Rethinking the Kettlebell this Summer
Okay, it’s been a couple months since I’ve posted anything on the blog (if I got paid for doing this, I’d be fired); but the time has been beneficial for resting and recharging the mental batteries. Plus, time spent with my wife who has the summer off from teaching, and chasing our grandchildren around.
At my granddaughter’s school picnic, I suggested that we work off our lunch on the jungle gym (Williamston’s McCormick Park has an awesome playground!). We did pull-ups, rope climbs, crawled through tires and tight spaces–even went hand-over-hand on the horizontal ladder (this last one had been off limits to me in the past due to a weak shoulder. I credit my renewed tendon strength to the kettlebell). At the end of the afternoon, my granddaughter dubbed me “the awesomest Papa in the world!”
I’ve also converted to the World Kettlebell Club’s pro-grade bell. As previously noted, these are humongous bells of uniform size, from 18 to 140 pounds. So at such time as you change up to a heavier weight, the feel of the bell is the same. The consistent size is a boon for competitive kettlebell lifters, for whom proper form is critical while performing a 10-minute set of jerks, snatches, or long cycles. And like any Sunday-morning athlete, you can’t beat playing with the same regulation size piece of equipment the pros are using.
I’ve always gone for what’s simple and basic. That’s why I’ve lately pared my KB workouts to the aforementioned triad: the one-arm jerk, the snatch, and the long cycle, or clean and jerk. I’ve found these to be beneficial in working the entire body. Here’s a laundry list of what you get with just these three lifts:
The Jerk: works the shoulder, triceps, quads, glutes and chest
The Snatch: works the legs, glutes, back, arms, chest, and abs
The Clean and Jerk (aka “Long Cycle”): works the hamstrings, quads, hips, glutes, lower back, biceps, triceps, shoulder, and the chest
Not to mention, serious cardio and strength endurance (have we missed anything?).
The two variables in this program–or more accurately, three variables–are reps per minute, duration of the set, and combination of exercises. (More on this in a future post)
By the way, if you hate crunches, learn to love doing the snatch. This exercise looks scary, but is well worth learning. This will whittle your waistline without any direct abs work. (A word to the wise: the pros wear Ace bandages on their wrists–a good investment)
Another favorite of mine for tightening the midsection is the pull-up. Invest in a doorway-mounted bar (the simplest to install without tools is the Door Gym–I’ve seen them on sale at Walgreens for about $30). I do a daily set of ten pull-ups, first thing every morning. Just hanging from the bar, you can feel your entire torso opening, all the way down to your pelvis.
That and a few miles run or a brisk walk, should set you up for your day
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