Evil Double Kettlebell Drills

While preparing for the RKC Certification I stayed true to the Enter the Kettlebell Rite of Passage and did not waiver. For Eight months I stayed on a steady diet of Clean and Press / High Pull ladders for strength and Snatches and Swings for killer cardio.

With my martial arts background I can relate to the concept of mastering the basics but also recognize the value of being creative in the drills used to practice them. Staying true to one of the ETK & RKC mantras I have incorporated double kettlebell drills making my routine "same but different."

When performing my Clean and press ladders I will use two 24kg bells or two 16kg bells. The first time through the ladder I like to perform double kettlebell presses, the second ladder I may perform alternating "see-saw" presses and alternate in this fashion on successive ladders. Presses are followed by double high pulls.
Sometimes I'll include double KB squats or pistols.

Double swings are great for low reps but for high cardio I've been experimenting with double cleans, alternating cleans, anchored snatches, alternating snatch/cleans (one arm performs a clean while the other performs a snatch... very mentally demanding).

My Hands were pretty torn up from the 2nd day at the RKC certification so I've been taking it pretty easy on the snatches by incorporating what I call "half snatches" into my workouts. A "half snatch" is where I perform a snatch at shoulder level finishing with my arm parallel to the ground. These are easier on the shoulders and grip but allow me to compensate by moving at higher speeds.

One of my new favorite "ab" exercises is to simply hold two 24kg KBs in one hand and stand still... this gives my obliques an incredible contraction. I'll hold it for as long as possible and drop the weights (outside whenever possible).

Finally I've been playing with a double getup using two 16kg bells. I can get up off the ground into a standing position "easily" enough but getting down is a problem. I haven't discovered a good way to do it gracefully on the way down yet so I'll just re-rack the bells, set them down and start again from the bottom position.

So... what's my point? Kettlebells provide endless variations. I'm still performing the standard cleans, presses, pulls, swings, snatches, squats and getups but I'm using two KBs to mix it up. The exercises take on a whole new level of difficulty and now it's possible to get an even more intense workout completed in less time than before.