[1] The Paired Kettlebell Clean + Press:
The Double Clean + Press is a valuable exercise that activates every single muscle in your body.
In fact, Sig Klein, old time strongman, called the 2-Dumbbell Clean + Press the “One Best Lift” and claimed that the early 20th Century European weightlifting champs owed their strength to this lift.
So, if it’s strong enough for Sig and those guys, well…
Plus, when you do it for enough reps , it ignites the fires of your metabolism , burning a significant amount of calories, while training your heart and more info lungs at the same time.
That means it’s supportive of your heart health and your waistline and helps you fight off fat .
There’s a “magical ” effect on body composition that results from combining an powerful lift (Clean) with a slow/ grind lift (Press):
Simultaneous muscle growth/strength gain and body fat loss (known as recomposition).
[2] The Double Kettlebell Clean + Push Press :
The Double Kettlebell Clean + Push Press is a close number 2 .
A Push Press is a Press that you “cheat with” by using your legs. You first dip your body with a quick knee bend, and then straighten your legs explosively , driving the kettlebells up over your head.
It enables you to make kettlebells heavier than your usual press start feeling manageable , so you can press them.
Plus, the extra dip and explosive drive with your legs boosts cardio effort… So, “ added cardio benefit ” for you.
[3] The Double Kettlebell Front Squat:
The Double KB Front Squat is really the basic double KB lift.
I cover the exact reasons why in great detail inside my video series, Kettlebell STRONG!, but suffice to say, it helps you how to stay stable under a pair of KBs while making your whole body significantly stronger.
It punishes your midsection (in a good way) and in most cases, it forces your abs “automatically” work. And as a result of this reflexive abdominal contraction,” for some guys, it creates access to long lost hip mobility, restoring squat depth…
… and training the legs in ways that have been unimaginable for a decade or more.
For most, the DFSQ is a ideal replacement for any barbell squat.
If you don’t trust me, go squat a pair of 32kg KBs for 20 reps.
I’ll wait…
[4] The Single Kettlebell Snatch:
The Snatch is my absolute “power” exercise.
Power is a quality we diminish as we age, along with the important fast-twitch muscle fibers. (These are the ones that help us run faster, jump higher, and lift heavier.)
Research has shown that we lose 10% of our muscle mass - from fast twitch fibers - every decade over 30. Which is why you see so many guys in their 70s shaped like Christmas trees – they’ve lost the muscle in their upper bodies and now store even more fat around their middles.
This “power failure” - the loss of fast twitch muscle fibers - makes us more prone to slipping, falling, and breaking a hip.
Fortunately, we can reverse this “power failure” with the Snatch.
Plus, we can create high levels of conditioning using it, which raises our daily energy levels, and whittles body fat off the midsection.
[5] The Goblet Squat:
The Goblet Squat is a effective “squat restoration” exercise that loosens and “greases” rusty hip and knee joints when performed correctly.
Like the Double Kettlebell Front Squat, it too triggers a reflexive muscular contraction of your core muscles. This supports your spine and pelvis, which in turn opens and restores a squat depth many guys haven’t seen since their teenage years. In fact, it should be the warm-up for your Double Kettlebell Front Squat.
The Goblet Squat also helps build the “hinge” pattern necessary for your kettlebells movements like the Swing, Clean, and Snatch. It is a valuable alternative to the Double Kettlebell Front Squat.
[6] The Turkish Get Up:
Honorable mention goes to the Turkish Get Up.
Every one over the age of 40 needs to work on getting up and down off the floor and the TGU is THE exercise to help you do just that.
Plus, it’s a fantastic shoulder restoration exercise from years of heavy bench press abuse.
Now, this list goes without saying that you should have built a fairly strong “kettlebell foundation” with Swings (and Turkish Get Ups - which is why this didn’t make the top 5).
Now that you know what the best kettlebell exercises are for those of us over 40, you may be wondering -
How do you put them into a practical program?
It needs to be:
Challenging enough to stay engaging …
Hard enough to make us feel like we’ve actually made progress – yet not too hard so we can’t recover…
Short enough not to take up big chunks of time or impact other commitments…