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Kettlebell Q&A
| "I'm a San Francisco Police Officer and new to Kettlebell's. I have a question, as I have seen referrals to it on the Dragon Door websight. What is "GS" and what is "Hard Style" and what is the difference?" - Marty |
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GS stands for Girevoy Sport. Girevoy being the Russian word for kettlebell. In other words, it means kettlebell sport. GS consists traditionally consists of two events: high repetition snatches and two kettlebell jerks. Both events have a ten minute time limit. There is also a separate event called the long cycle, which is ten minutes of two kb clean & jerks. The GS snatch, jerks, and clean & jerks are extremely energy and grip efficient, geared for maximum reps for 10 continuous minutes. The Hard Style snatch, jerks, C&Js, etc, are technical, but a lot less efficient. It's just a tool to increase your strength and stamina for your job or sport. It's not the sport. For example Wake Forrest's Head Strength Coach Ethan Reeve teaches partial Olympic lifts to his football players to make them better athletes, not Olympic weight lifters. My recommendation for police officers/tactical athletes is to stay away from GS style of kb lifting. |
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| "I was wondering what size you normally use for your throws?" - Branden |
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I usually warm up with the 16kg KB, then mostly practice with the 24 kg. When I'm feeling good, throw around the 32kg and occasionally 40kg. Don't fall into the trap of increasing weight too quickly. It only leads to injury and setbacks. Just have fun with whatever size KB you have. |
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| "I was wondering what weight(size) kettlebell do I need to start out with? I went to a sports store and pick up a 25ib dumbbell and a 35ib. the 35pounder was real heavy. I know that dragon door sells a 27 and 36ib kettlebells." - Larry |
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The right size to start out with really depends on you, your age, your athletic background or lack there of, prior injuries, strength/weight ratio, etc. When in doubt, go to a lighter bell. I normally recommend the 36 pounder for guys. However, there is nothing wrong with starting out with the 27 pounder. If you could only afford one, I'd get the 36. If you start with 27 lbs. I believe you would grow out of it in a short amount of time. For more information you can look at the FAQ's section. |
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| "I am currently greasing the groove with the turkish get up 1 rep at a time with a 32kg kettlebell. I am enjoying the strength i am gaining particularly throughout my core. My question really is what is the kind of maximum weight one should aim for with this exercise? Bodyweight? More?" - Richard |
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Great job on the Turkish Get-ups! I really don't know if there is a maximum weight for TGUs. I think half your body weight or a 100 pound would be a good goal. It really depends on what your goals are. My goal is to build up to a 150 pound TGU... someday. This is only because I want to be able to demonstrate it with a live person for exhibition purposes. If increasing weight is not an option, go for higher reps with the weight you have (i.e. 10 reps per side with a 72 or 99 pounder). That would be extremely impressive. There's many ways to get there, it's just an individual choice. Keep up the good work. |
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If you have any questions regarding any exercise or product, please email Jeff at jeff@tacticalathlete.com.
Your questions and answers could be posted here! |
