More flexibility for kettlebell sport

Continuing with the last article on flexibility for kettlebell sport in this article you will see what some of the best in the sport are doing for warm up as well as cool down. I want to thank both Oleh Ilika and Paul White for sharing online what they have done and/or currently do when preparing for their training sets.
Why is warming up so important to you? It prepares you both mentally and physically for the work that is about to come. In Kettlebell sport the mind is more powerful than the body and being both mentally and physically prepared is key and helpful to having a great training day/week/ month.
In the first video Oleh is preparing himself for training warming up all areas of his body focusing on mobility and flexibility. Similar to the last article flexibility is very helpful in the sport for both rack and lockout positions. If you try this routine work the progression and modifications. This is just an example of a routine similar to the stretches that were mentioned. Create your own and find you flow.

Next is Paul White showing some thoracic and spine mobility. If you haven't heard of Paul White please check out his youtube page Paul White Art of Physical Performance and his Facebook page Art of Physical Performance.




Warming up the Thoracic Spine (T-Spine) is critical for kettlebell sport. A flexible spine allows for better rack position as well as lockout in the overhead position.



In his Gross motor mobility video the movements are similar to Oleh's warm up video where the entire body is getting put through dynamic ranges of motion. This is key since kettlebell sport is a full body movement. Some great examples of warm ups and cool downs here to help you make your own.

Recent Workouts!! Got a New Tire for flipping and sledgehammer training!!

Hope everyone had a great Easter and didn't snack to much on the chocolate. If you did I hope it was Dark Chocolate bieng that it is better for you. Anyways I was able to get in a few good sessions of training before the weekend came. And I started right back up afterwards with a new toy. I got my first tractor tire!! It's not too big but good enough to get a good workout with. I am hoping to get a larger tire soon. This one weighs about 175 to 200lbs. Its fun either way and makes training a bit more interesting. Here are the workouts!!

4/7/09 -More of recovery workout

Jump Rope- 5 mins
Boxing (Heavy Bag)- 5 x 4 min rds/ 1 min rest
20lb Weight Vest box jump (24") x 15 reps + 30 sec Rope undulation- x 4

4/8/09

Warm-up: Joint mobility, Stretch band shoulder mobility

Workout:
Swing @ 16kg- 2 x 25/25
Front Squat @ 2 x 16kg- 3 x 10
@ 2 x 24kg- 2 x 5
Press @ 24kg- 3 x 8
Clean & Jerk @ 24kg- 3 x 8
Dragon Twist @ 16kg- 3 x 5/5
Snatch @ 16kg- 2 x 10/10 (working on OK grip with the bell)

4/9/09

Boxing (Heavy Bag) - 8 x 3 min rds/ 1 min rest

Circuit Training:
Bench press @ 135lbs- 10 reps
Ring Rows- 12 reps
Trap Bar Deadlift@ 135lbs
KB ThrusteR @ 24kg- 5/5
Rope Undulation - 30 secs
Burpees- 10 reps

3 times

4/13/09

Warm- up: Jump rope 3 mins

Workout:
Boxing( Heavy Bag) 5 x 3 mins/ 1 min rest

Circuit Training

Plyo Push-up- 10 reps
Snatch @ 16 kg- 10/10
Tire Flip + Jump Through- 10 Flips & 10 Jumps
Ab Rollout- 10 reps
Pull-ups- 5 reps

Towards the end of the workout I started to feel a lil pain in the right side. Don't really know what it's from but hopefully it will pass soon so I can start do a good amount of pull-ups again.
That's all for now I'm taking off today from working out..Be back asap!!!

August 1st Training

Can you believe that we are already in August. Time is flying by and it's taking the summer along with it!!! Soon there will be snow on the ground and who knows what will be going on. As for my training day today I figured that I would go for a new pr with the VO2 Max test and I did. Here it goes.

Warm up- Full Body Joint mobility

Workout-

KB Swing @ 24kg-
10 LH, 10 RH, 10 2H x 3
Clean and Press @ 24kg- 5 sets x 5 reps
Turkish Get up @ 24kg- 3L, 3R

VO2 Max- 60 sets @ 16kg, 15:15, 7 reps/set

The 60 actually felt alright. Shoulders and wrist are better still and lil tight but working well. Now it is time to move the weight up and start it up again. 20kg will be used next time. Also back to the GS short cycle jerk and work on improving my time there on each arm. Oh yeah I wore a heart rate monitor today during my workout and noted this down. Heart rate reached 127 bpm during the swings, 124 bpm during the C+P, and went from 67 bpm to 160 bpm during the VO2 max protocol. Very exciting can't wait to see the difference with the 20kg bell. Till next time!!!