Let’s Roll Out!

By: Keith Fees, Certified Personal Trainer at Synergy Health and Fitness

Last time I talked about and showed you the Kettlebell Swing and how I like to teach it.  If you haven’t checked out that post yet, I’ll wait while you go HERE and do just that.  It’s a great posterior chain (aka my favorite side of the body – the ol’ backside) exercise that works a variety of muscle groups while jacking up your heart rate.

This week, I have another short video of one of my absolute favorite core exercises, the Stability Ball Rollout.  The Stability Ball Rollout (or just Rollout) is both a regression and a progression exercise.  This means there are ways to make this movement easier, and ways to make it harder by using other pieces of equipment or simply body weight. Some examples are: hand walkouts, inchworms, ab wheel rollouts, and TRX fallouts. This specific move with the stability ball can be done by most beginners, but a well conditioned, experienced individual can also perform it for a terrific burn.

Proper form and spinal alignment on the rollouts and its variations is crucial.  Improper spinal alignment and poor activation of important assisting/supporting muscle groups like DING, DING, DING! the glutes can really put your lower back in a hairy situation.  And, let’s be honest NOBODY wants a hairy back situation 😉

Like last week, I’ll show you the video and then list cues to help you perform it the way I perform it and the way I teach it.  Again, I have seen many different variations of this great core exercise.  Just because someone doesn’t do it the way I teach it doesn’t mean they are wrong or being unsafe. I just want to show you how I recommend doing them.

For the quick YouTube video, click—–> HERE

–  Kneel tall about one foot behind ball, extend arms and place hands on the ball while remaining as tall as possible (no hinging at the hips).

–  SQUEEZE YOUR GLUTES TIGHT – crack a walnut! Don’t let the glutes go until you’re finished your set.

–  Squeeze your ABS tight like you are bracing for a punch to the gut.

–  Keep your head in line with your spine and your spine in a nice neutral alignment (no rounding or dipping in the upper or lower back).

–  Initiate the movement with the hips going forward one split second before the hands go forward.

–  Slowly lower your nose to the ball with arms outstretched over the top of the rolling ball.

–  Once you get your face to the ball or you feel like you might lose neutral spine, press your hands/arms into the top of the ball and think about pulling it back to you without breaking through the hips. HINT: Keep your glutes, abs, and lats tight!

–  Use your abs, arms, and lats to return to your TALL starting position with arms outstretched and hands on ball (you should not look like a preying mantis on top of the ball with your elbows and your butt way behind you).

For a visual cue, go back and look at the video and imagine a wall right behind me at the bend in my knees chopping off my lower legs.  On my return to the starting position, butt should hit the wall at about the same exact time my back does. If I hinged through my hips at all and got into that preying mantis position my glutes would blast right through that wall…not what we want unless your the Kool-Aid Man!

Give the Rollout a try and let us know what you think!

Grab Your Kettlebell and Come Out Swingin’

 

By Keith Fees, Certified Personal Trainer at Synergy Health and Fitness

There are two exercises I love to use with my clients and myself that unfortunately I see performed improperly more often than I’d like (of course not by Synergy clients 😉 but when I’m out in the “real” world).  Those two exercises are the Kettlebell Swing and the Stability Ball Rollout.  This week I will focus on the Kettlebell Swing. I’ll break down the rollout next time.

Of course, seeing any exercise performed poorly makes me want to pull my eyeballs out and start dishing out back of the head smacks like my grandfather used to do to me when I tried to step outside without a coat.  BUT, this move, when done improperly can really cause some pain or discomfort to a major problem area – the lower back.

I have seen many different variations of this great posterior chain exercise.  Just because someone doesn’t do it the way I teach it doesn’t mean they are wrong or unsafe. I just want to show you how I recommend doing them.

In order to keep this post short and sweet, I will show you the video (click the link below) of what I feel is ideal form and then list cues to help you perform them that way.

Kettlebell Swing <—- Click me for video

–  Your feet should be about shoulder width apart or a little wider with toes flared out about 10-20 degrees.

–  This is a hip hinge, this is not a squat!

–  The movement should be initiated from the hips with an “butt-back” back-flat motion.

–  This initial movement (the hip hinge) should be felt more in the hamstrings than the quads.

–  The knees will only bend slightly.

–  As the bell comes high between your crotch, your forearms should be in contact with your inner thighs.  The bell should never be below your knees. Keep it “dangerously” high…you know what I mean guys!

–  As the bell passes high through your crotch (I know, its such an ugly word but it works) the bell should actually “flip” up and almost hit you in the tailbone…almost!

–  KEEP YOUR ABS TIGHT!

–  When moving forward, think HIP THRUST! Forcefully and explosively do a standing hip thrust through your glutes.

–  This hip thrust motion is NOT a back hyper-extension.  Remember, our abs are tight and thus our spine should be in a neutral, protected position.

–  The hip thrust more than the arms and shoulders should push the bell out in front of you to about sternum height.

–  Once reaching full glute squeeze with the bell at sternum height, quickly reverse the motion again by getting right back into your hip hinge.

Try this great move the way I teach it and jack up your heart rate while setting fire to your glutes, hamstrings, and core!  If you’re doing a high number of reps (over 15) you will feel it in your arms and shoulders a bit, but remember the main focus is to be on those backside muscle groups.