Workout of The Week (#63)

Grease The Shoulder Girdle

A unique benefit to kettlebells compared to their dumbbell and barbell counterparts 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.

Movements like the windmill are a hard sell to meat head barbell purists. I get it, I use to think the same way, but hear me out. What yoga is for many women, kettlebells can be for men. They can help load and strengthen joints through positions you normally wouldn’t be put into with a barbell. We also tend to perform a lot of movement in the sgittal and frontal plane which is fine and dandy for building muscle and staying healthy. But if you want to become more supple, injury resistant, and capable of harnessing the power of your body, you need movement proficiency through 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.

The Workout

Kettlebell Windmill

Single Arm Swing x 5L/5R

Single Arm High Pull + Snatch x 5L/5R

Windmill x 5L/5R

5 Rounds for time

If you hit this one let me know how it goes. Rest as needed but challenge yurself with some heavier weights. Comment with any questions below.