I received quite a bit of positive feedback on last week’s Tabata Protocol, so I thought it would be a good idea to suggest another exercise using this format.
Even my beautiful daughter asked me to go over it with her.
That’s her with her Halloween make-up.
It’s basically the same routine; 20 seconds all out, rest for 10 seconds and repeat 8 times. Again all it takes is 4 minutes.
This time our exercise is the kettlebell swing. This is an excellent exercise as it predominantly works your posterior chain. It is also one of the best cardio exercises around.
What is the posterior chain you might ask? It is a group of muscles consisting of tendons and ligaments on the posterior of the body. Examples include biceps femoris (muscle in your hamstrings), Gluteus maximus (your butt muscles), erector spinae (muscles that keep your spine erect), trapezius (the muscles between your neck and delts), and posterior deltoits (your shoulder muscles on the back of your body)
One must do it properly, however, so that the muscles you aim to train get their workout and you don’t injure yourself.
Play close attention to the below video.
[videos file=”www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0jalJ-3e7U” width=”600″ height=”400″][/videos]The curvature of your spine, how high to swing and, in particular, the hip thrust should be learned and practiced for perfect results.
Try practicing without the Kettlebell until you get your form perfect.
You can also incorporate Kettlebell Swings into a compound Tabata routine (see last week’s post) such as:
- Kettlebell Swings
- Rows
- Push-ups
- Sit-ups
You can do Kettlebell Swings before your regular resistance training. I suggest that you start out with a weight that you can swing 20 times.
The most grueling Kettlebell routine is doing 100 reps, where you end a set when you can’t do another swing but continue until you have completed 100 repetitions. How many sets it takes is not important, just do 100 reps.
GO TO IT MY FRIENDS.
