From The Desk Of Geoff Neupert
Overlooking Pike's Peak, Colorado, USA
Dear Kettlebell Friend,
Did you know that the fastest way to get stronger using kettlebells is to use two at a time - the double kettlebell lifts, because it creates greater stress on the body to adapt sooner?
Did you know most people think you learn the double kettlebell lifts in the same order as the single kettlebell lifts - Swings first?
But this is wrong, because the double kettlebell lifts "play by different rules."
Here's why:
You use a wider base of support when using a pair of kettlebells, which means you can't "hinge" as much...
... You can't use your posterior chain - your glutes, hamstrings, and calves...
... As much as you can and do on the single kettlebell lifts.
You have to incorporate other muscle groups.
So, your "foundation" for double kettlebell work is built from another exercise altogether.
Most people don't know what you just read, so they form a weak, shallow foundation for their double kettlebell work and never experience the true transformational power of double kettlebell work.
Here's how I know:
I'm Geoff Neupert. I was the second StrongFirst Master Instructor (Mark Reifkind was the first). And I was a RKC Master Instructor before that.
I've been personally using kettlebells and with clients since 2002 - 20+ years, and I've taught thousands of people around the world how to use kettlebells in certifications, workshops, and my products.
I've taught and trained people from all walks of life how to use kettlebells - Atheletes, arthritic grandmothers, military special operators, and everyone in between. And from 2001 to 2013, I logged over 25,000 hours of one-on-one personal training.
I was the Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach for Olympic Sports at Rutgers University, where we were responsible for 26 teams. And I was a state champion and nationally qualified Olympic Weightlifter.
Reverse Engineering What The Elites Do
Olympic Weightlifters are the "Apex Predators" of the Strength World.
They're strong, explosive, and muscular.
And they lift seemingly supernatural amounts of weight over their heads.
I was a competitive Olympic lifter on and off for over 20 years - competing around injuries.
It was that rehabilitation process that made me dig and look at the nuances behind the differences in techniques of the greatest lifters and what I was doing.
The differences astounded me.
Things like:
[1] Breathing mechanics
[2] Grip
[3] Foot Position / Pressure
... To name but three, and how they're used on all the lifts, and their assistance exercises.
More on their assistance exercises and their relationship to getting strong with a pair of kettlebells in just a minute. But first...
After rehabbing myself and applying some of these techniques to my double kettlebell lifts, I was blown away by how much easier the lifts felt...
And how much faster I got my strength back from applying them to my double kettlebell work.
I started showing them to my clients, and they loved them.
But they weren't in any particular order - they weren't systematic.
Shortly after the release of my first book, Kettlebell Muscle, in which I detailed some of these new findings and techniques, I received what can only be described as a "Divine Download" of the EXACT ORDER in which to organize and learn these techniques.
I tested this order, this sequence with my clients and it was like taking a shortcut.
What had been hard, became easy.
Then, because of the interest in Kettlebell Muscle, I started doing workshops coast-to-coast across the United States showing people this exact sequence and these new techniques, from Virginia to California, and people loved them.
Then, I started teaching these workshops internationally - Italy, the Czech Republic, Australia, even Singapore and found they worked for everyone -
Man or woman, from all walks of life, regardless of where they lived.
And in the middle of all that travel, I realized I couldn't reach everyone in person, so I had to make these techniques available to everyone who was interested in maximizing their strength using kettlebells.
More on that in a minute...
Let's get back to Olympic Lifting assistance exercises and what they mean for your kettlebell training.
There's one assistance exercise that Olympic Lifters use to drive up their lifts.
And not coincidentally, it's where we start our Technique Stacking.
What Is Technique Stacking?
"Technique Stacking" is a learning strategy which combines and layers biomechanically correct exercise techniques and a specific exercise order, with one another, to speed up double kettlebell lift skill acquisition and proficiency.
You start with one simple exercise and work on several key points to make that lift more efficient. Then you learn a more complicated exercise, applying the key points that you learned in the first exercise.
Then you take each technique that you learn and apply it to the next exercise.
It's important to understand that:
[1] There's a specific order in which to learn the double kettlebell exercises, and...
[2] That order makes the skill acquisition of each exercise easier-than-normal, and in some cases, like the Double Kettlebell Snatch - practically automatic.
The learning process is accelerated through repetition, cementing exercise technique at a faster-than-normal pace.
And as a result, you get stronger, faster, and with more confidence, which is exactly why we use double kettlebells in the first place.
