2019-08-01_Men_s_Health_South_Africa

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Superhero

Strength In

One Move

WHAT YOU’LL GAIN:

PRIME YOURSELF FOR BATTLE WITH THE KB

KNEELING CLEAN TO WINDMILL – THE WARM-

UP RITUAL USED BY HOLLYWOOD’S ACTION-

STAR ELITE. TAKE A KNEE.

MOBILITY

MH.CO.ZA/ August 2019

THE BEST

EXERCISE

YOU’RE

NOT DOING

01

GREEN LIGHT

Use a light kettlebell –

movement, not brute

strength, is the focus

here. Kneel with an

upright posture and

neutral spine. Grab

the kettlebell with

the hand opposite to

your kneeling leg.

02

CLEAN UP

To clean into the rack

position, contract your

glutes and extend

your hips, rather than

just relying on your

arm. Keep your elbow

high to further engage

your shoulder.

Primed

Metabolism

Barbell

PBS

Superhuman

Abs

Youthful

Mobility

03

HINGE ON IT

Press the weight over

your head and pause.

Keep your spine

straight and arm ex-

tended, then hinge at

your hips to lean for-

ward. Push your glutes

back slightly.

04

REACH OUT

As you hinge, reach

your empty hand

between your knees

and look up. Raise

your torso and lower

the weight to the rack

position, then the

ground. Complete

your sets for heroic

results.

When trainer

Don Saladino is prepping actors

such as Deadpool’s Ryan Reynolds

for the rigours of superhero

duty, he crafts workouts that

emphasise mobility. But that

doesn’t mean yet another evening

of couch stretches. Instead,

he calls on the – deep breath –

“kettlebell kneeling clean and

press to windmill”, a compound

move that switches on your

muscle fibres while waking

up your joints, ligaments and

tendons. If you only have time for

one warm-up movement, this is

your saviour.

“The first part activates your

shoulders, lats, and core,” says

Saladino. “Then, the windmill

works on your hinge, which taps

into your glutes and hamstrings.”

That’s a lot of activation in one

rep, with carry-over benefits to

heavy lifting. Each session will

also ramp up your metabolism,

maximising muscle gain and

weight loss.

Begin your full-body workouts

with just three sets of five reps on

each side, and you’ll be primed

and ready to fulfil any heroic

bodybuilding aspirations. No

super-suit necessary.

WORDS: TED LANE | PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP HAYNES | STYLIST: ABENA OFEI | GROOMING: NATACHA SCHMITT | MODEL: CHRISTOPHER WHITLOW AT ANDI PETERS MODELS

TIGHTS: NEWBALANCE.CO.ZA; SHOES: ADIDAS.CO.ZA