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Kettlebell KBSF + hypertrophy

kevinrohrbach

kevinrohrbach

Level 5 Valued Member
I dig the minimalist kettlebell strength training approach of KBSF next to my BJJ training as I'm approaching an age where I need to start managing recovery (42 ) more consistently. However I do find myself in the relatively unfortunate spot of being 84–85kg on average with no interest in cutting down to 82.3kg to make weight, if I ever decide to compete.

I'd much prefer to be hovering around 86–88, and was wondering if anyone here has any ideas on how I could adapt KBSF to gain some (useful) weight, while keeping the program as minimalist as possible. It also has to be noted that besides losing weight after I switched from BuiltStrong, I've also lost strength in the push, pull, and squat movements. Something I'm not altogether happy about.

Thanks in advance!
 
I’m in a similar spot, 45 y/o, blue belt, about 220lbs and have competed.

Obviously diet plays a huge role here so I’m assuming you are eating appropriately.

I’ve done KBSF but find that is best if you want to stay at your current weight. When I did an under 230lb competition I put on a few pounds to be closer to the higher end. My S&C program for that was alternating between Iron Cardio and AXE, both capped at 20min sessions either 3 or 4 times a week.

For AXE I used snatches and Iron Cardio was mostly double bells with ladders of 1,2,3,4,5.

Good luck if you decide to compete, win or lose it will make your BJJ much better.
 
kevinrohrbach said:
I dig the minimalist kettlebell strength training approach of KBSF next to my BJJ training as I'm approaching an age where I need to start managing recovery (42 ) more consistently. However I do find myself in the relatively unfortunate spot of being 84–85kg on average with no interest in cutting down to 82.3kg to make weight, if I ever decide to compete.

I'd much prefer to be hovering around 86–88, and was wondering if anyone here has any ideas on how I could adapt KBSF to gain some (useful) weight, while keeping the program as minimalist as possible. It also has to be noted that besides losing weight after I switched from BuiltStrong, I've also lost strength in the push, pull, and squat movements. Something I'm not altogether happy about.

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
I would suggest having 2 KBSF days + 2 days of clean and press + front squat. Those days can be structured either as a superset (clean and press, front squat, clean and press, front squat) or doing all one and then the other. If the latter, do 15 min of front squat, rest 5 min, then 15 min clean and press. If the former, do 20-30 min total.

My preferred weekly structure would be KBSF - Grinds - off - KBSF - Grinds - off - off.

Lots of different load pairings you could do, but sticking with 5-10 rep sets will be a good general approach.

My preference would also be to add pull-ups, supersetting them with front squat. Yeah yeah yeah everyone likes to superset them with clean and press, but I like being different.
 
Ryan Johnson said:
Which program from KBSF are you currently doing ?
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I'm currently doing Swings + TGU at the following weights (all in kg)
  • TGU (L/M/H): 24/32/36 (dropped from 28/36/40 after an extended vacation – I've become weak...) That's 29%/38%/43% of bodyweight
  • Swings: 5 Swings every 30s for 40 sets with a 32 bell (down from 36)
On a side note. I tend to use the every 30s approach most of the time, as if I do sets every 60s I get nowhere near my lactate threshold and can easily pass the talk test etc., (something I've mentioned in another thread). When I've upped weight in the past, I've easily cruised through to 20 sets on the minute in one session and gone straight back to working the 30s intervals.
I like both the AXE + Iron Cardio as well as the KBSF + grinds ideas and weekly splits. Keeping in mind my above comment about AXE, I may do a trial month of both of these approaches. Thanks!
 
If you like Swings and TGUs and all you need is a few kg of hypertrophy, you could also give S&S protocol a try as well. To my understanding, S&S is slightly more geared towards hypertrophy than KBSF. And there also people that shows a nice hypertrophy response to S&S. Well it is not just a hypertrophy goal so I am sure people’s expectations versus experience and views will differ in that matters.
 
Like @Ege said, I would suggest doing sets of ten swings for awhile. They made me much hungrier, which contributed to some hypertrophy.

I much prefer sets of 5 OTM so my first instinct would be to suggest sets of ten on the 2 minute clock and then the one minute clock

As you gravitate towards a faster pace, maybe do 90s / 45s.

I would start with 10 sets of ten swings with your 32 on a three minute clock. Take off thirty seconds every other session until you are 90s then stay there for a few weeks until it's very comfy, RPE sub 7.
Then try to either halve the rest or start over at the 3 minute clock with the heavier bell.
 
I've been alternating KBSF C&J with the protocol in the article below that is a sort of hybrid isometrics. Takes me 10 minutes to do 2 upper body exercises with it and I'm experiencing increase in lean muscle and strength. It's an intense 10 minutes to say the least.

A New Way to Trigger Fast Muscle Growth
 
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