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Kettlebells and “Hard Work”.
Lots of good information is available on the subject of “old
school training”. While playing around with a routine recently
I happened upon a nice conditioning supplement to a kettlebell routine.
Sledgehammer work has long been lauded by boxing trainers and wrestlers
alike for its ability to enhance the conditioning of a fighter and
also to improve grip and upper body strength. The wrestlers and boxers
of yesteryear would chop wood; nowadays it’s more environmentally
friendly to use a sledgehammer on a tire. One of my friends said,
“this used to be called work”, in this day and age of
play stations and sedentary jobs however; this has become obsolete
as a type of labour. More and more athletes are using this as a method
of increasing their fitness and well they might as it provides an
excellent means of improving the lung efficiency as well as bringing
about changes in the strength of muscles predominantly used in fighting.
So, for combat athletes, this exercise is a must.
How is this relevant? I’m getting there…
Combine this exercise drill with your kettlebell routine and you have
a truly gut wrenching experience ahead of you! Here goes…
Pick your kettlebell weight and be sensible, as this will be taxing,
so use a weight that you can comfortably snatch at least for ten reps.
Also have a station set up for your sledgehammer work. A tire from
a tractor would be perfect. Ensure you warm up thoroughly in a manner
that is suitable for you.
The Routine: Perform 10 snatches left and right, move to your hammer
and perform 50 smashes into the tire left and right (you must work
evenly with the hammer training also) rest no more than 30 secs. Then
perform 9 snatches left and right and go and do 50 hammer smashes
each side and rest again. Continue dropping a rep from the snatches
each time but keep the hammer work the same (50 reps) until you reach
1 snatch left and right. You can change the exercise and start again
if you’re twisted!!
What this does for you is give you great anaerobic endurance. As a
judo player, my workload is concentrated on short burst activities.
This routine will give you a boost in that area if you need it. Try
to keep your rest periods under 30 seconds, mine vary from 10 –
20 seconds. This can be applied to most grappling sports and mixed
martial arts. The old-timers knew what they were doing when chopping
wood so incorporate this into a routine and I guarantee you’ll
get a shock! If you feel your motivation dropping just sing a few
bars of the “Lumberjack Song” from Monty Python.
Barry Gibson.
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