RYU is trying to raise a million reps to help make mental health care more accessible in our communities. My friend Andi Struction tagged me to do the RYU One More Rep Challenge, so I’m taking this chance to show you how to do a “kettlebell” swing when you don’t have access to kettlebells!
(watch the video below to see who I challenged – besides you, of course!)
RYU’s own site and videos do the cause more justice than my brief description – learn more about RYU’s mission for mental health.
More mental health resources below the video.
Exercise: No-Kettlebell Swings
What it works: Posterior Chain (your back-side, including your backside), plus your lungs/cardio, and some accessory muscles in your core and upper body.
You need: ideally a Kettlebell, but, as shown here, you can do this with any old dumbbell too. Grab the flat end of the dumbbell and, *SAFETY TIP* make sure your hands aren’t so sweaty that the weight could fly out of your hand. That would be very uncool.
Booty’s hot tip#1: This is not an arm workout. The forceful drive of your hips to full extension (squeeze your glutes, baby!) is what will pop the weight forward. Imagine you are trying to throw the weight away, forward, at the wall in front of you. Don’t worry about trying to “lift” the weight with your arms. This is all hip thrust (hubba, hubba).
Booty’s hot tip #2: The key movement for the back swing is a hip hinge. Weight in your heels, hinge at the hip with a flat back. Don’t think about leaning forward, or bending over. Just think hinge. And imagine trying to swing the weight into your nether regions. It won’t actually happen, I promise.
When to do this: When well warmed up! This is considered a strength move (even though it’s great for cardio too) so try not to double it up with too many other butt / hamstring exercises.
Sets/Reps: If you’ve never done this before, start with just a few reps and a light weight on your first try. Give it a couple days before trying again – the DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) might creep up on you in a surprising way!
Beginners: Try 3 sets of 10 swings with a light weight – try 6kg or 15 pounds.
More experienced: Try sets of 25 or more, and challenge yourself with the weight as long as you’re able to maintain good form.
Here are some resources you or a friend might be interested in:
** Info about RYU’s challenge: https://ryu.com/onemorerep/
** Canadian Mental Health Association: https://cmha.ca/
** Mental Health America: http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/
I challenge YOU to join this movement too, to keep the dialogue about mental wellness open. Grab a KB, a dumbbell, or even just do bodyweight squats. Film it, and share it on social media, and be sure to say at the beginning “I am doing the RYU One More Rep for mental health, and I challenge…” I’d love to be tagged too if you did! I’m @rollerderbyathletics on Instagram and @bootyquake on Twitter.
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