Kettlebell How strong you can get with single kettlebell?

[Sauli]

One of the best things about kettlebell training IMO is that you need only few bells and you get nice workouts for overall fitness, but how strong you really can get with single bell?

Lets say that one has 24kg. He works to the point that he can press it 20+ times each hand, he can do 30min get up sessions get up every minute, he does 100 snatches under 5 minutes, he does weighted pull ups and pistols with it. Do you consider him strong?
What about guy who has 32kg and does same thing?

I think that guy who does those with 32kg is the beast.. actually he propably could pass the beast tamer challenge.
24kg guy is also pretty strong when compared to average person, but can he become stronger anymore with that bell?

 

[Antti]

I think what you mentioned are nice feats of strength. To be able to do them, especially with the 32kg kettlebell, certainly speaks of strength.

But there is a difference in being able to do those feats, and training for them.

And for everything, the answer is barbell squats.

 

[Snowman]

24kg guy is also pretty strong when compared to average person, but can he become stronger anymore with that bell?

Maybe? Bottoms up work, snatches with mittens, overspeed swings etc. You would have to get pretty creative, but I think he could get stronger if a heavier bell was truly not an option.

 

[Carl in Dover]

I believe that after a while your strength would plateau but your endurance would surely increase.

 

[Sauli]

Maybe? Bottoms up work, snatches with mittens, overspeed swings etc. You would have to get pretty creative, but I think he could get stronger if a heavier bell was truly not an option.

Yeah. Most of time bigger bell is option, but I just wondered If one can get strong enough with minimal equipment. All of us don’t want to buy pairs of 16,20,24,28,32,36,40,48,52, 56 and single 72 bell.
I have this theory that dominating 32kg equals doing rep or two with the beast.
So basically you could achieve good amount of strenght with 32kg bell.
Just build volume and do slow reps and stuff.

@Antti
Squat is absolutely best exercise to build your squat.
I have done ton of long cycles in past months and just noticed today that my pressing strength is gone. It’s that damn specifity of strength!

 

[Chrisdavisjr]

There are a number of ways to make an exercise more challenging when dealing with a fixed weight/resistance, however this will typically require greater mental and physical discipline from the trainee.
It's certainly possible to build strength with a single kettlebell of a fixed weight (beyond simply adding repetitions) by performing increasingly challenging movements, pausing at sticking points, using less favourable leverage, however the training effect does differ from using heavier weights.
Essentially, you may want a heavier kettlebell and there's no doubt that it would be highly beneficial, but you don't need a heavier kettlebell.
I'm sure even the most experienced gireviks here can think of at least one or two exercises that they would struggle to complete even with a 12/16kg bell.

 

[Antti]

@Antti
Squat is absolutely best exercise to build your squat.
I have done ton of long cycles in past months and just noticed today that my pressing strenght is gone. It’s that damn specifity of strenght!

Yes, the squat is obviously the best exercise for the squats.

However, I would say the same without "for the squats". Squats seem to have the best carryover to everything. I do not know why. I do not care why. I do care, however, to do them as it helps everything. The squat seems to do a good battle against the specificity you speak about.

 

[Oscar]

I think the answer is plain yes. If you need to be stronger or fitter than 200 snatches in 10 minutes with 24 kg, you are at such a high specific level of fitness that simply doesn't make sense to have limited training tools.

 

[Steve Freides]

If one can do 100 snatches in 5:00, one could aim for the SSST, 200 snatches in 10:00, and one could always aim for more than that if it was the only weight you had, or for more reps in the same time, e.g., people do upwards of 150 reps in 5:00 at the TSC.

One can also apply this metric to grinds - if one can press 20+ reps in a single set, one can then aim for density, e.g. aim for pressing 100 reps in a certain amount of time.

-S-

 

[Kozushi]

You can maintain a lot of strength, mobility and cardio with a 24kg kettlebell. Obviously if you're doing many of the same things with a 32, you're stronger.

 

[Bill Been]

Beyond adding enough volume with one bell to jump the chasm to the next bell, there's little to recommend additional volume with the smaller bell, unless your goal is endurance. It's helpful to remember that strength is the ability to produce force against an external resistance. A man who can press a 32 is stronger than a man who can't press a 32, irrespective how many more times the second guy can press a 24 than the first guy. Strength training, that is the training for a task that is limited by force production, occurs in relatively low rep ranges, typically 1-5. This allows the use of heavier loads which obviously make you stronger. Higher rep ranges are less and less limited by your ability to produce force, and increasingly limited by your ability to create energy, carry oxygen to your muscles, and clear metabolic byproducts. These are endurance adaptations.

Early in your training career, nearly any stimulus of nearly any magnitude (weight) in nearly any quantity (volume) will produce some level of strength adaptation, as any task that has a force production aspect to it will initially serve as a strength development stimulus. The threshold for interrupting homeostasis and forcing a recovery and adaptation cycle is, in the untrained individual, very very low. We have some familiar memes that reflect this truth like "everything works.....for about six weeks"; the "WTH Effect" or "Novice Effect"; etc. But the fact that increasing volume with a 24 may get you strong enough to press a 32 says nothing about whether or not that's an efficient way to get strong enough to press a 32. Even more illustrative is imagining what it would take to use a 24 to develop the strength to press a 36. Then a 40. It's pretty obvious that there's no amount of volume or disadvantaged leverage one could employ to continue to leap that ever-widening chasm.

 

[Kozushi]

The art of lifting weights is one of progressively lifting heavier weights.

 

[Deleted member 5559]

Lets say that one has 24kg. He works to the point that he can press it 20+ times each hand, he can do 30min get up sessions get up every minute, he does 100 snatches under 5 minutes, he does weighted pull ups and pistols with it. Do you consider him strong?

For me the real value in this example is that I consider this person balanced. Looking into Dan Johns strength standards is a good example of increasing balanced strength also.

 

[wespom9]

Lets say that one has 24kg. He works to the point that he can press it 20+ times each hand, he can do 30min get up sessions get up every minute, he does 100 snatches under 5 minutes, he does weighted pull ups and pistols with it. Do you consider him strong?

Yes. This person has few physical issues with life.

 

[Chrisdavisjr]

Lets say that one has 24kg. He works to the point that he can press it 20+ times each hand, he can do 30min get up sessions get up every minute, he does 100 snatches under 5 minutes, he does weighted pull ups and pistols with it. Do you consider him strong?

Perhaps the real question is, does this person consider themselves strong?

 

[Sauli]

Perhaps the real question is, does this person consider themselves strong?

I don’t know. This one maybe, but I have done some of those with 24kg and I never considered myself strong. And after doing lots of gs-work I cannot do any of those anymore. That pisses me off.

 

[Chrisdavisjr]

I don’t know. This one maybe, but I have done some of those with 24kg and I never considered myself strong. And after doing lots of gs-work I cannot do any of those anymore. That pisses me off.

It's tricky to get the balance right sometimes: I find myself wanting to be good at everything and it's just not possible. Right now, I'm having to really narrow my focus to nailing my swings and get-ups because as soon as I try to work on too much at once or lose focus I make no progress whatsoever.

If GS is your focus and you want to get really good at it, you're going to have to make sacrifices in other areas, hoever if GS is not your ultimate aim, then it's probably not something you should pursue if it's interfering with your own personal strength goals.

Just out of interest, which of those feats did you achieve?

 

[Sauli]

It's tricky to get the balance right sometimes: I find myself wanting to be good at everything and it's just not possible. Right now, I'm having to really narrow my focus to nailing my swings and get-ups because as soon as I try to work on too much at once or lose focus I make no progress whatsoever.

If GS is your focus and you want to get really good at it, you're going to have to make sacrifices in other areas, hoever if GS is not your ultimate aim, then it's probably not something you should pursue if it's interfering with your own personal strength goals.

Just out of interest, which of those feats did you achieve?

One arm press 20/20 with 24... snatch test would be doable after some training.
I have plans to compete in gs marathons also next year. Those are 30min events with single bell. I competed in one arm long cycle this year. I have noticed that it’s all about conditioning and technique. Basically almost everything training helps in those competions. Only specific training which is important is weekly long set of Oalc. Something like 15-25min non-stop set with competion bell.
Swings/snatches help with grip/conditioning. Presses/get ups help with lockout.

It’s very hard to be good at many things. Doing few things well. Is very good tactic, but sometimes it gets boring.

 

[Sauli]

For me the real value in this example is that I consider this person balanced. Looking into Dan Johns strength standards is a good example of increasing balanced strength also.

I like that term ”balanced”. Those guys really are balanced. Nothing magical in those numbers I just made them up, but those are nice numbers and seem to be also in balance.

 

[MikeTheBear]

Lets say that one has 24kg. He works to the point that he can press it 20+ times each hand, he can do 30min get up sessions get up every minute, he does 100 snatches under 5 minutes, he does weighted pull ups and pistols with it. Do you consider him strong?
What about guy who has 32kg and does same thing?

I would consider such a person fit to take on the majority of life's "pool of stuff." What do I mean by "pool of stuff?" Think about the things you do on a day-to-day basis. You don't necessarily do these things on a daily basis, but in any given 12-month period there is a high probability that you'll do a task from this "pool of stuff" at least once. These events are like mini-strongman events except in real life. A good example of such an event is the "theme park child carry." This event usually takes place for dad's with a kid between the ages of 4 and 6, give or take. The conditions for this event must include sweltering heat. The ideal venue for this event is Disney World in Florida in the middle of summer - that's like the Olympics right there. The distance for this event is hard to measure because no matter how close you think you parked your car to the park entrance it always seems twice as far away when you leave. That's if you're lucky enough to find your car. The event requires at least one sound asleep child, which should not be a problem if you wait until sundown, which is the official time this event starts. The event requires you to carry your sleeping child to your vehicle. There are bonus points if you manage not to kill your teammate who swears the vehicle is in section Q31 when really it's O13, it's just that the "O" had a stain on it that made it look like a "Q," and the "31" vs. "13" was just an honest mistake. 3-2-1 GO!

It's been some time since I participated in this event, but I recently had the good fortune to participate in a new event called "help your kid move into her college dorm." College parents tend to be older so this is a "masters" event. There are friendly referees on the field to guide you where you need to go so the debate as to whether it was "O13" or "Q31" is no longer an element of the event. The implements tend to be lighter, of uniform size, and not "limp" as the aforementioned sleeping child.

Kettlebells help you prepare for these types of events.