Benefits Of Using Kettlebells To Work Out Your Legs

(See 00:44 in the video above)

“Kettlebells are easier to manage than barbells and plates,” says Shane Heins, Onnit’s Director of Fitness Education. If you don’t have access to a gym, or you need to train in hotel rooms due to frequent travel, the kettlebell is the more practical option than conventional free weights. Furthermore, you don’t need a wide array of poundages to get a good workout for any body part. One 16-kilo kettlebell can make for a pretty grueling routine.

The shape and design of the kettlebell allows you to move it in ways that can’t be done with other implements. This means you can train your legs while holding the weight aloft, in front of you, while rotating, and otherwise moving in multiple planes in order to get a unique training effect that prepares you for the movements you’ll make in everyday life and sports. The offset load, however, is what made kettlebells famous. “The bell’s center of gravity is set at a distance from its handle,” says Heins, meaning that you’ll have to work much harder to control the weight than you would with a dumbbell. That raises the stakes on every exercise you do, increasing the benefit to your stability and overall body control.

Why And How To Do The Single-Leg Kettlebell Deadlift

(See 01:27 in the video)

“Just because we have a greater sense of evenness when standing on two legs doesn’t mean both sides are doing their part evenly,” says Heins. Everyone has strength imbalances between sides, and while you’ll probably never smooth them out completely, it’s worth it to at least try to minimize the discrepancy. The single-leg deadlift strengthens the glutes, hamstrings, and adductors in each leg in turn, while improving your balance and body control on one leg. Single-leg training also lets you work through a greater range of motion, and that helps with mobility. All of these things are important for preventing injury, as lopsided strength and mobility between limbs can set you up for accidents. You’ll also find that when each leg works better on its own, the two will come together to produce more force on your bilateral exercises, such as conventional deadlifts and back squats.

Here’s how to perform the single-leg kettlebell deadlift with good form.

Step 1. Hold a kettlebell with both hands at arm‘s length in front of you. Retract and depress your shoulders—think: “proud chest.” Now stand with feet hip-width apart and pick your left foot up off the floor an inch or two (just high enough so it doesn’t scrape the floor when you begin your reps).

Step 2. Soften your right knee so there’s a slight bend, and begin pushing your hips straight back as if to touch a wall behind you. This motion is called a hip hinge, and it’s the same type of movement you’d perform in any deadlift variation.

Step 3. Push your left leg back and straighten it as you hinge at the hips, and try to keep the leg moving in a straight line, as if you were aiming to touch a target that was directly behind you. If you have trouble balancing, you can gently tap your left foot to the floor as you go, but try to keep it elevated. The left leg will serve as a sort of kickstand that supports you while you train the right leg.

Keep a long spine from your head to your tailbone as you bend your hips—don’t let your back round forward. Stop when you feel a good stretch in your right glutes and hamstrings.

Step 4. Extend your hips to come back up to standing tall, touch your foot down to reset, and repeat for reps. Afterward, switch legs and do your reps on the left leg.

Heins says to grip the floor with your foot as much as possible. (If possible, do the exercise in socks or bare feet so you can make better use of your toes). “Your weight should shift to your heel as you hinge,” says Heins. “Push your foot into the floor, and that will create stability up the chain.” Also, avoid twisting your hips and shoulders to either side. Strive to keep both square to the floor at all times.

Single-Leg Kettlebell Deadlift Alternatives

(See 06:20 in the video)

If you’re fairly new to lifting or don’t have a lot of single-leg work under your belt, your biggest challenge may be keeping your balance. In this case, try what Heins calls the sliding single-leg deadlift, where you’ll rely more on the kickstand leg to provide stability.

Sliding Single-Leg Deadlift

(See 06:40 in the video)

Step 1. Set up as you did for the single-leg deadlift but keep the toes of your left foot on the floor and raise your heel.

Step 2. Now bend your hips back and slide your left foot gently along the floor. Maintain contact with the floor throughout the set so you keep balance.

If even the sliding single-leg deadlift feels like a high-wire act, regress the movement one step further to the staggered-stance deadlift (also called a B-stance deadlift). All you have to do is split your legs and hinge the hips. The staggered stance takes a lot of balance out of the equation but still allows you to emphasize one leg over the other, so you get the benefits of unilateral training.

Staggered-Stance Deadlift

(See 07:05 in the video)

Step 1. Stand with your left foot a bit behind the right one so your left toes are in line with your right heel.

Step 2. Perform your hip hinge as normal, using the left leg only to maintain balance.

Yet another option is to hold the kettlebell at your chest rather than at arm’s length. By keeping the weight closer to your body, you’ll have better control of it and can focus almost exclusively on the deadlift motion itself. “The chest-held single-leg deadlift is a good way to instigate sitting back deeper into your hinge,” says Heins.

Chest-Held Single-Leg Deadlift

(See 08:02 in the video)

Step 1. You know the drill… Do any of the single-leg deadlift movements described above but with the bottom of the kettlebell held tight to your sternum and your chest proud.

Sample Kettlebell Leg Workout

(See 09:30 in the video)

Here’s a workout that incorporates the single-leg deadlift with other movements that build strong, balanced, and muscular legs.

DIRECTIONS

Perform the exercises as a circuit, completing one set of each in sequence without rest in between. Afterward, rest 2 minutes, and repeat the circuit for 3–5 total rounds.

1. Single-Leg Deadlift (Any Variation of the Above)

Reps: 10 (each side)

2. Kneeling Leg Extension

(See 10:23 in the video)

Reps: 5–10

Step 1. Get on your knees and hold a light kettlebell at chest level. Flatten the top of your feet into the floor. (You may want to put a towel or mat under you to protect your knees.)

Step 2. Keeping your hips locked out, SLOWLY bend your knees, allowing yourself to fall backward under control until you feel a big stretch in your quads. Stop before you lose control of the movement, and extend your knees to come back up.

Not only is this a challenging exercise, but it can be hard on your knees and quads if you’re not warmed up, so ease into this slowly after you’ve done a thorough warmup (see the video below!).

3. Single-Rack High-Knee March

(See 10:52 in the video)

Reps: 10 (each side)

Step 1. Hold the kettlebell in your right hand at shoulder level and stand with feet hip-distance apart.

Step 2. Drive your right foot into the floor while you raise your left knee up as high as you can. Lower it, and repeat on the other leg. After 10 reps, switch the kettlebell to your left hand.

4. Modified Sumo Squat To Figure-Four

(See 11:24 in the video)

Reps: 3 (each side)

Step 1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and turn your toes out as far as you can. Hold the kettlebell with both hands in front of your chest.

Step 2. Squat as deeply as you can, pushing your knees out as you descend. Keep your chest facing forward and maintain a long spine from your head to your tailbone—don’t let your pelvis tuck under (stop short of where it does).

Step 3. Extend your hips and knees to stand up tall again and then turn your body to your left, raise your right leg in front of you, and rest it against your left leg in a figure-four position. Depending on your mobility, you can rest the leg above the knee or against your shin—either is fine.

Release the right leg, return to the modified sumo stance, squat, and repeat the figure-four on the other side.

How To Stretch Your Legs Before Working Out

Perform the following mobility routine from Onnit-certified coach Eric Leija (@primal.swoledier) before you take on the workout above. It will stretch out your hips, glutes, and hamstrings for the work to come, and raise your core temperature for safer training.

How Often Should You Train Your legs?

(See 12:28 in the Single-Leg Kettlebell Deadlift video)

You can perform the workout outlined above three days per week on non-consecutive days. Heins says you could do it Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and perform your upper-body work on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

Discover more single-leg training options, such as the B-stance hip thrust.

The post A Pro’s Kettlebell Leg Workout With The Single-Leg Deadlift 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 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.

Traditional kettlebell zealots favor the so-called Russian swing, where the weight is swung to around chest level with arms bent, while maverick coaches argue for the version that’s perhaps become more popular in America—swinging the weight clear overhead with arms extended.

We say both have their place and that, ultimately, the argument for one at the exclusion of the other is, like so many political debates, mere propaganda. We asked Onnit Director of Fitness Education, Shane Heins, to compare and contrast the two exercises so you can choose which side you wish to align yourself.

What’s The Difference Between The Russian Kettlebell Swing and The American Kettlebell Swing

(See 00:10 in the video above.)

“The father of modern kettlebell training who revitalized its use in the West is Pavel Tsatsouline,” says Heins. Beginning around the turn of the century, Tsatsouline—a coach of Eastern European origin—taught and popularized kettlebell training mechanics around the U.S. Pavel primarily demonstrated the Russian version of the swing, raising the bell to between waist and chest height, because that’s the way it was traditionally taught in Russia, the kettlebell’s motherland.

Heins notes that swinging in this fashion is less challenging to learn and more accessible to most people than swinging the weight overhead (the American style), and so this technique caught on. The swing in general gained a following because it was a simple way to add power to a training program—a quality that most general population fitness seekers ignore—as well as a good way to teach hip hinging. (Most of us bend at the waist and spine when we need to learn to drive our hips back).

“As awareness of kettlebell training grew, practitioners started exploring other variations of the swing,” says Heins, “with CrossFitters promoting a swing style where the arms travel overhead.” This has since come to be known as the American swing. “Naturally, controversy ensued about which version was the safest and most effective,” says Heins, “but if you really look at them, they’re essentially the same exercise, with some minor differences that make one a better choice for some people and the other the right choice for others.” To assure you that there really shouldn’t be any bad blood between the two sides, Heins notes that Pavel—the “Russian coach”—has also taught the American swing, and featured it in his programs. Peace at last…

How To Do The Russian Kettlebell Swing

For a really intricate look at the mechanics of the Russian swing (often just called the “kettlebell swing”), see our complete guide to the kettlebell swing. (Also, watch the video above, beginning at 3:30.) Once you’re familiar with the concept of the swing, it really boils down to two steps.

Step 1. Stand with feet between hip and shoulder width. You can place the kettlebell on the floor in front of you if you have experience hiking the weight back into position, or you can simply begin from a standing position—either are OK. In both cases, once the kettlebell is in hand, soften your knees and bend your hips back and allow the kettlebell to swing back in the triangular space between your knees and your crotch. You must begin each rep with the kettlebell in this triangle—any lower than your knees and you risk back injury and improper reps. Keep a long spine from the top of your head to your tailbone as you bend at the hips, and keep your head in neutral—focus your eyes on a spot about 10 feet in front of you on the floor.

Step 2. Drive your feet into the floor and extend your hips, tucking your pelvis under as you lock your hips and knees out and stand tall. Use your back muscles to keep your shoulders pulled down (away from your ears). Allow the power from your hips to raise the weight up to roughly chest level—don’t lift the weight with your shoulders. Your arms should stay tight to your sides at the top of the swing, but allow your elbows to bend as needed.

Take a few reps to gradually swing the kettlebell to its full height and find your rhythm.

Benefits of the Russian Kettlebell Swing

(See 14:30 in the video.)

The Russian kettlebell swing uses a shorter range of motion and doesn’t require good overhead body mechanics, so it’s ideal for using heavy weight and developing power. To be clear, you’ll be able to train heavier and build more hip extension strength and power with the Russian swing vs. the American one. Since it serves as a foundation for the American swing, it only makes sense for beginners to master the Russian version first.

How To Do The American Kettlebell Swing

The great challenge for many people when it comes to the American kettlebell swing is the overhead position. Can you raise your arms overhead without hyperextending your back? Can you get your arms vertical, or is your range of motion limited? Do you have any shoulder injuries that might make raising a weight straight overhead painful or uncomfortable? If the answer to any of the above is yes, then Heins suggests you hold off on the American swing for a bit while you work on shoulder and T-spine mobility and otherwise address any restrictions you have. Otherwise, if you’re good to go, here’s how to do it right (see 10:43 in the video).

Step 1. Set up exactly as you did for the Russian swing, and begin the exercise by swinging the weight back between your legs and then extending your hips.

Step 2. Instead of keeping your arms tight to your sides and bending the elbows, allow the power generated by your hips to let you drive the kettlebell overhead, extending your arms instead of holding the weight back. Let the kettlebell travel overhead—it should feel weightless as it goes vertical—and then control its descent back down.

Be careful that you keep your ribs pulled down, pelvis tucked, and core tight. If you allow your ribs to flare, you will hyperextend your back and will lose control of the swing as it moves overhead.

Benefits of the American Kettlebell Swing

The American swing takes the kettlebell over a greater range of motion, which is more challenging to total-body stability. Your core, as well as your overhead range, will be tested. It’s a great way to build strength in the shoulders as well as mobility that supplements any kettlebell pressing movements you do, and a fun variation to employ in general once you’ve got the Russian swing under your belt. What you sacrifice in power in the American swing you can make up for in work capacity. Because the range of motion is longer and the overhead position more precarious, the American swing doesn’t lend itself to heavy loads like the Russian one does. But it can be done for high reps and short rest periods, building your conditioning.

Should I Use The Russian or American Kettlebell Swing?

In the real Cold War between the U.S and the U.S.S.R., both sides were right… or, at least, thought they were right. The conflict between the Russian and American kettlebell swings, fortunately, is much easier to resolve. Try both, as both have their merits. If you’re a newbie to kettlebells, conquer the Russian swing. Likewise if you have shoulder troubles. But if you’re healthy and seeking a tougher conditioning workout with light weight, give the American version a go.

The post Kettlebell Cold War: American Vs. Russian Kettlebell Swing 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.

What Is The Gorilla Row?

(See 00:27 in the video above.)

The gorilla row is a variation on the bent-over row you’re probably already aware of and usually see done with a barbell. You hinge at the hips and row the weight from the floor until your elbows are at your sides. The key difference with the gorilla row vs. a barbell bent-over row is that the kettlebells allow you to work one side at a time.

You’ll actively push one kettlebell into the floor while you row the other one, all while staying in that bent-over position. The movement can’t help but make you look something like a gorilla foraging for food, but it will also give you the back muscle strength to be king of your own (iron) jungle.

Gorilla Row Exercise Benefits

Any type of bent-over row is a good idea for stimulating total-body strength gains. Your lats and upper back work when you row the weight, but your lower back, hips, and core must also engage just to keep you in position and support your torso. Lifting the weight from the floor on each rep, as opposed to letting the weight hang just slightly above, as you do in some rowing variations, offers the added benefit of keeping the movement more strict, as well as training explosiveness. You can’t let your muscles’ stretch reflex bounce the weight up for you—you’ll have to pull the bell up with muscle power alone.

The gorilla row takes all of this to the next level by having you work unilaterally—one side at a time—which means you’ll be able to train your back through a greater range of motion, and you’ll have to resist any twisting or bending on one side while you row on the other, further heightening the core stability component. Of course, maintaining a deep hip hinge through it all is an important posture to master for lower back health and overall power and explosiveness (nearly all explosive movements involve hip extension, so you might as well master the setup for it).

How To Do the Gorilla Row Exercise Properly

(See 01:04 in the video.)

Step 1. Place two kettlebells on the floor and straddle them with your feet between hip and shoulder width. Hinge your hips back, keeping a long spine from your head to your tailbone. Allow your knees to bend as needed, but keep your lower back flat, not rounded. Grasp the kettlebell handles.

Step 2. Press one bell into the floor and brace your abs. Now row the opposite bell till your elbow is at your ribs. Lower it to the floor again, and repeat the row on the other side while you press the opposite bell into the floor.

The gorilla row is typically done by alternating sides, but you may choose to do all your reps on one side and then the other if you want to better isolate your back one side at a time.

For the best muscle gains, you should keep your shoulders square to the floor throughout the set. However, “You can also rotate your thoracic spine to get a little more mobility out of this exercise,” says Eric Leija, an Onnit-certified coach (@primal.swoledier) and the model in our video. “But you’ll get less lat activation, because the lat won’t be able to fully shorten.” So, if you’re an athlete like a fighter or baseball player who throws or twists a lot in their sport, you may want to allow your torso to turn a few degrees as you row. “But if you’re looking to put on a nice, thick back,” says Leija, “try to minimize that rotation.”

What Muscles Do Gorilla Rows Work?

(See 03:18 in the video.)

The gorilla row gives the following muscles a good drubbing:

–   Lats (the big muscles on the sides of your back)

–   Rhomboids (upper back)

–   Trapezius (upper back)

–   Rear delts (back of the shoulders)

–   Deep core muscles

–   Obliques (the ab muscles on your sides)

–   Rectus abdominis (your six-pack muscle)

–   Biceps

–   Forearms

–   Glutes

–   Hamstrings 

Dumbbell Vs. Kettlebell Gorilla Rows

(See 03:25 in the video.)

Due to kettlebells having handles that reach a few inches above their center of mass, they’re easier to grab a hold of than dumbbells when rowing weight from the floor. Unless you have a contortionist’s hip mobility, trying to grip dumbbells on the floor for gorilla rows will cause you to round your lower back, which you never want to do on a bent-over rowing movement for the sake of avoiding injury.

But, if dumbbells are all you have, you can still do the basic gorilla row movement and get plenty out of it. Simply elevate the dumbbells on a box, bench, or mats in order to raise them to mid-shin level. Now you’ll be able to bend over safely to grasp the handles.

How To Stretch Before Exercising

Warm up your upper back, lats, and core muscles with the sky reach to arm thread. Do this move as part of your warmup/stretching routine before any session that includes the gorilla row.

Step 1. Get on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and your knees directly beneath your hips. Brace your core.

Step 2. Draw your right arm up and across your chest as you twist your right shoulder toward the ceiling and reach overhead. Be careful to keep your hips facing the floor.

Step 3. Reverse the motion, reaching your arm across your body and behind the support arm. Twist as far as you can, ideally until the back of your right shoulder touches the floor. Complete 6–10 reps on that side, and then switch sides and repeat. Do 2–3 sets total.

Gorilla Row Alternatives

If the gorilla row feels too advanced, or you can’t seem to perform it with a safe lower-back position, try these two alternatives that will train the back and core in a similar way.

One-Arm, Split-Stance Row

(See 04:54 in the Build Muscle With The Gorilla Row video.)

Step 1. Step forward with your right leg, as if getting into a lunge position, and extend your left leg straight behind you. Your front knee should be bent about 90 degrees and your back heel may be raised off the floor. Bend at the hips and brace your right forearm against your right knee. Press it into your leg—this will help create stability. Your body should form a long straight line from your head to your heel. Reach with your left hand to grasp a kettlebell on the floor.

Step 2. Row the kettlebell to your side while keeping your shoulders square to the floor. Complete your reps on that side, and then switch sides and repeat.

Renegade Row

(See 06:10 in the Build Muscle With The Gorilla Row video.)

Step 1. Get into a pushup position, resting your hands on a pair of kettlebells (or dumbbells). Turn the handles so they make an A-shape, which will help you balance on them better. Place your feet as wide apart as is comfortable. A narrower stance will make the exercise harder; a wider foot placement will make it easier. Take a deep breath into your belly and brace your core.

Step 2. Lean your weight to your right side, pushing that hand into the floor. Your left side will feel lighter. Now row the left-hand weight to your side, but avoid twisting your hips or shoulders. Lower the weight and repeat on the other side.

Discover other great lat and back exercises in our guide, How To Lat Spread Like A Bodybuilder.

The post Build Muscle With The Gorilla Row Exercise appeared first on Onnit Academy.

The following workout is brought to you by one of our favorite mad scientists—the Onnit-certified Eric Leija (@primal.swoledier)—who came up with it while experimenting in his own garage gym. The routine requires only a pair of moderate-weight kettlebells (16kg are good for most guys; 8kg for ladies), and a light resistance band (we like the mini available at elitefts.com), and trains your chest, shoulders, arms, and upper back muscles in under 30 minutes.

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A post shared by Eric Leija (@primal.swoledier)

How To Do The Kettlebell and Band Upper-Body Workout

The workout is organized into supersets, meaning you’ll do a set for two different exercises in sequence with little to no rest in between. That makes the workout go faster while challenging your conditioning (it’s also a shortcut to a big, juicy pump).

On its own, the resistance band allows you to target your stabilizer muscles in a way you couldn’t with iron alone, so don’t underestimate the sword pull and pull-apart exercises. But when added to the kettlebell, the band brings a new dimension to your strength training. Because the elasticity of the band pulls back at you when you stretch it out, you have to do your reps harder and faster to overcome the resistance than you would using kettlebells alone. This is great for building power, and for making lighter weights (if that’s what you have) feel a whole lot heavier.

DIRECTIONS

Perform the exercise pairs (marked A and B) as a superset. So you’ll do one set of A, then a set of B, and then rest 2–3 minutes. Repeat until all sets are done for the pair, and go on to the next pair. Finish with the bent-over band pull apart, which is done on its own for straight sets (do a set, rest as needed, and repeat).

1A. Kettlebell Band Floor Press

Sets: 4  Reps: 9–12

Step 1. Grasp the band in one hand by its loop end and wrap it around your back. Grasp the other loop with the other hand. Lie back on the floor and bend your knees 90 degrees, planting your feet flat. Take a kettlebell in each hand (it will be easier if you have a partner to hand the weights off to you), holding them along with the band loops. Your arms should be at 45 degrees to your sides with your triceps resting on the floor.

Step 2. Press the weights and band straight over your chest. Lower the weights back until your triceps touch the floor—don’t let your elbows crash down.

The kettlebell floor press works the chest, shoulders, and triceps just as any bench press variation does, but the shortened range of motion emphasizes triceps gains. It’s also a good substitute for full-range benching if your shoulders hurt.

1B. Banded Sword Pull

Sets: 4  Reps: 10 (each side)

Step 1. Hold the band with your left hand down at your side, just outside your waist. Brace your arm against your side.

Step 2. Grasp the other end of the band with your right hand, thumb facing forward, and raise your arm diagonally up and outward until it’s overhead. The movement should look like you’re pulling a sword from a scabbard and holding it aloft.

Similar to Y raises (which are done two-handed, and often with a band or dumbbells), the sword pull works the lower traps, which help to stabilize the shoulder and balance the effect of lots of chest and shoulder pressing. In other words, the sword pull is a good rehab/prehab movement that pairs well with the floor press.

2A. Banded Gorilla Row

Sets: 4  Reps: 8–12

Step 1. Twist the band into an X shape, and place your foot on one loop to anchor it down. Run the band through the handles of two kettlebells on the floor. Place your other foot on the open loop of the band. Your feet should be outside shoulder width. Bend your hips back, keeping a long, straight line from your head to your tailbone, and grasp the kettlebells and the band.

Step 2. Row the kettlebells to your sides, retracting your shoulder blades completely. Keep your lower back flat and your core braced, and avoid shrugging or hunching your shoulders as you pull.

If you have a strong back already, you may find that the kettlebells you have aren’t heavy enough to provide much of a challenge on bent-over rowing motions. The addition of a band fixes that, and allows you to train your rowing more explosively—a sight rarely seen, compared with how much explosive pressing athletes, powerlifters, and CrossFitters do.

2B. Banded Push Press

Sets: 4  Reps: 8 (each side)

Step 1. Stand on one loop of the band with your left foot, and hold the other loop in your left hand. Grasp a kettlebell in your left hand along with the band, and hold the weight at shoulder level.

Step 2. Bend your knees quickly, dipping your torso to gather momentum, and explode upward, pressing the weight overhead to lockout.

The push press by itself trains power, and allows you to lift heavier than when doing a strict press, which is great for strength. Adding a band will force you to keep your speed and explosiveness up as you fatigue.

3. Bent-Over Band Pull-Apart

Sets: 3  Reps: 15

Step 1. Grasp the band with hands at shoulder width and palms facing each other, or turned upward. Hold the band at arm’s length in front of you and bend your hips back until you’re in a bent-over position with your back straight.

Step 2. Raise your arms straight out to your sides, as if pulling the band apart, squeezing your shoulder blades together.

Another rehab/prehab exercise, the pull-apart really isolates the scapular muscles, which are responsible for good posture and protecting the shoulder joints.

See another kettlebell workout for a specific body part—aesthetic abs—with our Best Kettlebell Ab Exercises & Workout To Get Lean.

The post Kettlebell and Band Upper-Body Workout appeared first on Onnit Academy.

Not so fast. While training with kettlebells won’t target the arm muscles as directly as those other methods, they offer some pretty cool benefits that you can’t replicate without them. Let us show you how to use kettlebells to get bigger biceps, triceps, and forearms while you build total-body strength and conditioning, improve athleticism and mobility, and more.

Benefits of Using Kettlebells To Work Out Your Arms

Kettlebells lend themselves to combination lifts—a blend of two or more exercises that flow into one another. For example, doing a curl into a shoulder halo, or a triceps extension into a pullover while maintaining a hollow-body position (both are featured in the workout below). Combo lifts like these emphasize the arms but allow you to train numerous other muscles and movements too, making the kettlebell a very multi-functional tool. In other words, you’ll get an arm pump with these exercises, but you’ll also build strength and movement skills that carry over to sports you may like to play and other training you enjoy.

Kettlebells also force you to squeeze the handle (or sometimes the bell itself) hard to hold on and keep control of the movement. This is a phenomenon that strength coaches call irradiation, where your gripping starts a chain reaction that creates tightness throughout the body. All this tension lights up lots of muscles, encouraging you to keep your form tight to prevent injury and build total-body strength.

How To Stretch Your Arms Before Working Out

Perform the mobility routine from Onnit Coach Eric Leija (@primal.swoledier)—featured at 00:30 in the video above—before you do the arm workout below. It will warm up your shoulders, elbows, and wrists, improving flexibility and preparing you for the training ahead.

Perform the exercises in sequence (a circuit), doing reps of each for 30–60 seconds. Repeat for up to 4 total circuits, depending on how much warming up you feel you need. If you’re coming off some injuries and your joints feel cranky, do more circuits. If you’re short on time and have healthy joints, you can get away with a shorter warmup.

Get Strong Arms With This Balanced Kettlebell Arm Workout

Leija put together the following arm routine. You’ll need at least two light kettlebells (8 kilos or less) and one heavier one (16–20kg) to do it, and it should be done once per week, separate from your other upper-body training.

Directions

(See 03:45 in the video above.)

The exercises are grouped in pairs, marked A and B. Perform a set of A and then B before resting (called a superset), and then rest 2–3 minutes. Repeat until 3 sets are complete for each exercise in the pair, and then go on to the next pair. Perform 8–12 reps for each exercise.

1A. Kettlebell Crush-Grip Row

Sets: 3  Reps: 8–12

(See 03:45 in the video.)

The first exercise in the routine really illustrates the principle of irradiation discussed above. “Smashing the bell between your hands activates the biceps, lats, and pecs,” says Leija, so you work your arms while giving some extra attention to the bigger muscles they support on your other exercises. “Crush the bell like it’s a tomato can.”

Step 1. Hold a moderate-weight kettlebell by the bell itself with both hands and squeeze it between your palms as hard as you can. Keep this tension throughout the exercise.

Step 2. Keeping a long line from your head to your tailbone, bend your hips back until your torso is nearly parallel to the floor.

Step 3. Row the kettlebell toward your belly until your elbows are at your sides, retracting your shoulder blades and pulling them together. Lower the weight back down until your arms are straight again, making sure to maintain the squeeze the whole time.

1B Kettlebell Pullover To Press

Sets: 3  Reps: 8–12

(See 05:18 in the video.)

The pullover works the lats and triceps, but doing it from a crunch position, says Leija, adds a little extra range of motion, since the floor isn’t there to stop the kettlebell when you lower it behind your head. You’ll feel this move all through your upper body and deep in your core.

Step 1. Lie on your back on the floor. Extend your legs in front of you, and dig your heels into the floor. Crunch your shoulders off the floor and hold the position, keeping your ribs drawn down toward your hips. Grasp the kettlebell by its bell end and reach your arms overhead and bend your elbows so that the weight is held just above the floor behind you. As you did with the row above, squeeze the kettlebell hard between your hands.

Step 2. Extend your elbows to lockout, and then pull the weight over your chest. Lower the kettlebell to your chest with your elbows close to your sides, and then press it back up. Reach your arms behind you again, and bend your elbows to begin the next rep.

2A. Kettlebell Curl To Halo

Sets: 3  Reps: 8–12

(See 06:50 in the video.)

“This move isolates the biceps and pumps up the shoulders, but it and also works mobility,” says Leija.

Step 1. Hold the kettlebell by its horns in front of your chest with your elbows tight to your sides.

Step 2. Slowly extend your elbows to lower the weight until your arms are straight. Then curl the weight back to your chest.

Step 3. Raise the weight up and around the back of your head in a circular motion, keeping the kettlebell close and your elbows in as tight as you can. Lower the weight down, curl again, and perfom the halo in the opposite direction. Each curl to halo counts as one rep.

2B. Half-Kneeling Bottom’s Up Press

Sets: 3  Reps: 8–12

(See 08:25 in the video.)

Any press will work your triceps, but trying to keep the bell from toppling over makes the bottom’s up press a real killer for the forearms/gripping muscles too. It also challenges shoulder stability, which can translate to stronger pressing with heavier, more conventional press exercises down the line. Leija says that, once you’ve mastered this move from the half-kneeling position, you’re welcome to try it standing for an even greater stability test.

Step 1. Get into a lunge position and lower your body to the floor. Both knees should be bent 90 degrees and your hips should be level with the floor. Hold a light kettlebell by its handle on the same side as the downed knee, and lift it to shoulder level upside down, so the bell end is facing the ceiling.

Step 2. Move your elbow away from your body about 45 degrees and press the weight overhead slowly—take two full seconds. Control it on the way down (another 2 seconds). You’ll have to squeeze the handle hard to maintain control of the kettlebell.

3A. Close-Grip Kettlebell Pushup

Sets: 3  Reps: 8–12

(See 10:09 in the video.)

Sure, you could just do close-grip pushups on the floor and get a hell of a triceps and chest hit, but doing them on a kettlebell demands more of your shoulders and core to keep you stable.

Step 1. Place a kettlebell on the floor and tilt it over so the handle digs into the floor and provides some stability. Res your hands on the bell and extend your legs behind you to get into pushup position. Your body should form a long, straight line. Brace your core.

Step 2. Lower your body until your chest is just above the kettlebell, tucking your elbows close to your sides as you descend. Squeeze your shoulder blades together as you go down, and then spread them apart as you press yourself back up.

To make the exercise harder, bring your feet closer together. To make it easier, widen your stance.

3B. Kettlebell Zottman Curl

Sets: 3  Reps: 8–12

(See 11:39 in the video.)

Trying to keep your wrists straight on these is a workout all by itself, and it will strengthen both sides of your forearms. “The way the weight is distributed with the kettlebell,” says Leija, “it’s a long lever. The weight is further away from the handle than it is when you use a dumbbell. So it’s going to feel a lot heavier. Go light on these.” Eight- or even six-kilo kettlebells will be fine for most people.

Step 1. Grasp two light kettlebells by their handles and squeeze hard. Keeping your elbows close to your sides, curl the weights up.

Step 2. At the top, turn your palms over to face the floor, and lower the bells back down slowly. Rotate your palms forward again to begin the next rep.

How Often Should You Train Your Arms?

The triceps are involved in any pushing or pressing exercises you do. The biceps are recruited on every pulling or rowing move, and the forearm muscles can’t escape working whenever you grip and carry anything—so, chances are, your arms are getting plenty of muscle-building stimulus as it is, if you’re following a balanced strength program. One day of more direct arm training, such as the routine outlined here, is a good adjunct for boosting your arm volume while giving a little extra attention to all the other upper-body muscles. To make a long story short, as long as your other workout days feature some kind of pushing and pulling, you only need one focused arm workout per week.

The post The Best Kettlebell Arm Exercises and Workout to Get Strong appeared first on Onnit Academy.

If you’ve got only one moderate-weight kettlebell at home, you have more than enough to get an outstanding six pack. Allow us to present some of our favorite kettlebell ab exercises, and a workout that puts them all together.

Benefits of Using Kettlebells to Work Out Your Abs

If you’ve ever trained with kettlebells, you learned one thing very quickly—EVERY exercise you do with a kettlebell is automatically a core exercise too. Due to the offset nature of the load—that is, the distance from the kettlebell’s center of gravity (the middle of the bell) to the weight’s handle, as well as your body—kettlebells are hard to control and require your whole body to stabilize every movement. Creating that stability causes your abs to brace hardcore—no pun intended—so, to a large degree, you’re getting great core training with virtually any kettlebell exercise you perform, be it an overhead press, a clean, a swing, or anything else.

A study in the Journal of Fitness Research found that subjects training with kettlebells increased their core strength by 70% following an eight-week program. (One of the exercises used was the Turkish getup, which we’ll show you below.)

With all this said, you can also target the abs with certain kettlebell exercises that put tension on the ab muscles more directly, resulting in greater muscle size gains in your six pack. That will help to make your abs visible—assuming, that is, that your nutrition is on point so that your body fat is low. Before we go any further, understand this: no matter how strong and muscular your abs are, you won’t see them if they’re covered in body fat. Aim to get yours under 10% if you want to see your abs pop to their full potential. (If you need help setting up a diet that allows you to do this, see our article, How To Set Up Your Diet for Fat Loss or Muscle Gain.)

Five Amazing Kettlebell Ab Exercises

We asked Shane Heins, Onnit’s Director of Fitness Education, and a veteran kettlebell coach, for his five favorite kettlebell moves for the core, and he suggested the following.

1. Kettlebell Windmill

(See 04:56 in the video above)

The windmill works hip flexibility, shoulder stability, and core strength at the same time, making for one seriously challenging movement.

Step 1. Hold the kettlebell in your right hand at shoulder level. Your elbow should be tight to your side and your forearm vertical (this is called the rack position). Angle your feet 45 degrees to the left. Press the kettlebell straight overhead.

Step 2. Brace your abs like you’re about to take a punch to the gut. Kick your right hip out to the side so you feel a stretch on the back of your right leg. Bend both knees slightly.

Step 3. Turn your head to look up at the kettlebell and keep your eyes on the weight as you bend your hips back to the right and lower your torso toward the floor. Allow your left arm to slide down the inside of your left thigh as you descend. Go as low as you can control, and then come back up.

2. Half-Quad Pull-Through

(See 07:35 in the video)

Many exercise scientists argue that the abs’ main function is to brace the spine while the limbs move around, and that’s exactly what this exercise has you doing. Can you keep your shoulders, back, and hips straight and braced while you drag the kettlebell back and forth across the floor beneath you? You’ll feel your back, shoulders, and legs burn on this one.

Step 1. Get on all fours and place a kettlebell to the outside of your left hand. Brace your abs and raise your knees off the floor so your weight is supported by your hands and toes. Your body should form a straight line from your head to your pelvis.

Step 2. Extend your left leg back until it’s straight. Reach your right hand behind your left to grasp the kettlebell and drag it across the floor to the outside of where your right hand was on the floor. Try to keep your shoulders and hips square to the floor as you do this. Turn the handle around so you can grasp it easily with the left hand on the next rep, and bring your left leg back up and lower both knees to all fours again.

Step 3. Extend your right leg, and pull the kettlebell through with your left hand.

3. Roll-Down To Pullover Extension

(See 08:20 in the video)

While this move may look like a classic situp at first glance, there’s so much more going on. Heins says that while conventional situps and crunches shorten the core muscles, this exercise strengthens them while it lengthens them, forcing you to contract your abs hard while you extend your spine—the opposite of how most people train them.

Step 1. Sit on the floor holding a kettlebell upside down with both hands on the horns of the handle. Have your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor as if you were in the top position of a situp.

Step 2. Tuck your pelvis under and slowly roll your back down to the floor, beginning with your tailbone. To make this easier, hold the kettlebell a little further away from your body so it serves as a counterbalance.

Step 3. Keeping your tailbone tucked under and your core braced, reach the kettlebell over and behind your head—try to go to where your arms are straight.

Step 4. Bring the kettlebell back in front of your chest and slowly roll your body back up to the starting position.

4. Turkish Getup with Twist

(See 10:15 in the video)

Every kettlebell course in the world teaches this one. The getup is a full-body movement that builds strength, mobility, and conditioning all at once, but it’s your core muscles that tie it all together. This move may not have your abs burning like a set of crunches does, but you can rest assured it will target your six pack and obliques, and the addition of a twisting motion at the end will emphasize the latter even more.

Step 1. Lie back on the floor with the kettlebell in your right hand and your right leg bent with your foot on the floor. Extend your left arm at 45 degrees and plant your hand on the floor for stability. Press the weight overhead and curl your body off the floor, using your hand for assistance, until your weight is supported on your left forearm.

Step 2. Extend your left arm so your palm is your base. Press through your right foot so your hips rise and slide your left leg back underneath you so you can rest on your left knee. Now straighten your torso so you’re in a tall kneeling position with the kettlebell held overhead.

Step 3. Lower the kettlebell to the rack position and twist your torso to the right, extending your left arm as if you were throwing a punch with your left hand. Your fist should end up outside your right leg.

Step 4. Reverse the twist and bend at the hips to lower your torso. At the same time, press the weight up again. Plant your left hand on the floor, kick your left leg through so it’s straight and flat on the floor again, and lie back on the floor to return to the starting position.

All of the above is one rep.

5. Half-Quad Renegade Row

(See 11:40 in the video)

The renegade row is another move familiar to kettlebellers everywhere, but this modification makes it even more challenging. As with the half-quad pull-through, the half-quad renegade row makes you stabilize on a small base of support while one arm lifts weight. It’s meant to be done with two kettlebells, but you can use one if that’s all you have, and rest your other hand on a block or step that’s about the same height as a kettlebell.

Step 1. Kneel on the floor and grasp two kettlebells. Turn their handles so they’re angled in about 45 degrees and press them into the floor. Raise your knees off the floor so your weight is supported by the kettlebells and your toes.

Step 2. Extend your left leg back, and shift your weight into the left-hand kettlebell. Row the right-hand kettlebell, retracting your shoulder blade as you lift it.

Step 3. Lower the kettlebell, switch legs, and repeat the row on the other side.

How To Stretch Your Core Before Working Out

You know that you should warm up and stretch out a bit before any workout, but how do you do that for abs? They’re not muscles that stretch like the hamstrings or pecs. Still, they can be trained for greater flexibility with movements that also warm up your whole body and prepare it for challenging training. Heins put together a prep routine that helps to activate your core while lengthening its muscles. If you spend most of the day slumped over a computer or a smartphone, your ab muscles get used to being in a shorter position and will tighten up accordingly. These exercises help to restore length while integrating the core’s many functions.

Follow the exercises listed below (and demonstrated in the video above, starting at 1:56), performing them as a circuit. Do reps of each exercise in sequence for 30 seconds each, and then repeat for 2 total circuits.

1. Lying Spine Twist (02:30 in the video above)

2. Kneeling Arm Thread (02:44)

3. Child To Up Dog (02:51)

4. Up Dog Twist (02:59)

5. Kettlebell Around the World (03:10)

Get Shredded With This Balanced Kettlebell Ab Workout

After you’ve warmed up, perform the five kettlebell exercises we introduced above together as a circuit. Do 10 reps of each move (5 reps per side for unilateral exercises) in sequence, and then rest 60 seconds. Repeat for 3–5 total rounds. If you’re a lady, an 8 to 12-kilo kettlebell is probably appropriate (18–26 pounds). If you’re a dude, start with a 12 to 16-kilo bell (26–35 pounds).

(See 03:41 in the video above)

1. Kettlebell Windmill

Reps: 5 each side (10 reps total)

2. Half-Quad Pull-Through

Reps: 5 reps each side (10 reps total)

3. Roll-Down To Pullover Extension

Reps: 10

4. Turkish Getup with Twist

Reps: 5 each side (10 reps total)

5. Half-Quad Renegade Row

Reps: 5 each side (10 total)

How Often Should You Train Your Abdominals?

The abs are a somewhat unique group of muscles in that they work to stabilize the spine in virtually any exercise you do, so you don’t need to hit them directly any more frequently than you would chest, legs, or any other muscle group to see gains. They’re also limited in their ability to grow like those other muscles are, so there’s no benefit in training them every day (like old-school bodybuilders used to) in order to make them “pop”.

You can work your abs directly with the routine we gave here up to twice per week, avoiding any other direct ab training for at least three days in between sessions. You can also incorporate one or two of each of the kettlebell ab exercises listed into your existing workouts for other muscle groups, doing some ab training in the beginning of the session (if you really want to prioritize the core), or at the end.

For more core training, see our article, Strengthen and Tone Your Core and Abs With These Workouts.

The post The Best Kettlebell Ab Exercises & Workout To Get Lean appeared first on Onnit Academy.

“What are you guys training today?” he asked.

“Well, we were going to hit legs, but we can’t get a squat rack and we don’t have machines. Oh well, see you next week!”

“Not so fast,” said Leija. “I can take you through a leg workout using only some kettlebells and your bodyweight. It’ll turn those twigs into tree trunks in no time.”

What could we say? Leija’s quads were blocking the door. And if you’ve seen them, you know why we refer to him as Onnit’s resident redwood.

Defeated but inspired, we downed some Alpha BRAIN^® Pre-Workout, gritted our teeth, and followed Leija into the weight room.

See the routine he showed us below to build your quads, hams, and glutes.

Can I Get Big Legs With Kettlebells?

Heavy barbell squatting, leg press machines, and leg extensions may get all the publicity for producing thick, muscular legs, but they’re certainly not the only tools that can do it. If you train with modest equipment at home, a gym that only offers the basics, or a facility that is so crowded after 5 p.m. that you can’t get your hands on anything but a few kettlebells, kettlebell and bodyweight training is your answer.

Leija’s workout starts with the kettlebell swing, but not for sets to infinity as you often see done. The swing is a great exercise for endurance, but it can also build power and strength in the glutes and hamstrings when performed for low reps. After five heavy sets here, your hips and knees will be plenty juicy for the rear-foot elevated split squats that follow.

Ask a cross-section of trainers which leg exercise they dread most and we bet these split squats come up near the top of the list more often than not, and for good reason. One leg has to support your whole body—your rear foot is really just there to help you keep balance—and you’ll work through a greater range of motion than you do with back squats. Like the swings, most people do split squats light (if they do them at all), but don’t be afraid to go heavy here. Sets with as much weight as you can handle for five reps will light up your quads, glutes, and adductors—the inner-thigh muscles most people neglect.

From there, you’ll train straight power with the squat jump. Focus on jumping as high as you can and controlling the landing. These burn like normal squats, so you know they’re activating plenty of muscle, but the goal here is explosiveness. Being able to recruit muscle fibers quickly and produce fast contractions translates to stronger lifts with heavier weight, not to mention greater running, jumping, and sports performance in general.

Next up are goblet squats, which teach the squat pattern like nothing else. Holding the kettlebell in front of your chest acts as a counterbalance, allowing you to stay vertical as you descend without fear of losing balance. You’ll most likely be able to sink into a deep squat, getting more out of your quads and glutes, while reinforcing good mechanics. The next time you back squat or front squat with a barbell, you’ll have better control of the movement.

Finally, Leija chops your legs down with some walking lunges. You’ll burn out whatever is left in the muscles by performing 100 total reps—and doing whatever it takes to get them. Aim for five sets of 20 reps, 10 sets of 10, sets of 50, 30, and 20, or whatever other configuration you’re capable of, resting as needed in between, but get 100 total.

Only then have you earned the right to a smoothie and sauna.

For a six-week program of kettlebell-only workouts you can do at home, see our Onnit 6 Kettlebell course.

Kettlebell Tree Trunk Workout Directions

Perform the exercises in the order shown. Do not perform any other leg routine for at least three full days before and after this workout. For the best results, repeat the workout for four to six weeks, adding weight and reps to the exercises wherever possible.

1. Jump Rope

Reps: Jump for 3 minutes

(See 00:08 in the video above.)

This is your warm up. Jump 3 minutes at an easy pace. You can mix up the type of jump you do (for instance, jump with one leg at a time, alternate legs, or swing the rope backward), or just do two-legged jumps as shown.

2. Kettlebell Swing

Sets: 5  Reps: 10

(See 00:20 in the video.)

See our full tutorial on how to perform the kettlebell swing here.

Take a few warmup sets to work up to the heaviest kettlebell you can handle for 10 reps, safely. Make sure to keep your lower back flat and extend your hips to drive the kettlebell up (don’t lift with your shoulders).

3. Rear-Foot Elevated Split Squat

Sets: 4  Reps: 5 (each leg)

(See 00:45 in the video.)

Step 1: Hold a kettlebell in each hand and stand lunge length in front of a bench, step, or box that’s about 12 inches high.

Step 2: Step your left foot back and rest the top of your left foot on the bench so that your knee is bent 90 degrees. Your right foot should point straight forward.

Step 3: Hinge your hips back a bit so you feel like you’re leaning forward, but keep your spine straight and tall. Slowly bend your right leg until your left knee is just above the floor. Your front leg should be bent about 90 degrees.

You may want to spend some time in the bottom position before you start your set to figure out your best distance from the bench. You should feel like your front foot is forward enough that your heel won’t come off the floor, but not so far that you feel your hamstrings getting stretched in the bottom position.

When you’ve found a good stance, come up to a standing position. Then begin your set. Rest as needed between legs.

4. Squat Jump w/ Reset

Sets: 4  Reps: 3

(See 01:07 in the video.)

Step 1. Stand with feet between hip and shoulder width. Reach your arms straight overhead and get up on the balls of your feet.

Step 2. Drop your heels to the floor as you swing your arms back behind you to gather power.

Step 3. Swing your arms forward and overhead as you jump as high as possible. Land with soft knees and take a moment to reset yourself. Then begin the next rep.

5. Goblet Squat

Sets: 3  Reps: 10–15

(See 01:20 in the video.)

Step 1. Hold a kettlebell in front of your chest by the sides of its handle, or by the bottom of the bell itself. Draw your shoulders back and downward (think: “proud chest”), and tuck your elbows in close to the bell—try to get your forearms as vertical as you can. Stand with your feet between hip and shoulder width, and turn your toes out a bit—up to 30 degrees if you need to.

Step 2. Tuck your tailbone and draw your ribs down so that your pelvis is parallel to the floor. Take a deep breath into your belly, and brace your core. Actively twist your feet into the floor, but don’t let them move. Think of your legs as screwdrivers, or that you’re standing on grass and trying to twist it up beneath you. You should feel the arches in your feet rise and your glutes tighten, creating tension in the lower body.

Step 3. Keeping a long spine from your head to your pelvis, push your hips back and squat down, as if sitting down into a chair. Squat as low as you can while keeping your head, spine, and pelvis aligned. Push your knees apart as you descend. You should feel most of your weight on your heels to mid-foot area. If you feel your lower back beginning to round, stop there, and come back up. Keep your torso as vertical as possible—you shouldn’t have to lean forward or work extra hard to hold the bell upright. Avoid bending or twisting to either side.

Step 4. Drive through your feet as you extend your hips and knees to come up.

6. Suitcase Walking Lunge

Reps: 100 total

(See 01:40 in the video.)

Step 1. Hold a kettlebell in each hand and take a long step forward. As your foot lands, bend your knee and lower your body until your front thigh is parallel to the floor.

Step 2. Step forward with your rear leg and lunge on that side. Each rep should have you walking forward, and each lunge counts as one rep. Do as many sets as needed to complete 100 total reps (50 each leg).

For another great lower-body routine, see our Pro’s Guide to Dumbbell Leg Exercises and Workouts.

The post Kettlebell Tree Trunk Leg Workout appeared first on Onnit Academy.