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Kettlebell Favourite C&P assistance exercises

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Bauer

Bauer

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What are your favourite C&P assistance exercises?

So far, I have tried:
Overloads: TGUs, KB floor presses, cleans (all done 4-8kg heavier than my C&P bell)
High Tension Presess: One-legged presses, BU presses

However, maybe dips, rows, pullups, triceps extensions, windmills or something else (maybe crawling, carries, or commando rocking) might be other worthy choices.

Do you have favourites? And favourite ways of programming them?

I an relatively new to pressing. So far I have added a low volume of 1-2 exercises to my variety days, as per ROP.
 
Bauer said:
What are your favourite C&P assistance exercises?

So far, I have tried:
Overloads: TGUs, KB floor presses, cleans (all done 4-8kg heavier than my C&P bell)
High Tension Presess: One-legged presses, BU presses

However, maybe dips, rows, pullups, triceps extensions, windmills or something else (maybe crawling, carries, or commando rocking) might be other worthy choices.

Do you have favourites? And favourite ways of programming them?

I an relatively new to pressing. So far I have added a low volume of 1-2 exercises to my variety days, as per ROP.
Click to expand...
I always loved the 5(5) Heavier than Press Loaded Cleans supersetted with 5(1) Heavier than Press Turkish Get Ups. 3 Minutes rest between sets.
 
I've never felt much need for KB pressing assistance exercises. I've never felt like my pressing was being held back by anything that consistency and patience couldn't fix. Or, in other words, a lack of consistency and patience is the most obvious thing that has held back my pressing.

When trying to acclimate or transition to a heavier working bell, I like doing loaded cleans. And I've gotten some good carryover with long push presses (front squat and initiate the press just as you lock out the squat, not really using leg drive to launch the bell). I've never gotten great carryover from regular push presses to strict presses. I tend to stall in the bottom half of the press, so I feel like regular push presses just let me bypass the range I really need to get stronger in. The long push press just gives a subtle little boost to build a little more momentum with a heavier weight.
 
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Steve W. said:
I've never felt much need for KB pressing assistance exercises. I've never felt like my pressing was being held back by anything that consistency and patience couldn't fix. Or, in other words, a lack of consistency and patience is the most obvious thing that has held back my pressing.

When trying to acclimate or transition to a heavier working bell, I like doing loaded cleans. And I've gotten some good carryover with long push presses (front squat and initiate the press just as you lock out the squat). I've never gotten great carryover from regular push presses to strict presses. I tend to stall in the bottom half of the press, so I feel like regular push presses just let me bypass the range I really need to get stronger in. The long push press just gives a subtle little boost to build a little more momentum with a heavier weight.
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing!
Ah yes, Pavel actually recommended the long push press in the ETK special report #1, I've just never really tried them, except when learning how to press in the first place. It's a bit like a condensed version of "strength aerobics" (C&P+FSq).
 
I was doing long push presses as per @Steve W. 's suggestion last fall. They felt like a great one-stop-shop, and they give you juuuuust enough extra momentum to get a heavier bell up without being an explosive movement.
 
Pull ups or chin ups and front squats. During my time doing STRONG! (24 weeks solid) I added on 1-2 things per session as my capacity allowed for it. The most consistent things I did were pulls/chins and front squats, though toward the end it got fairly intense so I would often skip the FSQ.
 
I view assistance as prehab/antagonistic rather than complementary. For me pressing my favorite assistance exercises are band pull aparts, rows and ab wheels. Toss in some lat stretches like dead hangs or stall bars and you should have some healthy shoulders as a base for all your pressing.
 
I've found 3 things:

1. Bench Press
2. Press Starts
3. Z Press (also called Straddle Press - you're sitting on the ground with your legs spread in a V)

The bench builds a strong lockout (I like it better than doing press lockouts), the press starts builds a stronger start and the willingness to press into that dead zone, and the Z press gives the shoulders a little more special attention while removing the most of the rest of the body from helping at all.
 
Bauer said:
What are your favourite C&P assistance exercises?

So far, I have tried:
Overloads: TGUs, KB floor presses, cleans (all done 4-8kg heavier than my C&P bell)
High Tension Presess: One-legged presses, BU presses

However, maybe dips, rows, pullups, triceps extensions, windmills or something else (maybe crawling, carries, or commando rocking) might be other worthy choices.

Do you have favourites? And favourite ways of programming them?

I an relatively new to pressing. So far I have added a low volume of 1-2 exercises to my variety days, as per ROP.
Click to expand...
Q&D style power push ups, presses during the GU, both on the way up and down.
 
sizzlefuzz said:
Pull ups or chin ups and front squats. During my time doing STRONG! (24 weeks solid) I added on 1-2 things per session as my capacity allowed for it. The most consistent things I did were pulls/chins and front squats, though toward the end it got fairly intense so I would often skip the FSQ.
Click to expand...

Pull ups actually helped your C&P?

Or were you doing them as accessory for balance vs pressing?
 
I've never been much for assistance exercises with an aim to boosting a primary one, but I would say my presses have been the strongest (easily managing 5 ladders to 5 of double 32 CPs without a long, progressive program to build to it) when I was also doing weighted dips 2x per week.

It was a mixed bag program of my own making and it also included dumbbell incline benching, feet-elevated (on a window sill) pushups on a medicine ball, lateral raises (followed by burnout presses with the same dumbbells), and some higher rep military presses with double 24s.

So there was a lot of assorted tricep, deltoid and upper chest work included but in my n=1 experience of my program, I really feel it was the weighted dips that made the biggest difference.
 
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Thanks for your replies. Good to know that assistance is not a clear term. So far, I think we could say assistance for C&P might focus on:

Making agonists and abs stronger:
  • specialized work/isolation
    • triceps: push downs, extension)
    • abs: ab wheel, hardstyle plank, see saw plank
    • upper back: rows, band pull aparts
  • lifts: dips, bench press, floor press, power pushups, TGU with presses
Getting used to the weight // training supporting muscles, tendons, etc. // building confidence:
  • heavier TGUs and cleans
  • long push press
  • KB Floor press
  • BU press

Prehab/antagonistic/shoulder health:
  • rows, pullups
  • cleans (and swings and snatches to some degree)
  • TGUs
  • arm bars, stretches
  • hanging
  • OS resets, especially rolling

When I switched from swings and TGUs to pressing I felt that my upper back was not stable enough. At first I added rows, but then I found that a focus on solid cleans, snatches and some shorter rack holds actually took care of it. Maybe I will add band pull-aparts to my warm-up and see what it does for me.

Arm bars and hanging have be vital for my shoulder health (stretching pecs and lats).

As for strengthening [fill blank], I think I will try
  • long push press
  • backwards crawling
  • light TGU with preses
 
For me it was heavy double cleans, as I found them extremely awkward in the double C+P whereas I found the double press to be pretty natural.

I guess answers will vary hugely on what part of the C+P is their weak point though, and with so many movers/stabilisers involved in the exercise it could be basically any part/parts of the body.
 
I take my KB for a weekly walk without putting it down once. I do a lot of carrying in the press position (i.e. waiters carry) and the rack position. I switch hands and/or carries at each streetpole, and do a clean for both these positions. I also do a few swings from time to time.

You learn a lot about comfort-under-stress after 25 minutes of walking with a KB and then clean+press a strong hand then walk another 50-80m and clean+press stronger hand and continue....then clean and march in a rack on the strong side...etc. then get fatigued and just walk with the KB in a suitcase carry.

WalKBies for the WIN! 2 gains of walkbing in the press position have been:
1. Locks my elbow. My years of Kung fu taught me to never lock my elbows and it's been a difficult challenge for me.
2. Packs my shoulder in. One learns how to find the most comfortable position and a packed shoulder is just that. of course, everything just breaks down at fatigue point.
my usual walkbies range from 30-45 minutes. my one time

The other trick that helps me is clean+press => lunges. I was very comfortable a few weeks ago with the 12kg KB when I was not running. But I completed that program and am now running 2-3/week and now using a 16kg KB...my legs are still shaky so I'm re-building my lunges slowly.
the target here is:
1. clean and press left hand: lunge left leg forward
2. clean and press left hand: lunge right leg forward
3. clean and press left hand: lunge left leg back
4. clean and press left hand: lunge right leg back
Then repeat with right hand. take appropriate rest periods. I tried with mixed success to press when I'm standing up and when I'm down on 1 knee. Ok, not mixed success, very little success. I will progress.

Mark Wildman has a wild video on lunges where he talks about lateral and ipsolateral training (or something, his hands always distract me) It's good stuff.
 
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