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When it comes to kettlebell training, it is one of the best for conditioning because all the movements are concentrated on transference. You don’t have to know the whole kettlebell foundation of exercises to use kettlebell’s. The two hand swing is one of the best and basic exercises you can use for conditioning.

This movement is highly transferable. That means every muscle is working to perform and acting as catalyst to move strength and power through and around the body.

It trains hamstring flexibility for hip mobility, core and spine stability, strengthens the gluts, quads, shoulders, lats the core and develops tension and pressure from breath.

The best thing about the kettlebell swing is that it trains the hamstrings flexibility through dynamic mobility to lengthen on the down phase and pull the gluts into neutral position for alignment in the standing phase of the swing.

So the kettlebell swing is a powerful strength and conditioning movement as well as corrective one.

To run or to walk the hamstring needs to lengthen and pull power to the hip, the glut. If it does not you end up with compensation and a leakage of strength and power. I have improved many athletes and clients running and conditioning just by one simple exercise. I am inviting you to try it. This is highly technical and must be performed exactly.

To perform kettlebell swings first get use to the motion of dead lifting and hip hinging. The swing is a dynamic Dead Lift but you have to have stability in the core, spine and flexibility of the hamstrings to produce the mobility before the technique.

So know lets prep before the swing, looking at you Dead Lift and hip hinge. Please see the video before you attempt any movements so you can see what to do.

In VTM philosophy, you have to breath, to stabilize, to move and produce rhythm. If your breathing in performance is erratic you will fatigue. If your breath learns rhythm it becomes more efficient for your performance and your conditioning will jump just by getting it in synch.

There are many different styles of Dead Lift, but I like to practice the Dead Lift focused on hamstring flexibility. I like this Dead Lift because there is more emphasis in eccentric lengthening of the hamstrings and posterior chain for strength and power and it best mimics the swing as well as pulling power through the hamstring to run. The hamstring works best when trained through lengthening because range is power. If you have range you have power which means you can train speed and power, more dynamic.

So in the Dead Lift keep the knees slightly bent, that slight bend in the knee allows hip mobility. If you lock the knees you lose that hip mobility.

As you lower the weight, breath in to your abdominals, don’t suck in, tense them as if someone was punching you in the stomach. If you suck in, the fulcrum point will be small , you will lose pressure and stability and lose the effectiveness of you back extensors by rounding the spine. Think about your spine being a pry bar, prying through your core to stand.

(VTM Article © Copyright 2012, Photos owned by VTM)

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