Kettlebells | Starting the Year Right- Program That Will Keep you in Shape

Kettlebells:

Most of the regular, non gym goers, go to the gyms after their New Year resolutions. And there is nothing wrong with that. What is wrong with going to the gym with such sudden unrelenting force is the fact that beginners usually don’t adhere to the one basic rule of training. Which is time. Even with beginner gains, it is still unimaginably hard not to burn out if you are pushing constantly in the gym, thinking that is the way to go. Some clarification for you, my fellow reader. You can push really hard when you are a seasoned athlete who has years and years both of experience and strength to back those training sessions with sensible logic. Doing 20 sets of every exercise won’t make you love the gym. You don’t have to try this to see, just trust me.

What good fitness article should tell you is that you need to build up the capacity to train. Instead of just going all in and hating the process in the meantime. This just goes in all wrong directions if you are someone who is carrying extra body fat than healthy. In that case, going to the gym won’t be such a transformative experience for you. Well, some of it will, but you will regret it anyway. We will teach you how to make fitness more applicable.

What is training?

Training is basically getting used to the stress. Physical stress, that is. More precisely, the kind of stress that you exert willingly and keep the good form and intention in there. If you ever find yourself on those gym failures compilation, you are probably doing it wrong. Getting in shape needs to be a sustainable process in which you can always rely on your own body. You heard that right. Gym is a very good thing to attend, but it is not of utmost necessity. It sure provides for the most secure results, since it has all the bells and whistles inside. You still have plenty of choice though.

Traditional loading systems of barbells are good when you need to strengthen, and have no substitute. That is for sure. What happens when you spend some time under it, however? Well, you need to consider how to strengthen the stabilizers and those muscles you rarely think about. We will show you how.

What’s the catch?

Ever seen the gymnasts. Or cyclists? Or track athletes? It doesn’t take much brains to figure out that they look incredibly well and perform with astonishing results. They may vary in body shapes and sizes, but generally they are very athletic and capable in physical sense.

Trick is to incorporate some sort of sports performance into your training. That and develop a resilient body that can sustain itself for a long time. Injuries are a body’s way of telling you that you have to fix something before something worse. Athletes that we see on TV do a lot of ab training, as well as rotational exercises. And there is a good reason for that. That reason is that your abs support your trunk. Which means that as long as your abs are strong, you will be able to sustain more force and exert more force as well. Couple that with strong erectors and glutes, and you are good to go as far as physical capability is considered.

The method:

Let’s say that you just train. For whatever. If you don’t test those characteristics you have attained by training, you will have a very hard time guessing how applicable they are. There is a reason why people who do low intensity lifting style in their jobs stay fit for a long time. How can you apply this into your life for a lifelong fitness transformation? Well, check it out.

Back: Pull ups and bodyweight rows.

Chest and shoulders: Pushups and dips.

Legs: Squats and lunges.

All these exercises can be greatly enhanced with a kettlebell. Males should typically use 24kg, women can use 16 kg. You can tie it on your pull ups, do rows with it.

You can also use it in dips, and do floor or bench presses with a kettlebell.

Squatting with a kettlebell is called goblet squatting. Lunging can be done as well.

All of these are quite enough, even for an advanced athlete.

The missing link:

Yep. We intentionally left out abs, glutes and lower back. Grip can be added here as well. Those are the muscles that will make and keep you athletic. Good news here is that kettlebell is more than welcome with these.

1. Dead bug

You do these with utmost control. You need to engage your abs and lower back really hard.

2. Bird dog

Same principle applies here.

3. Hollow body holds

You will wonder why such a simple exercise is so effective.

Now the ones that are more for the lower back and glutes.

1. Kettlebell swing

This one is tricky to learn. Even when you think you know it, assess your technique regularly. So you don’t waste time with improper form.

Grab the kettlebell with both hands. Act as if you will throw it from the bottom position. Instead of using your arms to throw it, propel it with your hips. But don’t throw it for real. Just swing it.

Return it to the following position until you master the movement.

3 sets of 10 good reps is quite  enough.

2. Kettlebell carry

Grab a kettlebell, brace your body and carry it for time or for as long as you can. We will tell you later, why.

3. Single arm RDL

You don’t have to be Romanian to enjoy the benefits of this one. It is called Romanian deadlift, though.

Grab a kettlebell or a dumbell or a barbell and stand on one leg. From hip hinge position, lower yourself, first extending glutes and in such position, go down until your torso is levelled with your hips. 3 sets of 10 with good contractions.

4. Bulgarian lunges

Bulgarian people don’t have some exclusive access to this exercise. It is just called that. Make sure you don’t go all in on this one, especially if you haven’t accustomed yourself on the burn that this causes. 3 sets of 8 is enough, and this one is pretty easy to do. Adjust the load accordingly.

The lesson:

You don’t have to do these every training. They are not mandatory by any means. Just the simplicity and effectiveness of them is enough to change you forever. You can do these 3 times a week.

Back and chest, shoulders and legs. Or even, all together. Point is that these will significantly improve your body composition and posture, since they serve a corrective purpose. You will greatly engage every muscle that we talked about, and these all can be done without any load. They also require minimal equipment, and can be done at home.

Being proficient in them will dramatically change you. Controlling every movement with enough practice and proficiency is a sure sign that you are changing for the better.