Prepare Yourself for the Rigors of Kettlebell Training with the

Dynamic Kettlebell Warm up

Michael Stehle ATC, CSCS, RKC

Before partaking in any type of physical training, you must first prepare your body for the
rigors of the training. It is important to warm up the body and mobilize the joints
dynamically. A dynamic warm up consists of movements that will both raise to body’s
core temperature, stretch muscles, and loosen the joints while going through certain
ranges of motion related to the activity in question. In this case the activity is kettlebell
training.

I will take you through several drills that will act as a warm up and focus on the essentials
of kettlebell training. These important factors include: keeping the shoulders back,
keeping the abs, glutes, and quads tight, snapping the hips and proper breathing
techniques.

The first drill in this series will be the Halo Drill. This drill can be executed by first
grabbing the kb by the horns with the bottom facing up, then lifting it behind the head
while turning the bottom down. With minimal head movement, circle the kb around your
head keeping the bottom of the kb down and the body tight. Repeat this for 10-15
revolutions, and then change directions. This drill was designed to warm up and stretch
the shoulder complex. You will be amazed by the way this drill can really loosen up the

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shoulder complex. I first saw this drill done by Senior RKC and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Champion, Steve Maxwell.

Keep the bell close to your head, doing tight circles.

Figure 1

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 Figure 2
Working your way down the body, the next drill is the Hot Potato. This drill was
designed to help focus on total body tension and shoulder stabilization. The key this drill
is to keep the abs, glutes, and quads tight while passing the kb from hand to hand. As
most of us seasoned kettlebell veterans know, total body tension is crucial while training.
This tension makes us more efficient and protects us from injury. I first saw this drill
executed by Jeff Martone during his hand to hand training session at the RKC Instructors
course. He had used the term “no leakage” during this drill referring to the fact that the
entire body, head to toe should remain tight during these drills.

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 Figure 1

Keep elbows in tight to the body, knees locked, glutes and abs tight. “No leakage”.

Figure 2

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Keeping the kettlebell moving further down the body, the next drill is the hand to hand
pass. The main focus of this drill is tension in the abs, glutes, and quads as well as
shoulder mobility and grip strength. Instead of using the muscles of the upper body to
move the kb around the hips, the entire body as a whole is used. Somewhat of a hula
hoop rocking action is used to transfer the motion of the kb around the body. A good
analogy would be to picture a ball tied to a string attached to a stick. You need to move
the stick in a circular motion to get the ball to travel around it. The glutes and abdominals
are doing most of the work in this drill. This is another hand to hand drill developed by
Jeff Martone RKC and author of Hand to Hand Kettlebells, and of TacticalAthlete.com.

Hand to hand start position

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 Pass around the back

To the other hand

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After completing 10-15 revolutions in each direction of hand to hand passes, make a
smooth transition right in the low hand to hand pass. While executing this drill, you must
keep your legs together, shoulders back, back and abs tight while maintaining lumbar
lordosis (natural curve in the lower back). This drill is done to practice proper body
alignment for kettlebell training. You should not feel any low back pain during this drill.
If you are experiencing any back pain, you are probably rounding your back and not
maintaining lumbar lordosis. If this is the case, you may have to have someone watch
your form in order to correct it.

Pass the kb around the legs from hand to hand while maintaining proper posture. To get
the momentum needed in order for the kb to circle around the legs smoothly, you must
move your body from side to side. Notice in the picture below that I am leaning to one
side. This is necessary for a smooth hand to hand pass and to prevent getting whacked in
the knees or shins with the kb. This is also an incredible low back and abdominal
exercise. All the muscles of the low back and abdominals must stay contracted in order
to maintain the proper position during this drill. Do 10-15 revolutions in each direction.

Low hand to hand pass

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With out stopping, make a smooth transition right into the Figure 8 Pass. Maintain the
same body position as the low hand to hand pass, but now bring you legs apart to
shoulder width or wider. Pass the kb through the legs in an 8 pattern while maintaining
the tension and posture of the abdominals and back. Do 10-15 reps in each direction.
Figure 8 pass

Figure 1

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 Figure 2

To top off the Dynamic Warm Up, finish with single handed or alternate hand swings.
Do a total of 20 swings focusing on snapping the hips, tightening the glutes, locking the
knees out, and keeping your abs tight while maintaining low back lordosis. Since the
swing is king, make sure to focus hard on execution. Load the hips and explode out hard
like your life depends on it. Keep the heels down at all times. Work on pressurizing the
abdomen using proper breathing techniques. When the hips snap, breathe out forcefully
like you are throwing a punch. It’s good practice to start your workouts and end your
workouts with swings. Try to complete this warm up circuit three times through with out
putting down the kb.

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 One handed swings

These drills should flow smoothly from one to the other and should be done two to three
times around without putting down the bell. Be sure to choose a bell that can be used in
this manner. This is also an excellent active recovery workout that can be done on off
days of heavy training. Now that you’re warmed up, and have practiced all the critical

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techniques involved with Kettlebell training, it’s time to start your workout. Happy
training!

Michael Stehle ATC, CSCS, RKC

www.trainingroomfit.com

Michael is Co-owner of The Training Room in Avon, NJ. He is a Head Athletic

Trainer, and Strength Coach at Freehold High School since 1990 and a Certified
Russian Kettlebell Instructor since 2003. He can be contacted at
thetrainingroom@optonline.net , or www.trainingroomfit.com.

For more articles that kick butt and deliver the goods in strength, power and speed,
go to www.UndergroundStrengthCoach.com

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