KETTLEBELLSBy DouseyFollowing is an article that was written as part of the accreditation process for level 2 Strength & Conditioning Coach with the Australian Strength & Conditioning Association.There are some pictures, a graph and some tables within the article that i have just not been able to successfull post here. !f ou wish to view the article in its entiret then it can be viewed at this lin"http#$$sites.google.com$site$western"et ... ts%athlete& onclic"'&window.open(this.href)*return false*+hilst the article reports on the benefits of "ettlebell use for ,,A athletes the information within can be applied b anone to their own training !ts a long article but i thin" its worth the read. An feedbac" welcomedAnecdotal use of Ballistic Kettlebell Exercises in the Power Training of Mixed Martial Arts AthleteThis article e-amines the "ettlebell drills we have adopted to improve the conditioning and more particularl the power of some of the ,,A athletes training at South +est .ale Tudo (/unbur, +estern Australia). South +est .ale Tudo has been operating for appro-imatel 02 months. The club attracts amateur and professional combat athletes and general fitness enthusiasts. The age of the participants ranges from 01 to 12 and the all present with varing levels of fitness, s"ill and commitment. A brief histor of "ettlebells is provided and the sport of ,,A is surmised. +ith the focus of the article being on "ettlebells and associated power benefits a review of strength 3ualities and their importance to the ,,A athlete is presented. Core "ettlebell e-ercises from the ballistic set are reviewed in a te-tual and video format, enhancing the readers understanding of the drills described. The benefits of each of the lifts to the athlete are identified. Finall, some e-amples of how "ettlebells have been incorporated within the strength and conditioning program have been included as have the results of the testing that has been conducted so far.KettlebellsA 4"ettlebell5 or gira (6uss.) is a traditional 6ussian cast iron weight that loo"s li"e a cannonball with ahandle. Traditionall the weight of "ettlebells was standardised into units "nown as poods (0 pood ' 07.8 "g). 9ettlebell use has been recorded as far bac" as the earl 0:22s. A solid ball of cast iron was used as a weight$measure, primaril in the agricultural industr, to enable standardised commercial trading. Current da "ettlebells are constructed of either steel or iron and are available in si;es ranging from 1"g through to 71 "g. The are also available in two stles* traditional (generall iron construction) & sports (steel construction). The sport stle "ettlebells, used for girevo sport, in which "ettlebell lifters(or girevi"s as the are traditionall "nown) lift "ettlebells for time* do not differ in si;e from lightest to heaviest. The si;e of the traditional stle "ettlebell increases as the "ettlebell increases in weight.Figure 0# Sport stle (the two "ettlebells on the outside) and traditional stle "ettlebells.Mixed Martial Arts,i-ed ,artial Arts (,,A) is a combat sport where bouts, of between 2 to < rounds of 8 to < minutes, are held in either a mesh wire cage or a bo-ing ring. As the name suggests ,,A is a mi- of the man combat arts. Therefore the ,,A athlete needs to be proficient in a wide variet of fighting techni3ues* categorised as stri"ing (feet, hands, elbows and "nees) and grappling (clinches, pinning, submissions, sweeps, ta"edowns and throws) which encompasses wrestling and submission fighting. The ,,A combatant must be a phsicall well rounded individual. ,a-imum strength, power, endurance & fle-ibilit are all critical phsical attributes and no one area should be neglected. !t is also essential that the athlete develops sound mental and technical s"ills in conjunction with strength & conditioning.=enerall fights are ended b wa of "noc"out, technical "noc" out, submission b phsicall tapping or verball tapping out when a competitor does not wish to continue and unanimous, majorit or split decisions via judge5s scorecard if a bout runs its scheduled distance.Strength Needs Analysis for the MMA Athlete/efore going an further, as this article introduces "ettlebell drills for the development of power it mabe prudent to address the sub 3ualities of strength and how the relate to the ,,A athlete.Maximal Strength is the total force one can e-ert under voluntar effort. !n a competition the athlete ma need to lift and throw, phsicall restrain & move or manipulate the joints of an opponent, all of which re3uire the abilit to e-ert influence over a resistive opponent. For the ,,A athlete ma- strength is essential.According to >namait (2227) ,a- strength training will recruit fast twitch motor units leading to advantageous neural changes that increase the firing rate of said motor units, increase the recruitmentof additional motor units and improve the overall coordination and snchroni;ation of motor units. Thisabilit to recruit powerful fast twitch fibres will enhance the power potential of the athlete.There are however concerns regarding the negative influence that e-cessive ma- strength training ma have on speed. >namait (2227) refers to a stud conducted b .er"hoshans" that verifies ?@that e-cessive ma-imum strength training can hinder speed strength and technical s"ills in bo-ers (0A::) ? and a reference b ,el Siff to a stud b Filinov B@which established that e-cessivel heav strength training can diminish the force and speed of a bo-ers punches (Siff, 2228a)?>namait himself states that B+hile ma- strength is an important pre%re3uisite to e-plosive training techni3ues it must not become the sole method of training? (>namait,6.2227,p.2A.) ,a- strength training must therefore be carefull manipulated within the overall training program b the strength and conditioning coach..Reactive Strength is a concentric contraction following a rapid eccentric contraction. The ,,A athlete will utilise this strength 3ualit during stri"ing combinations, throwing and in grappling situations.6eactive strength utilises the stretch shortening ccle (SSC). This ccle begins with the storage of "inetic energ during an eccentric contraction, as the muscle lengthens under tension. +hen a concentric contraction immediatel follows the eccentric phase the ensuing contraction utilises the stored energ therefore producing a stronger concentric phase. Strength Endurance is the abilit to sustain effective muscular contractions over an e-tended period of time. The vast majorit of ,,A contests are scheduled for 8 - < minute rounds, with championship bouts scheduled for < - < minute rounds, therefore strength endurance is a vital component within the overall strength & conditioning program. Power is the abilit to e-ert force 3uic"l and /a"er (222:) suggests there are three tpes or ;ones of power* ballistic, ma-imal and e-plosive. !n ascertaining the difference between the three 3ualities /a"er e-plained further (C /a"er personal communication, Feb 02, 222A). BThin" of a curve. !f ma- power is the top part of the curve, then ballistic power is on the left, on the wa up and e-plosive power on the right, on the wa down? Dower Eone Curve,a- DowerForceDroduction/allistic >-plosiveDower Dower2F namait,6.2227,p.28.) This is true for the ,,A combatant predominantl when grappling and attempting ta"edowns and throws or to move an opponent when in the mount position (top) or from a defensive position on the bac".!n training, ma- power is the point at which the highest force output is achieved and tpicall occurs with resistance levels of appro-imatel -plosive power is applied to heav resistances anwhere between 72 & G2F. Power Endurance can be defined as the abilit to sustain application of power over long time periods. From beginning to end, the ,,A athlete must be able to generate sufficient power. /eing faster and more e-plosive ensures the athlete can overpower and outwor" their opponent for the duration of the event.Other Physical NeedsFlexibilityFle-ibilit is the range of movement (6H,) at a joint and can be categori;ed as either dnamic, static, ballistic or passive. ,,A athletes need good levels of fle-ibilit as joints can be forced past their usual 6H, at great speed b opponents when grappling and during submission attempts. Hf the four categories dnamic and ballistic fle-ibilit are probabl the most important in a competition situation however static and passive stretching should be used regularl in training cool down and recover. Energy SystemsIeith Car"in covers appropriate energ sstem training for combat athletes e-tensivel in his ASCA article BFighting Fit? volume 02, 2221, Jo 8hy we !hose to "ocus on Power #e$elo%mentIocall, man local clubs and their respective coaches still follow traditional fight training methods. Their athletes complete long distance runs, the train twice a da, 7 das a wee" whilst wor"ing full time, and follow hpertroph tpe training programs (if an strength training at all) all of this while tring to cut weight in the lead up to fights. +e wanted to offer our athletes a strength and conditioning program that met the specific needs of the sport, giving them a distinct advantage over their opponents.+hilst it cannot be argued that all sub 3ualities of strength should be considered crucial attributes for the ,,A athlete it was clear to us that power is of the utmost importance, /ompa, T (0AA