Killer Kettlebell Workout
While the popularity of kettlebells has surged in recent years, they are not exactly a new phenomenon. In fact, they have been used for over 100 years. The kettlebell itself is a cast iron ball with a handle attached to the top. They come in a wide range of weights and can be different colours but traditionally are black. They differ from dumb bells in that the centre of mass of the kettlebell is outside the handle. As a result of this structural difference the kettlebell is constantly pulling away from your body meaning your whole body has to work harder to counter act this.
So, that’s a brief description of what kettlebells are and next I’m going to cover what exact fitness goals you can train for using them.
Fitness Goals
Kettlebells can be used to strengthen the whole body, as evidenced by their popularity among Strongmen, weightlifters and wrestlers during the early parts of the 20th century. The explosive nature of the movements means they’re also great for developing power. Considering the cardio workout you get from swinging these things about, this all adds up to a multi purpose fitness tool that utilises the whole body as a single unit.
How is a kettlebell used?
During these exercises, the power required to perform them starts in the legs, is driven from the hips and finally expressed through the arms. By using kettlebells, you are targeting various muscle groups in both the upper body and lower body and this results in the body burning more calories while also strengthening various muscle groups at once. In other words, kettlebells provide a time efficient work out and can be used for various different goals.
Now I’m going to detail 3 basic kettlebell exercises.
Clean and Rack Position
This move is integral to the whole kettlebell workout as it is used to get the kettlebell in position for the actual exercise but is also an effective way to develop the posterior chain (a group of muscles consisting of the erector spinae, gluteus maximus and hamstrings) and so is an exercise in itself. Even holding the kettlebell in the rack position will require the contraction of a series of muscles.
- Use the dead lift technique to lift the kettlebell off the ground in one hand.
- Stand up tall, with glutes and quads tight, abs braced, arms relaxed and shoulders back and down.
- Push the kettlebell away from your body using your hips to propel it forward.
- Let the kettlebell fall between your legs while you breathe in, bending your knees slightly, bending forward from your hips and sticking your bum out.
(Remember to keep your back straight as you do this.)
- Using your glutes, propel the kettlebell forward. As it passes back through your legs rotate it externally.
- Drive through with your hips while breathing out.
- Straighten the whole body and the kettlebell should land between your fore arm and upper arm. Keep your elbow tucked in at all times. Your abs should remain braced throughout and shoulders back and down.
To repeat, internally rotate the kettlebell as you let it fall between your legs.
Front Squat
Clean the kettlebell into the rack position using the above move. This exercise can be done with one kettlebell or two.
As always keep your abs braced throughout the exercise.
- Keep your shoulders back and down and sit backwards, lowering your hips down towards the floor. Breathe in as you do this. Stick your bum out and keep your back straight.
- Continue until your thighs move below parallel to the floor.
- Pushing through the heels, stand back up and follow through with hips. Breathe out as you come up.
Repeat.
Military Press
Again, clean the kettlebells into the rack position using the clean and rack.
This exercise can be done with one kettlebell or two.
Quads and glutes should be tight and abs braced throughout with shoulders back and down.
- Push the kettlebells overhead in a controlled manner, breathing out as you do. Be sure to actually lift the kettlebell straight up overhead.
- Lower the kettlebells back into the rack position using a controlled movement. Elbows should be tucked in. Repeat.
That covers three core exercises to any kettlebell routine that will strengthen and tone your entire body. Find a suitable weight and you can work either to reps or for a certain amount of time, aiming to perform as many reps as possible in the allotted time. Give it a go, enjoy and feel that heart rate climb!
[Images by ShapeFit.com]