Kettlebells, we just love them at Wild Geese.
Why do we love them? Because we are fighters, and that means we look for the most efficient technique for any given situation, we look for the most bang for the buck.
We know that a jumping cartwheel kick may look cool, but in a fight the good old fashioned rear cross is far more valuable to us.
We put that same philosophy into our training, and the most efficient tool we have come across to date is the Kettlebell, and the most efficient Kettlebell movement for our needs is the one arm clean & jerk.
The Clean & Jerk (or Long Cycle) involves swinging the bell from between the legs, up to the “Rack” position on the chest, then powering it overhead using the legs, back and finally the shoulder and arm.
It is a full body lift.
Done with a single bell will involve a whole heap of core stabilisation, far more effective at strengthening your midsection than any amount of sit ups. Driving one bell over head using the whole body is as close to a punching action as you’ll get while lifting weights.
Forget punching to the front with dumbbells, that trains the shoulders in the complete wrong manner, the jerk is actually better for developing a sharp snappy punch that just keeps on coming.
Taking the combat element away from our training, after all not everyone is a fighter, we are still left with one of the best full body conditioning drills. The One Arm Clean & Jerk uses every muscle in the body, and does so explosively. There are few other lifts that will ramp up your metabolism as high in a short space of time, so it is perfect for fat loss as well as strength and conditioning.
To learn this lift purely from a blog post is doable, but really you ought to find an instructor. You will also learn this lift on my Level 3 Kettlebell workshop. However, I have filmed the lift for you, even including a bit of slo-mo. Please remember, unless you have a foundation of swings and presses (as in the Level 1 workshop), there’s not much point in rushing ahead of your self and trying to perfect this lift.