I had interviewed Andrew Durniat before (it’s one of the bonus calls you get with The Definitive Guide to Kettlebell Juggling) but this was the first time we got to meet in person. Andrew is excellent in his kettlebell juggling skills (not to mention barbell, stone lock or plate juggling) so we decided to have a faceoff.

If you’re familiar with the basketball game HORSE then you know how this went. One person does a trick then the other tries to replicate it. Back and forth. In the end we didn’t keep score cause we were just having too much fun. Here’s a short clip below.

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For member’s here I uploaded the complete video (almost 20 minutes!) with a play-by-play commentary. Make sure you’re logged in and the video should appear below. (This is the first time trying this so if there are any issues let me know and I’ll get them fixed ASAP.)

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In strength,
Logan Christopher

In this video Rob Russell flips a bell a single time. But this bell happens to weigh 80kg or 176 lbs. You can read more on his blog here.

I’ve been doing more heavy kettlebell juggling recently. How about you?

In strength,
Logan Christopher

After rehabbing himself, Valentin Dikul went back to the circus to do many amazing feats like the kettlebell juggling shown below. This is a 180 lb. or possibly even 90 kg kettlebell the he snatches and does one hand flips with!

He has done many other amazing feats in his act as and outside including some unofficial powerlifting records with massive weights.

Currently Valentin Dikul runs a number of clinics over Russia devoted to helping others overcome their spinal injuries. Their success rate is quite high.

In strength,
Logan Christopher

After watching a video of a professional kettlebell juggler I saw her drop down into a one handed bridge between throwing the weight around. Being that I have quite a bit of experience with bridging exercises I decided to try it out myself.

Kettlebell Juggling with Bridging

After some practice I had some success with the move being able to fall into it. Standing up out of the bridge proved to be more difficult. Now you may not be able to do this move, but what can you do?

In strength,
Logan Christopher

Of course these conditions do make it more difficult. The kettlebell is likely to slip and fly out of your fingers more readily then when its dry. But then again we’re not juggling kettlebells because it’s easy. This just requires some more hand strength.

This video shows some muddy kettlebell juggling. You’ll notice when the kettlebell flies out of my hands.

You may have recently seen some of my successful students kettlebell juggling in the snow. There really are no excuses. You can juggle kettlebells anywhere (except indoors).

In strength,
Logan Christopher

Barbell juggling, like kettlebell juggling, does not involve actually juggling barbells but the spinning, throwing and catching of one barbell. The barbell can be circled around the body in different ways. It can be thrown and caught in several positions like in the crook of the elbows or from hand to hand.

When you get started do it with an empty bar but as you progress you can add weight. Make sure you have a solid pair of collars that would fly off along with the plates!

This video shows my first attempts at barbell juggling.

Barbell Juggling

The best person today, at least to my knowledge, at barbell juggling is strongman Andrew Durniat. In fact, in the interview I did with him, included with The Definitive Guide to Kettlebell Juggling, we discussed what it takes to get started in barbell juggling.

In strength,
Logan Christopher

Kettlebell Juggling Intro Video

That’s it for today.

In strength,
Logan Christopher

Kettlebell juggling by itself will work the grip more than the normal ballistic moves like swings and snatches.

Simply by having to release and catch the handle, often in awkward positions, you‘ll build an explosive grip. I can’t count the number of times I’ve caught the kettlebell by just one or two fingers.

But when you add in the bottoms up kettlebell work you can take it to another level. The video’s a demonstration of a few of these moves. (There’s many more.)

Bottoms Up Kettlebell Juggling Video

For this and other filming I did a lot of reps. Completing the move or not you’ll be working the hands like never before as you clamp down on the handle.

In 20-30 minutes of mostly bottoms up work my hands were fried and I was feeling it when I woke up the next day. And this was just with a 16 kg. bell.

You don’t need a heavy kettlebell to get intense grip work although that’s another way to do it.

Be sure to check out the final move in the video. The Bottoms Up Flip to Bottoms Ups. One of the most difficult moves to pull off, bar none. In fact that one is the last move covered on the first DVD of The Definitive Guide to Kettlebell Juggling.

http://www.kettlebelljuggling.com/video/bottomsup.html

In strength,
Logan Christopher

P.S. Until you’ve got your basics down, don’t even bother attempting these moves. There’s a reason they come last on my DVD’s.

The thing is he’s doing it with a 112 lb. kettlebell and making it look like nothing. In fact, the difficulty of this move is deceptive especially when you see him go through 15 reps.

It has to be one of the most impressive feats I’ve ever seen.

John got his start using kettlebells doing the juggling. And with no outside direction it was up to him to make up a number of moves. And creative names to go along with them.

One of the bonuses that comes with The Definitive Guide to Kettlebell Juggling is an interview I did with John Brookfield. It covers a number of different things on training including, of course kettlebell juggling. There’s other move besides the Tower of Terror like the Taffy-Maker.

Give this one a try (with a lighter weight please) and see how it goes for you.

In strength,
Logan Christopher

Amy & Julie

Personally, I’d offer a little advice on form to help them out but what can you expect from the first time out? Even having to train in the snow didn’t stop them.

Make sure you stick around until the end of the video to watch the youngest kettlebell juggling I’ve ever seen.

And here’s another trainer Doug showing off his skills.

Doug Fioranelli

If you want to copy Amy, Julie, Doug and many others flipping around a kettlebell with ease, you can grab the DVD’s here.

In strength,
Logan Christopher