Kettlebell workouts are a form of strength training that teaches your body to move more efficiently, use better posture and maintain a good shape. Some say it will also help you improve balance, coordination, and muscle tone.
What does it do?
Kettlebell exercises force you to engage major muscle groups like the glutes (butt), quads (thighs), and core muscles to work together as one functional unit.
Benefits How?
Requiring you to keep your hips lower than your shoulders during exercises activates the posterior chain—the large muscles located in your backside—and engages larger muscle groups throughout an exercise.
Who Should Do Them?
These workouts are for anyone who’s looking to get or stay fit by building lean muscle. They are also suitable for anyone with lousy posture or may have damage in any of the major muscle groups in his body.
How to Do Them?
Bodyweight exercises like squats, lunges, and push-ups are easy to find at home if you want to start a fitness routine—level up by kettlebell exercises that incorporate your entire body—like swings, snatches, and presses.
What are Swings?
This movement is done by squatting down, hinging at the hips, and bringing your arms back between your legs while engaging the posterior chain. Swing to chest height, then thrust your hips forward to straighten out into an upright position, allowing momentum to carry your arms up overhead.
What are Snatches?
A snatch is one of the kettlebell exercises that utilize the entire body. The movement starts with a deadlift by keeping one shoulder back as you hinge over to grab the kettlebell handle with both hands.
Next, pull it up toward chest level. Making sure to keep your shoulders away from your ears. Then using force from the lower half of the body, lift it overhead until arms are extended and locked out wide.
What are presses? This exercise begins with a deadlift position, then uses force from your legs to press the kettlebell overhead. Keep shoulder blades pulled down and back as you lockout your arms straight above your head to keep proper body posture. Once locked, lower the kettlebell back to starting position. How to get started?
What Do You Need?
A kettlebell, space to move, and a timer.
Turkish get-up: This is considered an “advanced” movement in kettlebell training. It will take time and plenty of practice before you can do it well.
Here’s how it works: Stand up with feet hip-width apart, then holding the kettlebell in your left hand, lie down on your back, making sure that the weight is as close to your body as possible while keeping your arm straight—using momentum from the ground roll onto your right side, so you’re balancing on one arm and both knees.
Next, push yourself up into a sitting position while simultaneously transitioning the kettlebell from the left hand onto the outside of your left foot (keeping your arm straight and the kettlebell close to your body).
From here, stand up by pressing through both feet. Shifting all of your weight onto one foot as you drive the other leg up. Now repeat the same process but starting from a lying position with the right arm holding the kettlebell.
This is an excellent workout for anyone who needs more core strength and wants to work on their balance.
What is Ball Slams?
Ball slams force you to engage your entire body as well as develop explosiveness throughout an exercise movement.
Start outstanding over a medicine ball with feet hip-width apart, making sure your spine is in proper alignment (chin tucked down and abs pulled in) as you hold one end of a medicine ball with both hands. Next, throw the medicine ball up in the air as high as possible. And catch it on its way down (the landing is essential here). Then quickly repeat for reps.
Why should you do them?
This workout is excellent for anyone looking to improve explosiveness and build lean muscle throughout an entire body movement.
What are Burpees?
Start the exercise in a push-up position with your core engaged and your chest touching the floor before coming back up into a squat position that’s slightly wider than hip-width apart, with arms reaching straight out into a ‘T.’
Now jump vertically, push off both feet while keeping legs extended straight out into the air, then land back into starting position by bending elbows, pulling hips back into a squat, and then lowering down into a push-up.
Wrapping Up
Kettlebell workouts are an excellent way to get fit with minimal equipment. They are versatile, and you can do them anywhere. Besides helping you lose weight, kettlebell workouts also help you build muscle.
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