The Double Kettlebell Single-Arm Swing (Grip Strength Development Series: Part 5)

Hey fellow lifters,

I thought I would mix things up this week and throw some awesome kettlebell exercises your way that will add some serious strength to your grip.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, adding thickness to the bar or object you're lifting will immediately challenge your grip in a completely different way. That's why this week I'm sharing with you the double kettlebell single arm swing. The technique remains the same as the traditional single arm swing with the only difference being that you will be holding two kettlebells (I know Im Stating the obvious but just to be clear). Whether you're a kettlebell sport kinda person or you prefer the hard style swing it works well for both.

It's important you get a really firm grip on the 2 bells before hiking the kettlebells back for the first rep and please don't be afraid to chalk up, it makes a huge difference to the lift.

I like to perform these as heavy as possible for anything between 5-10 reps for nice and explosive reps, however feel free to mix up the rep ranges to cater for your goals. 20-30 reps if you are looking to improve your grip endurance.

Throw this into your regular routine and I guarantee it will add great value to your kettlebell lifting. Using just 1 kettlebell will feel like a piece of cake.

Give it a try, enjoy and I look forward to sharing the next installment with you soon.



Have a great day.

Train smart, eat well and sleep peacefully,

Matt

My journey towards unleashing my inner beast: Intro

This is an introduction to a new series - "My Journey Towards My Wild Physique Unleashed"

I'm sure some of you have seen CJ Swaby's recent blog posts discussing his training methods, dietary changes and mindset disciplines in his journey towards obtaining his wild physique. CJ is not only a good pal of mine, he was also a huge inspiration to me from the moment I met him at a kettlebell course 18 months ago. After reading his awesome blog entries I decided I wanted to share my training journey with you too.

Over the next few weeks I will be posting blogs explaining:

- How I discovered a passion for training from a very young age.
- How I remained disciplined and worked around barriers.
- The mistakes I made along the way.
- How changing my eating habits added kilos to the bar and my own lean mass.
- The key to restoration and recovery for awesome gains.
- And much much more

In my journey towards achieving my forever evolving goals I have tried, I have tested, I have failed and I have also succeeded, but most importantly of all I have learned from my mistakes.

My reason for sharing this journey with you is simply because I want to help you, inspire you and add some great value to your current training, diet regime and lifestyle. I want to share with you the mistakes I made and the fads I followed to prevent you making them yourself. It won't be rocket science, it won't be technical, it's just a South East Londoner's journey towards unleashing his inner beast :-)

Enjoy

Matt

GET A GRIP

Get a grip:

As important as it is to do so, I'm not talking about keeping your your cool, staying calm or remaining composed. I'm talking hand strength and developing a bone crushing grip.

In my experience as a personal trainer, rugby player and strength enthusiast, it has become very clear to me that having a strong grip is a huge advantage. Whether your performing deadlifst or pull ups, tackling a 20 stone oooooffffff on the pitch or just trying to squeeze out a couple of extra curls. If your grip is weak, you will be at a disadvantage in all of the above situations.

Dont get me wrong, I'm not implying that I have a crazy strong grip, however, I once relied upon straps to perform my Deadlifts, pull ups and heavy rows. This was great from a poundage point of view but before long my natural grip strength was fast fading. This was most apparent to me on the rugby pitch, I could not hold on to people without them breaking through my grip. I felt pathetc.

So after some reading I ditched the straps and went back to raw lifts. The only disappointing thing was, I had to drastically reduce my poundages to prevent my grip failing me before my muscles had even started to get warm. Let's just say this was not great for my ego and now felt even more pathetic. But I was determined to obtain the bone crushing grip I longed for.

Within just a few weeks and with the introduction of magnesium chalk (my lifesaver) my poundages went through the roof and my grip felt solid. What a relief. Now, if I get a hold of a shirt on the rugby pitch it's like a pit bulls lock jaw. There was no way I was letting go.

Again, my grip strength has a very very long way to go. However I am now safe in the knowledge that my grip is never the first to fail me on any exercise. Don't let your grip get in the way of your lifting potential. It really is a crucial part of what will get you to the next level.

Over then next couple of weeks I will be posting various grip developing videos. I will be using kettlebells, barbells, dumbbells and weight plates, all of which are great to work with and I wanted to give as many options for people as possible.

I hear so often the famous saying "it's annoying because my muscles could keep going but my grip fails me". Remember having a strong grip is as much about having strong ligaments and tendons as it is strong muscles. They all work together to create a devastating grip.

The videos will show you how to develop the strength in your fingers, hands and forearms to improve both pure grip strength (1 rep max deadlift) and endurance (high rep kettlebell swings or snatches). I will show you ways to develop strength and condition your ligaments and tendons to back up your muscular strength.

Whatever your goal I am sure you will find the videos helpful for both yourself or that of your clients.

Enjoy,

Matt Whitmore