Workout, July 24, 2012

Workout: Kettlebell exercises and stretching

(Dead lift illustration from the Women's Health Magazine Website)

Last night I started a Bodyrock video but my sciatica was acting up, and I don't believe in pushing through a workout like that if my knees feel shot.  I decided to scale it back and did three miles on the treadmill at the highest incline possible for my knees (sadly, a 2 only), but then supplemented it with things that didn't require excessive knee usage.

I first did a round of upper-body work with my kettlebells.  I purchased the KettleWorx Six-Week Body Transformation (don't you just get a kick out of some of these DVD package names?!?!?!) and now don't need to watch the videos much, as I have learned how to do most of the exercises on my own and from memory.  I therefore tailored a workout to my specific needs of the day instead of following along with one of the DVDs.  I will do a full review of KettleWorx in a later post.

Just as with Pilates, form matters when using kettlebells.  Doing an exercise improperly can hurt your back... or worse.

Last night's workout included dead lifts, around-the-body passes, and bent rows.  The links take you to the Women's Health Magazine website which illustrates and describes each move in more detail.  I completed dead lifts and around-the-body passes with a 15 pound weight, but am still stuck at a 10 pound weight for bent rows. I also used my 10 pound kettlebell , flipped upside-down so my hand was clutching the ball part, to do bicep curls.

I then finished my workout with a satisfying round of stretching, found in Monday's Pilates post.  Stretching always helps ease my sciatica pains so it was a definite must after my workout!