Once again I’m working with a fairly tight schedule with hard deadlines, self-imposed deadlines, productivity goals, catching up from the move (seriously the glass doors on the cabinets need to go up TONIGHT aggh!), and I’m now taking a 1.5hr Systema class twice a week. Needless to say I am working on reconfiguring my training. On the plus side (BIG plus) not sharing a floor with someone’s ceiling means training inside at home is now “guilt free”. Woohoo!
It was Monday night and after taking Sunday off from training (other than some slacklining) I really felt the need to do SOMETHING. This is kind of a bare minimum kettlebell workout, and if you have the time and/or inclination you could absolutely run through it more than once, adding a different mobility exercise between the sets of swings. Note that I punctuated the sets of kettlebell swings with a long time favorite mobility move the “pump stretch” so popular with RKCs – its similar to an up-dog, down-dog, and I also like the “prying cobra” variation especially if it’s been a day at the desk. Scroll down a little, I made a video for you too 🙂
So here’s what I did:
I started with a basic joint mobility sequence (recently realized it’s very close to the one that they teach at the HKC and that’s in the manual… the HKC manual rocks btw… I’ve been certified as an RKC-II since 2011 and yet I still regularly reference and love ALL the manuals. Likewise, as much as I love the PCC, I adore the SCC manual…)
I did a total of 6 “slow mo” get-ups (alternating sides) with no weight. I’ve been really focusing on the form so that I can go heavier and heavier. Last week’s 24kg on each side with relative ease was super inspiring.
Then it was time for four sets of 30 Russian twists with a 14kg kettlebell
THEN… 5 rounds of the following (with my trusty 24kg kettlebell)
- 20 two-hand kettlebell swings
- Active rest – 2-4 pump stretches prying cobra variant
Like I mentioned before, you don’t need to stop there, if you did another 5 rounds, you could choose a different mobility drill to use for active rest. Something like the RKC hip flexor stretch would be great to really remind your hip flexors of what they need to do!
I cooled down with some cross patterning drills (crawl in place, 1 hand/1 foot lifts) and one more unweighted get-up per side.
I have a simple mobility sequence both written out and on video included with the NYC workouts ebook. Check it out!
AND there’s some very powerful kettlebell mobility warmups from Master RKC Phil Ross today on the RKC Blog. And if you’re wondering about that “bottoms up crescent swing” mentioned in his blog post, then check out this video where Phil teaches me how to do it! (there’s other fun goodies there too).
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