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Kettlebell High Rep Sumo DL for Size?

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marvinthemartian

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In RotK Pavel has you finish your workouts of the Grind Bock with KB sumo deadlifts for 2 sets of 20. Has anyone tried how effective these type of deadlifts are for hypertrophy training?

In RotK Pavel limits you to the weights you used during the very demanding C&P ladders you do before the deadlifts. But after playing around a bit with duct tape and ratchet straps with the KBs I have, I found that you could sumo DL much heavier weights without too much hassle. Getting close to weights that are often recommended for breathing squat routines (1-1.5x BW) should be no problem. If you find something to stand on you could even increase your range in motion to get more muscles involved.

I am still working towards Simple and will go after RoP afterwards. So plenty of work to do. :D But one thing I am wondering about is leg and whole body strength. With just the single KBs I will have after I start using the 32kg KB I will have close to 150kg/330llbs (4kg steps, two 28kgs) standing around. Not using that sounds like wasted potential to me.

I would love to hear what the people here think about that.

marvin
 
@marvinthemartian Why not just do double KB front squats with the 28s?
Because it is not a lot of weight? I can already do a few reps right now while still working S&S with a single 28kg KB having only done light goblet squats during my warmup. I am sure it is a fine exercise and I am not looking for a replacement for FS. But given how much more challenging it is to hold KBs in the rack position I am pretty sure your upper body gives out long before your legs. With the KB sumo DL you should be able to use weights similar to barbells. Which should make for a potent exercise to build strength and muscle. So I am wondering if anyone has tried something like I described above.
 
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Try front squats with double 28's, then report back. Whenever I front squat double 32's, my legs finish well before my rack position "notices" the bells.
Could be. I have only tried a couple workouts using doubles and I was more focused on wrestling the KBs in place to begin with. But ss I said, I don't doubt that KB Front Squats are a good exercise and I am not looking for a replacement for them. But I don't see how they fit the bill of a "barbell substitute" like I mentioned in my original post about KB sumo deadlifts.
 
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Could be. I have only tried a couple workouts using doubles and I was more focused on wrestling the KBs in place to begin with. But ss I said, I don't doubt that KB Front Squats are a good exercise and I am not looking for a replacement for them. But I don't see how they fit the bill of a "barbell substitute" like I mentioned in my original post about KB sumo deadlifts.
Dbl kb front squat is really good exercise for full body. Just stick with those. 2x32 front squat feels much harder than let's say 100kg back squat. Not so long time ago I saw Bud Jeffries doing those, he added some weight with dip belt and you could really see that even he suffered bit with those... He squatted 1000lbs back in the days.. it's not just legs. It's also everything else, upperback, abs, shoulders and conditioning.
 
Dbl kb front squat is really good exercise for full body. Just stick with those. 2x32 front squat feels much harder than let's say 100kg back squat. Not so long time ago I saw Bud Jeffries doing those, he added some weight with dip belt and you could really see that even he suffered bit with those... He squatted 1000lbs back in the days.. it's not just legs. It's also everything else, upperback, abs, shoulders and conditioning.
Just because they feel harder doesn't mean that they are more effective though :D
 
In RotK Pavel has you finish your workouts of the Grind Bock with KB sumo deadlifts for 2 sets of 20.

I think "2 sets of 20" and doing at "finish of the workout" is the key for hypertrophy. Basically fatigue the target muscles to get that growth stimulus. We don't often go for that particular type of fatigue (think, bodybuilding workouts) in kettlebell training.

Sets of double kettlebell front squats are great for multiple objectives - whole body exercise (as @Sauli said, upper back, abs, shoulders), leg strength development, great movement pattern, some energy systems training because you can do many sets so they can develop work capacity. But because they hit so many objectives, they're not the best way to get at certain objectives. They're not the best for strength. They're not the best for hypertrophy. Not to say they won't achieve some of both of these, but they're not the best way, if that is the specific objective.

Just because they feel harder doesn't mean that they are more effective though :D

Exactly. They the question becomes, "effective for what?" This thread is "for size" -- and I think your original idea from RotK is probably the best bet. I'd be surprised if you find someone who has tried exactly that. Why don't you try it and let us know how it goes? :)
 
Exactly. They the question becomes, "effective for what?" This thread is "for size" -- and I think your original idea from RotK is probably the best bet. I'd be surprised if you find someone who has tried exactly that. Why don't you try it and let us know how it goes?
I probably will. But first I have to get to Simple. Than comes RoP or another program like it. If High Rep Sumo DL are a good fit for Variety Day is something I will have to find out.

But I am surprised that Sumo KB deadlifts are so rarely done. It looks like such a straight forward exercise to do and to get more use out of your little KB colony. Oh well. Maybe I will see why they aren't done more often when I finally give them a try :D
 
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