101 Kettlebell Workouts: Workout Number 3

Today is workout number 3. If you missed the beginning, you can catch up here. I have to be at work at noon, it's 8:20 am now and I plan to hit the park at 9. Training outside is way superior to training at the gym. At least when half of California is NOT on fire. Outside at the park has several benefits. One is there are no membership fees to train at the park. Two is lot's of space. Three is sun. And four would be fresh air. Now, when there are fires I will sacrifice 1 - 4 and train at the gym. But not today.

The first 2 workouts had the same exercises in the same order. The only difference was the training load. For workout number 3 we are going to add a drill called the "Floor Press" replacing the Military Press. We will also be replacing the Windmill with the Turkish Get Up. The Turkish Get Up is one of my favorites!

This workout also call for just 1 Kettlebell today and so I will use Boris, one of my 24kg Kettlebells. Natasha gets the day off, but it looks like she'll be back in action for workout number Four.

I have also reviewed the Single Arm Kettlebell Row and am looking forward to fine tuning that drill. Also, I don't know when the last time was I did Floor Presses. Floor press is like a bench press except... I bet you already figured it out!

So to review what's on the menu.... Single Kettlebell Drills: Floor Press, Rows, Goblet Squat, Turkish Get Ups, and finalize it with the Swing!

Today's focus... even though we're calling it a "workout" it's important to recognize that what I'm doing today is practicing. When you're not 100% proficient in a drill or when you're training for strength or building on your foundation, you practice not "workout." This does not mean less intensity, less anything. What it means is laser focus on performing the movement correctly and with as much weight as you can handle in excellent, near perfect form.  Oh, and I'm gonna pass on the whole training to failure thing too...  

Today I will practice these drills with the set and rep scheme laid out by David Whitley from his Ebook "101 Kettlebell Workouts" and in the next section tell you how it went.

Ok so let me tell you about this practice "workout." It involved the Single KB Floor Press, which was cool. I got into the position I would as if I were going to do a Turkish Get Up, but instead of getting up, I pressed 5 times. Felt good.

The 1 Arm KB Row came off like a hitch and felt really good too. I kept the core tight and felt a good stretch and contraction in the whole of my lat and upper back.

Then I did some Goblet Squats and a few Swings at the end, but this workout was all about the Turkish Get Up! When you look at the way it's written, you'll see the exercises, sets and reps lined up in an orderly fashion and the Get Up is placed in the middle like it's no big
deal, right? However, by the time you get there, your arms are a little fried from the pressing and rowing and you're heart rate's up a tad from the squats and then BAM time to do 3 sets of 5 and 5 Turkish Get Ups. That's 30 total. 15 per side. And I got Boris with me. So we got some work to do!

Now keep in mind, this is practice. I've got a high volume of Get Ups looking at me with a fairly heavy Kettlebell so I need to manage my fatigue while maintaining the best form possible. So I decide to alternate between right and left sides. 1 right, 1 left... back and forth for a set of 5 on
each side. I take my time through each rep. Maintaining tension through out the whole movement was challenging especially towards the end. This is where the "lat shelf" helped out a lot. By keeping may lats flexed as much as I could I was able to maintain more whole body tension. Because the lats are such large muscles, I think keeping them tight had a residual effect on the rest of my core and shoulder stability.

This "workout" is a great workout for practicing some not-so-often-done drills like the floor press while providing an amazing opportunity to hone your skills in the Get Up with added volume. One key thing to take away with you; the Turkish Get is an ancient exercise and has been around for centuries. Why? Because it works. It takes your body through a series of
movements that replicate many of the movements we do (or used to do) in daily
life. One of the many benefits of Kettlebell training is the chance to train for longevity and regain the flexibility we had as children.

Thanks again for following along and we'll see you at Workout number 4 where we throw Natasha in the mix and see if we can't repeat the 3 sets of 5 and 5 in less time than today.

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