Kettlebell Windmills For a Strong Core and nice Abs!
Posted Aug 24 2008 3:49pm
Most kettlebell lifting material focuses on the fat burning effect of kettlebell training (such as my blog) because that is what people want to learn about. That being said, kettlebell lifting is a great way to develop the abdominal and back muscles, the "core" as some people call it. Strong abs are essential if you want a nice stomach. They will tighten and pull the belly in as well as show through the fat easier than weak abs. If your muscles are strong, they look better, and the abs are not different than any other muscle. So, we need to make them strong!
The key strengthening the core with kettlebells is to load the abdominals unevenly. You can achieve this by using one kettlebell or using two kettlebells of different weight at the same time. So you may do one handed kettlebell swings, cleans or snatches for a workout or two handed but a 16 kg kettlebell in one hand and a 24 kg kettlebell in the other! Whenever you load body unevenly, the abs will work hard to stabilize the body. This will force the abs to flex really hard so you don't fall over!
Other than uneven loading, there are some specific kettlebell exercises to really force the core to work hard and adapt to stress.The Turkish Get-Up, Renegade Rows and the kettlebell windmill are all great. The windmill is probably the most intense abdominal movement you can choose to strengthen the core. It involves uneven loading, bending and twisting all together but is still safe for the back! Check out the video below to see how to do a proper kettlebell windmill before attempting it. Start off using a light weight so you can learn how to do the motion properly before challenging yourself with heavy weights. Once you are proficient with the kettlebell windmill, always keep the reps low as the idea is to make the abs flex hard, it is a strength training movement not an endurance movement. If you can do 10 reps or more in one set, the weight is too light.
Strength training with kettlebells, especially for the abs and back should always be done after a warm-up but before a really tough conditioning sessions. You want to be warm and ready but not tired. If the abs are really tired and you ask them to flex hard for an extended period of time you can put the lower back at risk. Also, when you are tired your form will suffer, and the kettlebell windmill is not an exercise to be done with poor form!
Most kettlebell lifting material focuses on the fat burning effect of kettlebell training (such as my blog) because that is what people want to learn about. That being said, kettlebell lifting is a great way to develop the abdominal and back muscles, the "core" as some people call it. Strong abs are essential if you want a nice stomach. They will tighten and pull the belly in as well as show through the fat easier than weak abs. If your muscles are strong, they look better, and the abs are not different than any other muscle. So, we need to make them strong!
The key strengthening the core with kettlebells is to load the abdominals unevenly. You can achieve this by using one kettlebell or using two kettlebells of different weight at the same time. So you may do one handed kettlebell swings, cleans or snatches for a workout or two handed but a 16 kg kettlebell in one hand and a 24 kg kettlebell in the other! Whenever you load body unevenly, the abs will work hard to stabilize the body. This will force the abs to flex really hard so you don't fall over!
Other than uneven loading, there are some specific kettlebell exercises to really force the core to work hard and adapt to stress.The Turkish Get-Up, Renegade Rows and the kettlebell windmill are all great. The windmill is probably the most intense abdominal movement you can choose to strengthen the core. It involves uneven loading, bending and twisting all together but is still safe for the back! Check out the video below to see how to do a proper kettlebell windmill before attempting it. Start off using a light weight so you can learn how to do the motion properly before challenging yourself with heavy weights. Once you are proficient with the kettlebell windmill, always keep the reps low as the idea is to make the abs flex hard, it is a strength training movement not an endurance movement. If you can do 10 reps or more in one set, the weight is too light.
Strength training with kettlebells, especially for the abs and back should always be done after a warm-up but before a really tough conditioning sessions. You want to be warm and ready but not tired. If the abs are really tired and you ask them to flex hard for an extended period of time you can put the lower back at risk. Also, when you are tired your form will suffer, and the kettlebell windmill is not an exercise to be done with poor form!
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZMCRBKnQR4
Here is another great kettlebell video to show you the basics:
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=Lwme8rkzetg