Brace yourself, because what I’m about to reveal will be ugly – most kettlebell workout routines are complete and utter crap.
That’s right. Crap. As in “waste.” A waste of your time, energy, and money.
You see, most kettlebell workout routines are just rehashed dumbbell workout routines where the kettlebell is used just like a dumbbell – there are rows, curls, shoulder raises, lunges, above-parallel-squats, crunches holding the kettlebell, and on and on and on. Why not just use a dumbbell? (Admittedly, some of these routines have what’s supposed to pass for a kettlebell swing in it but their versions just look like some poorly performed squat with a shoulder front raise added to it…)
And worse yet, most of the authors/peddlers of these kettlebell workout routines don’t know the first thing about how to structure workout programs (ever notice everything is always in a “circuit” – puh-leaze…) let alone the proper exercise performance.
Being able to “motivate” someone by shouting “oh yeah” or “one more” or “you can do it” doesn’t qualify someone to be put together anything let alone high quality kettlebell workout routines, yet most of the kettlebell dvds, kettlebell workouts, and kettlebell routines found online are just that.
And even worse is most of these are promoted as effective kettlebell workouts for women, which is just a bald-faced lie, preying upon women’s insecurities.
The saddest thing of all about this is that you my friend, the consumer reading this article, not only gets ripped off financially, but misses out of all the fantastic benefits of using a kettlebell. And to make matters worse, because these “experts” designing these kettlebell workout routines don’t know what they’re doing or how to use a kettlebell properly, you stand a very good chance of getting injured.
What you need is someone who is a professional and knows how to not only use a kettlebell and perform all the wonderful kettlebell exercises that you can use to get yourself in phenomenal shape in record time, but someone who teaches others and can teach you to do the same.
The One Exercise That Should Be The Foundation Of All Your Kettlebell Workout Routines
There is one kettlebell exercise that should be the foundation for all your kettlebell work – the kettlebell swing.
The kettlebell swing is very simple – you literally swing your kettlebell repeatedly between your legs – moving from a position with your hips pushed back and your knees bent, with a flat back and your head and eyes looking straight ahead, to standing with the kettlebell projected out in front of you – with straight arms. It’s pretty easy to get the hang of. You just need to remember that it’s a hip dominant exercise.
This means that your hips, not your legs, do the majority of the work. This means you should feel your gluts and hamstrings (the back of your legs) working and not your quads (the front of your thighs). Yet, most of the instructors producing the majority of these so-called kettlebell workout routines even screw this up. Imagine building your house on sand? Not going to get very far are you? (I even saw a celebrity trainer recently advocate rounding out the lower back on this exercise. Completely reprehensible – the best way to blow out your lower back all in the name of making a buck!)
From the kettlebell swing all your other work should progress because the swing teaches you how to become athletic again – to move from your hips. Not your legs. Not your lower back. Not your arms. Not like the majority of kettlebell workout routines you’ll find online.
When you make the swing the foundation for your kettlebell workout routines you will become stronger. You will become leaner. You will lose weight. And here’s the really important part – the more kettlebell swings you do, the more frequently you will repeat this cycle: stronger -> leaner -> lose weight. (One of my friends has lost 50lbs in the last 6 months primarily from doing kettlebell swings.)
So do yourself a favor – don’t fall prey to false promises and fancy looking kettlebell workouts by “celebrity trainers” or whoever – make sure your kettlebell workout routines are based on the kettlebell swing and you will be guaranteed one thing – Results.
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