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Kettlebell So I've been doing kettlebell curls

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Kozushi

Kozushi

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Lots of kettlebell curls over the past several weeks daily, mainly as part of the S&S warmup as per the book, but also additional sets too. Definitely my biceps muscles are a lot bigger now. I do the curls in a squatting position as the book says to. This position seems to isolate the biceps muscles and works great! The 32kg bell I use is of course 71lbs, which is around what I curl with when using a bar (well, maybe a bit more, like 80-90lbs). I've tried out the 40kg bell too, but it's a bit heavy to do many reps with still.

Anyhow, I am really liking this exercise, which is not hard to do at all, yet yields nice results in terms of biceps muscle size. The biceps is a useful muscle, and I have a superstitious suspicion (have had for decades) that big biceps are good for heart health the way big calf muscles are supposed to be too.
 
Sounds good! How much have you been doing in terms of sets/reps/total volume?

When I do the Goblet Squat Curls I usually do 1-5 Curls every other squat or so, resulting in about 1-10 Curls total per Goblet Squat set.
 
StanStan said:
Mmmh... There isn't a clear causality. It seems that calf strength, like grip strength is more of an indicator of heart health. And we would expect to see stronger muscles and grip in people who exercise.
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Ok, I have to quote & rebutt myself here: there is scientific evidence that grip training may result in lower blood pressure:
Effect of Isometric Handgrip Exercise Training on Resting Blood Pressure in Normal Healthy Adults
Result: There was a significant reduction in resting blood pressure following 10 wk of exercise training. Both Systolic and Diastolic blood pressure reduced significantly (p<0.001).

Conclusion: IHG exercise training might be a simple, effective, inexpensive and non-pharmacological method in lowering blood pressure.
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Bauer said:
Sounds good! How much have you been doing in terms of sets/reps/total volume?

When I do the Goblet Squat Curls I usually do 1-5 Curls every other squat or so, resulting in about 1-10 Curls total per Goblet Squat set.
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A minimum of 5 times per set of 5 squats, but I do more sets afterwards usually too. It doesn't take long but has a lot of good effects.
 
Kozushi, For carry over into your Judo practice you should consider adding in some bent-over rows for your bicep work. You want to build up that lat connection for your pulling in Judo. If you had access to a prowler, prowler rope pulls might be the ultimate for developing the whole body in a pull. You may want to consider some farmers/suitcase carries to build up your grip for grip fighting.
 
I don't know about the arms, but the legs have strategic valves in veins that only let blood through one-way, and they are placed so the contractions of the leg muscles push the blood through in the proper direction for good flow. Supposed to be a benefit of distance running... Makes sense that there'd be a correlation between calves and heart, then, as both power parts of circulatory system. I'd imagine the arms have similar valves, but not as much need to power blood back to heart as there is with lower legs that are way down there and usually fighting gravity.
 
Papa Georgio said:
You may want to consider some farmers/suitcase carries to build up your grip for grip fighting.
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Such exercises do make a valuable contribution to grip strength, however I'd be careful of overworking the grip: Heavy KB swings will tax the grip sufficiently in most cases.
 
Anything can be overtrained. But farmer carries build grip endurance, not grip power. As good as the swing is, your grip is taxed intermittently. In judo, you may be locked up with an opponent for a minute or 2.
 
Papa Georgio said:
Kozushi, For carry over into your Judo practice you should consider adding in some bent-over rows for your bicep work. You want to build up that lat connection for your pulling in Judo. If you had access to a prowler, prowler rope pulls might be the ultimate for developing the whole body in a pull. You may want to consider some farmers/suitcase carries to build up your grip for grip fighting.
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What you say makes a lot of sense. The kettlebell swings are NOT developing the raw strength I need for judo-style pulling power, at least not with the mere 32kg bell, but I can't really do them properly with the 40kg bell single handed. I felt I was getting better judo results back when I went against the S&S rules and did all my swings with the 40kg bell two handed.
I also don't think that deadlifts are developing the kind of pulling strength I need for judo. The pulling in judo is STRAIGHT BACK pulling strength, not lifting up strength.
What weight of kettlebell should I try for the rows?
What can I do on a chinup bar to achieve judo pulling strength?

I definitely LACK upper body puling strength for judo-specific movements. I am brutally and humbly aware of this.

My grip is ridiculously strong, thanks to a whole life of callisthenics, judo and more recently (2 years) kettlebells too.
 
Smile-n-Nod said:
Circulatory System & The Second Heart | The Vein Treatment Center
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Here we go!

The Second Heart
The second heart is a system of muscles, veins, and valves in the calf and foot that work together to push deoxygenated blood back up to the heart and lungs. Vein valves act as trapdoors that open and close with each muscle contraction to prevent the backflow of blood.

When valves become defective or weak the second heart can be overwhelmed, blood can pool in veins, and varicose veins, spider veins, and Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI) can develop.

So, my superstitious belief is that the biceps muscle is an upper body calf muscle, and does the same thing, and thus is important for health. This may even be why when we see someone with big biceps we have an instant instinctive feeling that they are strong and healthy people. And, frankly, I notice myself using my curling muscles whenever I am picking up anything and carrying it in two hands.

I'd vote to add it to the "big 6" kettlebell moves - make it the "big seven". I can't help but get a bit of an impression that the anti-curl "rhetoric" in some of the SF books was written to counter the over-emphasis of the move in North America. But in any case, the biceps is a big muscle and an easy acquisition, and I don't see why I should scorn it.

Another nice thing with the move for us gyreviks is that the weights of our kettlebells are perfect for curls. A normal curling weight for men is between 70 and 90 lbs (I think, right?) and this is exactly the range of our 32kg and 40kg bells. Not only that, but the squatting goblet position is ideal for isolating the biceps muscles in the curl! Great stuff!
 
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