Some very interesting reading in this thread!
Here's a kettlebell workout I did (for six weeks) two years ago when I was dieting down for a grip contest. It netted me a 451lb one-hand short range deadlift on a Plateau Buster Swing Handle at about 200lbs bodyweight. I did other grip-specific training at that time, of course. But I was looking over my trove of training notebooks that I "re-found" the other day while reorganizing the house, and found that this particular kettlebell workout has been partly responsible - twice - for some serious one-hand short range deadlift results for me. Last year I did a 567lb one-hand short range deadlift on a Plateau Buster Swing Handle (modular version that time, slicker handle) at around 220lbs bodyweight.
It is obvious to me that I should've revisited this particular workout many times since then. But various factors and goals got in the way. But I will list it here in case anyone is interested in giving it a try. I have not shared it before now. And of course, there is nothing new under the sun. The "dead-stop" reps are Mark Reifkind's invention, I think. Or at least that is where I became introduced to them, from his excellent blog. I didn't list them in my training blog because I honestly didn't think they would have much, or any, positive carryover to my contest. I just did them to make up for losing a substantial amount of bodyweight and wanted to tighten up my abs a bit for the wife, lol.
3 DAYS PER WEEK
WEEK 1:
Day 1: Use 16kg kettlebell. 20 minute time limit. Do as many 2-hand swings as possible in the 20 minutes. Per Pavel's recommendation, never go to failure. But go pretty close at times. Rest as needed. Keep a tally of how many reps you do, and then write it down. Which you should be doing for every workout anyway.
Day 2: Use 20kg kettlebell. 10 minute time limit. Do as many 2-hand swings as possible in the 10 minutes. Same as above regarding not going to failure.
Day 3: Use 28kg kettlebell. 5 minute time limit. Do 2-hand swing "Dead-Stop" singles. Just re-set after each explosive rep. Rest a beat or two. Then do another explosive rep. Really focus on being explosive. Look this up on Mark Reifkind's blog. Basically, do an explosive rep. Then set the bell down. Then get set for another and do another explosive rep. Continue until the 5 minutes is up. I usually did an explosive rep followed by 3 moderately deep breaths, before doing another explosive rep.
Rest about 5 minutes and then, using the same 28kg kettlebell and 5 minute time limit, do what I called "Dead-Stop Pause Goblet Jump Squats." They are simply explosive paused goblet jump squat singles, followed by a short re-set. I picked up the bell and then got into goblet squat position. Then explosively (but controlled) shot down to the bottom of the squat. Paused for a second in the bottom position of the squat. Then tried to rocket out of the bottom position so fast that I would hit my head on the ceiling. Once my feet touched the ground again, I set the bell on the ground and took 3 moderately deep breaths. Then did another explosive single and repeated the 3 moderately deep breaths with doing singles until the 5 minutes was up. Well, hitting my head on the ceiling never happened, lol. But I do think they helped my power output quite a bit during that short time I did them. I have never had knee problems, and to be honest, these would probably hurt most people's knees, so I never recommended them. And I'm not necessarily saying people should do them now. But it was part of what I did, so here they are.
I never felt the need to go heavier than 28kg on anything listed here. Like I said before, I intended these workouts to be a supplement to the specific training I was doing. But the more I look back on it, the more I think they were responsible for a significant increase in my athletic ability during that time.
WEEK 2
I did the same workout for Day 1 as the first week. Just focused on getting more reps.
The Day 2 workout saw the addition of a 10 minute block of Double Front Squats. I don't have doubles, so I used a 16kg and 20kg. And switched hands every set until the 10 minutes was up. Took note of the total number of reps and tried to beat that the next time I repeated the workout with the same weight.
Day 3 I did the same 5 minutes of "Dead-Stop" 2-hand swings. But instead of the Dead-Stop Pause Goblet Jump Squats, I substituted Double Front Squats with 16kg and 20kg. Done with a pause at the bottom position of the squat and a jump after exploding out of the hole. Then a re-set of the bells on the ground to take 3 moderately deep breaths, before repeating the process until the 5 minutes was up.
WEEK 3
I did the same workout for Day 1 as the second week. And again, focused on getting more reps in the 20 minutes.
For the Day 2 workout, I kept the 10 minute block of Double Front Squats, but increased the weight to 24kg and 28kg. And kept track of the total number of reps, with the goal of increasing that in the next workout with the same weight.
Switched things up on this Day 3 by doing 5 minutes of "Dead-Stop" Double Swings. Used a 16kg and 20kg and alternated hands each set. After a 5 minute rest, I did Dead-Stop Pause Goblet Jump Squats with 28kg. Same 5 minute time limit as the other weeks.
WEEK 4
Same workout as Day 1 on the third week. But, I increased the weight to the 20kg kettlebell. Kept track of the reps, as usual.
Day 2 workout, I kept the 10 minute block of Double Front Squats, but went back to the 16kg and 20kg bells. Focused on getting more reps than I did in the other workout with this weight.
Day 3 I kept the 5 minutes of "Dead-Stop" Double Swings, but increased the weight to 20kg and 24kg. And alternated hands each set. After a 5 minute rest, I did Dead-Stop Pause Double Front Jump Squats with 20kg and 24kg. Same 5 minute time limit as the other weeks.
WEEK 5
Same workout as Day 1 on the 4th week. But, I increased the weight to the 24kg kettlebell. Kept track of the reps. They were going down, as expected.
Day 2 workout, I kept the 10 minute block of Double Front Squats, but alternated to the 24kg and 28kg bells. Focused on getting more reps than in the Day 2 workout of Week 3.
Day 3 I kept the 5 minutes of "Dead-Stop" Double Swings, but increased the weight again to 24kg and 28kg. Alternated hands each set. After a 5 minute rest, I did Dead-Stop Pause Goblet Jump Squats with 28kg. Same 5 minute time limit as the other weeks.
WEEK 6
Same workout as Day 1 on the 5th week. But, as you probably guessed, I increased the weight to the 28kg kettlebell.
Day 2 workout, I was able to train with a friend who had double 32kg bells. So I did a 10 minute block of that and then we did some grip-specific work.
Day 3 I did "Dead-Stop" Double Swings with 24kg and 28kg for a 20 minute block. Around this time (in 2011) I was getting very close to 200lbs and occasionally would drop a hair under - depending on which scale I was using that day.
