Rock Every Part of Your Core With This Kettlebell Flow
Yes, you can do situps, and leg lifts and crunches and planks to train your abs. But your core muscles are meant for far more complex movement than those ideas too. And if you're looking for a way to spice up your ab training, you can take advantage of the full breadth of movement that your core can handle.
Your core is meant to twist and turn your torso, and it's also meant to lend stability to your spine, both when you're doing all that twisting and when you're balancing large loads or being explosive. You can't challenge these ideas when you do situps, either. But you can challenge those ideas with the Ultimate Kettlebell Core flow from Men's Health fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S. This multi-step move fries your abs in a unique way. "It also challenges your entire core as a unit," says Samuel. "Your abs don't often operate independently. They team with obliques, lower back muscles, and glutes, to name a few groups, to stabilize your spin and your hips."
That stability gets put to the test in multiple ways. Your core's ability to stabilize your spine gets tested with a series of half-kneeling snatches, and your abs and obliques are kick into overdrive during the getup phases and kickthrough phases of this move. And don't underestimate the leg-switching moment of each rep, when you go from half-kneeling to tall-kneeling. "Your glutes and obliques must be live here," says Samuel, "to keep you stable as you battle that kettlebell overhead."
It all adds up to a fierce core exercise that checks a lot of other boxes too, elevating your heart rate and challenging shoulder stability along the way. And all you need is a kettlebell to pull it off.
Start in half-kneeling stance, left knee on the ground, a kettlebell in front of you, right hand grasping it. Pull the bell back and do a half-kneeling swing to snatch to get it overhead. This is your start position.
Watch the bell as you push your butt back slightly and place your left hand on the ground, twisting your torso.
Shift your weight onto that left hand and lift your left leg off the ground. Pause in this position, left leg hovered off the ground.
Continue to watch the bell as you shift your left foot in front of your torso, tap it to the ground, and then return it to your hovering position.
Place your left knee on the ground. Hold the bell overhead. Shift your right leg back so you're kneeling on both legs, then shift your left foot forward.
Place the kettlebell on the ground and snatch it overhead with your left hand. (You can also attempt the cross-snatch in the video, although that's a more challenging move). Then repeat the entire sequence.
Do reps for 40 seconds then rest 20 to 40 seconds. Do 3 sets.
The Ultimate Kettlebell Core Flow can fit into your workout in a variety of ways. It's a great workout by itself, too, challenging legs, pushing you to be explosive (during the snatch) and training your back, shoulders, and core as well. If you're doing it in a total-body workout or on an upper-body day, make this your final exercise of the day, using a lighter kettlebell. You can also challenge yourself by doing this as your first exercise in an all-kettlebell workout, going a bit heavier and hitting 2 to 3 reps per set.
No matter what, there's a place for this move in your workouts. it's a vicious challenge, but one well worth undertaking.
For more tips and routines from Samuel, check out our full slate of Eb and Swole workouts. If you want to try an even more dedicated routine, consider Eb's All Out Arms program.
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