This 3-Move Kettlebell Workout Hits Your Legs from All Angles

From Bicycling

Having a strong lower body is essential to powering up hills and more efficiently crushing every single ride. In just three exercises, this kettlebell workout from Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S., and Women’s Health editor-in-chief Liz Plosser, strengthens the lower body in all three planes of motion—sagittal, for up-and-down and front-to-back movement, frontal, for side-to-side movement, and transverse, for rotational movement—while building overall athleticism.

Using a combination of bilateral, unilateral, rotational, and anti-rotational patterns, the workout is all about producing energy and keeping strict control of that energy, which is critical to sports performance across the board.

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In this video, Samuel and Plosser show you how it’s done—and how you can customize the exercises to your individual needs.

1. Half-Rack, Half-Overhead Pendulum Walking Lunge

Do 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps, switching racks each set

Get into a half-rack, half-overhead position with your core braced. The weight shouldn’t hang in your joints.

Step one foot behind you to lower into a reverse lunge, then step all of the way through into a forward lunge. If you have trouble keeping your balance and maintaining a tall, upright posture, Samuel suggests switching to a double front rack position and/or come to a stand on each rep. This will give you more control over the lunges.

2. Knee-Drive Box Step Up

Do 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps per leg

Step onto a box with one leg, holding your kettlebells in a double front rack position. Drive through the foot of your front leg to come up to stand, forcefully raising your back knee to waist height. Hold and own that position at the top, then lower back to the floor with control, keeping your hips tight to fight rotation. If you have any other concerns about your form, check out this helpful exercise guide.

To regress this exercise, use a lower box and/or ditch the weights. The priority here is on moving with control and purpose.

3. Rotational Cossack to Squat Hold

Do 3 sets of 5 to 6 reps per side

Step back and rotate into a Cossack squat, opening your hips and shoulders while letting the toes of your pivoting foot raise as you lower down on your back leg. Drive through your bent leg to step back straight into the starting stance and lower into a squat. Hold the greatest comfortable depth you can; if your hip joints allow, go to a parallel position. Hold the bilateral squat for an additional second for every rep, ending at 5 or 6 seconds.

To increase stability, hold a single kettlebell in the goblet position instead of a double front-rack hold.

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