A lot of guys over 40 who start using kettlebells don’t really care about muscle - but they definitely should.
Particularly if they want to “shed pounds,” “get back in shape,” or dare I even say it, “build tone.”
Why?
Muscle is your body’s “metabolic machinery.”
It consumes 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 essential for “losing weight.”
And they're also critical for strength gains.
The more muscle you have on your body, the greater strength potential you have.
With that foundation set, I got this comment over weight one of my IG posts the other day - the answer to which I thought you’d find insightful.
Great question.
When discussing muscle growth, we need to think in terms of “whole-body” vs. “local.”
“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 “compound 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 single-joint movement.
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 → Lesser CNS demand / stimulus
Less muscle tissue demand → Increased muscle tissue demand
This clarifies why bodybuilders are usually more massive than powerlifters but powerlifters are mightier.
Bodybuilders prioritize making their muscles as massive as possible.
Powerlifters emphasize making their muscles - with relation to the Squat, Bench Press, and Deadlift - as strong as possible.
Now, with that as our context , let’s get back to our question:
The benefits of the Clean + Press over the Strict Press are as follows:
1- Greater systemic stress (compound lift vs. compound exercise), and therefore greater nervous system stimulus for adaptation.
2- Less localized upper body tiredness , 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 boost power output in the Press. This too often lowers 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 a few.
Does that mean you should never do “just” Presses?
No, not at all.
Here’s the benefits 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 concentrate on 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 time-efficiency , so I prefer Clean + Press vs. the Press.
If you hate having to pick , here’s another option that some may consider the best of all worlds :
Clean THEN Press.
Do all you Cleans FIRST, and then, without dropping your bells , do your set of Presses.
(This is called a complex.)
This still gives you a overall reaction, but you also get a targeted effect too.
The only downside is you’ve accumulated fatigue 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 rests on your specific goals.
For most guys our age - probably 90% - are best served by “just” Clean + Presses.
Stay Strong,
Geoff Neupert.