Here is another piece of fitness equipment which will allow you to build sturdy muscle and maintain a stellar physique. This fitness equipment is none other than known kettlebell, which has gained tremendous popularity among the masses, basically fitness freaks. Performing many kettlebell workouts offers better conditioning of your muscle mass and thus maintains your interest during the workout. A kettlebell exercise is considered to be one of the fun ways for individuals to perform a workout. With the help of this article, we will try to figure out some of the best 10 kettlebell moves that you should incorporate into your daily workout regime.
Kettlebells, while sometimes overlooked at the gym, are brilliant and versatile pieces of equipment. You can do a full-body workout with a few simple kettlebell exercises to build strength everywhere from your legs and core to shoulders and back. Plus, many of these will get the heart pumping and blood flowing. A kettlebell workout isn’t like other types of strength training routines you may have tried. It provides a more holistic type of exercise that targets several muscle groups at once. This targeting of various muscles in our body makes kettlebell exercise an excellent option if you want to optimize your physical activity if you are pressed for time.
Why Should You Prefer Using a Kettlebell
If you want to build strength then performing kettlebell exercises is the one that you should consider. This fitness equipment has a long history that goes back to the days of Russian strongmen in the early 18th century when the purpose was the same only to build strength. However, the kettlebell takes it one step further. It combines the health benefits of strength training along with ways to incorporate aerobic and flexibility workouts. Because of that, you get a lot of bang for your buck when it comes to calorie burn. You can expect a burnout of about 20 calories per minute, depending on your gender and workout intensity.
With this fitness equipment, one can perform various types of kettlebell exercises, unlike some weight lifting machines like the shoulder press. Adding this to your workout regime will certainly allow you perfect functional fitness.
Benefits of Kettlebell Exercises
- Enhances Core Strength & Stability – Performing kettlebell exercise improves core strength and stability. Kettlebell exercises consist of ballistic training. Ballistic training works on explosive power by maximizing acceleration and minimizing deceleration. These explosive movements stimulate the abdominal muscles tremendously well. They require core contraction and coordinated breathing as the movements are intense. This leads to a serious improvement in core strength, even when not necessarily targeting your core like you would with crunches or leg raises.
- Stabilizes Muscles & Improves Balance – Performing kettlebell exercise improves balance and stabilizes muscles. When training with machines, you are producing force and moving on a predetermined path. Conversely, when training with kettlebells, you must control the movement path. This requires you to double down on strengthening the stabilizer muscles for each particular movement. Having strong stabilizer muscles in all ranges of movement, coupled with increased core power as we discussed in one of the benefits of kettlebells above, means your balance will be exceptional.
- Extensive Fat Burning Workout – Performing kettlebell exercise offers crazy calorie-burning potential, which means losing a huge amount of fat. Studies showed that kettlebell burns as many as 20 calories per minute, which is around 400 calories for a 20-minute workout. Besides all, kettlebell exercise for losing fat is often high intensity, so you have the after-burn effect as well. This is called EPOC, Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. For those who don’t know, this means you will be burning calories at a higher rate long after your workout has finished.
Top 10 Kettlebell Home Workouts
1.) Kettlebell Ballistic Row – The Ballistic Row is one of the best kettlebell workouts to build a powerful back, core and arms. Maintaining core tension will alleviate pressure on the lower back. Make sure to do this in a place where dropping the kettlebell won’t cause damage to anything. By performing the ballistic row, you will also have the added benefit of a strong grip and forearms.
2.) Kettlebell Clean and Press –Kettlebell Clean and Press is one of the best kettlebell workouts. It is a powerful exercise that combines upper and lower body strength and power. The clean and press is a complete workout, hitting nearly every muscle in the body. This is one of the best strength exercises available and yields phenomenal results. Performing clean and presses with kettlebells are easier on the wrists than barbell variations of the exercise. The Kettlebell clean and press also provides a much greater core workout that will challenge both novice and elite alike.
3.) Kettlebell Jump Squat – Kettlebell Jump Squat is one of the best kettlebell workouts. Jump Squats performed with a kettlebell offers powerful leg strengthening, but should only be done with healthy knees. Perfect the bodyweight version before attempting to weigh yourself down. Explosive power is just one side effect of jump squats. Strong glutes and a solid core are coming your way when performed over time. Start slow and work your way up.
4.) Kettlebell Gorilla Clean – Kettlebell Gorilla Clean is one of the best kettlebell workouts. The gorilla clean is one of the most powerful shoulders and posterior chain strengthens available. You will feel this in your entire body the day after you complete a few sets. Great for building strength or conditioning.
5.) Kettlebell 2-Hand Swing – Kettlebell 2-Hand Swing is one of the best kettlebell workouts. The Kettlebell 2-Hand Swing is the brutal distillation of everything kettlebell training is about. It offers power, explosiveness, flexibility and lung-searing cardio; it’s not simply that it works a lot of muscles, and make no mistake that it does, it’s that it teaches you to generate power from the core outward to the object you are attempting to manipulate. Instead of learning to move a weight from point A to point B, you learn to generate force from your body’s powerhouse.
6.) Kettlebell Clean – Kettlebell Clean is one of the best kettlebell workouts. The Kettlebell Clean should be a staple of your kettlebell training regardless of your goals. It will build fantastic core and shoulder strength as well as forge and iron grip. A must for anyone about to step into combat on or off the playing field. It will help build overall strength as well and if used for a long enough duration will provide a great conditioning effect.
7.) Kettlebell Sots Press – Kettlebell Sots Press is one of the best kettlebell workouts. This exercise builds massive core strength while helping the shoulders and legs endure whatever you might throw at them. This kettlebell exercise is the epitome of strength meeting balance. You don’t need a heavy weight to gain the benefits of the Sots Press. If you have problems with the Sots press, start with Overhead Squats and Seated Military Press on the ground to build up.
8.) Kettlebell 2-Hand Clean Squat – Kettlebell 2-Hand Clean Squat is one of the best kettlebell workouts. This exercise is a compound movement that combines a 2-Hand Clean with a Squat. The purpose is to smoothly transition between movements with one non-stop action that will force you to engage your entire body at once. Note that this movement is different from the Kettlebell Clean and Squat exercise which breaks down the drill into two distinct movements.
9.) Double Kettlebell Clean – Double Kettlebell Clean is one of the best kettlebell workouts. This exercise builds explosive power and strength throughout your entire body. Performing the double clean will help you build a powerful grip. You will also develop a powerful hip snapping motion that will transfer into any sport or physical activity you choose. The Double Kettlebell Clean is a must not only for strength and power but for the ultimate in conditioning.
10.) Kettlebell Alternating Double Reverse Lunge – Kettlebell Alternating Double Reverse Lunge is one of the best kettlebell workouts. This exercise is a surprisingly difficult drill that does more than simply challenge your legs. Thanks to the double kettlebell Rack Position, you will be engaging your core and upper body just as much, if not more, than your legs with each rep. This exercise is used in a Rites of Passage test.
Disclaimer:
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as a health advice. We would ask you to consult a qualified professional or medical expert to gain additional knowledge before you choose to consume any product or perform any exercise.
