Workout of The Week #102

Shoulder Girdle Strength

A unique benefit to kettlebells compared to dumbbells and barbells is the ability to position them more comfortably in the overhead position. The downward pull of the weight also makes it easier to perform twisting movements with the torso like the windmill.

We also tend to perform a lot of barbell & dumbbell movements in the sagittal and frontal planes. That’s fine and dandy for building muscle and staying healthy for the most part, but if you want to become more supple, injury resistant, and capable of harnessing the power of your body, you shouldn’t neglect moving in the transverse plane.

Another quirky illustration of how strong the human body can be in weird positions is the bent press (pictured below). Bottom line, if you’re looking to build up some tolerance to load in your joints to stay healthy, mobile, and get farm boy strong, movements like the kettlebell snatch, bent press, turkish get ups, and windmills should be in your arsenal. Loaded carries would also receive an honorable mention.

The Workout

I love complexes with kettlebells. I listed 4 complexes below along with a video of each. You could go a bit lighter and use any of these complexes as a 5-10 minute warmup, do them on an off day, or hit some heavy pressing and pulling (4-6 sets), hit a complex, and then finish with some arms or remedial exercises.

Kettlebell Windmill

Complex 001 | Clean & Bent Press

Single Arm Kettlebell Clean x 1

Single Arm Kettlebell Bent Press x 1

Complex 002 | The Everything Complex

Single Arm Kettlebell Swing x 1

Single Arm Kettlebell Clean x 1

Single Arm Kettlebell Bent Press x 1

Single Arm Kettlebell Snatch x 1

Complex 003 | Snatch & Windmill

Single Arm Kettlebell Snatch x 1

Windmill x 1

Complex 004 | Overhead Complex

Single Arm Kettlebell Swing x 1

Single Arm Kettlebell Snatch x 1

Windmill x 1

If you hit any of these complexes let me know in the comments. As far as sets, time, etc. I recommend either setting a 10 minute timer to work up to a top set of a complex of your choice or perform 5 to 10 sets total. For more of a strength benefit rest longer (2:00-3:00) and do less sets, for more conditioning rest short (30-60 sec) and do more sets.

Drop any questions you have in the comments, stay strong.