Peter’s London Kettlebell Workout, Part 1:
This is my first workout in England. I haven’t been able to move much since I got off the plane so I am looking forward to using the kettlebells I borrowed from Box Bell fitness just a few miles from where I am staying in Warfield. I will be using two weights, a light weight for warm up and mobility and a medium/heavy weight for lower rep lifting. As always, you can expect a few body weighted exercises to be included in the workout as well. There are quite a few different exercises in this workout, so take your time to learn each exercise before you begin the workout. You should already be consistent with your kettlebell deadlifts, kettlebell swings clean&press, and lunges to perform this workout safely. I will begin slowly but remember, I just got off the plane!
Lets loosen up:
- Chi swings. In tai chi, this is a chi building exercise, I love the rotation and also acting like a bit of a kid. Stay with these for sixty seconds to five minutes, gaining speed slowly as you go.
- Ten reps of bodyweight squats. Notice this movement is hips down, not back, try to minimize your forward lean.
- Backward stepping lunges, five reps per leg. These will open your hips up and get them ready for exercise. By lengthening muscles slowly and methodically we can help prevent injury.
- Around the world ten passes in each direction, keep your shoulders back and down.
- Halo: sixty seconds per hand. Keep the bell close to your head and really work the shoulders in a big range of motion with light weight.
Before we start any ballistic movements, lets start with two sets of:
Ten Deadlifts, Ten pushups
The Workout, Two Sets Of:
- Ten, two handed kettlebell swings.
- One clean, five push-press per hand. Clean the bell to the rack position and repeat five reps of a push-press, then switch hands and repeat.
We will finish up with a quick three minute drill of clean and push-press. You can regress the push press to a press or progress it to a jerk if you need to adjust up or down for your kettlebell weight. In other words, if you only have a light bell to use, you can simply press it overhead. If your bell is slightly heavy you may use a jerk, as opposed to the push-press which you will see me use. I explain the differences between the three movements in this video, if you haven’t seen it already.
With three minutes on the clock, perform;
- A ballistic clean and push press, return to the rack. Swing switch, clean and push press to the other hand. Repeat this swing switch, clean and push press drill for three minutes. Take the time you need to rest in the rack and overhead loaded lat position to catch your breath and regain your composure.
This has been a lot of shoulder work and you may be sore there tomorrow. The swings and push presses also demand a lot out of your core. You may feel like you’re standing up a little straighter for a couple of days, this is a good sign! I am sure you also felt the demand on your cardiovascular system so I don’t need to tell you that you burned tons of calories as well!
Thank you for training with me today, I will bring you another workout from England soon, stay tuned!
Peter Hirsh
