‘THE GIANT’ https://salutis.kartra.com/page/oWP219
Single / double C+P
3x week
20-30 minutes per session
‘THE GIANT X’ https://salutis.kartra.com/page/giant-x
Double C+P, Double Clean + PUSH Press, See-Saw Press
3x week
20-30 minutes per session
Kettlebell MAXIMORUM https://go.chasingstrength.com/kettlebell-maximorum-e/
Double C+P, Double KB Front Squat, Single Snatch
4x week
20-30 minutes per session
A lot of guys over 40 who get into kettlebells don’t really care about muscle - but they should.
Especially if they want to “lose weight,” “get back in shape,” or dare I even say it, “Tone up.”
Why?
Muscle is your body’s “metabolic machinery.”
It burns extra calories both at rest and at work.
And the more muscle you have on your body, the more calories you burn at rest, and the more you burn while you work - Swing, Press, Snatch a kettlebell.
And those two things are critically important for “losing weight.”
And they're also important for “getting stronger.”
The more muscle you have on your body, the greater strength potential you have.
With that foundation set, I got this comment over one of my IG posts the other day - the answer to which I thought you’d find helpful.
Great question.
When discussing muscle growth, we need to think in terms of “systemic” vs. “localized.”
“Systemic” is the impact a load or stimulus has on the body as a whole.
“Localized” is the impact a load or stimulus has on a region - like the shoulders / shoulder girdle.
The Kettlebell Clean + Press is categorized as a “compound lift” - which is made up of two or more “compound exercises” - exercises that use multiple joints.
Contrast a “compound exercise” with an “isolation exercise” - like a biceps curl - which only uses (in theory) one joint.
This is important to know because the energy demand and the stimulus for change in your nervous system is greater using a “compound exercise” when compared to an “isolation exercise.”
However…
The demand on the muscle tissue is usually the inverse -
There’s more demand on muscle tissue in isolation exercises compared to compound exercises.
In fact, you could say it’s a continuum that looks like this:
Compound Lift → Compound Exercise → Isolation Exercise
Greater CNS demand / stimulus → Lesser CNS demand / stimulus
Less muscle tissue demand → Greater muscle tissue demand
This explains why bodybuilders are usually bigger than powerlifters but powerlifters are stronger.
Bodybuilders focus on making their muscles as big a possible.
Powerlifters focus on making their muscles - with relation to the Squat, Bench Press, and Deadlift - as strong as possible.
Now, with that as our context, let’s get back to our question:
The advantages of the Clean + Press over the Strict Press are as follows:
1- Greater systemic demand (compound lift vs. compound exercise), and therefore greater nervous system stimulus for change
2- Less localized upper body fatigue, so usually, but not always, you can get more Presses in a set of Clean + Press vs. a set of Presses
3- Use “ground reaction force” or “force wave” from the Clean to increase power output in the Press. This too often decreases upper body fatigue and increases the number of Presses you can do
4- Improved conditioning effect from alternating between Cleans and Presses
5- Train the posterior chain (hips, hamstrings, erectors, calves)
… To name but 5.
Does that mean you should never do “just” Presses?
No, not at all.
Here’s the advantages of Presses over the Clean + Press:
1- If you’re focused on increasing your Press Max, then do repeat Presses
2- If you want to “just” focus on pure localized muscle building, then do “just” Presses
3- If you’re learning how to Press, you need to focus on your technique - sets of unbroken Presses are the way to do
… To name but 3.
Personally?
At this stage in my life, I’m all about time-efficiency, so I prefer Clean + Press vs. the Press.
If you hate having to pick, here’s another option that some may consider the best of all worlds:
Clean THEN Press.
Do all you Cleans FIRST, and then, without putting your bell(s) down, do your set of Presses.
(This is called a complex.)
This still gives you a systemic response, but you also get a localized one too.
The only downside is you’ve accumulated fatigue by doing your Cleans first, so your Presses may suffer.
Which is best for you?
Clean + Press, “just” Presses, or Cleans THEN Presses?
It all depends on your specific goals.
For most guys our age - probably 90% - are best served by “just” Clean + Presses.
If you need a Clean + Press plan, I’ll leave the links to 3 of my best programs in the video description below.
Stay Strong,
Geoff