Recently the fitness industry has seen a large increase in the number of people incorporating kettlebell exercises into their workout routines. It's actually no surprise knowing their amazing benefits!
This type of training has a direct impact on other areas than your weight training, potentially helping you push your limit in other explosive lifting exercises, focusing on those stubborn muscle groups and training them best, stimulating muscle fibers. from different angles as well as improving your cardiovascular capacity.
Benefits of Kettlebell Training
Kettlebells can have various uses:
- For an intense aerobic workout.
- As part of a training circuit.
- In a mass routine (hypertrophy).
- As a muscle rehabilitation tool.
Training with this machine can increase your elasticity and ability to burn fat, get you back in shape and health, and give a new sense of leisure to your routine! So… why not incorporate kettlebell training into your gym program? We will guide you to discover 5 fantastic exercises, simple even for beginners, but at the same time essential and useful to get closer to this world!
1. Kettlebell Swing
a) Position the feet, with a slight opening towards the outside, at a distance slightly greater than the width of the pelvis.
b) Grab a single kettlebell with both hands and, bending the knees slightly, bring the pelvis into retroflexion, just like in the execution of the squat.
c) Keeping the arms relaxed, in a single movement, bring the tool back over the legs and then push the pelvis forward, raising the kettlebell up to eye level.
d) Let the kettlebell swing freely to the starting position and restart with another repetition.
2. Kettlebell Deadlift
a) Begin by placing a single kettlebell in front of you on the floor - keeping your knees slightly bent, feet slightly spread outward and a little wider than shoulder width apart.
b) Bend your legs as in a squat, keeping the back and abdomen in tension, grab the kettlebell and pull yourself up, passing it between your legs. Contract the buttocks intensely at the end of the movement.
c) Keep your back aligned and shoulder blades retracted throughout the movement, and try to keep the kettlebell close to your legs both as you go up and down, making it almost crawl up and down against your legs.
d) Begin to perform the downward movement until the kettlebell touches the ground: at which point you will have completed one repetition.
3. Kettlebell Clean and Press (Stappo)
a) Once again, start the exercise by standing with a leg opening slightly wider than the width of the pelvis. Place the kettlebell on the floor between your feet. Then, with your back and torso aligned, lean forward slightly at pelvis level so that you can grip the kettlebell safely: use your right hand to grab the kettlebell and your left to maintain balance.
b) With an explosive push, contract your glutes and bring your hips forward to raise the kettlebell, keeping your elbows high as you do this.
c) As you complete the pushing motion, rotate your elbow under the kettlebell, making sure it goes up just behind your shoulder and wrist up.
d) Keep your knees slightly bent before extending your arm and pushing the tool over your head.
e) Maintain the position for 1-2 seconds and then begin to carefully perform all the movements in reverse, from the last to the first, up to the starting point. This is a repeat
4. Kettlebell Goblet Squat (Sumo Squat)
a) A slightly different grip for this exercise: Grab the kettlebell with both hands on the outside of the handle.
b) The elbows should be kept to the sides and just ahead of your body.
c) Get ready: core contracted, chest out, neck in a neutral position, then imagine that a chair has been placed behind you and you are about to sit down.
d) Lower yourself by bending your legs, until your pelvis is parallel to the vertical line of your knees. At this point, stand up with a firm push of the heels.
5. One-Arm Kettlebell Military Press
a) Stand up straight with the kettlebell above your chest (in “rack position”, where the bar rests during the forward squat). Keep your glutes, quadriceps, and hamstrings tight.
b) Push the kettlebell up, away from you, over your head, until your arm is fully extended.
c) Slowly bring it back down to your chest (rack position): do not use your legs to help you and make sure your back is straight and tense.
d) Once you have completed the repetition on one side, switch to the other arm.
Series and Repetitions
As for the number of sets and repetitions, I recommend doing each exercise for:
3 sets of 10 reps (3 Ă— 10)
Once you have mastered the above exercises, you can enter the world of kettlebell training as there are many useful exercises to move to a more advanced level or just to shuffle the cards a bit!
