Rob Lawrence
Level 3 Valued Member
Why occasionally use a lighter kettlebell when you can already lift much heavier? I don't know the science but I'll keep it in my own experiential terms.
First, it provides some of the psychological relief you get from cycling. You know when you start a deadlift cycle over and your old "heavy" weight now seems light? You get a huge boost of confidence and belief from that. If you are always pushing forward with your KB weights, you don't get this effect. You start feeling like you're at war with the bell every time you pick it up. Not a good way to feel even if your goal is max strength.
Second, remember that force is mass TIMES acceleration. Not plus, times. Force goes up dramatically when you lift a heavier kettlebell. If you want to get to the point of doing a lot of heavy snatches, you need to condition your body for that. Going lighter and doing more reps is a good way to toughen up with lower risk. If you can't do 200 snatches with 16kg, you are not going to do it with 32kg anyway, and in attempting the latter you're going to get injured.
Third, what I'll call "consolidation of technique." A lot of good technique you only learn once you're lifting heavier. Say you were trying to press a balloon - what could you learn from that? Not much. So you work with a heavier weight and you are forced to get things perfect. So why then drop to a lighter weight? Because when you drop to a weight you can handle easily, you can examine what you're doing and what you've learned. You can't do that lifting a weight that's potentially in doubt.
I've never used DeLorme but I find it interesting for that last reason. I may give it a whirl at some point.
At times I've gone heavy, heavy, heavy all the time. I've wound up injured and burnt out. So I like heavy, but I mix it up for the above reasons.
Rob
First, it provides some of the psychological relief you get from cycling. You know when you start a deadlift cycle over and your old "heavy" weight now seems light? You get a huge boost of confidence and belief from that. If you are always pushing forward with your KB weights, you don't get this effect. You start feeling like you're at war with the bell every time you pick it up. Not a good way to feel even if your goal is max strength.
Second, remember that force is mass TIMES acceleration. Not plus, times. Force goes up dramatically when you lift a heavier kettlebell. If you want to get to the point of doing a lot of heavy snatches, you need to condition your body for that. Going lighter and doing more reps is a good way to toughen up with lower risk. If you can't do 200 snatches with 16kg, you are not going to do it with 32kg anyway, and in attempting the latter you're going to get injured.
Third, what I'll call "consolidation of technique." A lot of good technique you only learn once you're lifting heavier. Say you were trying to press a balloon - what could you learn from that? Not much. So you work with a heavier weight and you are forced to get things perfect. So why then drop to a lighter weight? Because when you drop to a weight you can handle easily, you can examine what you're doing and what you've learned. You can't do that lifting a weight that's potentially in doubt.
I've never used DeLorme but I find it interesting for that last reason. I may give it a whirl at some point.
At times I've gone heavy, heavy, heavy all the time. I've wound up injured and burnt out. So I like heavy, but I mix it up for the above reasons.
Rob