If my work can persuade one person to train with kettlebells, I’ll consider that a job well done as a fitness writer. While I firmly believe there is no one piece of equipment that’s necessary to further your fitness, a kettlebell can help you move the dial forward in more areas than most.
Strength? Definitely. Muscle? Absolutely. You can also make significant improvements to your mobility, stability, coordination, cardiorespiratory fitness and more with the help of the humble kettlebell. And once you’re ready to expand your training horizons, you can simply add a second one into the equation.
In fact, pressing two of them overhead is the “best thing you can do with kettlebells”, according to leading strength coach and kettlebell expert Dan John. And that’s not the only benefit to dual-wielding.
“One of the big advantages of using doubles is that, while doubles are heavier, they’re actually easier for most people,” he tells me. “Outside of the two-handed swing and the goblet squat, generally two-handed work is easier because you don’t have those asymmetries to fight through.”
Below, John explains where to start when training with two kettlebells. He also discusses the many benefits this can bring, and his favourite double kettlebell workout to try.
The best double kettlebell workout: The Armour Building Complex
Using two equally weighted kettlebells, complete the sequence below without putting the weights down:
- Double kettlebell clean x2
- Double kettlebell press x1
- Double kettlebell front squat x3
This is the best, and arguably most versatile, double kettlebell workout in John’s armoury. You can use heavy kettlebells to target strength gains, pick up moderate kettlebells and complete the complex each minute for 10 minutes for more of a muscle-building hit, or set a 20-minute timer and complete as many rounds as you can with lighter weights to set your heart, lungs and muscles alight.
John created the workout for athletes, beta testing earlier versions on American football players in an attempt to replicate the rigours of game-day. The aim was to provide a test that developed solidity and strength throughout the entire body, and in the Armour Building Complex he found just that.
“You can call the area from your neck to your knees whatever you want,” John says. “Lots of people call it the core, but saying ‘the core’ is like saying ‘doing cardio’ – it’s an overused term.
“The three words I use for this area are armour, anaconda and arrow. Spine expert Dr Stuart McGill uses the word stone, so I sometimes like to think about these as ‘the three As of building the stone’.”
Armour involves packing on muscle, anaconda describes the development internal pressure for stability, and arrow refers to the ability to move powerfully. The first of these is what gives this workout its name, but the session will help you develop all three.
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Benefits of training with double kettlebells
The first difference of double kettlebell training is that, unless you drop the weight of your kettlebells significantly, you’ll likely be lifting a heavier load. But this aside, John says the practice is easier than training with a single kettlebell because your movements are symmetrical.
“Some people say that singles are better, but the issue with asymmetrical work for a lot of people is that most of them, and certainly Americans, come in [to kettlebell training] pretty beat-up at a certain age.
“We have a lot of collision sports here, and we do a lot of throwing sports, so most of the people I work with walk into the gym with asymmetrical issues. Lower back problems, a dominant shoulder – it’s almost a given.”
For this reason, John says double kettlebell training is easier, and even safer, than chucking a single weight around for most people.
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How to start double kettlebell training
While John says double kettlebell training tends to be easier and safer than a session with a single weight, there are still some fundamentals to wrap your head and hands around. Below, he explains how to get started, and dives into the three fundamental exercises you should learn first.
Starting position
Place the kettlebells a couple of feet in front of you and arrange them so the handles are angled inwards to form a V-shape.
“When the bells are on the ground, the V is to me,” John says. “By doing this, you allow your shoulders to move into a much more protected state.”
From here, you can hinge at the hips then, keeping your “eyes on the horizon”, pull the kettlebells back between your thighs to initiate a swing. The kettlebell swing marks the starting point of many other double kettlebell exercises such as the clean and snatch, so it’s worth perfecting this first.
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Learning the double kettlebell clean
- Start with two kettlebells on the ground two feet in front of you, handles angled slightly towards you to form a V.
- Assume a stance slightly wider than shoulder width.
- With soft knees, hinge at the hips to bend over and grab a kettlebell in each hand with an overhand grip.
- Keeping your spine long, arms straight and eyes forward, pull the kettlebells back between your thighs.
- From here, squeeze your glutes to explosively drive your hips forward. As you do this, stand up straight and allow the momentum from your hip drive to arc the kettlebells up to the front rack position – elbows at your sides pointing down, thumbs against your chest, ‘bells between the fronts of your shoulders and forearms.
- Allow the kettlebells to fall away from your body, curving back between your thighs, then repeat.
The double kettlebell clean involves taking the kettlebell from a swing to a front rack position, where it’s nestled between the front of the shoulder and the forearm.
“Mastering the double kettlebell clean should be your first order of business,” John says. “The biggest issue is that most people drop the ‘bells straight down [from the front rack position], get into a minor traffic accident with every rep, then hike them back up.
“You don’t drop the weights, you swing into each and every rep. It should be a hinge, then a clean.”
John also says it’s important to create a good front rack position to catch the kettlebells at the shoulder.
“I like the thumbs to be on the chest and the elbows to be touching your sides as appropriate – obviously you will have some people who are naturally winging out.”
Keeping the elbows low, he says, will encourage you to transition into a swing for the next rep, rather than dropping the weight straight down.
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Learning the double kettlebell press
- Clean two kettlebells into the front rack position.
- Drive your fists to the sky until your arms are fully extended overhead, biceps by your ears. Your wrist will rotate inwards slightly as you do this, ending with your palm facing forward, and the kettlebells should follow a shallow J-shape when viewed head on.
- Control the weights back down to the front rack position then repeat.
“Once you’ve learned the kettlebell clean, you set the stage for what I think is the best thing kettlebells do: the double kettlebell press family,” John says. “There’s the double kettlebell press and its cousin the seesaw press [where you press each kettlebell overhead alternately, lowering one as you drive the other upwards].
I think these are the two best things you can do with kettlebells. It’s a whole body exercise, and it’s exhausting.”
With the press, when you have both kettlebells in the front rack position, John recommends taking a moment and “squeezing everything down to engage that anaconda strength”.
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Learning the double kettlebell front squat
- Clean two kettlebells into the front rack position.
- Create tension throughout your body then, keeping your chest up, push your hips back slightly to initiate the squat.
- From here, bend your knees and lower your hips as far as you can while keeping your chest up.
- Drive through your feet to return to the starting position.
“When I’m working with athletes, I used to spend a lot more time with the barbell front squat, but now I spend more time with this exercise because the double kettlebell front squat feels more like sports,” John says. “There’s no rest on any rep in a double kettlebell front squat.”
In other words, even when you’re standing tall, your whole body has to hold enough tension to resist the pull of the kettlebells and keep you upright. Then, as you descend, you face the challenge of maintaining this tension while using your legs to lower the weight before driving it back upwards.
With a series of simple movements you can hit every area of your body and with a very affordable piece of kit too. Double kettlebell training offers a raft of benefits and with this guide, it’s easy to start nailing the movements, wherever you choose to train.
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