Kettlebells have become increasingly popular within the last few years due to their ability to develop muscle and add some spice to a traditional, boring workout. Start using the kettlebell within your workouts and you too will find that this nontraditional tool can help you develop strength and power that you may not have thought were possible.
Description
A kettlebell is a cast iron weight used to perform strength and power-lifting exercises. It originated in Russia. It is similar to a dumbbell with a key difference: the weight displacement of a kettlebell is at the center, while a dumbbell's weight displacement is at the ends. This structural difference requires more stability from your muscles and also creates more lifting options for your exercise routine.
Kettlebells also have thicker handles than most dumbbells, which means you can expect to increase your grip strength as you use them.
The Hip Swing
The hip swing is the foundational movement for the kettlebell. It is an effective movement for developing muscles of the posterior kinetic chain such as the glutes, as well as the core.
Start by getting into position to do a vertical jump. Ideally, this means your feet are about shoulder width apart, your back is straight and your hips and shoulders are back. Now, reach down and grab your kettlebell with both hands on the handle, and let it swing back between your legs. Push through your heels, straighten your legs and "snap" your hips, transferring that kinetic energy into the kettlebell. The kettlebell should now be rising up to eye level without you having to use your shoulders at all. Remember, this is a hip exercise, so the movement should be about your hips, not your shoulders.
Once the kettlebell reaches eye level, reverse the process. Let gravity pull the weight back towards the ground as you bend your knees and set your hips back. Make sure there is no slack in your arms; if there is, the kettlebell could hyper-extend your elbows on the way back down, which is not good technique and could hurt you. When the weight swings back through your legs on its own momentum, "snap" your hips again and complete the pattern again. This repetition of movements is the hip swing.
The Squat-Upright Row
As with the hip swing, get into a position where you would normally be for a vertical leap. Grab the kettlebell handle with both hands and execute a squat by extending your legs and pushing your weight up through your heels. Once you are upright in a standing position, pull the kettlebell towards your chin and keep the weight as close to your chest as possible. Once your arms are parallel to the ground and the kettlebell is at your chest, you have successfully completed an upright row with a squat. As you become more efficient at this exercise, these two movements will start to look like one.
The Routines
Now that you have learned two basic exercises for the kettlebell, you can incorporate them into your exercise regimen.
Spice up your cardiovascular routine. Instead of doing 30 minutes on a treadmill, try the following to metabolize fat and increase your weight loss: Run for 10 minutes, either on a treadmill or a loop that will allow you to come back to where you started within that time frame. Grab your kettlebell and execute 15 kettlebell swings, rest for 1 minute, then execute 15 upright rows with a squat. This is your circuit: complete it for a total of three times to get a better than a 30-minute workout routine that will really kick-start your body's metabolism.
The kettlebell has a rightful place in your resistance training as well. Add in upright rows to your shoulder routine, or supplement kettlebell swings with your lower body training. Using kettlebells in this fashion will allow neurological adaptions for your body to occur where you will not only lose weight by exerting more energy, but you will also get stronger.
Considerations
The kettlebell is considered an unconventional method of training, so familiarize yourself with it to lower your risk of injury. If your kettlebell is so heavy that you have trouble lifting it and executing a hip swing with good form, then it is too heavy. Likewise, if you feel your hip swings are easy and you don't have to exert much more force than normal, the kettlebell is too light.
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