By VAHVA Fitness on July 6th. 2019

4 special kettlebell movements to develop functional strength and athletic ability. These are something different!

Although it may seem like we are all about bodyweight training, that is actually not the case (we are dominantly about bodyweight training though). 

We use any tools available and have no problems using dumbbells, kettlebells or weighted clubs of any sort. This is simply because it's not really about the tool but about how you use it.

Bodyweight can be used badly and so can weights (and often they are). When you understand training at a deeper level you can use any tool successfully and you are limitless in this regard.

Here you can find 4 special kettlebell exercises to develop functional performance. We have been actually using kettlebells for a very long time. Some of our oldest (and most successful) videos are about kettlebells:

We would consider the dumbbell the best tool for targeted laser-focused work (that's why we use them a lot in Athlete 20XX), the kettlebells on the other hand offer very unique benefits. 

The ability to swing the kettlebells is their greatest strength. You will learn how to control your and KB's center of mass which is great for athleticism.

Kettlebells are also a great tool to develop core stability and swinging will tire the core out very quickly. You will also be able to do many movements that resemble real athletic movements which you will learn below.

3 of these movements are actually part of our new Warrior 20XX program. This is our one and only program with kettlebells and has our best knowledge - the exercise selection should be very interesting.

Bell bender is an intense movement for your core, shoulder and arm. In addition you will learn how to rotate your core and hips to an extent which will come helpful in many athletic movements.

Most importantly, you will learn the fluid kinetic chain where your hips and core generate the force to manipulate the bell - your arms are not doing that much work.

Compared to the conventional kettlebell swing, the side swing is a very different beast.

You will be shifting more of your weight to just one leg at the time and rotating your hips and core at the bottom. When you swing up, the core and hips need to explosively rotate back to the initial position.

If you study the movement patterns, it's very similar to movements you do in many sports such as hitting with a bat, throwing a ball or martial arts movements such as throwing a punch.

Diagonal snatch has the same benefits as the side swing except here you are also working the shoulder a lot more heavily and rotating even more with your hips and core.

You are also leaning forward a bit more which will work your posterior chain (lower back and glutes mostly). 

If you do the diagonal snatch correctly, your glutes will be sore for days...

Kettlebell elevator is a killer core exercise that also develops the shoulder. Due to the forward leaning posture your lower back also needs to stabilize a lot.

Due to the great rotation of the core, you can expect your obliques and thoracic mobility to develop to a high degree.

Once you try this movement, you may also notice that you are lacking shoulder mobility at the upper portion of the repetition. This is a good thing since doing more of this exercise will improve your shoulder mobility.

I hope you enjoyed the video and the exercises. Kettlebells are a great tool for war and should be utilized if possible.

If you don't have kettlebells, many of the exercises can also be done with dumbbells.

We are at war.

We want to get in the best shape of our lives and build levels of conditioning the rest of the world is scared of.

There is a time for peace and a time for relaxation but it is not now.

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