Most of the kettlebell juggling you’ve seen so far has been with a relatively light kettlebell. When you talk about heavy kettlebell training you’re usually talking about swinging, or doing some other basic movements, with a bell that’s over a hundred pounds. But with juggling, heavy kettlebell training really starts at 70 lbs.
If you go too light it’s nothing but a trick like regular juggling, requiring fast hands and coordination. There is nothing wrong with this, but you won’t get the benefits in strength and conditioning.
That’s why I almost never use anything lighter than the 16 kg (35lb.) kettlebell. Of course for women you would want to go lighter, but most men should start at this size.
With a light kettlebell you can go longer, even minutes at a time, while training on the harder tricks, and get a great workout.
When you use a heavy kettlebell you can’t do this. This video is a couple snapshots of a less than ten minute workout.
Heavy Kettlebell Juggling Video
Obviously, you won’t be able to do as many juggling tricks as you can with the light bells. But you can still do the basics!
Juggle, rest, juggle, rest, juggle, rest…repeat until satisfied.
And be forewarned, your grip is going to be decimated. Unless you’ve got a grip as strong as John Brookfield, the kettlebell is likely to fly right out of your hands as you flip and swing.
It’s all good to go with the light weights for the most part, but I recommend you mix it up every once in a while. And when you use a heavier bell, the next time you use a light one it’ll be all that much easier to juggle.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
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I’ve received several questions about how I actually train with kettlebell juggling. Just as there are many moves to do, there are many ways to train.
The simplest, and actually a common method for me, is to just take a kettlebell out and start juggling. By this I mean you have no timer, no set length, no nothing, except you and the kettlebell. The size of the bell will determine how long you can go, in each set and overall.
Just start free flowing, stringing moves together, as long as you can until you drop it. You might need to rest a bit to catch your breath. You can do short rests, or longer periods.
You can also just work on new moves. Surprisingly, just working toward a new advanced move, or a few, can be more than enough training for a session.
Another method involves a timer. You just select a time frame for on and off periods then go at it for a number of rounds.
An easy one is 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off. I tend to do this with a heavier kettlebell, like the 32kg.
Or you can go 45 seconds on 15 seconds off. Really any variation you think off.
Usually with a lighter bell like the 16kg, you can go for a long length of time like 2, 5 even 10 minutes at a stretch. If at anytime you drop it, you pick it up as quickly as possible and keep going.
After I talked to John Brookfield about kettlebell juggling (which is one of the bonuses that comes with The Definitive Guide to Kettlebell Juggling) I started doing longer sets. One time I juggled a 16kg kettlebell for a half hour straight. That was tiring!
Another bonus that comes with The Definitive Guide to Kettlebell Juggling is a report covering 87 Kettlebell Juggling Workouts. IT goes into much more details then this short post, including ways to progressively train kettlebell juggling.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
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Kettlebell juggling is already advanced kettlebell training. But in this post we’re going to cover advanced kettlebell juggling. This video shows of some of the trickier moves possible with a kettlebell, like bottoms up juggling, fancy footwork and more.
I know a lot of people want to move onto the trickier and better looking moves quickly, but remember this. If you don’t master the basics you’ll just be frustrated trying these harder moves.
You should strive for control. If you regular flips and spins are all over the place you are lacking the control needed for more difficult moves. Stick to the basics and make the bell do what YOU want it to do, not what IT wants to do.
Then and only then, should you move up to these advanced moves.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
P.S. If you want the step-by-step instruction on these moves and many others check out The Definitive Guide to Kettlebell Juggling.
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I’ve received a number of questions on the possibility of kettlebell injuries and specifically if juggling is more dangerous then the rest.
Are kettlebells dangerous? Sure if you use them improperly. But so is anything, like your car, a knife or barbells and dumbbells. But if you use them properly you’re not likely to injure yourself.
I’ll will be the first to say that kettlebell juggling is more dangerous than just swinging a kettlebell. With the dynamic moves (especially the more advanced ones) there are more chances for things to go wrong. But it can be safely done. I, for one, have never injured myself with kettlebell juggling in any manner.
In fact, done properly I believe kettlebell juggling will better injury-proof your body then most other forms of execise due to the chaotic yet controlled element of it.
To stay on the safe side you’ll want to do the more basic moves and progress slowly. If you don’t push the limits too hard you’ll do well. The biggest two points are 1) not to reach for kettlebells that you aren’t in position to catch and 2) have quick feet for when the bell does drop. I discuss these in more detail in The Definitive Guide to Kettlebell Juggling.
If you err on the side of using the lighter weights, even if you do find yourself in a less than optimal position you should be able to safely handle it. But your feet must be fast no matter the weight. 
The important thing is that everything is built on top of proper swing dynamics. Get that right and the rest virtually falls into place. With the proper bracing and breathing you can easily take a moderately heavy weight and ‘catch’ it from a free fall.
And if you’re wondering if I’m the right person to be teaching you kettlebell juggling here’s my qualifications.
I’ve been training with kettlebells for roughly six years now. First went through the RKC in September 2005. And I have served as an Assistant Instructor at the RKC on three separate occasions since then.
Since I’m always interested in expanding my knowledge I am also a certified coach with the AKC and have some experience with the competition kettlebell lifts. In addition to the certifications I have tons of books and DVD’s on kettlebells and other forms of training.
If the videos you’ve seen on this blog haven’t proved that I know what I’m doing than perhaps that will.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
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The Behind the Hip Flip is an intermediate move. Doing all kinds of kettlebell flips in front of the body is easily attainable by anyone, but once you put the kettlebell out of your line of sight things begin to change. When you’re good at this move you’ve moved up from being a kettlebell juggling beginner.
This video shows you how to do the behind the hip flip followed by a few combos you can string together.
Behind the Hip Kettlebell Video
The behind the back stuff if a bit trickier than most things done to the front, for obvious reasons, but with a little practice you can easily master this move.
In the video I am using a 16kg or 35 lb. kettlebell. And here’s a summary of what I say in the voice over.
Start with around the body passes. Use the legs primarily but also the arm to generate the rear flipping motion. The legs and arm generate the power but the wrist is the fine tuning for the flip.
Keep your other hand as close as possible to the handle. As soon as you let go with the first hand your second hand should be right there to grab the handle. Seriously, there is almost no ‘hang time’ in this move.
To begin with look at the kettlebell on your side so you can see what’s happening. Later on when you have the move down you won’t have to.
Just practice and you can add this flip to your arsenal.
The combo’s shown in the video include a side-to-side flip followed by the behind the hip flip. And a between the legs pass, to the uppercut flip, around the body and behind the hip.
The advanced combo is a repeated behind the hip flip done left to right, right to left. All these moves are detailed in The Definitive Guide to Kettlebell Juggling.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
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