Mega Mondaaaaaayyyyy or something like that! This workout is a good example of how you can make a workout out of “just a bunch of kettlebell swings” without it being boring. Personally I don’t find swings to be at all boring, but I’m thinking about each and every rep. You should be too.
This is an intermediate-advanced sort of thing so, don’t dive into it if you’re not ready. Practicing swings at a moderate weight is still totally effective. BUT here’s how we mixed it up today!
We started of course with our joint mobility exercises, and warmed up with a few moderate weight kettlebell deadlifts and 2 hand swings -not too much though, because we’d have plenty of swings happening.
You know that one kettlebell you are comfortable doing 2 hand swings with, but can only press a few times on each side? We went one size up from that and did 5 sets of 20 2 hand kettlebell swings, resting as needed and paying strict attention to our form – you shouldn’t be cheating anyway, but the extra weight will make sure you don’t cheat!
Oh and try a few towel swings with a light kettlebell to make sure you aren’t cheating either. This drill is covered at the HKC, and in Enter the Kettlebell. It’s a great way to fine tune your form. For fun, we did 2 sets of 10.
After a water break it was time to use our brains…. double swings with mis-matched kettlebells. Choose one moderate weight and one lighter. Do 10 double swings then switch the kettlebells and do 10 more. We did a total of 4 rounds. This will really work your brain. Try to make both kettlebells swing in the same way and to the same height. CHALLENGING!
Next – Choose a kettlebell you are comfortable pressing a good bit – it might be on the lighter side – do a set of 20 1 arm swings where you switch hands at the top of each swing (sometimes these are called DARC swings, if you remember the acronym, please let me know). After the 20th one, do a single snatch then take a stroll, keeping the elbow locked out – go about 50 feet then put the kettlebell down safely if necessary, OR go ahead and switch hands by doing another 20 DARC swings, ending with 1 snatch in the other hand. Walk back to the starting area. Then do it again, because it’s FUN!
Then, we did a neat drill that Mark and Nikki Snow presented at last year’s CK-FMS workshop – making sure you can turn your head at each step of the get up. Choose a light weight for this, so you can focus on the movement and alignment. And also because if you do this drill with me, I’ll “narrate” very slowly – which is it’s own challenge. Do at least 1 on each side, and keep it safe.
Finally we reviewed the “Hollow” position (really great notes on this from last year’s Bodyweight Workshop… and if you have any gymnastics in your past, you know this position) and the infamous “plank taps” from Laurel Blackburn of Tallahassee Kettlebell before doing a grueling rendition of:
4 times straight through:
- 20 seconds hollow position hold, 10 seconds rest
- 20 seconds plank taps, 10 seconds rest
We finished up with farmers walks taking everything back to the storage area – and “how long can you hang by your fingertips from this ledge” funtime before ending with Joint Mobility.
Did I mention… drink plenty of water!
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