Kettlebell front squats for you!

What happens when you only have 15 minutes to workout?  For the majority of us 15 minutes means nothing happens.  A lot of time we get it in our heads that we have to have at least 30, 45, or 60 minutes to get a workout in and anything less wouldn’t be worth the bother.  Well as I can report from my own experience and any of my clients that show up late to a session can attest, a whole lot of good stuff can get done in 30 minutes or less.

One great way to making efficient and productive workouts in a very short amount of time is to:

• Move quickly
• Use big muscles
• Use power exercises
• Incorporate full body movements
• Take few rests

One very valuable exercise for any workout but especially for short workouts is the Kettlebell Front Squat.  Here’s how it goes…

Grab one kettlebell (for progression use two kettelbells in rack position), hold it tight to your chest with your hands on the low part of the handle and maybe slightly on the round part of the bell (see left side picture).  With the bell on your upper chest descend down into a deep squat.  Getting your thighs below parallel should always be the goal (see right side picture).  However, to get to full depth in any squat you need to keep your feet flat, your chest up, your hips under you (not behind you), and to maintain tension in your muscles (not relaxing in the bottom).  This is the easiest with weight on the front of your body as the weight counterbalances your backside.  So not only is the KB Front Squat great for strength it is also a great exercise to help you understand posture in a full depth squat.

Why is this squat so darned good?  Front squats are one of the best ways to increase strength in your quads, which in turn increases stability in your knees.  The increase in depth also helps you fire more muscle fibers which will in turn increase your heart rate as well as caloric burn.  Using your big muscles means a lot of effort goes into the movement thus increasing the results of strength from the exercise.

Here is a very basic and fun way to incorporate the front squat with a short and effective workout.  So the next time you only have 15 minutes to workout there should be no excuses!

• 10 Push-ups
• 10 Kettlebell Front Squats
• 10 Bench Tricep Dips
• 10 Kettlebell Front Squats
• 10 Ab Crunches on the exercise ball
• 10 Kettlebell Front Squats
• 1 Minute “Sprint” on the Elliptical.

Repeat for a total of 3-5 times through.

For more information on effective workouts please contact Adriana Brown at abrown@sacdt.com

Fitness Department, Fitness Programs, Kettlebells, Sports Conditioning, Strength Training

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