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

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

I said yes and offered to help them out to do some juggling themselves if they wanted. A couple people took me up on the offer.

One thing that has become clear is that in all things, and definitely in kettlebell juggling too, is that people want to get to the advanced stuff quickly.

How do you do this one flip? First show me what your basic flip with two hands looks like. If you can’t do that smoothly and easily you can’t be going on to the more advanced stuff.

Just like if you can’t properly swing a kettlebell you should be taking care of that before you even try snatching or juggling.

Here’s a video from the event. Just flowing from one exercise to another with a light bell, 16kg.

RKC Kettlebell Juggling Video

If you listen closely you can even hear Pavel in the background.

In strength,
Logan Christopher

Advanced Kettlebell Training

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.