The hang clean, however, is a highly technical movement that takes A LOT of practice to really get down. Follow the advice given here by Zack Telander (@coach_zt), Olympic weightlifting competitor and coach, to master the hang clean and use it to gain muscle, power, and total-body strength.

What Are Hang Cleans and What Are The Benefits of Doing Them?

(See 00:25 in the video above)

In the full clean exercise, as done in the sport of weightlifting, you start with the bar on the floor and heave it up to shoulder level (called the “front rack” position). In the hang clean, you start the movement already standing straight and then bend your hips back to lower the bar—usually to just below the knees. From there, you explosively extend your hips, knees, and ankles to get the bar up to the rack position. This is done right after you lower the bar, so the stretch reflex kicks in and helps you power the bar up. Because you start in a stronger position, says Telander, the hang clean is a little easier to control than the regular clean, and therefore a better move for beginners to work on.

The hang clean offers numerous benefits. The explosive extension of the hips, knees, and ankles (called “triple extension” by coaches) happens almost simultaneously, producing tremendous power. A football player’s ability to charge forward out of a three-point stance, a basketball player’s jump shot, and a track star’s sprint all owe their power to triple extension. Unsurprisingly, the hang clean almost always figures into the workouts of these types of athletes.

The hang clean also recruits pretty much every muscle you can think of, but particularly the glutes, hamstrings, calves, upper back, and core. Progressively loading the hang clean over time can get you big and strong and change your physique.

How To Properly Execute A Hang Clean

(See 01:23 in the video)

The hang clean is awesome… but it’s not as easy as doing a barbell curl or a dumbbell shrug. It’s an incredibly technical movement that’s going to require a lot of practice to do properly—so be patient. Telander recommends you break the hang clean down into its component parts and work them one at a time. Practice the following with an EMPTY barbell.

Part 1: The Front Rack

(See 01:40 in the video)

The first thing to familiarize yourself with is the front rack position—holding the bar at your collarbone/shoulder level. This is the last part of the clean movement—where the bar finishes—but Telander likes to drill it first because it’s the easiest part of the lift to get down. It also sets you up for presses and jerks, which you’ll want to progress to after you have the hang clean under your belt.

Step 1. Stand with your feet between hip and shoulder width and hold the bar at arm‘s length with your hands at shoulder width. Your hands should be about thumb length from the outside of your thighs. Now press the bar overhead.

Step 2. Lower the bar with control until it’s at shoulder level, and point your elbows forward as you bring it down. This should allow the bar to settle just above your clavicle in the front rack position. If you lack mobility in your wrists, upper back, or shoulders, you may have difficulty holding onto the bar. Your hands can open to allow you greater range of motion, but don’t let the bar roll all the way to your fingertips—you won’t be able to control it.

Repeat this motion for several reps and practice it for multiple sets. Your mobility should improve within a few sessions. When you’re confident in your front rack, move on to the next component.

Part 2: The Muscle Clean

(See 02:45 in the video)

The muscle clean is where you’ll work on popping the bar from your hips to your chest—the stage right before you finish in the front rack. It’s basically an upright row done with momentum.

Step 1. Start with the bar at arm’s length in front of you again.

Step 2. Row the bar straight up in front of your body, raising your elbows high and out to your sides. As the bar reaches your chest, push your elbows forward and under the bar so you end up in the front rack. Essentially, “as soon as you feel you can’t pull the bar any higher with the grip you’ve taken,” says Telander, “you’ll want to begin turning your elbows over.”

Be careful not to lift the bar too high so that it flops over and bounces into the front rack. You want to pull it fast, but don’t let momentum take control away from you.

Practice this for several workouts, and integrate it with the front rack. At this point, you’ll have two-thirds of the hang clean down pat.

Part 3: The Contact Drill

(See 03:50 in the video)

Now you’re ready to practice getting the bar in contact with your legs and beginning the explosion upward.

Step 1. From the same standing position, bend your knees slightly and then bend your hips in order to lower the bar to mid-thigh level.

Step 2. Let the bar drift away from your body and then, using only your arms, snap it back so it touches your thighs again. As soon as you feel it hit your thighs, extend your hips and knees and go into the muscle clean you learned in Part 2. You don’t have to raise the bar all the way up to your chest though. Keep the movement between your thighs and about sternum level so you can focus on that initial hip and knee drive. The bar should glide up in a straight line, just in front of your shirt.

When that feels natural, try integrating the contact drill with the full muscle clean and finishing in the rack position. Then, when that feels strong, you can begin to catch the bar in the front rack position by jumping and descending into a quarter-squat. As you come up in the muscle clean, use enough power so that your feet leave the floor and you come back down bending at the hips and knees to absorb the force.

Hang in there, no pun intended. You’ve got almost the entire hang clean movement now.

Putting It All Together

(See 04:40 in the video)

The hang clean can begin just above or below the knees, depending on how you want to implement it in your training. For those just learning the clean, Telander likes to begin from below the knee at about mid-shin height, as that’s the safest way to practice the hang clean and reinforces good technique.

Practice the integrated hang clean drills you’ve already worked on, but instead of beginning the contact drill with the bar drifting in front of you, you’ll begin with the bar in contact with your legs at mid-shin. Start from standing, take a breath in and hold it, and bend the hips and knees until the bar is low enough. As soon as you reach that position, begin extending your hips and knees and clean the bar to the front rack. Exhale, drop the bar back in front of you with control, and repeat.

When you feel good about your form, you can add weight to the bar. Start with 25-pound plates, and you may need to elevate the bar on some blocks or mats so that you can set up with the bar at mid-shin. When you work up to using 45s on each side, the bar will be high enough just sitting on the floor. (If you have rubber bumper plates, any weight you use will be the same diameter and therefore the same distance from the floor).

How To Choose The Right Weight For The Hang Clean (Plus, Sets and Reps)

(See 08:02 in the video)

The hang clean is meant to be loaded heavy, so you can build as much muscle and strength as possible. But when you’re new to the lift, you need to go light so you can master good technique. Start with no more than 45 pounds on each side (again, lighter weight with the use of bumper plates is even better, if you have access to them). “Go for 5–10 sets of 1–3 reps,” says Telander. As you get better, you can work up to sets of as many as 5 reps, but you should rarely go higher than that. The more reps you perform, the more fatigue you’ll accumulate, and fatigue causes form to break down and can lead to injury, or, at the very least, sloppy hang cleans that don’t have the desired training effect.

Five to 10 sets seems like a lot, doesn’t it? Remember, this is Olympic weightlifting, not bodybuilding, and the emphasis is on technique and power—not muscle failure. You want to do a fair number of sets to ingrain good form, so think of them as practice. A set of hang cleans should end when you feel you can’t do another rep with perfect form, not the point where you’re straining to even get the bar moving. It’s a different kind of training than most people are used to, and it requires a different mentality.

What Muscles Do Hang Cleans Strengthen?

(See 08:55 in the video)

The hang clean is truly a full-body movement, as it involves so many muscles to take the bar from near the floor up to your collarbone. With that said, weightlifters often sport impressive trapezius muscles, thick upper backs, and dense glutes and hamstrings. Beyond the changes you’ll notice hang cleans have on your physique, their main benefit will be to your athletic potential. Telander says hang cleans build the muscles and the neuromuscular coordination necessary to jump higher, run faster, and lift more weight, particularly on exercises that use similar body mechanics, such as the squat and deadlift.

How To Stretch Before Doing Hang Cleans

(See 12:45 in the video)

We mentioned above that the front rack position can be awkward for many people. The hang clean also demands a lot of mobility in the hips and hamstrings. Therefore, Telander recommends these two drills that can help open up the areas that allow you to control the bar better throughout the hang clean’s range of motion.

Front Rack Banded Stretch

(See 12:50 in the video)

Step 1. Grasp an elastic exercise band (preferably a loop band as opposed to a tube) with your right hand and stand on the other loop with your right foot.

Step 2. Get into the front rack position and then raise your arm overhead so your elbow points to the ceiling and the band pulls on your arm in a straight line from behind your back. Allow the band to stretch your arm—you should feel a strong pull through your triceps and back. Pull your ribs down so you don’t hyperextend your spine, and brace your core. Hold the stretch for 30–60 seconds, and then repeat for 2–3 sets, or until you feel that your front rack position has improved. Do the stretch on both sides.

Bodyweight RDL

(See 13:49 in the video)

Step 1. Stand with feet at hip width and bend your knees slightly.

Step 2. Push your hips back as far as you can while keeping a long spine from your head to your tailbone—don’t lose the arch in your lower back. You’ll feel a strong stretch in your hamstrings. Do 2–3 sets of 10–20 reps. You can also use the exercise band you had for the front rack stretch to increase the intensity: stand on the center of the band while holding a loop in each hand. Yet another option: use a kettlebell.

Hang Clean Alternative Exercises and Variations

(See 09:18 in the video)

If you’re having trouble with the hang clean, back off to a less complicated exercise that shares similar mechanics but is less technically demanding. The Romanian deadlift and kettlebell hang clean build strength and power in the hips and will help you get familiar with the hip extension movement you need to be proficient at hang cleans when you go back to them.

Romanian Deadlift (RDL)

(See 09:25 in the video)

See the description for the bodyweight RDL above. The exercise is essentially the same, but now you’ll add weight, performing the lift with a barbell. Perform 2–3 sets of 5–10 reps.

Kettlebell Hang Clean

(See 10:00 in the video)

While the kettlebell hang clean is easier to master than the barbell version, it offers a different kind of challenge and a unique array of benefits. You’ll use two kettlebells at once, which means your body will have to stabilize two weights independently, and this is helpful for simulating the chaos that comes in real-life sports play.

Step 1. Stand with feet outside shoulder width and hold a moderate-weight kettlebell in each hand.

Step 2. Bend your hips back and, when you feel a stretch in the hamstrings, explosively extend your hips and pull the kettlebells up in front of your torso. Drive your elbows back against your sides as you do this—this will help you avoid flipping the kettlebells over your wrists so they slam into the back of your forearms, a common (and painful) mistake. Then drive your elbows forward. The weights should end up just under your chin (basically the same rack position as in the barbell hang clean).

Perform 2–3 sets of 5–10 reps.

Tips On How To Avoid Mistakes and Getting Hurt

(See 11:10 in the video)

The hang clean isn’t any more dangerous than virtually any other barbell lift, but it can be trickier. You absolutely must pay attention to your form at all times. Telander says to think about the three parts to the lift that he described above as a spectrum—you’re free to go back and forth between them and revisit a section as needed when you recognize that one part needs work. “If you struggle with the full hang clean,” says Telander, “you might need to go back and work on the contact drill.” Likewise, if you feel off on your contact drill, go back and drill the muscle clean some more. Each part sets you up better for the one that follows it.

Telander also cautions not to think of the clean as a reverse curl with momentum—a very common mistake. You’re not heaving weight up with just your back and biceps. “Think ‘elbows high’ when you do the muscle clean,” he says, so you row the weight up rather than sling it.

It’s also a good idea to hire a coach to observe your form and correct it on the spot. USA Weightlifting can connect you with such a person (many CrossFit boxes have weightlifting-certified coaches as well). At the very least, video yourself so you can look at what you’re doing and gain awareness. Having a training partner is a good idea too.

Master another power-building clean variant with our guide to the One-Arm Kettlebell Clean exercise.

The post How To Do The Hang Clean Exercise Like A Pro appeared first on Onnit Academy.

What Is The Advantage of Using Kettlebells Over Dumbbells? – 00:19

The two implements are similar but different. See why kettlebells are the athletes’ choice.

How Do You Hold A Kettlebell Properly? – 01:18

Tips on getting the most control of your movements.

What Kettlebell Weight Should I Use? – 01:43

Find out which weight increment is right for you, whether you’re a man or woman.

What Kettlebell Exercises Should I Start With? – 02:14

A basic beginner’s routine.

How Can I Use A Kettlebell To Burn Fat? – 02:39

Here’s how to set up a kettlebell workout to promote fat loss.

How Can I Use A Kettlebell To Build Muscle? – 03:08

Here’s a strategy for gaining muscle and strength.

Can I Start Training With Kettlebells, Or Do I Need Something Easier? – 03:25

Find out the prerequisites for kettlebell training… or not?

How Can I Keep From Smacking My Wrist With The Kettlebell? – 04:08

How to clean a kettlebell safely.

What Should I Look For In A Kettlebell? – 04:42

A quick buyer’s guide for bells, including features to look for.

Are Kettlebells Good For Athletes? – 05:14

Here’s what kettlebells can do for sports performance.

How Can I Learn To Do Kettlebell Flows? – 06:04

Connect your exercises to create flow routines that challenge your body while giving your mind the freedom to express itself.

For more kettlebell exercises and beginner-focused training tips, check out our Full-Body Kettlebell Workout for Beginners.

The post Kettlebell Training FAQs appeared first on Onnit Academy.

What Is A Steel Mace?

(See 00:35 in the video above.)

We won’t sugarcoat it: the mace was invented to kill people. But it wasn’t long before folks realized that lifting one could help them get into great shape too.

The use of a mace dates back to the days when fitness was a fortuitous byproduct of training for war. More than 2,000 years ago, Hindu soldiers in India wielded maces that were nothing more than bamboo sticks with stones tied to the ends. One of their deities, Hanuman, was a monkey-man hybrid who carried a mace and, as the legend went, could lift the Himalayas with his hands. Called a “gada,” the mace was primarily used to help condition warriors for their combat training, which included wrestling, archery, and sword fighting.

“If we look back at various martial cultures,” says John Wolf, co-creator of Onnit’s unconventional training curriculum, “they all used some kind of mace.” Historical records indicate that different varieties of maces were present in India, and later Russia and Western Europe during the Middle Ages, as each culture experienced a time when the armor of its warriors became more advanced than the weaponry used against it.

As anyone who’s seen Braveheart or Robin Hood knows, maces evolved to where they had spikes on the ball end, and they helped turn the tide of many a war. But the gentler, more primitive models were never discarded as a tool used off the battlefield to get a great workout.

When you think about it, a steel mace is really just another barbell, albeit with a weight on only one end. They usually range from around seven pounds to 25 or more, and you can do everything with a steel mace that you ever learned to do with a barbell. And that’s just the beginning.

Performing classic strength exercises such as the squat, overhead press, Romanian deadlift, and bent-over row with a mace works all the same muscles that the barbell will, but with a bonus. The imbalance created by the load of the mace head (the ball at the top of the mace handle) will make it difficult to lift the mace evenly. It wants to pull you out of position, twisting you in the direction of the heavier end, so you have to work that much harder to keep the path of motion even—calling on your core, grip, and various stabilizer muscles to do so. Spend a few weeks doing these exercises with the mace and then see how you feel doing them with a regular barbell again. Don’t be surprised if you feel more stable and strong, and break strength plateaus shortly thereafter.

What Are The Benefits of Steel Mace Training?

(See 01:40 in the video.)

You don’t even have to work out with the mace, per se, to reap some benefits from it. The long lever that the handle creates makes it fantastic for increasing mobility. If you have tight shoulders and a rounded upper back, for instance, as a result of too much chest training and/or sitting at a desk in front of a computer for too long, try holding the mace behind your head with the mace head pointing to the floor. Swing it gently side to side to feel the mace gradually pull your shoulders into greater flexion, opening up your chest and stretching your thoracic spine. Many people find this helps relieve shoulder pain, and warms them up for an upper-body or pressing workout.

Rotational Strength

Once you’ve gotten a feel for the steel mace, you can begin to unlock its greatest potential—using it as a tool to train rotation. The fact is, most people’s training is limited to the sagittal movement plane. This means exercises where the trunk or limbs move forward and back, as in a bench press, curl, squat, deadlift, and running. Nevertheless, most of the movements we make in sports and everyday life aren’t that simple. They’re combinations of all three planes of motion—moving forward and back, side to side, and in rotation. With that in mind, doesn’t it make sense to train these movements in our workouts?

The steel mace facilitates the body’s ability to rotate—and resist rotation, when needed—more so than the kettlebell, steel club, or any other training implement.

It lends itself perfectly to performing chopping and paddling motions that make your shoulders, torso, and hips twist—something they can’t do as well or as safely with a barbell or other conventional equipment. The length of the mace handle is ultimately designed to be swung. Swinging the mace creates tremendous force—a force that threatens to knock you off balance and out of position unless you learn to control it. As a result, steel mace training is one of the best ways to instill good posture and movement mechanics. It trains you to maintain what trainers refer to as the body’s structural integrity, so that you can stay stable and in control of how you move no matter what storm you find yourself at the center of, be it running and cutting on a field, fighting an opponent in a cage, shoveling snow out of your driveway, or a million other challenges.

Power Development

Of course, with greater rotational movement comes greater power.

Knockout punches and kicks, 90-miles per hour fastballs, and 300-yard drives off the tee all depend on your ability to coil and uncoil your body rapidly and efficiently, and steel mace exercises can simulate the movement mechanics involved in all of the above.

When you’re ready, you can advance your training to include an infinite number of more complex moves that are unique to the mace and really take advantage of its rotational potential, such as the 360, barbarian squat, uppercut, and various other techniques you’ve no doubt seen demonstrated on YouTube (some of which we’ll introduce you to in this article). You’re even welcome to make up your own exercises, as one of the mace’s greatest attributes is its ability to help you express yourself, using it to flow through movements that train your body as well as communicate your passion, not unlike a dance, martial art, or other physical art form.

Fun!

If you’re the kind of person that just can’t get excited about going to the gym and lifting weights from point A to point B, the mace might be the thing that finally motivates you to work out. Wolf says there’s a primal rush you get from lifting the mace overhead that has to be experienced to be understood. Because of its origins as a weapon, it makes you feel like a warrior when you use it. Curling a barbell? Not so much.

“I think part of the appeal is that you can feel the applications the steel mace has immediately,” says Wolf. “Whether or not we feel removed from our history as a tribal people who fought wars, there’s an innate knowledge of how to use tools like the mace that’s still in us. The steel mace can help you tap into that, even if it’s just to get in better shape.”

The Science of Steel Mace

It’s a little ironic that the mace is one of the oldest fitness tools on earth and yet remains among the least studied. Fortunately, that may be changing, as researchers at California State University conducted a trial using Onnit’s steel maces. (Onnit did not suggest or commission the study—the researchers acted entirely on their own.)

“I have a grad student, Christian Ison, who’s a trainer, and he implements the mace in
the training he does with his clients,” says Dr. Eddie Jo, Associate Professor of Exercise Physiology at Cal Poly Pomona, and director of its Human Performance Research Lab. “We were talking about the mace one day and realized there haven’t been any studies done on it, to our knowledge, so why not do one ourselves?”

Jo’s team gathered subjects who had recreational training experience—people who were already performing some kind of resistance training at least three days per week and for at least an hour per session. They had no prior experience using the steel mace. Jo had them work out with Onnit steel maces, following the directions provided in the manuals that were packaged with them.

“We wanted to look at muscle activation patterns during common steel mace exercises,” says Jo. The exercises chosen were the overhead squat, 360, reverse lunge, and lap squat. “We put EMG sensors on the dominant sides of the subjects, and we had them do a set of each of those exercises with the mace head positioned on the dominant side as well as the non-dominant side to see how the dominant side muscles reacted.”

Unsurprisingly, the muscles on the dominant side (for instance, the quads, traps, deltoids, pecs, and triceps during the overhead squat) showed greater activity when the lift was done with the mace head on that side (i.e., pointing to the right on a right-handed person). “But what was interesting,” says Jo, “was when we looked at the oblique and core muscles. The activation of those muscles was greatest when the mace head was held on the opposite side. So if you’re doing the switch squat and the mace head is pointing left, the right obliques will fire harder. It shows that the mace gives you a very unique muscle activation pattern compared to normal barbell exercises, so this could introduce a whole new type of stimulus for your muscles to adapt to.”

Jo adds that being able to work one side of the body and then transition to the other side by simply flipping the orientation of the mace makes the training effect unique as well as convenient. “Your ability to shift core activation is very dynamic and fluid with the mace,” he says. “You can also accomplish more than one type of movement in a single set if you want to, going from a lunge into a lap squat and then an overhead squat, for example.”

More studies need to be done to determine what the long-term benefits of steel mace training can be, but Jo speculates that the mace has great application to sports training. “In life and in sports, when you’re jumping, you’re usually turning also. With the steel mace, you can produce those same multi-planar movements, but with increased resistance. That helps athletes develop power, and should carry over to the playing field—as well as have benefits for general fitness.”

Beyond the physical advantages of steel mace training, Jo noticed some mental ones too, explaining that the subjects said they “loved using the mace,” and that the offset weight helped them to focus on their form more. “They reported feeling sore the next day, too,” says Jo, “saying that they felt they had gotten a good workout.”

What To Look For In A Steel Mace

So you’re ready to buy a steel mace. Congratulations! But before you plunk down your hard-earned funds on another piece of exercise equipment—or try to sand the spikes off a medieval antique—make sure you know what kind of mace is best for you. Consider the following.

The Handle

The bigger your hands, the bigger your mace handle should be. The smallest mace Onnit sells is a seven-pounder, which offers a 30.5-inch long handle. Most women find this model to be appropriate to start. On the other end of the spectrum, our 25-pound mace has a 40.5-inch handle, which is really only for advanced mace wielders.

Remember that steel mace training is humbling. Even a big, strong guy won’t be able to start out with a 25-pound mace for most exercises. And (as most women say) longer isn’t necessarily better. A longer mace is harder to control and puts more stress on your body, so start small.

The Feel

A mace that’s too slick can fly right out of your hands when you get sweaty. Meanwhile, one that’s too tacky can pull the skin off your palms. You want a mace that provides some friction but still allows your hands to glide up and down the handle. Onnit maces feature knurling, like a barbell, and a powder coating for a no-slip grip.

The Weight

Onnit makes maces that weigh 7, 10, 15, 20, and 25 pounds. Most women start with the 7 or 10-pounder, and most men can handle the 10 or 15. For some mace exercises, a lighter weight will serve you better, while other moves can be loaded up more, so you should consider buying two weight increments at once.

Beginner Steel Mace Workout

(See 03:00 in the video.)

The following routine strings together some basic but challenging steel mace moves that will not only give you a feel for mace training but help you start building stability and rotational movement skills right away.

DIRECTIONS

Perform the exercises as a circuit, completing one set for each move in sequence without rest. After the last exercise, rest up to 90 seconds, and repeat the circuit for 3–4 total rounds. Perform 8 reps on each exercise (8 reps per side).

1. Overhead Walk

(See 03:27 in the video.)

Step 1. Hold the mace with an overhand grip, hands about shoulder-width apart. Curl at the elbows and press the mace overhead. Keep your ribs pulled down and your pelvis tucked under so it’s parallel to the floor—don’t allow your back to hyperextend as you reach overhead. Brace your core.

Step 2. Find your balance and begin walking in place, raising one knee at a time up to hip level. The mace will try to pull you toward the side that the weighted end is pointing—don’t let it. If you’re having a hard time controlling the mace, widen your grip a bit. A step on both legs equals one rep; do 8 reps, and then switch the direction the mace is pointing and repeat for another 8 reps.

2. Switch Curl

(See 04:38 in the video.)

Step 1. Hold the mace with one hand close to the mace head and palm facing up. The other should be close to the bottom of the handle with the palm down.

Step 2. Extend the arm that has the palm up so the mace head points down at a 45-degree angle (curl the other arm up and point your elbow out to the side).

Step 3. Now raise the mace head so the mace is level in front of you, and then raise it up to point about 45 degrees (diagonal through your shoulder). Continue raising the steel mace until it points straight up. Now slide the hand on the bottom up the handle to meet the other hand. Your hands will come together for a moment like you’re praying.

Step 4. Slide the hand that was on top down the handle while the one you just moved up grasps the mace head underhand. Go to 45 degrees, level, and then 45 degrees toward the floor again. Continue rotating the mace in this fashion, pausing a moment in each position to make sure you control it. Over time, you can smooth out the motion so you spin the mace more fluidly. Perform 8 reps with the mace head pointing to the right, and then 8 pointing to the left.

3. Split-Stance Counter-Side Row

(See 05:50 in the video.)

Step 1. Hold the mace with hands overhand and shoulder-width apart—one hand should be at the bottom of the handle. Twist your torso so that the mace head points behind you. Stagger your stance so that your front leg is the same side as the direction you’ve turned. Put most of your weight on your front foot. Your back leg should be nearly straight. Drive the ball of your back foot into the floor—the heel can be raised.

Step 2. Row the hand that’s closest to the mace head up. The range of motion will be small, but focus on holding your rotated position.

4. Uppercut

(See 07:07 in the video.)

Step 1. Take a wide grip on the mace so one hand is flush against the mace head. Rotate your body in the direction the mace head points, but keep your hips braced and pointing forward. Keep your elbows locked out.

Step 2. Leading with your elbow, raise the mace up and across your body so it’s angled 45 degrees in front of your chest. Continue raising it until the mace is over your opposite shoulder. Your front arm should look like you’ve just thrown an uppercut punch. Keep the mace close to your body at all times.

5. Cross-Body Lateral Lunge

(See 08:43 in the video.)

Step 1. Grasp the mace with a wide grip and one hand flush against the mace head with your palm facing up. Step laterally with the leg opposite the mace head, bending your knee and lowering into a side lunge as you rotate the mace downward so the head points toward the floor at a 45-degree angle.

Step 2. From there, step back to your starting position while spinning the mace back up to point 45 degrees upward, and then vertical, bringing your hands together in prayer position.

Step 3. Switch your hands, and perform the lunge on the other leg.

Intermediate Steel Mace Workout

(See 10:05 in the video.)

When you’re ready for a greater challenge that incorporates even more multi-planar movement, step up to this intermediate mace routine.

DIRECTIONS
Perform the exercises as a circuit, completing one set for each move in sequence without rest. After the last exercise, rest 45 seconds, and repeat the circuit for 3–5 total rounds. Set a timer and perform each exercise for 30 seconds straight, switching sides at 15 seconds where applicable.

1. Switch Squat

(See 10:27 in the video.)

Step 1. Hold the mace with one hand flush against the mace head and your palm up. Draw your shoulders down and back and tuck your elbows to your sides. Turn your toes out a few degrees.

Step 2. Keeping a long line from your head to your tailbone, squat down until the mace is just above your thighs.

Step 3. As you come back up, slide one hand up the handle and the other down to prayer position, and then continue twirling the mace so the head faces the other direction. Squat again. Inhale as you come up on each rep, and exhale as you squat.

2. Alternating Archer Press

(See 12:22 in the video.)

Step 1. Hold the mace with one hand flush against the mace head and your palm up. Begin with the mace head pointing 45 degrees over one shoulder.

Step 2. Push the mace straight out in the direction the mace head is pointing until your trailing arm is raised to shoulder level and the one nearest the mace head is fully extended, or as close as you can comfortably go. It should look like you’re about to fire an arrow from a bow.

Step 3. Draw the mace back in so it faces upward, make a prayer position, and repeat the archer press on the opposite side.

Rear-Lunge Uppercut

(See 14:43 in the video.)

Step 1. Take a wide grip on the mace so one hand is flush against the mace head. Rotate your body in the direction the mace head points, but keep your hips braced and pointing forward. Keep your elbows locked out.

Step 2. Step back into a lunge with the leg that’s opposite the mace. Lower your body until both knees are bent roughly 90 degrees.

Step 3. Step forward to return to the starting position. As you do so, raise the mace up and across your body so it’s angled 45 degrees in front of your chest. Continue raising it until the mace is over your opposite shoulder. Your front arm should look like you’ve just thrown an uppercut punch. Keep the mace close to your body at all times. Perform reps for 15 seconds, and then switch sides and repeat.

Steel Mace Flow Workout

When you’re comfortable with the steel mace basics, move on to this flow routine, which links familiar steel mace exercises into a fluid circuit.

If you enjoy working with the mace, try experimenting with its cousin, the steel club, starting with our guide to club training.

The post The Steel Mace: Benefits and Uses appeared first on Onnit Academy.

What Is The One-Arm Kettlebell Clean?

The one-arm kettlebell clean delivers many of the same benefits of the Olympic weightlifting clean, but is less technically demanding. It builds full-body explosiveness and power by training simultaneous extension of the hips and knees, which is a movement required in every power sport. As a result, the one-arm kettlebell clean can enhance vertical jumping ability and general speed.

Because you work one side at a time, the one-arm kettlebell clean trains you to resist rotation at the torso, which makes it an excellent core strength exercise. As with all kettlebell movements, it will build grip strength as well.

The one-arm clean can serve as a transition point after you’ve mastered a simpler move like the kettlebell swing and deadlift and before you take on advanced lifts such as the kettlebell rotational clean and kettlebell rotational clean to bent press. The one-arm clean will teach you to take a kettlebell from the floor to the rack position (shoulder level) safely, setting you up for a variety of press, squat, and swing techniques.

How To Do The One-Arm Kettlebell Clean

(See 01:10 in the video above.)

Step 1: Place a kettlebell on the floor in front of you. Stand with your feet straight and set between hip and shoulder-width apart. Now actively screw them into the floor so you feel your hips and glutes fire up—imagine twisting up turf beneath your feet, or using them to spread a bunched-up carpet apart. Your feet shouldn’t move but your lower body should become tense. Bend your hips back and bend your knees a bit to reach the kettlebell. You want a stance that’s somewhere between a high hip hinge and a vertical squat. Aim for an athletic position—”The kind you’d take if you were about to tackle someone in football,” says Shane Heins, Onnit’s Director of Fitness Education. Draw your shoulder blades back together and down—think: “proud chest.”

If the kettlebell is still too low to reach, you can elevate it on a box or a bench.

Step 2. Pull your elbow back as if performing a row, drawing the kettlebell back toward your hip. At the same time, extend your hips and knees to generate momentum and stand up tall. Allow your wrist to rotate as you row the bell. Pat it with the other hand to help you wrap the kettlebell around your wrist. To finish the clean, drive your elbow forward and punch through so your forearm is vertical.

Step 3: Make sure your wrist is straight and aligned with your forearm.

Don’t dismiss the wrap. It may seem like a crutch that only beginners use, but it’s a great way to reinforce the mechanics you need to clean correctly WITHOUT banging the weight against your wrist. Heins says he still uses the wrap technique often in his own training, even though he’s capable of cleaning heavy kettlebells without it.

Step 4:  Reverse the motion by unraveling the kettlebell around the forearm, lowering your elbow to straighten your arm, and hiking the bell between your legs quickly to begin the next rep. Complete all your reps on one side and then repeat on the other.

If you have trouble performing the clean smoothly, simply break it down into its component parts and do them one at a time (see 6:04 in the video). Start in a high hinge (bend your hips back and keep your knees closer to straight), row the bell and cup it with your free hand, and extend your hips to stand up tall. With the bottom of the bell facing forward at your side, it may look like you’re holding a toy rifle of some kind (Heins jokes that it’s the “Master Blaster 3000”). From there, use your hand to wrap the bell and punch your arm through so it’s vertical. When you’ve got that movement down, doing it fluidly to perform a real clean will feel more natural.

Muscles Worked in the One-Arm Kettlebell Clean

– Quads

– Hamstrings

– Glutes

– Calves

– Shoulders

– Upper back

– Forearms

– Core

One-Arm Kettlebell Clean Benefits

– Improved total-body power

– Increased explosiveness

– Grip strength

– Enhanced vertical jump

– Core, shoulder, and posterior chain strength

How to Use the One-Arm Kettlebell Clean

Due to the total-body nature of the one-arm kettlebell clean, it can suffice as a workout by itself. Go heavy for strength (say, five sets of five reps on each side), or test your conditioning by setting a timer for a few minutes and seeing how many reps you can do in that time.

You can also use it to key up your central nervous system before a heavy workout. Two or three sets of 3–5 reps can help you better recruit musculature for a strength and power workout. Of course, the clean works as a jumping-off point for dozens of other kettlebell exercises. Bringing the weight from the floor to the rack position sets you up for overhead presses, squats, lunges, and so on. You may use the clean to begin a kettlebell flow, or as part of a total-body circuit.

One-Arm Kettlebell Clean Regression

If you have difficulty completing the clean without hurting your forearm, practice the half-kneeling, one-arm clean. The mechanics are the same; you just start in a half-kneeling position on the floor. Once you’re comfortable with that, you can progress to the half-kneeling dead start, and then move on to the standing dead start, followed by the assisted clean, and finally the full one-arm kettlebell clean. You can find this entire sequence HERE.

One-Arm Kettlebell Clean Progression

When you’ve got the one-arm kettlebell clean down, try advancing to a one-arm kettlebell clean with rotation. This will prepare you to perform the more twisty and multi-planar movements that the clean is intended to set you up for. (See 09:05 in the video.)

Step 1. Reach down to grasp the kettlebell and reach your free arm behind you. Twist your wrist so that the palm of the working hand is facing away from your body.

Step 2. Clean the bell, rotating your wrist and and rotating your torso backward to the same side you’ve cleaned to, but keep that hip braced straight and facing forward (don’t let it twist back when your torso does).

Step 3. Rotate in the opposite direction, twisting your torso 45 degrees to face the other hip (while keeping that hip braced and forward).

Step 4. From there, rotate back in the direction of the working side—the first rotation you performed—and then unravel your wrist and let the kettlebell down.

If you need a refresher course on kettlebell basics, see our Full-Body Kettlebell Workout for Beginners article.

The post The Expert Guide To The One-Arm Kettlebell Clean Exercise appeared first on Onnit Academy.

What Is The Kettlebell Windmill?

(See 00:27 in the video above.)

Unlike barbells with globes on each end or gladiator boots, the windmill hasn’t been lost to history. Modern kettlebell practitioners still regard it as a cornerstone exercise due to its diverse benefits and applications. To understand the windmill, you have to first study up on the basic hip hinge movement.

A hip hinge is a fundamental movement pattern and lays the foundation for all the body’s major power moves. Keeping a long spine from your head to your tailbone, you bend your hips back until your glutes and hamstrings are stretched—this prepares them to shorten explosively, and when they do, you can jump, run, shoot, hit, or otherwise burst forward with tremendous power. (Picture any deadlift variation, a glute bridge, or a basic athletic “ready” position—they all feature a hip hinge of various degrees.)

Mastering the hinge also trains your body to use the strength and mobility of your hips to support your weight when you bend, as opposed to letting your lower back take the brunt of it, and that helps protect the back from injury.

A kettlebell windmill starts with a hip hinge, but rather than bend your hips straight back, you’ll bend them about 45 degrees to one side. This intensifies the stretch on your posterior muscles, one side at a time, while preparing you to move in the frontal (side to side) and transverse (rotational) planes as well as front to back—a boon to virtually any athlete, as sports require multidirectional movement.

On top of the hip hinge, you have to maintain the lockout position of an overhead press to complete a kettlebell windmill. Holding your arm overhead with a heavy weight in hand makes for a great challenge when you begin to arc your body down into the hip hinge, and the combination strengthens everything from the shoulder through the core and hips.

How To Perform The Kettlebell Windmill

(See 07:10 in the video.)

Step 1. Hold a kettlebell with your left hand at shoulder level. Stand with your feet between hip and shoulder-width, and turn your feet 45 degrees to the right.

Step 2. Keeping your knees locked straight, kick your left hip out and back about 45 degrees, pressing the kettlebell overhead as you do so. Your spine should stay long and straight from your head to your tailbone.

You should now feel your left leg supporting the majority of your weight. Your shoulder should also be drawn down—don’t shrug as you press. There should be a significant gap between your head and your arm when the weight is overhead.

Step 3. Stand up straight. NOW you’re ready to really begin the windmill. Keep your eyes on the kettlebell throughout the movement. Kick your hip out again and begin hinging, pushing your hips back at that 45-degree angle as far as you can while maintaining that long spine position.

Drive your knuckles up toward the ceiling as you lower your torso down. STOP packing your shoulder down and let it move. Thinking about the movement as punching the ceiling will help create space in the shoulder joint that allows the rotation that lets you complete the movement safely.

Step 4. Slide your right hand down your right leg so it acts as a guardrail while you hinge. Lower your body as far as you can without losing your straight spine position—aim to touch the floor with your fingers (but if you’re new to windmills, don’t expect to be able to do this right away).

Step 5. To stand up straight again, drive up through your fist, imagining there’s a cord tied to it and it’s pulling you up.

Note that the windmill may be too hard to do with your knees locked. You may also have trouble keeping your arm overhead or achieving any significant range of motion. This is perfectly normal if you’re new to rotational training, so don’t be discouraged. Check out the Kettlebell Windmill Variations section below for alternatives that will help you build up to doing the classic windmill.

Benefits of Training With The Kettlebell Windmill

(See 01:10 in the video.)

The kettlebell windmill is a strength program, rehab clinic, and anti-aging treatment all rolled into one. Here are the key selling points.

Lateral strength and mobility

“We lose lateral movement capacity as we age,” says Shane Heins, Onnit’s Director of Fitness Education. That is, our ability to move side to side declines, largely due to lack of use. Even if you’re a young buck, you may already notice that it’s harder for you to bend and twist and shuffle your feet laterally than it was when you were a school-age kid, and you have much less control over those movements than you do bending and flexing front and back. “Loss of this range leads to pain in the shoulder, low back, hips, and knees,” says Heins, because, when your movement is limited, some joints and muscles take on more load than they’re supposed to in picking up the slack for the parts that don’t move so well. Know someone who suffers from sciatica? They probably don’t move very well side to side.

Think about it like this: if your body can’t give an inch laterally, it’s going to have to work that much harder moving front to back, and that increases the risk for injury. Say you’re playing football and an opponent tackles you. Do you think you can absorb the hit better if your body can roll with the impact, or if you have to take it straight on because you’re too stiff to go with the flow?

As you’ll see when you practice it, the kettlebell windmill stretches the crap out of your sides, hips, core, and leg muscles, restoring some of the range that may be slipping away from you. With that restoration comes a greater capacity to move and express strength with movement.

Increased rotation

When you begin to open up your ability to move laterally, you improve your capacity for rotation as well. Proper twisting and turning generates power just as hip hinging does, so it promotes athletic performance, and it also takes pressure off the spine.

Better shoulder function

The shoulders have the most mobile joints in the body, but they’re also the most unstable. Balancing a kettlebell overhead while you contort your body underneath it requires your rotator cuff muscles to brace your shoulder hard to keep your arm in a safe position. As you develop stability, you’ll reduce your risk of shoulder injury, and establish a more solid foundation for strong overhead and chest pressing of any kind.

Slow the aging process

We’re not exaggerating. “As we age,” says Heins, “loss of access to overhead range of motion is one of the primary sources of ongoing decline.” Because we don’t play sports as often and gradually reduce our activity levels, we do less and less overhead reaching, “and not being able to reach overhead minimizes how often we extend our spine back and flex it laterally.” It’s a chain reaction that leads to less movement overall, and that in turn leads to a less active lifestyle and all the risks associated with a lack of activity (i.e., early death!).

The windmill, then, is pretty much an anti-aging hack, maintaining the skill of full shoulder flexion as well as hip hinging and lateral movement so that you remain mobile in 360 degrees, no matter how many years go by and where your fitness journey takes you.

What Muscles Do I Use When Doing Kettlebell Windmills?

(See 03:05 in the video.)

It’s also not an exaggeration to say that the kettlebell windmill works darn near every muscle you own. Even your neck muscles must work in a stabilizing capacity. Here’s a list of the big (and some small) movers that you can count on to get trained by windmills.

• Deltoids (shoulders)
• Rotator cuff
• Trapezius (upper back)
• Rhomboids (middle back)
• Lats (the big muscles on the sides of your back)
• Triceps
• Forearms
• Core (obliques in particular, the muscles on the sides of your abs)
• Glutes
• Hamstrings
• Adductors (groin)
• Calves

Kettlebell Windmill Variations

(See 10:50 in the video.)

The kettlebell windmill can be very challenging when you’re not used to hinging your hips at a funny angle. You probably won’t have the range of motion to do a full, strict windmill at first, but that’s fine. Some slight modifications will allow you to do the basic movement safely and still get most of the benefits. If the classic windmill isn’t working for you, start experimenting with these variations.

Bent-Leg Windmill

(See 11:12 in the video.)

Do the windmill as directed above but allow both knees to bend as you kick your hip out. This will reduce the stretch on your side and give you more range of motion. As you come up, lock your knees out again.

Bent-Arm Windmill

(See 12:30 in the video.)

Do the windmill as directed above but start by moving your arm away from your body (about 90 degrees, rather than straight in front of your torso). Now kick the hip out and—with straight knees or bent—begin to hinge while keeping the weight held strong.

The key here is to aim to keep the kettlebell at the SAME HEIGHT as it was when you were standing with it at shoulder level. It’s your body that moves—not the bell. Bend your hips and focus on getting under the kettlebell, rather than lifting it above you. Once your elbow is locked out, stand up straight. Many people can’t press overhead without compromising form, and the bent-arm windmill trains you to ease into an overhead position with good body mechanics.

Kettlebell Windmill To A Block

It’s important to standardize your range of motion on every rep you do. If you cut some reps short and go deeper on others, it’s very hard to know if you’re really progressing on the exercise. By placing a yoga block, bench, or mat on the floor at the lowest elevation you can reach with your free hand, you get feedback on your depth. Every time your fingers touch the surface, you’ll know you hit the optimal range of motion that’s available to you right now.

Don’t use the block to rest your hand. Just touch it at the bottom of each rep (while keeping your eyes on the kettlebell overhead). When you hit depth, feel free to adjust your hip and shoulder position if you need so the exercise feels right.

Half-Kneeling Kettlebell Windmill

If you have a lot of trouble controlling the kettlebell overhead or getting your hips to hinge, regress the windmill to a half-kneeling position.

Step 1. Kneel on the floor on one knee and bend both knees 90 degrees (basically, the bottom of a lunge). Turn the toes on your front foot in a few degrees, and turn your rear leg (the lower leg) about 90 degrees inward.

Step 2. Now kick your hip out and perform the windmill, reaching for the floor. The range of motion is much shorter, so you should be able to feel a good stretch in your hips and place your palm on the floor without much difficulty. When you’ve mastered this, go back to the variation with a block, and then move up to the bent-knee or bent-arm options before you try the full-range windmill again.

What Weight Kettlebell Should I Use?

(See 14:38 in the video.)

While that Google search we mentioned in the beginning will bring up pictures of strongmen using gargantuan loads on windmills, we don’t recommend pushing yourself that hard to start out (trust us: those guys didn’t either). The windmill is all about technique, so use a weight that’s light enough to allow you to perform several sets of 5–8 reps to start with, but is also heavy enough to give you feedback on your shoulder and hip position. In other words, you should use enough load to make you work and balance and get into the deepest range of motion you can comfortably control, but not go so heavy that you’re straining to get through the set. Heins says that, for men with little strength training or kettlebell experience, that probably means a kettlebell that’s 8–12 kilograms; 6–8kg for women.

More experienced men, however, may be able to handle 12–16 kilos, while lady veterans might take on 8–12 kilos.

For more info on choosing kettlebell weights, see our guide, What Is The Best Kettlebell Weight To Start With?

How To Stretch Before Exercising

(See 03:27 in the video.)

Do the following mobility exercises before you practice the kettlebell windmill. Perform 3 sets of 10 reps each.

Side Hip Root

(See 03:38 in the video.)

Step 1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Bend your hips back at a 45-degree angle while raising your arms in front of you. Keep your feet flat on the floor and try to push into your hips enough that you really feel a stretch in the outer corner of your glute. The end position will look like you’re sitting on a high stool; you should have a soft bend in both knees.

Step 2. Extend your hips and row your arms back, as if pulling something toward you. That’s one rep. Repeat on the opposite side.

Child’s Pose With Twist

(See 04:34 in the video.)

Step 1. Get on your hands and knees and sit back on your butt. Reach your arms out at a 45-degree angle to your left side—your right should be a little in front of your left.

Step 2. Keeping your elbow straight, roll your right arm so your weight is resting on the knife-edge of your hand, and sit your hips back as far as you can (do it gently) while you rotate your torso to the left. You’ll feel a deep stretch in your lat and arm. That’s one rep. Complete your reps on that side, and then switch sides and repeat.

Arm Screw

(See 05:47 in the video.)

Step 1. Extend your arms out to your sides 90 degrees with palms facing up. Shrug your right shoulder and turn your palm over, twisting your arm as if you were wringing out a towel. Add to the rotation by reaching and twisting the opposite direction with your other arm.

Step 2. Reverse the motion and repeat on the opposite shoulder. Over time, add more rotation by twisting your torso in the direction of the arm you’re working and actively driving your arms apart so that you feel a stretch between your shoulder blades.

Master another kettlebell hinge movement with our guide to the kettlebell swing.

The post How To Do The Kettlebell Windmill Exercise Like A Pro appeared first on Onnit Academy.

In the video below, Shane and Francheska demonstrate an “I Go, You Go” style routine, in which one person leads the other through an exercise of their choosing, and then the roles reverse. You can apply this kind of workout to virtually any training you like to do. It can make your session more spontaneous and fun, and it helps both you and your partner learn new workout techniques. The workout Shane and Francheska came up with here—improvised on the spot, we might add—is for total-body mobility. You can do a round or two of it as a warmup before a weight-training workout, or do it by itself to help improve flexibility and body control. Done at a brisk pace with short rest periods, it can also double as a cardiovascular routine for endurance gains. Of course, it’s more fun to do the workout with a partner, but you can certainly use it when you’re solo as well.

Directions

The workout should take about 30 minutes. Perform the exercises in sequence, doing reps for 1 minute on each move. Repeat for 5 total rounds, resting as needed between rounds. Perform the workout up to 3 times per week on days in between your normal strength training. If you do it at a brisk pace, it could double as a cardio session as well.

1. Tai Chi Twist

Reps: Go for 60 seconds

(See 1:14 in the video above.)

Step 1. Take a wide (double shoulder-width) stance with your feet facing straight forward. Shift your weight to your right leg, bending your right knee and driving it forward, while you maintain a tall posture.

Step 2. Twist your torso so your body turns to the right. Squeeze your shoulder blades together as you draw your arms back to chest level, and then straighten your knee, shifting your weight to your left leg, as you extend your arms and spread your shoulder blades. Keep your torso in line with your right leg.

Step 3. Twist your torso to face the left knee, bring your arms back, and straighten your left leg, lunging back to your right.

2. Mobile Table

Reps: Go for 60 seconds

(See 2:56 in the video above.)

Step 1. Sit on the floor and bend your knees so your feet are flat. Press your palms into the floor behind you. Your fingers can face any direction that’s comfortable (many people prefer fingers pointing out to the sides).

Step 2. Roll your shoulders back and drive your arms down as you extend your hips, raising your butt off the floor as high as you can—ideally until your torso and upper legs form a straight line (think: table top). But stop before your shoulders shrug. It’s OK if you can only lift your butt a few inches off the floor, as long as you keep your shoulders drawn down.

3. Spinal Roll To Mountain Climber

Reps: Go for 60 seconds

(See 4:51 in the video above.)

Step 1. Stand with feet hip-width apart and tuck your chin to your chest. Slowly bend forward at the spine, lowering your head down your body, one vertebrae at a time. Allow the weight of your head and arms to drag your torso down.

Step 2. Place your hands on the floor and step your legs back into a plank position (the top of a pushup, with your body forming a straight line from your head to your heels).

Step 3. Step your left foot forward so it’s in line with your left hand, and try to straighten your back again as much as you can. Now twist your torso to the left and reach your left arm overhead until your shoulders are stacked.

Step 4. Return your hand to the floor and walk your right foot forward so that it’s even with the left foot. Bend your knees forward and begin extending your spine, slowly, to come back up to standing. Repeat on the opposite side.

4. Internal Rotating Squat

Reps: Go for 60 seconds

(See 7:06 in the video above.)

Step 1. Step your right foot out to just outside shoulder width. Bring your left foot in so the ball of your foot is lined up with the middle of your right foot. Plant the left foot with your heel raised.

Step 2. Squat down (you’ll only be able to go to about one-quarter depth) and rotate to the right so that your left shoulder is lined up with your left knee. Come back up, and repeat on the opposite side.

5. Shoulder Roll

Reps: Go for 60 seconds

(See 9:50 in the video above.)

Step 1. Press your fingers into one another so your palms are open and straight, and glue them to the sides of your legs—try to keep your hands tight against your legs while your shoulders slide. Maintain that tension.

Step 2. Shrug your shoulders as high as you can, and then retract your shoulder blades to pinch them together.

Step 3. Draw your shoulders down so you feel a stretch in your traps, and then push your shoulders forward, spreading your shoulder blades apart. Continue making shoulder circles, striving for fluid movement between all positions.

6. Squat Sprawl

Reps: Go for 60 seconds

(See 11:30 in the video above.)

Step 1. Place your feet a little outside hip width and squat down until your knees are bent about 90 degrees. Keep a long line from your head to your pelvis so your lower back stays in its natural arch. Place your hands on the floor and extend your legs behind you so that you’re in the top of a pushup position.

Step 2. Lower your hips to the floor as you drive your palms down and extend your back, drawing your shoulders back and down (an upward dog position in yoga).

Step 3. Reverse the motion to return to pushup position, and then step your feet forward again so you’re back in the bottom of your squat. Stand up.

To increase the challenge, jump your feet back to the pushup position instead of walking your feet back.

See another bodyweight circuit in our guide to circuit training.

The post Partner Mobility Workout appeared first on Onnit Academy.

Here’s what you can expect of yourself when you’re expecting…

What Exercises Can I Do When I’m Pregnant?

The first thing you should do is take a deep breath and let it out—working out while you’re pregnant will NOT harm your baby. (Obviously, check with your doctor first to see if there’s any kind of exercise that you should specifically avoid, but if you’re in good health, there’s no reason you should sit on your butt for nine months.) Staying active and pushing yourself will help prevent unnecessary weight gain and keep your fitness level up, so that after the baby comes, it won’t be so difficult to get back into your pre-pregnancy shape.

Eden says that you can gauge the intensity of the exercise you’re capable of by simply listening to your body, and doing training that’s appropriate for your current level of fitness. If you’ve been working out one to two times per week for the past three months or so, consider yourself still a beginner. If you’ve been at it for the last 12 months or more, going to the gym two to three times per week, call yourself an intermediate. Finally, ladies who have worked out two to four times a week consistently for more than a year can consider themselves advanced trainees who can take on the most challenging exercises we present here.

For each exercise you do, rate your perceived effort on a scale of 1 to 10. In other words, if 1 is easy activity that barely registers as effort, 10 is going all-out, as hard as you can. Eden recommends that beginners keep their intensity under a 4, intermediates at a 7 or under, and advanced people 8 or less. You should never approach a 9 or 10, so if you feel yourself starting to struggle, stop and back off a bit.

Additionally, Eden offers the following warning signs that you might be pushing too hard for you or your baby to handle (see 01:48 in the video above):

1. If your belly pushes out, called “coning,” you may be putting too much pressure on your intra-abdominal wall. Stop the set.

2. This kind of goes without saying, but if you lose control of your bladder and wet yourself (or worse), stop. Unexpected leakage can happen suddenly during jumping or other high-impact exercise when you’re pregnant, so take it easy on these movements, and stop if you spill!

3. An inability to speak at a normal cadence due to breathlessness is a warning sign that you’re pushing too hard. Essentially, if you can’t hold a somewhat normal conversation with a friend/partner during an exercise, take it down a notch.

4. If you stop sweating, or feel exhausted, you may be dehydrated. Stop at once. Be sure to drink extra fluids before, during, and after your workout to help prevent this.

5. Another obvious point but it warrants a mention: stop if you feel woozy or like you’re losing your balance. This is a more serious risk toward the end of your pregnancy when your body is really working for two.

6. If you feel an ache in your groin, stop. That could mean extra pressure on your perineum, the tissue that covers the bottom of the pelvic cavity.

How To Breathe During A Pregnancy Workout

(See 02:43 in the video.)

When working out for two, it’s doubly important to breathe properly—that is, breathing into your belly rather than your chest. Doing so enhances stability when you train, lessening the risk of injury, while also maximizing the amount of air you can take in and circulate to your muscles. Before you do your workout, take a few moments to practice your breathing as follows.

Step 1. Stand tall and tuck your tailbone slightly so your pelvis is level with the floor. Place one hand on your belly and one on your lower ribs and breathe in, trying to expand your abdomen 360 degrees. Think about directing the air into your belly, sides, and back.

Step 2. As you breathe in, relax the muscles in your pelvic floor. These are the muscles you’ll use to push the baby out, so get connected to them. It may help to imagine your sit bones separating as you take the air in.

Step 3. As you exhale, contract your pelvic floor as if squeezing the air out. That’s one rep.

Do 2–3 sets of 8–10 reps.

The Best Pregnancy Workout

Eden chose the following exercises for two main reasons: they’re tried and true muscle and strength builders, and they also mimic the kinds of activities you’ll need to perform once the baby comes—i.e., standing up with a bundle of joy in your arms, carrying the baby upstairs, picking him/her up, and so on. One prominent feature of this workout is the use of off-set loads, meaning that you’ll lift two weights at a time and one is heavier than the other. This imbalance will challenge your ability to stabilize your body and even things out, just as you have to do when you’ve got a baby in one arm, on one hip, etc. (Switch the heavier load to the opposite side each time you repeat the exercise to ensure balanced training.)

DIRECTIONS

(See 04:40 in the video.)

Perform the following exercises as a circuit, completing one set of each in sequence. Rest as needed between exercises, and then rest again at the end of the circuit. Repeat for 4 total rounds. Select the appropriate version of each exercise according to your experience level (beginner, intermediate, or advanced), and choose loads that allow you to stay in the intensity range for your experience level (a 4 or below, 7 or below, or up to 8). In other words, use weights that are challenging but will allow you to perform all the required reps with good form and no straining.

1. Swiss-Ball Wall Squat

(See 05:05 in the video.)

Reps: 10

Beginners:

Step 1. Place a Swiss ball on the floor against a wall and stand with your back to the ball, feet hip to shoulder-width apart.

Step 2. Bend your hips and knees and squat until your butt lightly touches the ball. Drive through your heels to come back up. You can extend your arms in front of you to help you balance during the squat.

Intermediates:

Step 1. Place the Swiss ball against the wall and rest your back against it to hold the ball in place. Get into your squat stance.

Step 2. Press into the ball as you squat as low as you can without your pelvis tucking under. Drive through your heels to stand back up.

Advanced:

Step 1. Set the Swiss ball against the wall and lean back against it while holding a kettlebell with both hands. Drive your shoulder blades back and together and brace your core.

Step 2. Squat as low as you can without your pelvis tucking under, and drive through your heels to come back up.

2. Off-Set Suitcase Carry

(See 06:18 in the video.)

Reps: Walk 20 yards

Beginner:

Step 1. Place two weights of different loads on boxes or benches set to the outsides of your feet, and stand with feet shoulder width. The boxes/benches should elevate the weights several inches above the floor, so you don’t have to reach so far to grasp them. Both weights should be light, but one can be 2.5–5 pounds heavier than the other.

Step 2: Hinge your hips back, keeping a long line from your head to your tailbone, and grasp the weights.

Step 3. Extend your hips to stand tall, finishing with the weights at your sides and your shoulder blades drawn back and together.

Step 4. Start walking forward using small steps—think heel to toe. Keep your shoulder blades back and your chest proud. When you’ve walked 10 yards, turn around and walk back to the platforms you took the weights off and return them (20 yards total).

Switch the weights to the opposite hands in the next round of the circuit.

Intermediates & Advanced:

More experienced trainees can increase the challenge by using heavier weights, creating a slightly greater discrepancy between the two weights (opt for a five to 10-pounds difference), or by walking backward. If you opt for the latter, walk 10 yards forward and then 10 backward—have a spotter/partner around to watch and make sure you don’t stumble.

3. Swiss-Ball Pushup

(See 07:23 in the video.)

Reps: 10

Beginner:

Step 1. You don’t need the Swiss ball for this version. Place your hands on a wall at shoulder-width apart. Spread your feet apart wide enough so that you feel balanced, and position them far enough away from the wall to make the exercise challenging (the closer your feet are to the wall, the more upright your body will be and the easier the exercise will feel). Tuck your tailbone so that your pelvis is perpendicular to your spine, and brace your core.

Step 2. Lower your chest toward the wall, keeping your body in a straight line with your abs braced. Tuck your arms 45 degrees to your sides as you lower, and go until you feel a stretch in your chest. Press yourself back up.

Intermediates:

Step 1. Place a Swiss ball against the wall and grasp its sides at arms’ length.

Step 2. Perform pushups against the ball, bracing it on the wall with your hands. Squeeze your triceps at the top of each rep.

Advanced:

Perform the pushup on the ball as shown, but with your feet further away from the wall so that the ball must support more of your body.

4. Lunge With Off-Set Load

(See 08:33 in the video.)

Reps: 10 (each leg)

Beginners:

Step 1. Place a weight on a box or bench as you did for the suitcase carry above, and hold a PVC pipe, dowel, or other object for stability. Hinge your hips back to reach down and grasp the weight with your free hand.

Step 2. Extend your hips and knees to stand tall. Now reach the pipe out in front of you to the length of your lunge stride. Using the pipe to mark the distance, lunge forward with one leg, planting your foot next to the pipe, and bend both knees until your front knee is 90 degrees and your rear knee is just above the floor. Come back up, and then repeat on the other leg, lunging in one place.

Intermediate:

If you feel strong and well enough to keep your balance without the pipe, place another weight on the benches/boxes so you have two loads and ditch the pipe. One weight can be heavier than the other. Perform walking lunges, alternating legs and stepping forward on each rep until you’ve done 10 reps on each side across the room. Stop a moment between reps to reset your feet and keep your balance.

On your next round of the circuit, switch the weights.

Advanced:

Perform the lunges with weight in both hands, but don’t reset between reps. Walk fluidly across the room.

5. Swiss-Ball Biceps Curl

(See 09:58 in the video.)

Reps: 10

Beginners:

Step 1. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and sit on a Swiss ball with feet set hip to shoulder-width apart. Sit up tall with your pelvis level to the floor and your core braced, and turn your palms out away from your sides.

Step 2. Keeping your upper arms close to your sides, curl the dumbbells, and then control their descent back down. Do your reps slowly so you can maintain balance on the ball.

Intermediates & Advanced:
Do the exercise the same way as the beginner level, but you can challenge yourself with heavier weights, or offset the load as you see fit.

Want more of Eden? See her top 6 beginner kettlebell exercises.

The post The Best Pregnancy Exercises and Workouts appeared first on Onnit Academy.

The steel club—the ultimate evolution of the age-old club tool—may be the best training implement you haven’t tried. Here’s what you need to know to start implementing it in your workouts.

What Is A Steel Club?

The club is an offset-loaded weight-training tool, often called a leverage-challenge tool, that works similarly to a kettlebell or steel mace. The bulk of the club’s weight is set at a distance from its handle, making it difficult to stabilize and control. Because of this design, the club lends itself to rotational movements better than perhaps any other piece of equipment (which we’ll discuss in depth further down). Clubs range in length from about one foot to a little more than two feet, and generally come in weight increments ranging between five and 45 pounds.

“The club was our first tool and our first weapon, going back to pre-historic times—think, caveman,” says Shane Heins, Onnit’s Director of Fitness Education, and a steel club coach. “It helped us hunt and fight. People figured out that swinging a club increased the torque on it, and that increased the force it could strike with and the damage it could inflict. So armies learned to swing clubs in battle.”

Over time, warriors realized that swinging clubs—and maces, which developed the same way—strengthened their bodies, and they began formalizing club and mace use for sports training and fitness purposes. Every continent had its own version of the club. To this day, some still call the tool an Indian club, or Persian club (sometimes referred to as a “meel”), as the Indians and Iranians (not least of all the Iron Sheik) did so much to popularize it. In modern times, martial arts fitness expert Scott Sonnon has perhaps been the club’s most vocal champion, helping to spread awareness of club training in the Western world with the popularity of his Clubbell® line over the past 20 years.

Traditionally, clubs were made of wood, but that made progressing to heavier weights problematic. To get a heavier club, you had to upgrade to a bigger piece of wood, making the club cumbersome and difficult to travel with. Due to their greater density, modern-day steel clubs offer heavier weight in a more compact size.

What are the Benefits of Steel Club Training?

As with the kettlebell, steel mace, or any other tool where the weight is offset from the handle, the club presents a number of challenges that you can’t get to the same degree with more conventional equipment. It also has a few features that make it unlike any other implement you can use.

Training with the steel club helps you…

1. Build Core Strength

Kettlebells are praised for promoting core strength due to their offset load. The weight is positioned at a distance from the handle, so it’s harder to stabilize, and your body must call on numerous muscles to keep you in alignment. The club takes this to the next level, as the weight is displaced even further at the end of a long lever.

Imagine holding a heavy weight right in front of your chest. It’s close to your center of mass, so you have about as much control over it as you possibly can. Extend the weight away from you, however, and you’ve reduced your leverage advantage. Now it’s harder to lift the load, especially in different planes (say, in a circular fashion as opposed to straight up and down). All club exercises put you at a significant leverage disadvantage, which is bad for making workouts feel easy, but great for activating muscle—especially in your abs and throughout your back.

2. Build Rotational Strength

The leverage disadvantage and shape of the club really feed into its greatest feature—allowing you to train rotational movements.

“Our body works in rotation all the time,” says Heins. For example, swinging a bat, throwing a ball, lifting heavy groceries out of your car, or wrestling with your kids. Some of the best steel club exercises are swinging and spiral patterns that force you to stabilize your body over a long range of motion, and develop power in the rotary plane.

“We also need to be able to resist rotation when it isn’t wanted,” says Heins. “When you’re walking, and you pick one foot up, forces act on it to try to twist it in one direction or the other. When you’re squatting with a barbell, you think you’re going up and down, but there’s rotational force acting on your shoulders, spine, hips, knees, and feet. The club highlights this resistance, and it helps you create greater stability.” Because of its dimensions, doing something as simple as a squat while holding a club is difficult to accomplish without bending or twisting to one side (rotation). But, over time, you’ll learn to move in exactly the planes you want, and the resulting stability will translate to other exercises and athletic movements.

Similar to unilateral exercises, “the club also shows you which of your sides is stronger,” says Heins, “so you can begin to correct the imbalance between the left and right halves of the body.”

3. Build Grip Strength

When you train rotation, you create centrifugal force. As a lever moves around an axis, it wants to pull away from that axis and move outward. In addition to having a thick handle and an offset load, the club is tough to grip because it wants to fly out of your hands when you swing it. “The steel club is great for building a grip that’s really alive,” says Heins. “You can’t just clamp down on it like you do a barbell before a 500-pound deadlift. Wherever you’re holding or moving it, the club is always pushing down or pulling away from you, so you need the dexterity and articulation and sensitivity, in combination with appropriately applied tension, to hold on and control it.” With this in mind, imagine how club training could help a grappler who needs to hang on to an opponent’s gi, a construction worker who hauls heavy materials up a scaffold with a rope, or a fisherman trying to reel in a fighting marlin.

“When you use a club, you have to feel the load transition from between your thumb and forefinger to the pinky and palm of your hand,” says Heins. “The information it sends to your central nervous system is constantly changing.”

The steel mace works the grip in a similar fashion, but the club is harder to hold on to. The handle is shorter, giving you less surface area to grasp. It’s easy to regress the challenge on a steel mace exercise by holding the handle nearer to the ball on the end, or widening your grip, which increases your control. But the load on the club is elongated, and more offset. You have a lot less handle to spread your hands apart on, and gripping the fat end totally changes the nature of the load. It can sometimes feel like your only option is to hold on for dear life. Sound scary? Take it slow, and it’s not as hazardous as you may think. (See Steel Club Safety below.)

4. Decompress Your Joints and Tissues

Most weight-training exercises tighten your body up, literally. Think of what happens to your spine when you do a back squat: the bar rests on your back, shoving your vertebrae closer together. When you press heavy weights, your shoulders and elbows get squeezed. Continually compressing your joints and shortening the muscles that act on them can lead to pain and loss of flexibility, but the steel club can help to alleviate both.

“You have to pull back on the club a bit as it swings,” says Heins, lest you want the centrifugal force to rip it out of your hands. “That creates some traction in your wrists, elbows, and shoulders, which allows fluid to pass through them, helping recovery. You can strengthen a joint with traction just like you can with compression. Pulling it apart makes the muscles and connective tissues work to hold the joint together, and it’s a nice counterbalance to compressive forces you get in your other training.”

Heins says to think of club training like an accordion. “If you squeeze it, you’re only getting half the music. You have to pull the ends apart again to play a song.”

Traction and rotation also have the effect of helping your muscles into new ranges of motion they wouldn’t otherwise explore. Look at a pullover exercise (see the workout below) with the club, in which you hold it vertically and lift it over your shoulder and behind your back in an arcing motion. The weight of the club will help to stretch your triceps, lats, and shoulders as it moves downward behind you. At the same time, holding your ribs down with your core tight to maintain good spine and hip alignment trains your core. You get stretching and strengthening in one movement. How’s that for training economy?

Big weightlifters and powerlifters often report that working the club into their routines helps to open up their shoulders and backs, adding longevity to their competitive careers and easing aches and pains.

5. Get More Out of Light Weight

The handle, the offset load, and the rotational nature of club training make it virtually impossible to use heavy weight, and that’s perfectly alright. If you’re expecting a 10-pound club to feel like a 10-pound dumbbell, get that thought out of your head right now.

“The top-end weights we work with are 35 pounds,” says Heins. “That’s super heavy for club training, but it’s still only 35 pounds of overall load, so even when you get strong on the club, it isn’t hard to recover from. It’s certainly not like recovering after a one-rep max squat with 400 pounds.” Heins notes that doing a long session of club training might leave you mentally zonked, similar to how you’d feel after taking a final exam, because the club requires so much nervous system activation. But it’s too light to leave you physically wrecked for days. For athletes who need to compete frequently, it’s helpful to have a tool that lets them train hard and bounce back fast.

Light weight also makes clubs highly portable. If you’re planning a road trip that will take you away from your gym, clubs can fit easily into the car, providing you with a workout you can do anywhere from a hotel room to an empty parking lot.

6. Make Training Fun!

“I’ve taught training certifications for the club all over the country,” says Heins, “and every time people walk in and pick up a club for the first time, it’s always funny. They think it’s going to feel like a baseball bat or a bowling pin, and then you watch them have to put it down right away because they realize they can’t control it. They take a step back, and then try again.”

To say club training provides a novel workout experience is a given, but it also taps into a primal instinct in us all that’s inherently fun. Clubs can even be used for creative expression. As you master club exercises, you can begin to transition from one to the next seamlessly, creating what’s known as a flow. There’s no wrong order or movement, per se, you just move gracefully from one position to the next, working your whole body in the process. Workouts then become more like warrior dances than weight training.

What Club Should I Buy?

As mentioned above, steel clubs are denser than wood, so they offer easier handling for a wider array of loads (plus, they take up less space). We recommend starting with steel that has a powder-coated handle. Some club handles have knurling (rough texture, same as you see on barbells), which makes for an easier grip, but they can tear up your hands over time—especially if you do a lot of swinging, where the club is pulling away from you with centrifugal force.

Other clubs have handles that are completely smooth, which Heins says presents an even worse problem. “When you sweat, the handle becomes slick,” he says, “which can turn the club into a missile.” The powder coat on Onnit’s clubs provides just enough friction for the club to change positions in your hand without you losing control of it, and it won’t chafe your palms in the process. Additionally, a club should have a knob on the end of its handle—where the pinky end of your grip gets firm purchase—to help stop your hand from sliding back off it.

Heins recommends men start with a pair of 15-pounders and a single 20 or 25-pound club, and says most women will do well with one pair of 10 pounders and a single 15 or 20-pound club. Most of your club training will be done using both hands on one club to start, as this provides the greatest stability. As you progress, you’ll find that exercises done above the waist (such as presses and pullovers) are hardest when utilizing a club in each hand. Those that are done below the waist (swings and leg drivers) are easier when done with a club in each hand versus two hands on one.

How To Warm Up For a Steel Club Workout

Use the following warmup drills to increase mobility and prepare your body for training. Perform 5 reps for each exercise in sequence, and repeat for 3 total rounds.

1. Kneeling Spinal Wave (See 00:42 in the video below.)
2. Kneeling Arm Thread (02:17)
3. Kneeling Hip Flexor Twist (03:43)
4. Clasped-Hand Elbow Rotation (04:45)
5. Pullover Spiral Down (06:35)

3 Steel Club Exercises You Have to Try

Experiment with steel club training by incorporating the following exercises into your workouts wherever you see fit. The spiral lift around is great for improving shoulder mobility, and can help to stretch the wrist flexor muscles, which can cause elbow pain when tight. That makes it a good choice before an upper-body training session as part of your warmup, or after a workout to help you lengthen the muscles again.

The side pullover opens up your shoulder and lat, and helps you maintain a tight core position, making it a natural for inclusion in any kind of ab training you do. Lastly, the front swing can be used anywhere you would normally do a kettlebell swing or other deadlift/hinge movement. Suggestion: try it as a finisher at the end of a session, combining short rest periods and high reps to get your heart rate soaring (once you’re experienced and familiar with the movement, that is).

Directions: In your first session, take it slow, and focus on your technique so that you learn the exercises correctly. Perform each for time rather than reps, starting with 30 seconds. So you’ll do reps for 30 seconds straight and then rest. On the spiral lift around and side pullover, work for 30 seconds on one side, and then switch sides and repeat. Perform 3 to 5 sets for each movement.

Spiral Lift-Around

Step 1. Stand with feet between hip and shoulder-width apart, and hold a club at your side in your left hand. It should point vertically to the floor below. Tuck your tailbone so that your pelvis is parallel to the floor, brace your core, and squeeze your glutes. Draw your shoulders down and back—think “proud chest.” Maintain this body position throughout the exercise.

Step 2. Begin raising the club straight up in front of your body, pulling from your elbow and allowing the weight of the club to bend your wrist and stretch your forearm. Let the weight of the club pull down as you continue moving the club around the back of your head, and lower the club back to your side, extending your elbow as it comes down. The end of the club should point to the floor throughout the movement.

Try to keep the club as close to your body as you can during the exercise without bumping into it. Heins says to visualize the club as a candle that’s floating around your body—keep it vertical and control its path.

Side Pullover

Step 1. Hold the club with the end pointing upward, and your elbow bent 90 degrees. Turn your arm so that your knuckles point out 90 degrees from your torso with your elbow by your ribs. Maintain the tight core, pelvis position, and proud chest described above.

Step 2. Reach the club over and behind your head, as if you were raising it to deliver a blow. Turn your head so that your eyes can focus on your arm. Swing the club back down to the start position by driving your elbow next to your ribs until the club is pointing vertically again.

As you raise the club on each rep, allow the weight of it to pull your elbow back and stretch your triceps and shoulder, but don’t relax anything. You may find that your range of motion increases over the course of a set. Bring the club down with force, but not so fast that you can’t control its descent and lose alignment.

Front Swing

Step 1. Hold a club in each hand and, keeping your head, spine, and pelvis in a straight line, swing the clubs down and back behind you at a 45-degree angle as you hinge at the hips.

Step 2. Drive your hips back as far as you can without losing alignment, and then explosively extend your hips to stand tall. Use the momentum to swing the clubs up to eye level. Control the downswing to go back into the hinge and repeat for reps.

Beginner Steel Club Workout

The following routine works well on its own as a fat loss-focused conditioning workout, or (if done for only 3 rounds only) a finisher at the end of a heavy training session. If doing the former, perform it three times per week on non-consecutive days (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, for instance).

Directions: Perform the exercises as a circuit, so you’ll complete one set of each movement in turn. (For unilateral exercises, work one side and then the other before going on to the next exercise). At the end of the circuit, rest 45 seconds. Repeat for 3–5 total rounds.

Instead of aiming for a specific number of reps, you’ll perform your sets for time. Complete as many reps as you can in 30 seconds, and aim to perform one more in the same amount of time each time you repeat the workout, or perform the set with better form and greater control. Don’t rush to get as many reps as possible; focus on perfect execution.

1. One-Arm Pullover

(See 01:20 in the video above)

Reps: Work for 30 seconds (each side)

Step 1. Hold the club in front of you with the end pointing upward, and your elbow bent 90 degrees. Tuck your tailbone so that your pelvis is parallel to the floor, brace your core, and squeeze your glutes. Draw your shoulders down and back—think “proud chest.” Maintain this body position throughout the exercise.

Step 2. Reach the club over your shoulder and behind your head, as if you were raising it to deliver a blow. Swing the club down to its starting position by driving your elbow forward again and down next to your hip, so the club is pointing vertically again.

As you raise the club on each rep, allow the weight of it to pull your elbow back and stretch your triceps and shoulder (but don’t relax anything). You may find that your range of motion increases over the course of a set. Bring the club down with force, but not so fast that you can’t control its descent and lose alignment.

2. Double Leg Driver

(See 02:46 in the video.)

Reps: Work for 30 seconds

Step 1. Stand two clubs on the floor so they sit vertically, a little outside shoulder width. Stand just behind them with a hip to shoulder-width stance, and, keeping your head, spine, and pelvis in a long line, hinge your hips back and bend your knees so you can reach down and grasp the clubs by their handles.

Step 2. Tip the clubs back toward you and extend your hips and knees enough to pick the clubs off the floor and allow them to swing back behind your body.

Step 3. Reverse the momentum and swing the clubs in front of your legs, bending your knees to decelerate them. The range of motion is fairly short. Continue swinging the clubs in this pendulum motion, bending your hips and knees to power the movement. Do not allow your hips and knees to lock out at any time, and maintain a proud chest position and alignment from your head to your pelvis.

3. Two-Hand Front Press

(See 04:44 in the video.)

Reps: Work for 15 seconds with right hand on top, then 15 seconds left on top

Step 1. Stand with feet between hip and shoulder width and hold one club with both hands to the right side of your torso. Your right hand should be on top of the left, and your left should be at the bottom of the handle.

Step 2. Keeping a proud chest, level pelvis, and shoulders square with your hips, press the club straight in front of your chest until your hands are at eye level and your elbows are locked out. 

4. Mountain Climber to Down Dog

(See 06:28 in the video.)

Reps: Work for 30 seconds

Step 1. Get on all fours on the floor. Your hands should be directly under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Your toes should also dig into the floor. Tuck your tailbone so that your pelvis is perpendicular to the floor, and brace your core. Draw your shoulder blades down and together (“proud chest”).

Step 2. Try to maintain your shoulder and hip position as you step your left leg forward and place your foot on the floor to the outside of your left hand. Take a second to retract your shoulders and extend your hips after the rep. Return your leg to the all-fours position, and repeat on the opposite side.

Step 3. When you’ve done the mountain climber on both legs and returned to the all-fours position, push your hands into the floor, extend your knees, and drive your hips back into downward dog. Your head, spine, and tailbone should form a straight line as you balance on the balls of your feet. From there, you can pedal your feet, extending one knee at a time to help loosen your hamstrings. Afterward, return to all fours to begin the next round of mountain climbers.

Steel Club Safety

There’s no denying that the club was originally created to bash things over the head, so we understand if you’re a little reluctant to start swinging it around your living room near your spouse or children. But with a little practice, you’ll see that the club poses no more danger than any other piece of exercise equipment—and maybe even less. Consider this: you’ll never get trapped under a 400-pound squat with it and have to call spotters to pull it off of you.

Heins offers the following safety tips: “Keep your eyes on the club at all times. Turn your head and follow it wherever it goes. When you feel your hands get sweaty, or you’re losing your grip, or you notice your form is starting to break down, end the set and put the club down. There’s no ‘just one more rep!’ with club training. Also, be aware of your surroundings and make sure you give yourself space.”

The post The Steel Club: Benefits and Uses appeared first on Onnit Academy.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Onnit (@onnit)

Perform the exercises with light weights, concentrate on speed and power, and hold back from going to failure if you want a warmup that increases alertness and raises your core temperature. Go heavier and closer to failure if you want a workout that builds power and blitzes your whole body in 10 minutes or less.

Either way, this routine is great for breaking out of the normal plane of motion most people are used to training in. Traditional exercises like chest presses, forward lunges, and curls have your limbs moving forward and back, but this workout gets them moving side to side and with rotation, which adds a real-world, athletic component to your training while still activating plenty of muscle—including, of course, the core musculature, which helps transfer power from the lower body to the upper.

Dynamic Core Warmup

Perform the exercises as a circuit, completing one set for each in sequence. Rest as little as possible between sets, and repeat for 3 total rounds.

1. Rotational Ball Slam to Toss

Reps: 5 (each side)

Step 1. Stand a few feet away from a wall (preferably one that is padded, to protect it), and turn 90 degrees so that your left side faces the wall. Hold a light medicine ball with both hands and stand with feet outside shoulder width. Raise the ball to your right side and overhead in a circular motion, and throw it down to the floor as hard as you can. Allow your body to pivot toward your left so you can throw the ball with maximum power.

Step 2. Catch the ball as it rebounds from the floor, and take a step forward. Twist your torso to the right to coil your body for another throw, allowing your knees to bend.

Step 3. Throw the ball into the wall and catch it on the rebound again. Shuffle your feet away from the wall to set up for your next rep. (Both throws equal one rep on that side.)

2. Lateral Lunge Clean to Twist Press

Reps: 6–10 (each side)

Step 1. Clean the kettlebell from the floor (see our tutorial on how to clean a kettlebell in our Top 6 Kettlebell Exercises for Beginners article) and step to that same side, lowering your body into a lateral lunge. Your lead leg should be bent 90 degrees and your trailing leg straight.

Step 2. Come out of the lunge, and rotate your body to the opposite side as you press the kettlebell overhead. Allow your feet to pivot as you turn your torso 90 degrees.

3. Star Crunch

Reps: 20

Step 1. Lie on your back on the floor and flatten your lower back into the floor. Extend your arms and legs.

Step 2. Perform a crunch, raising your torso until your shoulder blades are off the floor. Bend your elbows and knees as you crunch, bringing them to meet in the top position.

Get another warmup (this time for upper body) in our article Shoulder Mobility for Strength and Injury Prevention.

The post Dynamic Core Warmup with Francheska Martinez appeared first on Onnit Academy.

Most daily activities, as well as athletic maneuvers, have you working off primarily one leg or arm at a time, and that requires your body to supply its own stability. It also means that if one side is weaker than the other, it can’t rely on the stronger limb to cover for it. Running, jumping, throwing, punching/kicking, and changing direction all demand that your limbs be stable and strong when moving independently, and only unilateral training—working one side at a time—can accomplish this.

Below, Onnit Coach Nick Gomez (@coachnick44) takes you through his favorite unilateral movements for training athletes. They’ll help you to be stronger and more explosive with each arm and leg individually, and begin to correct any muscle imbalances you have between your strong side and weaker one. Unilateral training is also great for core strength, so, assuming your diet is in order, don’t be surprised if you see your six-pack muscles start to pop after a few weeks of these moves.

Unilateral Movements for Athletes Workout

1. 45-Degree Bound

Sets: 3  Reps: 3 (each leg)

[See 00:14 in the video above]

Step 1. Stand on your left leg and bend your hips and knees. Draw your left arm back while you reach your right arm forward. Do this all at once so you feel like you’re loading a spring—coiling up your body to explode.

Step 2. Jump as far forward as you can at a 45-degree angle to your right. Land softly on the right leg, controlling your body by bending at the hips and knee again. Pause for a moment to own the position, and repeat the jump on the other side. Each jump is one rep.

Bounding is great for developing running and jumping power. Try this one to start off your leg days (after you’ve warmed up, of course), or as part of a warmup before you do a sprint or plyometric workout.

2. Uneven Carry

Sets: 1  Reps: Walk 15 yards, or as far as you can in 30 (each side)

[See 00:40 in the video]

Step 1. Hold a light kettlebell in your right hand at chin level. Hold another, heavier, kettlebell at your side with the opposite arm. Stand tall, draw your shoulders back and down, and brace your core.

Step 2. Begin walking with control at a steady pace for 15 yards, or a total of 30 seconds. Switch the kettlebells and walk back.

A variation of the farmer’s walk, this uneven carry trains grip strength on one side while working your core. Go as heavy as you can control for the full distance/time you have to walk. Do the uneven carry at the end of your workouts.

3. Plank Body Saw

Sets: 3  Reps: 10

[See 01:07 in the video]

Step 1. Get into pushup position, and then rest your forearms on the floor. Your body should form a straight line from your head to your feet, with your pelvis perpendicular to the floor and your core braced. Rest your feet on a wheel, furniture sliders, or any other object that can glide smoothly on the floor (paper plates can work if you have a waxed floor).

Step 2. Keep your body braced and straight as you drive your arms into the floor to slide your body backward until you feel you’re about to lose control of your pelvis position. Slide yourself forward again. That’s one rep.

Though not technically a unilateral exercise, the body saw trains you to work your legs, hips, core and shoulders separately but in unison, making for an incredibly challenging exercise that leaves no room for weak links. This move is a good workout finisher.

4. Staggered-Stance Trap-Bar Deadlift

Sets: 3  Reps: 6

[See 01:36 in the video]

Step 1. Find your staggered stance by putting your feet together and turning your right foot out 90 degrees. Rotate it 90 degrees again in the other direction and your toes should line up with the heel of the left foot. Keep your right heel raised so you’re balancing that leg on the ball of your foot. Keep a long spine as you bend your hips back and reach down to grasp the trap bar’s high handles. Your chest should be visible to someone standing in front of you (i.e., don’t bend over too much). Take a deep breath into your belly and brace your core.

Step 2. Drive through your feet to extend your hips and stand up tall. Eighty-five percent of your weight should be on your front leg. Exhale as you come up. That’s one rep.

Perform 6 reps, rest, and then repeat on the opposite leg.

It’s easy to see how this exercise mimics the mechanics of running and leaping, as well as wrestling and blocking in football, and that’s exactly what it will prepare you to do with maximum power. Use the staggered-stance deadlift as your main strength exercise on a lower-body day.

5. Half-Kneeling Landmine Press

Sets: 3  Reps: 8 (each side)

[See 02:13 in the video]

Step 1. Wedge a barbell into a corner or use a landmine unit as shown. Kneel on the floor on one knee and hold the bar on the same side as the downed knee. Your pelvis should be level with the floor.

Step 2. Keeping your torso tall and straight and your core braced, press the bar overhead and lean into the movement with your torso. That’s one rep.

Most people never do pushing exercises one arm at a time, so the landmine press is perfect for evening up the strength between sides. Use it in place of your dumbbell or barbell pressing for a while. As each limb gets stronger separately, you may notice you can go heavier when you return to conventional, bilateral overhead and chest presses.

6. Rotational Medicine-Ball Throw

Sets: 3  Reps: 4 (each side)

[See 02:48 in the video]

Step 1. Hold a medicine ball and stand perpendicular to a wall (preferably one that’s padded) with your legs staggered. The front leg should support 85% of your weight.

Step 2. Twist your body away from the wall until you feel a stretch in your core and then toss the ball into the wall as hard as you can—but stop your rotation when your shoulders are perpendicular to the wall again. Catch the ball on the rebound and absorb the force. That’s one rep.

Punching, throwing, running, and so many other activities rely on your ability to produce and control powerful rotation. This simple exercise helps you develop it fast. Do these as part of your warmup before a heavy workout to prime your nervous system.

See more exercises for athletes in our article on 5 Medicine-Ball Workouts.

The post Unilateral Movements For Athletes appeared first on Onnit Academy.