A lot of guys over 40 who get into kettlebells don’t really care about muscle - but they should .
Especially if they want to “drop fat,” “improve their fitness,” or dare I even say it, “build tone.”
Why?
Muscle is your body’s “fat-burning mechanism.”
It burns extra calories both at rest and at work.
And the more muscle you have on your body, the more calories you burn off at rest, and the more you use while you work - kettlebell Swing, Press, or Snatch a kettlebell.
And those two things are critically vital read more for “losing weight.”
And they're also key for “getting stronger.”
The more muscle you have on your body, the greater strength potential you have.
With that foundation set, I got this comment over one of my IG posts the other day - the answer to which I thought you’d find helpful .
Good question.
When discussing muscle growth, we need to think in terms of “systemic” vs. “localized.”
“Systemic” is the impact a load or stimulus has on the body as a whole.
“Localized” is the impact a load or stimulus has on a region - like the shoulders / shoulder girdle.
The Kettlebell Clean + Press is categorized as a “multi-joint lift” - which is made up of two or more “compound exercises” - exercises that use multiple joints.
Contrast a multi-joint movement with an “isolation exercise” - like a biceps curl - which only uses (in theory) one joint.
This is important to know because the energy demand and the stimulus for change in your nervous system is higher using a “compound exercise” when compared to an “isolation exercise” .
However…
The demand on the muscle tissue is usually the inverse -
There’s greater demand on muscle tissue in isolation exercises compared to compound exercises.
In fact, you could say it’s a continuum that looks like this:
Compound Lift → Compound Exercise → Isolation Exercise
Higher CNS demand / stimulus → Lower CNS demand / stimulus
Lower muscle tissue demand → Greater muscle tissue demand
This explains why bodybuilders are usually bigger than powerlifters but powerlifters are more powerful .
Bodybuilders concentrate on making their muscles as huge as possible.
Powerlifters focus on making their muscles - with relation to the Squat, Bench Press, and Deadlift - as forceful as possible.
Now, with that as our foundation, let’s get back to our question:
The pros of the Clean + Press over the Strict Press are as follows:
1- Greater systemic challenge (compound lift vs. compound exercise), and therefore greater nervous system response for adaptation.
2- Less localized upper body fatigue , so usually, but not always, you can get more Presses in a set of Clean + Press vs. a set of Presses.
3- Use “ground reaction force” or “force wave” from the Clean to increase power output in the Press. This too often reduces upper body fatigue and raises the number of Presses you can do.
4- Improved conditioning benefit from alternating between Cleans and Presses.
5- Train the posterior chain (hips, hamstrings, erectors, calves).
… To name but five .
Does that imply you should never do “just” Presses?
No, not at all.
Here’s the advantages of Presses over the Clean + Press:
1- If you’re aiming at increasing your Press Max, then do repeat Presses.
2- If you want to “just” focus on pure localized muscle building, then do “just” Presses.
3- If you’re learning how to Press, you need to hone your technique - sets of unbroken Presses are the way to do.
… To name but 3 .
Personally?
At this stage in my life, I’m all about streamlining things, so I prefer Clean + Press vs. the Press.
If you dislike choosing , here’s another option that some may consider the best of all worlds :
Clean THEN Press.
Do all you Cleans FIRST, and then, without resting your bells, do your set of Presses.
(This is called a complex.)
This still gives you a full-body effect , but you also get a localized one too.
The only downside is you’ve accumulated exhaustion by doing your Cleans first, so your Presses may suffer.
Which is best for you?
Clean + Press, “just” Presses, or Cleans THEN Presses?
It all depends on your specific goals.
For most guys our age - probably 90% - are best served by “just” Clean + Presses.
Stay Strong,
Geoff Neupert.