Hi everyone! Hope you had an amazing weekend! I will let you know how mine was depending if I win in fantasy football:). I promised to piggy back off of my last post and give you some kettlebell exercises to incorporate into your routines. I love this exercise! I use this with almost all of my circuits to really amplify the calorie burn. It is the kettlebell swing! I observe a lot of trainers trying to use this with their clients often, more times then not, the wrong way. Kettlebell swings can be very effective if done properly but if done incorrectly can cause injury. It is very important to learn or be taught the correct posture for this exercise as with any other exercise. Form is critical! I see clients using the wrong mechanics and engaging muscles that should not be the agonists. For starters, this is not a shoulder workout! If you are feeling the kettlebell swing primarily in the shoulders then you are doing it incorrectly. The cause of this is that you are not engaging from the true root of this movement primarily glutes and hamstrings. You are not generating enough force to build momentum and therefore you feel the need to raise the kettlebell with your arms. The arms should be nothing but an extension of the kettlebell. They just guide the bell from start to finish. This is not a lower back exercise! You should definitely not feel this exercise primarily in the lower back. This is where injury can happen. I understand that beginners to this exercise might get a little soreness or tightness in the lower back just because of inexperience. The cause of this is trying to create the extension phase of this exercise from the lower back and not from the hips. Learning how to extend from the hips contracting your glutes is critical in order to perform swings. Males and females alike rely much to heavily on their erectors for extension and not enough on the much larger, stronger gluteus muscles. Now that I have pointed out some common mistakes when doing swings, let me explain how to do them correctly. I'm going to break the swing down into two phases. The prep phase and the extension phase. In order to execute the prep phase correctly, you should familiarize yourself with the deadlift. Doing the prep phase, the bell should be close to your body between your legs. Legs should be based hip width apart or a little wider. I like to tell my clients to lead with their hips keeping their chest high and let the knees follow what the hips are doing. If you are quad dependent, you will often want to lead with the knees. This creates more of a vertical line when what you are trying to create is horizontal. Lead the hip flexors through passive flexion and try to maintain a flat back. A very slight arch in the back my occur. Make sure that you can see yourself from a side profile in the mirror in order to get this. Also, if you have the correct posture, you will notice that the shoulder, knees, and ankles all stack on top of each other. The hips are the furthest away from that center line or center of gravity. The further away a joint is from the center of gravity, the more torque is created in that joint. You want to create torque and build momentum through the hips so it makes sense that they should be furthest back. Practice getting this prep phase continuously before executing the next step. Once you have mastered that, you are ready to move on to the extension phase. During this phase, you will perform the most work or put out the most energy. Always start by building momentum and slowing rocking the hips to start the kettlebell into motion. This allows you to start the bell safely and create a rhythm with your hips. With each thrust or ext from the hip, you should notice the kettlebell going higher and higher. For beginners, only attempt to swing the kettlebell to about mid chest height or directly to eye level. If done correctly, you will experience a sense of weightlessness of the bell at the top of the motion. Another thing that I tell my clients is to give a big exhale on the ext phase and inhale into relaxation on the prep phase. Just make sure to hit that good posture every time on the prep phase! You got it! You can now do these swings for reps or timed intervals. Try to build up into swinging for one minute straight! Talk about building a strong core! Your glutes will definitely thank you! Maybe not right away because they will be screaming at you but in the long run:). Swings burn about 20 calories for every minute that you do them. Impressive! That equates to 1200 calories/hour! That's more than most people get out of 11/2 hours of bikram yoga at 105 degrees. Even more impressive! You will be truly adding some intensity to your workout as well. Just make sure that you are getting the proper results. If anything doesn't feel right, stop and ask! Here is to that stronger, fitter you! Right before the holidays. Be functional, be inspired, be transformed, BeFIT Chicago!
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