Latest news with #kettlebell
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Forget burpees – this no-jump cardio workout boosts your metabolism in 15 minutes
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. If you Google 'best bodyweight cardio exercises' burpees are bound to appear. Understandably, they work your entire body, which gets your heart rate soaring. However, they're not easy to master, as you're basically combining a plank, push-up and squat jump into one swift movement. Luckily, there are plenty of other ways you can get your cardio-fix that require no jumping or throwing yourself around on the floor – like this 15-minute workout from Sweat Trainer Britany Williams. It features dynamic, multi-joint movements that engage multiple muscle groups at once. As these exercises require more energy to perform, they elevate your heart rate and help you burn more calories. To take it up a notch – and give your metabolism an extra boost – Britany also incorporates two light dumbbells, challenging your body to work even harder. You've got three supersets that you'll work through for this workout, each of which contains two exercises. Start with superset 1 and perform each exercise for 30 seconds, with a 15-second rest between them. After completing both exercises, rest for 60 seconds. Repeat the superset two more times before moving on to the next one. If you don't have dumbbells, or a kettlebell, you can always use two heavy water bottle instead. Here's the workout: Superset 1 Knee to elbow march Weighted squat punches Superset 2 Skull crusher scissor switch Lateral lunge pick-ups Superset 3 Squat press knee drive Kettlebell swing (or dumbbell) As always, if you're not sure about any of the exercises, make sure you take a quick watch of the video above. Now complete some dynamic stretches to reduce having super stiff and sore muscles tomorrow.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Ditch crunches — try these 5 kettlebell exercises instead to sculpt your abs, strengthen your core and improve balance
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. I wish I loved crunches, but I don't, and I know I'm not alone. Whether you avoid them because they hurt your back, you find them boring, or you just can't get into a good flow, I'm here to tell you they're not the only exercise you need to build a strong core. There is a whole line-up of alternative moves out there, and I've found a five-move routine that proves it. This workout comes from one of my favorite online trainers, Britany Williams. It uses one of the best kettlebells, which really helped me focus on engaging my core to stabilize during the exercises and gave an extra burn. I'm a big fan of Williams because her workouts are designed for people who don't have a lot of time, equipment, or space. For example, I was able to do this in twenty minutes from my apartment with just my adjustable kettlebell. It is undeniably a ripper of a core session (the burn was real), but it's also great for tuning into the hips. With plenty of hinging exercises, it helps increase lower-body mobility, improve posture and prevent injury. I use the Bowflex SelectTech 840 Kettlebell at home and rate it. Its adjustable design goes from 8 to 40 pounds, without taking up the kind of space a full rack of kettlebells would. Right now, it's on sale for $149 and comes with a two-month JRNY app trial, which gives you kettlebell workouts matched to your ability, so you're never stuck for Deal Watch Britany Williams' Kettlebell Core Workout What are the benefits Williams' five-move kettlebell workout is a great way to work your abs and core without feeling like you're stuck doing the same old crunches on repeat. The mix of lifts, twists and hinges keeps things interesting and makes your core muscles switch on from every angle. It also helps with balance and mobility because you're not just lying on the floor — you're standing, twisting and hinging in ways that wake up your whole core. The kettlebell adds just enough weight to make you slow down and focus on each rep, so you really feel your abs working to keep you steady instead of rushing through the moves. Plus, all the lunging and hinging movements in this routine are great for loosening up tight hips. You're training your core and hips to work together, which can help improve how you move day to day, keep your lower back happy, and even make exercises like squats and deadlifts feel more comfortable. Quick note: if you're new to kettlebells, start light. For most beginners, a kettlebell around 3kg to 6kg is plenty to get used to the moves while staying in control. You can always move up once you feel stronger and more confident. To turn this into something that pays off long term, consistency is key, but variety helps too. Doing this workout a couple of times a week will build core strength and control, but mixing in other exercises keeps things fresh and works different muscles. Focus on good form, add a bit more weight when it starts to feel easy, and combine your kettlebell sessions with other movements like walking, mobility work, or bodyweight strength training. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button. More from Tom's Guide Forget your age — new study reveals it's never too late to add more healthy years to your life Over 60? Add these 5 anti-aging exercises to your routine to build muscle mass and increase bone density Forget running and swimming — this chair workout boosts your metabolism and builds cardiovascular fitness
The Independent
08-07-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Oleksandr Usyk swears by this training method – this is why more boxers should be following his lead
Despite being a cruiserweight by nature, Oleksandr Usyk has come to dominate the heavyweight division, repeatedly felling fighters many expected him to come unstuck against. So what is he doing differently? There is a lot to unpack, from genetics to precise footwork – the latter may, or may not, owe something to his penchant for dancing. But from a strength training standpoint, there is one tool he appears to use more than his competitors: the kettlebell. Despite being commonplace in modern gyms, the kettlebell was only popularised in the US and UK in 1998 by leading strength coach Pavel Tsatsouline. Its origins lie in 18th century Russian markets where similar cast iron weights called girya were used to measure grains and other goods. However, when people discovered their strength-building potential, they were soon repurposed. View this post on Instagram A post shared by CHYCKI (@chycki_the_brains_behind) In a training video from December 2024, shared by Usyk's strength and conditioning coach, the boxer uses several kettlebell exercises including the bottoms up kettlebell press, American kettlebell swing, staggered stance kettlebell snatch and a variation of the half Turkish get-up. Prior training footage has also shown him use this training tool on a regular basis. The kettlebell is not responsible for Usyk's success, but it can develop many physical attributes that are beneficial to boxers, as well as other athletes and even recreational lifters. Developing full-body tension How often do you hear personal trainers and coaches tell people to 'brace your core'? The problem is, to the untrained ear, this instruction means very little. If you train with a kettlebell, you will soon learn the meaning of the phrase alongside several other foundational strength training principles, expert Tsatsouline argues. 'It's very easy to teach the body language of strength with a kettlebell, especially contracting your abs properly,' he told the Huberman Lab podcast. 'With a kettlebell, if you start doing double front squats with a pair of kettlebells, your abdominal wall is going to light up and you suddenly learn, 'Oh, this is what it means to get tight'.' He went on: 'Or you stick your elbows inside your knees and do a goblet squat then go, 'Oh, this is what the proper squat feels like'.' A strong core and total-body tension are vital in boxing. The mid-body muscles not only need to be able to withstand significant impacts, but they also need to be able to transfer power between the lower and upper body as a punch is thrown from the ground up. Kettlebell training lays strong foundations in this area. Coordination The most easily identifiable movement within a punch is elbow extension. The primary muscles responsible for this are the triceps. By recreational bodybuilding logic, this could be seen as a triceps exercise. But that is not how sport works. The punch is a full-body movement. It involves the entire kinetic chain to generate force through the floor, transfer it through the legs to the core, then unleash it via the upper body extremities – the shoulder, arm, wrist and hand. Coincidentally, this is also the case with many total-body kettlebell exercises like the snatch and clean and jerk. While not teaching you the exact movement pattern of the punch, they develop the general ability to coordinate muscular contractions and achieve a desired outcome. Ballistic exercises With a dumbbell and a barbell, the centre of mass lies in the middle of the handle. This is not the case with kettlebells, making them a good fit for ballistic exercises – dynamic movements which demand speed and power rather than just straight-up strength. As an example, compare the kettlebell swing to a standard barbell deadlift. Both exercises require you to hinge at the hip, but while the latter simply involves moving the weight from the floor to your waist at any speed (a display of strength), the former requires rapid muscular contraction of the glutes to propel the kettlebell forward explosively (a display of power). Given power equals work divided by time, and a punch that lacks power is a poor tool for finishing a fight, this is another attribute worth developing. Stability The shoulder joint is complex and subjected to myriad stimuli over the course of a boxing match. It has to generate force, absorb impacts and articulate through a wide range of motion at speed, so it pays to strengthen it. The body adheres to the SAID principle, which stands for specific adaptations to imposed demands. So, if you want to strengthen your joints in certain positions, you need to expose them to these positions consistently, gradually adding load over time. Machine exercises, as well as many dumbbell and barbell moves, tend to develop strength through a set movement pattern – usually pressing overhead. Kettlebells allow for more freedom of movement, allowing you to access a wider range of positions around the shoulder with exercises like the kettlebell halo and snatch. This helps to develop a more robust joint. Using exercises like the bottoms up kettlebell press which is demonstrated by Usyk in the video above – hold the kettlebell in one hand with the bell above the handle then press it overhead – you can also introduce an element of instability into your training. This can develop stability in and around the shoulder joint, reducing injury risk. Watch the very best boxing with a DAZN subscription DAZN is the home of combat sports, broadcasting over 185 fights a year from the world's best promoters, including Matchroom, Queensberry, Golden Boy, Misfits, PFL, BKFC, GLORY and more. An Annual Saver subscription is a one-off cost of £119.99 / $224.99 (for 12 months access), that's just 64p / $1.21 per fight. There is also a Monthly Flex Pass option (cancel any time) at £24.99 / $29.99 per month. A subscription includes weekly magazine shows, comprehensive fight library, exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes documentaries, and podcasts and vodcasts.
The Independent
02-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
An expert trainer recommends these three ‘essential' exercises for health and longevity
'If you were to stick me in a prison where all I had was a 16kg or 20kg kettlebell, and you told me I would only be let out when I was in the best shape of my life, I could pull it off,' legendary strength coach Dan John confidently tells me. I have every reason to believe him. 'I've been lifting weights since 1965, coaching since 1979, I just broke the national record for the clean and jerk in my age group, I'm stronger than anybody you know, and I'm 67,' he adds, by way of a CV. John also invented the goblet squat, which is now a staple move in a host of strength training routines. But why the kettlebell? This free weight often sits overlooked while gym-goers make a beeline for shiny new machines. 'Because you can stick a kettlebell in the corner of any room in your house and you have a whole gym,' John says. 'You can get your cardio work done, your mobility work done, your flexibility work done and increase your strength. It is a one-stop shop for training.' Once you've been won over by the kettlebell's many benefits, the only thing standing between you and 'the best shape of your life' is knowing how to use it effectively. Luckily, John is here to help with that too. Below, he shares his three founding principles for successful kettlebell training, and a three-move workout which applies each of them to impressive effect. Rule one: the body is one piece You might be familiar with body part splits or bro splits – a training method which involves choosing a muscle group or two to target on different days of the week. But to John, this way of working out has another name: 'Frankenstein's monster training'. 'This is a horrible way for 99.99 per cent of your readers to train,' he says. 'The body is one piece. Walking does wonders for the spinal column, and the eyes and the vestibular system; it's not just for your feet, ankles, legs or butt, it's a whole-body movement. Getting away from that way of thinking is so much healthier for most people.' Putting this into practice could look like two or three full-body workouts (like the one below) per week. 'As you learn more moves, you can also figure out that one day a week is a mobility day, one or two days a week are 'get sweaty' days, one or two days a week are 'get strong' days, and the piece of equipment remains the same,' says John. Rule two: don't neglect your mobility Mobility is often conflated with stretching and other flexibility practices nowadays. But, by definition, it simply means the ability to move freely. For a successful strength training session, you need to access certain positions while supporting extra weight, with the bottom of a squat and a strong overhead position (where your arms are extended above you) paramount among them. To help with this, John recommends a straightforward daily practice: spend 30 seconds hanging from a pull-up bar, then 30 seconds sitting in the bottom of a goblet squat. This will improve your mobility and prepare your body for the exercises ahead. Rule three: foundational exercises for beginners You can build a comprehensive kettlebell training programme on just three foundational exercises; the kettlebell swing, the goblet squat and the press-up (John usually lists the Turkish get-up in place of the press-up, but omits it from this beginners' guide due to its complexity). 'We call those the hardstyle three,' he says. 'With these, we can challenge most people in a training programme.' But how many should you do? While some factions of social media push a 'more is better' message for exercise, John uses the concept of the minimum effective dose, or MED for short. For these three exercises, those doses are 75-125 kettlebell swings, 15-25 goblet squats and 15-25 press-ups per workout. This should provide 'a routine that will provide fitness, longevity, health and performance,' he says. As for the weight you should be lifting, John reckons a 20kg kettlebell will adequately challenge most men, while 10kg is a good choice for most women. However, this can vary on a case-by-case basis. 'Many people will need to go heavier or lighter depending on age, experience, health and goals,' John adds. How to do Dan John's three-move kettlebell workout Now you've learned the fundamentals of successful kettlebell training, it's time to put your newfound knowledge into action. To do that, John prescribes 'the humane burpee' – a full-body workout which uses all three of the essential kettlebell exercises. Here's how to do it. Kettlebell swing x15 Goblet squat x5 Press-up x5 Kettlebell swing x15 Goblet squat x4 Press-up x4 Kettlebell swing x15 Goblet squat x3 Press-up x3 Kettlebell swing x15 Goblet squat x2 Press-up x2 Kettlebell swing x15 Goblet squat x1 Press-up x1 John recommends focussing on using good form for each exercise – achieving full squat depth, maintaining whole-body tension during the press-ups, drawing power from the hips for the kettlebell swings, and so on. But that doesn't mean you should slow your pace drastically and sacrifice all intensity. This workout is designed to get you sweaty and strong, so you should try to flow smoothly through the moves. 'If you have to stop, you stop, but your goal is to do it with minimal breaks,' he says. 'The only time we would [want to] rest is iduring the transition from the press-up back up to the swing.' So there you have it, a full body session using a single piece of affordable equipment and three rules for great form and development. If time or your bank balance prevent you from heading to the gym or attending fitness classes, you can flex just as hard with the help of a humble kettlebell from the comfort of your living room.
South China Morning Post
01-07-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
How a breast cancer and PTSD survivor reinvented herself as a strength and mobility coach
For Han-mi Walsh-Riddle, a victory in a Hong Kong kettlebell competition in November 2024 was the culmination of her blood, sweat and tears. Walsh-Riddle had entered the competition after having only taken up the sport six months prior. The challenge was a gruelling 10-minute snatch test – swinging a 12kg (26.5lb) kettlebell from under her body up into an overhead position with one arm, repeatedly, in the allotted time. After completing 115 reps, she won. 'Tears were streaming down my face. My hand was bleeding. But everybody else's hands were bleeding too, right? What is the difference between me and you?' she says. Walsh-Riddle competes in the the 2024 IKO Hong Kong Kettlebell Championship in November 2024. Photo: courtesy of Han-mi Walsh-Riddle The Korean-American's hard-earned physical and mental fortitude comes from having to push through many challenges in her life: breast cancer , PTSD ( post-traumatic stress disorder ), divorce and rebuilding herself in a foreign country. Now a strength and mobility coach, as well as a mental health awareness advocate for cancer patients and survivors, Walsh-Riddle is dedicated to helping others facing similar challenges.
