As in anything in life, the progress depends on adaptation. Moreover, once we adapt to a particular stimulus, we have to change something if we want to progress any further.

A great example was given to us by Pavel Tsatsouline in 2004 RKC Certification: Imagine standing in front of three doors. Open the first door, and smell coming out is just amazing. However, if standing there for too long, we will get used to it. Some people will get used to it quicker than others. Some people will want to increase the aroma.

Furthermore, they will like it, but others will be sick from a more robust aroma. We can choose to close the door and open it again. Maybe we will like the smell once we open it again, or we will want to open another door. When we open another door, two things can happen. Maybe we will like the smell and repeat the procedure with the first door. Alternatively, we will not like the smell and will go for door number three.

If we change the door with an exercise or training program, we can probably relate to it better. There are different types of adaptations: to number of reps, intensity, length of rest, number of sets, training frequency, type of exercise and more.

I had come across the 7 Granddaddy's laws when I was studying for the ISSA exam in 2007. The more I dig into training, the more I return to those laws whenever I am writing a training plan. That is the beauty of being a Coach, trying to find the perfect plan for a client, be it a mom coming back after birth or pro athlete in the offseason.

For weight training, more or less is clear, and most of the programs have already been written, but we can not say the same for Kettlebells. Its relatively new tool, especially when talking about maximum aerobic power (MAP) and functional threshold power (FTP), that we are trying to improve with basic Kettlebell movements.

There are at least seven overlapping principles upon which all systems must rely if we want to expect an optimum effectiveness outcome from the training program.

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1. Principle of individual differences

This principle talks about different genetic blueprints. We all have similar responses and adaptations to the stimulus od exercise, but some will adapt sooner than others. Some people are fast, and others are slow responders. Some can reach the elite level while others do not.

If we put everyone on the same program, a few will get great results, and others will not be able to finish it, be it too much volume or not enough variety. We must understand these principles, so we can set realistic goals and not allow our clients to get injured or frustrated.

When lifting Kettlebells, be it professional Kettlebell Lifting of just Kettlebell Fitness, we must have in mind that principle. Some will progress faster, than other, some will need more variety in exercises, others in approach to training, for some shorter sets will do the magic while for others, longer, times sets are the way to go.

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2. Overcompensation principle

Muscle fibre grows in size and strength in response to training. Its Mother's natural law of overcompensation, or in other words, a mechanism to help us survive. When we are training for endurance, capillarization happens, the heart muscle gets more robust, and the left verticle grows, the cardiovascular system gets more robust and more resilient. That is the goal of endurance training.

While training with Kettlebells is specific, adaptations will be specific as well. There is much bending forward, hip hinging, overhead lifting. I can speak from experiences because I was among the elite Kettlebell lifters, and I found at least two things we had in common.

First (and that is a good thing) is that lifting overhead is something so familiar in our training, that overhead stability and mobility is excellent. However, since its almost impossible to match the numbers of vertical pulls, almost every Kettlebell Lifter will have problems with pull-ups.

Another thing, because there are many repetitions done in every training, tendons adapt quickly, and they do most of the work, not the muscles. That is a good thing, but once we stop training, we can struggle to gain muscles, because there is no »mind to muscle« connection.

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3. Overload principle

Related to the previous principle is the principle of overload. It states that in order to gain muscle size, strength and endurance from training, we must exercises in resistance higher than that usually encounter. That means that if we use the same weight, same angle, the same amount of sets, reps and rest, our body will adapt to it and stop progressing, growing. Moreover, since our body is excellent at adapting to stress, we have to train harder.

We all remember the »myth« about Milo of Croton. The little boy, who picked up a calf and carried it around the garden. As a calf grew, so did little boy. However, if he wanted to lift the calf, he had to grow bigger AND stronger. In a few years, the »not so little boy« was lifting a grown-up bully.

In the real world that would be to simple, and not even possible, but that is an excellent example of overloading.
This principle teaches us that if we want to build more muscle and become bigger, we have to train harder. Same goes for endurance.

In training with Kettlebells, endurance plays a significant role. The good thing is we use a triple progression, that allows us to de-load, step back in order to take two steps forward later.

The first progression is increasing the length of the set. When we are lifting Kettlebells for endurance purpose, we recommend to use times sets, not just counting reps. Depending on the goal we are after, sets length are between 3 and 5 minutes, 6 and 8 minutes or 9 and 12 minutes. Once we can reach the maximum length of the set, we increase the pace of lifting.

That is how we come to the next progression. In training with Kettlebells, there is an optimum pace for each lift. Lifting slower than optimum, and training becomes acyclic. Going faster, we lose the benefit of fixation and strengthening of the tendons.

Only when we can go for the whole length of the set and at the maximum prescribed pace, we are ready to increase the weight of the Kettlebell. However, higher intensity calls for more extended rest between sessions. Solution? Split training system. Training different muscles and different intensity in each training.

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4. SAID principle

It's an acronym for »specific adaptation to imposed demands«. That means that the body (muscles, tendons, CNS...) will adapt to the demand it is imposed too. If we want to improve our endurance, we will have to train for endurance. If we want to improve explosive power, well, then our training will be orientated in that way. So, if we will want to increase our maximum strength, we will probably use heavier weights than if we will want to increase local muscular endurance in the same muscle.

The problem occurs when we have two or more different goals at the same time. Let us say, training for aerobic strength will limit the level of maximum strength one can attain, because of different time of recovery. So, if we want to build endurance, train for endurance, if we want to build limit strength, we need to focus on that. Same goes with Kettlebells. If we want to improve maximum aerobic power (MAP), we need to focus on shorter intervals than if we want to improve our functional threshold power (FTP).

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5. Use/Disuse principle

If we stress our body enough, it will adapt to meet the stress. In bodybuilding program, the hypertrophy or increase in size occurs to trained muscle. However, once we stop training, it will adapt to lower stress. In other words, atrophy or decrease in muscle size will occur.

It takes less time to become untrained than it takes to become trained. Fortunately, some training-related changes in our neuromuscular system remain over long periods, which allows us to get our size, strength or endurance back quicker than if we would if we started from scratch. Same goes for training with Kettlebells. If we stress our body with more extended sets, our general and local muscular endurance will improve. However, as we stop training, we will lose it both. Basically what this principle is talking about is: USE IT OR LOSE IT.

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6. Specificity principle

We have to move from general to specialized training. Meaning we can increase our general endurance by doing, well, any endurance training. However, if we want to be a good runner, then swimming will only help at the beginning, because we will improve our general endurance. Same goes for training, for example, bench press contest. Of course, we have to strengthen all muscles surrounding our shoulder griddle, but doing strict press or bench fly will only work for some time. If we want to bench more, we have to bench more. Same goes for Kettlebells. If we want to be good at lifting Kettlebells, we have to lift Kettlebells. Moreover, if we want to be good at snatches, we have to snatch more. Doing cleans and swings will only help us for so long.

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7. The GAS principle

General Adaptation Syndrome says that there must be a period of low-intensity training or complete rest following the periods of high-intensity training. The stress we have applied is traumatic, forcing our muscles to heal first and then adapt to stress.

The GAS Principle will compromise our progress following the three stages:
- The alarm stage caused by the application of intense training stress (overload principle).
- The resistance stage, when our muscles adapt in order to resist the intensity more efficiently (overcompensation, SAID, use/disuse principle).
- The exhaustion stage, where, if we persist in applying stress, we will exhaust our reserves and then be forced to stop training due to injury or overtraining.

Some training principles call for longer recovery times than others. Let us say hard eccentrics do more damage to muscle than if we train the same muscle without emphasize on the eccentric part. Lifting Kettlebells efficiently basically excludes eccentrics (except absorption on every catch, but that is a very slight movement), so we can train more often without the adverse effects described in this principle.