101 Kettlebell Workouts: Lucky Number 7

So workout out number 7 came and went... Previous episodes can be found by clicking and starting here.  Weather and time sent me back to the gym on Friday morning. I figured on a Friday it would be empty. WRONG! The place was packed! Finding a spot to do a Kettlebell Workout in an over crowded gym is not only a safety issue but a pain in the ass.

So I find a spot and begin my warm up. Since my hips have tightened up on me (actually, I let my hips tighten up) I have increased my warm up to include some easy squatting to loosen up my hips. See, I spend a good amount of my work day in front of a computer sitting down. I'm sure a lot of you reading this spend most your day sitting. What does that mean? It means you gotta stretch your hips out or they're going to get all tight on you. The nice part about forgetting this lesson is that the body has a really nice way of reminding you when you can't squat as low as you used to.... Here's my new warm up:

-Joint mobility "circle" drills from "Super Joints" by Pavel. I do circles from head to toe!

-Wall Squats, Halos and Pumps from "Enter The Kettlebell" also by Pavel. I did 3 sets of 10.

-Also, I practiced the Overhead Squat with a very light barbell and did a set of Goblet Squats to boot.

This "warm up" took about 20 minutes and was well worth it.

Workout #7 from David Whitley's "101 Kettlebell Workouts"

The workout started off with some Double Clean and Presses. That's a Clean before the Press. This is one of those drills that'll smoke you all on it's own and if you're looking to add some meat to your upper body, the Double Kettlebell Clean and Press is a great way to get there. Start with a stance wide enough to swing 2 kettlebells through. Stand a bit behind the kettlebells placed side by side in front of you. Sit back, bend over with a straight back and grasp the kettelbells. From this position you should be doing a pretty good Silverback Gorilla impression. Take a deep breath through your nose and exhale just a bit and do it sharply to tighten the midsection. Keeping the spine straight, rip the keetlebells back (so far it's just like a swing) between your legs like you're hiking 2 footballs. Now reverse the motion. Drive the heals into the ground, pop the hips up and guide the kettlebells up into the rack position similar to performing an uppercut. Even though the bells are heavy, the force you generate with the hips should have them almost weightless so you're really just gliding them into place. When they get there, grunt and tighten up even more. Take a millisecond pause and then press up. Maintaining tension from the heals in the floor, to knees locked out, glutes flexed, abs braced. Slowly and actively bring them back to the rack position and repeat.

Following the Double Clean and Press is another great upper body drill that target's a wide range of muscles. The Renegade Row. This is where you place yourself in a push up position while holding a Kettlebell in each hand by the horn. This drill can be done with dumbbells too. Once your in the push up position, spread your legs out a little bit, brace your core and then shift your weight to one side, say the left, so that you're supporting your whole weight on your left side. Maintaining the tension, slowly pull (row) the kettlebell back and up your right side. Set it back where it was and shift the weight now to the right side and row with the left. You will soon see that this is not just a "lat" exercise, but a whole body drill.

Now at this time, I'm pretty worked already, but we got Double Kettlebell Front Squats on the menu! This is a great ab exercise. (not a typo) Clean 2 Kettlebells and lace the fingers together. If you're a lady, just leave the bells to the side. Now we're going to start by sitting back. I like to imagine someone has their hands on my hips and is pulling me back and down. Maintaining a straight spine, pry your hips out and descend into the squat. At the bottom drive the heals into the ground as if you're pushing the floor away from you. Is your spine still straight? On the way up pop the hips and squeeze the glutes, Abs should be tight the whole time.

Another reason for calling strength training practice is because you are learning how to use your entire body to create force and strength through generating and releasing tension. Gymnasts, Dancers, Martial Artists, Athletes practice a technique constantly trying to refine it and make it better. And so it is with Kettlebells. Can you move well and be strong doing it?

We now move on to the Windmill. This drill is becoming a real favorite of mine as I get better at it and feel more comfortable with it. I enjoy using the heavier bell now where it used to intimidate me. The Windmill is another drill that should be practiced and refined. It is performed with a sIngle Kettlebell raised over head. How you get it there is really up to you. Currently since I've been experiencing snatch withdrawals, I'm snatching it up there. From this position, feet shoulder width apart, turn the feet out 45 degrees facing away from the bell. From here there should be a straight line from the bell to your foot. Kick your hip out to the side and slowly, tightly, fold downward. Maintaining a straight spine, keep your eye on the Kettlebell at all times. Your free hand can reach out to meet the floor. Don't try to touch the floor. Go as low as your flexibility will allow. If you get to the floor, great, but that's not the goal. Return to the top, keeping the glutes tight. Maintaining a tight shoulder girdle always helps so keep the lats tight. There's good video of this on irontamer.com. Another surprising whole body exercise!

This workout goes to bed with Swings. It's going to be traditional 2 handed single bell swings. This is the foundational drill for all kettlebell exercises and should be gone over, practiced and perfected. The Kettlebell Swing evolves from the deadlift. When performed correctly it is a great drill for conditioning and strength. There are many ways to get this drill down. There are also many ways to get this drill wrong. It seems so simple yet turns out to be not only challenging to your body but challenging for you and your body to learn how to move like this after a few generations of sedentary living. The arms remain loose. This isn't a front raise. Take that gorilla pose from earlier and rip the bell behind you with a straight back. Reverse the motion and use the hips to swing the bell back up to about chest level. Now repeat. Repeat several times. In my case it was 3 sets of 15. I gave my self 1 minute between em.

Phew!

As I mentioned my hips have tightened up, so I finished with some hip flexibility drills I got from Pavel and headed home to shower up and get ready for work.

I have 5 Workouts left in this segment of Kettlebell Workouts for General Conditioning and I am already noticing some subtle changes. My technique is improving and I like how the volume fluctuates between single and double drills. Assuming you allow for adequate rest and recuperation, these 12 workouts will get you in and keep you in good shape. For this workout I tried to keep the rest periods at 1 minute between sets and 3 minutes between drills. I'm feeling good. Now just gotta loosen up them hips!

I appreciate you following along with me on my journey.

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