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Kettle bell work for kids.

drewmeister8

Level 2 Valued Member
Hi all, I'm interested in training my boys 11yo and 9yo in KB work. Has anyone had experience in training adolescents and if so what seemed to work and didn't work for them? Should I wait till then are a little bit older? And lastly, what the best way to approach their training? Thank you for all your help.
 
drewmeister8 said:
Hi all, I'm interested in training my boys 11yo and 9yo in KB work. Has anyone had experience in training adolescents and if so what seemed to work and didn't work for them? Should I wait till then are a little bit older? And lastly, what the best way to approach their training? Thank you for all your help.
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I started my son with kb deadlifts and farmer carries. I then taught him the swing, press, and push press. Kids get strong fast. My son is 14 and weighs about 135 pounds. He can press 16kg multiple times, farmer walk just about any weight I have, suitcase deadlift up to the 48kg, push press 24kg, and competently 2 hand swing 36kg. I would just start light and keep the teaching minimal. Show them how to deadlift and let them build some strength with carries. Find a weight they can press multiple times and have them do sets of 3-5 reps with it. And just let them have fun. When they lose interest tell them good job and let them go. Eventually they will pick up the kettlebell on their own cause they get bored. It’s really nice having stuff around the house to lift.
 
This kid deserves a big Ada boy.

AndersonPlays Farmer's Walking - 3 Year Anniversary of AndersonPlays​

 
I've been showing my kids how to deadlift and do goblet squats since they showed interest a few years ago. I have 4 kids ages 9 to 14.

The older ones can deadlift my 48kg, although they mainly use the 24kg to get familiar with the movement. The 16kg is the one that gets used for goblet squats as they find the other bells to heavy to hold for goblet squats.

I also introduced carries this past summer.

I've found that it's good to mix basic bodyweight exercises with KB ones. Planks (regular and side) helped them develop good bracing habits and so did push-ups and ring rows as they are basically moving planks. They also do hangs, chin-ups and pull-ups.

They only train/practice if they have an interest in it, I don't pressure them into it at all. My 2 oldest (13-14) are the ones that train regularly. They mostly do 10 minute sessions of either a push, a pull or legs (squats and DLs). That allows them to be consistent and have good focus on technique since they are only doing one movement (except for legs). They enjoy the short sessions and oftentimes train together.

I have them use a weight that they can easily manage and explained to them basic SF principles. They never go to failure and practice with as perfect a form as they are able. They vary their sets/reps based on time constraints and how they feel on any given day. They know the stop signs and adjust accordingly.

Enjoy the training time with your kids!

EDIT: I found that the younger they are the more they struggle with keeping a flat back while they hinge.
 
I started my son with goblet squats and KB deadlifts, with very light weight. I tried to use cues like "gorilla chest" to help cue his posture. Once I felt like he had those, I started unloaded TGUs. Started with unloaded, then he had to balance a shoe on his fist, before I let him start playing with a little 4kg bell. Ballistics like swings and cleans came much later. Found that it translated well when he got into his teen years (he's 14 now) and he wanted to start with barbells.
 
John K said:
100% here, which makes me very cautious of adding load.
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I felt a 16kg was safe even with a less than perfect hinge as kids will face similar spinal loads in their daily lives if they are active. I still worked closely with them each and every time they wanted to lift a kettlebell because they seemed to forget how to keep a flat back, good brace and packed shoulders from session to session.
 
I have a number of kids training martial arts and depending on their level of training I will incorporate kettelbells to build strength. It's a matter of form/correct mechanics. As a lot of people said, start with deadlift. I have one nine-year-old boy right now that weighs 53 lbs and is competently deadlifting a 28kg bell. I use a straight object - whether wood or pvc or whatever - to help them feel when their back loses flat, as this is the thing younger kids tend to struggle with the most concerning form. I also make sure they have a good hard style plank and can do it standing. Then I start teaching swings. Once these are good, add squats. From there it's just a matter of what you want to accomplish with them and their own interest level. Dr Mark Cheng has said that as long as the form and mechanics are correct and they are not overtraining, they can usually handle load.
 
Benjamin Renaud said:
EDIT: I found that the younger they are the more they struggle with keeping a flat back while they hinge.
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This is my experience also, does anybody have some good cues for kids on this one? My 2 sometimes watch me train and then I'll look around and they have a bell doing the most horrendous deadlifts I've ever seen. I'd like to encourage them but haven't found what works yet.

~edit~ didn't see Chronofied's great post re a straight stick on the back.
 
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lais817 said:
This is my experience also, does anybody have some good cues for kids on this one? My 2 sometimes watch me train and then I'll look around and they have a bell doing the most horrendous deadlifts I've ever seen. I'd like to encourage them but haven't found what works yet.

~edit~ didn't see Chronogied's great post re a straight stick on the back.
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The stick works well, especially when coupled with planks and standing planks.

Once they can do a good plank I move them to standing plank and teach them how to bend by placing their hands in the crease of the hip (like many SF pics show) and pushing the hips back while slightly bending the knee. Having them reach for a wall with their butt works well too. It's a drill I picked up from my SF instructor Louka Kurcer. Video here.

But this all works so much better with my 2 older ones than it does with my 9 and 10 year olds.
 
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