kettlebell exercises

Key Kettlebell Exercises To Help You Create Better Balance

February 20, 2023 By William Sturgeon 1 Comment

Better Balance with Kettlebell Exercise - article lead image with multiple cropped examples of the exercises described in the article.

What effective balance training is NOT

Many people believe that balance training has to involve a bosu ball or a balance pad where you think that you’re challenging and improving your balance. This is an outdated idea of how balance should be trained.

When you work with the general population, you discover that a high number of them have a difficult time simply standing on one leg. If your client is already challenged by standing on one leg and you put them on a balance pad or bosu ball, you’re only building on dysfunction and a faulty base of support.

Instead of going right into challenging their surface area of support, challenge their base of support first. This allows you to help build a stronger base of support and go from stable to least stable using their own biomechanics.

The more effective way to train balance

To properly train balance you need to see where you’re at with your client. This can be done by assessing their movement. The FMS does a good job at helping screen for movement capabilities. The assessments that help to determine a client’s balance are the split squat and hurdle step. I prefer to use a single leg stand test which is similar to the hurdle step and ask my client if they can perform a lunge — and if not I test their ankle range of motion by using a simple ankle dorsiflexion test to see where their range of motion is.

When you train proper balance you begin with the most stable base of support which is going to be a bilateral position where both feet are flat on the floor. From there you can change the body position into a kickstand position, then further it into a step back position, then move into a full single leg motion. Balance training is about how well you can maintain stability of the fixed joint. When you do proper balance training there is no need for balance pads or bosu balls.

Here are some of my favorite kettlebell exercises to help build and progress in proper balance training.

Split Squat

kettlebell Goblet squat — Kettlebell Goblet Squat

The split squat is a great exercise because you get to train balance of the forward leg while maintaining stability through the rear foot.

You can begin with a traditional squat and once the technique has been properly mastered you can then move into a kickstand position where you begin to challenge the base of support, because you are raising the heel off the ground and pulled in-line with the fixed heel. From there you can begin to further challenge the position by going into a step back position, then going into a rear foot elevated position where you are creating a greater intensity to your balance and stability.

Reverse Lunge

The reverse lunge is another exercise I like to help train balance for clients. If the client is unable to perform a lunge then I will have them substitute it for a step up. The sequence is slightly the same, which would be starting with the greatest base of support where they’re continuing to learn how to squat from there they can move into an active kickstand position, then moving into a reverse lunge. You can progress this movement by elevating the front foot or by stepping forward.

Lateral Lunge

The lateral lunge takes you from the sagittal plane of motion into the frontal plane of motion where things can be even more challenging for creating better balance. You can begin by starting in a wide stance and squatting down in a stationary position. From there you can move into a more active lateral lunge where you are more active and fluid with the movement. You can progress this movement by adding in a cross over step to further challenge the base of support with additional resistance.

Single Leg Deadlift

The single leg deadlift is one of my favorite exercises to build better balance. This is a similar progression model where we begin with building a solid foundational base of support with both feet flat on the ground. From there clients can progress with a kickstand position then move into an active step back position, then lastly going into a full single leg deadlift. This allows you to build the lever arm of the traveling leg from short to long and from most stable to least stable.

Lateral Deadlift

The lateral kettlebell deadlift will be a similar build up from the lateral lunge. You can be in in a wide stationary position, then build into a more active movement, and progress it by adding in the crossover step. You can go from a single bell to double bells to help add load and complexity to the exercise.

Balance training should be a big component to your fitness program, but it needs to be done in a sequential manner where there is a gradual build up to the end goal. Adding strength onto dysfunction will only lead to further dysfunction, especially when your client is already lacking a bare minimum entrance point to their balance.

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William Sturgeon, RKC Team Leader, RKC II trains clients at his gym, Restored Strength. Contact him through his website at RestoredStrength.com or follow him on Facebook: facebook.com/restoredstrength

How I Finished Rehabbing My Shoulder Using Kettlebells

April 13, 2022 By Ryan Jankowitz 3 Comments

Disclaimer: This is Ryan Jankowitz’s personal shoulder recovery program. What worked for him may not be safe or appropriate for anyone else. If you are experiencing any shoulder pain, see a medical professional for a clear diagnosis and PT program for your injury.

In the Fall of 2021, I started experiencing pain in my left shoulder during presses and Turkish get-ups. I took a month off from practicing those exercises, hoping that rest would be enough to heal my shoulder. But, while the pain decreased, I still couldn’t perform those movements.

Finally, I decided to schedule time with a physical therapist. I was diagnosed with shoulder impingement. The physical therapist scheduled me to come to the office twice a week, plus exercises to do every day at home.

I paid very close attention to the work I was doing with the physical therapist. Soon after, I began to formulate my own program to follow after my course of physical therapy.

Here Are My Five Main Takeaways:

1. Work on Shoulder Blade Retraction

Part of the reason I developed shoulder impingement was because my shoulder blade was not tracking along my ribcage properly. My shoulder blade was “winging”, and I had to strengthen the muscles around my shoulder blade. I could accomplish this by practicing kettlebell rows, farmer’s walks, suitcase carries, and rack carries.

2. Strengthen the Core

I was shocked at how much trouble I had with side planks on my left shoulder. Adding side planks to my training had an immediate positive impact on my shoulder and became a must-have in my program.

3. Improve Shoulder Stability

At physical therapy, we did a lot of shoulder stability work in the tall plank position, and I could tell that this exercise was beneficial. We also practiced lateral moving tall planks and shoulder taps. I decided these side plank variations would be an integral part of my program and would work well in my mobility warm-up.

4. Work on Thoracic Spine Mobility

My physical therapist noted that my ability to rotate from my thoracic spine was quite different on my right side to the left. This may have played a role in how I developed the shoulder impingement. Luckily, the RKC program teaches several exercises and mobility drills which can improve t-spine mobility: Turkish get-ups, windmills, bent presses, and the RKC arm bar. I felt that single kettlebell overhead squats could also improve my shoulder stability.

5. Increase Grip Strength with Bottom-Up Kettlebell Exercises

I remember reading that grip strength and shoulder health were related. I noticed that I had trouble doing even light bottom-up kettlebell exercises on my left arm and was determined to fix this! Oddly enough, even though they were difficult, I could do bottom-up presses without pain. So, I decided to include bottom-up presses along with rack carries in my program.

After six weeks of physical therapy, I was pain free and able to practice presses and get-ups with light kettlebells. I was determined to continue my progress by developing my own post-rehab strength program based on what I did in physical therapy and my RKC knowledge.

Here’s the 8-week strength program I created to address my needs and goals:

Day 1:

Mobility warm-up:
Combination of physical therapy and primal movements to activate my core and shoulder. And to raise my heart rate.

Strength Block 1:
Overhead Squat
Kettlebell Row
Plank variation
x 3 sets

Strength Block 2:
Single Leg Deadlift
Bottom-Up Press
Loaded Carry
x 3 sets

Conditioning:
1 Arm Swings

Day 2:

Mobility warm-up:
Combination of physical therapy and primal movements to activate my core and shoulder and get my heart rate up.

Strength Block 1:
Overhead Lunge
Kettlebell Row
Plank variation
x 3 sets

Strength Block 2:
Suitcase Deadlift
Turkish Getup
Loaded Carry
x 3 sets

Conditioning:
1 Arm Swings

Day 3:

Mobility warm-up:
Combination of physical therapy and primal movements to activate my core and shoulder and get my heart rate up.

Strength Block 1:
Overhead Squat
Kettlebell Row
Plank variation
x 3 sets

Strength Block 2:
Single Leg Deadlift
Bottom-Up Press or Getup
Loaded Carry
x 3 sets

Conditioning:
1 Arm Swings

Goals and Progressions

I also created a few milestone goals for myself, so I could recognize when it was time to move up to the next size kettlebell or movement progression.

Overhead Squat Progression: I started with a dowel and built up to 10 reps before moving to a single kettlebell. Once I could do 5 reps/side, I moved up to next kettlebell. Once I could do 5 reps with a 16kg kettlebell, I switched to practicing windmills.

Kettlebell Row: I worked up to 10 reps/set before moving up to the next kettlebell.

Single Leg Deadlift: I worked up to doing 5 reps/leg with 32kg, once I could do that I started practicing with double kettlebells.

Bottom-Up Press: I started with a 10kg kettlebell and gradually built up to 5 reps. Once I could do 5 reps, I moved up to next kettlebell.

Turkish Get-up: My first goal was to comfortably complete 3 reps/side starting with a 16kg kettlebell. Once I could do 3 reps per side, I moved up to the next kettlebell.

Overhead Lunges: I started with 16kg and built up to 5 reps/side. Once I could do 5x per side with a 20kg kettlebell, I switched to practicing the Bent Press.

1 Arm Swings: Start with 16kg and build up to 5 sets x 10R, 10L. Once 100 reps achieved, move up to next bell.

I followed this program for 8 weeks and made substantial progress without experiencing pain. I’ve now moved into a double kettlebell program that I created for myself to bring my skills back to where they need to be for my RKC Level 2 requirements. Ya gotta stay sharp!

This was an interesting learning experience for me. I learned that if I’m in pain, I need to go see a medical professional sooner rather than later. This experience also reinforced the notion that kettlebell training should be considered to be a practice, not just a workout. A practice requires patience—but this will result in developing greater skills. Sometimes it’s important to slow down to go faster.

Stay Strong.

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Ryan Jankowitz, RKC II, CK-FMS Owner of RJ Kettlebell. Ryan is on a mission helping busy men and women lose weight and gain more self-confidence using kettlebells. He enjoys spreading the RKC message and teaching others. If you’re new to kettlebells or you just need some guidance, download his FREE 5-Day Kettlebell Workout Plan.

One Kettlebell And 30 Exercises For Infinite Workouts

August 15, 2021 By William Sturgeon Leave a Comment

Exploring non-traditional methods of fitness will allow you to add new movements into your training. Josh Henkin from DVRT (Dynamic Variable Resistance Training) Fitness is well known for his “out of the box” ideas around training. To some, it might look overly complicated nonsense, but even if that’s your opinion, there will still be plenty of take-aways to benefit your training.

Your training should be purposeful and intentional. If it isn’t, you’re only trying to find ways to burn calories. Your kettlebell workouts should have some structure with which you program the exercises you will do in a session. Variations can be added to exercises for a particular purpose or variety/novelty—and you get to decide!

In the videos below, I’ll review some new and old variations on the traditional RKC Hardstyle kettlebell exercises. The best thing about all these exercises is that you only need one kettlebell to do them.

Kettlebell Press

When it comes to pressing, there are many ways we can hold the kettlebell and perform this movement. The less stable the body, the more challenging pressing will become.

Tall Kneeling Press
Half Kneeling Press
Z Press
Narrow Stance Press
Rotational Press
Single Leg Press
Bottom-Up Press
Wide Grip Press

https://youtu.be/-3w6wOh0J78

Goblet Squat Variations

Goblet squats are a staple in my programming—I always add them to my workouts. These kettlebell goblet squat variations can provide even more “bang for your buck” when it comes to getting the heart rate up.

Kickstand Goblet Squat
Power Clean to squat
Simba Squat
Single Arm Rack Squat
Same Side Kickstand SA Rack Squat
Single Arm Squat to Press

https://youtu.be/OBk5uOzFmBs

Kettlebell Swings

What’s a kettlebell article without talking about the kettlebell swing? Before trying some of these surprisingly advanced variations, be sure to have a solid foundation in your standard Hardstyle swing. Here’s an earlier article I wrote to help master the kettlebell swing.

AS KB Swing
SA KB Swing
Hand to Hand Swing
Step Back KB Swing
Lateral KB Swing
Walking KB Swing

https://youtu.be/7gBImdM84-Y

Kettlebell Rows

Rows are another staple in the workouts I lead to counteract all the sitting that most people do for lengthy periods of time. Helping your clients strengthen their upper backs with these kettlebell row variations will do wonders for their posture.

3-Point Row
Kick Stand SA Row
Bent Over Row
Same side SA Row
SA Bent Over Row

https://youtu.be/j0dUTTMg0_o

Kettlebell Lunge

Lunging is something we do in our normal activities every day, so we should train the movement to improve our daily lives. Before attempting to train with lunges, make sure that the ankle is stable and strong enough to support the movement.

Lunge to Press
Same Side lunge
Power Clean to Lunge
Lateral Lunge to Row
Tactical Lunge

https://youtu.be/82vZcCBeeWU

Exercise doesn’t have to be a “one shoe fits all”, but there are principles that we must practice to ensure proper training and safety with our clients. If you’re ready to take your kettlebell training to a new level get yourself RKC certified!

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When to Breathe During Different Kettlebell Exercises

July 29, 2021 By Ryan Jankowitz Leave a Comment

Kettlebell Technique Includes Breathing Technique

The fact that you’re reading this post means that you take your health and fitness seriously–this is also why I’m so excited to share this information with you.

Often, people who are new to kettlebells don’t realize how important breathing is during a workout.

Learning how to breathe correctly for kettlebell training will allow you to produce more power and contract your core properly, which will also protect your back. Correct breathing will also allow you to get oxygen to your brain, so you don’t pass out.

In the RKC, we use a breathing technique called “Hardstyle Breathing” for power and safety.

It’s a very distinctive hissing sound that may sound a little silly, but it’s vital!

This hissing sound is applied differently depending on which type of kettlebell exercise you’re doing.

Hardstyle Kettlebell Exercises are Categorized as Ballistics or Grinds:

Ballistic exercises are explosive and fast (kettlebell swings, cleans, and snatches).
Grind exercises require lots of tension and are generally performed more slowly (presses, squats, deadlifts).

Breathing for Ballistic Kettlebell Exercises

When you’re doing a ballistic exercise, the exhale is much shorter compared to the exhale during a grind exercise.

For example, during a swing, clean, or snatch the exhale happens at the same time that your glutes and quads contract, or when you stand straight up. It’s a short, sharp exhale that generates more power, which will help the kettlebell float.

Ryan Jankowitz easily switches hands at the top of a one arm kettlebell swing during the "float" — Ryan easily switches hands at the top of a one arm kettlebell swing during the “float”

This short exhale will also contract your abs, which will prevent you from leaning back and placing stress on your lower back. Think of the exhale as a way to brace your abs for an incoming punch.

As the kettlebell goes into the backswing part of a swing, clean, or snatch, quickly sniff in through your nose filling your belly with air.

Breathing for Kettlebell Grinds

Kettlebell grinds are slower and require more tension. Similarly, your inhale and exhale will be longer to match each part of the movement.

For example, during an overhead kettlebell press, you will exhale through your teeth as you press the kettlebell overhead. Then, inhale through your nose as you pull the kettlebell back down to the rack position.

Using Hardstyle breathing during grind exercises will help you keep your core tight, so you don’t hurt your back, and will help you generate more power.

I hope this information helps you in your quest to get into better shape using kettlebells.

Stay Strong,

Ryan Jankowitz, RKC II, CK-FMS

***

Ryan Jankowitz, RKC II, CK-FMS is the owner of RJ Kettlebell. He’s on a mission to help busy men and women get into better shape using kettlebells. He enjoys spreading the RKC message and teaching others. If you’re new to kettlebells or you just need some guidance, try his FREE 5-Day Kettlebell Workout Plan.

8 Essential Kettlebell Exercises for Hikers

May 1, 2020 By William Sturgeon Leave a Comment

Kettlebell Get-up William Sturgeon, RKC Team Leader

With summer right around the corner and hikers getting ready to hit the trails, it’s important that we maintain our strength to enhance our time trekking. Hiking can be an exhausting hobby that demands a great amount of strength and conditioning. Using these eight kettlebell exercises will help you set yourself up for a great hiking season.

Kettlebell Swing

The kettlebell swing is a great exercise to help with conditioning the body for those long treks. Using the kettlebell swing as a conditioning tool will help build up the lung capacity needed for the trails.

William Sturgeon Kettlebell Swings

Goblet Split Squat

Hiking is a unilateral sport, meaning we are working one leg at a time. The goblet split squat is going to help strengthen your quads to face those tall hikes.

Kettlebell Press

Trekking poles can be a great tool to use when hiking, but they may also require a little more upper body strength. Practicing the kettlebell press will help you strengthen your shoulders.

Single Arm Row

Carrying a backpack around for long periods of time can take a toll on the upper back. Using the kettlebell row will help your posture and strengthen your back.

William Sturgeon, RKC Team Leader - Kettlebell Rows

Single Deadlift

The single leg deadlift will help strengthen your ankle and glutes. This greater stability can help reduce injuries on the trail.

William Sturgeon RKC Team Leader, one leg kettlebell deadlift

Kettlebell Get-Up

Being on the trail all day long while carrying a bag can be very taxing, use the Get-Up to help build a stronger core from all angles.

Halo

The halo is a simple kettlebell exercise for creating greater shoulder mobility. This will help you when climbing and/or carrying your bag.

Kettlebell Half Kneeling Stretch

Ankle and calves can get really tight from long treks. Be sure to use this exercise to help mobilize the joint and stretch the muscle.

***

Naked Swings

February 22, 2017 By Jay Armstrong 4 Comments

Jay Armstrong, Senior RKC Seesaw Press

Two years ago I woke up one morning and fell out of bed. I could not stand up. My right leg was in extreme pain and it felt like there was high voltage electricity running through it. A nerve in my back had been pinched by my vertebrae. I spent a week in the hospital on morphine while they ran tests. (Okay I think it was a week). Eventually, they did minimally invasive surgery to relieve the pressure on the nerve. Then, I began the slow rehabilitation process…

I went for a follow up visit with the surgeon. He told me, “There are two types of patients. The first type will use this sort of pain event and back surgery as an excuse. They will be afraid, they won’t work on regaining their movement abilities and they will never fully recover. You are probably the second type. You are the kind of person who will try to do too much too quickly and will soon have a relapse.” His advice to me was to be very careful.

I wanted a speedy recovery but I certainly did not want to go through this again. I realized two important things:

I must move if I wanted to regain my former movement skills and rehabilitate the lost abilities. (Yes, it was bad. After surgery, I was unable to get up off the floor without using my arms for assistance.)
I must pace my recovery so that I maximized my progress and minimized the risk of injury.

I run a place called The Kettlebell Club in Houston, Texas and I teach regular group classes there. I wanted to get back to swinging the kettlebell as soon as possible but also wanted to heed the surgeon’s warning. So, as soon as I possibly could, I began practicing naked swings – lots of them.

In workshops, classes and demonstrations I had often shown students the various aspects of the kettlebell swing without a weight. But, I had not performed many repetitions of kettlebell swings without a kettlebell. When I began religiously practicing naked swings I immediately realized that I had found a real jewel. The speed of your kettlebell swing is fixed when you have a kettlebell in your hand. But, without a kettlebell, you can perform the swing motion at a variety of speeds from very slow to very fast. You will improve the way you use your respiration to support the swinging motion. You can even pause at various points in the swing to check your posture or the activation of specific muscles. (Clearly, posture and spinal stabilization were a key focus for me.)

The top part of the kettlebell swing is a demonstration of ideal posture and spinal alignment. On each repetition, lengthen your spine, insure your thoracic spine is open, your head is over your shoulders, and your pelvis is in a neutral position (or slightly tucked).

The bottom part of the kettlebell swing is essentially the set up for a deadlift except that your hands have moved between your legs, behind your knees and lined up with your spine. Being able to spend time at the bottom of the kettlebell swing (since the kettlebell doesn’t force you to continue the movement) allows you to fine tune this position. You should feel a good loading of the posterior chain (i.e., glutes, hamstrings, back muscles, etc.) In addition, insure that your shoulders are well connected to your body while in this position.

The naked swing will also help your understanding of the transitions from top to bottom and from bottom to top. Without the kettlebell dictating the speed of the movement, you can maintain your erect posture while your hands slowly (and safely) move downward before you begin your hip hinge movement.

I credit the thousands of reps of naked swings with accelerating my recovery and in a virtually risk-free manner. In addition, this work significantly improved my understanding of the mechanics of the kettlebell swing and gave me an excellent, new teaching tool.

***

Jay Armstrong is a Senior RKC, 6 Degree Black Belt TKD, and Master Z-Health Trainer. The past 30 years have been dedicated to helping others develop confidence through increased strength and pain-free, exceptional mobility. His quest for knowledge continues. He runs The Kettlebell Club in Houston, Texas.

Moving Strong(er) Equals Training Strong(er)

May 25, 2016 By Russell Andrews 2 Comments

Russ Andrews Group Class

First, let’s consider the human movement system. What parts are involved? What is moving? What initiates the movement?

The human movement system is comprised of the nervous system, skeletal system, and the muscle system—including all the connective soft tissues: tendons, ligaments, and fascia. The nervous system is the master control center of the entire body. It coordinates every function, contraction, and every movement. The nervous system is a super highway of sensory and motor output controlling proper functions, compensating for deficiencies, and altering positions and patterns to maintain homeostasis. The human body is a global tensegrity unit.

Tensegrity

Nerve impulses contract muscles. Muscles and tendons tug on the bones. Ligaments connect bones to other bones, and fascia covers a great portion of the entire system. The skeleton can’t generate movement without muscle contractions. The soft tissue cannot contract to move the bones without the neural input firing impulses into the muscles. It takes all three systems to generate movement.

In perfect human movement, every muscle would be the perfect length, have perfect tension, and have perfect flexibility. The skeletal system would be perfectly uniform and aligned to move with precision and accuracy. The joints would have freedom of movement and quality mobility.

But we aren’t perfect.

Throughout life, we encounter interruptions and interference to our movement system. Here are just a few of them:

Congenital issues
Traumas and injuries
Altered growth patterns
Diseases
Poor nutrition
Lack of quality water
Lack of quality sleep
Sedentary lifestyles
Excess stress
Poor air quality and pollution
Lack of movement and exercise (of any type)

These interruptions force the human system to rearrange its alignment, compensate for imbalances, alter movement patterns, and adapt to dysfunctions—all to maintain homeostasis so we can perform in our daily lives. The body will maintain this re-arrangement until there’s a breakdown, an overload, or some type of system collapse. How can we maintain our systems and facilitate efficient function with minimal breakdowns? In other words, how can we move strong(er) in hopes of avoiding catastrophe?

I teach a wonderful class at Life University in the Chiropractic Science Department called Wellness, Movement Assessments, and Conditioning. In this class, we assess movement patterns then determine the soft tissue connections involved in dysfunctional patterns. After collecting all the data, we begin re-training the dysfunctional movement patterns by introducing corrective mobilization exercises and drills. We begin with simple ball rolling on the involved muscles.

Russ2SimpleBallRolling When using many of the kettlebell and bodyweight exercises in Dragon Door’s philosophy of addressing the total athlete, the improvements and results are phenomenal. When improving dysfunctional movement patterns, it is important to introduce corrective patterns through sensory input. This way, the brain can begin rewriting the movement patterns recorded in the cerebellum.

Some of the exercises we use are the get-up, windmill, one-leg deadlift, goblet squat, cossack stretch, renegade row, bear crawl, and arm bar. These movements are the “backbone” corrective exercises. We also mix in crawling patterns, diaphragmatic breathing, and bodyweight core-engagement exercises.

As my good friend Max Shank has repeatedly said, “To improve movement at a certain joint, say the gleno-humeral joint, work from the inside out.” That’s where the focal point of the corrections begin. Strengthen the core, next work on proper diaphragmatic breathing, address scapula stability and mobility, and then arrive at the gleno-humeral joint for strength and mobility. The same formula of working inside out also applies to the lumbo-pelvic-hip complex.

Along with teaching and instructing at Life University, I work with a local high school building quality athletes with kettlebells and movement exercises. These young players are experiencing the increase in strength and mobility that the kettlebell exercises deliver.

Lastly, at Train Strong Gym, I work with local athletes. We use kettlebells to develop athletic strength and mobility. The benefits from kettlebell training is almost endless.

RussTrainingHighSchoolAthletes

In these three platforms, I have the privilege of introducing the value that the kettlebell exercises delivers to all these students and athletes. The knowledge and experience gained at all these levels is invaluable.

Russ Andrews Fingertip Pushup

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Russell Andrews, Chiropractor (23 years), Assistant Professor at Life University, RKC, FMS, 30 years in Strength and Conditioning, certified in kinesiotaping. Previous speaker for the Glazier Football Coaches Clinics, lecturer, future author, co-instructor with Beth Andrews, Senior RKC at Trainstronggym.com