Turkish Get Up

The Turkish Get Up is a very tough exercise. This is how you do it.

1. Lie on the floor, in a supine position (i.e. face up), next to an appropriate size kettlebell.

2. Use both hands to press the kettlebell vertical – directly above your shoulder. Once in position, keep your elbow locked, wrist straight, and your eyes on the kettlebell.

3. Post your foot close to your buttocks (same side as your working arm.)

4. Allow the weight to drift slightly forward, then push off your posted foot and sit up. It is acceptable to allow your free arm to assist slightly in sitting up.

5. From sitting, slowly move to the kneeling position. This can be done a number of ways. The main thing is to move slowly, keeping your working arm perpendicular to the ground and to finish in well supported, 3-point kneeling position.


6. Slowly straighten your torso, then stand straight up.

7. Now that the fist half of the TGU is over, simply reverse the steps until you have reached your starting point.

If you can do this exercise then you have the ability to do many more exercises with the kettlebell.

Kettlebell Cleans

The Kettelbell Clean is one of the most explosive exercises you can do with a kettlebell. You can do the Kettlebell Clean with either one arm or two. Beginners should start with one.

1. Keep torso straight but bent forward at the hips slightly.

2. Explosively raise the kettleballs by extending the hips, knee and ankle in a “jumping action”.

3. Keep your elbows out and shoulders directly above the kettleballs as long as possible. Keep the kettleballs close to the body.

4. Once you have extended the lower leg shrug your shoulders and at maximum elevation of the shoulders start pulling with the arms. Keep the elbows high during the pull until the highest point.

5. Rotate elbows around and underneath the kettleballs. Rack your hands across the front of the shoulders. Slightly flex the hips and knees to absorb the weight.

6. This should be a fluid motion where all the steps flow together

If you do this exercise you will be tired quickly, so make sure to get enough rest in between reps.

Kettlebell Windmill

This exercise mainly works the obliques. Clean and press a kettlebell overhead with one arm. Keeping the kettlebell locked out at all times, push your hip out in the direction of the locked out kettlebell.

Turn your feet out at a forty-five degree angle from the arm with the kettlebell. Lower yourself until you can touch the floor in the opposite direction. Pause for a second and then reverse the motion back to the starting position.

The most important thing to remember when you doing this exercise is to always keep your eyes on the kettlebell because if you don't you could easily lose control of the bell and could cause injury.

Why Do Athletes Use It?

They say in 5 years the National Football League (NFL) will look at how many Kettle Bell swings the player can do instead of how many Bench presses he can do.

This is because the Kettle Bell Swing is one of the most efficient workouts an athlete can do, because of the fact that it is not working just one muscle group, it is working basically your whole body.

On TV's 60Min's, they highlighted LT Tomlinson, of the San Diego Chargers, the best running back in the NFL . If he stays healthy, he will surpass Walter Patton's records. The Program showed part on one of his training sessions with his trainer(pushing the hell out of him). What we saw as mostly everything functional training, including swings using Kettlebells! Now I not that naive to think that just because LT uses kettlebells in his training, that every football team or player will start using kettlebells, but you never know.

The one thing that I can tell you is that if LT uses them to get in shape, then they can not be a bad thing.

The One-Arm Swing

This lift is defiantly one that you need some experience before trying.

Performing the kettlebell swing with one arm at a time makes it a more demanding exercise, even though the technique is the same as for the two-arm swing. You will quickly notice increased demands on your grip strength and stamina as well as increased core activation. In addition, any previously undetected technical deficiencies will soon become obvious. For these reasons, I highly recommend that you practice one-arm swings with a lighter kettlebell. If one is not available, then it is better to practice more sets with fewer repetitions in each. Strive to work as hard as possible, while staying as fresh as possible. Fatigue is counter-productive when learning new skills.

I believe that the one arm swing can be very demanding when you are a beginner. You need to make sure that your technique is close to perfect, otherwise this lift could cause injury.

The Kettlebell Swing

The kettlebell two arm swing is the foundation of kettlebell training.

Benefits of the swing

• Develops explosive power and strength in the legs

• Improves lower back endurance and strength

• Improves core endurance and strength

• High reps improve cardio fitness and lactate tolerance

• High rep swings are an effective fat burning exercise.

The kettlebell swing works almost every part of you body as the lift is in progress. To begen, set the kettlebell in front of you and move your hips back just as you would sit in a chair. Swing the kettlebell in between your legs the swing up to eye level. The most important aspect of the lift is the hip thrust. As you bring the kettlebell up to your eyes, you are not using your back or your arms to help the kettlebell up, all you should be using is your hips.

Think of you arms as ropes and all they are doing is hanging on to the kettle bell as your hips thrust the bell up to the eyes.

When you hip thrust your whole core of your body needs to be flexed and tight. This will give you more explosion in the lift and in the sport or activity that you doing.

When the bell comes down from the eyes, you want to be in the exact same position as when you started the lift. Then do the exercise until tired.

What is a Kettlebell?

The kettelbell itself is hard to explain, so I have provided you guys with a picture. The most important thing you have to remember when you are working out with kettlebells are deceiving. It dose'nt matter if you can bench press 300 pounds, kettlebell tranning is a totally different type of exercise.

The kettlebell has a handle that you hold on too, which in this case is different from the bar bell on the bench press. When you bench, the weight is evenly distributed on both sides of the bar. This puts tons of stress on your wrists.

In kettlebell tranning you are taught to keep you wrists locked as you lift the bell. This give more opportunity to get stronger due to the fact that you are using your whole body instead of just your arms.