Hey, folks! Angela here!
The flu is ravaging our household, and apparently, running its course through Honolulu! I managed to sneak out briefly and make a quick video blog, just checking in!
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Yesterday was my first day swinging the kettlebell with my trainer.
Hello! This is the real deal. All of the basics I learned over the last few sessions provide the foundation for the swing.
Most importantly, I have to remember that moving anything with a concave spine is another way of asking for trouble. (That’s why we bend our knees when we lift heavy things, I suppose.
To keep my spine in the correct position, as well as provide enough support internally for my abdominal muscles, Bill taught me a pretty cool breathing technique.
Before making my first move, I take a breath in through my nose. Not a deep breath, a regular breath. At this point, I tighten up my ab muscles, as well as my glutes. “Imagine that Liz is about to hit you with some nunchucks,” he says. Yah, that helps me brace myself.
Then, I make my move, whatever it might be. Since my diaphragm has now pushed down, the air has expanded into the extra space, and my ab muscles have something to brace themselves against. As I complete the motion, I exhale through my mouth.
For those of you new to this kettleworld (like me), you’ll see heavy lifters breathing in this exact way, sometimes with a hiss on the exhale. I gotta tell you- it helps me!
When I started the swinging, breathing came pretty naturally. I believe this is part of the reason I got through the session without killing myself.
I’ll speak more on the actual kettlebell swinging in a future post. I really enjoyed it, and I can see that I’m in for quite a workout at our next session!
Hooked on twitter? Me too!
And, if you didn’t take a peek at the video above, I’d love to hear your questions. I’ll answer them here, in this blog.
So you get sick out there in Hawaii, huh? Doesn’t seem fair.
When you start doing swings–or just about anything with KBs–the best thing you can do is sync your breathing up from day one. Decide how you’re going to breath and stick with it.
That’s how you get freaked out and panicky and end your sets early–you gas out and lose your wind.
Sounds like you’ll be coming along fine.
good luck!
I can’t believe you are driving and blogging. Don’t the cops stop u if u r talking on your cell phone? Isn’t this worse? I know i know u had to get out of the house. Poor baby (both u and K)…proud of you for swinging and for the (cough) visual of slapping Bill’s hand while it was under your bottom….haha…you’re right, you’ll never forget….:) Keep up the good work!
Technically… it’s like I’m speaking into my speaker phone, or talking to someone in the car, who happens to be a video camera. He he he.
The new law goes into effect soon in Honolulu, right?
I have a tripod and will figure out how best to use it/ stay safe. We don’t want a kettleblog turning into a kettleaccident, do we?
Thanks for the comment!
Good luck on your swings. One of the things that has always helped me is to remember to keep my head up and eyes facing forward. Sometimes I will see people put their heads down as they bring the bell down. I think that can open them up for a hurt back.
I used my tripod in the car. I used some little bungie cords with hooks on each end to secure it down.
Below is a link to another idea for doing video in the car using a sponge. Have not done it yet but plan to.
Terry
I guess it would help if I provided the link
http://kettlebellguy.com/blog/?p=1542
Thanks for the info about breathing. I have been doing this automatically anyway – maybe 7+ years of karate has it’s uses. I love kettlebells as they give me a cardio and strength workout in one.
I’ve been following you on Twitter, too.