Description

Kettlebell VIP: What You Will Learn

Kettlebell VIP teaches classic kettlebell lifts inspired by 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.

You will start with assisted swings, assisted power cleans, and assisted push presses. These Lebedev-inspired drills teach you how to handle the kettlebell, bring it to the shoulder, find the rack, push it overhead, hold it, and lower it under control.

From there, you will move into hand-to-hand swings, strongman get-ups, palm get-ups, bottom-up get-ups, kettlebell hack squats, split cleans, dead cleans, kettlebell curls, Saxon presses, strict military presses, Klein’s alternating clean and press, bottom-up presses, assisted snatches, power snatches, dead power snatches, bottom-up snatches, Goerner’s Chain, side presses, Swiss lifts, circular swings, and beginner-friendly juggling progressions.

Kettlebell VIP is not a replacement for minimalist kettlebell training. It is an old-school assistance library for lifters who want to keep the fundamentals sharp while building the weak links, angles, and qualities the fundamentals depend on.

One bell. Many angles. Many lessons.

Why kettlebell?

Arthur Saxon, “The Iron-Master,” was one of the great strongmen of the old Iron Game—a German circus performer and professional strongman active from the late nineteenth into the early twentieth century.

He is best remembered for the bent press, a one-hand lift in which he stood in a class of his own. His legendary 168 kg / 370 lb record remains one of the most iconic feats in strength history.

Now consider this: One of the strongest men in the world chose to put a kettlebell snatch on the cover of his book.

Another giant of the Iron Game, “Mighty Görner,” performed hundreds of recorded lifts with almost every kind of heavy implement imaginable: deadlifts, one-hand lifts, thick-handle work, dumbbells, presses, snatches, supporting feats, and other all-round displays of strength that remain astonishing today.

Among all the tools that forged this kind of all-round power, one stood apart: The kettlebell.

The old-timers trained with barbells, dumbbells, odd objects, and anything heavy enough to test a man’s will. Use them all. They did. But when strength needed an emblem—on association logos, school crests, medals, and banners—the kettlebell kept appearing. That was no accident.

In Russian, the kettlebell is the girya. A man who lifts it is a girevik; a woman is a girevichka. These words came to mean more than “kettlebell lifter.” They meant strongman and strongwoman.The kettlebell was not an accessory. It was a badge of strength.

Lebedev, Krylov, Pytlasiński, Klein, Görner, Saxon, and many others understood what modern lifters are rediscovering: The kettlebell is the queen of the Iron Throne.

Kettlebell VIP: Vintage Iron Power brings back the lifts, lessons, and old-school variations that forged true all-round strength—built with simple tool, smart practice, and no excuses. This is not a replacement for your current kettlebell training. It is a sharp addition to it.

Old-School Sources, Timeless Lessons

The course draws from the work and training traditions of legendary old-time strongmen, all-round athletes, wrestlers, and physical culturists — men who built strength before specialization took over.

• Ivan V. Lebedev — Russian strength authority and kettlebell teacher, whose Exercises with Heavy Kettlebells provides the foundation for the beginner-friendly assisted lifts and step-by-step kettlebell handling in this course.
• Alan Calvert — founder of Milo Barbell Company and one of the great American voices of early physical culture; his work emphasized “super-strength,” flat-back power, and practical all-round development.
• George Hackenschmidt — legendary wrestler, strongman, and author of The Way to Live; the inspiration behind the deep knee bend and hack squat variations.
• Siegmund Klein — classic gym owner, strongman, and physical culturist who kept kettlebell lifting alive when many lifters had forgotten its value.
• Hermann Goerner — one of the greatest all-round strongmen in history; his famous kettlebell “Chain” inspired one of the central strength complexes in this course.
• Władysław Pytlasiński — Polish wrestling and strength pioneer whose weightlifting material preserves rare kettlebell and balance-strength lifts, including the Swiss lift.
• Thomas Inch — British strongman, grip legend, and author who wrote about kettlebell snatching and old-school strength methods.
• Arthur Saxon — master of the bent press and one of the most famous professional strongmen of the golden age, representing the highest standard of old-time lifting skill.
• Charles Mac Mahon — early physical culture writer whose work on kettlebell juggling preserved a forgotten branch of strength, timing, and athletic coordination.
• …and many more!

These men did not train only for one lift or one narrow quality. They trained to be strong, powerful, coordinated, durable, and capable in many different ways.

That is the spirit of Kettlebell VIP.

The goal is not nostalgia. The goal is better training — all-round strength for the modern lifter.

Credit Where Credit Is Due

Special appreciation belongs to Pavel Tsatsouline, the modern “King of Kettlebells,” the man who ignited the kettlebell revolution in the West with The Russian Kettlebell Challenge and later built StrongFirst, THE School of Strength. Without his work, teaching, standards, and relentless promotion of the girya, the modern kettlebell world would not be what it is today.

 

“You can be anything you want… But you must be StrongFirst!”

Old-School Quick-Start Guide for Beginners

The course includes a beginner-friendly progression based on Ivan V. Lebedev’s foundational kettlebell lifts.

Before the advanced work, you learn how to handle the bell. You take it to the shoulder with assistance. You find the rack. You push it overhead with control. You hold it. You lower it. You repeat.

This is not remedial work. It is the foundation.

Beginners get a safe entry point. Experienced lifters get a technical reset and new tools for heavier, stricter, cleaner lifting.

First, learn to own the bell. Then make it heavier.

Time-Tested Blueprint for Intermediate and Advanced Lifters

Kettlebell VIP gives you productive variation and old-school assistance work that plugs into what you already do.

Use it to build grip, improve rack control, strengthen the overhead position, add pressing variations, train the legs with minimal equipment, improve coordination, sharpen athletic timing, and practice skill-strength without turning your training into a circus.

The included PDF protocol shows you how to integrate the lifts into your current practice.

Kettlebell VIP Course Curriculum

Kettlebell VIP – Before You Start [5:17]

How to approach the course, choose the right bell, and train old-school lifts safely.

Kettlebell VIP – Assisted Swing, Power Clean & Push Press [13:26]

• Assisted Swing
• Assisted Power Clean
• Assisted Push Press
• Summary

Lebedev-inspired foundation work: handle the bell, rack it, push it overhead, and lower it under control.

Kettlebell VIP – Hand-to-Hand Swing [10:27]

• Standard Hand-to-Hand Swing
• Calvert’s Hand-to-Hand Swing

A classic for hip power, timing, grip, rhythm, and flat-back mechanics.

Kettlebell VIP – Get-Up [12:40]

• Vaudeville / Strongman Get-Up
• Get-Down / Get-Up
• Palm Get-Up
• Bottom-Up Get-Up

Floor to standing and back down — with the bell owned overhead.

Shoulders, trunk, mobility, balance, and patience.

Kettlebell VIP – Hack Squat [12:37]

• Hackenschmidt’s Deep Knee Bend — 3 Variations
• Hack Squat
• Hack Squat from the Bottom
• Face-the-Wall Hack Squat

Old-school leg strength with one kettlebell. Knees, balance, mobility, and control.

Kettlebell VIP – Clean [7:50]

• Swing to Power Clean
• Split Clean
• Dead Clean

Multiple ways to bring the bell to the rack. Useful for presses, chains, and old-school complexes.

Kettlebell VIP – Curl [4:44]

Squat Curl
Standing Curl
Bottom-Up Curl

Biceps, grip, wrists, elbows, and full body tension. Strict. Simple. Humbling.

Kettlebell VIP – Press [19:22]

• Assisted Push Press
• Saxon Press
• Strict Military Press
• Klein’s Alternating Clean and Press
• Bottom-Up Press
• Bonus: Shortcut to the Dumbbell Press

Classic pressing strength: rack discipline, alignment, grip, tension, and lockout.

Kettlebell VIP – Snatch [19:40]

• Lebedev’s Assisted Snatch
• Power Snatch
• Imperial Swing-Snatch
• Demo: Dumbbell Overhead Swing
• Dead Power Snatch
• Bottom-Up Swing-Snatch

Old-time strongman variations of the Tsar of all kettlebell lifts.

Kettlebell VIP – Goerner’s Chain [9:22]

• Modern Goerner’s Chain
• Vintage Goerner’s Chain 1 (with swing snatch and clean)
• Vintage Goerner’s Chain 2 (with swing snatch and curl)
• Bonus: Dumbbell Chain

A compact all-round strength complex – if this were the only sequence you practiced from the whole course, you would get very strong.

Kettlebell VIP – Side Press [19:48]

• Press Continuum: Press > Push Press > Jerk; Press > Side Press > Bent Press
• Kettlebell Windmill
• Traditional Side Press
• Side Press Rack
• Anderson’s Half Side Press / Half Military Press
• Windmill-Style Side Press

The lost link between the military press and the bent press — a classic old-time lift for handling heavier kettlebells.

Kettlebell VIP – Swiss Lift [5:45]

• Swiss Lift
• Swiss Lift Challenge
• How to Train for the Swiss Lift Challenge

A rare strongman challenge lift that demands precision under load.

Kettlebell VIP – Circular Swing [5:00]

• Half Circular Swing
• Full Circular Swing
• Clockwise and Counterclockwise Circular Swing

Rhythm, coordination, midsection strength, and power generated from the ground up.

Kettlebell VIP – Juggling [11:19]

• Two-Arm Swing with Partial Release
• Hand-to-Hand Swing
• Palm Catch
• Two-Handed Kettlebell Swing Flip
• One-Handed Kettlebell Swing Flip
• Hand-to-Hand Kettlebell Swing Flip
• Palm Press

Optional. Progressive. Very athletic.

Kettlebell VIP – .pdf Manual

The video course teaches you the lifts. The Kettlebell VIP: Vintage Iron Power Course Manual teaches you how to train them.

Inside, you will learn:

• How often to train
• How heavy to go
• How many reps and sets to do
• How to use straight sets, ladders, and ramp-ups
• How to organize light, medium, and heavy days
• How to rotate exercises so nothing important is neglected
• How to use Kettlebell VIP as your main program
• How to plug Kettlebell VIP into your current training as easy variety days
• How to build “in-between strength” from angles your regular program may not cover

The manual includes:

• Beginner templates based on assisted swings, cleans, presses, get-ups, hand-to-hand swings, and hack squats
• Intermediate and advanced programming for Goerner’s Chain, snatches, strict curls, side presses, bottom-up drills, odd lifts, juggling, and other classic drills
• Old-school training principles from Hackenschmidt, Lebedev, Calvert, Kraevsky, Pytlasiński, Hoffman, Goerner, and Klein.
• Clear rules for progressing gradually without burning out
• BONUS: Triplex – how to combine kettlebell, dumbbell, and barbell training

Practical old-school blueprint for building useful, resilient, all-round strength—patiently, intelligently, and for the long run.

What It Builds

Kettlebell VIP builds all-round strength — not the narrow strength of a specialist, but the useful strength of a capable athlete.

You will develop stronger grip, wrists, shoulders, hips, legs, and midsection. You will learn to produce power from the ground up, stabilize it overhead, redirect it through the body, and control it in positions that standard lifts may not visit.

This is in-between strength: the strength that fills the gaps, and makes the body more resilient, more adaptable, and harder to break.

It carries over to all your other lifts with all other types of equipment — and to athletic activities and sports that demand timing, balance, coordination, rotation, bracing, relaxation, and sudden force production.

More than variety, this is anti-fragile strength practice.

More skill. More resilience. More all-round strength.

Who It Is For

Kettlebell VIP is for anyone who wants to build all-round strength with kettlebell — from serious beginners to advanced lifters.

Beginners start with the Lebedev-inspired foundational program: assisted lifts, basic kettlebell handling, rack practice, overhead control, and step-by-step progressions that teach you how to own the bell before you make it heavier.

Intermediate and advanced lifters get a full library of old-school variations: strongman get-ups, hack squats, bottom-up lifts, side presses, snatches, Goerner’s Chain, Swiss lifts, circular swings, and juggling progressions.

Kettlebell is for all girya fans, StrongFirst-style practitioners, strength coaches, martial artists, old-school physical culture enthusiasts, and anyone who wants productive variation without losing the fundamentals.

Equipment

One kettlebell is enough; a couple more are better. Use a lighter bell for new skills, bottom-up lifts, juggling, circular swings, and Swiss lifts. Use a moderate bell for cleans, presses, get-ups, hack squats, snatches, and Goerner’s Chain. Earn the heavy bell.

About Your Coach

Pavel Macek is a StrongFirst Master Certified Instructor, founder of KB5 Gym Prague, strength coach, martial artist, author, translator, and long-time student of old-school physical culture. He has taught kettlebell, bodyweight, and barbell strength to students, instructors, athletes, martial artists, and everyday trainees for many years. His work combines StrongFirst principles, traditional martial arts, historical research, and practical coaching. In Kettlebell VIP, Pavel brings rare old-school kettlebell lifts back into clear, progressive, usable instruction.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Can beginners use it?

Yes. The course includes a beginner-friendly section based on Ivan V. Lebedev’s foundational kettlebell work.

• Is it useful for advanced lifters?

Yes. Advanced lifters often need more than heavier loads. They need new angles, better timing, stronger weak links, and more control in the “in-between” positions. This course delivers exactly that.

• Is this course for StrongFirst students?

Yes. StrongFirst students, workshop attendees, and certified instructors will find the material a natural complement to their practice. Keep your tested standards sharp. Add Kettlebell VIP’s specialized variety lifts and old-school variations to build more skill and greater all-round strength — without replacing the fundamentals.

• Should this replace my regular kettlebell training?

It can be used as a stand-alone program. The included PDF protocol gives you a clear structure for practicing the old-school lifts on their own. It can also be used as a powerful addition to your current training — as assistance work, skill practice, grip training, shoulder-control work, old-school strength practice, or productive variation.

• Is this only for old-school iron game fans?

No — but if you love the old iron game, you will enjoy it. The course draws from legendary old-time strongmen, wrestlers, all-round athletes, and physical culturists. But the goal is not nostalgia. The goal is better training. You will learn practical lifts that build strength, coordination, resilience, and athletic ability today.

• Do I need many kettlebells?

No. One bell is enough to start.

• What is the PDF programming template based on?

The PDF gives you a flexible, freestyle, intuitive training template based on the way mighty old-time strongmen such as Hermann Goerner and George Hackenschmidt trained — and many other all-round athletes of the iron game. It also shows you how to combine the old-school kettlebell lifts with your regular training: standard SFG I and SFG II skills, barbell lifts, and dumbbell work. This way, Kettlebell VIP can stand on its own or plug directly into the strength practice you already follow.

• Do I need to practice all the lifts?

No. Select the lifts that fit your goals, equipment, current level, and interest. Practice them. Own them. Stay with one or two lifts long enough to get real value from them. Later, choose another lift and repeat the process. You do not need to practice everything at once.