I really wanted to create a post about my third Kettlebell class, but didn't write it right away and now I'm forgetting things. So I'm only going to post about part of our class, the warm-up. Next week I will document the class in a more timely fashion; I want to recall the order of our moves so hopefully I can repeat it later.
Warm-up:
Around the Body: while standing, we swung a kettlebell around our body, trying to remain standing straight up and down. [change directions] (This uses your core among other areas, I'm sure)
Figure 8: Squat position, create a figure 8 between your legs (kind of like a Globetrotter, but w/o dribbling) [change directions]
Halo (okay this is not the correct name, but I thought halo was appropriate): Lift Kettlebell above the head and move in a circle above your head, like a halo [change directions]
Two-handed Swing: Complete 25 two-handed swings. Take break, repeat.*
*I realize this doesn't sound like a lot of work, but it definitely gets the heart pumping!!
Outside of the warm-up moves mentioned above, we've learned a number of additional techniques. (I tried to find some action shots to demonstrate the motions; if I couldn't find what I wanted, I settled with links to written descriptions):
Swing: We have learned both the two and one-handed swing. We also have worked on switching arms while swinging.
Clean: Part of the instructions state, "Doing the form incorrectly will leave you with a
nice bruise on the arm the next day." Uh... I have bruises.
I was doing it wrong; most everyone in my class was as well. We were swinging the bell up to clean position using an arc, when in actuality we should have been starting in swing position and pulling the bell up our torso to clean position. The action of pulling the bell vertically really reduces the momentum of the bell and thus reduces the impact on the forearm.
Snatch: Basically you start in swing position, follow with the curl path (where you pull the bell vertically up your torso), but this time swing your elbow out, straighten your arm and hold the bell above your head.
[I have not, in the least, mastered this move]
High Pull: This one reminds me of starting a lawnmower. You start with the bell between your legs, then jerk your arm back bringing your elbow up to shoulder level (along with the bell). Then punch the bell back down to the starting position.
We've also done a bunch of plank formations.
Standard Plank: (starting push-up position) on either the floor or using the kettlebells.
Plank and Row: Get into plank formation using two kettlebells, lift one kettlebell to row position and set down. Repeat with the other hand.
Plank, Row, Walk: We did the same movements as the plank and row, except when we set the bell down, we set it out further out so we had to pull our body to that position. (Imagine a military forearm crawl, but with bells not your forearm.)
Side Plank (w/ leg lift): Here we got into standard side plank position and were asked to lift one arm into the air along with one leg
Our second to last routine was 10 repetitions of a swing followed by a high-pull and then a snatch (each trio counted as 1 rep). The trifecta was then repeated for the other arm. This was probably my favorite, but intense!! Our cool-down was the plank, row, walk.
All photos and instructions are borrowed from other websites. I assume they have the copyright for these, I do not claim ownership of any of their information or images. (Except for the bruises; those are all mine.)
