Lack of Leg Work?

[R. Alan Hester]

I don’t want to point to anyone in particular or be rabble-rousing , but I have noticed that many kettlebell (KB) purists seem to focus on total and upper body more than lower. That is to say, a workout may include clean and press, swings, rows, floor press, and front squats. Even if one was able to clean and press or front squat two 105 lbs KBs (I think this is impressive, and no, I cannot do it), would not one’s legs be “relatively weak” when compared to their upper body? And what about Rippetoe’s strength standards? Are his standards universal, thereby making KB-lovers incomplete, or are KB-philes not concerned with his standards because they have different goals and or clients, which do not lend themselves to heavy deadlifts?

I guess I am wondering if the tool and the exercises that generally come with it that has been lauded as being the best thing since the internet by those whose businesses stand to gain the most from such a claim is really all it is cracked up to be. Greg Everett’s article in the Oct. 06 issue of PM spoke to the tool in comparison to DBs and Oly lifts, but I am speaking to the programming one uses with KBs.

Am I making any sense? If not, I will rewrite the question when I am not cracked out on cold medicine.

Alan

[Robb Wolf]

Alan-
Are you asking about actual GS (girevoy sport) competitors? If that is the case I suspect deep squat strength is not impressive, but is completely unnecessary for their sport. The pressing strength may not be that impressive for that matter as the jerk is all about efficiently launching the bell overhead to an immediate locked out position.

The generalist KB enthusiast may or may not have balanced development...pistols? Accessory movements like DL, Squat? Tough to tell.

[James Evans]

I think you have to be realistic.

Take this guy, Dragan Radovic:

http://www.fitness4x4.com/

He's impressive but in some ways a poor man's Pavel. I read an interview with him a few years ago where he outlined his philosophy. Alternate arm db clean and presses. 200 hundred every day. Over in ten minutes. That's it.

Or is it?

Because then he said he spends 20 mins doing squats. He skipped over that quite quickly.

Pavel seems to know an awful lot about a lot of different types of training. Do you think he built himself entirely with KBs? And forget all that bunkum about the superiority of the Red Army. Conscription, endemic alcoholism and ritual bullying and shooting your own men by mistake is not a validation for the KB system. Spetznaz this, Spetznaz that. Utter nonsense.

Robb hits the nail on the head when he talks about GS sport. It has a different focus.

[James Evans]

Sorry, I got sidetracked there and cut myself off short.

What I want to convey is too things:

1. Don't believe the hype behind any product (either than the C2)

2. Assess your goals and apply the methods suitable to them. KBs will make you stronger but if you want legs like tree trunks then you will need a bit more oomph in your training. Don't forget that distance runners have pretty strong pins but they may have a different kind of build to that sort by another trainee.

I very really squat with a bar (read almost never) because I don't have a stand and I can't rack the bar properly for front squats. I train my legs with db squats, step ups, lunges, OHS, deadlifts, powercleans, db snatches, skipping, running, sprinting, cycling etc. My legs are strong enough for what I want them to do but I'm no Austrian Oak. And that really doesn't surprise me.