What is Curtis P?
Curtis P is a barbell complex designed by SealFit. I’ve been asked by our Inner Circle members to include the Curtis P in our weekly workout. I modified the complex to suit the kettlebell and our training philosophies. Check out the barbell Curtis P here and the kettlebell version here.
How to perform a Curtis P?
The original Curtis P complex as designed by SealFit is to be performed with a barbell as follows:
- power clean
- front rack forward lunge
- front rack forward lunge (other leg)
- push press.
These four exercises combined are counted as one rep of Curtis P. The power clean must start dead from the ground upon each rep.
Couple of things to note. The clean in this video is not of great quality. I’m not sure if there is a squat in the complex or not, maybe things evolved since, but I believe this was the earliest video from the source, newer versions seem to have a squat in it as well.
Curtis P Kettlebell Version
Here is the kettlebell version of the Curtis P which I modified to suit kettlebells and our training philosophy.
Clean and rack the kettlebells once, the drop into a hang, clean, rack, reverse lunge on one side, reverse lunge on the other side, and a push press. You can go straight into your next rep of the combo or bring the weights back down to the ground. You’ll notice a reverse lunge rather than forward as I don’t program forward lunges unless the goal is working on explosiveness and the weight and reps are suitable.
The full combo is performed with two kettlebells and for our programming, we used half the athlete’s body weight as the Rx for the kb weight.
Full Curtis P Kettlebell Combo:
- Hang clean
- Racked reverse lunge
- Racked reverse lunge (other leg)
- Push press
I also allowed for athletes that only have access to one kettlebell.
Half Curtis P Kettlebell Combo:
- Hang clean
- Racked reverse lunge
- Push press
- Hang clean switch (other side)
- Racked reverse lunge
- Push press
You can see it in action here.
Want to get better at this kettlebell complex?
Something often overlooked is racking. Racking a kettlebell is not as easy as racking a barbell and there are quite a few nuances to take note of. Marcus Filly shared with us his tips for racking.
You can download our free racking PDF here with all of the details from the video plus more. A great resource to improve your racking instantly. Check out 11 other kettlebell complexes.