If you are an athlete or a fitness enthusiast, developing more speed and explosive power will improve your performance. The more fast-twitch muscle fibers you are able to fire, the more strength and muscular endurance you will have. Kettlebells are an effective tool to improve your speed in addition to strength, explosiveness, endurance, coordination, balance and flexibility.
Speed
Athletes in sports which require sudden bursts of forward speed or quick direction changes, such as basketball, tennis, soccer, football or baseball, will benefit from speed training. To improve your speed, you need to improve your stride length and force applied to the ground. The more force that is applied, the longer and faster stride you will have, and your speed will increase. The applied force is mass specific, which means that the goal is to increase your strength without any significant increase of your body weight.
Training Methods
Athletes utilize many well-known methods for gaining speed and strength, such as weight lifting, hill running, stair climbing, sled or parachute sprinting, plyometrics and weighted vests. One of the reasons for the growing popularity of kettlebells is that they make speed training highly effective and fun.
Kettlebells for Explosiveness
To increase your explosiveness, you need to stimulate your central nervous system by performing high-intensity explosive movements, which will force your nervous system to respond by contracting the muscles forcefully and rapidly. Kettlebells are an effective tool to stimulate your nervous system to develop this explosive quality that is needed for improving your speed.
Kettlebell Swing
The basic kettlebell movement is a swing. It stimulates your glutes, core and the entire lower body, which you effectively use for sprinting. Stand straight with the legs slightly wider than your hips. Hold the kettlebell with both hands and let it hang between your legs. Bend your legs slightly and thrust your hips powerfully forward. The generated force should expel the kettlebell upward---do not try to lift it. Use your hands like hooks for the kettlebell and let it drop back down. Decelerate the movement of the kettlebell by bending your knees and then immediately explode with your hips into another thrust forward. Always keep your chest up, lower back straight and the core engaged. To add variation to this basic swing, hold the kettlebell in one hand, or alternate the arms on the top of each swing.
Advanced Kettlebell Movements
In addition to the basic swing, other moves such as overhead snatch, push-press, high pull, and flip engage your body in an explosive manner, increasing your strength and endurance. The quick movements with an additional weight load produce the power that you need in order to be fast and explosive. It is crucial that you perform all kettlebell movements with correct form. You should consult a kettlebell professional until you learn the moves and are able to perform them on your own.
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