Just add farmers walk and hill sprints?

Bill Clarke said:

I somehow doubt that kettlebell swings would work as well for grip strength as either farmers walks or dead hangs. For my goals, kettlebell swings wouldn't work as well as sprints. Although the up side of kettlebell swings is that I can do them inside! Also, I don't think buying kettlebells is worth it because they are set weights, so the only way to progress would be to add more weight or less rest, unless I bought more.

Hm, maybe a little bit. RC PE6 looks like a good grip challenge (I'm on RC PE3), but besides that I don't think there is much grip work for awhile.

Actually kettlebell swings builds a ton of grip strength, they also have a very big transfer to sprints. Though, what are the goals you are trying to accomplish with sprints?

A single kettle bell also lasts longer than you think. Pavel Tsatsouline's kettlebel programs like program minimum in enter the kettlebell or program minimum 2 in simple and sinister really gets you to milk the hell out of each weight

Ravn, it's true that F4 has some pretty epic grip elements, but I know my grip can handle about 280 pounds (double overhand dead lift). I won't be doing anything in F4 for a while, so some added grips strength is nice. Also, I find adding some kind of grip strength relieves some wrist discomfort. Nice bonus for me!

Quick concern/question: you guys seem to enjoy kettle bell swings for grip strength...but that seems like it could be slightly risky: using a movement that could potentially have you throwing 30+kgs of iron if your grip fails for grip training.

Y'all are making me reconsider my bias against kettle bells... Though I still highly doubt they are effective as sprinting for lower body power/conditioning.

Hmms, my main goals with sprinting are: getting conditioned(generally, but I might do a 5k on a mountain this summer), becoming a better sprinter (I hope to help coach track and field this year, and it helps being able to out sprint the team+be more familiar with the movement), get some more power+strength.

Thanks for all the replies and info guys! I love this forum and community! I learn so much!

Bill Clarke said:

.....becoming a better sprinter (I hope to help coach track and field this year, and it helps being able to out sprint the team+be more familiar with the movement.....

Hill sprints are great for this because they reinforce correct technique.  If you're really going for max sprint speed, you should take a little longer to rest between sets (seriously, up to 5 minutes).  If you just want to gas yourself, only use the time it takes to walk back down the hill for rest.