Breakdown Kettlebell Training for Combat Athleticism

My initial exposure to kettlebell lifting happened in Russia with the combat art of Sambo. The ever-practical Russians decentralized their training corpus, so that depending upon which division of the special forces or special purpose police units I trained with, I experienced different - and even contradictory - training approaches to physical preparation.

If you look at traditional Sambo, then you can appreciate why the training was so vigorous. The Russians viewed training attributes to be as important as skill development, and competitive sparring (called "rolling" in grappling vernacular.) Here's a historical reel on the type of training I was exposed to in Russia:

The first kettlebell method I learned appeared like you'll see here with one of my colleagues from Russia, Master of Sport (in Sambo) Vadim Kolganov. Vadim, as you'll see, focuses on specific lifts that don't necessarily involve the "sport" of kettlebell lifting, but are highly functional for athletic performance enhancement, especially in his expertise: Sambo.

Due to the fact that I had to swim upstream from the shallow end of the gene pool, to secure the international and national championships I had won, I needed to use my entire body as a weapon at any weakness I found in my opponents. You can see in this highlight reel what I mean, as I would literally attack my opponent flying in with my entire body.

Even as my Sambo evolved over the years to be able to fight as effectively outside of the confines of traditional Sambo, I continued to use my entire body to attack my opponents' weaknesses:

Today, I take the experiences I cultivated over the years competing and fighting around the world, as well as training others as the USA National Sambo Team Coach for several years, and share that experience with athletes of other sports. I've seen many fads come and go, many gimmicks appear and disappear, and many people blaze on and fizzle out. Along that timeline, there are consistent markers, particular common denominators which never go out of style, which always endure and are rarely forgotten for very long.

One of the advantages that RMAX International isn't the vast size to which its grown over the past 14 years, but rather the rich diversity of background of the coaching staff and faculty. With such robust verve, we constantly cross-hybridize the practical basics, applying the tried and true in new and innovative ways. RMAX International has become synonymous with this vangard approach to physical excellence due to its unique combination of wide diversity while remaining internally cohesive as an educational system.

The Breakdown Training Mode

Applying kettlebells to combat sports is no exception. With CST Head Coach Mike Locke, sports performance specialist and fitness director of the 3 facility Bellingham Athletic Club, we filmed a "push-press-pull" kettlebell program using a "break-down" approach. Breakdown lifting begins with heavy but submaximal weight, and you continue repetitions with constant motion until you are within 2-3 repetitions of failure. Then, you immediately park the bell, and move down to the next lower weight, and resume: continual repetitions with perfect form with constant motion, saving 2-3 reps in the tank to avoid training failure.

I prefer to use the technical style of lifting I learned from Valery Fedorenko in how I apply the form of the lift, but I don't always use the protocols he teaches, since Valery's protocols regard kettlebell sport performance, rather than sport-specific approaches that I must embrace as a coach of many different athletes, competitive and non-competitive.

The Modified One-Arm Jerk

For instance, in the first exercise - the one-arm jerk - I do not use the "C" of thoracic flexion and the elbow-to-iliac crest contact because I'm not trying to rest in between repetitions since I'm not training the timed sets of kettlebell sport in this program. So, the technique changes to more of a neutral spine using minimal thoracic flexion - only sufficient to "bounce" the kettlebell back out of rack position into the next repetition using stored elastic energy.

This continual motion approach allows a perpetual deepening of the benefits from the exercise, without "breaking down" at your weakest link. To return to the example of the 1-arm jerk, if I were training timed sets, I may break down at the over-head lock and not fully tax the entire body to elicit the desired training effect needed for athletic performance enhancement. By "running the rack" from heaviest to lightest weight, the entire body gets smoked, leaving you in a trembling puddle by its conclusion (IF you maintain proper form and don't try to approach failure.)

The Persian Floor Press

One kettlebell technique I endorse, which in concept has existed for centuries originating i ancient Persia, is the floor press. I prefer this techique for forward pressure from the bottom (or supine) position because the dumbbell or barbell bench press often requires protracted recovery time due to the high weight required to elicit a sufficient training effect for athletic performance enhancement.

The technique I use for grip is angular, so you actually don't even need to "grab" the kettlebell handles. You will find this technique allows you to drive more from your torso and core because you can't overpower the technique with your forearm flexors by gorilla death gripping the handles like you would with a dumbbell or barbell.

Additionally, the displaced center of mass causes the kettlebells to constantly be pulled outward from your centerline. Unlike dumbbells and barbells where gravity pulls these balanced weights directly down the forearm bones, transferring any "scissors" benching to the anterior delts and pec minor, the kettlebells pull outward activating continual tension to pec major throughout the entire motion without mechanical advantage.

And since the focus brings elbows down to hips instead of scissoring the elbows laterally in line with the shoulders, the press must originate from core activation, rather than shoulder isolation.

Although a horizontal exercise excluding hip recruitment and leg drive, for combat sports such as Sambo and MMA, learning to generate forward pressure while supine is critical.

The Warrior Row

Bent-over Rows remain a staple exercise, but negate the specificity of a straddle or split stance. Since all functional activities and sports happen on one leg or unequally distributed between the two, the warrior row finds its way into my choice for athletic performance enhancement. It trains the the core to generate unilateral "yaw" or twisting force without the mechanical advantage of firm bilateral footing typical of a deadlift or backsquat.

The forward pitch of the torso places an extraordinary amount of tension on the front leg while the torso must rotate to pull the kettlebell. I find this much more beneficial to combat athleticism than equal footed exercises since the reality of functional performance demands force production from the core while the lower body remains in motion.

Remember to reach beyond the toes with the bell and pull back straight. Even though the bell travels in an arc, your hope is to pull in a straight line from the toes while keeping the shoulder packed down (lats firing, core strong, glutes and hams activated.)

Smoking the Nervous System

This Breakdown training is a major shock to the nervous system. One set of this circuit is sufficient. Two sets is burly. Three sets, and you're a mutant. Give yourself 60 seconds rest per exercise, and 3-5 minutes between sets so that your nervous system can reboot.

Don't train this more than once/week and save it for your high intensity day. It will leave you in a trembling pool of goo, but the effect is nothing short of magical since it cascades through the entire array of attributes: power, strength, endurance, cardio...

Enjoy and don't forget to view all 3 parts to see the whole program: