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The Kettlebell Alternative

by: Dr. Chris Holder
Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Cal Poly Athletics
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Ten years ago I made a decision that would change the course of my training practice and instruction forever. On the recommendation of a mentor of mine, I took a considerable leap of faith, jumped on a plane to St. Paul, MN, and with virtually no experience whatsoever, dove into a kettlebell certification weekend that nearly killed me. It was the RKC (Russian Kettlebell Certification) by Dragon Door and I had no earthly understanding what I was getting into. It was like a football training camp and ending up on the losing end of a fist fight all rolled up into one three day sprint. Training philosophy, coaching instruction and endless hours of live “experience” changed me physically, but more important, changed the way I looked at strength training as a whole.

The kettlebell, and more importantly, the system taught from the RKC, present an alternative strength and conditioning method that is especially effective in overcoming the damaging physical conditions we are increasingly seeing in athletes who are spending more time on their phones and game consoles and less time engaging in physical activity.

In terms of weight to be used, kettlebells range from 8 kilos (18 pounds) up to 48 kilos (106 pounds). At Cal Poly, we have multiples of these weights in kilos – 8 kg, 12 kg, 16 kg, 20 kg, 24 kg, 28 kg, 32 kg, 40 kg, and 48 kg. There are no hard and fast rules on what size selections to make for a given exercise but most have approximate ranges. While our standard is the 24 kg kettlebell, at the high school level I would recommend starting with the light kettlebell at either 12 kg or 16 kg. As the athlete gets stronger, he can then progress to a heavier kettlebell.

The exercises are divided into two categories – ballistics and grinds. The swing and snatches described are ballistics exercises and the remaining ones are grinds. In terms of reps for the ballistics exercises, I would recommend no less than three sets with 10 being a realistic number at the high school level. The exercises that are categorized as grinds are more intense and the rep level should be less. Between 3 and 5 reps per set is the recommended number and they should be performed slowly and deliberately. Here are six kettlebell exercises you can use:

The Kettlebell Swing – Ballistic Exercise (Photos 1 and 2)




This is the most important exercise any strength program can use. Period. It is a corrective, it is a strength builder, it is a speed developer, it is a power producer, it is a rate of force production enhancer, it is non-impact alternative to plyometrics, and it is a great hand strength builder. If taught the right way, it begins to unlock the hip flexors, stimulates the glutes and upper back, and begins to undo what these kids have done to themselves for the past 18 years. This dynamic exercise is actually the bread and butter movement for nearly all kettlebell systems you will come across. Lastly, and probably most important to you as coaches, it’s the most effective conditioning tool I have ever seen. Better than running. I’ve been a strength coach for 15 years at the college level and I’ve never seen an exercise that can deepen conditioning tanks and make guys fatigue-proof like a kettlebell swing.

An added bonus, and perhaps the most attractive to a football coach, the swing is performed out of the “athletic position”. It’s pure repetition of athletic position, under load. Think of the pre-snap read a middle linebacker goes through - hinging at the hips, chest over his toes, ready to read and react. This is the bottom position of the swing. I joke with my guys who stay with us in the summer that because of the thousands and thousands of swings we tally over the course of June and July, football will be easy. The transition time from training to practice amounts to zero due to the repetition and the immediate assimilation this exercise has directly to their sport. The transfer the swing has to tackling fundamentals or any skill requiring violent hip extension is nearly seamless.

TECHNIQUE:

•  This is a hinge exercise, not a squat. The knees will have a subtle bend, but the majority of the movement begins and ends hinging at the hip.
The spine (including the neck and head) should be kept in a neutral position throughout the movement. At no time, including the bottom portion of the swing, should the head move independent of the torso.

•  Feet will be in contact with the floor (heel to toe) at all time – think rooting (like in martial arts) or fixing the feet to the ground.

•  This is a practice in tension and relaxation. When the hips (driver of the movement) engage, the athlete should violently tense his glutes, quads and abs to generate the action of the swing.



The Turkish Get Up – Grind Exercise
(Photo 3)

Hands down, this is the least favorite exercise I have issued to any one of the thousands of athletes who have crossed my path in their careers. Reason? It’s hard. Why is it hard? Because it challenges the athlete to systematically move through a sequence of positions that expose any of the physiological dysfunctions. Again, depending on how it is taught, it challenges shoulder stability, upper back and scapular activation, hip flexor range of motion, glute strength and stimulation, mobilizes the thoracic spine and addresses the abdominals in every plane of movement. If you have any holes in your physical game, the TGU will expose it. Better than that, if you have any holes in your game, with the appropriate coaching, exposure and focus by the user, it can begin to fix each of the problems. It is the perfect exercise.

TECHNIQUE:

•  This is an exercise in stabilization. Move deliberately through techniques to ensure safety and effectiveness.

•  The elbow and wrist should stay locked throughout the movement. Additionally, the shoulder must stay packed by activating the lat for the duration of the attempt.

•  Keep your eye on the kettlebell at all times during the rep except in the standing portion at the midpoint.

•  Verbal queuing of the movement: Proper set up, roll midline, pull to elbow, elevate to hand, hips high and sweep the leg, lunge posture, windshield wiper the back leg, tuck toes, drive off of back leg and stand up. Then retract your steps home.

Arm Bars and Bent Arm Bars – Grind Exercise (Photos 4 and 5)


One of the more pure correctives in the system, this exercise begins to unravel that caveman syndrome. All of these kids have problems with lat and scapular control. Additionally, this exercise mobilizes the thoracic spine. Most of these athletes don’t have the neural connections to even use their lats properly, which means the shoulder is in a constant state of exposure.

When being technical, these exercises force the user to involve their lats and scaps, place large demands on shoulder external rotators and effectively opens the anterior capsule of the shoulder and the entire pectoralis complex. The results with this one are nearly immediate. We have seen several athletes who we have classified as “tight” have dramatic improvements in their shoulder range of motion after only one round of both.

When the arm bars and bent arm bars are performed correctly, the athlete needs to monitor his breathing, keep his abs tight and maintain a relative amount of complete body awareness throughout each rep. It is, literally, a miracle worker on many levels.

TECHNIQUE:

•  This exercise is about position and keeping the kettlebell motionless.

•  Exhale with each hip roll, relaxing everything except the stabilizing kettlebell side.

•  Take your time and be very deliberate with each movement.

The Kettlebell Snatch – Ballistic Exercise (Photo 6)



If the swing is the king kettlebell movement, the snatch is the mean big brother. Performed almost identically to the swing, the snatch takes the movement to the next level, having the user stop the motion overhead. Ballistic in nature, the snatch combines elements of the swing, TGU and a traditional press into one big movement. In many circles, the snatch is the testing standard where any self-respecting kettlebeller measures himself with.

TECHNIQUE:

•  All of the cues for the Swing apply for the Snatch.

•  Once the bell has reached approximately chest level, draw the elbow back like an archer, riding the energy up.

•  Finish by punching the handle around, directly up towards the ceiling.

 The Kettlebell Press – Grind Exercise
(Photo 7)



To most, it simply looks like a standard issue military press. To those of us who know, it’s something greater. The kettlebell press is a class in and of itself in both tension and manufacturing leverage. Stability and tension create the opportunity to express strength and power.

The physics of the kettlebell while pressing create opportunities for the athlete to coordinate movement that are both healthy and fundamentally correct. The degrees of freedom that the kettlebell provides, in contrast to a dumbbell or a barbell, make this exercise exclusively a kettlebell exercise.

It teaches how full body tension increases the amount of power the athlete can produce. Martial artists and those involved in hand to hand combat find immediate applications to most kettlebell exercises, this one in particular. The teaching progressions for the press also venture into places like increasing pull up strength by utilizing your back by pulling the bell down, as opposed to lowering it, from the top of the press to the starting position. The advantages of this exercise over its counterparts are endless.

TECHNIQUE:

•  This is a pure tension exercise. The more tension you can manufacture, the more power you will be able to harness.

•  The forearm stays completely vertical throughout the motion.

•  Pack the shoulder as the hand and arm make their way overhead.

•  Pull the kettlebell down, back to the starting position, rather than allowing the bell to crash down.

The Goblet Squat – Grind Exercise
(Photos 8 and 9)

This is one of the squatting variations taught that forces the athlete into optimal postural positions while sitting at the lowest position possible. When instructed well, it is used as an effective hip opener, particularly opening the hip adductors.

Fundamentally, tightness is a way the brain resolves issues with neighboring weak muscles. The brain has your safety in mind first; that is, survival at all costs, keep the system alive. If we have a muscle that is weak and is unable to perform its basic tasks, the brain will create compensations to alleviate that muscle of its duty while attempting to maintain system wide integrity. This is good and bad. You stay alive, that’s good but the muscle that is weak is unceremoniously declared “off duty” and as the tightening down begins, the accessibility of that muscle contribution to movement becomes less and less. The goblet squat begins to investigate the nooks and crannies of flexibility, and hammers where most people are tight while addressing beginning level strength at an extreme range of motion.

TECHNIQUE:

•  Keep the spine tall throughout the movement.
Foot, including the big toe, should be in firm contact with the floor at all times.

•  Sit deep, engage the elbows into the insides of the knees and pry the knees apart.

•  This can be interpreted as a stretch/flexibility movement, so find the edges of the range of motion and deliberately work them.

There are several other fundamental exercises that can be utilized which lend themselves to the complete strengthening of an athlete. The magic is in both the tool and the exercise selection but more importantly, the attention to detail that this tool demands which has a direct carryover to the field. The kettlebell demands respect. The student-athlete has no choice but to be present, focused and detail oriented. Program design either using the kettlebell as a feature in your programs or as an adjunct to what you are already doing will create a level of strength and muscular coordination that no other tool can duplicate.

About the Author: Chris Holder returned to Cal Poly in February, 2013 in his second stint as their head strength and conditioning coach. He also served in the same capacity there from 2002-2005. Holder previously coached the strength and conditioning program at San Jose State from 2006-2012. He is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky where he began his coaching career.






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