Kettlebell Swing Breathing Ladders

The kettlebell swing is an awesome exercise for developing posterior chain strength, endurance and conditioning while also strongly stimulating the core.

Depending on the structure of the training session kettlebell swings can be used to develop explosive power (heavy weight, low reps, longer rest periods) right through development of the aerobic conditioning and muscular endurance.

It is this latter goal that was the purpose behind today's training session.

I first came across Breathing Ladders on the www.gymjones.com web site several months ago.
The purpose of breathing ladders is to facilitate a large volume of work to be completed using a weight based resistance move in the gym setting while keeping the session itself relatively low intensity.

From my own perspective I use 2 Handed Kettlebell Swings due to their effect on conditioning the hamstrings, glutes and to a lesser degree lower back while also facilitating increased endurance within the musculature of the core. Each of these muscle groups play an important role in propelling the body forward for activities such as jumping, cycling and running.

My current goals are to decrease my 10K run time (amongst other things) and thus performing a large number of 2 handed kettlebell swings serves to condition the key muscles associated with moving faster for longer while also increasing core stability for prolonged periods allowing better power transfer through the hips.

The format for a breathing ladder is to perform sets of increasing repetitions with a fixed weight.
Rest periods are taken by taking slow deep breaths to match the number of repetitions performed. For example:- 1 Swing, 1 breath, 2 swings, 2 breaths, 3 swings, 3 breaths and so on.

The aim of the game is to avoid completing longer sets and then "panic breathing". In other words avoid gulping for air and instead maintain control at all times.

The longer and deeper the breaths taken the more recovery you receive and the longer the workout can continue (time permitting.)

Common rep ranges are 1-10 repeated for several ladders, 1-20, 1-20-1, 1-30 etc and above and beyond!

My session today looked like this:-


Warm Up
Mobility work, body weight movements.

Round 1
2 Handed Kettlebell Swing (Crossfit Style) - rest 30 seconds between sets

12kg * 20
16kg * 20
20kg * 20
24kg * 15 * 5 sets

Breathing Ladder - 24kg Kettlebell, 2 Handed Swings
For the main set I performed reps in an increasing ladder from 1 to 30 reps and to total 465 swings with a 24kg kettlebell.

The set took 36 minutes to complete, the breathing aspect of this set was relatively easy, maintaining control at all times.

From sets 27 to 30 fatigue began to set in strongly in the glutes and hamstrings thus indicating a need for increased muscular endurance on the higher sets.

Round 3
 2 Handed Kettlebell Swings (Crossfit Style)
20kg * 20 reps
20kg * 20 reps

Cool Down
Stretching and foam rolling.

Today was a good session and very enjoyable.

On the breathing ladder main set from sets 10 - 30 my pulse rate remained elevated (during rest periods) above 120BPM for the duration of the ladder with a peak of 165 BPM after the last set.

As you can see, I have performed well over 600 reps of swings today without undue stress, a target that would have been very difficult to achieve with a standard sets/reps approach.

Give breathing ladders a go!