Man I LOVE kettlebell training. Once I'm done with this block of Olympic Weightlifting I am dead set straight back into that dirty Russian shit. Here are my 5 favourites with a Kettlebell and why; Swing; This is the quintessential kettlebell movement. You can actually do them very easily with a dumbbell but that’s beside the point. I love the feeling I get swinging a heavy bell, lighting up the whole posterior chain, challenging my grip and feeling powerful as I violently flex and extend at the knee and hip. Catch me doing 30 on 30 off with some Real Mackenzies or Dropkick Murphys pumping super loud! Goblet Squat; The KB goblet squat has kicked so many assess here at Smith's Fitness but it's also helped develop many of our members squats as well. It's a humbling movement because there is nowhere to hide. That big lump of metal is sitting on your chest, arms and upper back are loaded up and now you've gotta squat! I'll also mention a double KB front rack squat in here too. They crank as well. Overhead Press; It's a love hate thing for me with the KB overhead press. Something I need to focus in on. Being a unilateral (one sided) movement this challenges not only your shoulders but your trunk stability as well. I try to practice a classic Pavel Tsatsouline (The Godfather of Kettlebells) technique with these by having my non-working arm out at 90 degrees making a fist and contracting maximally across my upper back and even into my glutes while I press overhead. If it's good enough for crazy Russians, I'm into it. Deadlift; Every single beginner I teach to deadlift starts with a Kettlebell Deadlift. It makes it easy to coach, is relatively safe and easily progressed from one bell to the next. Whilst the majority of us end up needing a load much heavier than our heaviest kettlebell the Kettlebell Deadlift still needs a mention. Our heaviest KB is actually 48kg so it's a pretty decent load for some deads to be honest. Turkish Get Ups; I love me a Turkish Get Up. It's part party trick part balance, range of motion, coordination and strength. It's right up my alley something I like doing personally and something I love to coach. It gives me a lot of satisfaction helping some go from "how the fuck" to "check me out". There is a lot going on with the TGU so start light, do things in stages and stay persistent. Hit me up in the gym or for a how to video and I'll whip one together for ya.
Check out the video below and get to swinging.
Thanks for reading dudes, go get stuck into some bells!
AJ