Every athlete whether you are an NFL running back or a weekend warrior runner could use a stronger body. The most important area of the body that an athlete needs is the core and posterior chain. The posterior chain is responsible for any and every explosive movement known in the sports world whether it be running, jumping, hitting, grappling, swinging a bat, pitching a ball. They all have to do with how explosive one can be by using the calves, hamstrings, glutes, and spinal erectors which are known as the posterior chain.
The workout below is something I have been doing 2-3 times per week and it takes all of 10 minutes to do. It will improve your hip drive and protect your back all at the same time with very little time invested in it.
Men should use a 24kg or 32kg bell for both exercises and woman should use a 20kg or 24kg bell.
The two exercises are the kettlebell swing and the single arm farmers walk. It is a great coupling of exercises. What you want to do is pick a number of swings to complete whether that is 50 or 150 and do them in the least amount of sets possible until you can do all reps consecutively. So beginners pick 50 reps and perform as many reps as you can resting when needed until you reach 50 reps. If you can reach 50 reps no problem than go to 75 reps. Once you can get 75 reps in a row than go to 100 reps and so on and so forth. Make sure each kettlebell swing is clean, sharp and your hips snap making it an explosive hip thrust. Many people I see doing swings are using too much arm, too much back and not snapping their hips to perform the movement.
Once you have done all reps to complete the swings pick up your bell used in the swing and perform a farmers walk which is basically a walk holding the kettlebell at your side. Normal farmers walks are done with a weight in each hand. To unevenly load the core we are going to hold only one kettlebell and walk. Walk 25-50 yards and switch hands and repeat 2-4 times.
This simple workout is a quick and effective way to improve you hip drive which as mentioned earlier is a key component to every athlete as well as to a everday person looking to keep their hips healthy. It is also a great way to learn how to stabilize your core while moving.
Give this workout a try for a couple weeks and see how strong your back, core and hips feel!
