Other lifters shy away from the front squat because they can move relatively more weight with other squat variations. Regardless of the reason, while the front squat has plenty of benefits to offer, there are some equally effective alternatives to consider which let you work around any restrictions and find comparable results.

Bruce Lee once talked about “the art of fighting without fighting,” so consider these exercises “how to front squat without front squatting.”

Best Front Squat Alternatives

• Front Squat with Straps
• Front Squat to Box
• Safety Bar Squat
• Zercher Squat
• High-Bar Back Squat
• Trap Bar Squat
• Front Rack Lunge
• Goblet Squat
• Dumbbell Front Squat
• Single-Arm Kettlebell Front Squat
• Front Squat Hold

Front Squat with Straps

One of the biggest limiting factors for many lifters, when it comes to performing the front squat, is holding the bar in the “rack position” — held across the fronts of your shoulders with your arms flexed and your fingertips under the bar.

This position requires flexibility and mobility throughout your wrists, elbows, and shoulders. While those attributes can be improved over time with dedicated work, you can reduce the mobility requirements without compromising results by attaching a pair of lifting straps to the bar. These serve as makeshift handles to offer a slightly adjusted hand and arm position.

When to Use It

The front squat with straps can be used identically to the classic front squat, or any time you need to support the bar in the rack position (across the front of your shoulders). The strapped movement can be programmed with the same sets and reps, and often with the same weights. This exercise is particularly useful for any lifters with pre-existing upper-body joint issues which may restrict their mobility.

How to Do It

Set a barbell in a rack at roughly upper chest-level. Secure a pair of lifting straps to the bar just outside shoulder-width. Grab one strap in each hand with your palms facing each other.

Step to the bar, bending your arms as you unrack the weight with your thumbs near the front of your shoulders. Keep tension on the straps without lifting the bar off your shoulders. Take a small step back and squat, keeping your elbows aimed forward and your torso upright.

Front Squat to Box

While the front squat with straps addresses upper body mobility restrictions, the front squat to box can be used to address lower body mobility restrictions. By using a box to limit your range of motion, you change the muscle recruitment and alter the stress on muscles and joints. (1)

When to Use It

Program the front squat to box if you have hip or ankle mobility issues which prevent you from achieving a deep front squat position. A box can also be used by beginners as a target to ingrain consistent squat depths and technique.

How to Do It

Set up a stable box or series of aerobic steps at a comfortable height, generally above knee-level, a few feet behind a barbell set in a rack. Setup for a standard front squat and carefully step back to position yourself above the box.

Descend under control, lowering your glutes to the box. Don’t rest your full weight on the box — pretend it’s a deck of cards that you don’t want to knock down. Pause very briefly without losing tension. Explode upwards to a powerful lockout.

Safety Bar Squat

If your gym has a safety bar, easily spotted with its thick pads and jutting handles, it can be a key player in building your lower body without straining your joints. (2) The safety bar squat allows a more upright torso and increased upper back engagement, which can reduce lower back stress. The forward-facing handles allow a more natural arm position which reduces stress on your shoulder and elbow joints.

When to Use It

The safety bar squat is an ideal alternative if you cannot maintain the elevated arm position required for front squats. This exercise is also an efficient way to increase upper back training because the thick pads offset the center of gravity and increase trapezius and upper back activation.

How to Do It

Set a safety bar in a rack at roughly shoulder-height. Duck under the bar and position the padded cradle around your trapezius, upper back, and shoulders. Grab the handles and pull your elbows toward your ribs.

Brace your core and pinch your shoulder blades together before unracking the weight. Step back and squat down. Don’t allow the weight to tip your upper body forward. Squeeze the handles and keep you elbows near your ribs as you drive upward to lockout.

Zercher Squat

The unconventional bar position of the Zercher squat, named after American weightlifter Ed Zercher, almost looks like a very poorly attempted front squat. By cradling the barbell in the crook of your arms, you can hold it very close to your body, which  improves your leverage and power output. While the Zercher squat requires little-to-no shoulder or elbow mobility, the strain of the bar on your forearms and elbows can be uncomfortable for some lifters.

When to Use It

Perform the Zercher squat in place of the front squat if you have significant upper body mobility restrictions. The Zercher squat can also be used toward the end of a workout, after first fatiguing your legs with other movements. This will let you get an efficient training stimulus with relatively lighter (and likely more comfortable) weights.

How to Do It

Set the bar in a rack near your belly button or lower chest-level. Step up to the bar and place your elbows on it, curling your arms around the barbell, with your palms up. Brace your core and stand up before taking a step back.

Squat down until either the bar or your elbows gently touch your thighs. Pause briefly before standing upright. Keep your elbows tight to your body and don’t allow the weight to pull you forward.

High-Bar Back Squat

Strangely, sometimes the best front squat alternative is a back squat variation. The high-bar back squat is a useful choice for competitive powerlifters, who must perform the back squat at meets. This exercise allows increased quadriceps recruitment and relatively less lower back strain while maintaining a sport-specific movement.(3)

When to Use It

The high-bar back squat can be used at any point in a training program to emphasize the quadriceps muscles, which can benefit leg size as well as carry over to improved squat and deadlift strength.

How to Do It

Place a bar at upper chest-level in a rack. Position the bar across your trapezius and upper back. Unrack the back and take a roughly shoulder-width stance. Brace your core, pull your shoulder blades together, and squat as low as possible.

Keep your upper body mostly vertical as you descend. Aim to reach a depth with your hips nearly in line with your knees (thighs roughly parallel to the ground) before returning upright.

Trap Bar Squat

A trap bar can be a versatile piece of equipment, but is commonly used to perform the trap bar deadlift. The neutral hand position (palms facing your body) keeps the weight in line with your body’s center, which helps to reduce joint strain in your back and shoulders. Shifting your body position to keep a more upright torso when performing a trap bar squat will further emphasize the front of your thighs (quadriceps).

When to Use It

Use the trap bar for any type of squat or deadlift variation to decrease joint strain without reducing muscular stress. The trap bar squat can be particularly beneficial for sneaking extra upper body recruitment into your leg training, because your grip, arms, shoulders, and back help support the load during the exercise.

How to Do It

If your trap bar has two sets of handles, one “high” and one “low,” begin using the high handles and save the low handles for a more challenging progression. Stand in the center of the bar with your feet roughly shoulder-width. Squat down to grab the handles.

Be sure to bend at your knees and dip your hips down, to put your legs in an optimal pulling position. Puff your chest up and pull your shoulders back. Think about keeping your head over your tailbone as you drive upward to lockout.

Front Rack Lunge

To reap the core stability and upper back strengthening benefits of a front squat, with increased focus on each individual leg, performing a front rack lunge can be an extremely useful movement. You can build upper and lower body strength with less total load, because the movement is primarily performed unilaterally (with one leg at a time).

When to Use It

Unilateral movements like the lunge help to address strength and developmental discrepancies that can occur from exclusively bilateral (two-leg) exercises. Lunges can also build more complete athleticism and power than over-focusing on two-legged squat movements.(4)

How to Do It

Set up a barbell in a rack at shoulder-height. Grab the bar in the rack position and take a two or three steps backward. Stabilize the weight and brace your core.

Take one longer than normal step forward and plant your foot flat. Squat down until your rear knee lightly touches the floor. Keep your shoulders back and your upper body close to vertical. Drive up through your front foot with maximum force and return both feet together in a standing position. Perform all reps with one foot before switching legs. Re-rack the bar after performing the exercise with each leg.

Goblet Squat

While the front squat supports the bar across your shoulders, the goblet squat is as close as you can get to an identical movement using a single dumbbell. By supporting the weight in front of your chest, you train the same type of front-loaded squat movement which builds core strength and overall mobility.

However, the goblet squat doesn’t require a large degree of shoulder mobility because your upper arms remain pointed mostly downward instead of forward.

When to Use It

The goblet squat is a much more convenient and practical exercise for many lifters, requiring only a single dumbbell instead of a barbell and power rack. It can be performed as part of a general warm-up prior to heavy front squats or it can be trained heavily on its own to deliver a shoulder-sparing squat workout.

How to Do It

Place a dumbbell vertically on its end atop a flat bench. Squat down and place your palms on the bottom side of the top weight plate, getting your chest as close to the dumbbell as possible. Brace your core and pull your shoulder blades back.

Stand upright, supporting the weight with bent arms. The dumbbell should be near your collarbones or neck. Squat as deep as possible while keeping your torso vertical. Don’t allow the weight to pull your arms down or forward during the movement.

Dumbbell Front Squat

The dumbbell front squat could be seen as the next-step progression from the goblet squat. Instead of holding a single dumbbell as your chest, you’re supporting a weight in each hand. This more closely mimics a barbell from squat.

In fact, it puts you in nearly an identical hand and arm position as the front squat with straps, because your hands are in a neutral position (palms facing each other). This reduces the mobility requirements needed to perform the exercise,

When to Use It

Choose the dumbbell front squat if you’re training with limited equipment (such in a hotel gym or limited home gym) because you don’t need a barbell and rack. The dumbbell front squat is also an effective choice for lifters training around wrist or shoulder issues, since the joints are less stressed during the movement.

How to Do It

Stand with a dumbbell in each hand, resting at your sides. Bring the dumbbells up to the front of each shoulder in a hammer curl-type motion. Using some body English to control the swing of the weights is acceptable as long as it’s done with leg drive (as a quick jump), not bending at the waist or heaving with your lower back.

Hold the weights in the shoulder-supported position throughout the exercise. In a wider than shoulder-width stance, squat as deeply as possible. Aim your elbows forward and lean back to keep your upper body vertical. Don’t allow the weights to fall forward or sideways off your shoulders. 

Single-Arm Kettlebell Front Squat

A classic kettlebell exercise, the single-arm kettlebell front squat emphasizes core strength just as much as (possibly more than) leg strength. The “imbalanced,” single-sided load forces your abs and lower back to fire constantly to resist the sideways pull. This builds serious core stability which can play a key role in reducing the risk of lower back injuries. (5)

When to Use It

Because your core strength will likely be the limiting factor for most lifters, it may be more beneficial to treat the single-arm kettlebell front squat primarily as a core-building exercise that delivers leg size and strength as an added benefit, rather than primarily as “a leg exercise.” Improved core strength and stability can carry over to stronger lifts.

How to Do It

Bring a kettlebell to shoulder-height, either by performing a kettlebell clean or using your free hand to get the weight into position. Your thumb should be nearly resting on the front of your shoulder with the ball of the kettlebell resting on your forearm.

Stand upright, without leaning sideways into the weight or excessively counterbalancing to the opposite side. Take a relatively wide stance, beyond shoulder-width, and descend into a deep squat. Hold the kettlebell close to your body and don’t allow it to shift your torso. Perform all reps on one side before switching hands.

Front Squat Hold

This front squat alternative doesn’t actually involve any squatting at all. By reinforcing the locked out position, you create significant tension in your core stabilizers, as well as actively stretching the muscles directly involved in holding the rack position. This cumulative effect can lead to a stronger and more stable front squat.

Because static holds put you in the strongest mechanical position, you can also “overload” your system with heavier than normal weights, which can stimulate strength gains.

When to Use It

The front squat hold should be the first exercise performed on a lifting day, after a general warm-up. Not only will it help to recruit more muscle units in the training to follow, but performing the hold with any muscle fatigue can drastically increase the risk and decrease the benefits.

How to Do It

Set up for a standard front squat, with the bar in a rack near shoulder-level. Unrack the bar and take one or two small steps back. Instead of commencing a squat, hold the top position with maximum focus.

Concentrate on fully engaging your core and upper back. Flex your glutes and legs to further reinforce the lockout position. This exercise is typically performed “for time” (often three to five seconds, up to 10 seconds) rather than for multiple repetitions.

Benefits of Front Squat Alternatives

While the front squat is an essential movement for certain strength athletes like Olympic weightlifters and CrossFit athletes, front squat alternatives can be used by many lifters to deliver key benefits when the primary movement is no longer an option.

Reduced Mobility Requirements

Some lifters have crossed the front squat off their list of potential exercises because they cannot get their arms into the rack position needed to support the weight or because their hips or knees don’t allow the type of deep front squat commonly associated with the exercise.

Several front squat alternatives allow lifters of any mobility level to benefit from the squat squat movement by reducing the mobility and flexibility requirements. These alternatives can also address and improve restrictions over time, which can progress to a full front squat.

Decreased Lower Back Strain

One key benefit of the front squat is its reduced lower back strain compared to the back squat. Each front squat alternative preserves that back-sparing advantage, making each movement a potential exercise choice for lifters prone to lower back issues.

Quadriceps Size and Strength

Front squat alternatives continue to emphasize the quadriceps, on the front of the thighs, relatively more than the glutes or hamstrings. (6) This is a key reason why many physique-focused lifters prioritize the front squat over the back squat. These alternatives are equally effective in emphasizing the quads, while back squats and deadlift variations are more commonly used to focus on the hamstrings and glutes.

Get Back to Front Squatting

The front squat can be beneficial for strength athletes, physique-conscious lifters, and any gym-goer looking to build lower body strength and muscle, a stable core, and a stronger lower back. If you’re not yet ready to tackle the Olympic-level movement, choose the variation that best suits your individual needs and start racking up the results.

References

1. Kubo, K., Ikebukuro, T., & Yata, H. (2019). Effects of squat training with different depths on lower limb muscle volumes. European journal of applied physiology, 119(9), 1933–1942. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-019-04181-y
2. Hecker, Kara & Carlson, Lara & Lawrence, Michael. (2018). Effects of the Safety Squat Bar on Trunk and Lower-Body Mechanics During a Back Squat. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 33 Suppl 1. 1. 10.1519/JSC.0000000000002912. 
3. Glassbrook, D. J., Brown, S. R., Helms, E. R., Duncan, S., & Storey, A. G. (2019). The High-Bar and Low-Bar Back-Squats: A Biomechanical Analysis. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 33 Suppl 1, S1–S18. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000001836
4. Speirs, Derrick E.1,2; Bennett, Mark A.3; Finn, Charlotte V.4; Turner, Anthony P.2. Unilateral vs. Bilateral Squat Training for Strength, Sprints, and Agility in Academy Rugby Players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 30(2):p 386-392, February 2016. | DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001096
5. Huxel Bliven, K. C., & Anderson, B. E. (2013). Core stability training for injury prevention. Sports health, 5(6), 514–522. https://doi.org/10.1177/1941738113481200
6. Coratella, G., Tornatore, G., Caccavale, F., Longo, S., Esposito, F., & Cè, E. (2021). The Activation of Gluteal, Thigh, and Lower Back Muscles in Different Squat Variations Performed by Competitive Bodybuilders: Implications for Resistance Training. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(2), 772. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18020772

Featured Image: Berkomaster / Shutterstock

The post Try These 11 Front Squat Alternatives for Powerful Legs and a Stronger Core appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Swings require a base level of muscular conditioning, coordination, and timing to reap major benefits. Beginning your kettlebell experience with the swing is like learning to cook an omelet before you can manage scrambled eggs. Instead, consider the kettlebell deadlift as your introductory kettlebell exercise.

The kettlebell deadlift will build strength, size, and conditioning in your lower body, core, back, and arms. The deadlift also teaches you how to properly hinge at your hips, which is the most efficient way to recruit your glutes and hamstrings for powerful lifts (including, you guessed it, the swing). Here are more reasons to get started with the real fundamental kettlebell movement — the kettlebell deadlift.

Kettlebell Deadlift

• How to Do the Kettlebell Deadlift 
• Kettlebell Deadlift Mistakes to Avoid
• How to Progress the Kettlebell Deadlift
• Benefits of the Kettlebell Deadlift
• Muscles Worked by the Kettlebell Deadlift
• How to Program the Kettlebell Deadlift
• Kettlebell Deadlift Variations 
• Frequently Asked Questions

Kettlebell Deadlift Demonstration

Watch coach Alex McBrairty showcase picture perfect technique with a kettlebell deadlift. Even though he’s specifically demonstrating a wide-stance, or sumo-style, kettlebell deadlift, the overall form and body positioning will be the same when using a more moderate foot position.

Get a visualization of the movement and then continue learning tips, cues, and more form advice.

How to Do the Kettlebell Deadlift Step By Step

The kettlebell deadlift is a foundational movement. It teaches the hip hinge movement pattern, which coordinates force production through your hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. The kettlebell deadlift is also, quite practically, a safe and efficient way to lift any load off the ground.

Step 1 — Address the Kettlebell

No, not by tipping your hat and cheerily saying “Hello, bell.” Stand in front of the kettlebell with your feet roughly shoulder-width apart. Position the center of the weight between your toes and midfoot. The weight’s handle should be pointing toward each foot, not front and back.

Form Tip: If you have a larger frame, a long torso, or short arms, you may need to adjust the kettlebell’s starting position. If possible, perform one or two repetitions with a relatively light weight and adjust your stance to achieve a comfortable and powerful starting position.

Step 2 — Grab the Weight and Drop Your Hips

Drive your glutes backward and bend at your hips to reach toward the weight. Grab the top handle with a palms-down grip using both hands, with your thumbs nearly touching each other. Keep your torso straight and bend your legs until your shoulders are in line above the weight and your hips are below your shoulders. Keep your head neutral — avoid any instinct to look straight ahead, which could strain your neck.

Feel tension in your hamstring and glute muscles. Squeeze the handle and rotate at your wrists and shoulders to point your biceps forward. This should also drive your shoulder blades down toward your hips and put tension on your lat muscles, which improves your upper body stability.

Form Tip: If the kettlebell handle is too narrow to comfortably fit both hands, leave your pinkies running along the outer edge or “horns” of the kettlebell, pointing to the ground. It may feel awkward, but it shouldn’t affect performance of the exercise or impact your grip strength to any large degree.

Step 3 — Drive Up to a Standing Position

Squeeze your grip and pull your shoulders toward your hips to feel tension on your lat muscles. Drive your feet through the ground, pull your shoulders back, and push your hips forward to stand up to a locked out position. Keep your arms straight and bring the kettlebell up along your legs.

In the locked out position, the weight should be resting near the front of your thighs with your arms locked straight. Take a quick breath in, brace your core, and reverse the motion — driving your hips back and returning the weight to the ground under control.

Form Tip: Aim to stand up straight without leaning back excessively at the top. Flex your glutes, abs, and arms to ensure a mostly straight lockout. This should prevent too much backward “overcorrection,” which can strain your lower back.

Kettlebell Deadlift Mistakes to Avoid

While the kettlebell deadlift is a fundamental and relatively basic movement, there are several technique errors that can be counterproductive. Here’s what to avoid as you perform the exercise.

Pulling with a Rounded Back

This is a capital mistake for any deadlift variation, including the kettlebell deadlift. Having your back in a rounded position as you drive up in a deadlift puts the supportive muscles of your spine in a poor leverage position, which transfers stress to your vertebral discs.

A rounded back position also puts your body in an inefficient position to transfer force from your lower body to your upper body, which will affect how much power you can produce.

Avoid it: Stay stiff from your hips to your neck. Before lifting the weight off the ground, flex your core and lat muscles to create tension throughout your entire torso.

Pulling with Bent Arms

Similar to the issue regarding a rounded back, you want to avoid performing any deadlift variation with bent arms. If your arms are less than straight as you lift, you shift stress onto your elbow joints rather than your muscles. You also decrease the amount of force you can transfer from your back and shoulders into your grip, which will decrease your strength.

There’s also a chance of straining your biceps muscle, which will be partially contracted when your arm is bent, compared to a more stable and supported straight-arm position.

Avoid it: Before each repetition, contract your triceps and try to “aim” your biceps forward by rotating at your wrists and shoulders. These small steps should force your arms into a straightened position, or highlight when your arms are bent.

How to Progress the Kettlebell Deadlift

Some lifters may not be able to perform a kettlebell deadlift with good technique due to their limb leverages, current strength levels, or other factors. Other lifters may consider the exercise “too fundamental” and not challenging enough. Rather than neglecting the exercise, some simple adjustments can be made to accommodate lifters of any experience level or capability.

Elevated Kettlebell Deadlift

The most efficient adjustment to the exercise is raising the kettlebell onto a sturdy step or series of weight plates. This reduces the range of motion, making the exercise more accessible for lifters whose limb lengths make the standard exercise technique uncomfortable.

The elevated kettlebell deadlift is also an excellent choice if you only have access to a limited selection of kettlebell weights and the “lightest” available is beyond your current capacity. Gradually increasing an exercise’s range of motion, rather than increasing the weight used, is an effective technique for building strength and muscle. (1)

Kettlebell Deficit Deadlift

Performing the kettlebell deadlift while standing on a slightly elevated platform is another way of manipulating the range of motion, this time making the exercise more challenging.

Placing stable weight plates or sturdy platforms (of identical heights) under each foot will increase muscle recruitment by requiring your body to move through a longer range of motion. When lifting from a deficit, a little elevation goes a long way. Don’t be too aggressive by starting with significant heights. One to two inches (such as a 25-pound weight plate) is an effective way to begin.

Benefits of the Kettlebell Deadlift

The kettlebell deadlift can serve a number of roles in your training plan. Whether it’s part of a kettlebell-only workout or incorporated into other training, this exercise can deliver a range of results.

Lower Body Strength

The kettlebell deadlift can be used to establish a base level of strength in the posterior chain — your lower back, glutes, and hamstrings. Even though the exercise isn’t often performed with very heavy weights, the applied tension will build strength and muscular conditioning in the target muscles. This strength can carry over to other deadlift variations, as well as a variety of lower body exercises.

Lower Body Size

The glutes and hamstrings, in particular, are strongly recruited during the kettlebell deadlift. (2) The quadriceps and back are also involved, and all of these activated muscles will be stimulated for muscle growth during the exercise. Any deadlift variations, including the kettlebell deadlift, can be very effectively used as part of any bodybuilding-style leg day.

Practicing the Hip Hinge Movement

Because the kettlebell deadlift requires a single piece of training equipment, it’s a convenient way to train the hip hinge movement pattern or general deadlift technique. While the kettlebell itself is unique to the movement, the overall body positioning, necessary tension, and step by step technique cues will carry over to barbell deadlifts.

This makes the kettlebell deadlift an efficient way to train the movement without needing to place the body under heavy loads, which can be useful for general mobility training, exercise warm-ups, or technique practice.

Muscles Worked by the Kettlebell Deadlift

The kettlebell deadlift is typically considered a lower body exercise, but like many other deadlift variations, it can only be performed by coordinating actions between your legs and upper body. Here’s a closer look at everything that’s working during a set.

Legs

Your legs are the primary targeted muscle group during the kettlebell deadlift. More specifically, your glutes and hamstrings are strongly recruited to lift the weight and extend your hips into the locked out position. Your quadriceps play a role in the lower portion of the lift, initially bringing the weight off the ground.

Upper Back

The upper back muscles (including your trapezius, rhomboids, and rear deltoids) play a role in controlling your posture during the kettlebell deadlift. Because your hands are close together while holding the weight, your shoulders are pulled slightly forward. Your upper back is activated to resist this action by pulling your shoulder blades into a more stable position. 

Core

Your abs and lower back work in unison to provide a safe, strong, and stable body position during the kettlebell deadlift. Your core is the key to transferring force from your lower body through your upper body to move the weight. Your lower back, in particular, is heavily activated to achieve a fully upright, locked out position.

Grip

Many kettlebell manufacturers design their handles to be slightly thicker than the average barbell or dumbbell. Training with thick-handled implements can increase the activation of forearm muscles, which can benefit grip strength development.

How to Program the Kettlebell Deadlift

Few lifters will have access to kettlebells heavy enough to perform extremely heavy, low repetition training. There are still effective ways to fit the kettlebell deadlift into your training plan for optimal results.

Moderate Weight, Low to Moderate Repetition

The kettlebell deadlift can be ideally trained for size and strength using a classic set and rep scheme of three to four sets of five to eight reps. A moderate load should be used to avoid muscular failure. This keeps the emphasis on crisp technique and a high rate of force production rather than cumulative fatigue from a long time under tension, which could compromise technique.

Light Weight, Moderate Repetition

The kettlebell deadlift can be performed as a type of warm-up movement using a relatively light weight for two to three sets of eight to 10 reps. With this approach, you can drill the hip hinge movement and prepare your hips, hamstrings, glutes, and involved muscles without excessive fatigue.

Kettlebell Deadlift Variations

The kettlebell deadlift can deliver a range of benefits from just a few simple modifications and variations. Here are some of the most basic and most efficient variations to trigger more results.

Kettlebell Suitcase Deadlift

Performing a single-arm kettlebell deadlift may sound like an intuitive variation, but more importantly than using only one arm is keeping the weight next to your body rather than in front of it.

Shifting the weight from in front of your body to alongside your leg creates a more intense challenge to your core. This lights up your obliques (side abs) and spinal erectors (lower back) to prevent your body from leaning toward the weight as you perform the exercise.

Kettlebell Stiff-Leg Deadlift

By keeping your legs stiff or nearly straight (not entirely locked out), you shift muscle recruitment to more strongly emphasize your hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. This technique adjustment will slightly reduce the amount of weight you can lift, but will increase the stress put on the target muscles. 

With the kettlebell stiff-leg deadlift, it’s essential that you maintain a stiff lower back and not round forward to reach the weight, which would increase strain on your vertebrae.

Kettlebell Single-Leg Single-Arm Romanian Deadlift

This might win the award for longest exercise name, but the results are also award-worthy. The “KBSLSARDL” is a performance-based movement focused on using perfect technique and full-body tension rather than lifting heavy weight or targeting one specific body part.

Holding the weight in one arm while supporting your entire body on one leg turns the exercise into a total-body test of strength and stability. Muscles from your ankle to your neck to your grip will fire nonstop as you fight to remain in control of the weight.

FAQs

Pick Up the Kettlebell

The kettlebell swing is highly effective and versatile exercise, but you need to walk before you run. Or, more accurately, you need to deadlift before you swing. Take the time to master this fundamental movement and it will serve you will for building a base of muscle, strength, and conditioning, as well as fine-tuning your hip hinge to boost your barbell lifts.

References

1. Whaley, Orrin & Larson, Abigail & DeBeliso, Mark. (2020). Progressive Movement Training: An Analysis Of Its Effects On Muscular Strength And Power Development: 881 Board #7 May 27 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 52. 210-211. 10.1249/01.mss.0000675840.15637.df. 
2. Martín-Fuentes, I., Oliva-Lozano, J. M., & Muyor, J. M. (2020). Electromyographic activity in deadlift exercise and its variants. A systematic review. PloS one, 15(2), e0229507. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0229507

Featured Image: Srdjan Randjelovic / Shutterstock

The post How to Do the Kettlebell Deadlift for Lower Body Size and Strength appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Most lifters should be able to press something relatively heavy overhead. If you can’t, it often means you’re missing the full use of your shoulders. Maybe you can’t move your shoulder through its full range of motion or maybe the stabilizing muscles of your shoulder blades and trunk can’t create stability to safely produce force.

The strict standing barbell press involves the shoulders, upper back, triceps, and even upper chest. It trains the entire body to create a stable base to push from, but it can be difficult to steadily improve and progress tends to stall much sooner relative to other barbell lifts. That’s why it’s important to know and use many different variations to help continue building muscle and strength. Here are eight overhead variations that will help you impress mom, again.

Best Overhead Press Variations

• Landmine Press
• Landmine Push Press
• Bottoms-Up Press
• Kettlebell Z Press
• Earthquake Bar Overhead Press
• Snatch-Grip Behind-the-Neck Press
• Swiss Bar Overhead Press
• Overhead Pin Press

Landmine Press 

Sometimes, pushing weight directly overhead can cause more harm than good. It may be because of an injury or just a lack of flexibility in the shoulder, triceps, lats, or wrists. The landmine press is unique because the pattern of movement is between a straight vertical and horizontal path.

This hybrid type of motion gives many of the benefits of direct overhead pressing while reducing the joint angle that may be putting a dangerous demand on your shoulder.  

When to Use It

The landmine press is great to use when recovering from injury and building back strength and function from time off training. It allows you to still develop strength and muscle while you work to restore full function of the shoulders to press directly overhead. 

It’s also a good variation to use when doing an intense phase of bench press training, as it won’t fatigue your shoulders excessively or affect recovery quite like straight overhead barbell pressing. 

How to Do it 

If you don’t have a landmine holder, you can wedge a regular barbell in any corner where it won’t cause damage. Load the bar and pick it up by the head (the end of the sleeve where you load the plates).

The landmine press can be performed with just one arm or both together. If you’re using two arms, cup the end of the barbell sleeve with both of your hands. Place the head of the bar near your sternum with your torso leaning slightly forward. Set your feet between hip and shoulder-width apart. Keep your elbows close and pulled in as you press. As your elbows lock with the bar almost at the crown of your head, shrug your shoulders up before returning the bar back to the starting position. 

If you’re using the one-arm variation, grab the end of the sleeve with one hand and place the bar at the front of your shoulder. Stand and press the same way, driving the bar forward and up to lockout, followed by a shoulder shrug. Make sure you keep your elbow in, so the bar stays in line with your shoulder throughout the entire movement. Flaring your elbow will alter the pressing angle, reduce power, and shift stress to the joint.

Landmine Push Press 

The push press is a great way to increase overhead stability with weights you couldn’t otherwise strict press. You use your legs to help to drive the weight up in a push press, allowing you to use heavier weights. 

But a standard barbell push press can be difficult to learn and to do efficiently. The landmine push press is easier for people to grasp because of both the path you drive the bar and the position of your shoulders relative to the bar.  

When to Use It

The landmine push press is a great exercise to add whenever your pressing progress slows or hits a plateau. The exercise can be included on either bench or overhead press days as a way to overload the pressing muscles with more volume while still moving relatively big weights. 

How to Do it 

Just like the landmine strict press, if you don’t have a holder you can wedge the bar in a corner and load it the same way. Because using heavier weights is a specific benefit of the landmine push press, it’s best performed with both hands on the bar. Cup your hands and place  the head of the bar almost directly on your sternum. Set your feet between hip and shoulder-width apart and flare your toes out very slightly. 

Brace your core and dip your knees as if you were preparing to jump as high as possible. Drive your feet into the ground and explosively extend your knees and hips as if you were trying to jump. Your heels will lift from the floor from this aggressive ankle extension, but keep the balls of your feet in contact with the ground — don’t actually jump into the air.

As your ankles extend, shrug your shoulders toward the bar. Try to make the bar fly off your chest from your leg drive and shoulder shrug. Then, push with your arms to extend your elbows. Let your heels touch back to the floor right as your elbows extend with the bar over the crown of your head. Control the bar as you bend your arms and absorb the momentum with your legs and trunk as you lower it.

Bottoms-Up Press

This is one of the best, but most challenging, pressing exercises for shoulder and scapular function and stability. It’s often used as a rehab or “prehab” drill because it engages most of the postural muscles like those of the rotator cuff that stabilize and move the shoulder blade. 

Balancing the bell upside down trains you to find the most stable path of motion and forces you to control the movement. Sometimes, the dominant muscles responsible for pressing overhead are restricted by how well your shoulders are stabilized. Improve those muscles and you can improve how much force you can create.  

When to Use It

These are great to do on deload weeks or at the very beginning of a new phase of training. You can think of them as a developmental exercise to prepare the shoulders for heavier, more intense training ahead. 

How to Do it

The bottoms-up press can be done standing or sitting, but a half-kneeling position actually puts you in a great mechanical position to do the exercise. Kneel down with the kettlebell in one hand and that side leg kneeling on the ground, with the opposite leg forward. Squeeze the handle and turn the weight upside down so the bottom of the bell is facing the ceiling. Crush your grip to maintain the weight in this vertical position.

Move your elbow toward your center so your thumb is in front of your face and your elbow is at a right angle with the floor. Slowly extend your elbow up to the ceiling and move your upper arm slightly back to put it in line (or covering) your ear as you lock out overhead. Stabilize the weight overhead briefly before slowly returning back down to your face. 

Kettlebell Z Press 

The Z press is an excellent choice for increasing the tension and demand on your shoulders and upper back without necessarily increasing the load used. Often you’ll see a lifter arch their spine or lean back during a standing overhead press because they lack the postural control and trunk or upper back strength needed to keep their spine neutral while pressing.

Sitting upright on the floor with no possible leg drive or back support helps you feel any change in your spinal position, so you can focus on preventing the problem. Pressing from the floor with the offset weight of kettlebells challenges your trunk and shoulder stabilizers in a way other exercises can’t.

When to Use It

Use the kettlebell Z press at the beginning of a workout to warm up your entire shoulder complex. One or two sets with light to moderate weight is enough to get your shoulders moving freely without causing fatigue that could affect your main training. 

Adding it to the end of a hard pressing workout is also a great way to add more volume, because you don’t need to use much weight or too many reps for the movement to be effective.  

How to Do it 

Sit on the floor with your legs straight while keeping an upright torso. Hold a pair of kettlebells with your palms facing each other at shoulder-level. Exhale hard through your mouth trying to force the air out of your torso to make it as narrow as possible. You should feel your ribcage drop down and the muscles in the front and sides of your torso, around your core, contracting.

Keep these muscles engaged to prevent your back from arching or your ribs flaring up as you press overhead. Keep your upper arms in line with your ears and rotate your hands palms-forward as you lock your elbows. Shrug your shoulders as your elbows lock before returning to the starting position. 

Earthquake Bar Overhead Press 

The earthquake bar is a bridge between training stability and increasing pressing power. The bar is designed to shake and swing, which engages the deepest and smallest shoulder stabilizers. Because it’s one straight bar, you can use relatively heavier weights than you could with dumbbells or kettlebells.

If you don’t have access to an earthquake bar, hanging resistance bands from the ends of both sleeves of a standard barbell and attaching weight plates is an effective alternative.

When to Use It

You can think of this like a secondary lift which can be done right after a heavy overhead barbell press or bench press. Though you will use much less weight, you can use a similar weekly progression of set and reps that you’d use for your main pressing lift. The instability will be the key challenging element to this exercise.

How to Do it

Set the bar on a rack just as you’d do for a standing overhead press. Start with relatively light weight and gradually slowly add more as you feel comfortable and learn to control the movement. Grab the bar with your thumbs just outside your shoulders. Angle your elbows just slightly in front of the bar. Shrug your shoulders forward and up to create a support for the bar, whether you have the mobility to rest the bar on top of your shoulders or not. 

Step back from the rack and set your feet hip-width apart with your knees just slightly unlocked. Wait until the initial swinging stops and pull your chin back (think of giving yourself a “double-chin”). Press the weight up slowly, keeping the bar as close to your face as possible. 

Once the bar passes the crown of your head, very slightly push your head and sternum forward so your elbows lock overhead as the bar is directly over the base of your neck. Shrug your shoulders upward and stabilize the bar at the top. Lower the weight by pulling your chin back and returning the bar to the starting position.  

Snatch-Grip Behind-the-Neck Press 

Usually you’d only see Olympic weightlifters use this as an accessory exercise, but it can be very beneficial to anyone looking to improve overhead strength or build their upper back and traps. 

The ultra-wide grip challenges your rear delts and upper back in a very unique way. If you start with relatively light weight and progress slowly, the snatch-grip behind-the-neck press can actually improve your shoulders’ working range of motion and strengthen the muscles and connective tissue that support good shoulder function.

When to Use It 

These can be pretty difficult, so instead of adding them as an accessory exercise after heavy standard overhead pressing, take a few weeks to prioritize the exercise by progressively working heavier instead of performing the standard barbell overhead press. Do them as the first main lift on a pressing or upper-body focused day. 

How to Do it 

Place a bar on a rack at your back squat-height (roughly upper-chest level). Walk under the bar and place it on your back as if you would for a high bar squat. Unrack the weight and step back. Slide both hands out until your index fingers are generally outside of the knurl marks on the barbell (smooth rings).

Angle your elbows directly under the bar, keep your neck straight, and brace your trunk while keeping your ribs from flaring up. Press the bar while keeping it in line with the base of your neck until your elbows lockout overhead. Don’t let the bar sway forward or behind your neckline. Shrug your shoulders at the top before returning the bar all the way back to the top of your traps.

Swiss Bar Overhead Press 

The Swiss bar is one of the best tools to use if you’ve had any shoulder or elbow pain, or pre-existing injuries. Its key benefit is multiple handles that let you place your hands close or wide while keeping a neutral-grip (palms facing each other) position.

This neutral position gives even those rotator cuff dysfunction a way to press without causing more strain in problematic areas in the shoulder or upper back.

When to Use It

The Swiss bar press is great to do when your shoulders, elbows, or wrists get cranky from other types of pressing. You can use the exercise in place of other overhead pressing options until you fully rehab an injury or recover from whatever nagging pain is causing issues.

How to Do it

Decide which grip-width feels most comfortable use and set the bar on a rack, the same you would for any overhead barbell press. Grab the handles and rotate the bar so your thumbs face toward your head. Unrack the weight and step back to your standard press foot position, roughly hip-width apart. Start with the bar about chin height.

Pull your neck in, as if you were giving yourself a double-chin, and keep the bar close to your face as you press overhead. Push your head slightly forward as you lock your elbows overhead. Shrug at the top as your elbows lock before lowering to the starting position. 

Overhead Pin Press

Part of the reason overhead pressing can be so hard to improve is because you push from a static position, particularly on the first rep. In many other lifts, like the bench press, you have the eccentric (lowering portion) of the lift which helps store force that you use to press the weight back up.

Because you don’t lower the bar first in an overhead press, you have to be able to muster a large amount of force suddenly without momentum. This is called “starting strength” and a pin press is one of the most effective ways to specifically train this quality.

When to Use It

If you can’t create a stiff and stable base of tension, you can’t suddenly create this force. And if you’re shifting your torso back and forth as you press, you definitely don’t have a good base of support. 

Consider swapping all barbell overhead pressing for pin pressing until you improve this stability. Because the bar is supported on the safeties, you can better focus on setting your trunk and keeping it stiff and fixed in place as you push hard against the bar to lift it from the starting position.

How to Do it 

Set the bar on strong safety bars at the height you would start your press from, generally around neck-height. Set your feet hip- to shoulder-width apart and grab the barbell with your standard overhead grip. Get in position under the bar and brace your entire trunk and back so your ribs won’t flare up and your spine is locked in place.

Keep this static position as you press as hard and fast as possible, brining the bar to lockout overhead. Return back to the pins and let the weight settle there before re-bracing and repeating for another repetition.

Muscles Worked by the Overhead Press

The overhead press is primarily a “shoulder exercise,” but it cannot be completed without assistance from several key body parts. Each of these body parts will be put under training stress during the exercise.

Shoulders

Your shoulders (deltoids or “delts”) are the primary movers during the overhead press. These muscles are responsible for flexing your arms overhead. The shoulder muscles consist of three heads — the front, side, and rear — which are involved in moving the arm in those respective planes of motion relative to your body.

All three muscle heads are used to press the weight overhead, but can be emphasized with various types of lateral raises.

Triceps

The triceps work to extend your arms, which is the latter portion of any shoulder press. The lockout portion of any overhead press, specifically, strongly activates your triceps. (1) The triceps are worked through a long range of motion during any overhead press variation, with the muscle recruited maximally in the top half of the movement.

Core

Your abs and lower back work together to form a strong, stabilizing core which supports overhead pressing. Any degree of sideways or backward lean is prevented through strong core stabilization. (2) It’s not unusual to feel sore abs after an intense overhead pressing session, which is one indicator of how significantly the core muscles work during the movement.

Overhead Press Form Tips

A few key technique cues can turn your basic overhead press from pain into progress. If you’re performing the lift from a power rack, set the safeties near shoulder or neck-level, not near your chest. Beginning the press from a position that’s too low leaves you with poor leverage that shifts more strain to the shoulder joint than the shoulder musculature.

During any press exercise, grip the bar as hard as possible. This will start a chain reaction of strength from your wrist and forearm muscles, through your upper arms, into your shoulders and upper back. (3) It’s a surprisingly effective way to stay tight while producing more power and minimizing joint strain.

Similarly, don’t stand up “passively.” Before each repetition, flex your core, glutes, legs, and calves. Imagine gripping the ground with your feet. This will help to establish total-body stability to drive a strong upward press.

Press More Over Your Head 

Bench press variations are fairly commonplace. Without giving it much thought, lifters tend to do much more horizontal pressing than vertical, but too much horizontal work and not enough vertical pressing can lead you to develop deficiencies in the muscular development and control of the entire shoulder girdle.

Learning and trying new overhead variations not only increases the potential weights you can use for your barbell overhead press, but also reduces the gap between these two pressing patterns making you much stronger and more balanced. Diversify your overhead training and reap the strength, stability, and muscle-building results.

References

1. Kholinne, E., Zulkarnain, R. F., Sun, Y. C., Lim, S., Chun, J. M., & Jeon, I. H. (2018). The different role of each head of the triceps brachii muscle in elbow extension. Acta orthopaedica et traumatologica turcica, 52(3), 201–205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aott.2018.02.005
2. Shinkle, J., Nesser, T. W., Demchak, T. J., & McMannus, D. M. (2012). Effect of core strength on the measure of power in the extremities. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 26(2), 373–380. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e31822600e5
3. Gontijo, L. B., Pereira, P. D., Neves, C. D., Santos, A. P., Machado, D.deC., & Bastos, V. H. (2012). Evaluation of strength and irradiated movement pattern resulting from trunk motions of the proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation. Rehabilitation research and practice, 2012, 281937. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/281937

Featured Image: MDV Edwards / Shutterstock

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It’s more challenging than basic bodyweight squats, it’s more accessible than squatting with a barbell, and can usually be done by lifters with poor shoulder or back mobility, and there are many simple and effective goblet squat variations to progress over time.

Here are some of the most effective ways to get even more benefits from the classic goblet squat with a few simple adjustments.

Best Goblet Squat Variations

• Cyclist Goblet Squat
• Goblet Reverse Lunge
• Goblet Lateral Lunge
• Biceps Curl Goblet Squat
• Goblet Box Squat

Cyclist Goblet Squat

A cyclist goblet squat is performed very similar to a classic goblet squat, holding a kettlebell or dumbbell in front of your chest. This movement adds elevation under your heels, most commonly by standing on a single weight plate.

The elevated heel position lets you keep your torso more upright, so that you can sit “more into your knees” compared to sitting your hips farther back as your squat. Raising your heels also changes the ankle mobility requirements of the exercise, making it more comfortable for lifters with limited mobility. (1)

When to Do It

The cyclist squat is excellent for building quad strength and muscle because the raised heel increases activation of the quadriceps (front thigh muscle). This movement is also a great way to get more comfortable sitting “all the way down” into your squat. If you have limited ankle mobility, it’s often more effective to work specifically to improve the issue, but sometimes a heel lift can help you gain confidence in the bottom of the squat and continue training.   

How to Do It

Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell in the “goblet position” — with the weight supported by both hands held in front of your chest, under your chin. Set your feet in a fairly narrow stance, closer than shoulder-width, with your heels on top of a weight plate placed on the ground. Bend your legs and squat down. Focus on sitting “into your hips and knees” instead of leaning forward and pushing your hips back.

Descend as low as you can while maintaining tension in your legs and core. Keep your shoulders back and your torso upright. Don’t let the weight pull you forward. When you’re reached the bottom position, drive through your feet and come to a standing position. 

Goblet Reverse Lunge

Switching from a two-leg squat to a single-leg exercise makes it more challenging to your legs and core. Holding the weight in the goblet position and performing a reverse lunge, or back lunge, can be one of the best ways to get started with this movement.

This movement will be great for maintaining core strength and posture while also working on unilateral (single-leg) development. Lunges also allow reduce stress on the back compared to two-leg squats. (2)

When to Do It

A goblet reverse lunge is a great time to focus on each leg individually. You can add this exercise in as an “accessory lift,” performed after more traditional heavy work like barbell squats, or you can make the movement a priority and perform it as the first exercise of your leg workout. Pretty much everyone in the gym can benefit from more unilateral work because, along with building muscular strength, it can also help with hip strength and stabilization. 

How to Do It

Hold a kettlebell or dumbbell in the goblet position. Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Step back with one foot while hinging at your hips and lowering your back knee towards the floor. The goblet squat reverse lunge should be done with a more upright torso position compared to other squat or lunge variations. Keep your front heel down on the floor as you reach your back knee to the ground. Once you’ve reached as far as possible, drive back up by pushing through the floor with your front foot to stand up.  

Goblet Lateral Lunge

Most people very rarely move sideways, or laterally, in daily life. But moving in different planes and in different directions is an important way to maintain a well-rounded, fully functioning body.

The goblet lateral lunge is excellent to build hip stability, adductor (inner thigh) strength, and glute strength. Moving sideways with a weight in the goblet position will also challenge you core stabilizers in a unique way, especially your obliques on the sides of your abdominals.

When to Do It

A goblet lateral lunge is often going to have a relatively shorter range of motion at the knee compared to other lunge movements because the movement also works the leg through a lateral movement, not just knee flexion (bending).

Lifters that have a hard time sitting all the way into a deep squat can benefit from the goblet lateral lunge because you don’t need to and also sit as low. Lateral lunges are also useful when you are also tight in your hamstrings or groin, because the hamstrings and hip muscles are stretched throughout the exercise. 

How to Do It

Stand with the weight in the goblet position. Step one foot out to the side and, when it’s flat on the ground, bend your knee while keeping your other leg straight. Keep your torso upright torso as you descend, don’t let the weight pull you forward. Leaning forward isn’t really wrong, but it shifts the focus to your glutes instead of focusing on your core hip strength. Take your time working through the movement and control the descent. Emphasize the eccentric component (lowering phase) to really get more mobility, strength, and muscle-building benefit. (3)

Biceps Curl Goblet Squat

This two-for-one movement will probably end up on many peoples’ list of favorite exercises. It hits your legs, which many people expect, along with some bonus work for your arms, which many people happily accept.

It is performed exactly the same as a standard goblet squat except that you will sit low enough to push your elbows out into your thighs as you do a biceps curl before standing back up. 

When to Use It 

Along with being an efficient way to train your upper body and lower body together, this is amazing exercise for ingraining a deep squat position, reinforcing squat technique, and learning how to hold muscular tension through your body. If you have a hard time feeling getting your hips back in the bottom of the squat, feeling the weight and the pressure from your own body against your thighs will help to create stability and tension.

Because this is essentially a type of “pause squat,” holding the deepest position as you perform the curl, you are also getting the muscle-building benefits of increased time under tension. (4)

How to Do It

Stand with your feet roughly hip or shoulder-distance apart while holding a weight in the goblet position. The specific stance width will vary person to person. Adjust to a comfortable position. Drive your hips back and push your knees out as you squat down. As you reach the bottom of the squat, press your elbows into the sides of your inner thighs — this will help to keep your chest up, engage your back, and provide enough tension to do a biceps curl to full straight-arm extension while in the bottom position of the squat. Curl the weight back up to the goblet position, near your chest, and then drive through the floor to stand back up.

Goblet Box Squat

This is another simple, subtle, and effective variation of the standard goblet squat. Instead of squatting in the air, lower yourself to reach a box, bench, or step. You should be able to gently touch the box with your glutes before standing up.

The goblet box squat can be used by beginning lifters as they build confidence and get comfortable with the squatting movement pattern, and it can be used by experienced lifters who want to challenge themselves with new movements and techniques.

When to Use It 

Squatting to a stable surface offers a few benefits. First, it makes sure that each repetition is performed with a consistent range of motion instead of accidentally decreasing your depth due to fatigue. It can also work to limit your range of motion, which can be useful if you’re recovering from an injury or need to train within certain restrictions. The box also forces you to move more slowly and with more control, which can increase the time under tension and build greater overall results.

How to Do It

Stand one or two steps in front of a box, bench, or step set to just-above knee-height. You can and should set the height of the box to accommodate your own range of motion depending on your mobility level. Hold a weight in the goblet position and slowly squat down with control, reaching your hips and glutes backward as you approach the box. Be careful not to lower quickly or slam onto the box. Pretend the box was just covered in a layer of glue and you don’t want to get stuck — you need to touch down gently and briefly before standing up.

Muscles Worked by the Goblet Squat

The classic goblet squat, like all squats, is a complete lower body exercise that trains all the major leg muscles.

The front-loaded goblet position also changes the stress on your core muscles compared to other squat variations, making it more accessible to many lifers with back pain unable to perform barbell squats.

Quadriceps

The quads on the front of your thigh are the largest muscle targeted by the goblet squat. They are strongly recruited during the goblet squat, most noticeably as you rise from the bottom position and reach the standing lockout position. Squatting to a deeper position, with a more significant knee angle in the bottom position, can increase activation of the quads.

Glutes and Hamstrings

Your glutes and hamstrings work together to strongly “pull” you into a deep squat position, as well as to extend you up and out of the bottom position. When you take a relatively wide stance, with your feet beyond shoulder-width, your glutes and hamstrings are put into a position of stronger leverage and can be recruited more significantly.

Core

Holding a kettlebell or dumbbell in front of your chest, in the goblet position, will force your abs and lower back (your core muscles) to work more strongly fighting against the pull of the weight. The front-loaded position also requires you to remain more upright, which helps to avoid excessive strain on your lower back.

Goblet Squat Form Tips

The goblet squat is a great tool to help teach that the squat itself is much more than just legs. Holding the weight in front of your body helps to ensure good posture, which really means it becomes an upper back and core exercise, as well.

Keep your elbows pinned to your sides throughout the movement. Your arms should stay bent, with your hands near your shoulders and chest. The weight should stay under your chin and not drift away from your body.

If you try to goblet squat without holding good positions, it is very likely that the weight will pull your upper body forward. Keep you upper back tight and your shoulders pulled back.

Lower yourself to a comfortable depth to build strength and mobility in your legs and hips. In the bottom position, your upper body should not be significantly angled forward, like a common barbell back squat.

Pick Up a Goblet

The goblet squat is an effective exercise all on its own, but when you take a closer look at these versatile variations, the potential benefits keep adding up. To keep progressing, you want to get in plenty of reps, gradually add weight, increase the total time under tension, and vary the movements slowly over time. Adding any of these goblet-position exercises to your lower body training will deliver new strength gains, more muscle, improved mobility, and better all-around performance.

References

1. Lu, Z., Li, X., Xuan, R., Song, Y., Bíró, I., Liang, M., & Gu, Y. (2022). Effect of Heel Lift Insoles on Lower Extremity Muscle Activation and Joint Work during Barbell Squats. Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland), 9(7), 301. https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering9070301
2. Eliassen, W., Saeterbakken, A. H., & van den Tillaar, R. (2018). COMPARISON OF BILATERAL AND UNILATERAL SQUAT EXERCISES ON BARBELL KINEMATICS AND MUSCLE ACTIVATION. International journal of sports physical therapy, 13(5), 871–881.
3. Roig, M., O’Brien, K., Kirk, G., Murray, R., McKinnon, P., Shadgan, B., & Reid, W. D. (2009). The effects of eccentric versus concentric resistance training on muscle strength and mass in healthy adults: a systematic review with meta-analysis. British journal of sports medicine, 43(8), 556–568. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsm.2008.051417
4. Burd, N. A., Andrews, R. J., West, D. W., Little, J. P., Cochran, A. J., Hector, A. J., Cashaback, J. G., Gibala, M. J., Potvin, J. R., Baker, S. K., & Phillips, S. M. (2012). Muscle time under tension during resistance exercise stimulates differential muscle protein sub-fractional synthetic responses in men. The Journal of physiology, 590(2), 351–362. https://doi.org/10.1113/jphysiol.2011.221200

Featured Image: Form Fitness Brooklyn / YouTube

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The Turkish get-up, or TGU, can be an effective tool for a variety of goals. This total-body exercise requires, and builds, a serious measure of athleticism. It requires very little loading or setup — if you have a single weight and floor space, you’re ready to rock. While the movement does require some degree of athletic capability, the risk:reward ratio is very favorable since the weight being lifted is light. 

However, the Turkish get-up can take some time to learn. It’s not as simple as some other exercises, like curling a dumbbell or lifting a barbell off the ground. It’s time to learn all the steps of the Turkish get-up so you can take advantage of all the benefits it has to offer, from head to toe.

Turkish Get-Up

• How to Do the Turkish Get-Up
• Turkish Get-Up Mistakes to Avoid
• How to Progress the Turkish Get-Up
• Benefits of the Turkish Get-Up
• Muscles Worked by the Turkish Get-Up
• How to Program the Turkish Get-Up
• Turkish Get-Up Variations
• Frequently Asked Questions

Step-by-Step Turkish Get-Up Demonstration

Take a look at Coach Traver Boehm performing this comprehensive exercise in action, see all of the details involved, and then finish learning the guidelines and tips.

The Turkish get-up truly is a total-body exercise. It requires coordination and concentration to safely deliver results.

How To Do the Turkish Get-Up

Because the Turkish get-up uses so many muscle groups in a variety of movement patterns, the best way to approach the exercise is to compartmentalize each phase of this big lift for eventual mastery.

The exercise is most commonly performed with a kettlebell, but a dumbbell can be used instead. The kettlebell will slightly increase shoulder recruitment due to its offset center of gravity, compared to a more well-balanced dumbbell.

Step 1 — Start on the Ground

Lie on the floor with the weight placed near one shoulder. Roll your body toward the weight and grab the handle with the same-side hand. Support the weight with your opposite hand as you roll your back flat on the ground, using your body to help leverage the weight up to an extended-arm lockout position. Your arm, with the weight, should be aimed straight at the ceiling. 

Bend your leg on the same side as your working arm. Keep your other leg straight, aimed slightly at an angle.

Form Tip: Making yourself “take up more space” in the beginning of the movement will come in handy in later phases of the lift. Your non-working arm and leg should be angled out to create a wide and stable base for the rest of the movement.

Step 2 — Roll to Your Elbow

As you lie there with the loaded arm pointed up, keep your eyes on the weight. Stare at the weight in your hand throughout the exercise. Keep your working arm ramrod straight and vertical. Drive into the floor with your planted foot (on the bent leg) to create tension while using the hand, forearm, and elbow of your opposite arm to lift your torso off the ground. Use the floor to your advantage as a leverage point. Continue letting the raised arm “lead the way” to help you upward. Don’t look away from the weight overhead.

Form Tip: It’s crucial that the knuckles of your working arm face the ceiling at all times. That means keeping your arm pointed straight upward, perpendicular to the floor. Nothing can compromise this position, no matter how your body moves underneath it.  That also means it’s imperative your elbow doesn’t bend. It may ask a lot of your shoulder mobility, but it will also deliver strength and stability.

Step 3 — Drive Up to Your Hand

At this stage, your torso should be off the ground, supported on your forearm, and your butt should still be planted. Get “tall” by pressing your forearm hard into the ground and raise onto just your hand, instead of that entire forearm. Both arms should be straight — one supporting the weight overhead and the other placed palm-down on the floor. If the hand on the floor feels unstable or too far from your body, adjust and bring it in a bit closer to your hips to help your stability. 

Form Tip: Because the Turkish get-up involves multiple steps, it can help to briefly pause after each separate phase to assess your body position. Gradually, as you get more experienced, the individual segments can flow together more smoothly. For example, some lifters are more comfortable “combining” the roll to their elbow (step two) with the hand-supported position (step three), which brings them from lying flat on the floor right up to a straight-arm support, before continuing the movement.

Step 4 — Hips Up, Leg Through

Press your hand and the foot of your bent leg into the floor hard enough to lift your hips off the ground. This must be done carefully and precisely — remember, you still have to control a weight over your head in a locked out position.

Raise your hips as high as your flexibility and strength will allow. The higher you can get them, the easier the next step will be. It helps to squeeze the glute of your bent leg to help with full hip extension. Allow your body to slightly turn toward the hand on the ground, away from the weighted hand.

Briefly pause before carefully bringing your straight leg back through the space you’ve just created by bridging your hips up. Gently pick up your straight leg, tuck your knee, and think about bringing your knee “behind” your body, not just under it. Plant that knee firmly on the ground. You should now have one hand, one knee, and one foot on the ground. And you should still be looking at the weight. 

Form Tip: It’s okay if your knees point in different directions. It’ll actually make for more stability if you plant your second knee at an angle rather than straight on.

Step 5 — Kneel Tall, Then Stand

Use core strength to straighten your torso as you take the planted hand off the ground and settle in a half-kneeling position. Keep your eyes on the prize while you think of your obliques firing hard to bring your body vertically under the weight. Remember, the weight shouldn’t really move much — rather, your body should move to be positioned under the weight.

From the half-kneeling position, perform a basic lunge to stand up — drive through your front foot and bring your feet together in a standing position. You should finish this phase of the exercise fully upright with the weight still locked out overhead.

Form Tip: Some lifters add an additional step after the half-kneeling position, bringing their leg up into the bottom of a squat (instead of a lunge), before standing up. That is a relatively advanced option which requires more hip and shoulder mobility. Stick with the standard lunge position, which has the added benefit of increased core recruitment due to the single-leg movement.

Step 6 — Get Back Down

Standing up is only half the battle. One full repetition requires lying back down, too. The ground won’t go anywhere, so keep your eyes on the weight and learn to reverse your actions by feel, and not by looking down. If you break your focus, the weight will fall.  You’ve done everything necessary to get to the top, so shift it in reverse to get to the bottom.

Step back with the same knee that just came forward (opposite your working arm) and lunge backwards to lower your shin and knee to the ground under control. Plant your non-working hand on the ground in line with your hips, at the side of your body and not behind it. This hand position is important for preventing you from sitting down on your back heel. It will also give your body enough space to create a bridge and pick up your planted knee, so your leg can travel through to its original straight-leg position. Slowly bring your leg forward. Plant your glutes on the ground under control.

Finally, keep your palm down as you slide your arm away from your body until your elbow contacts the ground. Slowly roll your upper body down until your shoulders and back are on the ground. You should be lying down again by this point, with the weight aimed at the ceiling, which means it’s time to put the weight down beside you. Lower the weight until your elbow gently touches the ground. Use your free hand to lower the weight completely to the floor.

Form Tip: Because the exercise can seem complicated and involved, some lifters may be more comfortable initially performing it either with no weight in their hand or while holding an empty cup in the palm of their hand. The lack of resistance can make it more difficult to feel your arm remaining vertical, but it will allow you to focus on the step-by-step instructions.

Turkish Get-Up Mistakes to Avoid 

The step-by-step instruction should cover many troubleshooting issues, but there are some specific technique errors worth highlighting or reinforcing.

Looking Away from the Weight

“Where your eyes go, your body follows.” This saying applies to athletics, dance, and even weight training. Shifting your visual focus can influence your body’s posture and movement. (1)(2) This is why, with the Turkish get-up, it’s crucial to fix your eyes on the weight overhead instead of looking at the ground as you move your hands and feet.

If your eyes drift down to the floor, your arm holding the weight overhead is much more likely to drift off a vertical plane, which increases strain on your shoulder joint and puts your arm in a potentially dangerous angle.

Avoid it: This may sound overly simple, but remember to keep looking at the weight overhead. The basic cue of looking at the weight in your hand can be worth its weight in gold when it comes to keeping a stable and balanced overhead position. Using a mirror doesn’t count because you’re eyes are looking forward (at the mirror), not overhead.

Letting Your Elbow Bend

Unlocking your straight arm on the working side is an instant way to leak strength and have an unsuccessful repetition. Keeping your arm locked out overhead engages your triceps, shoulders, and upper back, which gives you more control over the weight.

Bending your elbow also puts the weight in an inefficient position overhead, so you’re forced to realign your arm and torso to keep the load over your center of gravity. These adjustments trickle downhill and require changing your technique in each step of the exercise to stay in a powerful and stable position.

Avoid it: Keep your elbow locked out by thinking you’re also doing a shoulder press. It should feel like you’re constantly fighting to complete a press through each phase of the get-up. Doing so can be the difference between a successful rep or an unsuccessful rep that comes crashing down – possibly taking your rotator cuff along for the ride.

Keeping Your Feet Too Close Together

Using a bunched-up stance with your feet awkwardly close can prevent a proper base of stability. In addition, after bridging your hips up, there won’t be enough space for your free leg to travel through without catching your other (planted) foot along the way. Essentially, you end up tripping over your own two feet.

Avoid it: Make a conscious effort to spread your feet apart both when you’re lying down and as you begin to stand. It’ll set the tone for the rest of the lift. Keep your feet no closer than shoulder-width to allow a smooth flow to the standing position.

How to Progress the Turkish Get-Up

Technically, the Turkish get-up itself is an advanced progression because it’s the culmination of so many different steps. Breaking the movement down and drilling individual phases of the exercise is one smart way to work toward a full get-up.

Turkish Sit-Up

Practicing the first “half” of the Turkish get-up, rising from flat on your back up to your elbow or hand, is an effective way to practice the initial position while strengthening your core, shoulders, and back.

To do these, it’s simply a matter of performing the initial technique cues, based on what’s comfortable for you to achieve, position-wise. As you grow more accustomed to the movement, reaching an elbow-supported position, a hand-supported position, or a low bridge position can make the full Turkish get-up feel as smooth as butter. 

Benefits of the Turkish Get-Up

The Turkish get-up is one of the most “full-body exercises” of all the full-body exercises. There’s not a muscle from head to toe that isn’t involved in moving or supporting the weight through the full range of motion. As such, it offers some unique benefits compared to many other movements.

Mobility

First and foremost, the TGU is a mobility mammoth. The get-up focuses on mobility of your hips, knees, ankles, thoracic spine, and shoulders, on both the working (weight-supporting) side and the planted side nearest the ground. (3)

If you’re immobile in any of these areas, your body will let you know your weak points in a real hurry. Fortunately, working on appropriate progressions with appropriately light loading is a very effective way to address and improve those weak points.

Conditioning

Simply getting up and down from the floor can sometimes be enough to get someone’s heart rate up and keep it elevated. Adding a load and a ton of mental focus to the mix can make this even more muscularly demanding, in addition to the cardio demands already imposed. If you’re looking for better lungs and a bit of fat loss, you’ve stopped on the right movement.

Muscles Worked by the Turkish Get-Up

Simply put, the Turkish get-up works everything. It’s as “compound” a movement as you can get because it involves nearly every joint in your body, from ankles to elbows and everything in between.

While the emphasis may be on the shoulder complex, nearly every major muscle group including the abs, back, quads, glutes, and hamstrings plays a role in performing a successful rep.

Shoulders

All three heads of your shoulders (the front, rear, and side) are worked during the Turkish get-up. The shoulders of the weight-supporting arm are worked to stabilize the weight overhead as you move throughout space. Because the weight is constantly shifting, your shoulder is actively firing and micro-adjusting throughout the exercise. At the same time, the shoulder of your support arm is worked during the lower portion of the exercise to support your body as you rise off the floor.

Back

While most back exercises involve pulling or rowing motions, your entire back is worked during the TGU. Your lower back, as part of your overall core, works to maintain a safe and stable spine as you rotate, bend, and pivot from a lying to standing position. Your upper back assists shoulder stability and shoulder blade control to keep your arm secured overhead.

Abdominals

Your abs are worked in multiple directions, controlling your upper body position. They’re also worked statically to support many transition phases between steps, as well as dynamically as you bend sideways to maintain a vertical arm position. It’s not uncommon to feel soreness in your obliques (on the sides of your abs) due to the significant range of motion and time under tension.

Legs

While many see the Turkish get-up as an “upper body” exercise, your entire lower body also receives a significant stimulus. Your quads, glutes, and hamstrings are strengthened, particularly during the lunge phase to stand up, while your hips and hamstrings are put through a major mobility session as they go through kneeling and standing positions.

How to Program the Turkish Get-Up

While the Turkish get-up may seem like an advanced movement for athletic lifters, it can also work as a great drill in spatial awareness and neuromuscular coordination for beginning lifters. (4) Moreover, whether your goal is conditioning, strength, or hypertrophy, the TGU can find a place in a program either as a main part of the workout or as a post-workout finisher to get the last juice out of muscles that have been worked hard. 

Light to Moderate Weight, Very Low Repetition

One reliable method to incorporate the Turkish get-up is to do sets of three to six sets of one to two reps per arm, alternating arms between each repetition. This is a great way to throw them into a workout, either on their own or as part of a superset, because the low reps allow you to further emphasize picture-perfect technique.

Reps For Total Time

Using the TGU as a “finisher” can be highly effective when performed for a fixed amount of time rather than aiming for a couple of individual repetitions. Making this change will take the emphasis off of the weight being lifted and shift focus more toward the cardio benefits.

One effective method here is to choose a comfortable weight based around your abilities (err on the side of going “too light”), and set a timer for anywhere between three and six minutes, and perform continuous reps (alternating arms). Try not to stop moving until the time has elapsed. It’s crucial that you don’t rush through the movements just to rack up more reps within the time limit — maintain your technique at all times.

After the very first minute, you’ll notice your entire body working hard, with your shoulders burning and your heart rate going through the roof.  

Turkish Get-Up Variations

When and if you’ve mastered the Turkish get-up, you can actually move on to some simple, effective variations for an even greater challenge.

Barbell Get-Up

Performing a Turkish get-up with a barbell instead of a dumbbell or kettlebell is, arguably, one of the most eye-catching and attention-grabbing exercises you can see done in a gym. It also happens to be a highly challenging way to test your total-body strength and shoulder stability.

The length of the barbell means drastically increased instability. The bar will attempt to tip forward and backward, as well as rotate, as you move through the exercise. Exerting 100% control over the barbell and keeping it level requires high-level muscular control and coordination.

Turkish Get-Down

The Turkish get-down, sometimes called a reverse Turkish get-up, appears to be a simple reversal of the basic TGU. Instead of beginning in a lying position and working to stand up, you begin standing with the weight locked overhead, move to a lying position, and stand up again.

This is sometimes seen as a “regression” or easier variation of the basic TGU because many people are simply more comfortable in a standing start position. It can also be more accommodating for lifters who lack the necessary core strength to initially perform the sit-up portion of the basic TGU.

FAQs

The Get-Up Wrap-Up

The dynamic quality of this unique exercise can be the exact game changer that a lifter of any skill level needs take their gains to the next level. The problem with most gym training that it encourages some lifters to only focus on the specific task at hand – namely, performing a good-looking rep of whatever movement is being trained. The real challenge is finding movements that translate to real-life or athletics, like the TGU. Especially when it means you can nab some extra hip and shoulder mobility while building serious core strength. These types of movements are win-win.

References

1. Imai, T., Moore, S. T., Raphan, T., & Cohen, B. (2001). Interaction of the body, head, and eyes during walking and turning. Experimental brain research, 136(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s002210000533
2. Richard P. Di Fabio, Saurav Paul, Alongkot Emasithi, John F. Greany, Evaluating Eye–Body Coordination During Unrestrained Functional Activity in Older Persons, The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, Volume 56, Issue 9, 1 September 2001, Pages M571–M574, https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/56.9.M571
3. St-Onge, E., Robb, A., Beach, T. A. C., & Howarth, S. J. (2019). A descriptive analysis of shoulder muscle activities during individual stages of the Turkish Get-Up exercise. Journal of bodywork and movement therapies, 23(1), 23–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2018.01.013
4. Ayash, Adam & Jones, Margaret. (2012). Kettlebell Turkish Get-Up: Training Tool for Injury Prevention and Performance Enhancement. International Journal of Athletic Therapy & Training. 17. 8. 10.1123/ijatt.17.4.8.

Featured Image: Paul Aiken / Shutterstock

The post How to Do the Turkish Get-Up for Total-Body Strength and Conditioning appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Romanian weightlifting coach Istvan Javorek popularized complexes in the 1970s to enhance athletes’ training intensity, increase workout efficiency, and eliminate the monotony of traditional “exercise, rest, exercise, rest” barbell training. (1)

Complexes are unique because they simultaneously train the muscular, cardiovascular, and neurological systems. They challenge your muscles, heart, lungs, and coordination. Learn classic barbell complexes along with creative complexes using dumbbells, kettlebells, and sandbags, then put them to work to ignite new gains. 

Simplifying Workout Complexes

• How Complexes Work 
• Classic Barbell Complexes
• Complexes with Dumbbells, Kettlebells, and Sandbags
• Benefits of Using Complexes
• Who Should Perform Workout Complexes?
• Programming Recommendations

How Workout Complexes Work

A complex strings together multiple exercises without rest. Unlike circuit training and some types of supersets, complexes must be performed with the same piece of equipment because the transition from one exercise to the next must occur smoothly and without pause.

Complexes commonly involve the Olympic weightlifting movements (i.e. clean & jerk, snatch) and their derivatives such as pulls and front squats. (2) Many coaches falsely believe complexes “must” consist of a power clean to get the barbell off the ground, followed by one or two additional exercises, such as a press and then an overhead squat. (3)

In reality, complexes can be performed using a wide variety of exercises and implements.

According to Javorek, the number of possible complexes is “unlimited, depending on a coach’s knowledge and creativity, the availability of equipment, and the goals of the coach and athletes.” (3) 

Classic Barbell Complexes

Performing complexes with a series of exercises using a single barbell may be the most common way to implement this training method. Here are two complexes that are relatively well-known in the weightlifting world.

Javorek Complex 1

Coach Javorek’s “Complex 1” incorporates Olympic weightlifting assistance exercises that build full-body power, coordination, and conditioning. Complex 1 includes the upright row, high pull snatch, squat push press, good morning, bent-over row, and high pull snatch (again). (1)(3) Javorek advocated ending the complex with a dynamic movement, hence the repeat performance of the high pull snatch. (3)

One cycle of Complex 1 consists of 6 repetitions per exercise. Note that Coach Javorek also promoted “Complex 2,” which consists of the same exercises performed for three repetitions each. (1)(3)

Upright Row

• How to Do it: Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Hold the barbell at mid-thigh position with an overhand grip. Push with your legs toward the ceiling, rising onto the balls of your feet. Carry that momentum into a shrug and vertical row, drawing your elbows up and out. Control the negative. 
• Sets and Reps: 4-5 x 6
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

High Pull Snatch

• How to Do it: Using the same stance and grip as the previous exercise, begin with the barbell on the floor above the front of your feet. Keeping your back tight, pull the bar from the floor by extending knees, ankles, and hips. As the bar passes mid-thigh, aggressively shrug your shoulders. Allow your arms to carry the momentum to the overhead position while keeping the bar close to the body. Receive the bar overhead with elbows straight. Reverse the motion and control the negative in the same bar path. On the last rep of the set, carefully “land” the bar across your upper traps instead of the floor, so you’re in position to begin the next movement.
• Sets and Reps: 4-5 x 6
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Squat Push Press

• How to Do it: Using a shoulder-width stance, begin with the barbell racked on your upper traps. Drop into a full back squat. Immediately drive back to standing, using the momentum to assist with an overhead press. Control the negative back to the racked position on your traps. Repeat the entire “squat and press” combination for each repetition.
• Sets and Reps: 4-5 x 6
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Good Morning

• How to Do it: Keep the same stance and hold the barbell behind your head on your upper traps. Allow your weight to shift to your heels as you bend forward by hinging or flexing at the hips. Maintain an arched spine and slightly bent legs throughout. Reverse the movement, driving your hips forward, and return to standing. On the last rep of the set, “squat and press” to pop the bar barely over your head and bring the bar to waist-height under control.
• Sets and Reps: 4-5 x 6
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Bent-Over Row

• How to Do it: Begin in a shoulder-width stance with the barbell held in front of your body in an overhand grip. Hinge forward and allow the barbell to hang below your chest. Depending on your flexibility and limb length, the bar may or may not touch the floor. Row by pulling your elbows up and out as you squeeze your shoulder blades together. Control the bar as you allow it to return to the stretched position.
• Sets and Reps: 4-5 x 6
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

High Pull Snatch

• How to Do it: Using the same stance and grip as the previous exercise, begin with the barbell on the floor above the front of your feet. Keeping your back tight, pull the bar from the floor by extending knees, ankles, and hips. As the bar passes mid-thigh, aggressively shrug your shoulders. Allow your arms to carry the momentum to the overhead position while keeping the bar close to the body. Receive the bar overhead with elbows straight. Reverse the motion and control the negative in the same bar path.
• Sets and Reps: 4-5 x 6
• Rest time: Rest one to three minutes before repeating the first exercise.

Bear Complex

Popularized by CrossFit in the 2000s, the Bear complex builds full-body strength, power, and conditioning with one barbell and just few bumper plates.

“The Bear” consists of the power clean, front squat, overhead press, back squat, and another dose of the overhead press.

Power Clean

• How to Do it: Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Hold the barbell at knee-height (the “hang position”) with a shoulder-width overhand grip. Push with your legs as you guide the bar toward your hips. Once the bar reaches mid-thigh, rapidly shrug and pull the bar up. Drop under the bar and shoot your elbows forward to receive the bar on the fronts of your shoulders in the “front rack” position. 
• Sets and Reps: 5 x 5-7
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Front Squat

• How to Do it: Maintain the front rack position with the bar resting across the fronts of your shoulders. Adjust your grip to comfortably maintain control of the bar. Squat down while keeping your torso upright and your elbows aimed forward. After descending as far as your mobility will allow, stand up forcefully.
• Sets and Reps: 5 x 5-7
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Overhead Press

• How to Do it: Standing with the bar in the front rack position, perform a slight countermovement or mini-squat and immediately drive upward to push the bar toward the ceiling. Lock your arms overhead before lowering the weight to shoulder-level. Repeat the mini-squat prior to each press. On the last rep of each set, carefully guide the bar to rest across your traps and the backs of your shoulders.
• Sets and Reps: 5 x 5-7
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Back Squat

• How to Do it: Secure the barbell across your upper back. Ensure your feet are approximately shoulder-width apart. Squat down as far as your mobility allows. Return to standing. On the last rep of each set, drive the weight overhead with a press and carefully lower it to the front of your shoulders.
• Sets and Reps: 5 x 5-7
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Overhead Press

• How to Do it: Standing with the bar in the front rack position, perform a slight countermovement or mini-squat and immediately drive upward to push the bar toward the ceiling. Lock your arms overhead before lowering the weight to shoulder-level. Repeat the mini-squat prior to each press.
• Sets and Reps: 5 x 5-7
• Rest time: Rest up to five minutes before repeating the first exercise.

Complexes with Kettlebells, Dumbbells, and Sandbags

Who says complexes need be limited to barbells? People who don’t understand complexes. That’s who. Dumbbells, kettlebells, and even sandbags are great tools for complexes.

These alternative implements build brute strength, total-body coordination, and unrelenting conditioning. Give these complexes a try when you need a break from traditional barbell training or when you’re working with limited equipment. 

Javorek Dumbbell Complex 1

Coach Javorek programmed dumbbell complexes using two dumbbells, although a single dumbbell is a viable option provided you repeat the complex on the other side after performing all exercises on the first side. (3)

Complex 1 with dumbbells is similar to Javorek’s barbell Complex 1. Aside from the obvious use of dumbbells instead of a barbell, the dumbbell version eliminates the good morning. It consists of the dumbbell upright row, dumbbell snatch, dumbbell squat push press, bent-over dumbbell row, and a repeat of the dumbbell snatch.

Dumbbell Upright Row

• How to Do it: Begin bent slightly forward at the hips with the dumbbells hanging at knee-height. Forcefully extend your hips, knees, and ankles and transfer the momentum into a vertical pull of the dumbbells. In the top position, your elbows should be near shoulder-height and the weights should be near chest-level. Control the negative (lowering phase) to the starting position.
• Sets and Reps: 3-6 x 6
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Dumbbell Snatch

• How to Do it: Start in a hip-width stance with the dumbbells hanging in front of your knees with your palms facing your body. Powerfully drive through your legs and carry the momentum through the dumbbells. Draw the dumbbells along the front of your body and receive them overhead with your arms straight. Control the negative and return the weights to knee-height. On the last rep of the set, lower the weights only to shoulder-level.
• Sets and Reps: 3-6 x 6
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Dumbbell Squat Push Press

• How to Do it: Start in a shoulder-width stance with the dumbbells on the tops of your shoulders. Drop into a full squat, then immediately drive back to standing. Use the momentum to propel the dumbbells into the overhead lockout position. Lower the weight to shoulder-level and repeat. One the last rep of the set, bring the dumbbells to waist-height with straight arms. 
• Sets and Reps: 3-6 x 6
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Dumbbell Bent-Over Row

• How to Do it: Bend forward at your hips with a slight bend in your knees. Allow the dumbbells to hang from your straight arms, slightly in front of your knees. Row the dumbbells up and out by pulling the elbows out in line with your shoulders. Return to the stretched position under control. After the last rep of the set, stand upright with the weights in front of you.
• Sets and Reps: 3-6 x 6
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Dumbbell Snatch

• How to Do it: Start in a hip-width stance with the dumbbells hanging in front of your knees with your palms facing your body. Powerfully drive through your legs and carry the momentum through the dumbbells. Draw the dumbbells along the front of your body and receive them overhead with your arms straight. Control the negative and return the weights to knee-height.
• Sets and Reps: 3-6 x 6
• Rest time: Rest one to three minutes before repeating the first exercise.

Kettlebell Complex

This kettlebell complex is performed with two kettlebells and uses a descending repetition scheme. Repetitions are reduced with each successive exercise, allowing you to maintain intensity as fatigue accumulates.

The exercises in this complex are the double kettlebell swing, kettlebell front squat, and kettlebell push press. If you’re only using a single kettlebell, perform the same series while holding the kettlebell with both hands for each exercise.

Double Kettlebell Swing

• How to Do it: Start in a wide stance (one-and-a-half times your shoulder-width) holding the kettlebells in front of your body. Brace your midsection muscles and “hike” both kettlebells back between your legs as you “break” or flex at the hips. Your forearms should contact your inner thighs. Explosively extend your hips, projecting your arms and the kettlebells forward. Allow the momentum from your hip drive to carry the kettlebells. Allow the downward motion of the kettlebells to dictate the timing of the next repetition — at the last moment, break at the hips again and repeat the swing. On the last repetition, bring the weights to shoulder-level using a “cheat curl” or power clean-motion.
• Sets and Reps: 12 x 8
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Kettlebell Front Squat

• How to Do it: Bring your stance in to shoulder-width, with the kettlebells “racked” atop your upper chest region and your palms facing down. Keep your elbows pointed up and out as you drop into a squat with an upright torso. Return to standing. 
• Sets and Reps: 12 x 6
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Kettlebell Push Press

• How to Do it: Maintain a shoulder-width stance and keep the kettlebells “racked” near your upper chest. Perform a rapid quarter-squat and quickly drive back to standing. Use the momentum from your leg drive to push the kettlebells overhead. Lower the weights to shoulder-level under control and repeat.
• Sets and Reps: 12 x 4
• Rest time: Rest approximately the same amount of time the entire three-exercise cycle took to complete, for a 1:1 work-to-rest ratio. 

Sandbag Complex

Sandbags are an unstable and downright awkward training implement — and that’s what makes them fun for complexes. Whether you shell out money for a professionally made, loadable sandbag or use a homemade version with a duffel bag and some play sand from the hardware store, sandbag workouts always end up more challenging than you expect.

This sandbag complex includes the sandbag clean, sandbag front squat, and sandbag reverse lunge.

Sandbag Clean

• How to Do it: Start with your feet at hip-width with the sandbag on the ground in front of you. Grab the sandbag at the corners or, if available, hold the handles on the long side of the bag. Extend your hips, knees, and ankles to accelerate the bag upwards while keeping the sandbag close to your body. Drop under the bag, shoot your elbows forward, and “catch” the sandbag in the front rack position across the front of your shoulders. Stand fully upright before returning the bag to the ground. On the last rep of the set, hold the bag in position and don’t place it on the ground.
• Sets and Reps: 4-6 x 3
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Sandbag Front Squat

• How to Do it: Stand upright with the sandbag racked across the fronts of your shoulders. Drop into a squat while keeping your elbows high and your back straight. Drive back to standing. Repeat for repetitions.
• Sets and Reps: 4-6 x 5
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Sandbag Reverse Lunge

• How to Do it: Stand upright with the sandbag in the front rack position across your shoulders. Take a large step backwards with one leg and lower your back knee toward the ground. Return to the starting position with your feet together and repeat using the other leg. Alternate legs with each repetition. 
• Sets and Reps: 4-6 x 5 per leg
• Rest time: Rest one to three minutes before repeating the first exercise.

Benefits of Using Complexes

Now that you’ve seen a couple of classic complexes, consider the training effects of this style training. Complexes provide varied, high volume, metabolically demanding training. Because you never put down the weight, some muscles tend to be trained throughout the entire complex.

These typically include the forearm (“grip”) muscles and postural muscles of your spine. Complexes thereby enable lifters to improve local muscle endurance in areas that commonly limit performance.  

Modern complexes stem from Olympic weightlifting, a sport of quick lifts — the clean & jerk and the snatch. Therefore, each repetition in the complex should be performed with maximum intent for velocity. This promotes high power outputs and speed-strength training adaptations. 

Complexes are essentially high-volume sets divided into shorter sets, or clusters, of each exercise. These clusters are linked together without pause. Breaking longer sets into shorter clusters is known to promote power and performance. (4)

While you are certainly not “resting” between clusters of each exercise during a complex, many muscles get relative rest. For example, during Complex 1, your shoulders get a break during the good morning and your legs get a bit of break during the bent-over rows. This feature allows power output to be preserved throughout high-volume workouts. 

Although complexes are great for training muscular strength and power, don’t fail to appreciate their cardiovascular training demands. By minimizing rest, complexes pack plenty of productive training in short periods of time. Complexes ultimately train multiple energy systems. The quick-energy phosphagen and anaerobic glycolysis systems are trained during initial repetitions of ballistic exercises, and the all-important aerobic system is trained in the latter repetitions and throughout recovery between complexes.

Complexes are also useful for reenforcing exercise technique. Exercise derivatives, often representing key components of a more complex lift such as the clean & jerk or snatch, can be linked together in a complex to enhance learning. (5) In addition to the technical demands of each exercise, the athlete is tasked with seamlessly transitioning from one exercise to the next. These fluid transitions build new coordination and enhance motor control. 

Toward the end of the complex, the athlete must continue to demonstrate crisp technique despite growing fatigue. This is a common demand of many sports. As such, complexes are thought to promote sport performance and injury prevention. (2)(6)(7)(8)

Who Should Perform Workout Complexes?

While complexes were originally used for competitive strength sport athletes, they’re not only for advanced lifters. When properly programmed with the right exercises and training volume, many lifters can incorporate complexes into their training program.

Complexes as Warm-Ups

No matter what your workout holds, a complex can serve as an invigorating and effective warm-up. Use a light weight (or even an empty barbell). Perform two sets of a complex near the beginning of your session. (3) Any complex can raise your body temperature, but the best warm-ups are specific to the ensuing workout. (2)

Attempt to use complexes with movement patterns similar to the demands, goals, and exercises of the session’s workout. A complex comprised of lower body movements before a big leg workout, for example, or dumbbell Complex 1 before a back or shoulder workout.

Complexes for Weightlifting Prep and Motor Learning

If a complex includes movements complimentary to the primary lift of the workout, the complex can serve as specific movement prep. (2) By combining exercise variations and assistance exercises in a complex, you reinforce positions and movement patterns required for your primary lift of the day. 

For example, a complex consisting of a Romanian deadlift (RDL), jump shrug, and hang clean is excellent movement prep for the higher complexity clean exercise. The complex re-enforces key technical aspects of the clean in simpler forms via a learning strategy called “chunking.” (9)

The complex serves to activate and mobilize muscles like the hamstrings and potentiate the triple extension movement pattern used in the clean. Altogether, these features are expected to enhance subsequent exercise performance. 

Complexes for Sports Performance, Post-Rehabilitation Training, and Injury Prevention

Because complexes may be progressively intensified by manipulating the weight, volume, rest intervals, and complexity of the exercises, they are wonderful tools for training for the physiological demands of sport. 

Complexes are commonly used to recondition previously injured athletes for the demands of sports. (7)(8) Although it is best to work with your sports medicine provider for individualized recommendations, post-rehabilitation complexes typically involve  progressive intensities and volumes. A common post-rehabilitation recommendation is to begin with a weight of 10-15% of your body weight for Javorek Complex 1 and progress to 35% of body weight over the course of a month. (7)(8)

Developing strength, power, and coordination via complexes may minimize the risk of athletic injury, but consistent and progressive programming is absolutely essential. Complexes are typically performed three times per week and progressed by gradually adding weight or gradually adding cycles to the complex. (3)(7)(8)

Complexes for Conditioning

Due to their high volume nature, complexes are an effective form of metabolic conditioning. Choose a complex using barbells, kettlebells, dumbbells, or even a landmine unit for an effective general physical preparedness (GPP) and cardiovascular training stimulus.  

Here’s an example of conditioning complex requiring only a single dumbbell. Perform four repetitions per movement:

• Dumbbell Snatches
• Dumbbell Reverse Lunge
• Dumbbell Push Press
• Overhead Squat

Repeat immediately with the dumbbell in the other hand and that’s one cycle of the complex. Rest 90 seconds after the second side. Perform three to five cycles with each arm.

Programming Recommendations for Workout Complexes

While complexes can deliver a variety of benefits, some programming goals will ensure an efficient training session with maximal intensity and recovery.

Anchor Intensity on the Most Challenging Movement

When stringing together a chain of exercises, you’re only as strong as your weakest movement. Therefore, the weakest movement must dictate the weight used for any complex. 

For example, Coach Javorek programs the weight used for Complexes 1 and 2 on the upright row, because it is more challenging than the other movements (high pull snatch, push press, good morning, or bent-over row). (6) Start by identifying the weakest link in the complex, then program your working weight according to your goal. 

Program According to Your Primary Training Goal

From movement prep to performance training, complexes can be effective for a wide variety of goals. The parameters of your programing (exercise selection, intensity, volume, and rest intervals) should reflect the primary purpose of your complex. 

For power and strength training, most of your complexes should be performed with moderate weights. Perform all repetitions with maximum intent for movement velocity. (10) Repetitions for each exercise within the complex should be kept relatively low. Clusters of two to five repetitions are effective for building strength and power. (4)

Ensure your reps stay quick and crisp throughout the complex, as greater velocity loss may result in diminished power adaptations. (11) If your final reps of each exercise are losing speed, reduce the weight and/or repetitions. 

For conditioning, consider the rest intervals between complexes. To prioritize aerobic training adaptations, use shorter rest intervals (e.g. one minute). Recognize that short rest intervals will also necessitate lighter weights and/or lower repetition volumes. To prioritize adaptations in the phosphagen and glycolytic energy systems, allow longer rest between complexes (e.g. 90 seconds to five minutes). 

For coordination and motor learning, light loads are initially recommended. Moderate-to-high repetition volume (e.g. eight to 12 repetitions per exercise) may be most effective, provided the technique does not break down due to fatigue. (9) 

Complexes, Simplified

Complexes are one of the most invigorating training methods. They’re also incredibly versatile, facilitating the development of strength, power, coordination, conditioning, and resiliency. Although traditional complexes are performed exclusively with barbells, you should feel empowered to use equipment of your choice, including, but not limited to dumbbells, kettlebells, landmines, medicine balls, and sandbags. 

References

1. Javorek, I. (1988). Exercise techniques: General conditioning with complex I and II. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 10(1), 34-37.
2. Judge, L. W. (2008). Core Training for Superior Sports Preparation. Journal of Coaching Education, 1(2), 38-63.
3. Javorek, I. S. (1998). The benefits of combination lifts. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 20(3), 53-57.
4. Moreno, S. D. et al. (2014). Effect of cluster sets on plyometric jump power. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 28(9), 2424-2428.
5. Duba, J., Kraemer W.J., & Gerard Martin, M. A. (2007). A 6-step progression model for teaching the hang power clean. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 29(5), 26.
6. Javorek, I. (1990). All-sports conditioning: Six-week training program. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 12(4), 62-69.
7. Panariello, R. A., Stump, T. J., & Cordasco, F. A. (2017). The lower extremity athlete: postrehabilitation performance and injury prevention training. Operative Techniques in Sports Medicine, 25(3), 231-240.
8. Lorenz, D., & Maddalone, D. (2017). Postrehabilitation performance enhancement training and injury prevention in the upper extremity. Operative Techniques in Sports Medicine, 25(3), 220-230.
9. Morris, S. J., et al. (2020). Taking a long-term approach to the development of weightlifting ability in young athletes. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 42(6), 71-90.
10. Behm, D. G., & Sale, D. G. (1993). Intended rather than actual movement velocity determines velocity-specific training response. Journal of Applied Physiology, 74(1), 359-368.
11. Pareja‐Blanco, F., et al. (2017). Effects of velocity loss during resistance training on athletic performance, strength gains and muscle adaptations. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 27(7), 724-735.

Featured Image: Ground Picture / Shutterstock

The post Workout Complexes Explained: Use Combination Lifts for Better Results appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Kettlebells have a centuries-long history around the world and, fortunately, they’ve become more and more commonplace in commercial gyms in recent years. They’re also an efficient space-saving option for any home gym. While kettlebell training does require slightly more attention than exercising with dumbbells, the payoff is well worth the effort.

Here are the best exercises to begin your kettlebell experience. You’ll find some irreplaceable exercises that build explosive power, head-to-toe strength and stability, and a muscle-building stimulus you just can’t duplicate with any other equipment. While some exercises require a pair of matched weights, there are plenty of great movements using just one ‘bell.

Best Kettlebell Exercises

• Goblet Squat
• Kettlebell Deadlift
• Farmer’s Carry
• Gorilla Row
• Kettlebell Halo
• Front Rack Reverse Lunge
• Front Rack Push Press
• Kettlebell Suitcase Deadlift and Carry
• Kettlebell Clean
• Kettlebell Swing
• Kettlebell Tall Kneeling Plank
• Turkish Get-Up

Goblet Squat

The goblet squat is a very accessible way for anyone to learn how to squat with added resistance. The idea of the movement is that you are “sitting into your squat” with a weight in front of your body. It sounds pretty simple in theory and, in reality, it is.

The movement is much easier to learn compared to a back squat which requires more shoulder mobility and upper body attention. A goblet squat can help you feel what it’s like to hold tension in a squat while focusing on your lower body. It’s not strictly for beginners because you can progress to the heaviest kettlebell you have access to before moving on to a barbell.

How to Do the Goblet Squat

Hold the kettlebell handles at your chest. Press your palms toward each other in order to keep tension in your upper body. Keep your chest up and don’t let the weight pull you forward. Push your hips back, drive your knees out, and sit “into” your hips — don’t just fall down.

When your thighs are slightly below parallel to the ground, push your feet through the floor and drive yourself back up to a standing position. Throughout the entire repetition, keep the weight as close to your body as possible and make sure you have control of the weight.

Benefits of the Goblet Squat

• Goblet squats are a great way to build strength in your legs and core.
• Goblet squats allow you to master squat technique, build mobility, and progress gradually over time.
• Goblet squats are ideal for lifters unable to squat with a 35 or 45-pound barbell.

Kettlebell Deadlift

Kettlebell deadlifts are a great way to learn deadlift technique and strengthen the involved muscles without needing to load 65 to 135 pounds on a barbell. Many times, deadlifts are associated with powerlifters moving hundreds and hundreds (and hundreds) of pounds, but a “deadlift” is simply a way of hinging from your hips and picking up a weight from the ground efficiently.

The kettlebell deadlift helps you understand how to turn your lats on during the exercise, which improves upper body stability and strength during the pull. The exercise also grooves the hip hinge movement pattern to improve technique.

How to Do the Kettlebell Deadlift

Set your feet slightly wider than hip-distance apart, with a kettlebell between your feet. Push your hips back and hinge your upper body forward. Grip the top kettlebell handle with both hands. Your torso should be slightly above parallel to the ground, with your chest above your hip-line. Keep your arms straight and feel tension in your lats — the muscles on either side of your back behind your ribs. Pull your shoulders away from your ears.

Slightly bend your knees and take a deep breath in to brace your core (holding tension and position). Drive through the floor and stand up by pushing your hips forward and pulling your shoulders back. Don’t lean too far back in the top position or you’ll shift focus to your lower back.

Once you’re standing upright, descend by driving your hips back behind you and keeping the weight close to your legs. Unlock your knees and “find the floor” with the kettlebell. Remember that a “deadlift” means that there is a dead-stop on the floor. Each time the weight gets to the ground, breathe and to reset your position.

Benefits of the Kettlebell Deadlift

• Deadlifts are a functional movement done in everyday life, whether it’s picking up the laundry basket, your kid, heavy grocery bags, or the end of a couch. The kettlebell deadlift teaches how to safely keep weight close to your body while efficiently lifting from the floor.
• The exercise strengthens your legs, back, shoulders, core, and grip.

Farmer’s Carry

Farmer’s carries, also known as farmer’s walks, are one of the most effective ways to simultaneously build your strength and endurance. It also works nearly every part of your body from your core and grip to your shoulders and calves.

If you’ve ever carried more than one grocery bag from the car to the house, you’ve done a farmer’s carry. The goal is to get the snacks home safely, right? At the gym, the goal is to carry the weight with control so, when you think about it, the farmer’s carry is a functional exercise to keep your groceries safe. In any case, the idea is to walk for total distance or time while holding heavy weights and maintaining good posture and control of the weights.

How to Do the Farmer’s Carry

Stand with your feet roughly hip-distance apart with a kettlebell at outside of each foot. Hinge your hips back, pull your shoulders away from your ears, and feel tension in your lats as you pick up the kettlebells. This should remind you of doing a deadlift, because it is. The only difference is having a weight near each hip instead of one weight at your body’s centerline. And instead of putting the weights right back down, you are going for a simple walk.

The main focus is to control the weights while walking. Focus on holding your body in good alignment  with your shoulders pulled back in muscular tension to prevent the weights from swinging. If you find you are losing your balance, you are likely not controlling the kettlebells. After you’ve reached your distance or time, set up in the starting stance, hinge your hips back, and bring the weights to the floor.

Benefits of the Farmer’s Carry

• Farmer’s carries are incredibly applicable to life from a functional strength-perspective, safely and efficiently moving with weights at arm’s length.
• The exercise is effective for building core strength and grip strength.
• This total-body movement also builds endurance and conditioning more efficiently than low intensity aerobic exercise like walking on a treadmill.

Gorilla Row

This movement is powerful and, honestly, fun. A gorilla row is similar to a bent-over dumbbell row, but instead of pressing into a bench with one arm, you’re using the opposing weight to create force and stability.

This row variation helps to reinforce good hip hinge patterns. It requires you to hold your lower back and core in a strong position, otherwise you find that doing the actual row becomes much harder. The wide stance also reduces lower back strain, making it a good choice for lifters with recurring back problems.

How to Do the Gorilla Row

Stand with your feet wide out and a pair of kettlebells on the ground at your center. Bend forward at your hips and squat down to grip the weights with your palms facing each other. Pressing down into one of the kettlebells while pulling the other toward your waist. Don’t allow your upper body to rotate as you pull and push. You can either alternate pulling sides with each repetition or stick to one side for all reps before switching.

This movement is meant to be done powerfully, not slowly. If you have a hard time being in the hinge position without your back rounding, elevate the kettlebells on blocks to make them a bit higher. This will take some of the pressure on your hamstrings and lower back by reducing the range of motion.

Benefits of the Gorilla Row

• Gorilla row is an effective rowing variation, which can be beneficial for building strength and muscle. (1)
• This movement incorporated your entire body, using your legs and core for stability, compared to a more lat-focused row.
• The core engagement and body position reduces lower back strain compared to other rowing movements.

Kettlebell Halo

The halo is one of the most complete shoulder exercises you can do. The benefits include strength, mobility, and stability. The halo is versatile and can be done either during a workout or as part of a warm-up.

You can make the movement easier or harder by adjusting the bell’s position in your hands, by alternating directions with each repetition or performing one direction at a time, or by changing your stance from standing to kneeling.

How to Do the Kettlebell Halo

Stand while grabbing the side handles a kettlebell, with the your thumbs in front of your face. Think about an actual halo — a halo is a circle over your head, so create a circular motion around your eye-line. As you bring the weight to the side of your head, start to turn the bottom of the kettlebell up toward the ceiling.

As it moves around the back of your head, the bottom of the kettlebell should be facing the ceiling and your elbows point up to the sky. As the weight finishes the circle around your head, rotate the bottom of the weight to face the floor. You should be in the starting position again.

Don’t allow your head to move forward. Get the range of motion from your shoulders, not from your neck. Pretend you’re stuck in cement from the chest down. This will work on your core stability.

Benefits of the Kettlebell Halo

• The halo efficiently builds core stability and upper body mobility3.
• The shoulders and upper back are worked through a very significant range of motion, making it an ideal drill for improving joint health by addressing scapular stability and mobility.
• The exercise can be performed with several basic variations, making it accessible for people with different abilities and experience levels.

Front Rack Reverse Lunge

All lunges are hard, but front rack reverse lunges (sometimes called back lunges) are an extra-level of hard. It takes a lot of core and mid-back strength to perform this “lower body exercise” because you have to keep the kettlebells held near your chest during the movement.

The beauty of the front rack reverse lunge is that you get your leg work done while also training your upper body and core at the same time. Doing the exercise with one kettlebell will increase the core challenge even further since you need to stabilize your torso from being pulled down on one side.

How to Do the Front Rack Reverse Lunge

Stand while holding a pair of kettlebells at shoulder-height with your knuckles either touching or fairly close to each other. Think of a classic prayer position without your hands actually interlocking. This is the “front rack” position.

Step one foot back, hinging slightly at your hips as you bend your front leg and lower your back knee down towards the floor. Lightly graze the floor with your knee  — don’t just drop your knee to the ground. Focus on keeping your torso strong and your chest up, pointing your knuckles up toward the sky. Once you’ve grazed the ground  with your leg, push up through your front leg with the back leg only helping slightly You can either continue all reps with one leg or you can alternate sides.

Benefits of the Front Rack Reverse Lunge

• The front rack position adds a big element of core strength to the reverse lunge, especially if performed with a weight in one arm instead of two.
• Your upper back, shoulders and arms will also be challenged to support the weight during this movement.
• The front rack reverse lunge helps to build lower body strength and mobility as you reach a deep lunge position, stretching the hip flexors of the back leg and strengthening the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes of the front leg.

Front Rack Push Press

It’s common to see a basic overhead press, but a front rack push press is a whole different ballgame. You can do the standard overhead press with kettlebells in a slow and controlled fashion, but when you add the front rack position and a lower body push, you’ve now created a relatively unstable environment that you have to work really hard to control.

By using leg drive, you challenge your core to transfer that power from your lower body through to your shoulders. You’re also able to use relatively heavier weights, which can build more strength and power.

How to Do the Front Rack Push Press

Hold a pair of kettlebells in the front rack position — in front of your face with your palms facing each other. Dip your knees and sit very slightly down while keeping your chest tall. From that position, quickly stand straight and punch the weights up. Imaging you’re jumping to create enough power through the floor and send the weights toward the ceiling.

Because you’re creating so much force, you’ll need to make sure that your shoulders are in a stable position to catch the weights at the top. Brace your core as you lockout the weights overhead. Once you’ve stabilized the weights at the top, lower them towards your chest as you sit again to “catch” the force coming down. Repeat the movement by punching upward.

Benefits of the Front Rack Push Press

• Kettlebells are more unstable than dumbbells due to the offset center of gravity and their position in your hand and on your arm. This adds an even greater element of core strength and shoulder stability to each repetition as you must work harder to control the weight overhead.
• The front rack push press allows heavier weights than a strict press, which helps improve strength and force development.
• Incorporating leg drive makes the front rack push press a total-body exercise, creating a more efficient movement for conditioning.

Suitcase Deadlift and Carry

This movement is similar to the farmer’s carry except, instead of practicing carrying groceries, you’re practicing carrying luggage. Using just one kettlebell creates a pull on one side of your body which forces your core, specifically your oblique muscles on the sides of your abdominals, to work extra-hard to keep you upright.

The suitcase deadlift is a single-arm, core-intensive variation of the standard kettlebell deadlift.  The suitcase carry is a single-arm, core-intensive variation of the farmer’s carry. Combining the two creates an efficient exercise to build total-body strength and a strong, supportive core.

How to Do the Suitcase Deadlift and Carry

Stand with one kettlebell on the floor next to your foot. Hinge your hips back, bend your legs slightly, and grab the weight with your palm facing your leg. Pull your shoulders away from your ears and create tension in your shoulder. Keep your back neutral and your shoulders level as you drive through the floor and pick up the weight. Walk for total distance or time.

As you are walking, you will feel a bit lopsided, but that is the point. Fight that using your core. Squeeze your free hand hard to help create tension and prevent the weight from pulling you to one side. (2) Once you are done with the set, hinge your hips back, place the weight on the floor and repeat with the other hand.

Benefits of the Suitcase Deadlift and Carry

• The suitcase deadlift and carry addresses natural asymmetries and helps to reduce the risk of injuries by improving core stability.
• The single-sided loading is highly functional and prepares the body for real-world scenarios ranging from walking an energetic dog to carrying a child on your hip.

Kettlebell Clean

This is a dynamic and powerful movement that only feels good when it’s done properly. When it’s done wrong, it can tell you it’s wrong by bruising your wrist and forearm — not all exercises talk back to you like that, but kettlebell cleans definitely will.

The clean is a fundamental exercise that builds strength to get your kettlebells up the front rack position, so learning it will benefit your presses, squats, lunges, and more.

How to Do the Kettlebell Clean

With the kettlebell between your feet, and your feet a little wider than hip-width apart, drive your hips back. Bend your knees and put one hand on the bell with a palm-down grip. Make sure that your chest is up so you can look in front of you — you don’t want to be looking at the floor or the bell. Drive up to pull the weight off the floor. As it reaches your hips, start to turn your hand so the weight will land in the front rack position.

Here’s the important thing: you shouldn’t be doing much pulling with your arm. Some, sure, but most of the power to get the weight from the ground to chest-height comes from your hips. You are almost “throwing” the weight up to the sky with a lot of momentum and power from the hips, and then guiding it into the front rack position.

Some key tips would be not to pull off the ground too fast, so you can gather enough power. Also, relax your hand as the bell is turning, to allow a smoother rotation and cut down on calluses. The kettlebell clean does take a lot of practice before you might have a smooth lift, so it’s a good idea to start light and taking your time to increase the weight.

Benefits of the Kettlebell Clean

• Kettlebell cleans are a very effective explosive power exercise.
• The clean is the most efficient way to bring a kettlebell to the front rack position before performing squats, lunges, presses or similar exercises.
• As a total-body movement, it’s an excellent way to train cardio and conditioning while targeting the legs, core, and upper back.

Kettlebell Swing

Kettlebell swings might be the most popular kettlebell exercise around, and for plenty of good reasons. They are one of the best hip extension exercises and target the glutes and hamstrings. They are powerful, they are fun, and they are unconventional cardio.

Because your hips and glutes are some of the strongest muscles in your body, you can swing a lot more weight than you realize when you are using the proper momentum, power, and position.

How to Do the Kettlebell Swing

Start standing about a foot behind the kettlebell, with your feet wider than hip-distance apart. Your body should be in a hinged position with both hands palm-down on the bell. Think about hiking a football back behind you. Keep your chest tall, take a deep breath in, and “hike” the kettlebell behind your legs. Once the kettlebell is at its peak, aggressively drive your hips forward and come to a standing position while the kettlebell swings forward in front of you to about chest-height. Do not lift the kettlebell with your arms. Keep your arms loose.

Imagine a slingshot. As you bring the weight back, you’re pulling the sling back and once you release the sling, the weight should shoot forward. In this case, you will be guiding it forward and slightly up. Once the kettlebell is in front of you at its maximum height, actively pull it down through your legs, but very closer to your hips than your knees. A graphic but memorable saying to keep in mind is “thumb in the bum.” Keep the bell high and close between your legs to generate the most power. When the bell swings up, make sure you have fully extended your hips without leaning backward and overextend with your lower back.

Benefits of the Kettlebell Swing

• Kettlebell swings are a great way to change up your cardio workouts.
• Swings build explosive power and strength.
• The movements is highly effective for targeting the glutes and training hip extension, which can benefit athleticism, sports performance, and muscle growth.

Kettlebell Tall Kneeling Plank

Are you bored of planks and also need to work on your shoulder mobility? Here’s the solution. There are many ways to work your core and static exercises where you resist movement, such as basic planks, are great to build stability.

This tall kneeling plank is also great because you will be working on your hip extension and shoulder mobility at the same time. The kettlebell tall kneeling plank is a great way to work on holding our spine in a neutral position, which will translate to many other exercises.

How to Do the Kettlebell Tall Kneeling Plank

The “tall kneeling” position means that you will be on both knees with your thighs toward the ceiling, not sitting on your heels. Grab the handle of a kettlebell with both hands behind you. Your palms will be facing away from your body and you will want to keep your arms as straight as possible.

Actively extend (straighten) at the hips and hold your ribs in alignment directly above your waist. Try not to let the kettlebell rest on your body. You don’t have to pull it far away, but you want to stay active and engage your shoulders and arms in this hold.

Benefits of the Kettlebell Tall Kneeling Plank

• This exercise is a great way to open up your chest and shoulders, improve mobility and stretch your upper body.
• If you can’t perform basic planks due to wrist or elbow problems, this is a great alternative.

Turkish Get-Up

The Turkish get-up is a strength, stability, and mobility exercise wrapped up into one. It can be broken down into parts where it becomes a sit-up, a crab bridge, a lunge, an overhead hold… there is a lot going on. The main idea is that you begin lying on the ground holding a weight locked out overhead and have to move into a standing position.

This is a big, involved movement broken down into a step-by-step process. The focus is keeping your shoulders in a stable position so the weight remains perpendicular to the ground the entire time. Even beginning with bodyweight alone, without any weigh in your hand, can be challenging to some people.

How to Do the Turkish Get-Up

Lie on your back with your right foot flat on the floor, your right knee bent to 90-degrees, and your left leg straight out. Your right arm begins locked straight above your chest with a kettlebell in-hand. Your left arm is out to the side at the same angle as your left leg. While looking at the weight and pressing your arm away from you, push into the floor with your right foot and prop up onto your left elbow.

Keep pressing your left arm into the floor and come up the palm of that hand. Keep your shoulders stacked in-line. Press your hips up to the sky with your left leg out straight. Press through your left palm and right foot, and bring your left leg under your body into a kneeling position.

With your knee on the ground, take your left palm off the floor and extend your arm sideways for balance. Press through your legs into a standing position. This is the top of the get-up — the halfway point of one repetition. Stabilize the kettlebell locked overhead and brace your core.

With your left leg, step back into a half-kneeling (lunge) position. Hinge your hips back as you lean to the left side and place your left palm on the ground. Bring your left leg through to a straight ahead position. Bend your left arm and lower to your forearm, and then slowly lower yourself flat onto your back. You should  end in the same starting position, with the kettlebell locked straight over your chest. Switch the weight to the other hand and repeat.

Benefits of the Turkish Get-Up

• The Turkish get-up truly is a whole-body exercise. It’s arguably the most involved movement you can do in the gym and everything is working, as you can tell from the extra-long steps on how to perform the exercise
• The movement works shoulder stability and mobility, lower body stability and strength, and core strength.

Benefits of Kettlebell Training

Kettlebells can be used for all sorts of strength exercises, just like you would use dumbbells. The big difference is weight distribution due to the way the kettlebell is shaped and how you hold it. The offset size of the kettlebell can make many exercises much more challenging than similar movements using a dumbbell.

The other major beauty of almost any kettlebell exercise is that you easily flow from movement to movement. For example, you can smoothly transition from a kettlebell swing to a clean to a push press to a front rack reverse lunge all without ever putting the weight down.

This type of exercise flow is similar to using supersets and is an efficient way to train multiple muscle groups with a high level of continuous tension.

How to Program Kettlebell Exercises

Kettlebells are generally used for developing power over raw strength because they can be used explosively but weights are relatively limited. One of the most popular examples would be a kettlebell swing. It’s powerful movement that is best done with a kettlebell rather than a dumbbell or an improvised, homemade kettlebell-like alternative.

Kettlebell exercises can be incorporated into any conventional workout and mixed with standard exercises. For example, performing the front rack push press before dumbbell lateral raises during a shoulder workout.

You can also create a kettlebell-only workout for a plan requiring minimal equipment. For example, performing the goblet squat, swings, and front rack reverse lunge as a complete leg workout. You could also get an intense and effective cardio workout performing the farmer’s carry followed by the Turkish get-up.

How to Warm-Up with a Kettlebell

Because the kettlebell takes up barely any space in the gym, it can be the key to getting a quick and effective warm-up before any workout. Stringing together several exercises, performing each for several repetitions, can be an ideal way to prepare your entire body for any training session. Try this simple circuit:

• Unweighted Turkish Get-Up: Lie flat on the ground with your hand raised to the ceiling. Roll to the opposite side, prop yourself up, swing the leg of your non-working arm through to the back, and stand up. Keep your hand pointed completely vertical the entire time. Reverse the process to lie back down and repeat with the other arm. Perform two reps per side before moving to the next exercise.
• Goblet Squat: Hold a kettlebell with both hands in front of your chest. Pull your shoulders back, engage your core, and sit back into your hips. Descend as low as possible, aiming to increase your depth with each repetition. Perform five repetitions before moving to the next repetition.
• Kettlebell Clean: Take the kettlebell in one hand, hanging between your legs near your knees. Hinge forward at the hips and slightly bend your knees. Explode upwards while pulling the weight to shoulder-level. Bend your arm and “catch” the weight with bent legs. Stand upright and reset before lowering the weight to the starting position. Perform three repetitions per arm before moving to the next exercise.
• Front Rack Push Press: Begin with the kettlebell at shoulder-level. Bend your legs and sit down slightly before quickly standing up while pressing the weight overhead to full lockout. Lower the bell to shoulder-level and “catch” it with bent legs. Perform three repetitions per arm before repeating the first exercise. Perform a total of three circuits.

One Bell, Endless Results

There’s a reason kettlebells have been used around the entire world for well-over a century. Without needing a fully equipped gym, you can train your entire body for strength, muscle, mobility, and conditioning. Kettlebell training might seem complicated, imposing, or even intimidating. But it’s really not. All it takes is patience, practice, and proper instruction. You just got the last piece, but the first two are up to you.

References

1. Baz-Valle, E., Schoenfeld, B. J., Torres-Unda, J., Santos-Concejero, J., & Balsalobre-Fernández, C. (2019). The effects of exercise variation in muscle thickness, maximal strength and motivation in resistance trained men. PloS one, 14(12), e0226989. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0226989
2. Gontijo, L. B., Pereira, P. D., Neves, C. D., Santos, A. P., Machado, D., & Bastos, V. H. (2012). Evaluation of strength and irradiated movement pattern resulting from trunk motions of the proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation. Rehabilitation research and practice, 2012, 281937. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/281937

Featured Image: Goolia Photography / Shutterstock

The post The 12 Best Kettlebell Exercises for Conditioning, Mobility, and Strength appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Many lifters overlook the seemingly simple goblet squat, presuming it’s too easy to deliver results or that the exercise is more useful for beginners than experienced lifters. Both are wrong.

The goblet squat can improve upper back strength, build hip and ankle mobility, deliver an intense core workout, and create a deep muscle-building burn in your quads and glutes that will make you equally love and hate this exercise. Here’s how to do it.

• How to Do the Goblet Squat
• Common Mistakes to Avoid
• Benefits of the Goblet Squat
• Muscles Worked by the Goblet Squat
• Who Should Do the Goblet Squat
• How to Program the Goblet Squat
• Goblet Squat Variations
• Goblet Squat Alternatives
• Frequently Asked Questions

How to Do the Goblet Squat

Although this is predominantly a lower body exercise, what’s happening with your upper body is also important. Holding the weight in a strong position will allow your upper body to remain stable while your legs do the lion’s share of the work.

Step 1 — Secure the Weight and Set Your Stance

Use both hands to lift a kettlebell or use a dumbbell by holding the weight plates on one end. Bend your arms and allow the weight to sit under your chin. Pull your elbows tight into your body for a strong upper back position. Create tension in your core to ensure a neutral spine.

Position your feet slightly wider than hip-distance apart. Turn your toes slightly outward, no more than 45-degrees, to allow a healthy knee position.

Form tip: Imagine holding a towel between your arms and torso to maintain a tight elbow position, which supports the weight and engages your upper back. To fine-tune your stance, jump before picking up the weight. Your feet will naturally find a position for a safe landing. That is a stable position for the squat.

Step 2 — Squat Straight Down

With the load in front of your body, it’s easier to keep your torso vertical during the squat, which makes it more knee-dominant than hip-dominant (this affects muscle recruitment and emphasizes your quadriceps).

Allow your hips to travel down while your knees reach forward over your toes. Your elbows will fall between your thighs as you reach the bottom position. Keep your torso stacked over your hips to achieve a longer range of motion and more core engagement. Leaning forward can stress your lower back. Keep your weight distributed over your midfoot without rising onto your toes or excessively pressing through your heels.

Form tip: In the bottom position, the forward angle from your ankles to knees should be similar to the forward angle from your hips to shoulders. This optimizes power and muscle recruitment without excessive joint strain.

Step 3 — Stand Up to Lockout

Push down into the floor with your whole foot to stand straight up. Maintain your torso stacked over your hips. Don’t exaggerate a hip thrust as you reach the top of the movement. Hold the weight securely. Don’t relax your arms as you drive with your legs and don’t press the weight up.

Exhale steadily through pursed lips as you stand up. Finish fully exhaling at the top to maintain intra-abdominal pressure and increase core stability.

Form tip: The more you push down into the floor, the more hip extension you’ll create at the top of the movement. For an extra burn, keep pressing into the floor at the top of the rep to maximize muscle tension.

Goblet Squat Mistakes to Avoid

Make sure you get the most bang for your buck when performing the goblet squat. Although this exercise may look simple, there are a few things you want to avoid.

Not Using a Full Range of Motion

Achieving a full range of motion may look different person to person, depending on their individual limb lengths and mobility, but you find the best muscle-building stimulus when utilizing the greatest range of motion possible. (1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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One of the most common mistakes is hinging the hips far back before squatting, like you’re doing a powerlifter’s back squat. This prevents you from reaching a significant squat depth and it can short-change muscle recruitment.

You might’ve heard that your knees should never go over toes when squatting. That’s incorrect. Letting your knees move over your toes is the only way to safely get to the bottom of the squat.

Avoid it: To get a full range of motion with the goblet squat, focus on achieving a deeper knee bend instead of just pushing your hips back. You may need to gradually build up your tolerance and mobility to reach full depth because your body is building strength as it explores new ranges of motion. 

Standing with Your Butt First

A common problem when transitioning into the standing position is letting your hips rise first. When this happens, your glutes go into the air and the weight, along with your torso, tip forward. As you can visualize, this ends up looking like some kind of exotic dance maneuver and is sometimes referred to as a “stripper squat.”

This forward-body position places more stress on the lower back and turns the movement into a hip dominant movement, requiring your hamstrings and glutes to complete the lift. Not only can your lower back get strained, but your quadriceps muscles are left out of the movement.

Avoid it: Pause for one or two seconds at the bottom of each rep to make sure you’re in a good position to drive up. Focus on keeping the weight tight to your body and maintain a fully engaged upper back to stay vertical as you stand up.

Benefits of the Goblet Squat

The goblet squat trains the fundamental squat pattern which improves size, strength, and mobility throughout the lower body. Here are more details about using the goblet squat.

More Muscle

Taking muscles through a long range of motion is an important factor for muscle hypertrophy and there are not many better exercises than the goblet squat when it comes to squatting deep. This movement sets you up for leg-building success. Right now, thick thighs and well-built glutes are the new “abs and biceps” for many people, and the goblet squat can help.

Better Mobility

The goblet squat can help improve mobility in your ankles, hips, and upper back. Holding the weight in front of your body shifts our center of mass backwards. Shifting the weight back allows the ankles to work through a longer range of motion throughout each rep.

Taking any joint through more range of motion while under load is going to improve your mobility more effectively than any static drill or foam rolling.

Muscles Worked by the Goblet Squat

Like many leg exercises, the goblet squat works a number of muscle groups in the lower body including the quadriceps, glutes, adductors, and hamstrings.The unique position of the weight also works your core more significantly than other squat variations.

Quadriceps

The quadriceps are made up of separate heads that work together — the vastus lateralis, vastus intermediate, vastus medialis, and rectus femoris. The upright torso position and long range of motion at the knees and hips significantly recruits the quadriceps to straighten your legs (knee flexion).

Adductor Magnus

This muscle on the back of the thigh is recruited most when performing a large amount of hip flexion (bending at the hips). Although it primarily works when moving laterally, it’s highly activated during the goblet squat as the muscle helps to initiate hip extension from the bottom position, before the glutes come to the party closer to full extension. (2)

Glutes

One of the main functions of the glutes is hip extension, straightening the leg in line with the upper body. When performing a goblet squat through a long range of motion, your legs go through greater hip flexion. The more hip flexion performed, the greater the opportunity to work the glutes.

Core

Your core is composed of a number of different muscles including the transverse abdominals, the rectus abdominis, and the obliques. Each muscle performs a different action on the torso — creating stability, preventing rotation or collapsing, and maintaining intra-abdominal pressure to reduce lower back strain.

To successfully target and strengthen these muscles, be sure to maintain positions where your head, torso, and pelvis are all stacked. The goblet squat allows you to find and drill that position.

Who Should Do the Goblet Squat

The goblet squat can be performed by any individual whether they are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced lifter. It can be a great exercise for hypertrophy, fat loss and body composition changes, and also athletic development.

Training for Fat Loss and Improved Body Composition

The goblet squat can be an effective movement for improving body composition. The exercise takes muscles through a long range of motion, which is good for maintaining and/or improving lean muscle mass during a dieting phase.

This specific movement doesn’t require a lot of axial loading (compression stress on the spine) which can be more common with other squat variations. This makes it easier to perform the goblet squat more frequently and consistently with good form.

Athletic Training

For general sports athletes, strength is underrated. Some are still worried about becoming “muscle-bound.” But athletes also don’t need to become dedicated bodybuilders, so it’s important to have a good mix of exercises where they can focus on building basic strength, while also including exercises like the goblet squat where they can maintain functional positions while moving and creating force.

Athletes can also vary the programming of the goblet squat, manipulating load and volume for more strength or hypertrophy, or performing the exercise with lighter loads and a slower tempo (rep speed) for more of a core challenge.

Hypertrophy 

The goblet squat can be a good option for hypertrophy (muscle growth) because the exercise takes muscles through a long range of motion. However, the goblet squat will eventually be limited by how much weight you can hold.

If or when this happens, the goblet squat would still be useful as an “accessory” movement performed later in the workout when your leg muscles are pre-fatigued from other training, instead of using the goblet squat as main lift.

How to Program the Goblet Squat

Like many exercises, the goblet squat can be programmed differently depending on your goals. Here are a few of the most effective ways to program the goblet squat.

Moderate-to-Heavy Load, Lower Repetition

There are two very effective ways to program the goblet squat with relatively heavy loads. The first is using EMOM (every minute on the minute), where you perform five or six reps at the start of each minute and rest for the remaining time, repeated for six or seven total minutes. The accumulation of fatigue will increase the intensity significantly, especially in rounds three through six.

The other option is to use tempo training — the speed at which you perform the exercise. Tempo is normally expressed using a series of four numbers, each number representing a section of the rep. For example, 4-2-1-0 would indicate four seconds on the way down, two seconds paused in the bottom position, one second to return up, and zero seconds in the top position before the next rep.

Lighter Load, Higher Repetition 

The goblet squat can be used as a good pre or post-exhaust on a leg day, performed immediately before or after another leg exercise. Two or three sets of 12 to 15 reps work well for this. Because it only requires one weight, it can also be used as a convenient and efficient part of a circuit where you can move quickly with minimal rest in between multiple exercises. 

Goblet Squat Variations

There are a few variations of the goblet squat that you can alternate between during different phases of your training, for specific benefits beyond the basic movement, and/or to give you some general training variety.

Heels-Elevated Goblet Squat

Some gyms have a solid heel wedge device or you can place small plates under your heels. If you’re at home or in a garage gym, you could roll up an exercise mat or use a thick book. This is a really great way to learn the general movement pattern because the angle encourages you to keep your torso upright. Because it’s easier to keep your body stacked, you’ll likely feel this a lot more in your core, as well as your legs. 

The elevated heel position increases quadriceps recruitment due to the altered leg angle. The higher heel position can also act as assistance for lifters with poor ankle mobility, allowing them to reach a lower squatting position than standing flat on the floor.

B-Stance Goblet Squat

The “b-stance” is a unique position where one foot is set in pace and the other is shifted back slightly,  acting as a kickstand for balance. This is a great way to introduce single-leg training, as it offers the benefits of unilateral (single-leg) training such as addressing muscle discrepancies, but it also doesn’t require as much balance or coordination as more challenging single-leg exercises.

The B-stance goblet squat shouldn’t turn into a lunge. Instead of taking a full step backwards, set one foot very slightly back — having the toes of one foot roughly in line with the heel of the other foot.

Goblet Squat Alternatives

Front Squat

The front squat can be a highly effective alternative to the goblet squat. Holding a barbell across the front of your shoulders allows potentially heavier loads than the goblet squat, which can contribute to greater strength gains.

The front squat can be performed with a similar range of motion and develops muscle and mobility similar to the goblet squat.

Step-Up

The step-up starts from a position of hip flexion, rather than starting in a standing position and descending into a squat, which makes it a good alternative if you experience discomfort during hip flexion.

The step height can also be adjusted to accommodate any mobility limitations. It can be difficult to increase load on this exercise because of the total-body challenge and balance requirements, but it still delivers a very big bang for the buck.

FAQs

Why can’t I lift as much weight with the goblet squat compared to a barbell back squat?

This is a very common situation and it comes down to muscle recruitment and leverage. The barbell back squat is often more of a hip-dominant movement with relatively less range of motion, which allows you to move more total weight. Because the bar is supported across your upper back and shoulders during a back squat, it  removes the limitation of holding the weight in your hands.

The back squat can be a better choice specifically for strength gains, but for general improvements in body composition and athletic development, the goblet squat could be the more favorable choice.

How many times per week should I do goblet squats?

The goblet squat puts the body through less axial stress and loading (compression of the spine) compared to various barbell squats, so you could perform the goblet squat more frequently — two to three times per week.

If you are performing the exercise multiple times per week, vary the programming in each workout to get a range of training stimuli. For example, perform higher reps in one session, use different tempo in the next workout, and use a variation like B-stance goblet squats in the last workout of the week.

Life is Full of Ups and Downs. We Call Them Squats.

Maturing in fitness is realizing that there is no “best” exercise. A well-rounded lifter should eventually want to develop a list of effective movements they can perform very well. Include the goblet squat and its variations in your routine, and you should find that progressing with one movement carries over to improve other squat exercises. Never underestimate the simple goblet squat. It is simple, but not easy.

References

1. Schoenfeld, B. J., & Grgic, J. (2020). Effects of range of motion on muscle development during resistance training interventions: A systematic review. SAGE open medicine, 8, 2050312120901559. https://doi.org/10.1177/2050312120901559
2.  Keitaro Kubo, Toshihiro Ikebukuro, Hideaki Yata, Effects of squat training with different depths on lower limb muscle volumes – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31230110

Featured Image: Photology1971 / Shutterstock

The post How to Do the Goblet Squat for Lower Body Size and Mobility appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

The kettlebell swing is likely the most well-known kettlebell exercise — and for a good reason. It is an excellent movement to improve power; it’s an efficient way to build endurance and burn fat; and it’s a great teaching tool to learn the hip hinge pattern (strengthening the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back). Here’s how to perform a perfect kettlebell swing and everything you need to know about this exercise.

• How to Do the Kettlebell Swing
• Kettlebell Swing Mistakes to Avoid
• Benefits of the Kettlebell Swing
• Muscles Worked by the Kettlebell Swing
• Who Should Do the Kettlebell Swing
• How to Program the Kettlebell Swing
• Kettlebell Swing Variations
• Kettlebell Swing Alternatives
• Frequently Asked Questions

Kettlebell Swing Tutorial Video

Coach Justin Lind shares an extremely detailed explanation and demonstration of the kettlebell swing. Watch the video in its entirety before, or after, reading the full article to see the movement put into action and highlight the details of its performance.

[Related: Why You Should Be Greasing The Groove During Your Workouts]

How to Do the Kettlebell Swing

The kettlebell swing is a dynamic movement that develops lower body power. Because it requires explosive output, you should always pay attention to proper technique to avoid injuries and reap the intended benefits.

Step 1 — Get Into the Starting Stance

Place a kettlebell on the ground and stand in front of it with a slightly wider-than-shoulder-width stance. Hinge at the hips while keeping your knees slightly bent. Your back should be flat with your torso almost parallel to the ground.

Keep your hips relatively high without dropping into a squatting position. There shouldn’t be a lot of bend in your knees. Shift your weight onto your heels. Grab the top handle of the kettlebell firmly with both hands in a palms-down grip.

Form tip: When you’re hinging at the hips, the kettlebell should be almost directly beneath your eyes. If it’s too close to your body’s centerline, you won’t be able to get it moving efficiently to begin the first repetition.

Step 2 — Pull the Weight Behind Your Legs

Flex your lats (back muscles) and forcefully pull the kettlebell back between your legs in a dynamic fashion while keeping your elbows slightly bent. Try to feel tension in your hamstrings and glutes as they stretch in the hinged position.

Keep your torso bent forward. Allow the weight to reach behind your legs. At its farthest position, the weight should be under or past your glutes.

Form tip: The kettlebell swing is a hinge, not a squat. There should be more horizontal movement than vertical. Done properly, the exercise recruits your posterior chain (glutes, hamstrings, and lower back) for maximal power.

Step 3 — Drive Up Explosively

Simultaneously contract your glutes while extending your hips and knees to drive the weight forward and up. Maintain straight or slightly bent arms throughout the rep. In the top position, your body should be straight and tall, with the weight stopping naturally around shoulder-level or slightly below.

Grip the weight hard, brace your core, and flex your quads to maintain balance and control at the top of the movement. Don’t allow the weight to pull you forward.

Form tip: The weight should be lifted by the driving force of your glutes and hips, not by actively lifting with your arms. Think of your arms as “ropes” holding the kettlebell — they are mainly used to guide the weight on its path upwards, not to assist the lift.

Step 4 — Allow the Weight to “Fall” Under Control

Let gravity do the work and allow the kettlebell to return to its position behind your legs. Keep your arms loose and your grip tight. Maintain a neutral spine as you hinge forward while the weight is falling. The weight should end up near your glutes.

From this stretched position, you can transition into the next repetition by repeating step three and using the momentum accumulated during the fall of the kettlebell.

Form tip: Be sure to hinge with a neutral spine as the weight returns to the bottom position, as this will properly load the powerful target muscles. Do not squat down because stress will shift to your shoulders, arms, and quadriceps.

Kettlebell Swing Mistakes to Avoid

This movement requires a cocktail of speed, balance, and coordination, so it’s easy to make a mistake. Whether you’re experienced with swings or you’re a complete beginner, review these common problems to make sure you’re not doing them.

Squatting Instead of Hinging

Some people have difficulty separating “hinge at the hips” from “reach down and touch your toes.” Those are two very different movements. Some lifters are also naturally more dominant in the anterior chain (the quadriceps). When lifters’ hips move up and down rather than front to back, it negatively affects muscle recruitment.

This is a problem because “squatty swings” will not only shift the workload away from the hamstrings and glutes, but will also result in lifters using their relatively weaker arms and shoulders to elevate the kettlebell.

Avoid it: Do not be afraid of bending forward while keeping a neutral spine. Keep a slight bend in your knees and think of your hips moving horizontally and not vertically, like you’re trying to touch the wall behind you with your butt.

Overextending Your Lower Back

The swing naturally involves the lower back muscles because they help extend the hips, especially to achieve an upright standing position.

However, overextending at the top of the movement (leaning too far backwards when standing) puts a lot of unnecessary stress on your lower back. Your entire spine should remain neutral without any bending during the lift.

Avoid it: Squeeze your glutes as much as possible at the top of the movement. They are the prime moving muscle and focusing on their activation will prevent you from shifting the workload onto the lower back. Brace your core by flexing your abs as much as you can.

Driving Up With the Arms

When people pay too much attention to “lifting the kettlebell,” they sometimes start using their arms and shoulders before their hips have fully extended. This is a problem because it sacrifices lower body power. It also puts unnecessary stress on the shoulder joint by relying on smaller shoulder stabilizers instead of much stronger glute muscles.

This issue can also occur when using lighter kettlebells which are “easier” to lift incorrectly (with the arms) or when people perform swings slowly, which defeats the purpose of the exercise because it’s always meant to be done explosively.

Avoid it: Make sure you are correctly performing an explosive hip hinge and properly engaging your glutes and hamstrings. Don’t over-focus on making sure the kettlebell reaches shoulder-level, let it occur naturally.

Benefits of the Kettlebell Swing

The kettlebell swing looks basic, maybe even “easy,” but this straight-forward movement packs a lot of benefits no matter what your goal is.

Whether you’re a performance-focused lifter, a competitive athlete, or looking to build your physique, the swing delivers results.

Explosive Power and Strength

Power is seen in sports when accelerating in a sprint, jumping, and throwing implements. Many types of athletic movements involve a hip hinge, which is optimized by training the swing. Swings also improve the explosive power of your lower body muscles. (1) 

The swing has also been shown to be as effective at building strength as other training methods. (2) Sure, you use less weight than with a deadlift or a squat, but the dynamic performance of the swing improves intermuscular connection, continuous muscular recruitment and acceleration, as well as contraction speed. All of those factors help your nervous system become more efficient at using your muscles, so you end up becoming stronger.

Conditioning and Fat Loss

This exercise can be an efficient tool for improving cardio-respiratory fitness and has been shown to be as effective as other types of cardio exercise. (3) Because the kettlebell swing must be done explosively and cannot be performed at a low intensity, it is best used as part of a training circuit or for HIIT (high-intensity interval training). Swings are also very low impact and won’t irritate your knees when done properly.

Muscle Mass

The swing is not the first exercise that pops in our head when we think of hypertrophy, but its explosive nature — meaning great muscle recruitment — coupled with the potentially long time under tension make it a good candidate for building muscle mass. If you want to maximize hypertrophy, make sure to gradually increase the weight you use over weeks and months, but don’t go too heavy or you’ll lose the explosive mechanics.(4)

Grip Strength

The handles of most kettlebells are relatively thick and sometimes smooth, both of which challenge your grip strength as you apply explosive movement to the weight. A good swing workout may leave your forearms sore temporarily, but you will eventually develop a stronger grip and more muscular arms.

Muscles Worked By the Kettlebell Swing

The swing is a complete exercise that will recruit nearly every muscle in your body in some capacity. Nevertheless, its main objective is to improve the posterior chain.

Proper swings require strong contractions of your glutes, hamstrings, and core throughout each repetition.

Glutes

Like any hip hinge, the glutes are heavily involved in the swing. The gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus are a group of three large muscles that govern hip movement. In the swing, their main role is to extend the hips — bring the body from a bent-over position to an upright posture.

Try to squeeze your glutes as much as possible at the top of each repetition. This will shift the workload away from your lower back, promote maximal hypertrophy, and allow maximum power output.

Hamstrings

Your hamstrings are a series of posterior muscles that flex or bend the knees. The hamstrings also help extend the hips in conjunction with the glutes. In the swing, your hamstrings assist the glutes in driving the weight up from the bottom position by extending the hips.

If you have trouble feeling your hamstrings working during the exercise, focus on driving through your heels when raising the weight. Shifting onto your toes can reduce your hamstring recruitment.

Erector Spinae

Sometimes called the spinal erectors, this is considered the “lower back,” when it’s actually a length of muscle that goes from the pelvis up to the base of the skull. This postural muscle helps keep the spine in place and also contributes to hip extension. It will work a lot to stabilize your upper body in the swing.

If your back rounds over during the swing, you put the erector spinae into a more active role and increase the risk of injury. You don’t want to use them as the exercise’s prime mover.

Abdominals

The abdominals work together with the erector spinae to form the “core” and provide a stable upper body. The abs control torso rotation and flexion (bending forward), as well as resisting extension (leaning backward).

During the swing, your abs are highly active to maintain a neutral spine position, particularly in the bottom position when the weight pulls back between your legs. If your abs aren’t fully engaged, you’re more likely to follow the weight back, down, and through your legs.

Back

Even though you’re not pulling with your upper body, the other back muscles contribute to the lift. The latissimus dorsi (lats), the biggest back muscle, will be engaged to ensure spinal stability and maintain a strong arm position.

Across your upper back, the traps, rhomboids, and rear deltoids all work in conjunction to protect your shoulder joints and guide the kettlebell along its path.

Forearms

Your forearm muscles (wrist flexors and wrist extensors) are responsible for your grip strength, which is a big part of the kettlebell swing. Kettlebells typically have thicker handles than barbells or dumbbells, which challenges the grip more significantly.

The explosive nature of the swing also requires a strong grip to control the weight in the top position and prevent the kettlebell from flying away like the “cannonball with a handle” it appears to be.

Who Should Do the Kettlebell Swing

Anyone can do this exercise as long as they can perform it correctly — which is the vast majority of lifters. If you want to get stronger, more fit, and more muscular, find room in your program for the swing.

Functional Fitness Fans

Whether you’re a CrossFit athlete or someone that wants to be a jack of all trades, the kettlebell swing is a great addition to build several physical qualities at the same time. It will improve total-body strength, grip strength, power, conditioning, and build some muscle as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The swing is a great tool for people that need variety in their training because it can be programmed in many different ways. It can also be done virtually anywhere and any time, so if you just want to squeeze in a quick workout, swings are the perfect fix.

Strength Athletes

Competitive powerlifters and strongmen/strongwomen can benefit from an improved conditioning and recovery, as well as increased power and strength. The swing trains the hip hinge pattern, which carries over to many competitive events and builds stronger, more explosive hips.

Strength athletes don’t need to be able to run for miles, but withstanding a minute-long set or having improved conditioning to better recover between sets will certainly help in their training.

Beginners

If you’ve just started your fitness journey, the kettlebell swing is a great tool to practice and master the hip hinge, which carries over to countless exercises. The swing is also an efficient way to pack muscle onto your frame, while increasing your strength, power, conditioning, and coordination — all at the same time.

Endurance Athletes

Contrary to popular belief, endurance athletes have to do more than just running, biking, or swimming if they want to perform well and remain injury-free. The swing is a great strength exercise for endurance athletes, like marathon runners or triathletes.

The swing requires posterior chain mobility and strength, which is key to being comfortable in power positions on a bike. It is also a great exercise to recruit and develop the glutes for a more balanced physique, as runners and cyclists often have anterior chain (quadriceps) dominance which puts them at risk for knee pain.

How to Program the Kettlebell Swing

Because it is a dynamic power movement, you cannot go too heavy with the swing or you change the mechanics of the exercise. With excessively heavy weights, the range of motion is compromised and the weight can’t be accelerated as quickly. It is best used with moderate-to-high rep schemes.

Heavy Weight, Moderate Repetitions

This is the best rep range if you want to focus on a balance of strength and size. Three to five sets of five to 10 repetitions, close to technical failure, will do the trick.

Keep in mind that “heavy weight” doesn’t mean super-heavy. You still have to be able to accelerate the kettlebell with speed. If your range of motion becomes limited, you’ve gone too heavy. 

Moderate Weight, Moderate Repetitions

This approach focuses on speed and explosive power. Five to eight sets of five to 10 repetitions is an excellent scheme for power, but you must avoid muscular failure at all costs.

You want to be exert maximum speed with each rep — the last rep of the set should feel as quick and snappy as the first. Use relatively lighter weights and keep some gas in the tank.

Moderate-to-Light Weight, High Repetitions

This type of plan is for those who really want to improve conditioning. And, if you approach failure, you can trigger some muscle growth as well. Begin with three to five sets of 10 to 30 repetitions.

Eventually, get crazy with much higher reps or even train for time instead of repetitions. For instance, do five sets of maximum repetitions in one minute. One effective way to train for time is to use an equal work-to-rest ratio. If you perform reps for one minute, take one minute rest between sets. Or 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off, etc.

The 10,000 Swing Workout

If you want a challenge well-beyond your comfort zone, try the 10,000 swing workout. Created by legendary strength and conditioning coach Dan John, this four-week plan will make you leaner, stronger, more muscular, and a generally tougher human.

Each training day will have you do 500 swings as well as a basic strength exercise. It follows a “two days on, one day off” schedule throughout the week, which ends up at a total of 10,000 swings spread across four weeks. Every workout, perform a total of 500 swings with this plan:

• Set 1: 10 reps
• Set 2: 15 reps
• Set 3: 25 reps
• Set 4: 50 reps

That’s 100 total swings in a round. Repeat four more times for a total of 500 swings per workout. Rest 30 to 60 seconds between sets and up to three minutes between rounds.

One strength exercise is performed after each set of swings using low repetitions and relatively heavy weight. Perform three sets using a 1, 2, 3 or 2, 3, 5 repetition scheme with basic, multi-joint exercises like the overhead press, dip, goblet squat, or chin-up. Single-joint exercises like curls or chest flyes are relatively easier and aren’t as effective. So one full round of the workout could look like:

• Set 1: 10 swings, 1 press, rest 30 seconds.
• Set 2: 15 swings, 2 presses, rest 30 seconds.
• Set 3: 25 swings, 3 presses, rest 60 seconds.
• Set 4: 50 swings, rest three minutes.

The recommended weight is a 24-kilogram (53-pound) kettlebell for men and a 16-kilogram (35-pound) kettlebell for women. For progression, push yourself to complete the workout faster each week instead of adding reps or using heavier weight.

Kettlebell Swing Variations

There are several ways to tweak the swing to focus on certain benefits of the lift. When you feel like the traditional swing has no secrets for you anymore, try one of these variations. 

Double Kettlebell Swing

This is pretty much a standard swing, except that you hold a kettlebell in each hand. You might need to widen your stance a little bit to remain safe when the weights pass between your legs. If you want to train heavy but don’t have access to heavy kettlebells, this is the way to go.

This exercise is a great tool for strength development and grip training because you can go twice as heavy. It also requires more core and back bracing power to stabilize each shoulder and arm because the pair of weights are moving independently.

Banded Kettlebell Swing

As the name implies, this variation requires a resistance band. Loop it around the kettlebell and secure the ends under your feet to form a triangle. The added resistance of the band requires you to drive harder through your hips to build the speed and power needed to get the weight near chest-level.

It’s also a good way to induce more hypertrophy because the band actually pulls the kettlebell back during the descent, resulting in an accentuated eccentric phase (when the weight comes down). This eccentric stress can result in more muscular hypertrophy, especially in the hamstrings, which are a muscle group particularly receptive to eccentric contractions. (5)(6)

Single-Arm Kettlebell Swing

By holding the kettlebell in only one hand, you add a unilateral component to the exercise. This forces the back, shoulder, and arm to work more on the side that is holding the weight. The single weight requires your body to fight against rotation and flexing to the side.

This is a great movement for targeting your core and lower back stability. The single-sided challenge also recruits the oblique muscles of your core.

Kettlebell Swing Alternatives

If you don’t have a kettlebell, you can still train your explosive hip hinging and work your posterior chain. Here are some kettlebell-free alternatives.

Dumbbell Swing

Sometimes you really want to swing, but there are no kettlebells. Just grab a solid dumbbell by the head and start swinging. Be careful because the weight distribution of the dumbbell is different and its head is more awkward to grab since you’ll be using your fingers more than your entire hand.

Instead, tou could use both hands to hold the handle of the dumbbell. The weight will be more evenly balanced, compared to a kettlebell’s center of gravity being farther from your hands, which makes the exercise relatively easier. This method may be uncomfortable if the dumbbell handle is too small to fit both hands. 

Broad Jump

Nothing beats the simplicity of bodyweight plyometrics for developing power and speed. You don’t even need equipment. With the broad jump, be sure to emphasize a forward jump for distance, not an upward jump for height.

When you perform this exercise, think about rep quality, not quantity. Keep your repetitions low and your rest periods long, so that each series is pristine. 

Romanian Deadlift

This leg exercise is a staple for developing size and strength in the glutes, hamstrings, and back. Performing it with heavy-to-moderate weights for low-to moderate repetitions is an excellent substitution for the swing.

To take the power-building up another notch, loop a resistance band around the barbell and anchor it with your feet. Perform each repetition with maximal speed and avoid reaching muscular fatigue. This type of band training develops the speed component even more. (7)

FAQs

I worry about the kettlebell hitting between my legs and doing some serious damage. Any advice?

The key is to make sure that your hips are driving the movement. Lifting with your back might cause your spine to be hyperextended, which will cause the kettlebell to end up higher on your thighs.

Maintain a neutral back and don’t be afraid of bending forward at the hips to let the weight go behind you. At the lowest point of the swing, your forearms should be in contact with your inner thighs. Use this cue to swing safely.

What weight should I use?

When learning any new exercise, you should always use a light weight so that you get the feel of the exercise and develop proper technique. As a dynamic exercise, swinging a kettlebell that is too light won’t allow that proper exertion of force and power production. It’s one reason why you can’t throw a snowball as far as you can throw a baseball.

If you’re a beginner, aim to start with around 10% of your one-rep max deadlift. When you feel you have mastered the exercise and can do 15 good repetitions with perfect form, you can try going heavier.

Is it normal that my lower back hurts when doing kettlebell swings?

Back pain is not normal. Some back soreness, however, should be expected due to the stretched position and explosive movement. Soreness should dissipate in a matter of days, while serious pain can last longer. Soreness is typically dull, while pain can be felt in sharp bursts from sudden movements.

If you’re sure you have pain and not muscle soreness, double-check that your form is pristine and then check with a medical practitioner for any underlying condition. Otherwise, it could be because of a simple technical flaw. Hyperextending your back at the top will result in more stress on the lumbar spine.

The same is true if you lead with your back coming out of the bottom stretch, which uses your erectors as prime movers instead of as core-bracers. You have to ensure a proper hip hinge by squeezing your glutes as much as possible and keeping a flat back. Think of the lower back as a “bracing” muscle to keep your upper body stable.

Got Bell, Must Swing

The kettlebell swing isn’t just one of the most fundamental and generally useful kettlebell exercises. It’s one of the most fundamental and generally useful exercises of all time. You certainly don’t need to be a kettlebell specialist or compete in any strength sport to benefit from the swing, it delivers benefits for any lifter. Find a place in your training plan, program it properly, and start building a powerful posterior.

References

1. Lake, Jason P.; Lauder, Mike A. Kettlebell Swing Training Improves Maximal and Explosive Strength, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: August 2012 – Volume 26 – Issue 8 – p 2228-2233doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e31825c2c9b
2. Maulit, Matthew & Archer, David & Leyva, Whitney & Munger, Cameron & Wong, Megan & Brown, Lee & Coburn, Jared & Galpin, Andrew. (2017). Effects of Kettlebell Swing vs. Explosive Deadlift Training on Strength and Power. International Journal of Kinesiology and Sports Science. 5. 1-7. 10.7575/aiac.ijkss.v.5n.1p.1.
3. Hulsey CR, Soto DT, Koch AJ, Mayhew JL. Comparison of kettlebell swings and treadmill running at equivalent rating of perceived exertion values. J Strength Cond Res. 2012 May;26(5):1203-7. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3182510629. PMID: 22395274.
4. Rønnestad BR, Egeland W, Kvamme NH, Refsnes PE, Kadi F, Raastad T. Dissimilar effects of one- and three-set strength training on strength and muscle mass gains in upper and lower body in untrained subjects. J Strength Cond Res. 2007 Feb;21(1):157-63. doi: 10.1519/00124278-200702000-00028. PMID: 17313291.
5. Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn DI, Vigotsky AD, Franchi MV, Krieger JW. Hypertrophic Effects of Concentric vs. Eccentric Muscle Actions: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. J Strength Cond Res. 2017 Sep;31(9):2599-2608. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001983. PMID: 28486337.
6. Kaminski TW, Wabbersen CV, Murphy RM. Concentric versus enhanced eccentric hamstring strength training: clinical implications. J Athl Train. 1998 Jul;33(3):216-21. PMID: 16558513; PMCID: PMC1320426.
7. Ataee J, Koozehchian MS, Kreider RB, Zuo L. Effectiveness of accommodation and constant resistance training on maximal strength and power in trained athletes. PeerJ. 2014 Jun 17;2:e441. doi: 10.7717/peerj.441. PMID: 25024910; PMCID: PMC4081144.

Featured Image: SeventyFour / Shutterstock

The post How to Do the Kettlebell Swing for Explosive Power, Strength, and Conditioning appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

The standing overhead dumbbell press requires your shoulders, arms, back, core, and legs to all work together to display a higher level of stability and strength compared to the more familiar barbell press. This specific press variation also adds muscle to the shoulders and creates an aesthetic physique.

Here’s a comprehensive guide to this comprehensive movement. Learn the technique and then add this old-school exercise to your program.

• How to Do the Overhead Dumbbell Press 
• Overhead Dumbbell Press Mistakes to Avoid
• Benefits of the Overhead Dumbbell Press
• Muscles Worked by the Overhead Dumbbell Press
• Who Should Do the Overhead Dumbbell Press
• How to Program the Overhead Dumbbell Press
• Overhead Dumbbell Press Variations
• Overhead Dumbbell Press Alternatives
• Frequently Asked Questions

How to Do the Overhead Dumbbell Press 

The overhead dumbbell press is an intricate series of moving parts — literally — because you’re taking two relatively unwieldy implements and getting them safely overhead under control.

The exercise does require a degree of coordination, but any lifter can master this movement with a little bit of practice and a few technique cues.

Step 1 — Get the Weights Into Position

Begin with the dumbbells at your sides and your arms straight. You can either take the weights directly from the dumbbell rack, pick them up from a bench, or deadlift them from the floor.

Keep your back straight and abs tight. Bend your knees slightly before standing up powerfully while performing a thumbs-up curl (hammer curl) to bring the weights to shoulder level. Your feet shouldn’t necessarily leave the ground, but briefly rising onto your toes is common.

Stabilize your entire body when both weights are touching the front of your shoulders. Rotate each arm until your elbows are pointed to the sides and your hands are facing forward. Fortunately, you only need to go through this process once for each set you perform.

Form Tip: When using heavier weights, it may be less taxing and more efficient to begin with both dumbbells by your sides and raise one at a time into position, rather than trying to bring both to shoulder-level simultaneously.

Use the same “cheat curl” motion to bring each dumbbell up to shoulder level. However, the single-sided load will require more core stability to avoid rotating or swinging the body sideways.

Step 2 — Press Directly Overhead

With your hands facing forward and your wrists in-line with the tops of your shoulders, press both dumbbells upwards while keeping your hands directly above your elbows. As the weights pass over your head, move them slightly towards each other. The weights should end up nearly touching at the top.

Your legs should remain slightly bent throughout the entire set. Keep a neutral spine and upright torso with your core fully engaged. Contracting the glutes prior to pressing also helps to “connect” your stable lower body to your upper body, ensuring a safe and powerful position. Don’t allow your upper body to shift backwards as you press upwards.

Form Tip: When some lifters fatigue throughout a set, they begin to start each rep with a quarter-squat motion to propel the weights up. This increases total-body muscle recruitment and allows heavier weights to be used and/or more reps to be performed, but it also reduces the amount of force produced by the shoulders specifically.

Step 3 — Lower Under Control

After briefly pausing the weights in a locked out overhead position, reverse the motion to bring the dumbbells down. Be sure your torso remains upright, not leaning back. Your wrists should end up in-line with the tops of your shoulders. This is the bottom position of a press. The weights do not return all the way down to hang at your sides until you’ve completed all reps and the set is over.

Throughout the descent, keep your elbows under your wrists. Allowing the wrists to drift in front of or behind the elbows will drastically increase stress on the support structures of the shoulder joint. Shifting the wrists to either side of the elbow will reduce muscular stress on the shoulder, making the exercise less effective.

Form Tip: If the bottom/stretched position is too extreme or painful, the most common solution (in addition to specific shoulder mobility work) is to use your ears, not the tops of your shoulders, as a reference point.

Performing each repetition from ear-level to full lockout avoids putting the shoulder joint in its furthest range of motion and should alleviate excessive joint stress.

Overhead Dumbbell Press Mistakes to Avoid

The overhead dumbbell press technique is essentially, “pick up weights, then press weights overhead.” However, there are a handful of common mistakes which can increase the risk of injury and decrease muscle recruitment. Here’s what to avoid.

Leaning the Torso Back

Maintain an upright upper body during the press. This not only reduces stress on the lower back, but allows more upper body muscles to provide support and stability. The recruitment of the core and upper back allow higher power output and a stronger lift. Keeping a vertical torso allows your upper back muscles to more efficiently control your scapulae, which are essential to pressing weights and avoiding injury.

Leaning your torso backwards reduces your ability to maintain a strong core because strain is transferred more directly to the lower back. If you wanted to break a toothpick, you’d bend it until it snapped because it can withstand more stress when kept straight. Imagine your abs and lower back as one big toothpick. Don’t snap it.

Leaning back also changes the pressing angle, changing the lift from an overhead press into a high-angle incline bench press minus the bench. This transforms a very good shoulder exercise into a very bad chest exercise.

Avoid it: Before beginning any overhead press, check your ab and lower back stability and engagement by flexing your glutes and abs at the same time. If you feel an awkward and uncomfortable pull in the lower back area, it means you’re likely out of alignment. Adjust your posture and flex again before beginning your set.

Pressing With the Legs

As explained earlier in step two of the technique guide, your legs should remain slightly bent during a set of overhead presses. This allows your shoulders to be the primary movers of the weights and ensures your shoulders receive the greatest stimulus.

When any lifter nears the end of a challenging set, it’s important to remain strict and perform every rep from the same position. This rule applies to all exercises, with very few exceptions.

Adding leg drive towards the end of the set changes the exercise from a strict overhead dumbbell press to an overhead dumbbell push press. Different exercises are used for different purposes and target different muscles. In this case, the added work performed by the legs is counterbalanced by less work performed by the shoulders.

Avoid it: Use body awareness, especially towards the end of each set. As you notice your shoulders fatiguing, end the set knowing that your shoulders have been sufficiently trained with the intended load (weight) and volume (reps).

Using leg drive to complete a few additional reps is a high-intensity technique that should only be performed by experienced lifters, and should only be performed deliberately. Many lifters develop the bad habit of using leg drive without even being aware of it. This leads to a less efficient shoulder workout.

Short Range of Motion

The overhead dumbbell press should move the weights from shoulder-height to full overhead lockout. Reducing the range of motion either by not bringing the weights low or by avoiding complete lockout reduces the shoulders’ time under tension and reinforces poor joint mobility. This combination decreases the stimulus to build muscle and strength.

If you have pre-existing mobility issues, this is an entirely different case. You should never force your body into unnatural and dangerous positions. However, the shoulder joint, when healthy and working optimally, should be capable of achieving a complete range of motion.

Avoid it: Ensure that you take each rep from full stretch to full lockout. The dumbbells may graze the top of your shoulders in the bottom position and your elbows should be fully extended with the dumbbells nearly touching at the top. Know that short-changing your range of motion is simply short-changing your results.

If you’re physically unable to achieve a full range of motion, make consistent mobility work a regular part of your training. In the video above, Coach Geo Rockwell explains how to perform scapular wall slides, one of the best bang-for-your-buck shoulder and upper back mobility drills.

Benefits of the Overhead Dumbbell Press

Pressing a pair of dumbbells overhead isn’t just an old school test of strength, dating back to strongmen in the late-1800s. It’s also a classic exercise for building a wider set of shoulders. The combination of potential size and strength make it an incredibly useful exercise for nearly any lifter.

Because each arm is supporting an individual dumbbell, as opposed to one single barbell supported with both arms, you need more power output from each side of the body. More muscles are also activated both as stabilizers and for support strength.

Similarly, while any type of overhead press can be used for hypertrophy (building muscle), dumbbells require more work from each individual shoulder. This creates a higher overall training stimulus compared to other shoulder press variations.

Shoulder Size

Shoulder presses are practically mandatory for building a pair of wide, round deltoids (shoulders). The overhead dumbbell press can be highly effective, first because stabilizing the weights throughout each set will recruit the upper back and trapezius muscles, and also because the exercise has been shown to activate more deltoid muscle than other press variations. (1)

Upper Body Strength

The bench press is arguably the most popular measure of strength in most gyms. However, an unspoken rule among many experienced lifters is to gauge upper body strength by putting weight overhead while standing, not while lying supported on a flat bench.

The overhead dumbbell press, though not necessarily associated with moving extremely heavy weights, can play a huge role in building impressive overhead strength.

Reduced Joint Stress

The overhead dumbbell press requires each arm to perform its own share of muscular work while also having a degree of joint “freedom” to move, rotate, and micro-adjust throughout the range of motion. This freedom makes it a more joint-friendly option for lifters who may not be able to hold a barbell with a pronated (palms down) grip and press it overhead due to shoulder, elbow, or wrist mobility problems.

Muscles Worked by the Overhead Dumbbell Press

The overhead dumbbell press is a shoulder exercise, though a number of upper body muscles play a significant role to stabilize the body and complete the exercise.

Deltoids

The deltoids (shoulders) are technically one muscle group consisting of three heads — the anterior (front), the lateral (side), and the posterior (rear). The overhead dumbbell press significantly recruits all three heads and is a comprehensive shoulder exercise.

Triceps

Any type of pressing exercise will recruit the triceps muscle, specifically in the latter range of motion to achieve a complete lockout position. The overhead dumbbell press significantly activates your triceps when the weight is lifted from forehead-level to full lockout.

Upper Back

The “upper back” isn’t one specific muscle. Instead, it’s a general term typically including the rhomboids, trapezius, teres, and rear deltoids. These muscles play similar and overlapping roles in scapular movement and stability.

The overhead dumbbell press works your upper back statically in the bottom position as the weights are supported, as well as working more actively to help provide a stable torso position for pressing.

Who Should Do the Overhead Dumbbell Press

You can use the overhead dumbbell press to achieve a number of common goals. The exercise can, and should, be performed by a variety of lifters.

Lifting for Muscle

Due to its effective role as a fundamental muscle-builder, the overhead dumbbell press can be a priority exercise in a shoulder-building workout. The large time under tension and significant recruitment of the deltoids make it an efficient option.

Lifters With Joint Pain

Because dumbbells require less fixed-pattern movement and allows lifters to adjust hand and elbow position during a set, the overhead dumbbell press can be a better choice for lifters with current joint pain, compared to a barbell press.

Overhead Strength Athletes

A number of sports require lifters to move very heavy weights overhead. Competitive strongmen and strongwomen, Olympic weightlifters, and CrossFit athletes can all benefit from making the overhead dumbbell press a recurring accessory exercise in their training to carryover to sport-specific strength.

How to Program the Overhead Dumbbell Press

The overhead dumbbell press can be adapted to a variety of programming methods, depending on the lifter’s specific goal.

Moderate Weight, Moderate Repetition

Working within a prototypical bodybuilding set and rep scheme delivers optimal muscle gains. Performing three to four sets of 8 to 12 reps turns the exercise into a serious shoulder-builder. When the presses are kept strict and leg drive is avoided, this can be an intense delt workout.

Light-to-Moderate Weight, High Repetition

Reducing the weight slightly while increasing the reps to 15 or even 20 can provide more challenge to the entire body because the overall stability demands are increased, but the shoulder-focus remains a priority. Many lifters find they may get a better muscular workout with this approach, since shoulder joint stress is further reduced due to the decreased load.

Heavy Weight, Low Repetition

When using heavier weights for lower repetitions, the movement becomes an exercise in total-body coordination. When performing three to five sets of three to five reps, lacking muscular engagement anywhere from head to toe can result in a missed lift. This full-body support is exactly what makes this approach ideal for building strength.

Remember though, as weights get heavier, getting the dumbbells into starting position becomes a much more fatiguing part of the exercise, so expect the hard work to begin before you even start pressing.

Overhead Dumbbell Press Variations

The overhead dumbbell press is a straightforward movement suitable for most lifters and most goals. However, adjustments and variations may be appropriate for any number of reasons. By adjusting hand position or stance, you can fine-tune the exercise to your specific requirements without significantly changing the results.

Neutral-Grip Overhead Press

Adjusting the arm angle in the bottom position can drastically change the stress applied to the shoulder joint.

If you experience joint pain during any chest or shoulder pressing exercises, using a neutral grip, where the hands face each other during movement rather than facing forward, is a simple and effective way to alter the arm angle and reduce joint strain.

Seated Overhead Dumbbell Press

Some lifters may lack the core strength, either due to inexperience or previous injury, to fully stabilize during the overhead dumbbell press. Moving from a standing position to seated can reduce strain on the lower back, which reduces the required core stability element.

An important cue with a seated overhead press is to avoid leaning back excessively during the movement, which would return the low back stress meant to be avoided in the first place. If your hips/tailbone aren’t near the back-support pad, then your back isn’t actually supported.

Single-Arm Overhead Press

The overhead press is typically done with both arms simultaneously, but using one arm at a time offers a few specific advantages. First, it allows a slightly heavier weight to be used. For example, if you can press two 50-pound dumbbells for five reps, you’re likely able to press one 55-pounder for five reps. This has to do with muscle fiber recruitment, the central nervous system, and a handful of dull technical jargon.

The second major benefit of pressing one dumbbell is an even greater core stability challenge, which turns the exercise into an efficient way to train the abs, obliques, and entire core while still requiring shoulder power.

Dumbbell Push Press

Remember all those warnings about keeping your knees slightly bent for the entire set and not using leg drive? Well now here’s your chance. The dumbbell push press uses deliberate leg drive to start moving the weight on each rep.

This added lower body recruitment allows a heavier weight to be used and it’s also an excellent way to develop explosive power and speed, making the exercise a top choice for athletes in any sport.

Overhead Dumbbell Press Alternatives

The overhead dumbbell press does cover a lot of muscular ground, but there are a few similar overhead exercises which can offer comparable, sometimes even more effective, benefits.

Overhead Barbell Press

One limiting factor of the overhead dumbbell press is the actual dumbbell. While there are many well-equipped gyms, there are few gyms offering dumbbells over 100 pounds. If your goal is to build major pressing strength, loading a barbell will eventually become necessary.

The overhead barbell press, often referred to simply as “the press”, is also sometimes considered one of the most fundamental of all exercises, alongside the barbell back squat, barbell flat bench press, and conventional deadlift.

Landmine Press

The landmine press is an effective alternative to direct overhead pressing, especially for lifters with shoulder joint pain. The altered angle of resistance affects the load on the joint while incorporating more muscles, particularly the chest.

Many gyms now have landmine stations with a barbell set in a specialized stand. The exercise can also be performed by carefully wedging one end of a barbell into the corner of a room.

Kettlebell Press

The kettlebell press may appear identical to the overhead dumbbell press, but the kettlebell’s unique shape and offset center of gravity make it a different exercise with different technique requirements.

The range of motion is typically longer, as the kettlebell press often starts with the weight in front of the chest in the bottom position. Because the kettlebell sits behind the wrist while the dumbbell sits atop the wrist, the shoulder stabilizers will be under increased stress during the movement as the kettlebell tries to “pull” the arm into external rotation.

Start the Presses

The overhead dumbbell press is a thorough exercise which builds shoulder size and upper body strength with minimal equipment. No benches needed, no barbell and rack setup, just a pair of dumbbells and a place to stand. Review the technique pointers and fit this overlooked lift into your program.

FAQs

What if getting the weights into position makes me too fatigued to press?

Usually, getting fatigued during an exercise is a good thing. But in this case, you’re getting fatigued before the exercise, not during it. If getting the dumbbells into the bottom position is too challenging, it’s because you’re attempting a weight that’s beyond what your upper back can support.

Lighten the load to a weight you can successfully get into a pressing position, continue regular shoulder and back training, and progress accordingly.

When should I perform the overhead dumbbell press?

Because it’s primarily a shoulder exercise with involvement of other muscles, it’s best suited to a shoulder-focused or “upper body” workout. Performing it as one of the first exercises of the workout will allow you to apply the most focus and use relatively heavier weights than if performed later.

For strength-focused lifters, it’s best not to perform the overhead dumbbell press immediately after heavy squats or deadlifts, due to cumulative fatigue in the lower back and legs, which would impair those muscles’ ability to provide a safe base of support.

References

1. Saeterbakken AH, Fimland MS. Effects of body position and loading modality on muscle activity and strength in shoulder presses. J Strength Cond Res. 2013 Jul;27(7):1824-31. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e318276b873. PMID: 23096062.

Featured Image: Vladimir Sukhachev / Shutterstock

The post How to Do the Overhead Dumbbell Press for Wider Shoulders and Upper-Body Strength appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

What lessons can we learn from world champions in a biomechanical comparison of different kettlebell snatch styles?

This article will take an in-depth look at the difference between kettlebell snatch styles. No, I won’t be comparing hardstyle to kettlebell sport, but instead, I’ll be having a look at some of the different styles within the kettlebell sport itself.

Kettlebell Sport Styles

Kettlebell sport involves a wide variety of styles, even with a few similar to hardstyle. I’ve been lucky enough to test a range of elite kettlebell lifters.

Still, I have chosen these two because I feel they exemplify what GS world champion Arseny Zhernakov refers to as classic-style and modern-style. These athletes are no joke; both have performed 200+ snatches with a 32 kg kettlebell in 10 minutes!

Below are some illustrations of the trajectory of the kettlebell from a front-on view of these two athletes. You can see that the path of athlete A has a larger side to side movement.

In contrast, athlete D appears to minimize the side to side movement (only moving from between the legs to directly over the shoulder). This contrast epitomizes the differences between these two styles. To my thinking, the classic was an adaption of the barbell snatch technique (predominantly moving through the sagittal plane).

Over time people started to make use of the kettlebells increased mobility, allowing for more significant lateral movement.

In summary, classic and modern snatch styles have a marked difference within their trajectories. The figure below illustrates the path of athletes A and D.

If you want more information on the trajectory of the kettlebell snatch, you can look up my paper – “Snatch trajectory of elite-level girevoy (kettlebell) sports athletes and its implications to strength and conditioning coaching.”¹

Classic Versus Modern Style KB Snatches

The classic style of the kettlebell snatch is the closer of the two to a barbell snatch, where both legs perform work to propel and to decelerate the kettlebell together.

In contrast, the modern style has a somewhat asynchronous movement pattern, where force increases on one leg and decreases on the other.

This movement is caused by the shifting of the body to counterbalance the kettlebell. As such, the kettlebells trajectory starts to move further to the side.

The table below breaks down each phase of the snatch and outlines some of the differences:

In the graph below, you can see how the force of each leg changes over the time course of repetition (the higher the line, the higher the force).

The stick figure above the ground reaction force trace starts from the left side of the page in fixation. This phase is then followed by the drop phase, which is where you begin to see the differences within the styles. The line down the middle breaks up the downward and upward phases.

The top figure is lifter A using a classic-style, and the lower figure is lifter B using a modern-style. In the examples, I haven’t included any numbers because these athletes have different body shapes and strength levels.

If you are interested in an in-depth read on the force involved in the kettlebell snatch, have a read of my paper – “External kinetics of the kettlebell snatch in amateur lifters.”²

Below are graphs of my own classic and modern-styles snatches. I performed these on the same day. I’m well off performing 200 reps with a 32 kg snatch; however, I can perform a 10-minute set with it.

Again, we must recognize and can almost view the ground reaction force as a unique signature.

My classic style kettlebell snatch:

My modern style kettlebell snatch:

The graph below illustrates a side by side comparison of the force from the left and right legs, one line for each style. Interestingly, when I combined the power from each leg, the ground reaction force is very similar for each style.

It’s hard to make any general recommendations (from force plate data) regarding style. However, it is individual, and you need to use the safest technique that allows you to optimize your performance.

It’s important to remember that with one hand change, grip strength endurance is typically the limiting factor within kettlebell sports performance.

The Trajectory Differs

The big takeaway from this is that there is a difference in the trajectory of modern and classic kettlebell sport styles. This difference may affect the ground reaction force and how the weight shifts.

The modern-style will accelerate the kettlebell with one leg (maybe to rest the other leg until the hand switch), while the classic will use both legs to accelerate the kettlebell (perhaps using each leg half as much).

Both modern and classic kettlebell sport styles have merit, and you can have an excellent performance with either.

References:

1. Ross, James A., Cameron J. Wilson, Justin WL Keogh, Kuok Wai Ho, and Christian Lorenzen. “Snatch Trajectory of Elite-Level Girevoy (Kettlebell) Sport Athletes and Its Implications to Strength and Conditioning Coaching.” International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching 10, no. 2-3 (2015): 439-452.

2. Ross, James A., Justin WL Keogh, Cameron J. Wilson, and Christian Lorenzen. “External kinetics of the kettlebell snatch in amateur lifters.” PeerJ 5 (2017): e3111.

The post A Biomechanical Comparison of Kettlebell Snatch Styles appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Kettlebells are basically giant balls of metal with a handle on them. They trace their origins to Eastern Europe, the word girya (kettlebell) actually appears in a Russian distionary circa 1704⁽¹⁾.

In fact, the popularity of kettlebells in the west, is largely attributed to Russian emigres Valery Fedorenko, a world champion in Kettlebell sport (Girevoy Sport), and Pavel Tsatsouline, a former Soviet Special Forces physical training instructor and Master of Sport, who developed the hardstyle Russian Kettlebell Certification (RKC) and now heads StrongFirst.

The extent of kettlebell popularity is more of a 21st century phenomenon, due in some part to the popularization of their use in CrossFit and the many instances where it is used on social media by online trainers, but it still remains somewhat of a niche activity.

This may be because of the technical difficulty of getting kettlebell movements right, particularly mastering the 6 kettlebell basics: swing, one-arm swing, clean, Turkish Get Up, snatch, and press.

So, let’s focus on 5 kettlebell exercises that should be pretty straightforward to master, can be quite challenging, and are great movements to have in your toolkit of exercises.

In some places, the great Pandemic shopping sprees include rugs, kettlebells, and flatscreens. It may be that we’re going to continue to see the surge in kettlebell demand outlast the Pandemic as more and more people continue to opt to train on their own and at home.

Kettlebell Halo

Kettlebell Deadlift

Kettlebell Clean and Press

Kettlebell Bicep to Tricep Extension

Kettlebell Sumo Deadlift

Reference:

1. Meigh, N. J., Keogh, J. W. L., Schram, B., & Hing, W. A. (2019). Kettlebell training in clinical practice: A scoping review. BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation, 11(1), 19.

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