Kettlebells Trainings

Growing up , THE “Manhood Test” Lift was always the Bench Press.

“ How much can you bench?” was a usual question.

It's even part of our everyday "meathead" lingo .

The Bench Press is solid at strengthening your chest (the pecs).

It’s also good at wrecking shoulders if you do it excessively (along with one ton Push Ups).

Worse, ( arguably?) is when you do too much chest work and you look like you have a pair of breasts.

( Believe it or not: ) One of my old friends took his shirt off, and my jaw almost fell because he’d done so much chest work, he literally looked like he had a pair of breasts.

But, kettlebell work?

Not really.

But because we’ve been so programmed by bodybuilding, we think we need to always train the chest.

Hence, this email I got recently from Chris in Germany in which he asked the following:

“Last year, I read your book Kettlebell Strong! And used a plan for me out of this book. Then I started for several months to do the double KB clean & press.

Some weeks ago I bought the program king sized killer with the snatch to give me some variation.

The big question I have is: how do I get some impact on the chest muscles?

This question is now for both clean & press and snatch. Because after practicing almost 9 months of these training programs, I did not feel (or see) my chest growing.

Can you recommend any additional exercises to these programs or do I suffer from bad technique?

Should I slightly lean back at the press?”

My response was essentially this:

Great question. The chest is actually used in both the Press and the Snatch.

In the Press, it's the upper portion - the clavicular portion - which is targeted .

And in the Snatch, the pec lengthens to control the the KB so you can fix it overhead.

However, they don't have the identical effect on the chest as a Bench Press, Push Ups, or Parallel Dips.

I would not lean back on the Press. That’s a quick route to lower back pain if done incorrectly.

If you aim for more chest growth , I endorse Parallel Dips.

What I didn’t mention is the following:

1- WHY Parallel Dips

… They “unload” the spine from all the spinal strain found in KB training, which improves recovery time and allows you to train harder - if you like that sort of thing.

Plus, they do a effective job sculpting your chest and triceps, if you’re into that sort of thing. (I’m not - I just like them for elbow, shoulder, and spine health and how they make me feel altogether.)

And -

2- WHY I don’t recommend a lot of horizontal pressing like Bench Press for guys our age.

And that’s because we spend so much time stationary, that the following happens:

1. Head protrudes

2. Chest collapses , and shoulders “slump” - roll forward

3. Pecs (chest muscles) get tight and tight

4. Arms twist in (palms start training facing backwards, instead of your sides) and lats get tight

5. Pulling muscles of your back get elongated and neurologically inhibited

And those things create a imbalance at your shoulder joints.

And that means your shoulders don’t function the way they’re designed to .

And that’s why guys get shoulder problems like rotator cuff impingements, strains, and even tears from too much Bench Press or too many Push Ups.

If you’re having shoulder problems, direct horizontal chest work like Bench Press and Push Ups are the last things you want to be doing .

Instead, fix 1-5 above.

It will restore your shoulders’ proper function so you can partake of the Bench Press and/or Push Ups without anything harmful happening to you.

And if you want to know the best way to incorporate Parallel Dips into your program so you can build your chest?

Hope you appreciated this.

Stay Fit ,

Geoff Neupert.