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Throughout my life I have trained for a variety of different reasons, competing in events such as team sports and endurance racing, to further my knowledge as a trainer by attending certifications such as the RKC and PCC as well as training simply to improve my own personal strength, mobility and coordination.

Quite often I like to I bite off more than I can chew, booking into and training for multiple events at the same time. As a result it is important that I follow a smart strength training program that carries over into all other areas of my training, including not only strength training but also rehab and mobility work too.

As I look back through my years of training diaries there are three staple strength building exercises that I have always reverted to, not only for my own training but for my clients too.

The trifecta of training, as I like to call them, not only builds strength but they compliment and carry over into all other areas of training. They can be regressed or progressed, depending on your level of skill, slightly varied or coupled with other drills to ensure that I get the strength, mobility and rehab work required for me to continue training efficiently, yet are basic enough that it does not take up hours of my day to train them or severely fatigue me neurally. The trifecta are:

Deadlift
Press
Pull Up

Whether you are male or female, beginner or advanced, the deadlift, press and pull up, combine to form a well-rounded training template.

A basic guideline for programming works the following – push/pull movements, legs and abdominals. The beauty of the deadlift, press and pull up is that it not only meets these guidelines but they are exercises in which the entire body is required to synchronise and utilise multiple muscle groups in order to perform these movements. This synchronisation is referred to as intermuscular coordination.

Intermuscular coordination is what we should be aiming for in training. The more synchronised your muscles are the more strength you can recruit to lift heavier weights, in order to get stronger, faster, and more explosive.

The press, pull up, and deadlift are commonly referred to as “grind” movements. This means that they are performed slowly, like a truck grinding its way up a hill in a low gear. The slow “grind” allows you time to focus on keeping your form throughout the movement while creating as much tension as possible, linking your upper and lower body together via the core, teaching it to synchronise and function efficiently as one unit.

So how do you program these exercises to get the most out of your training?

I structure my workouts in 2 different ways:

1) Warm up – mobility/stability drills; these drills should be exercises that work the mobility/stability
required for the exercises in the main set of your workout:

Armbar x 5/5

Hard rolls x 5/5

Towel toe touch x 10

TGU x 1/1

**repeat x 3

Main workout
– strength building or sport specific skills; this is where I train the deadlift OR press and pull up:

Deadlift x 5-3-2 (increase weight each time)

** repeat x 2-3 – at the start of each new round add 5kg to the starting weight. If you are using kettlebells and you started with

the 24kg start the next round with the 28kg.

Finisher – core/ballistics:

Because once your core is fatigued your session is finished.

Push press x 1-2-3-4-5

Pull up x 5-4-3-2-1

** repeat x 2-4. Complex – no rest until each ladder is complete. If you cannot do pull ups then do chin ups. If you have not yet progressed to chins then do hanging leg raises. If you cannot do hanging leg raises do knee raises….

The other method of programming I use is:

2) Mobility/stability + strength exercise – With this method I couple 2 x mobility/stability exercises with one strength exercise. This allows me to focus a little more on rehabbing specific areas of concern. It also allows me to actually feel the effect the corrective drills have on each exercise.

Armbar x 5/5

Bretzel x 5/5

Half kneeling press x 5/5

** repeat x 3

Towel toe touch x 10

Single leg deadlift x 5/5

Deadlift x 5

Hard rolls x 5/5

Hollow body hold x 30 sec (squash towel under lumbar spine to ensure hollow position is achieved)

Pull up x 3-5

Which program I use is dependent on the amount of time I have as well as the way my body is feeling at the time. If I am feeling good I go to work on structure #1. If I am lacking in time and/or am feeling a little fatigued structure #2 is my go to program.

For those of you who love to participate in a variety of sports and fitness events, get your variety from your events not your training. A solid training plan transfers to a variety of events. Remember, smart training provides a general physical foundation for all things, not just for one thing.

Happy training 🙂

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Shannon Scullin is an RKC Team Leader and PCC Instructor based out of Dragon Door Australia. As Australia’s first, and highest ranked female RKC Shannon brings a keen eye for technique to training and is renowned for being very focused on form ensuring that clients with previous injuries are able to train safely. As the head of Personal Training at Read Performance Training she uses the CK FMS to test and evaluate all clients before training, ensuring that not only will they look better from training, but they will also move better too. With a background in triathlon, adventure racing, rock climbing, cycling, hockey and running Shannon fell in love with kettlebells and the FMS system when she saw the immediate result that improving mobility, stability and strength has on sporting performance. She can be reached through: www.readpt.com

The windmill is an outstanding advanced kettlebell move that combines shoulder stabilization, thoracic rotation, plus hip and hamstring mobilization. Mastering this exercise will improve functional qualities like dynamic motor control and mid-line stabilization. It will also improve your overhead lifting skills. Unfortunately, the windmill is usually misunderstood as a basic side-bend like something learned in yoga. The following breakdown provides a useful and safe progression to learning the windmill.

Step One: Start in a half-kneeling position, not standing. The outstanding FMS dvds Kettlebells from the Ground Up 1 and 2 provide detailed tutorials on these kneeling positions. Part 2 of the series focuses almost extensively on these positions. Do yourself a favor and make them part of your training library.

To get in the open-half-kneeling position (the easiest position), assume a lunge position on the floor where the front and back legs are at 90 degrees. Swivel the shin of the back leg (the one with knee down) in 90 degrees (shin should be perpendicular to the heel of the standing leg). Raise one arm overhead (the arm that coincides with the standing leg, if right leg is standing, right arm should be overhead) in an elbow-locked, shoulder-packed position. The bicep of the raised arm should be even with (not touching) your ear. Now, hinge back in the hip of the standing leg and drop your non-raised arm to the floor straight in front of the kneeling knee (it should be 10-12 inches forward of the down knee). You should be looking up at the raised arm. Now, you’re in the hip-hinged, trunk-rotated position that will eventually be the bottom of your windmill.

The next step involves keeping the exact same setup as before but with an additional flexibility component that will more closely approximate the flexibility needed to actually windmill. From your open-half-kneeling position with arm raised, start to descend to the floor by this time reaching for the top of your standing foot with your descending arm. Cup the top of your foot with the hand, hinge back in the folding hip and try to bring your elbow and forearm to the floor. You should feel this in the backside of your hip—not your low back. If you feel it in your low back, you’ve gone too far. You don’t have to reach the floor with your elbow; instead go as far as is comfortable.

Step Two: Repeat this drill on the other side of your body. Then, to gain more stretch and the closest approximation to a standing windmill, do the exact same drills from your regular kneeling lunge position. You’re now lunging on “railroad tracks,” without the turned in back shin. These will be more difficult.

Step Three: After you feel comfortable in these positions, the next task is to add a kettlebell. Use a light bell and repeat the previous drills with a kb in the half-kneeling positions. To repeat, you should not feel this in your low back. If you do, you probably lack either hip mobility or thoracic rotation.

Step Four: You are now ready to try this standing. As before, you will do these drills unloaded first and then add a kettlebell. Assume a shoulder-width standing position. Let’s assume we’re working on our right side. Swivel on your heels so that you’re right foot is turned left at about 30 degrees and your left foot is turned left 30-45 degrees. Raise your right hand overhead to the press lockout position. Look up at your raised hand. Now, hinge back in the right hip and try to visualize that your hip is hinging in a line with the 30 degree line of your right foot. Your right leg should stay straight as you descend and rotate (just keep your eye on your pressing hand, and you’ll properly rotate). The knuckle-side of your left hand should be tracing a line down the inside of your left leg (which can be slightly bent). Most of your weight should be in your back leg (right leg in this case) at probably an 80/20 ratio. Now that you’re standing, you will feel the stretch in your hinging hip and the hamstring of your straight leg. Only reach as far down your front leg as you can without deviating from the straight back, hip-hinged position. Eventually, you will be able to touch the floor or pick up a kettlebell with the reaching hand. For now, just make sure that you can do the move with perfect technique and no pain. Repeat this sequence on the other leg.

Step Five: Once you have accomplished the progression, you are ready to add a kettlebell. Either clean/press or snatch the bell up, and then follow the exact same cues as are detailed in Step Four. Once you have mastered the technique of windmills, you can add them to the beginning or end of your workouts. Or, they are a great stand-alone drill on a rest/mobility day.

Step Six: Mastery of the windmill (including the ability to do it perfectly with substantial weight) will allow you to start learning the kettlebell bent press, which is an even more advanced windmill progression that allows for greater load bearing. Practice these drills sequentially and safely, and your overhead kettlebell skills and total body coordination will improve dramatically. Enjoy.

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About Keira Newton, Master RKC Instructor: Master RKC, Level 3 Z-Health, MCT. Keira first picked up a kettlebell in 2005 when her husband challenged her to stop laughing and start swinging. She stuck with the challenge when she realized that she could get an all-in-one workout in a fraction of the time she spent at the gym. Keira was convinced… Read more here.

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The Windmill: Safe and Effective Implementation