Functional Kettlebell Warm Up

Functional Kettlebell Warm Up:

In this video I am going to take you through a functional kettlebell warm up that will be appropriate for almost any of the workouts we post in our Friday videos. I highly recommend that you begin each workout with a warm up and that you consider the exercises you are going to perform in your workout when you do. You may notice that your workouts have a natural progression of exertion as you go. Starting with mild effort while using highly functional motor patterns will warm your body up safely and unify your mind and body. As you progress, you may tend to favor strength phase and then explosive lifts, which will also bring about the inevitable cardiovascular challenge.

A cool down period is also a good idea, make sure you don’t drop to the floor out of exhaustion the moment you finish your last rep. To avoid unnecessary stress on your heart when you are done with any high heart rate exercise make sure you walk it off instead of dropping to the floor. When you are done with your practice, feel free to implement strategic stretching and self-myofascial release. A foam roller is one of many pieces of equipment that can be used to self-massage your muscles that need the most help. For a small investment, this tool is invaluable.

Let’s begin today with a functional warm up of:

Deadlifts
The movement of lifting something off the ground, use a light weight and concentrate on the safest and most efficient motor patterns you can achieve.

Backward-stepping lunges
This is about opening up those chronically tight hip flexors and will also help wake up your balance and stability.

Static overhead hold
This is another learning move, lift a very light weight overhead and learn the overhead loaded lat position. Dig deeply and feel the weight sinking down into your shoulder. Align the weight directly over it’s plumb line and align your entire body to neutral posture.

Double bell overhead hold
This is much harder than the one handed hold. The flexibility in your upper, mid and lower back will be tested. The ability for your nervous system to relax while staying strong will also come into play. Remember, real world strength is always made up of equal parts of tension and relaxation.

The importance of good technique and posture when lifting overhead cannot be understated and much of kettlebell and strong person exercise uses overhead lifting of weight. It is crucial for functional ability and a wonderful tool for developing core strength and good posture. You can also consider moving on to exercises such as the turkish get up, windmill and overhead squat. These are all variations of moving under weight. Have fun with your practice today, whatever it may be. If you are not sure what you would like to do, then just check out our youtube playlists for either a beginner, intermediate or advanced workout! Grab your bell and lets get started!

Peter Hirsh