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Kettlebell Thoughts on kettlebell training for longevity?

Brandon Trahan

Level 5 Valued Member
Although moving period is beneficial for you health, i was Wondering where kettlebells fall into the catergory of overall fitness. What i mean Is is you can look up major university studies and they all say running swimming biking etc. and just plain old strength training. It’s a shame kettlebells aren’t accounted for because they are a mixed exercise (aerobic and anaerobic). Just like the Bjj i do.

Do you think kettlebells can extend longevity/life expectancy?
 
You can work aerobic strength and hypertrophy easily with a kettlebell as you can with other implements. But you can also get the compound nature of kettlebell movements plus the unilateral affect which works smaller and more diverse muscle combinations including a ton of core work. You killed many birds with one stone. Albeit a round stone with a handle.
 
You can work aerobic strength and hypertrophy easily with a kettlebell as you can with other implements. But you can also get the compound nature of kettlebell movements plus the unilateral affect which works smaller and more diverse muscle combinations including a ton of core work. You killed many birds with one stone. Albeit a round stone with a handle.
I would Think the snatch or high volume of swings to get that benefit? I’m on @Geoff Neupert’s King Sized Killer and i love It.
 
To run a study with modalities such as running, swimming or cycling is much easier than to run it with kettlebells. You can find people who does not exercise, to start exercising with those modalities, but KBs or BJJ are much more technical hence the cost of the studies would be a lot higher.
 
My 2 cents...on longevity/quality of life.

First, make sure you have a healthy diet and get quality sleep. Next, run Quick and Dead with A+A in six week intervals. Throw in some cardio, yoga(flexibility), meditation, and some type of hobby which promotes being anti-fragile. I think this would be an excellent way to promote longevity and quality of life as you age.
 
Longevity includes how old you get to live. It also includes complex things like quality of life. Moving well, being strong, flexible, mobile having good endurance are all part of that. So, the types of movements training are important as well as strength and endurance.
I train mainly for health and longevity and find kettlebells are an important part of that. Refer S&S as a good general approach also some long duration walking (or very slow relaxed jogging on days with no kettlebells) is helpful. One day one or twice a month a really hard kettlebell workout (S&S program workout) also adds something (but only with excellent form after you have learnt the movements really well).
I also practice some very easy bodyweight joint mobility drills in the morning after 10-15 minutes meditation - Superjoints book by Pavel Tsatsouline has some good moves, although, there are others from other systems I use as well. Steve Maxwell (a BJJ expert) had a daily dozen joint mobility program up on the web a few years ago.

There is a version of S&S aimed at people who practice BJJ which is on BJJ fanatics web site. That might be of interest.
 
A quote from our SFG manual:

Dr. Vladislav Krayevsky, the father of kettlebells, took up training at the age of forty-one and twenty years later he was said to look fresher and healthier than at forty.

Below is a photo od Dr. Krayevsky, his students, and some heavy kettlebells!

krajevsky.jpg
 
I would recommend all that are interested with longevity, to observe themselves a few old people walking around. It is not difficult or it does not require a scientific research to see what they need most. And there are ones who already passed out that one should think of.

A Kettlebell, is one of the best longevity tools in my opinion. In order to train for power, the other alternatives that I can think of either require a steeper learning curve or a lot less sustainable due to risk of injuries.

To cover %99 of longevity, I think passes through fundamental’s. And the rest 1% is experimental and hence involves many unknown risks.

I know that there are people who uses mild dieabitcs pills for longevity. The risks involved only discovered a short time ago in my opinion. It goes for all supplements.

Following a proven good strength program is your best bet for longevity and quality of life.

I don’t believe the modalities make much of a difference honestly.

But observing people exclusively doing cardio misses a big strength element IMHO.

And I know my post is not scientific. But I am trying to say that there is no secret to longevity. What a 20 year old need to do to be healthier is not a lot different than a 80 year old has to do if you think throughly.
 
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There is something to be said for daily training.
I've got part of the picture as to why.
I've gravitated to and from daily training plans.
my small amount of barbell training has always included hard days, for which I needed easy days, to ballast myself.
there are hard days with my kettlebell practice, but not as many. this allows me to train more consistently, with more consistent expectations.

For my part the below excerpts from Q&D , and S&S ring true to me.

Kettlebells - a bit more than barbell (For me) - seems to be an aid in more consistent training across the months and years that I've been working on it.

1675779578556.png

I have no doubt about punching the clock with 100 daily Power Reps.


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keeping my loading in a moderate range has helped me manage my fatigue and progress.

I believe that Kettlebells sit in a sweet spot for me - to get sufficient loading - and with fast reps - training up many qualities that make life easier for me. I could probably do this with barbells, or with body weight - but I estimate based on my experience, that it'd be a bit trickier. at least that's the way it seems to me.
 
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