Hello, friends. Why do we need kettlebell exercises for fighters? What actions are most effective for an MMA fighter? What activities are best for a boxer? And are heavy shells necessarily required?
Fighters of different disciplines (boxing, wrestling, MMA, etc.) must improve physically. There are a lot of methods and tools for this. Working with a kettlebell is considered quite effective. The parameters of the projectile and training with it are selected based on the fighter’s goals.
The importance of kettlebell training
Thanks to this activity, many muscle groups develop. What matters here is the specificity of this projectile - the wandering center of gravity. Its position is influenced by the type of grip.
Also, due to such activities, there is a powerful development of hands and strength endurance.
For training, you need to choose the right equipment. It is not necessary to immediately work with a product weighing at least 16 kg. It is important to act gradually here. And after the exercises, do arm throws.
Often the initial work is built with 10 and 12 kg shells. Gradually the mass increases.
Be a man!
I haven’t written anything about developing a fighter’s strength qualities for a long time. But without a certain strength, almost no martial arts school will work. Today we will talk about good old weights.
I was instilled with a love for weights by Igor Anandovich Prelovsky, my second sensei, who introduced me to cannon strikes. He was a former master of sports of international class in kettlebells, so he was familiar with kettlebells for a long time. However, at first all this did not seem particularly important or interesting to me. But Igor said almost at the very beginning of training that I have weak hands and therefore weights and a crowbar are my best friends for the coming years. Yes, if you have never paid attention, then I advise you to pay attention to the wrists and forearms of aikidokas and jujitsers who are beyond the 3rd dan. That's where the hands are! Well, at least there's no one there with twigs for hands. And what about knockout boxers?! Is it possible to put opponents into touch over and over again without strong hands and steely forearm muscles? No, of course. There are no miracles.
General complexes for fighters
There are various variations of activities with this sports equipment. But the most popular set of exercises with a kettlebell for fighters is the following option. It consists of the following points:
- Standing press. The weight is located on the shoulder. Palm facing forward. Squat down slightly, push up the apparatus, while straightening your legs. In the first classes, the load is 10 repetitions. Then it develops to 15.
- Tossing. Feet are placed wider than shoulder width. The projectile is on the surface between the legs. You need to throw it up with one hand and put it down. When falling, the weight rotates around its axis. At this moment she needs to be caught. In an optimal situation, it is caught at the navel line. 2-3 repetitions are enough here.
- Deadlift. The position of the legs is twice the width of the shoulders. The position of the projectile is as in paragraph 2. Grasp it with both hands and straighten up to your full height. Immediately lift the product above your head. The initial norm is 5 repetitions. Then their number reaches 10.
- Dips. A projectile weighing no more than 10 kg is used. He is tied to his feet. You should do push-ups 6-10 times. You can gradually increase the weight of the product and the number of repetitions.
These are popular kettlebell exercises for wrestlers and boxers. Many domestic wrestlers and representatives of other disciplines paid serious attention to them. One of the most striking examples is Ivan Poddubny.
Kettlebell training for fighters - exercises
There are many exercises with kettlebells, but let's look at the most popular ones. The first is the standing kettlebell press. Place it on your shoulder, with your palm facing forward in the direction you are looking. Now, squatting slightly, press the weight while straightening your legs. 10 repetitions is enough, then increase to 15. The second and very difficult exercise is tossing a weight. Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart, the weight lying on the ground between your legs, throw it up with one hand, and release. It will begin to fall and spin around its axis, at which point you should be able to catch it, ideally at the level of the navel. This exercise is very difficult and never goes right the first time, so take care of your legs. Also, a popular exercise is the deadlift. Stand with your feet double shoulder-width apart, the kettlebell on the ground between your legs, grab the kettlebell with both hands, straighten up, and as soon as you stand at full height, lift the kettlebell with both hands above your head. Don't chase repetitions - the key here is gradualism. Start with 5 repetitions, then increase to 10. A wonderful and useful exercise would be dips. Tie a weight to yourself, not a very large one at first, and do 6-10 push-ups. If you feel that it is easy for you, increase the weight.
All Russian athletes trained with weights, knowing their benefits. Don’t think about working out with them if you haven’t gained enough weight yet - you might overstrain yourself. Exercises with weights are not required; you can always replace them with dumbbells and other gym equipment. But, as mentioned above, kettlebells will help you strengthen your hands and grip, teach you to adapt to your center of gravity, and also have a certain aesthetic character - many Russian wrestlers and athletes preferred to train with kettlebells. A striking example is Poddubny.
To practice kettlebells, you need space and a comfortable place to practice. If you do not have the opportunity to create suitable conditions, then training a boxer at home is suitable for you - read in more detail what they are, what exercises they include.
Lessons for Beginners
MMA fighter and kettlebell
Representatives of this discipline train with this apparatus according to a strict program. In general, the lesson consists of 5 approaches. Each lasts about 20 minutes.
Each kettlebell exercise presented below for MMA fighters takes approximately 4 minutes. Pause between approaches – 1 minute.
And their program is like this:
- Combo. Lunges are performed with jerks.
- Twisting.
- Lift carried out through the side. At the same time there is a bench press.
- Position – half bridge. An alternate press is performed.
- Carrying out swings of the “in-out” type.
Each exercise has 5 approaches. Each side is given half a minute.
“Oh, my weights, my weights!”
Hello. My name is Sergey Kirnosov, I’m 50 years old and I’m an alcoholic couch potato. In this blog, I will tell you how, with myopia of 14 diopters and gouty arthritis, I can become not an armchair athlete, but a simple one - if, of course, I eventually succeed.
After I bought my first kettlebell, I began to study it more closely - and what depths were revealed to me in this artless apparatus! Exactly what the projectile. After all, initially the weight was an ordinary cannonball, to which a handle was attached and used to increase the strength of recruits, and this happened back in 1704. But the weight is not at all outdated, and even in our time it remains in the same army sometimes the only means of maintaining combat shape.
The peculiarity of kettlebells is that it is impossible to perform the usual isolated exercises with them. Exercises with kettlebells will always be closer to the basic ones, loading the muscles of the whole body at the same time - these are jerks, presses, squats and even juggling, all these exercises provide an excellent load on the core muscles and other stabilizer muscles. And this will allow you to avoid injuries in the future when working with the barbell.
Admire how Vyacheslav Borisov, six-time Russian champion in power juggling (2008–2013), winner of the 2014 World Cup in power juggling, plays with his two-pound baby:
What is another beauty of kettlebell lifting - the low cost of equipment and the lack of need for a large space for training. But what is more important is that kettlebell lifting stimulates a phenomenal metabolism, which forces even modern Hollywood stars to include exercises with kettlebells in their training in order to lose excess weight as quickly as possible.
It’s hard to find fat ones among weightlifters—that’s a fact. This is due to the fact that you work in a large number of repetitions, and this develops endurance and burns fat due to the aerobic nature of the exercises. Have you ever seen a fat marathon runner? That's the same! Here's a look at Ivan Denisov, 12-time world champion . In this video, he teaches beginners a set of exercises for all the muscles of the body - I’m just mastering it. Without giving up, of course, the dumbbell complex of Yuri Spasokukotsky.
Vyacheslav Borisov, Ivan Denisov, Ksenia Dedyukhina - 24 world champion titles between three (perhaps my information is already out of date) - but, alas, their tags are not on Sports.ru . Unlike Irina Shayk, who has nothing to do with sports. Sadly.
And would you know how many cute, slender girls there are in kettlebell lifting! There are at least a hundred videos dedicated to Ksyusha Dedyukhina on YouTube alone. Here, for example, is a boring long video (you can watch the beginning and end), in which Ksyusha jerks a 24-kilogram weight 189 times in 10 minutes! A year later, she did 190 jerks, but this video is more interesting:
And now I’ll post a few short training videos from Ksyusha ( 6-time world champion , by the way) mixed with her photographs - and then try not to fall in love with... uh... kettlebell lifting!
I would create more and more, the passion has not dried up - but for some reason my beloved wife got nervous and kicks me from behind the computer... So - see you later! Look for Ksyushin’s other photos and videos yourself, and then - Cherche la girya!
I have no nerves, of course! - without smoking, drinking and on diet No. 6! — so I don’t advise anyone to leave offensive or mocking comments. First I'll look at you like this:
And then I’ll send you to a ban without preliminary soul-saving conversations over a cup of tea.
And for those who want to help me with advice or just support me with a kind word -
my applause!
Boxer working with a kettlebell
In boxing there are no exercises for a specific muscle group. Every exercise uses all the muscles. The basics of the program are rapid jerking movements.
The following complex of work with kettlebells is most suitable for a boxer:
- Push from the shoulder upward. The movement starts from the foot. First of all, the leg is twisted onto the toe. Then an impulse is given and a push is made. Load – 10 times per hand.
- Squats. The position of the hands is kept perpendicular to the floor surface. To optimize balance, weights can be placed under your heels. The norm is 10 times.
- A jerk from the floor in an upward direction. The projectile rises from the floor with a jerking movement. At the top peak point it is held slightly in front of the face. The main thing here is not to slouch. The load is similar to step 1.
- Swing in a sitting position. The movements are performed by the widest muscles of the back. The shoulders here are auxiliary components. The position of the back in relation to the surface is perpendicular. She leans back minimally. The load is identical to point 2
- Ups. Get down on one knee and immediately on the other. Then lie down. The ascent is performed in reverse order. The weight is always in the hand and perpendicular to the surface. Each hand needs to do 3 lifts.
- Mahi. Push from your hips. Don't bend your back. Avoid pendulum movements. Load – 20 repetitions.
- Tilts. The projectile is behind the back. She is always level. There should be no arching in the lower back. Lifting is done from the muscles of the legs and buttocks. The number of repetitions is identical to step 7
- Swing to the chest. When bending the body, the back is kept straight and not rounded. There is also no need to scroll the brushes. The projectile unfolds by inertia. Similar load to steps 7 and 8.
Before the complex, a warm-up is required. It consists of a 15-minute run and five minutes of joint exercises.
The break between points is half a minute.
After class – light jogging for 10 minutes.
Only one such training is carried out per week. Other classes focus on weight-free activities.
Benefits of the kettlebell
A boxer can do a set of strength exercises using dumbbells and barbells. But thanks to the kettlebell, there is an additional load on the muscles. The reasons for this lie in the following:
- This projectile has very thick handles. This makes coverage difficult.
- Special position of the weight in relation to the handle.
In some clubs, kettlebell trainers work with boxers. Although this function is often performed by a general training coach. One way or another, personal training programs are drawn up.
Superficial exercises are aimed at strengthening the general condition. These are jerks and lifts. They last for several rounds.
In boxing, fighters must have excellent physics and excellent movement. They devote a lot of time to strength training. And all movements are aimed at achieving main goals.
Why train with a kettlebell? In addition to its powerful strengthening effect, this equipment is considered the optimal tool for highly specialized exercises. The main focus here is to enhance the impact power.
