If you train with kettlebells and you want muscle gain, STOP DOING KETTLEBELL COMPLEXES!
Kettlebell complexes can be fun (or so I hear – I never do them) and are a decent option for getting a conditioning workout in a pinch.
But they're truly awful if muscle gain is a priority of yours.
I should add that, if fat loss or body recomposition or any of these similar aesthetically influenced phrases are important to you – you should really prioritize muscle gain, even if you don't want to be bigger.
You can train using muscle gaining principles while in a calorie deficit and you'll have far better success improving the way you look. This is because stimulating the muscles allows you to "reshape" your body into more athletic, lean, figure.
But you must stimulate the muscles effectively in order to reap these benefits.
So basically, all of you who care about body composition should focus less on complexes and more on straight sets or non-competing supersets/compound sets.
A non-competing superset or compound set is just doing 2 exercises in succession that train different parts of the body.
Examples would include following an upper body pull exercise (like rows) with an upper body push exercise (like military presses). Or, you could pair a lower body exercise (like squats or swings) with an upper body exercise (like rows or presses).
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Rest between exercises and, in some cases, you may need to use different weights for the 2 exercises. So do so.
Kettlebell complexes are inefficient for muscle growth for the following reasons:
1. The weight isn't set down between exercises, encouraging lighter weights to be used and resulting in the lungs being the limiting factor, rather than the muscles.
2. All exercises are being done with the same weight. If you're training your legs with the same weight you use to military press, you're under training your legs....to a horrible degree.
3. No sets are taken near muscular failure. It's tough to force the muscles to grow when you're not training the muscles very hard. Give the muscles a reason to adapt. Muscles are stubborn and don't want to grow. You must push them beyond their comfort zone.
Kettlebells can be just as good for muscle building as any other tool. But you should train more simply if muscle gain is the goal. Lift heavier, take your sets close to failure (this will often mean you need to train in a moderate, typical "body building" rep range of 6-12 reps per set), and progressively overload by adding more reps, then more load, over time.
If you want muscle, you need to stop obsessing over high intensity cardio smoke sessions and use your kettlebells in a way that is productive for muscle gain. You can still do your cleans, swings, and snatches. But go heavy and pair these exercises with your grind lifts like military presses, rows, front squats, lunges, Bulgarian split squats, single leg or staggered stance RDLs, curls, tricep extensions, calf raises, and even Turkish getups.
I'd also recommend using bodyweight exercises, like chins, pullups, dips (if they don't bother you), and pushups to develop your physique most completely.
Stop giving kettlebells a bad name in the hypertrophy circles. Go forth and get jacked with your kettlebells while also getting well-conditioned and doing cool things.
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