THE ALPHA MALE

KEG TRAINING MANUAL

by Peter Bolsius

The Ultimate
Tool to Get
Brutally
Strong from
the Inside
Out!
The Perfect
Program for
Fighters,
Wrestlers and
Alpha Males!!!

Copyright 2015 - Mojo Strength - All Rights Reserved

WARNING DISCLAIMER

ITS NOT
ABOUT HOW
MUCH YOU
CAN LIFT, ITS
ABOUT
GIVING YOUR
100% EVERY
TIME

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2016 Mojo Strength

I love training with kegs. Ive been lifting them for years! . The beauty of the keg lies in the water
moving around and forcing you to really hold onto it. Something which doesnt happen with
Barbells and Dumbbells. Its the sloshing of the water that drives the keg away from the athlete
and which makes them so unpredictable and hard to lift!! Kegs build powerful crushing strength
and forge mental toughness.

Give this manual

a real go and see
for yourself.

The exercises are simple, but they are not easy, the keg lifts
shown here will really challenge you.

What you need to do:

Partially fill a keg with water or a combination of water and sand
then try to lift it. Straight away you will know what I'm talking
about. They are awkward and it takes much hard work just to
hold onto them. If you think you are strong and have never lifted
kegs, you are in for a surprise.

Many years ago, I figured all the mainstream Muscle Comics were peddling us a load of bullshit
regarding training. At the time I was training in a commercial gym with a few stars of the
bodybuilding world. I knew that how they trained and what they wrote about in the muscle
comics were 2 very different things. Dis-illusioned by these losers, I looked for alternatives. I
stumbled across a little magazine by Stuart McRobert called HardGainer. Within the pages I was
introduced to guys like Brooks Kubik, John Christie & Dr Ken Leistner. These guys talked about
getting back to Old School. Doing the stuff the old timers used to do. Getting brutally strong
lifting barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, barrels, kegs, big logs, sandbags and other odd objects.
Simple heavy training, it just all made sense.

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01

I managed to find a couple of empty kegs at a scrap yard. I took

them home and filled them with water. I had one that weighed
32kgs and another that weighed 42 kgs. (not a lot)
Boy, the first time I tried to clean and press the Light one (32kg) I learned what all the fuss was
about. It moved around above my head like I was trying to hold onto a wild animal! I had no
control over it and it came crashing to the ground! BOOM! The water moving around in it made it
so difficult to hold onto. 32 kgs with a barbell was so easy, what the hell? Well, I kept lifting that
keg every day or 2 until I had it under control.
I have used Kegs for my workouts now for years and
I use them with my athletes as well, who range in
age from 30 65 years. The benefits of the keg are
awesome and these workouts will kick your arse.

Study the exercise photo descriptions

below and follow the Workouts. I'm sure
you'll get a lot out of them just like I did!

What I like most about keg training is the Stabilizing effect they give. If you aren't strong in the
stabilizers, you aren't strong. You learn to control the weight and not let the weight control you.
It's like lifting mercury, it's always moving, really hard to hold onto to. You'll see.
Build the Beast from the inside OUT, add water or water and sand every few weeks to make it
harder.
Mix these workouts in with your current program and you will get tremendous results. Obviously,
the Keg is not the be all, end all training tool, but it is one seriously powerful training tool that you
should use. Give it a try and see what I mean. Make sure you leave your ego at the door. A 60-70kg
presser can be humbled by a 25kg keg first time out.

Where to get them:

I got my kegs from scrap yards, you can find them on ebay, gumtree or Craigslist. If you know a pub
owner maybe you could borrow them for a while. Call a brewery and ask if they have any
discarded kegs that you could buy. They are available, you just need to look. It's time really well
spent.

Filling the keg:

DO NOT FILL TO TOP! It will defeat the purpose. The whole benefit of keg training is the sloshing
from side to side of the water. If the keg is overfilled you lose that effect.
A good way to make you keg heavier and still have that effect is to combine sand and water in the
keg. You still want more water than sand and lots of sloshing about.
Here's a video FILL THE KEG

Safety

Never use the handles on a keg to

move it about. If you drop it you can
easily break your thumb.
See pic left.

Grab onto it around the rim as in the photo on the right.

Also, Protect your lifting surfaces by dropping the keg onto
an old car tyre.
If you lose control of the keg during any lift.DROP it!

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02

KEG CARRIES

Just Carry it
(Horizontal)
This is the simplest of them all. Flat back,
pick it up, pull it into your stomach and walk.

Bear Hug
Carry

Tilt Keg to 45 degrees. Wrap your arms around

the keg and squeeze it against your chest.
Straighten your back, Pick it up & Walk. Make
sure you lift your chest high and keep your back
flat.

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Shoulder Carry

Overhead Carry

Pick it up Bear Hug Style, maneuver it to

your shoulder, walk, Put it down and repeat
on the opposite side. Carries are great
finishing exercises to put at the end of your
regular training. Pick a distance say 300
metres and go.

Clean & press the keg overhead. Lock the

elbows and pull your shoulders down into
their sockets. Keep really tight on this one!
Proficiency in this movement is a prerequisite for the press (coming up below)

EXERCISES
Bear Hug
Squat
Bear Hug Keg, Pull the hips
down between your feet.
Pressure on the heels,
Chest high. Squeeze your
butt and legs in the top
position.

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Bear Hug
Good Morning
Bear hug the keg off the ground Tightly pull &
brace the keg against your chest while you push
your hips back & remain neutral in the spine.
Don't tip forward, concentrate on pushing the
hips back. The torso tilts forward because the
hips are going back. You should feel this in your
hamstrings. Stand up straight by squeezing
your butt Hard!

Bear Hug
Lunges
Bear hug the keg,
Perform a forward or reverse lunge
Front foot remains flat / back knee almost
touches the floor (This is tough!)

Keg Clean
The most basic move.
Make sure the keg is
between your feet when
you clean NOT in front of
you!
Keep your back straight by
bracing the abs hard.

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05

Keg Press
Clean the keg to shoulders, brace and press the keg. Hold for a second or 2 in the extended
position, lower to shoulders and repeat

Keg Clean & Press

The Big Daddy of keg lifting, my favourite exercise. Clean the keg to the shoulders, keep your
whole body tight, press to arms' length, lower back to shoulders and then to the ground.

CLEAN & PRESS TUTORIAL

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06

Bent Rows
A great Old School movement,
these are a must have to
develop a thick, strong back.
Keep your hips back, your back
flat and brace your abs. Pull the
keg into your stomach and
squeeze your shoulder blades
together. Imagine touching your
shoulder blades together
behind you.
Do not allow the keg to touch the floor between reps. Try and keep your torso relatively
horizontal.

Shouldering
Place the keg between your feet,
squat down and rip the keg up to
your shoulder
Lower the keg down to the
ground under control and
repeat onto the opposite
shoulder
Some drop the keg after
shouldering but I prefer to
control it to add leg, back and
core strength (as well as saving
your flooring.) Maybe put a tyre
on the ground.

Loading
Power clean the keg onto
ANY object above waist
height. Pull it off and
lower to the ground under
control & repeat! Simple
and brutally effective!

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07

Rotational Loading
Place one hip near the loading platform, keg between your feet.
Power clean the keg up and once your above waist height throw the keg onto your loading
platform. Remove under control & repeat.

Snatches
Step over with the keg (horizontal) and between your feet. Pull hard, drive your hips forward and
push the keg straight overhead. This is a modified version of the snatch compared to the barbell
version of course.

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COMBINATIONS

Burpee, Row
Clean & Press
Complex
This is a great complex that will get you
puffing like a steam train. We often do 10
sets of 10 as cardio
buddy exercise

It's a great

I go you go
Place hands on rim of keg, kick back into the
push-up position. Perform 1 push-up. Kick
your feet up to either side of the keg
perform 1 row.
Clean the keg and then press the keg. Lower
to the ground under control. That's 1 rep.

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09

The Bear Hug Complex.

Anyone who knows the Bear Complex knows it as: Clean, front squat, push press, back squat,
push press. The Keg doesn't really lend itself to the original, but I reckon this one might be even
more brutal for the legs, back and especially the forearms!
This will also build great crushing power and endurance in the upper body, which will be great for
MMA fighters and wrestlers. This will be a brutal test of mental strength.

1
2
3
4

Bear Hug Squat x 10,

Bear Hug Good Morning x 10,
Bear Hug Carry x 40 metres,
Bear Hug Squat x 10 reps

Conditioning:
Here are 3 different conditioning supersets.
Choose 1 and go for 5-10 rounds. You can also add these as challenges at the end of your workout
as 3 rounds for time.

1
2
1
2
1
2

Bear Crawl 50metres,

Bear Hug Carry 50 metres
Crab Crawl x 50 metres
OH Carry x 50 metres
Inch worm with push-up x 10
Just Carry x 50 metres

ALPHA MALE KEG WORKOUTS

You do NOT need to make these your only workouts. I suggest blending these workouts in with
other training tools and methods 1 2 x week. Some of the workouts already have bodyweight
movements included for you. If you need, substitute some of the bodyweight drills for other
exercises according to what you have available to train with and what your body will allow you to
do. I do suggest you just Play Around with the kegs for a few weeks so you know the exercises
well before you hit these workouts.

Workout 1
1 Bear Crawl 50 metres, Keg Bear Hug Squat x 5reps repeat 5 times
2 Keg Overhead Carry 50 metres, Keg Press x 5 reps repeat 5 times
3 Keg Just Carry It 50 metres, Keg Clean x 5 repeat 5 times

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10

Workout 2
1

Keg Shouldering 4 x 5 ea. Side

2B Keg Cleans 4 x 5
2A Keg Bear Squat 4 x 5

Keg Overhead Carry 3 x 50 metres

Workout 3
1A Keg Bear Hug Reverse Lunge 3 x 5 each leg
1C Keg Bear Hug Squat 3 x 5
1B Keg Bear Hug Good Morning 3 x 5
1D Keg Clean & Press 3 x 5

Workout 4
1
2
3

Keg Loading: Max reps in 5 minutes (load to a barrel, picnic table, platform, etc.)
Keg Bear Hug Carry: Max distance in 5 minutes
Keg Clean & Press: Max reps in 5 minutes

Workout 5
1A Keg Bear Squats 5 x 5
2A Keg Rows

3 x 12

1B Pull ups 5 x sub max (always leave 1 or 2 reps in the tank)

2B Keg Clean & Press 3 x 5
3

Keg Bear Hug Carry 300 metres. (putting down minimal times.)

Workout 6
1A Keg Clean & Press 5 x 10
1B Keg Bent Row 5 x 10
2

Keg Bear Hug Squats x 8 rounds: 20 seconds work / 10 seconds rest

Workout 7
1

Keg Clean & Press x 10, 8, 6, 4, 2

Keg Bear Hug Walking lunges x 10, 8, 6, 4, 2

3A Keg Overhead Carry 30 metres

3B Keg Bear Hug Carry 30 metres

Repeat 3 times

3C Keg Just carry It 30 metres

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11

Workout 8: The Widow Maker Workout (for time)

** NOTE:

This will be brutal. It's not likely you will get through this all at once. If a truly heavy Keg
is used, it might take several sets to complete the required reps. Time the workout. Try
to better your time every time you do it!

Bear Crawl x 50 metres

Keg Bear Hug Carry 50 metres

Keg Bear Hug Carry x 50 metres

Keg Bear Hug Squats x 25 reps

Keg Bear Hug Good Mornings x 15

Workout 9
1A Keg Clean & Press 10-8-6-4-2
1B Pull-ups 10-8-6-4-2 or 5-4-3-2-1
2A Rotational Keg Loading: 10-8-6-4-2
2B Keg Bear Hug Carry x 50 metres (Pick up the keg from the ground)
3A Keg Bear Hug Squat 10-8-6-4-2
3B Push-ups 10-8-6-4-2

Workout 10
1

Keg Clean & Press x 20 reps

Keg Bent Rows x 20 reps

Keg Bear Hug Squats x 20

Keg Zercher Lunges 10 reps ea side

Keg Carry 200 metres (carry anyway you can, try not to put the keg down)

Workout 10
For the ultimate mental challenge,
Carry 20 metres, Squat 5 reps, carry 20 metres, squat 5 reps, repeat for 5 x or total 200 metres

11 Brutal, Power, Strength and Muscle Building Keg Workouts!

Give these a try and see how strong you can get.

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12

About the Author

Peter Bolsius is the owner and head Coach at Mojo Strength Gym www.mojostrength.com.au
Co-Founder of the Sydney Kettlebell Club www.sydneykettlebellclub.com.au He is a certified
StrongFirst Kettlebell and barbell instructor, www.strongfirst.com holds certificates with the
Australian Strength & Conditioning Association, Crossfit and numerous other certifications.
Peter has been in the industry since 1987 having done thousands of hours of 1 on1 personal
training and group training. 2017 will make it 30 years in this great industry.
Peter is also the founder of The Alpha Male Project www.alphamaleproject.com.au where he
changes the lives of middle aged men by assisting them to get back their youthfulness and
strength by using workouts just like the ones shown in this e-book.

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