Starting out with kettlebells

Introduction

The gym goers amongst you may well have noticed the arrival of the the cannonball shaped objects with handles arriving at your gym. They are usually confined to the PT area and rightfully so! Their use shouldn’t be undertaken unless you have had some form of tuition, and I’m referring to qualified tuition not you tube or your mate showing you the way he believes they should be used! Don’t get me wrong, you could certainly get an idea from instructional videos but nothing beats being shown from someone who’s qualified to do so.

Forget about the mentality you have when around traditional weights and machines. Kettlebells are a whole different beast, no isolation exercises here!

In this article, I would like to give you some pointers on how to proceed. I will point out some common mistakes and how to avoid them. I will then give you the rundown on the basic kettlebell exercises and explain why you need to learn and become proficient at those first. In short, you’ll be the one who actually looks like they know what they are doing when you enter the great kettlebell arena

Some things to think about when you commence kettlebell training

1. Choosing the correct starting weight. It really doesn’t matter if you can bench press 300 pounds and squat 400. Kettlebell training uses fast dynamic movements that require explosive strength, co-ordination, cardio fitness and flexibility in equal measure.  My advice, be conservative. Guy’s should start with a 12 and ladies a 6 or an 8kg bell. Be patient, get your technique down first then move up a weight.
2. Not working on your underactive glutes, tight hamstrings and hip flexors. If you are like the vast majority of the population, chair bound for a good part  of the day, then you will almost undoubtedly have weak glutes, tight hamstings and tight hip flexors. These are severe problem areas for a kettlebell lifter. You need to have strong but flexible hip flexors and Glutes that fire in the way that they are meant to. If the glutes aren’t firing when they should be, other muscles will have to compensate as a result, usually the lower back. Regularly stretch your hip flexors and hamstrings and get your glutes firing by adding in some Hip bridges into your routine. It can be beneficial to add these just after your mobility warm up. Which brings me to the next point
3. Perform a thorough kettlebell specific warm up first. When you are swinging a kettlebell you are using over 70% of the muscles in your body. This requires that in addition to a general pulse raiser type warm up, you should also add in a mobility warm up. Nothing fancy, just work from the neck and move through your shoulders, hips, knees and ankles.
4. Not hip hinging properly A correct hip hinge is vital for the safety of your back. You should be comfortable with the deadlift position first before aggressively swinging a kettlebell. If your back aches, stop what you are doing and seek further advice. Your hip thrust with the kettlebell should be a snappy powerful movement unimpeded by any tightness around the hip extension muscles.
5. Don’t wear running shoes Kettlebell work is low impact so you don’t need cushioning beneath your feet. In fact the very opposite is true. Training barefoot allows for proper body mechanics and increased stability though enhanced sensory perception through receptors on the bottom on your feet.
6. Progressing too fast Take your time and learn the movements in the correct order. No good trying to learn the snatch until you are hip hinging correctly with lots of power and have good shoulder stability to catch the weight at the top of the movement. Learn the swing and the Turkish get up first before moving onto the clean, squat and snatch
7. Hand positioning. Correct hand positioning is vital if you want to minimise the strain on your wrists. You should make sure that your wrists stay straight during any pressing movements and the Turkish get up. Insert your hand deep inside the handle so that the handle is sat right at the base of your palm. This will enable you to maintain a straight wrist therefore minimising potential wrist strain.
8. Caring for your hands. Neglecting the callouses that will inevitably build up on your palms is asking for trouble further down the road when the callous tear. This will result in a lengthy delay before resuming your kettlebell training. Avoid this by regularly using a pumice stone on your callouses before they build to such a degree that they tear. Soak your hands first and then gently file the offending callous.
9. Pressing too much weight. The best way to keep your shoulders happy is to never press or snatch a weight that you can’t do a TGU with first. You need to have good stability through your shoulder joint first before hoisting a weight overhead. This is especially so with kettlebells due to the offset weight distribution.

The basics.

Once you are happy that you can deadlift efficiently, it’s time to work on your hip hinge.

1. From a standing position, push your bum rearwards as if trying to touch a wall behind you. Maintain a straight back as you do this. Please don’t confuse a straight back with an upright back. Your back will be tilting forward but the back itself will be straight.
2. The knee bend will happen as you continue to push your hips back. In the end position your shins will be vertical, you will have a 45 degree bend at the knee and your weight should be over your heels. You should be feeling a slight stretch in the hamstrings.

The Swing.

Now that you are familiar with hip hinging, it’s time to apply some resistance. The kettlebell swing is a fantastic exercise and powers up the entire rear kinetic chain. It will work your cardio system hard as well as improve your grip strength. Swings will always be the backbone of your kettlebell training.

How to do it

1. Place a kettlebell slightly ahead of your feet.
2. Then think about pushing your hips back as if sitting back on to a bench making sure that you crease at the hips whilst maintaining a straight back position. Your shoulders should be back and down. You will then be in the correct starting position. If you’ve got it right then you should be feeling a stretch in your hamstrings.
3. Look straight ahead and swing the kettlebell back between your legs as if you are passing a football to someone behind you. Quickly reverse the direction and drive though with your hips explosively taking the kettlebell straight out to a chest high position. Tighten your glutes hard as you stand upright.
4. Let the kettlebell swing back between your legs and repeat.

Quality Points

1. Remember you are not using the deltoids to lift the kettlebell. This is primarily a hamstring, hips and lower back exercise.
2. The hip thrust has to be explosive – I like to compare it to a standing jump. When you crouch to jump straight upwards you explode as fast as possible otherwise you wouldn’t even get off the ground. The swing is very similar except the force generated goes into projecting the kettlebell forward instead of the vertical jump.
3. You need to have economy of movement here as is the case with a lot of kettlebell movements. Make sure that the kettlebell doesn’t swing too far out. This is generally referred to as ‘taming the arc’.
4. Don’t lean back excessively but do make sure you keep your shoulder blades pulled back to minimise the outward projector of the kettlebell. Inhale on the downswing and exhale on the upswing

The Turkish Get Up

The Turkish get up will give you the shoulder stability needed for pressing and snatches.

(For the purpose of description, I am describing a right handed TGU)

1. Lie on your back with a kettlebell positioned to the right of you and roll round to your right to face the kettlebell.  Grasp with two hands and then roll back bringing the kettlebell to a position above your head. Once it’s steady remove the left hand. From this point on, keep the arm locked, do not take your eyes of the kettlebell and keep a strong straight wrist
2. Bend your right leg to a right angle and pull it in as close to your back side as possible. Keep the left leg straight and try to lengthen it as much as possible. Now actively pull your shoulder back into its socket by retracting your shoulder blade.
3. Now push through the bent leg whist at the same time working through the abdominal’s and move yourself up to your elbow. Get it right and it should be fairly effortless. Remember to not allow your right leg to collapse inwards as you do this, keep it strong.
4. Once up on your elbow, push up onto your left hand. This should be at an angle of 45 degrees to the ground
5. Now push your hips upwards as high as possible. You should have a straight line from the kettlebell right down to the opposing hand that is in contact with the floor.
6. From this point, sweep your left leg round and back underneath you, finishing up on your knee. The knee should end up in a position whereas you are able to perform a lunge. Then simply straighten up your body. You should now be in the lunge position. Your eyes should still be focused on the kettlebell.
7. From here, stand up with the kettlebell, bringing both feet together. At this point which is the completion of the upward part of the movement, your eyes should be looking straight ahead.
8. To reverse, drop back down to your left knee. Then place your left hand down.
9. Raise up the hips and then move your left leg back to the starting position. Drop, carefully back down to a sitting position, then your elbow and finally back down to a lying position
10. From here adopt a two arm grip on the kettlebell and roll back round on your side to release the kettlebell. Remember the lift is not completed until the kettlebell is properly rested on the ground.