High School Wrestling: Kettlebells, Clubbells, and Indian Clubs for Conditioning
When it comes to conditioning programs for wrestling, most wrestlers are familiar with weight training. You know what a barbell looks like and what a dumbbell looks like. You may even know about training strongmen with sandbags, mallets, and barrels. But are you aware of the potential conditioning benefits derived from training with Kettlebells, Clubbells, and Indian Clubs?
Russian weights
I’ve seen kettlebells described as a cannonball with a thick handle attached. I would say this is an accurate description. Kettlebell originated in Russia. Pavel Tsatsouline has helped kettlebell become very popular in the US You may want to check out his book, Enter The Kettlebell! The secret of the strength of the Soviet supermen. Mike Mahler is another trainer who can teach you a lot about kettlebells. Additionally, Zach Even-Esh has had great success training wrestlers using kettlebells as a conditioning aid. In other words, kettlebells have become very popular for conditioning.
What can you do with kettlebells?
- Swings
- Snatches
- Clean
- Presses
- Dead weight
- Stand up turkish
Why should you train with kettlebells?
- Kettlebells are intended to develop extreme fitness. Two studies, one by Voropayev (1983) and one by Vinogradov and Lukyanov (1986), seem to support this. Basically, in each of these studies, subjects trained only with kettlebells improved their performance on a wide range of physical tests even though they didn’t actually train specifically on those athletic endeavors. For example, in the study by Voropayev (1983), the kettlebell group improved their pull-up performance more than the control group that actually did pull-ups.
- Grip strength
- Can
- Endurance
- Balance
Kettlebells can develop many attributes that you need to be a successful fighter. The strength and fitness of kettlebells can easily be transferred to the sport of wrestling.
Clubbells
The Clubbells were designed by Scott Sonnon, a former National Sambo Coach from the USA Sambo is a form of fighting originating in Russia. The bells look like a stick or a bat and come in different sizes.
What can be done with the Clubbells?
- The swing
- Cleaning to order
- The rapture
- The torch press
- The pendulum
Why should you train with Clubbells?
- Grip strength
- Agility
- Speed
- Flexibility
- Can
- Endurance
- Muscle stiffening
Clubbells work your body through an extreme range of motion that weights, dumbbells, and even kettlebells cannot. Can you use some of the conditioning benefits listed above in your wrestling endeavors? Yes of course you can.
Indian clubs
Indian Clubs is a distant relative of Clubbells. Indian sticks look a bit like bowling pins or sticks used for juggling. Did you know that one of the oldest weapons in the world is also one of its oldest conditioning tools? Clubs have been used for centuries. The clubs were used for training in the ancient world in Persia, Greece, India, and other areas. Indian clubs became popular in the United States during Victorian times and are regaining some of that popularity in contemporary times.
What can be done with Indian clubs?
- Swinging circles of the forearm
- Percussion exercises
- The crucifix
- The swing of the pendulum
- The starting movement
- Forearm lever lifts
Why should you train with Indian clubs?
- Grip strength
- Shoulder strength
- Bicep strength
- Improve elbow and wrist flexibility
- Develop coordination
- Develop balance
Former five-time UFC champion Pat Miletich is a fan of Indian Clubs. A famous wrestler from India known as the Great Gamma used the club swing as part of his conditioning program. So maybe Indian Clubs could help your wrestling conditioning too.
Kettlebells, Clubbells, and Indian Clubs appear to offer benefits of increased grip strength, endurance, flexibility, and coordination. Consider adding one or more of these tools to your wrestling conditioning program.
