14 unique kettlebell exercises you need to try

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Here’s everything we have for you today:

• The impacts of spinal loading

• Unusual kettlebell movements to try

• Back and shoulder combo workouts fit for you

Sports Science

Loading Zone

Back pain can be a hot-button issue in the worlds of both fitness and modern medicine. Spinal loading, the kind of pressure heavy squats place on the vertebrae, has long been considered a cause.

Dr. Layne Norton, using fancy terms like “biopsychosocial model,” doesn’t think that’s necessarily the case. In fact, Norton points to a study that suggests spinal loading, and the reciprocating act of spinal unloading, offers no clear link to back pain.

In a somewhat nihilistic take, Dr. Norton doesn’t deny that lifters have back pain but points out that populations with an extremely sedentary lifestyle also report the same levels of pain. Norton goes on to suggest that heavy lifting, with its ability to build strength and stability, offers potential long-term benefits that far outweigh the seemingly negligible dangers of back aches. 

Whatever camp you fall in, understanding the origins and antidotes to back pain will benefit you in the long run.

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Kettlebells

Bells and Whistles 

When you think of kettlebells, your mind will invariably turn to a world of swings, single-arm snatches, and goblet squats. Much like taking the blue pill (or is it the red one?) can unlock an entire world you never knew existed, this article features 14 new and improbable kettlebell movements that will open up an infinite new world of resistance training.

Using a kettlebell to train your core might not seem like the most obvious thing, but across-the-body chops and halos do just that. Fighting the natural use of the bell’s momentum by creating “dead stop” scenarios with classic movements likewise provides a workout that goes against the conventional attitude toward top-handled weights. If you already have access to a kettlebell, all you need is the vision and oomph to climb out of your personal cave. 

This article provides you with everything you need to get an entirely new kind of workout in the real world.

Workouts

Atlas Shrugged (and Pressed and Pulled)

When deciding on a body-part split, sticking your back and shoulders together is a classic combo worthy of its own place on any value menu. Integrating the push-pull dynamic of the entire upper shoulder girdle, training one will enhance the muscle activation of the other.

The other nice thing about training these muscles together is the ease of modulating a workout based on the amount, or lack of, sophistication needed. You can hammer pull-ups and handstand push-ups if you want to stick to using your own body weight or work your way up to bigger movements by combining a 45-degree back extension with a face pull. 

These muscles are literally two sides of the same coin, so get busy minting the kind of rounded yoke Hercules got when he stepped in to carry the world around (just be careful if you see him and he asks for a spot).

Everything Else

Big Muscles and Nano Technology

• Though CrossFit’s top 100 list isn’t officially out yet, we do have an unofficial version whipped up by Mike Halpin of Known & Knowable.

• The Reebok Nano line of shoes has long reigned as the top cross-training shoe on the market. BarBend reviews the latest iteration, the X4, to see if it lives up to its name.

• Even the enormous Mr. Olympia champion Samson Dauda needs to bring up (comparatively) weak muscle groups sometimes. He lays out his strategy for becoming a total package here.