Chris was invited to this challenge with some guys in the tier 1 unit that he trains. The guys mentioned that they learned about the kettlebell mile in an article on the StrongFirst website. Mike Prevost, who might be the most credentialed exercise physiologist in the country, penned the piece. He talks about research he did while working at the Naval Academy to test protocols for building strength and endurance at the same time. Prevost was looking for a crossover point in which he could train strength and endurance at the simultaneously without the negative effects of too much heavy rucking. He was working with a lot of runners at the time and noticed that during V02max testing, fatigue caused cross over gait. (It’s a phenomenon in which feet cross over the mid line of the body instead of remaining parallel to each other while in gait. It happens because of weakness and instability in the lateral part of the hip.) The combination of training populations to move better under load and correcting for gait inefficiencies in runners led Prevost to develop the kettlebell mile.
Research has shown that gait efficiency goes to hell quickly when a person carries 35% of their body weight or more. Inefficient gait means wasted energy. It also means disproportionate joint loading and potential injury cascade. At the other end of the spectrum, training for that population seemed too easy when loads were 20% or under. Prevost decided the sweet spot for building strength and endurance without hampering loaded gait, and to help correct the gait of his runners with cross over syndrome, was between 20% and 30% of body weight. He started with loaded packs, but along the way switched a single kettlebell in a suitcase hold.
How did he generalize 20% to 30% of body weight to most people?
For most dudes, 24 kilo grams, or 53 pounds, fits that bill.
16 kilograms, or 35 pounds, works for most ladies.
Prevost noticed that training with the kettlebell mile improved the runners cross over gait while also finding a sweet spot where strength and aerobic capacity training meet.
(We’ve heard NASA physiologists are also now using and researching the kettlebell mile.)
Chris was pretty jacked up about it and phoned Todd to tell him all about the experience. So, that weekend Todd grabbed a kettlebell and hit the pavement around his neighborhood.
It kept happening. Chris would show up to train the guys, and they’d go do the kettlebell mile. And he started occasionally doing it at home. Then I kept doing it. We wanted to see how fast we could finish the mile while keeping one foot on the ground at all times. That means without running. Chris finished a kettlebell mile in sub-11 minutes. That’s cooking. Todd’s best time is sub-13 minutes. Remember, sports fans, that’s without running (although, new for 2025, we are allowing running).
We’re always on the hunt for fun, safe challenges to do with our Beyond Strength family. Since the weather’s breaks in the Spring, we figured it’s time to get everyone outside, push ourselves, and have a good time. What better way to do that with a test that helps us live out our credo by testing our strength and endurance at the same time?
