Move of the Week - Kettlebell Swing to Lunge - 7/4

We will continue to work on our hinge swing this upcoming week in a Kettle Bell Swing to Lunge. Hinges may be one of the most difficult movements we do in the gym. They require our full attention to doing them right as this is a common way we lift in everyday life. When we hinge properly we protect our back and are capable of moving without pain and fear. Adding a swing further intensifies the need to doing these movements properly, helping us build glute and core strength that we use every moment of the day even when just sitting in a chair. This movement is a new twist on a normal kettlebell swing which will hopefully help you continue to connect to your glutes, create power through your legs, and reduce tension through the lower back and shoulders. The grip on this swing will also be different than a normal kettlebell swing as we will hold the kettlebell by the side handles. This will help reduce the range of motion in your swing and allow you to have a little more control in the momentum coming up and down through the movement. The most important goal of the hinge is maintain excellent posture so our core stays stable protecting our low back, while connecting to our glutes to power us through the swing.

As we come up out of our swing we will step forward into a lunge and catch the kettlebell in a row on the same side of our front leg. This will create great thoracic rotation connecting to our obliques and pulling through our lats to hold the kettlebell to reduce tension off the shoulders. When landing in our forward lunge we want to drive our front heal into the ground making connection with our quad and glutes. This is crucial to keeping our knees safe by not pushing through our toes. This will also allow us the power to push back up to our standing position and ready to swing back down into our hinge.

As we complete each swing we will alternate lunges creating a dynamic full body movement. This exercise will work your coordination in trusting your feet as you step through the movement. Along with coordination you're creating power through the back of the body in the hamstrings and glutes as well as the front of the body by pushing through the quads in our lunge. Lastly we will continue working on connecting to our lats and obliques so we can create less tension through our shoulders helping us maintain proper posture and elevation.

​Keys to Success:
​
1. Maintain your best posture
2. Power will come from your lower body
3. Listen to your body and coaches on what you should be feeling
4. Start SLOW and think about the sequence of moves
5. Have fun!