Muscle & Fitness Australia — November 2017

22 MUSCLE & FITNESS / NOVEMBER 2017 Photograph by Marius Bugge

Upgrade your ab routine

with this safer and more

effective kettlebell exercise.

KETTLEBELL WINDMILL

HOWTODOIT

1

Press a kettlebell directly

overhead, maintaining

an extended arm.

2

Turn the foot opposite of

the loaded arm outwards.

3

With your unloaded arm,

reach down and touch next

to your toes. Keep your legs

straight and your chest out.

WINDFALL

You work on your hinging

pattern: hinging at the hips

strengthens your posterior chain

(glutes, hamstrings and lower

back) and is required for a lot of

movements like kettlebell swings

and deadlifts. Also, as we age

our ability to hinge weakens,

so reinforcing the movement

will only strengthen and preserve

your hinging ability over time.

Extra lat work: in order to

stabilise the weight, the lifter has

to engage his lats, which will

recruit more back muscle and

spare your shoulder joint, the other

stabiliser, from potential injury.

Anti-rotation: your torso will

want to rotate as you bend down.

Don’t let it. Instead, resist the

rotation, as fighting your body’s

natural instinct will strengthen

your core more than actively

rotating it.

W

hen selecting core

exercises, the first thing

you should consider is

risk versus reward. For

example: crunches can

really make your abs pop. But

they can also wreak havoc on

your spine, as you’re continuously

rounding it with every rep. But good

news – there are plenty of other

moves that are worth doing, and the

kettlebell windmill is one of them.

Here’s why:

GET DOWN

WITH IT

The kettlebell

windmill is a great

move to strengthen

your thoracic

mobility.

T R AIN AEBS & C OR By Don Saladino