The Moving Target Kettlebell Complex

16/10/2016
The Moving Target Kettlebell Complex - StrongFirst
THE MOVING TARGET KETTLEBELL COMPLEX

By Pavel Tsatsouline (http://www.strongfirst.com/author/pavel/)
988
Like
Founder and Chairman

Posted on February 18, 2014. 26 Comments. (http://www.strongfirst.com/moving-target-kettlebell-complex/#comments)
Twitter
(http://twitter.com/share?
text=The%20Moving%20Target%20Kettlebell%20Complex&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.strongfirst.com%2Fmovingtarget-kettlebell-complex%2F&via=)
Google+ 1
complex%2F&t=The%20Moving%20Target%20Kettlebell%20Complex)
(https://plus.google.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.strongfirst.com%2Fmoving-target-kettlebellShare 988
kettlebell-complex%2F&t=The%20Moving%20Target%20Kettlebell%20Complex)
(http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.strongfirst.com%2Fmoving-target-
Kettlebell complexes rock. A few months ago StrongFirst published the Total Tension Kettlebell Complex
(http://www.strongfirst.com/total-tension-kettlebell-complex/) in this blog. Those of you who followed the plan as
written saw excellent results. Senior SFG Tommy Blom, for instance, gained 3.8kg (8.4 pounds) of lean body mass in six
weeks.
Following is another StrongFirst complex. We put SFG Level I (//www.strongfirst.com/certifications/sfg-i-kettlebellinstructor-information/) students through it at the last two Certifications in South Africa and Australia.
(http://www.strongfirst.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/moving-target-kettlebell-complex.jpg)
The Moving Target Kettlebell Complex

You need a pair of kettlebells that you can strictly press 6-8 times.
http://www.strongfirst.com/moving-target-kettlebell-complex/
1/13
16/10/2016
Do:
1 clean + 2 presses + 1 squat
Rest
Rest
Rest
Then repeat the process with squats, using the same bells:
1 clean + 1 press + 2 squats
Rest
Rest
Rest
And finally with cleans:
2 cleans + 1 press + 1 squats
Rest
Rest
Rest
The pattern is clear: a single rep of two of the component drills and a 2, 3, 5 ladder of the third. Systemically, you are
getting tired, but the muscular stress target keeps shifting and you can keep going without compromising your
technique.
If you do the math, you will see that the above totals 16 reps of each exercise. That is not a lot, but the 1:1 work-to-rest
ratio (I go, you go) will make sure this brief session will get your attention. If it has not, repeat the whole series once
more after ten minutes of rest. Rest actively: walk around, do a couple of Brettzels, hip flexor stretches, etc.
There are many ways to build a four- to six-week training plan around this workout. If you are experienced in program
design, give it a shot and post your solution in the comments section. I will select the best ones and include them in a future
blog.
Enjoy the pain!
Accept the challenge:
Sign up for StrongFirst Girya Kettlebell Instructor Certification (//www.strongfirst.com/certifications/sfg-i-kettlebellinstructor-information/)
2/13
16/10/2016
Twitter
(http://twitter.com/share?
text=The%20Moving%20Target%20Kettlebell%20Complex&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.strongfirst.com%2Fmovingtarget-kettlebell-complex%2F&via=)
Google+ 1
complex%2F&t=The%20Moving%20Target%20Kettlebell%20Complex)
(https://plus.google.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.strongfirst.com%2Fmoving-target-kettlebellShare 988
kettlebell-complex%2F&t=The%20Moving%20Target%20Kettlebell%20Complex)
(http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.strongfirst.com%2Fmoving-target-
Pavel Tsatsouline (http://www.strongfirst.com/author/pavel/)

(http://www.strongfirst.com/author/pavel/)
Pavel Tsatsouline is the Founder and Chairman of

StrongFirst, Inc.
KETTLEBELLS (HTTP://WWW.STRONGFIRST.COM/CATEGORY/KETTLEBELLS/)
CLEAN (HTTP://WWW.STRONGFIRST.COM/TAG/CLEAN/)
COMPLEXES (HTTP://WWW.STRONGFIRST.COM/TAG/COMPLEXES/)
PRESS (HTTP://WWW.STRONGFIRST.COM/TAG/PRESS-2/)
PROGRAM (HTTP://WWW.STRONGFIRST.COM/TAG/PROGRAM/)
SQUAT (HTTP://WWW.STRONGFIRST.COM/TAG/SQUAT/)
4 Tips for Getting Tight and Instant Strength Gains
A Group Lesson Plan for Conquering the Deep 6
(http://www.strongfirst.com/the-secret-to-instant-strengthgains/)
26 thoughts on The Moving Target Kettlebell Complex

Older Comments (http://www.strongfirst.com/moving-targetkettlebell-complex/comment-page-1/#comments)
Joel the Savage (http://muskelbyggarklubben.se) says:

June 4, 2015 at 4:41 am (http://www.strongfirst.com/moving-target-kettlebell-complex/comment-page-2/#comment-164523)
One session. X is number of steps (2,3,5) do complex 1 before complex 2.
1 clean x press 1 front squat
1 clean 1 press x front squat
X clean 1 press 1 front squat
3 days a week.
Below is specified in Number of rounds. do one round of ALL of the complexes:
I.e. complex1, all steps on the ladders before next complex. -> complex2 (all steps in the ladder -> complex 3 -> c1 -> c2 -> c3
Keep tempo low on first step up in volume, just get the reps in. Then try to compress time.
3/13
16/10/2016
W1: 1,1,2
W2: 1,2,2
W3: 2,2,2
W4: 2,2,3
W5: 2,3,3
W6: 3,3,3
Or
1,1,2
1,2,2
2,3,2
2,3,3
3,3,3
After this the plan can begin again with 3,5,7 before next sized bell and/or low volume program.
Reply (http://www.strongfirst.com/moving-target-kettlebell-complex/?replytocom=164523#respond)
Eric says:
October 11, 2014 at 2:31 pm (http://www.strongfirst.com/moving-target-kettlebell-complex/comment-page-2/#comment69886)
Day 1: Clean + 2 Presses + SQ 2 Cleans + Press + SQ
Rest Rest
Clean + 3 Presses + SQ then do 3 Cleans + Press + SQ repeat
Rest Rest
Clean + 5 Presses + Sq 5 Cleans + Press + SQ
Day 2: Clean + Press + 2 SQ 2 Cleans + Press + SQ
Rest Rest
Clean + Press + 3 SQ 3 Cleans + Press + SQ
Rest Rest
Clean + Press + 5 SQ 5 Cleans + Press + SQ
Day 3: Clean + 2 Presses+ SQ Clean + Press + 2 SQ

Rest Rest
Clean + 3 Presses + SQ Clean + Press + 3 SQ
Rest Rest
Clean + 5 Presses + SQ Clean + Press + 5 SQ
Week 1: 3 sets Week 4: 4 sets

Eric says:
October 11, 2014 at 2:43 pm (http://www.strongfirst.com/moving-target-kettlebell-complex/comment-page-2/#comment69887)
4/13
16/10/2016
It should read as this:

Day 1:
Clean + 2 Presses + SQ
Rest
Rest
>Then do:
2 Cleans + Press + SQ
Rest
Rest
>Then repeat from the top
Day 2:
Clean + Press + 2 SQ
Rest
Rest
Then do:
Rest
Rest
>then repeat from the top
Day 3:
Clean + 2 Presses+ SQ
Rest
Rest
>Then do:
Rest
Rest
Clean + Press + 5 Sq
5/13
16/10/2016
>Then repeat from the top

Betsy Collie Senior SFG (http://www.rapidresltsfitness.net) says:

April 4, 2014 at 1:21 pm (http://www.strongfirst.com/moving-target-kettlebell-complex/comment-page-2/#comment-36498)
Pavel, I emailed my 4 week protocol to you. It was too long to list here.
milored says:
March 23, 2014 at 8:24 am (http://www.strongfirst.com/moving-target-kettlebell-complex/comment-page-2/#comment-35639)
This complex sounds intriguing but how to program it
My thinking leads me to plug it in as part of a hypertrophy program ala armor building from Easy Strength
Moving Target complex
DL and some kind of press (low rep/volume)
Hi rep squats (although other options are certainly possible)
4-6 weeks and then move on. Just a thought. Ill be exploring it in the next month.
milored says:
March 23, 2014 at 7:00 pm (http://www.strongfirst.com/moving-target-kettlebell-complex/comment-page-2/#comment35665)
After more thorough reading and reflection, that should be:
Low rep/volume DL/Press
Moving target
Hi rep squat
Dustin says:
March 2, 2014 at 7:00 pm (http://www.strongfirst.com/moving-target-kettlebell-complex/comment-page-2/#comment-34920)
Simple way to program this complex to get stronger and more muscular. Pick a pair of kettlebells you can press 6 times. Workout 3
days a week. Use a step cycle. Do the same workout 2 workout days in a row. Add a little to it. Example:
Monday- complex for 1 set
Wednesday- same as Monday
Friday- complex for 1 set. Rest. Do first series of each part (2 rep series)
6/13
16/10/2016
Monday- same as Friday.

Wednesday- complex for 1 set. Rest. Do the 2 rep and 3 rep series of each.
Etc. continue until able to perform complex twice.
Ryan Burleson (http://RyanBurleson.com) says:

February 24, 2014 at 9:35 am (http://www.strongfirst.com/moving-target-kettlebell-complex/comment-page-2/#comment34825)
I am loving this complex.
Kevin Knapp (http://kevingknapp.com) says:

February 23, 2014 at 6:43 am (http://www.strongfirst.com/moving-target-kettlebell-complex/comment-page-2/#comment34805)
More Thoughts..
6 Week Program x 3x Per week(as written)
Week 1 x 1 round
Week 2 x 2 rounds
Week 3 x 3 rounds
Week 4 x 1 round
Week 5 x 2 rounds
Week 6 x 3 rounds
another option
Changing the focus lift each session. So Press, Squat, Clean complex are on different days
6 week Program 3x a Week(could add a 4th training day and use the clean complex 2x a week)
Week 1
Press Focus x 2sets(day 1)
Clean Focus x 2sets(day 2)
Squat Focus x 2sets(day 3)
Week 2 x 3sets
Week 3 x 4sets
Week 4 x 2sets
Week 5 x 3sets
Week 6 x 5sets
Russ Moon (http://www.russmoonow.com) says:

February 21, 2014 at 12:18 pm (http://www.strongfirst.com/moving-target-kettlebell-complex/comment-page-2/#comment34787)
7/13
16/10/2016
Monday, Wednesday, Friday or (Saturday)

*If the program as written is not enough, take that energy invest it in 1 set of 5 Evil Wheel Kneeling or Standing Jackknifes and 1
set of 5 Full Contact Twist. Work towards increasing those sets by 1 per exercise each week. 2X-wkly. Save the rest of your energy
to recover and make the reps on your next practice.
Week 1 Complete the program exactly as written with bells you can strictly press for 10, my experience, which I do not confuse
as fact, tells me that when complexing you need a higher capacity in order to deliver those reps across the board and have the
horsepower to move up. If the start weight while fresh is too close to the target reps when not fresh you will stall the cycle out.
Your results may differ, learned this during 3 cycles of Kettlebell Muscle and 1 cycle of Return of the Kettlebell. Your workload will
be going up very soon, so build a little momentum and if you feel great afterwards, congratulations you will be ready to move up
when the time arrives.
Rest
Rest
Rest
Then repeat the process with squats, using the same bells:
Rest
Rest
Rest
And finally with cleans:
Rest
Rest
Rest
Wk 2
Monday all cleans that are 1 move to 2,
Wed repeat Monday to secure your gain and get the conditioning effect of the cleans on the front end of the cycle
Friday all squats that are 1 move to 2
Wk 3
Monday all cleans that are 2 move to 3 except the (2,3,5)
Wed repeat Monday, if you feel awesome start working on moving some of the press 1s to 2s
Friday squat 2s move to 3s except the (2,3,5) squat complex leave that the same
Wk 4 Repeat the previous Fridays practice Mon,Wed, Fri
This is an active deload. We know the clean practice will condition and WTHE the press. We know the DFSQ will also WTHE the
press. We know we could press the bells for 10 so we are gaining the ability to endure that level of strength while complexing. We
also know that repeating the practice will make you stronger as your perceived level of effort will decrease.
8/13
16/10/2016
Wk 5
Monday cleans move to 4, presses all 1s should be at 2, leave the (complex with 2,3,5 cleans) the same
Wed repeat Monday, press 1s should be at 2
Friday squats to 4, leave the (complex with 2,3,5 squats) the same
Wk 6
Monday cleans to 5, leave the (complex with 2,3,5 cleans) the same
Wed repeat Monday
Friday Squats to 5, leave the (complex with 2,3,5 squats) the same
Press is sandwiched in the middle, you are getting multiple waves with the press being the bottom of the wave between the clean
and the squat from an exertion standpoint.
You are also getting another wave by increasing on Mon and Friday with Wed being your consolidate your gains day.
Wavy is good.
Wk 7 Rest, Feed your body well and you can test by Rep Maxing with your former 10 rep weight to see how much you went up in
terms of reps, then increase the weight OR bump your start weight by 4kg then test your Rep Max. You will already know your
clean and squat have become stronger.
Older Comments (http://www.strongfirst.com/moving-targetkettlebell-complex/comment-page-1/#comments)
Leave a Reply
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Comment
You may use these HTML (HyperText Markup Language) tags and attributes:
<ahref=""title=""><abbrtitle=""><acronymtitle=""><b><blockquotecite=""><cite><code><del
datetime=""><em><i><qcite=""><s><strike><strong>
Name *
Email *
Website
9/13
16/10/2016
Post Comment
A Group Lesson Plan for Conquering the Deep 6 (http://www.strongfirst.com/how-to-conquer-the-dreaded-deep-6/)
EXPLORE THE BLOG
Search
Select Author
Select Month
CATEGORIES
BARBELL (HTTP://WWW.STRONGFIRST.COM/CATEGORY/BARBELL/)
BODYWEIGHT (HTTP://WWW.STRONGFIRST.COM/CATEGORY/BODYWEIGHT/)
CONDITIONING (HTTP://WWW.STRONGFIRST.COM/CATEGORY/CONDITIONING/)
KETTLEBELLS (HTTP://WWW.STRONGFIRST.COM/CATEGORY/KETTLEBELLS/)
MILITARY LEO FIRST RESPONDERS (HTTP://WWW.STRONGFIRST.COM/CATEGORY/MILITARY-LEO-FIRST-RESPONDERS/)
MOBILITY AND RECOVERY (HTTP://WWW.STRONGFIRST.COM/CATEGORY/MOBILITY-AND-RECOVERY/)
PROGRAMMING (HTTP://WWW.STRONGFIRST.COM/CATEGORY/PROGRAMMING/)
SPORT (HTTP://WWW.STRONGFIRST.COM/CATEGORY/SPORT/)
SPORT PSYCHOLOGY (HTTP://WWW.STRONGFIRST.COM/CATEGORY/SPORT-PSYCHOLOGY/)
STRONGMAN (HTTP://WWW.STRONGFIRST.COM/CATEGORY/STRONGMAN/)
TSC (HTTP://WWW.STRONGFIRST.COM/CATEGORY/TSC/)
UPDATES (HTTP://WWW.STRONGFIRST.COM/CATEGORY/UPDATES/)
WOMEN'S FITNESS (HTTP://WWW.STRONGFIRST.COM/CATEGORY/WOMENS-FITNESS/)
INSTRUCTORS CLOSE TO YOU

Ana Fuentes Marin (/instructors/spain/ana-fuentes-marin.0013700000Dud3vAAB/)SFG I Batres, Madrid
Sergio Fernandez Abad (/instructors/spain/sergio-fernandez-abad.0013700000Dud3sAAB/)SFG I Cadiz, Cadiz
Israel Figueroa (/instructors/spain/israel-figueroa.001370000076ZvZAAU/)SFG I Cadiz, Cadiz
Roberto Mora Sanchez (/instructors/spain/roberto-mora-sanchez.0013700000Dud3yAAB/)SFG I Mostoles, Madrid
Angela-Nicole Rossi (/instructors/spain/angela-nicole-rossi.001370000076TfYAAU/)SFG II Santa Cruz de Tenerife,
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
RIGHT NOW IN THE FORUM (/community/)

10/13
16/10/2016
"eyes on the horizon"/ head position/eye position. [1] (http://www.strongfirst.com/community/threads/.8328)

When I was first learning I did this a lot, basically tucking the chin to ...
Simple Achieved - Thanks Pavel! [7] (http://www.strongfirst.com/community/threads/.8326)

Nice work! Just started myself. Looking forward to making a similar ...
Congrats to you! I am only nearing the end of my 5th month of this, and will ...
Congratulations and good ...
How do SFG qualified people train??? [5] (http://www.strongfirst.com/community/threads/.8325)

You may want to check out both of the Training Log forums, as quite a few SFGs ...
Ah. Thanks for pointing that ...
*1 day per week - Off *6 days per week - walking, crawling all directions *4 ...
STRONGFIRST ON INSTAGRAM
11/13
16/10/2016
(/)
RESOURCES
12/13
16/10/2016
About (/get-started/about/)
Contact (/contact/)
Blog (/blog/)
Community (/community/)
Shop Online (/shop/)
RECENT ARTICLES
How to Unlock the Potential of Individual Differences (http://www.strongfirst.com/unlock-potential-individualdifferences/)
Upgrade Your Strength with the Soju and Tuba Press Program (http://www.strongfirst.com/upgrade-your-strengthwith-the-soju-and-tuba-press-program/)
I Am a 12-Percenter Are You? (http://www.strongfirst.com/i-am-a-12-percenter-are-you/)
Under Pressure: A Small But Crucial Adjustment to Your Get-up (http://www.strongfirst.com/pressure-small-crucialadjustment-get-up/)
Preparing a Soldier for Competition in the Croatian Army (http://www.strongfirst.com/preparing-soldier-competitioncroatian-army/)
The Many Valuable Reasons You Should Be Training the Push Press (http://www.strongfirst.com/many-valuablereasons-training-push-press/)
(https://www.facebook.com/bestrongfirst)
(https://twitter.com/bestrongfirst)
(https://www.instagram.com/strongfirst/)
(https://www.youtube.com/user/BeStrongFirst)
GET OUR NEWSLETTER

FirstName*
LastName*
Email*
SIGNUP
13/13

The Moving Target Kettlebell Complex - StrongFirst

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Moving Target Kettlebell Complex - StrongFirst

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

16/10/2016