VICTORIOUS

A Complete Guide to Pressing a Heavy Kettlebell

A StrongFirst Custom Workshop with Fabio Zonin, StrongFirst Certified Master Instructor, and Kenneth Bolyard, StrongFirst Certified Team Leader.

The Kettlebell Military Press Is Not Just a Shoulder Exercise

A heavy one-arm kettlebell military press is a full-body display of strength.

Your hand must control the kettlebell. Your wrist and elbow must remain strong and correctly aligned. Your shoulder must move freely while staying stable. Your lats, abs and glutes must connect the upper and lower body. Your feet must create a solid foundation, while your breathing, tension and timing bring everything together at exactly the right moment.

If even one link in this chain is missing, strength leaks away.

The kettlebell feels heavier than it should. The press stalls before or at the sticking point. The body shifts in the wrong direction. The shoulder loses its position. More effort produces more struggle, but not necessarily more weight overhead.

The solution is not simply to try harder or add more pressing exercises.

The solution is to understand the lift, take it apart and rebuild it—one precise component at a time.

Build Your Press From the Top Down—and From the Ground Up

During this intensive, hands-on workshop, Fabio Zonin and Kenneth Bolyard will guide you through a progressive system for developing a stronger, safer and more efficient kettlebell military press.

You will first build control from the hand, wrist and shoulder down through the trunk and hips. You will then connect that structure to the ground and learn how to turn your entire body into a stable platform from which to press.

Finally, you will bring all the pieces together and apply them to the standing military press—where grip, alignment, tension, breathing, timing and individual pressing mechanics must work as one.

During the Workshop, You Will Learn

• The three essential elements of a powerful kettlebell military press
• How to position the handle in your hand to improve strength, control and kettlebell stability
• How to use your wrist and “arm-wrestle” the kettlebell for a stronger start and a more powerful lockout
• How to stack the kettlebell and your joints to minimise strength leaks
• The shoulder mechanics required for a strong and healthy overhead position
• Two high-yield drills for developing press-specific shoulder mobility and stability
• How to use the floor press to connect the shoulder and lat while reinforcing a strong active negative
• How the Z-press can expose compensation, strengthen your brace and help you discover a more efficient pressing groove
• How tall-kneeling and half-kneeling presses teach whole-body tension, hip position and the lateral shift required for a heavy one-arm press
• How to use your grip, lats, abs and glutes as one coordinated system
• How to load your breath, build pressure and time your power breathing for maximum strength
• How to create a solid foundation through rooting, corkscrewing and lower-body tension
• How to use the unloaded side of your body to increase neural drive and pressing power
• How to divide the press into two distinct phases and apply the right strategy to each
• How to approach the sticking point, maintain the correct groove and wedge yourself under the kettlebell at lockout
• Why remaining perfectly upright is neither realistic nor desirable during a genuinely heavy one-arm press—and how to move your body without turning the military press into a side press or sacrificing your lower back
• How technique may legitimately change under a near-maximal load—and how to recognise when a press should be safely abandoned
• How to use specialised variations such as the loaded clean, push-pull press, bottom-up press and stacked press to address specific weaknesses rather than adding random variety
• The fundamental programming principles required to turn better technique into long-term strength gains

This Is Not a “More Reps, More Sweat” Workshop

You will not spend the day mindlessly pressing kettlebells until your shoulders surrender and your technique falls apart.

Every drill has a specific purpose. Every progression adds another component to the lift. You will practise, receive feedback, make adjustments and learn how to select the right drill for the right technical or strength problem.

The goal is not to leave exhausted.

The goal is to leave understanding exactly what makes a heavy kettlebell press work—and how to continue improving it long after the workshop is over.

Who Is This Workshop For?

This workshop is designed for kettlebell instructors, strength coaches and serious kettlebell practitioners who want to develop a deeper understanding of the one-arm military press.

It will benefit you whether you are working towards your first truly heavy press, preparing for a kettlebell certification or pursuing an advanced strength goal such as the half-bodyweight press or the Beast Challenge.

Even experienced pressers will discover details capable of immediately changing how the kettlebell feels in the rack, through the sticking point and overhead.

Your Instructors

Fabio Zonin is a StrongFirst Certified Master Instructor and an internationally recognised strength coach, educator and programming specialist. A former natural bodybuilder and powerlifter, Fabio has spent decades studying, teaching and refining the methods required to build exceptional strength. He has taught kettlebell, barbell and bodyweight strength to instructors and athletes throughout the world and is known for his ability to break complex skills into precise, practical and immediately applicable steps.

Kenneth Bolyard is a StrongFirst Certified Team Leader. Together, Fabio and Kenneth will teach the system developed to improve one of the purest demonstrations of kettlebell strength: the strict one-arm military press.