1. RELENTLESS Strength Endurance
For years, I’ve touted that strength endurance is one of the most, if not the most, important quality for high performance grappling. It’s the ability to maintain strength output over time, meaning late into a match or series of matches like a tournament. When skill is equal, matches often come down to a war of attrition, and the opponent who can keep fighting and enforcing their game can often win. That’s why I’ve always put an emphasis on strength endurance. And I don’t think there is a better tool to build and maintain this quality than kettlebells. Mark Wildman sometimes calls kettlebell training endurance weightlifting, and because of its design it’s easier to manipulate for longer periods of time than other tools like dumbbells, and certainly barbells. Kettlebell training creates the exact type of strength you need for the demands of grappling.2. RESILIENCE THROUGH Loaded Mobility
I put mobility on the same level of importance as strength endurance for resilient high-level grappling.
The ability to access your joints full range of motion with strength at the end range is vital for injury prevention and mat resilience.
You can build this quality by training loaded mobility, or using weights to improve joint mobility and strengthen joints at their end range.
Because of the design of the kettlebell, it also allows for easier loading of specific positions that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to train effectively with dumbbells or other tools.
An example would be the Shin Box with rotations. Try this with a dumbbell and you’ll quickly realize the KB is the more effective way to load this valuable mobility exercise.
Other loaded mobility exercises like Windmills, Get Ups, Armbars, and Cossack Squats are far better loaded with kettlebells.
3. EXPLOSIVE Power
Along the same lines as strength endurance, kettlebells can be used to improve explosive power, meaning the ability to generate high levels of force quickly. Often, this is exactly what you need to finish a takedown, sweep or transition when the match is on the line. Not only can you build explosive power with things like kettlebell swings, snatches, cleans, and jerks, you can build power endurance as well. Power endurance is just like strength endurance, but the ability to continually deliver explosive force over time. Power is the first and quickest thing to deplete in training, and takes time to recover, but with the right training protocols, it can be sustained. And kettlebells are the superior tool to build this power endurance.4. Minimalist and Time-Efficient
If you’re a minimalist, or just a busy person, there may be no better training tool than the kettlebell.
They take up nearly no space to store, can be transported easily, and can be used almost anywhere in a small amount of space - indoors, outdoors, in a small bedroom, or at the BJJ gym.
Workouts can be quick 5-minute loaded mobility sessions to prep for the mats or other training, or efficient 20-minute total body smokers that build exactly what you need for the mats.
Bodyweight training may be the only better time-efficient option, but you won’t get the resistance training benefits that an external load like kettlebells can provide.
Save time and get exactly what you need for grappling with kettlebell training.
