Judo is different from many other martial arts in that the main focus of the combat is around grappling rather than forceful strikes. Kettlebells are useful for judo training because they build muscular endurance and engage a large number of stabilizing muscles throughout your body. Kettlebells also build core strength during most exercises, which improves your balance and flexibility during a judo match.
Kettlebell Clusters
Kettlebells offer a wider range of available movements than barbells and dumbbells can because of their design. Jason C. Brown, a personal trainer specializing in kettlebells, says you can build your power endurance with them by doing training exercises in clusters. An example of this type of program would be to perform a kettlebell snatch followed by a clean and a shoulder press with 20 seconds of rest between each exercise. Continuous movement forces different muscle groups in your body to sustain maximum effort for longer periods of time than straight sets of an exercise.
Sport-Specific Movements
Kettlebell expert and author Mike Mahler recommends that fighters use kettlebells to train offensive and defensive grappling techniques. For the explosive forward movement needed in judo takedowns, Mahler suggests beginning in a pushup position with your hands resting on two kettlebells. After you perform the pushup, jump forward so your feet are on either side of the kettlebells and then perform a kettlebell clean.
For defensive sprawling, begin in the starting position for a clean and jump back into a pushup position while arching your back and hips toward the ground. Jump forward again into the clean starting position and lift the kettlebells. Mahler recommends aiming for a goal of 25 straight repetitions with each of these movements.
Ballistics Training
You must perform judo movements and takedowns with a great deal of velocity to catch your opponent off guard. According to sports physiologist Phil Davies, reducing the amount of weight you are lifting to around 30 percent of your one-repetition maximum helps to achieve greater speed training. Using light kettlebells and performing 10 to 20 repetitions of an exercise like upright rows will increase the performance of your fast-twitch muscle fibers, allowing you to deliver a great deal of force very quickly. Davies suggests training only two or three exercises per session with this type of workout.
Kettlebell Circuit
In his book "Competitive Judo," author Ron Angus says you must use a circuit strength-training program once a week in your judo training to maintain strength and speed endurance. Exercise selection can vary to your taste but should include core building exercises like cleans and jerks. Select kettlebells that are between 80 percent and 90 percent of your one-repetition maximum for an exercise, and then perform repetitions of that exercise for 20 to 40 seconds to simulate the conditions in a match. Rest no more than four minutes between exercise sets.
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