Looking Good (for a mom)

Today’s post is from a personal friend and fellow fitness blogger, Anna Dornier of Path to Fat Loss. Anna and I first met on the Turbulence Training forums, and she was the one who first got me interested in kettlebells.  Now, Anna is a Certified Russian Kettlebell Instructor (RKC) and Certified Personal Trainer with the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM). She teaches bootcamps and kettlebell class in Northern California under her company ATD Fitness.

If you were to ask me what my favorite kettlebell (KB) exercise is, it would be the swing. It is a great kettlebell exercise and one that everyone should learn first when they get into kettlebell training for many reasons which I will outline for you in a little bit.

But first, let me give you a little background about my experience with swings. When I first did them, I knew that there was something special about them. I just couldn’t figure out what it was. And then, the more I did them, I noticed that I was developing some nice, rounded glutes (or butt, whatever you want to call it). This was a big deal to me because I thought that I would never have the butt to fill up my jeans – ever. I thought it was one of those things that I just have to live with for the rest of my life. But then, when I was getting ready for my kettlebell certification, I found out that I was doing a lot of things incorrectly.

This made me wonder: if got the results that I got from performing swings the wrong way, how much more benefit I can get from doing them correctly?

The rest was just history because I now truly believe in kettlebells and how they can help me and my clients in terms of gaining strength, increasing endurance, and losing fat at the same time. And this is all because I started with swings.

Ok, so now that we got that out of the way, I can now tell you why I love kettlebell swings.

1.  Swings are the foundation for most KB exercises

If you were to see a RKC or learn any KB exercise at all, your first stop would be the swing. You need to learn the swing to be able to do cleans, presses, high pulls, and snatches well. If your swing is not near perfect, forget about ever learning these more advanced exercises.

2.  Swings are accessible

By accessible, I really mean that they are the simplest exercise to learn when compared to other kettlebell exercises. But, don’t mistake simple for easy. Many people have a difficult time learning swings because they are not used to moving this way. In addition, if you are used to sitting all day, your muscle patterns/tightness may affect the quality of your swing. However, with enough practice and technique feedback from a RKC, you will be able to master the swing pretty quickly. What’s even better is once you learn it and feel the burn after a workout, you will be so hooked that you’re going to want to do it all the time. This means that you will get a lot of perfect practice which makes for perfect swings.

3.  Swings are easier on your knees and other joints

Compared to running, the swing is a non-impact exercise. This means that you’re not pounding the pavement (or the treadmill) which will make your knees and other joints very happy from not taking a beating. This also means that they’re a great alternative to high intensity interval training (HIIT) or any cardiovascular activity with the added benefit of strength training.

I used to not like that my calves were getting much bigger when I used to run for cardio. Now, I have the choice to either work on my glutes or calves depending on which exercise I perform. Don’t get me wrong, I still love to do my sprints every now and then, but when the treadmills are taken or the rain starts to pour, I’m glad that I have my kettlebell swings to turn to.

Have I turned you to a kettlebell believer yet? Here is a quick KB swing video tutorial if you want to get started:

So, there you go – 3 reasons why I love swings so much. While it is not the only KB exercise I use, it is definitely one of my favorites. Just try them one time and you’ll see what I mean. If you have any questions about them or other KB exercise, post a comment here and I’ll respond.

Thanks for reading my guest post and thanks to Liz for letting me share my love of swings with her readers!

Note from Liz: Like Anna, I also found my kettlebell swing form had room for improvement the first time I worked with a RKC. You’ll notice in Anna’s video demonstration that she does not squat down and bend her knees with the swing. That’s proper form. If someone is teaching you how to swing, and they do not swing like Anna, then go find someone else to train you! Make sure they are certified to train kettlebells and know what they are doing. (Don’t assume just because they are trained as a CPT that they know how to use a kettlebell.)

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