlebell training. Jay         et al. (6) examined the oxygen consump-
paring the effects of 3 days per week        et al. (7) performed a study comparing        tion and the heart rate response during
of kettlebell interval training over 8       the effects of 3 days per week of kettle-     a typical 10-minute kettlebell swing rou-
weeks with a control for improving           bell interval training over 8 weeks with      tine and compared it with a treadmill run
measures of back, neck, and shoulder         a control for improving measures of           at an equivalent rating of perceived exer-
pain, as well as back extensor strength      back, neck, and shoulder pain, as well        tion (RPE). The researchers observed
in untrained subjects. The pain inten-       as aerobic fitness in untrained subjects.     that oxygen consumption was signifi-
sity of the lower back and the muscu-        They did not notice any change in aer-        cantly higher for treadmill running
lar strength of the back extensors           obic fitness in relation to a control         (46.7 6 7.3 mL$kg21$min21) than
improved more in the intervention            group over the 8-week period. How-            for kettlebell swings (34.1 6 4.7
group than in the control group.             ever, the workouts used began with pro-       mL$kg21$min21). In fact, the average
In summary, to date, we have found 5         gressions from the unweighted swing to        oxygen consumption during the ket-
studies that have investigated the           the kettlebell deadlift, then to the          tlebell workout was 73% of the oxygen
effects of kettlebell training on meas-      2-handed kettlebell swing, and finally        consumption during the treadmill
ures of strength and power (Jay et al.       to the 1-handed kettlebell swing. Male        workout at the same RPE. In regards
(8), Lake and Lauder (10), Otto et al.       subjects used a 12-kg kettlebell, and         to heart rate response, Husley et al. (6)
(16), Manocchia et al. (12), and Jay         female subjects used an 8-kg kettlebell.      found that heart rate averaged 89 6
et al. (7)). Four of the studies investi-    The use of unloaded progressions to           5.3% of age-predicted maximum for
gated the effects on power production        begin with and the relatively light loads     the kettlebell workout and was similar
(Lake and Lauder (10), Otto et al. (16),     in comparison with other studies may          for both kettlebell (180 6 12 beats
Manocchia et al. (12) and Jay et al. (8)),   have resulted in inadequate training          per minute) and treadmill (177 6 11
and 4 of the studies investigated the        stimulus to produce any adaptations.          beats per minute) workouts.
effects on strength (Jay et al. (7), Lake    Three studies have investigated the           In summary, only 1 study (Jay et al. (7))
and Lauder (10), Otto et al. (16),           acute physiological responses to ket-         so far has investigated the effect of a ket-
Manocchia et al. (12)). All 4 studies        tlebell training. Schnettler et al. (19)      tlebell program on aerobic fitness and
investigating strength transfer found        investigated V̇ O2max, heart rate             found that it had no measurable effect.
that kettlebells did in fact improve         response, and energy cost during              Three studies (Schnettler et al. (19),

                                                                       Strength and Conditioning Journal | www.nsca-scj.com       65
The Role of Kettlebells in Strength and Conditioning: A Review of the Literature
Kettlebells

Farrar et al. (3), and Husley et al. (6))     femoris (long head), a lateral hamstring.   injury prevention, although further
investigated oxygen cost and heart rate       Unfortunately, they did not specify         research is required in this area to con-
response acutely during kettlebell            whether a certain type of swing was man-    firm this suggestion.
workouts in comparison with treadmill         dated nor which type of swing was actu-
                                                                                          In a second study exploring EMG
running. In general, in these studies, the    ally used. They found that there was
oxygen consumption during kettlebell          greater activation of the semitendinosus    activity, McGill and Marshall (14)
workouts was found to be less than that       than of the biceps femoris (long head)      investigated the muscle activation
observed during treadmill running at          during kettlebell swings. This finding      of various trunk, leg, and back muscles
similar intensities. However in these         may have relevance for sports-specific      during several kettlebell movements,
studies, heart rate response was found        training because sprint running             including the kettlebell swing, kettle-
to be similar in kettlebell training to       involves greater medial than lateral        bell swings with kime, kettlebell
that in treadmill running. The V̇ O2max       hamstring activation, as Jönhagen          snatches, the kettlebell bottoms-up
values observed during the more chal-         et al. (9) and Higashihara et al. (5)       carry, and the kettlebell racked carry.
lenging kettlebell workouts, which            have shown. Exercises such as the           According to McGill and Marshall
lasted between 5 and 20 minutes were          kettlebell swing, which activate the        (14), “kime” is a technique that in-
higher than 60% V̇ O2max, which would         medial hamstrings by a greater              volves a brief muscular “pulsing” at
classify them as “hard” exercise accord-      amount than the lateral hamstrings,         the top of a kettlebell swing in an
ing to the definitions used by the Amer-      may therefore be useful for inclusion       attempt to train rapid muscle
ican College of Sports Medicine [see          in a sprint running training program.       contraction-relaxation. In this study,
Pollock et al. (17)]. However, no studies     Zebis et al. (23) also reported that        although the researchers did not
as of yet have been able to demonstrate       the kettlebell swing activated the          explicitly refer to the possibility of
improvements in aerobic fitness as            hamstrings at high degrees of hip flex-     2 types of swing being used, they did
a result of kettlebell training.              ion. This may suggest that the kettle-      note that the subjects began the
                                              bell swing could lead to improvements       swings in a squat position, and there-
THE BIOMECHANICS OF                           in strength and hypertrophy in differ-      fore it seems likely that a squat-
KETTLEBELL TRAINING                                                                       dominant swing was adopted. McGill
                                              ent parts of the hamstring muscles
There are 2 main styles of kettlebell         compared with exercises that activate       and Marshall (14) found during the
swing: the hip-dominant swing and             the hamstrings most strongly at low         kettlebell swing and the kettlebell
the squat-dominant swing. In a previous       degrees of hip flexion such as the Nor-     swing with kime that the gluteal acti-
review comparing these 2 swing types,         dic hamstring curl (Zebis et al. (23)).     vation peak occurred late in the swing
Matthews and Cohen (13) suggested             Using magnetic resonance imaging            cycle and was closely associated with
that hip-dominant kettlebell swings are       (MRI) scans, Mendiguchia et al. (15)        the final degrees of hip extension. This
an excellent alternative to traditional       found that the signal intensity in var-     was an interesting finding as Worrell
hamstring exercises such as the               ious regions of 3 different hamstring       et al. (22) reported in a dynamometer
Romanian deadlift. They proposed that         muscles differed depending on the           experiment that the mean percentage
hip-dominant kettlebell swings are par-       exercise selected. This phenomenon          of gluteus maximus EMG was highest
ticularly useful for strength and condi-      can be observed in other muscle             in full hip extension (08) compared
tioning coaches because they place            groups also. Wakahara et al. (21)           with that reached at 30, 60, or 908 of
a greater emphasis on rapid eccentric         reported that the muscle activation         hip flexion. Whether the kettlebell
control of the hamstrings in stretch-         in different regions of the triceps dur-    swing involves maximum gluteus
shortening cycle movements than more          ing resistance training is associated       maximus activity at the degree of
traditional exercises and also allow train-   with regional hypertrophy in those          hip flexion where gluteus maximus
ing of the hamstrings at more sports-         same areas. Bloomquist et al. (1) used      EMG is maximal is uncertain. How-
specific speeds. Unfortunately, where re-     MRI scans to record the differences in      ever, the findings of McGill and
searchers have investigated the biome-        hypertrophy after programs of either        Marshall (14) suggest that the peak
chanics of the kettlebell swing, they have    deep or shallow back squats in the ham-     is not in high degrees of hip flexion.
not always specified exactly whether 1        strings and anterior thigh muscles. Dif-    This may make kettlebell swings a use-
type of swing was mandated for the sub-       ferent types of squats led to varying       ful complement to movements that
jects or which was generally used.            degrees of hypertrophy at each point        involve maximal hip extension torque
Two studies so far have investigated elec-    measured along the proximal to distal       in high degrees of hip flexion such as
tromyographic (EMG) activity during           length of the thigh. Strength and condi-    squats and deadlifts. McGill and
kettlebell movements. Zebis et al. (23)       tioning coaches could therefore use ket-    Marshall (14) also noted that the addi-
investigated the relative muscular activity   tlebell swings in combination with other    tion of kime to the swing mostly
of the hamstring muscles by measuring         exercises to create an even development     affected the abdominal muscles, with
the EMG activity of the semitendinosus,       of strength and size at all points along    the largest increases in activation
a medial hamstring, and the biceps            the hamstring muscles. This may aid         occurring in the external oblique

66      VOLUME 36 | NUMBER 3 | JUNE 2014
muscles (101% increase in the right         effects of kettlebell training on maximal     aerobic fitness, and most studies have
external obliques and 140% increase         strength discussed above. However,            concentrated on standard low-load
in the left). Overall, although the         Lake and Lauder (11) also found that          kettlebells weighing up to 32 kg.
snatch and the swing seemed to be           power outputs were similar in jump            However, the majority of studies sup-
very similar, the researchers noted         squats and kettlebell swings, particu-        port the use of kettlebells for improv-
some differences in muscle activation,      larly with the 32-kg kettlebell. They         ing power, the evidence for using
in that the snatch displayed greater        therefore suggested that kettlebell           them for improving strength and aer-
activity in the right external obliques,    swings might be appropriate for inclu-        obic fitness is still equivocal. Studies
the right rectus femoris, and the left      sion into a power-based program.              investigating the biomechanical prop-
internal obliques. There was little         Again, this is consistent with the            erties of kettlebell training have been
activity in the trunk, leg, and back        results of studies investigating the pos-     more fruitful. Researchers have so far
muscles noted during the 2 types of         itive effects of kettlebell training on       found that kettlebell swings in partic-
carries. McGill and Marshall (14) also      explosive strength discussed above.           ular have certain features that may
reported on shear and compressive           Lake and Lauder (11) also noted that          make them useful for training ath-
lumbar joint loads. They found that         the relative contribution of the hori-        letes. The summary of these findings
both shear and compressive loads            zontal and vertical components of             and their practical implications is
were the highest at the beginning of        ground reaction forces during kettle-         shown in Table 1.
the swing. Compressive loads were           bell swings was different to that during
3,195 N at the bottom of the swing,         squats. They observed that kettlebell         DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE
whereas shear loads were 461 N. Add-        swings had a much higher proportion           KETTLEBELL RESEARCH
ing kime to the swing had little effect     of horizontal forces. They suggest that       There remain many gaps in kettlebell
except at the top of the swing, where       this is because the kettlebell is actively    research at the moment. However,
both shear and compressive loads re-        projected forwards by hip extension.          research involving kettlebells is a rap-
mained high, whereas they reduced           Additionally, the highest net impulse         idly growing area, so by the time this
significantly in comparison at the          that they recorded during their study         article is published, some of the infor-
same point during normal swings.            was produced by the kettlebell swing          mation below could be outdated.
McGill and Marshall (14) commented          with 32 kg (276 N$s), which was               Below, we offer our suggestions to
that less shear loading is considered to    greater than the largest impulse              future researchers, separated into 9
be more optimal. There was little dif-      recorded in the back squat, using             different categories.
ference in spinal loads between the         60% of 1RM (183 N$s) and in the
snatch and the swing. However, spinal       jump squat, using 40% of 1RM back             LOADING
loads were found to be significantly        squat (231 N$s). Hip-dominant kettle-         Kettlebells range broadly in size, just
greater in the bottoms-up position          bell swings may therefore have appli-         as dumbbells. In fact, several manu-
carry than in the racked position carry     cations in certain sporting movements         facturers sell heavy kettlebells—one
and in normal walking.                      that involve hip extension to create          particular brand sells kettlebells of
                                            horizontal propulsion. For example,           80, 88, 97, 106, 124, 150, 176, and
Lake and Lauder (11) investigated the       it has been reported that horizontal          203 lb. Advanced strength and power
ground reaction forces and power out-       ground reaction forces display greater        athletes of larger body weight
puts during kettlebell swings with loads    increases than vertical ground reac-          can indeed progress to the 203-lb
up to 32 kg and compared them with          tion forces when accelerating to max-         kettlebell for swings. Just as previous
both heavy back squats and jump             imal velocity during sprint running           research has examined barbell
squats. In their description of the ket-    (Randell et al. (18)). Hip-dominant           and dumbbell training with a variety
tlebell swing, they referred to the exer-   kettlebell swings may therefore be            of loads ranging from light to maxi-
cise as a hip-hinge movement and            useful for developing short-distance          mal, future studies should examine
noted that the subjects were instructed     sprint running ability because such           the kinematics, kinetics, and transfer
to lead with the hips. This implies that    sprints generally involve a large accel-      of training of different loads of
a hip-dominant swing was used. It was       eration phase. Kettlebell swings may          kettlebells.
found that the ground reaction forces       also produce other different training
were greatest in the order: heavy back      effects because of the greater impulses       POWER AND GROUND REACTION
squats . jump squats . kettlebell           generated.                                    FORCES
swings. They therefore concluded that                                                     We still do not know the optimal load
kettlebell swings using loads of 32 kg or   SUMMARY OF CURRENT                            for maximizing system power produc-
less may therefore not be optimal for       KETTLEBELL RESEARCH                           tion, which takes into account the
developing strength. This conclusion        There is currently very little research       subjects’ body mass and the mass of
seems to be consistent with the equiv-      investigating the effects of kettlebell       the external resistance during kettle-
ocal results of studies investigating the   training on strength, power, and              bell swings, cleans, and snatches. Since

                                                                      Strength and Conditioning Journal | www.nsca-scj.com    67
Kettlebells

                                                              Table 1
                         Summary of research and recommendations in relation to kettlebell swings

 Observation                                                                               Recommendation
 Kettlebell swings seem to activate the medial hamstrings more Kettlebell swings may be suitable for sprinters because sprint
   than the lateral hamstrings in comparison with other          running also involves the medial hamstrings more than the
   hamstrings exercises                                          lateral hamstrings
 Kettlebell swings produce a higher ratio of horizontal-to-vertical Kettlebell swings may be useful for training for sporting actions
   ground reaction forces than jump squats or squats                  involving horizontal propulsion such as sprint running
 Kettlebell swings using a pronounced hip-dominant pattern         Kettlebell swings may be useful for training for stretch-
   may be useful for strengthening the hamstrings at sports-         shortening cycle sporting movements in sports as are found
   specific speeds and in a stretch-shortening cycle pattern         in sports such as American football, baseball, basketball, and
                                                                     track and field
 Kettlebell swings produce greatest hamstring activity in high Kettlebell swings may be useful for injury prevention because
   degrees of hip flexion, which is different from other exercises coaches can use several exercises that target the hamstrings
   such as the Nordic hamstring curl, which produce the            at different muscle lengths and therefore produce strength
   greatest hamstring activity in low degrees of hip flexion       and size gains evenly along the whole muscle
 Kettlebell swings create peak gluteal activation at a point near Kettlebell swings may be useful for training the strength and
   full hip extension, the degree of hip flexion in which gluteal   power of the gluteal muscles in full hip extension as
   activity is highest during maximum voluntary contractions        a complement to exercises that train the gluteals
                                                                    predominantly in hip flexion such as squats and deadlifts
 Kettlebell swings using moderate loads produce a similar power Kettlebell swings may be useful for substituting into a power
   output to jump squats with conventional training loads         phase of programming, particularly where horizontal
                                                                  propulsion is required

1RM loads are not always conducive            knees, hips, and lumbar spine, along          hip extensor hypertrophy as well.
to kettlebell training, optimal loads         with the muscle activation of the             Finally, studies need to determine
could be reported relative to body            quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals, and         the nature of transfer between heavy
weight. Vertical and horizontal forces        core musculature, during kettlebell           kettlebell training and powerlifting
must be taken into account when               swings, cleans, and snatches of vary-         and weightlifting performance, spe-
calculating power measurements.               ing loads. The hip extension torque           cifically examining the effects on
Moreover, we do not yet know the              curve throughout the entire hip range         squat, deadlift, clean, and snatch
optimal load for maximizing individ-          of motion should be graphed. Fur-             performance.
ual joint power during kettlebell             thermore, the compressive and sheer
swings, cleans, and snatches. In partic-      loading with heavier swings should be
ular, the optimal load for hip exten-         studied.
                                                                                            EFFECTS ON ENDURANCE
sion power, determined by the
                                                                                            PERFORMANCE
product of the hip extension torque
                                              EFFECTS ON FUNCTIONAL AND                     Future research could investigate
and the hip extension angular velocity,
                                              EXPLOSIVE PERFORMANCE                         the changes in aerobic fitness over
should be examined. Finally, the
                                              Future research needs to examine the          a period of several weeks as a result
nature of vertical and horizontal
                                              training effects of kettlebell swing          of more typical and challenging
ground reaction force changes with
                                              training on functional performance.           kettlebell routines such as the
increasing     loads     should      be
                                              For example, sit-to-stand, balance,           12-minute and 20-minute swing
investigated.
                                              and gait performance in the elderly.          and snatch workouts used in previ-
                                              Moreover, the effects of heavy kettle-        ous acute studies (e.g., Schnettler
JOINT MOTION, JOINT TORQUE,                   bell swing training on vertical and           et al. (19), Farrar et al. (3), and Husley
MUSCLE ACTIVATION, AND                        horizontal jumping, in addition to            et al. (6)). Moreover, it would
SPINAL LOADING                                acceleration and maximum speed                be useful to compare the changes
Studies should examine the inherent           running, need to be examined in               with the improvements that can
joint motions of the ankles, knees,           untrained, resistance-trained, and            be obtained in a similar period with
hips, and spine with progressively            athlete populations. It would be ben-         conventional continuous treadmill
heavier swings. Research needs to             eficial to know whether heavy ket-            training or with interval training using
determine the joint moments at the            tlebell swings can induce significant         other conventional gym equipment

68      VOLUME 36 | NUMBER 3 | JUNE 2014
such as cycle ergometers or rowing          or Olympic-style lift variations. How-
                                                                                                                      Chris
machines.                                   ever, it may actually be more appropri-
                                                                                                                      Beardsley is the
                                            ate to compare kettlebell strength and
                                                                                                                      Director of
DIFFERENT TYPES OF SWINGS                   power improvements with a hip-
                                                                                                                      Strength and
There are different ways to swing           dominant exercise, such as an explosive,
                                                                                                                      Conditioning
a kettlebell. Swings can be per-            submaximal deadlift, or a hex-bar dead-
                                                                                                                      Research
formed with more of a squatting             lift jump, rather than a knee-dominant
                                                                                                                      Limited.
emphasis that places more stress on         exercise, such as a squat or jump squat.
the knee joints or with more of             Finally, research should determine
a hinging emphasis that places more         whether kettlebell swing training is
stress on the hip joints. Future            safer or riskier and more or less effective
research needs to clarify the differ-       than traditional plyometric, heavy                                        Bret Contreras
ences in kinematics and kinetics,           lower-body resistance training, or                                        is currently pur-
along with the transfer of training,        Olympic-style lift training in developing                                 suing his PhD at
with the different types of swing var-      lower-body speed and power.                                               AUT University.
iations. The CrossFit groups prefer what
has been described as an “American”
swing (see Glassman (4)), whereas the       HOW KINEMATICS AND KINETICS
                                            CHANGE WITH EXPERIENCE
Russian Kettlebell Certification use
                                            Finally, we need to learn how subjects
what is termed a “Russian” swing.
                                            improve their performance over time
The Russian Kettlebell Certification
                                            with kettlebell swing training. For
was previously known as the Russian
                                            example, it would be important to
Kettlebell Challenge (see Tsatsouline
                                            know how kinematics and kinetics
(20)), and both have been abbreviated
                                            change with 2 years of consistent ket-
as RKC. The “American” type of
                                            tlebell swing training.                         REFERENCES
swing involves a greater range of ket-                                                       1. Bloomquist K, Langberg H, Karlsen S,
tlebell motion and a more quad-                                                                 Madsgaard S, Boesen M, and Raastad T.
dominant style of performance (see                                                              Effect of range of motion in heavy load
                                            CONCLUSION
Glassman (4)). The “Russian” type                                                               squatting on muscle and tendon
of swing involves a shorter range of        Kettlebells can be used for all types of            adaptations. Eur J Appl Physiol 1–10, 2013.
kettlebell motion and a more hip-           populations to develop physical fit-             2. Brumitt J, Gilpin HE, Brunette M, and
dominant style of performance (see          ness. They can be used in rehabilita-               Meira EP. Incorporating kettlebells into
Tsatsouline (20)).                          tion settings to develop mobility and               a lower extremity sports rehabilitation
                                            stability, as Brumitt et al. (2) have               program. N Am J Sports Phys Ther 5:
OTHER KETTLEBELL EXERCISES                  noted. They can be used in the condi-               257–265, 2010.
Future research should also study dif-      tioning of endurance athletes and they           3. Farrar RE, Mayhew JL, and Koch AJ. Oxygen
ferent kettlebell exercises. We have        can be used to improve explosiveness                cost of kettlebell swings. J Strength Cond
a great deal to learn about Turkish         in power athletes. Although there is                Res 24: 1034–1036, 2010.
Get Ups, goblet squats, and other           clearly still a great deal to learn about        4. Glassman G. The kettlebell swing. CrossFit
potentially effective kettlebell lifts,     the properties of standard kettlebell               J 25: 2004. Retrieved from http://www.
insofar as no studies have ascertained                                                          crossfit.com/journal/library/25_04_
                                            training exercises and their effect on
                                                                                                kettlebell_swing.pdf
the key joint moments and muscular          strength, power, and aerobic fitness,
activity in comparison with similar         the research so far indicates that they          5. Higashihara A, Ono T, Kubota J, Okuwaki T,
                                                                                                and Fukubayashi T. Functional differences
dumbbell or barbell exercises.              could be a promising tool for strength
                                                                                                in the activity of the hamstring muscles with
                                            and conditioning coaches, particularly
COMPARISON WITH OTHER                                                                           increasing running speed. J Sports Sci 28:
EXERCISES                                   with respect to improving lumbo-                    1085–1092, 2010.
We need to learn how kettlebell train-      pelvic-hip complex patterning and                6. Husley CR, Soto DT, Koch AJ, and
ing compares with other training in         posterior chain power during horizon-               Mayhew JL. Comparison of kettlebell
terms of power output, muscle activa-       tal movements. However, the current                 swings and treadmill running at equivalent
tion, and other measures. For example,      body of literature is still very small,             RPE Values. J Strength Cond Res 26:
                                            and there are many avenues to explore               1203–1207, 2012.
it would be valuable to know the met-
abolic effects of heavy kettlebell swings   before it is clear how they can best be          7. Jay K, Frisch D, Hansen K, Zebis MK,

versus maximal sprint running. It would     implemented into training routines.                 Andersen CH, Mortensen OS, and
                                                                                                Andersen LL. Kettlebell training for
also be beneficial to know whether the      Conflicts of Interest and Source of Funding:        musculoskeletal and cardiovascular health:
heavy kettlebell swing involved greater     The authors report no conflicts of interest         A randomized controlled trial. Scand J
hip power production than jump squat        and no source of funding.                           Work, Environ Health 37: 196–203, 2011.

                                                                        Strength and Conditioning Journal | www.nsca-scj.com            69
Kettlebells

 8. Jay K, Jakobsen MD, Sundstrup E,                    loads. J Strength Cond Res 26: 16–27,                 in half the time. ACE Fitness Matters
    Skotte JH, Jørgensen MB, Andersen CH,               2012.                                                 6: 16, 2010.
    Pedersen MT, and Andersen LL. Effects of
                                                   15. Mendiguchia J, Garrues MA, Cronin JB,             20. Tsatsouline P. Enter the Kettlebell. St. Paul,
    kettlebell training on postural coordination
                                                       Contreras B, Arcos AL, Malliaropoulos N,              MN: Dragon Door Publications, Inc., 2006.
    and jump performance: A randomized
                                                       Maffulli N, and Idoate F. Non-uniform changes         pp. 23–24.
    controlled trial. J Strength Cond Res 27:
                                                       in MRI measurements of the thigh muscles
    1202–1209, 2013.                                                                                     21. Wakahara T, Miyamoto N, Sugisaki N,
                                                       following two hamstring strengthening
                                                                                                             Murata K, Kanehisa H, Kawakami Y,
 9. Jönhagen S, Ericson MO, Nemeth G, and             exercises. The J Strength Conditioning Res
                                                                                                             Fukunaga T, and Yanai T. Association
    Eriksson E. Amplitude and timing of                2012. Epub ahead of print.
                                                                                                             between regional differences in muscle
    electromyographic activity during sprinting.
                                                   16. Otto WH III, Coburn JW, Brown LE, and                 activation in one session of resistance
    Scand J Med Sci Sports 6: 15–21, 2007.
                                                       Spiering BA. Effects of weightlifting vs.             exercise and in muscle hypertrophy after
10. Lake JP and Lauder MA. Kettlebell swing            kettlebell training on vertical jump, strength,       resistance training. Eur J Appl Physiol 112:
    training improves maximal and explosive            and body composition. J Strength Cond                 1569–1576, 2012.
    strength. J Strength Cond Res 26: 2228–            Res 26: 1199–1202, 2012.
    2233, 2012.                                                                                          22. Worrell TW, Karst G, Adamczyk D,
                                                   17. Pollock ML, Gaesser GA, Butcher JD,                   Moore R, Stanley C, Steimel B, and
11. Lake JP and Lauder MA. Mechanical                  Després JP, Dishman RK, Franklin BA, and             Steimel S. Influence of joint position on
    demands of kettlebell swing exercise.              Garber CE. ACSM position stand: The                   electromyographic and torque generation
    J Strength Cond Res 26: 3209–3216, 2012.           recommended quantity and quality of                   during maximal voluntary isometric
12. Manocchia P, Spierer DK, Lufkin AK,                exercise for developing and maintaining               contractions of the hamstrings and gluteus
    Minichiello J, and Castro J. Transference of       cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness, and           maximus muscles. The J Orthopaedic
    kettlebell training to strength, power and         flexibility in healthy adults. Med Sci Sports         Sports Phys Ther 31: 730–740, 2001.
    endurance. J Strength Cond Res 27: 477–            Exerc 30: 975–991, 1998.
                                                                                                         23. Zebis MK, Skotte J, Andersen CH,
    484, 2013.                                     18. Randell AD, Cronin JB, Keogh JW, and                  Mortensen P, Petersen HH, Viskær TC,
13. Matthews M and Cohen D. The Modified               Gill ND. Transference of strength and power           Jensen TL, Bencke J, and Andersen LL.
    Kettlebell Swing. Strength Cond J 2012.            adaptation to sports performance-horizontal           Kettlebell swing targets semitendinosus
    Epub ahead of print.                               and vertical force production. Strength               and supine leg curl targets biceps femoris:
                                                       Conditioning J 32: 100–106, 2010.                     An EMG study with rehabilitation
14. McGill SM and Marshall LW. Kettlebell swing,
    snatch, and bottoms-up carry: Back and hip     19. Schnettler C, Porcari J, Foster C, and                implications. Br J Sports Med 2012. Epub
    muscle activation, motion, and low back            Anders M. Kettlebells: Twice the results              ahead of print.

70       VOLUME 36 | NUMBER 3 | JUNE 2014
You can also read