Forgotten (But Not Lost) Kettlebell Lifts — Kettlebell VIP Online Course Sneak Preview

Sneak peek from the upcoming online course Kettlebell VIP: Vintage Iron Power for All-Round Strength!

Most people today know the kettlebell through the modern fundamentals: the swing, the get-up, the clean, the press, the squat, and the snatch — and they should. These lifts are fundamentals for a reason. They teach power, tension, breathing, linkage, mobility, endurance, and the ability to express strength through the whole body as one coordinated unit.

The fundamentals stay. Kettlebell VIP is not here to replace them.

The old-time strongmen valued all-round strength, resilience, and what we might today call antifragility. The girya was not merely a conditioning tool or an accessory to “real lifting.” It was one of the classic tools of the Iron Game, used to build grip, wrists, shoulders, trunk, hips, legs, timing, coordination, balance, and power from many angles.

Ivan V. Lebedev, Alan Calvert, George Hackenschmidt, Siegmund Klein, Hermann Goerner, Władysław Pytlasiński, Thomas Inch, Arthur Saxon, Charles Mac Mahon, and other physical culture masters trained in a world before narrow specialization of Girevoy sport took over. They did not want to be strong in only one groove. They wanted to be strong, powerful, coordinated, durable, and capable.

That is the spirit behind my upcoming Kettlebell VIP: Vintage Iron Power for All-Round Strength.

The course brings back classic kettlebell lifts and variations inspired by the old Iron Game:

Assisted Swing, Assisted Power Clean, Assisted Push Press, Hand-to-Hand Swing, Standard Hand-to-Hand Swing, Calvert’s Hand-to-Hand Swing, Vaudeville / Strongman Get-Up, Get-Down / Get-Up, Palm Get-Up, Bottom-Up Get-Up, Hackenschmidt’s Deep Knee Bend, Hack Squat, Hack Squat from the Bottom, Face-the-Wall Hack Squat, Swing to Power Clean, Split Clean, Dead Clean, Squat Curl, Standing Curl, Bottom-Up Curl, Saxon Press, Strict Military Press, Klein’s Alternating Clean and Press, Bottom-Up Press, Lebedev’s Assisted Snatch, Power Snatch, Imperial Swing-Snatch, Dumbbell Overhead Swing, Dead Power Snatch, Bottom-Up Swing-Snatch, Modern Goerner’s Chain, Vintage Goerner’s Chain, Dumbbell Chain, Kettlebell Windmill, Traditional Side Press, Side Press Rack, Anderson’s Half Side Press / Half Military Press, Windmill-Style Side Press, Swiss Lift, Swiss Lift Challenge, Half Circular Swing, Full Circular Swing, Clockwise and Counterclockwise Circular Swing, Two-Arm Swing with Partial Release, Palm Catch, Two-Handed Kettlebell Swing Flip, One-Handed Kettlebell Swing Flip, Hand-to-Hand Kettlebell Swing Flip, Palm Press.

Forgotten (But Not Lost) Kettlebell Lifts — Kettlebell VIP Online Course Sneak Preview

This may sound like a large list. It is. But that does not mean you practice everything at once. A serious lifter does not open a toolbox and use every tool in one session. He chooses the right tool for the job.

Kettlebell VIP is neither a random variety nor a collection of circus tricks. It is not novelty for novelty’s sake. It is not a contradiction of minimalist training. It is old-school assistance work and all-round strength practice for lifters who respect the fundamentals and want to build the qualities behind them.

The swing and the get-up remain the Simple & Sinister foundation. The clean, press, squat, and snatch remain the standards. Kettlebell VIP gives you forgotten lifts that help build what Marty Gallagher called “in-between strength.”

Kettlebell VIP — Vintage Iron Power for All-Round Strength [ONLINE COURSE]

Among all the tools of the old Iron Game, the kettlebell kept appearing as an emblem of strength. It appeared on association logos, school crests, medals, banners, and books. That was no accident. The girya was not an accessory. It was a badge of strength.

Kettlebell VIP brings that old-school world back in a clear, progressive, modern format.

Not nostalgia. Better training.

This is not a replacement for minimalist kettlebell training. It is a sharp old-school addition to it.