Swing

Someone not new to fitness, but new to kettlebells can present an interesting programming challenge.  Frankly, it's a great reason to focus on basics, and great for advanced people too.  Combos like this are also useful for people who may have somehow lost the groove of their swing, are coming back from vacation, etc.   Honestly, it's always a great idea to revisit the basics and check in on the performance of the basic kettlebell swing—it's so central to all the other exercises.

The weather was actually *NICE* out today, and it seemed like a good time as any to take a little trek down to the local running track - it's part of a city park, so everyone can use it.   Given the good weather, there were all kinds of things going on - kids soccer practice, a running group, all kinds of stuff, and a friend's local bootcamp showed up as we were leaving - so it was fun to see everyone again.   Last time we had a day at the track, we did a version of the infamous DOE Manmaker.   Today's workout was similarly structured, but we sw

This was a whole lot of fun.   I did this workout with a friend who had been out of the "swing of things" (haha) for a couple weeks.   As you'll notice there are a few swing variations that sometimes we use to help "correct" the kettlebell swing form.  In the case of this particular workout, they were chosen mainly for fun, but also to remind my friend about a few particulars.  The importance of a good hike is of course stressed with the start-stop swings, and 1 arm swings switching at the top of every swings will teach you VERY quickly to keep your shoulders square and not twist.   If you do twist, you can'

If you've followed this site for even a short period of time, you know how much I focus on form, and the constant improvement thereof.  Today was no exception, this was a collection of a few ideas from various places (the dead swing I-go-you-go ladder was inspired by the Chicago RKC this past year).   This workout mainly focuses on the total basics - swings and get ups, with a small variety circuit.

We began with a solid joint mobility warmup, ours is a blend of moves from the classic Dragon Door DVD Super Joints, and the warm ups presented at the RKC and HKC workshops.

Typically for a Friday we had a couple people missing from class - and since I am not one to mope, I saw this as a fun opportunity to do something a little different.   Around the neighborhood I've found some fun places to do things like fingertip hangs, pull ups, clutch flags, etc. and what I personally like to do sometimes is to tote a moderate to light kettlebell around for a few blocks for swings, and sift in some powerful bodyweight drills ( hurrah Convict Conditioning ) too.   This is also a fun thing to do at a park that has a parcourse or if it doesn't you'll need to stretch your imagination.