RKC School of Strength

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Improve Your Posture with the RKC Kettlebell Swing

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Senior RKC Beth Andrews Kettlebell Swings

Postural correction is a hot topic. Spending too much time in a seated position while driving or working on a computer will adversely affect our ability to stand up straight.

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a time-efficient exercise that could counteract all the time you’ve spent in the seated position and help you develop good posture?

That exercise exists—it’s the kettlebell swing.

Swinging a kettlebell will help you develop strong muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments. It will also improve your endurance. But, one of the biggest benefits of the kettlebell swing is improvement in your posture. The kettlebell swing is a naturally corrective exercise which will help undo the maladaptive effects of too much sitting slumped over with a computer, tablet, or phone.

The following are some of the key postural issues that the RKC kettlebell swing can correct:

Problem #1: Your glutes are not working

Sitting down turns off your glutes. The RKC kettlebell swing includes a “hip drive” or “pop” that moves the tailbone under and drives the hips forward. The hips are a primary source of athletic power for many sports such as golf, tennis, baseball and boxing. This hip drive is fueled by a rapid and intense contraction of the glutes. Swinging a kettlebell can help you reactivate your glutes. Active glutes will also put the pelvis in a neutral position, increasing your athleticism and reducing your chances of developing chronic back pain.

Problem #2: Your back is rounded, and shoulders are hunched forward

When using a computer or driving a car, your arms are front of your body while you’re seated. This inevitably leads to the shoulders internally rotating and the chest collapsing. For most people, this also means they will look like a caveman when they finally stand up. The finish, or top position, of the RKC kettlebell swing features “packed” shoulders. This means that the shoulders are pulled back and down, the lats are activated, and the thoracic spine is in a neutral position.

The kettlebell swing also has the added advantage of teaching you to bend over and stand up into a correct postural position time after time, rep after rep. And each effort is performed under load. Using a weight means that the adaptive changes will take place faster. Even a short RKC kettlebell swing practice session will greatly improve your ability to go from a seated, computer desk position to an erect, well aligned standing position.

Problem #3 – Your core is weak and you cannot contract your abdominal muscles

Bad Computer Posture

Modern office furniture encourages us to relax everything while we type at the computer. This muscular relaxation includes the core and abs. But, when you stand up, your abs remain relaxed, your pelvis tips forward and all of your guts try to fall forward! Not very attractive. At the top position of the kettlebell swing, the spine is lengthened and aligned. In order to accomplish this alignment, the core must be stabilized with a balance of posterior and anterior tension. This simply means that the abs must be strongly contracted for a split second at the top of each swing. What could be a better way to relearn how to stabilize your core and contract your abs then to do this time after time with your RKC kettlebell swing.

One step we use while teaching the kettlebell swing is the RKC plank. Notice that opening your chest, contracting your abs, tightening your glutes and lengthening your spine into an ideal postural position are all part of the RKC plank exercise. The top position of a kettlebell swing should mimic the total body tension and spinal alignment of the RKC plank.

Beth Andrews RKC Plank

Focus on these points as you perform your RKC kettlebell swing. You will see fast and enormous postural improvements.

Stand tall my friend.

Beth Andrews and Jay Armstrong

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Beth Andrews is a Senior RKC, PCC Team Leader, and CK-FMS. She leads HKC and RKC certifications, and assists at the PCC. She became the 5th Iron Maiden in 2013. Beth owns Maximum Body Training and a successful online training business. She has over 25 years of training experience. For online training or to host a certification, email Beth at: bethandrewsrkc@gmail.com. For more training tips and workouts subscribe to her YouTube channel, Beth Andrews RKC or visit her website at maximumbodytraining.com

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.

Elite Abs: “Hollow Plank Positions” (Part 4 of 5)

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Master RKC Keira Newton performs a plank

Master RKC, Keira Newton continues her series on how to use your new “hollowed out” position with more advanced plank variations.

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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.

 

Elite Abs: “Hollow Plank Positions” (Part 3 of 5)

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Master RKC Keira Newton performs a plank

Master RKC, Keira Newton shows you how to use your new “hollowed out” position with some more advanced plank variations.

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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.

 

Elite Abs: “Hollow Plank Positions” (Part 2 of 5)

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Master RKC Keira Newton performs a plank

Master RKC, Keira Newton shows you how to use your new “hollowed out” position with some more advanced plank variations.

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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.

 

Elite Abs: “Hollow Plank Positions” (Part 1 of 5)

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Master RKC, Keira Newton shows you how to achieve a true “hollowed out” position with several different strength-building plank variations.

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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.

 

Back to RKC Basics with the Plank Position

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Those of us that make our living in the fitness profession suffer from ADD with our own training.

Generally speaking we are always in a hurry to move on to the next progression in whatever it is we are trying to do rather than pay our dues perfecting the basics. Sometimes we even try to advance our clients before they are fundamentally ready. Many of us talk about practicing movement but I would argue we need to consistently spend time practicing the fundamental techniques, skills and movements. For example how many of us still incorporate the RKC plank into our own practice sessions?

When I went through the RKC we were taught the plank. You all know it by now… butt tight, quads tight, fists clenched, feet together and pull your elbows to your feet without actually moving. For those of you that know the “Hartle Plank”, developed by the brilliant and strong chiropractor Dr. Michael Hartle, you know there are a few more cue’s that will amp it up a bit more.

Let’s first look at this from a structural stand point. Imagine your body is similar to the framing of a large city building. Then at the top of this structure we’re going to put a crane so we can create more levels.

How much support will that crane have if a few of the steel beams were replaced with overcooked spaghetti noodles?

You simply can’t press heavy weight overhead if parts of the supporting structure are overcooked spaghetti noodles! Likewise with bodyweight strength training, imagine performing a handstand push-up if you’re body is a wet dishrag from the waist on down? If you ask any successful competitive powerlifter about their benchpress technique they will first explain how tight, solid and locked down they are during the press. They create a solid, tight, strong stable base from which to press.

The RKC plank will carry over to a ton of different movements, kettlebell, conventional powerlifting, and bodyweight strength training. After spending several years powerlifting I went to the RKC and was taught the plank is how your body should look at the top of your swing, or under a load as you press heavy stuff overhead. The plank is a tension skill, not a silly youtube clip of you laying on top of a taxi cab.

Now with the huge interest in bodyweight strength training the RKC plank has become even more important. For those of you that have attempted a one arm one leg push-up or even dared to try a front lever, you know already you need to create a ton of total body tension to successfully achieve any of these feats. Think about it, there are elements of the plank in pull-ups, push-ups, pistol squats, front levers, human flags, kettlebell swings, deadlifts, loaded carries, presses, cleans, and many other movements.

Rather than jumping into our session after our warm up maybe it’s time we perfect our basic skills?

Please consider this, those of you that enjoy baseball, do you have any idea how professional hitters train and work on their swing? They use a tee! No matter what level you’re at we all need to polish up on our basic skills and the RKC plank is arguably one of the most basic skills with the most carry over! Fire it up!

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Corey Howard, RKC: As the owner and founder of Results PT, Corey started the company in 2004 out of his house, with the goal of creating an energizing atmosphere that’s geared toward the client’s success.  Since 2004 his vision has grown along with the list of clients, and in 2008 he opened Sioux Falls’s first private personal training studio.  Corey has trained and helped many people lose a lot of weight, including a few people that have lost over 100lbs.  He also has experience training fitness figure competitors and pagent girls.  His clients have been featured in local and national magazine articles, appeared on television, and competed nationally.  He originally became a certified personal trainer while living in Minneapolis in 2002 and over the years has created a successful strategy and program that reaps success.  He also has experience in competitive powerlifting and loves total body kettlebell workouts that promote athleticism.  He can be reached at www.resultsptonline.com or www.coreyhoward.com