Kettlebell workouts are a great way to lose fat, improve conditioning and build muscle, but believe it or not, all kettlebell drills do not have to involve swinging and pressing movements. Carrying your kettlebells in a variety of ways is a great way to shock your body and take your training to the next level. I learned just however effective kettlebell carries are first hand recently.
The other day I wanted to do kettlebell clean and presses at the bottom of a hill . It was about a 1/4 mile from the parking lot to the hill so I figured I would just carry the two 53 lbs kettlebells to the hill. Was I ever surprised at how hard this was! I am a pretty strong and quite fit guy, but carrying kettlebells for a long distance was brutally hard! I carried them in the farmers walk way, hands down by my side, one kettlebell in each hand. The same way you would carry grocery bags. It was really hard. My grip failed twice on the way there, and my heart and lungs got a workout too!
You can carry your kettlebells in a variety of ways to have a fun workout. Dan John describes weighted carries and other training ideas in a great article of his on http://www.t-nation.com/ called The Gable Method . Basically, take one or two kettlebells and carry them any way you can think of. One or two handed farmers walk, waiters walk (kettlebell overhead, arm(s) bent), overhead walk (arm(s) straight up above head, elbows locked), or even one arm up and one arm down. The key is to just grab your kettlebells, take them outside and carry them for distances. Carry them up or down a hill, speed walk with them, do walking lunges with them! Again, above the head, down by your sides, or alternating. Whatever, just carry them!
Farmers walks will burn fat, increase ankle, core, grip and upper back strength. The overhead carries will also burn fat, and increase ankle strength but will really work the core, shoulders and triceps. Be more careful with the overhead presses as if your abs are weak you can get hurt. When first doing kettlebell carries I would recommend focusing on distance instead of weight/intensity. If you lift weights or do a lot of kettlebell lifting, the longer kettlebell carries will really improve your stamina.
Give kettlebell carries a try and curse me the next day when your entire body is sore!
Kettlebell workouts are a great way to lose fat, improve conditioning and build muscle, but believe it or not, all kettlebell drills do not have to involve swinging and pressing movements. Carrying your kettlebells in a variety of ways is a great way to shock your body and take your training to the next level. I learned just however effective kettlebell carries are first hand recently.
The other day I wanted to do kettlebell clean and presses at the bottom of a hill . It was about a 1/4 mile from the parking lot to the hill so I figured I would just carry the two 53 lbs kettlebells to the hill. Was I ever surprised at how hard this was! I am a pretty strong and quite fit guy, but carrying kettlebells for a long distance was brutally hard! I carried them in the farmers walk way, hands down by my side, one kettlebell in each hand. The same way you would carry grocery bags. It was really hard. My grip failed twice on the way there, and my heart and lungs got a workout too!
You can carry your kettlebells in a variety of ways to have a fun workout. Dan John describes weighted carries and other training ideas in a great article of his on http://www.t-nation.com/ called The Gable Method . Basically, take one or two kettlebells and carry them any way you can think of. One or two handed farmers walk, waiters walk (kettlebell overhead, arm(s) bent), overhead walk (arm(s) straight up above head, elbows locked), or even one arm up and one arm down. The key is to just grab your kettlebells, take them outside and carry them for distances. Carry them up or down a hill, speed walk with them, do walking lunges with them! Again, above the head, down by your sides, or alternating. Whatever, just carry them!
Farmers walks will burn fat, increase ankle, core, grip and upper back strength. The overhead carries will also burn fat, and increase ankle strength but will really work the core, shoulders and triceps. Be more careful with the overhead presses as if your abs are weak you can get hurt. When first doing kettlebell carries I would recommend focusing on distance instead of weight/intensity. If you lift weights or do a lot of kettlebell lifting, the longer kettlebell carries will really improve your stamina.
Give kettlebell carries a try and curse me the next day when your entire body is sore!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=W4FkFNkNkU8