How kettlebell lifting will help to become hardy and temper character

What is kettlebell lifting

Kettlebell lifting is a sport with a power cyclic load. That is, the athlete repeats the same movement for a given time and does it with heavy equipment.

Kettlebell lifting was officially recognized back in 1962. After 30 years, the International Kettlebell Sport Federation was created, the first European Championship was held, and then the World Championship.

Thus, doing kettlebell lifting, you can participate in Russian and international competitions and get a sports title. But you can also train just for the sake of getting fit and maintaining health.

There are three main movements in kettlebell lifting:

1. Long cycle push. The athlete repeats the throw kettlebell on the chest and pushing the projectiles up. In competitions, this movement is performed for 10 minutes, and the result is calculated by the number of lifts.

2. jerk. In this exercise, the athlete swings the kettlebell between the legs, and then sharply unbends in the hip joints, so that the projectile flies up by inertia and is taken on a straightened arm.

At competitions, perform the maximum number of repetitions of this movement in 10 minutes. In this case, you can shift the weight only once.

There are also competitions for army snatch, in which the weight can be shifted from hand to hand as many times as you want. Time is given a little more - 12 minutes.

3. Push. Unlike the long cycle, in this exercise, the athlete performs throwing shells to the chest only once. Then he pushes them up, fixes the position with straightened arms, returns the weights to the chest and repeats the push.

In competitions, this movement is included in the biathlon discipline. First, the athlete performs as many pushes of two kettlebells in 10 minutes as he can.

Then he rests and makes the most jerks in the same time. The result is the sum of the lifts.

Juniors compete with kettlebells weighing 16 kg, women with 16 kg and 24 kg, men with 24 kg and 32 kg.

What kettlebell lifting helps to achieve

By doing this sport, you will be able to:

• Strengthen muscles. During movements with a kettlebell, the hips and buttocks are included in the work, caviar, press, back and shoulders. By exercising, you pump almost the entire body.
• become hardy. Kettlebell lifting pumps general and strength endurance - the ability to work at an increased heart rate for a long time, and also to do it with weights. Most likely, these skills will come in handy more than once in your life: you don’t get out of breath on a run, you can easily carry heavy bags and drag furniture when moving.
• Develop willpower skills. 10 minutes seems like a short amount of time - but only if you don't work with two kettlebells. In training, you have to endure rapid breathing, burning in tired muscles, pain in plucked corns. The ability to ignore unpleasant sensations and continue to work requires willpower and helps to develop this quality.

Who should try kettlebell lifting

You should definitely take up weightlifting if:

• You like measured monotonous exercises. If you love running swimming and other cyclic sports, but if you want to add strength, be sure to try kettlebells. Having mastered the technique, you will be able to work measuredly at the chosen pace and enjoy the process.
• You need to develop stamina for work. This sport is useful for rescuers, police, military and other professions, where you need to perform long and intensive actions and drag heavy objects.
• Do you want to train at home?. It is perhaps difficult to find a sport that requires less space than a kettlebell. To start training, you only need to buy two shells and find a couple of meters of free space.

Who is not suitable for kettlebell lifting

This sport also has some disadvantages. These classes are not for you if you:

• Have back problems. Kettlebell lifting itself does not harm the back, but if you already have some kind of disease, exercise can adversely affect the health of the spine. Especially if you haven't done strength training before.
• Do you want an athletic body?. Doing competitive moves with kettlebells will not help you bulk up. Of course you can add to your workouts squats, various presses and thrusts. They will allow you to work out your muscles, and weight lifting will contribute to the expenditure of calories so that your relief is visible. But to achieve impressive results only with the help of the latter will not work.
• love variety. While doing kettlebell lifting, you will constantly perform snatch and jerk or auxiliary exercises that copy these movements to some extent. The monotonous activity in a confined space can seem boring, so you will quickly lose your enthusiasm and desire to exercise.

However, the last minus can be ignored if you are not going to seriously prepare for kettlebell lifting competitions. Nobody prevents you from doing cardio or fitness, as well as doing strength exercises on simulators or movements with a barbell.

What you need to do weightlifting

We will list a few important points.

Buy weights

Even if you plan to work out on your balcony, you should go to the gym at least once, to work with different weights and decide how heavy shells to get for home workouts.

Men should start with 16 kg or 24 kg, women - from 12 kg or 16 kg. Try to clean and jerk two kettlebells with the selected weight. If you managed to complete it 5-6 times without stopping, the shells are suitable for you.

As for the shape, do not take kettlebells with thick handles and beautiful options with a body in the form of a skull or animal head. Such shells are suitable for fitness, but not for kettlebell lifting.

Buy two pairs of kettlebells with a difference in weight of 4-8 kg. For example, two 16 kg each and two 20 kg each. So you can move on to working with new weights without breaking the technique and without risking getting injury.

In addition, by working with different weights, you can choose the optimal load for circular training with kettlebells. For example, perform squats and deadlifts with heavier shells, and choose lighter ones for bench presses or press movements.

Find a coach

You can practice at home, but at first it is better to find a person who will work with you on the technique of movements. If you can't find trainer in the nearest gym, you may contact an instructor who will write the program for you online and correct the technique from the video.

Buy the rest of the equipment

First of all, you will need:

• Magnesia - a white powder or solution that is rubbed on the palms to prevent the kettlebell from slipping in the hand. Take dry - in the form of one piece or powder. Liquid ones often roll on the palms.
• Wristbands. At the top of the snatch, as well as during the cleanup, the weights are hit on the forearms. This is unpleasant and may result in bruising. To soften the blow, buy wristbands. Just do not take the models for strength training in the form of tape with Velcro - they unwind.
• Belt. This equipment will come in handy a little later, when you master the technique of movements and can do long sets. Choose models for weightlifting and take the size with a margin. Unlike other strength sports, here the belt should not be tightly wrapped around the waist. It hangs a little lower and serves to make it more convenient for you to put your elbows on your body during the push.
• Weightlifters. These are special shoes for power sports with a hard sole and a small heel. It is not necessary to buy them right away - at first you can practice barefoot, in sneakers, or in any sneakers with a hard sole.

As for clothing, it's best to wear a cotton T-shirt so that you can rest your elbows on your stomach and prevent them from slipping on your wet body or sportswear. The bottom does not matter, especially if you work out at home.

How to do weightlifting

First of all, you need to decide on the purpose of training.

If you want to compete, you need a coach. Find a section or a teacher, and he will put you on the technique and tell you how to do it.

If you are going to train at home for pleasure and to maintain good physical shape, decide on program workouts.

Master the basic movements

Below we will briefly describe the technique of kettlebell lifting competitive movements.

1. jerk

Place your feet shoulder-width apart. Position the kettlebell about 20–30 cm from your toes. Slightly bend your knees, lean forward with a straight back and take the projectile by the handle.

Don't grab it with all your might. Bend the four fingers on which the weight will hang, and press them with your thumb on top, making a “lock”.

Lift the kettlebell and slide it between your legs while straightening your knees. Fix the body in this position: the back should be tense, and press - hard. Take your free hand back.

Do podsed and powerfully straighten your legs, giving the projectile acceleration. When the kettlebell is in front of your body, bring your shoulder up to complete the lift. The projectile will fly even higher.

When the kettlebell is above your head, slide the hand into the handle so that the inner corner of the handle is at the base of the thumb, and the body is pressed against the forearm.

Fully straighten the arm, body and legs and fix this position. Then pass the kettlebell around the forearm, slightly tilting the body back, bend the arm at the elbow and let the projectile fall.

When the weight passes the level of the head, intercept the bow with a direct grip and accompany the projectile down. Bring it between your legs again, bending over and straightening your knees, and repeat the movement.

2. Kettlebell push 

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, take the weights in your hands. Swing the shells between your legs, then straighten sharply in the hip and knee joints, giving the weights acceleration.

When they fly up to chest level, do a squat while bending your arms at the elbow joints. Insert the brushes into the arms of the shells so that they lie on the outside of the forearms.

Perform a smooth squat, and then with a sharp and quick movement, straighten your legs and go out on your toes, while pushing the weights up.

When the projectiles fly up, bend your legs, going into a squat, and at the same time straighten your arms. So you will be able to catch the weights on straight arms, without squeezing them at the top point.

Straighten your legs and fix the position. Then bend your elbows and lower the weights to your chest, doing a small squat to absorb the momentum of the falling shells.

Rest your elbows on your stomach again and try to relax shoulders before the next push. Repeat first.

3. Long cycle push

This version of the kettlebell push is similar to the previous one, but there is one significant point - you need to lower the shells each time in order to re-throw them on the chest. The beginning of the exercise completely coincides with the classic push, the differences begin after you lower the weights to your chest.

Instead of pushing them again, lower the shells down by intercepting the arms. Bend at the hips, tilt the body with a straight back and swing two projectiles between the legs. After that, sharply straighten the body again and throw the weights on the chest.

It is important to throw projectiles due to extension in the hip joints and try not to strain your arms. In this case, the biceps will not clog, and you will be able to work longer and harder.

Make a workout program

In addition to the basic movements, you can add other kettlebell exercises that will help develop strength and endurance, pump up your sense of balance and joint mobility.

Your workout might look like this:

• Warm up.
• Practicing basic movements.
• Circular complex with one kettlebell.

Here is an example of a complex for beginners from the master of sports Denis Mikhailov:

1. Pushing one kettlebell in a long cycle with a change of hands every five times. Perform 20, 30 and 50 repetitions with rest between sets.

2. Complete 50 as quickly as possible trusters with a kettlebell in one hand. It is allowed to change hands and rest.

3. Complete 50 burpees as quickly as possible. Rest is allowed.

And here's the plan for fans:

1. Pushing one kettlebell in a long cycle with an arbitrary change of hands. Perform six minutes, then rest until recovery and repeat the same. During the approach, you can stand with a kettlebell on your chest, but you can not lower it to the floor.
2. Perform 100 double kettlebell thrusters as quickly as possible.
3. Circular complex. Perform 5 circles of the following exercises: 20 repetitions of push-ups from the floor, then 20 jumps from a full squat.

You can create your own complexes. Choose 3-4 kettlebell movements on different muscle groups and do them in a row.

How often to exercise

You can exercise every day, but it is better to take breaks so that the muscles have time to recover. Therefore, arrange 3-4 workouts per week with a rest day in between.

During the break, you can add other endurance exercises. For example, go jogging or swimming - these types of loads go well with kettlebell lifting.